Strongest War Emperor

Shen Lang took a deep breath and said, "I know... How about we play rock-paper-scissors for it!"

...

Nalan Ziyun stood stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage. She spun around and, with a loud THUD, kicked Shen Lang right off of Tears of Paradise.

Tears of Paradise sped up, vanishing into the distance like a gust of wind.

Shen Lang unfurled his Ghost King’s Wings and gave frantic chase, shouting in exasperation, "Holy shit, can’t I even tell a joke to lighten the mood? You have zero sense of humor... Stop for me! Don’t run!"

"Cut the crap and catch me yourself!" Nalan Ziyun’s laughter drifted back from the distance.

"Ghost King, chase her! Faster! Goddammit, you’re useless! I feed you the best, give you the best to drink, and raised your Cultivation to its current level, so how are we falling further and further behind? Get your speed to maximum and chase her, now!"

The Ghost King replied in a tearful voice, "Boss, you can’t blame me for this! Tears of Paradise is a Top Level Royal Artifact that was refined for thousands of years by a Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm powerhouse! I, your old Ghost King, am only at the Xuanwu Realm Seventh Heaven. Even if I use all the strength I was born with, I can’t catch it... How about you apologize to the Boss Lady first?"

"Easier said than done! I have to catch her before I can apologize, and now I can’t even see her shadow..." Shen Lang roared.

While Shen Lang was huffing and puffing in his frantic pursuit of Nalan Ziyun, a brutal battle was raging over a hundred miles ahead of them.

「Desolate Land, Dust Wind Canyon.」

A Mercenary Corps of over eighty people was trapped in a bitter fight.

This Mercenary Corps was clearly high-ranking in the Purple Chu Country. A single glance was enough for anyone to tell that every one of them was strictly trained, and their coordination was exceptionally seamless.

Dozens of people working in concert, their offense and defense orderly—this was absolutely not something a low-level Mercenary Corps could achieve.

Without eight to ten years of practice and integration, it would be nearly impossible to coordinate so well in such chaos.

Their enemies were thousands of Demon Beasts pouring out from the mountain forest...

The thousands of Demon Beasts were a chaotic mix: Black Feathered Eagles filled the sky, alongside Bloodthirsty Frenzied Lions, Two-headed Demon Wolves, and thick-skinned Iron-skinned Barbarian Bulls.

These Demon Beasts, which would never normally mix, now had blood-red eyes and were crazily charging the mercenary team.

They looked as if they would never stop.

This was a Mercenary Corps that had been hunting in the Desolate Land. They were strong, but also incredibly unlucky.

Such a scene was a once-in-a-millennium event; it was something that should be nearly impossible in the Desolate Land.

While the various Demon Beasts here weren’t necessarily natural enemies, they had never before cooperated like this to attack human Martial Artists.

And this Mercenary Corps, despite being powerful and well-coordinated, with nearly fifteen Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses among its eighty-plus members—three or four of whom had even reached the Sixth and Seventh Heavens of Xuanwu Realm, while the rest were at the Middle to Late Stage of the Spirit Martial Realm—was still in imminent danger.

Because the enemy they faced was far stronger than they were!

The Demon Beasts outnumbered them dozens of times over.

The most terrifying part wasn’t just the number of Demon Beasts.

Among the thousands of Demon Beasts, the vast majority were Fourth and Fifth Level, equivalent to Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artists.

But there were also quite a few Seventh to Eighth Level Demon Beasts among them...

These Seventh to Eighth Level Demon Beasts were equivalent to Martial Artists in the Middle to Late Stage of the Xuanwu Realm. Even a powerhouse at that stage would find it extremely difficult to kill one.

The greatest pressure on these people came precisely from these formidable Demon Beasts.

Shrill bestial roars, a nauseating stench.

Chaos, gloom, violence, despair...

It was an environment that could make one’s mind collapse, that could drive a person mad.

In a place like this, without a resolute will, one probably couldn’t last for long.

...

Ling Shaoyi was extremely frustrated.

So frustrated he could cough up blood.

As the Vice Leader of the Jifeng Mercenary Corps, he was currently tied up with a Green-eyed Fire Lion, completely unable to help anyone else.

This Green-eyed Fire Lion was the most powerful among the thousands of Demon Beasts. Its Talent Ability was the Red Wind and Green Flame. When it spewed a mouthful of green flames, even he, at Xuanwu Realm Eighth Heaven, had to give it a wide berth.

Among all the members of the Jifeng Mercenary Corps, no one but him could stand against this one Demon Beast.

And without him, their strongest combatant, the Jifeng Mercenary Corps was already on the verge of collapse under the assault of the endless tide of Demon Beasts, unable to hold on for much longer.

"Beast, get back!"

Ling Shaoyi roared, his Long Spear striking like a Demon Dragon as he forced the Green-eyed Fire Lion back over twenty meters.

Seizing the moment, he spun his Long Spear, creating more than a dozen sharp spear shadows that instantly killed over a dozen Frost Giant Wolves that were closing in on his comrades.

Once again, he had resolved a crisis for the others.

"ROAR!"

The Green-eyed Fire Lion let out a furious roar and pounced once more.

Ling Shaoyi glanced around and saw that his side’s aura had weakened considerably. The unventable fury and grief tore at his heart, a pain so great he wanted to die!

Even powerhouses at the Sixth and Seventh Heavens of Xuanwu Realm couldn’t fight endlessly.

Especially not while trying to protect their weaker teammates in this situation.

A man at Xuanwu Realm Eighth Heaven like him was tired as a dog, let alone the others.

Ling Shaoyi could not forgive himself...

’It was my arbitrary decision that led the team into this desperate predicament.’

’The Jifeng Mercenary Corps, one of the top three mercenary corps in the entire Purple Chu Country, is now on the brink of being annihilated by a horde of Demon Beasts. It’s truly unbelievable.’

’If I had known this would happen in the Desolate Land, I would have rather died than lead everyone here to their deaths.’

But this was clearly not the time for regrets.

The pressing matter was how to lead his team out of the encirclement.

However, the entire team only had fifteen Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses, and not many of the Spirit Martial Realm experts were equipped with Flying Spiritual Artifacts. To escape this disaster, there seemed to be no other way but to carve a bloody path out.

The entire situation was being held together by these fifteen Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses. If they moved, it would affect the entire formation, and the rest of the members would be immediately drowned by the tide of Demon Beasts...

As for whether they could carve a bloody path out, Ling Shaoyi looked at the overwhelming swarm of Demon beasts, a sense of powerlessness rising in his heart. He couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

’It seems the legends were true. A rift really has appeared in the Desolate Land, and the Supreme Yin Qi is pouring out. That’s why the Demon Beasts here were the first to be affected, falling into a frenzy under the influence of this Supreme Yin Qi...’

’And it’s not just that they’ve gone berserk; they all seem to have gotten much stronger overnight... This Green-eyed Fire Lion that’s tangling with me now, if this were before, I would have run it through with a single spear thrust long ago. But now, it’s dodged my killing blow more than ten times!’

’Fuck, I shouldn’t have believed that son of a bitch’s words, thinking a Secret Realm had appeared in the Desolate Land and that the Imperial Dragon Sect deliberately claimed a great rift had opened just so they could have it for themselves... They’re a dignified Spirit Copper Level Influence! If they really discovered a Secret Realm, why would they need to deceive us with such a lie? In the Purple Chu Country, aside from the Flower Sect and the Li Hen Sect, what other Sect could possibly contend with them?’

’Too bad I didn’t think these things through before, otherwise I wouldn’t have come running over with a whole group of people like an idiot...’

Ling Shaoyi’s gaze swept blankly over his fighting brothers. He saw that their sweat and blood had long since mixed together, making them indistinguishable.

They were all panting heavily, unable to hold on for much longer.

The stench of blood grew thicker, and the aura of death drew closer to them all...

’What do I do now? Is the Jifeng Mercenary Corps really going to be destroyed in my hands like this? Oh, gods, please save me! If I can just get these people out of here alive, I swear I won’t touch a woman for a month!’

To save such a large group of people in exchange for him not touching a woman for a month—if the gods heard that, they might just die of anger.

But perhaps his prayer was sincere. Ling Shaoyi never would have expected that just as he had this thought...

"BOOM!"

A behemoth suddenly descended from the sky, crashing violently into the midst of the Demon Beast horde!

A Bone Demon over ten feet tall, fully clad in Armor, brandished two sabers. It carved a path back and forth like a meat grinder, reaping a huge swath of Demon Beasts in the blink of an eye!

The Bone Demon wielded dual sabers, each one the size of a door panel. A single mighty swing stirred up a strange, WHINING gale, and a tangible line of Sword Qi was torn through the air!

An aura like that of a rampaging army of thousands erupted from the Bone Demon...

A brutal, bloody slaughter suddenly erupted with the Bone Demon at its center, shredding the surrounding swarm of Demon Beasts one by one.

In that moment, a rain of blood and a wind of gore filled the air—a truly soul-shaking sight!

"A Bone... a Bone Demon..."

Ling Shaoyi and the others were all stunned. They never would have imagined that their savior would turn out to be a Bone Demon.

’Lightning-fast speed, peerless techniques, a domineering and wild momentum... What the hell, how can a Bone Demon be this freakish? I can clearly sense its aura is only at the Xuanwu Realm Fifth Heaven, but its Attack Power is so high that even I would have to turn tail and run!’

A Bone Demon, wearing Armor as hard as a turtle’s shell, moving like the wind, possessing such a powerful Sword Skill, and even helping a Mercenary Corps... It was simply unbelievable!

’Theoretically, in a place ravaged by Supreme Yin Qi, shouldn’t this Bone Demon be just like these other Demon Beasts, running over to chop people up?’

How did it end up becoming their savior instead?

Huh? ’Hey, savior, don’t run that way! We’re over here!’

Just as Ling Shaoyi was spacing out, he saw the Bone Demon charge off to the other side like a whirlwind, moving further and further away from the Jifeng Mercenary Corps. He was instantly alarmed.

Just as everyone was reeling in shock, before they could even call out to the "adorable" Bone Demon, a delicate shout came from the sky, and a stunningly beautiful woman descended.

As the woman landed, the silver Locking Chain in her hand became like a Life-taking Lock, forcing the Demon Beasts to retreat again and again.

Ling Shaoyi and the others were instantly filled with shame.

The Bone Demon’s aura was clearly only at the Fifth and Sixth Heaven of the Xuanwu Realm, but its Attack Power was so strong that even a man like Ling Shaoyi, at Xuanwu Realm Eighth Heaven, felt inadequate in comparison!

Moreover, the Armor it wore was incredible. It completely ignored the Demon Beasts’ attacks, letting them strike its body again and again without suffering a single scratch!

And the two Giant Blades in the Bone Demon’s hands, judging by their Spirit Light, were clearly high-grade Profound Artifacts. Driven by its powerful Sword Skill, it was invincible, mowing down all who stood in its way!

It slaughtered Demon Beasts as if chopping melons and vegetables. Wherever it went, a large empty space appeared.

As for the beautiful woman, her Cultivation was clearly only at Spirit Martial Realm Ninth Heaven, but countless flower petals spun around her, protecting her completely. Not a single one of the ferocious Demon Beasts could get within five steps of her!

Any Demon Beast that got close was instantly sliced into countless pieces by the petals!

...

There will be another Chapter after noon.