Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 281 The Price (Part 3)

Wang Youfang went to great lengths to carry out this mission to exterminate the demons outside the city, gathering a large number of people in order to kill them in one fell swoop!

The elite army he brought from the city alone numbered over a thousand men, all veterans well-versed in battlefield combat and accustomed to bloodshed. Each of them wore leather armor, carried a steel sword at their waist, and had a bow and crossbow on their back.

In addition to him, a second-level master martial artist, the high-end combat force also includes two Xuanjia Guards from the Extraordinary Affairs Office, who are dedicated to slaying demons and monsters. They are also martial arts masters.

The remaining forces were those brought by the Crimson Flame Sect and the Thousand Leaf Sect.

Besides Zhang Qingye, a second-level martial arts master, the Chiba Sect also has two elders at the martial arts master level, as well as several elite disciples.

The same was true for the Crimson Flame Sect. Ao Yang, the strongest person in Anyan City, led Li Chengfeng, Song Mu, and a group of skilled fighters trained in the Dark Hall, all of whom were in high spirits and ready to go.

In other words, this time, the force sent out of the city included as many as nine martial arts masters, plus a military formation of a thousand soldiers. Such combat power would be more than enough to attack a city.

This time, the opponent is just a little demon who is still recovering from serious injuries, which is a piece of cake!

As they were thinking, the large group of people arrived at a steep mountain cliff.

Wang Youfang looked up and gazed ahead.

Ahead, perched on a cliff, are two wooden watchtowers. Behind the watchtowers is a hundred-meter-long city wall constructed of wood and stone.

However, the city wall only has one side, with steep mountain walls on both sides that are difficult to climb.

At this moment, the guards on duty at the watchtower seemed to have noticed the unusual activity below the stronghold and began to stir. However, they did not pay much attention to it.

Black Wind Mountain Stronghold is situated in a treacherous location, easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, there is a martial arts master who has opened the meridians to suppress it. Ordinary enemies would not dare to attack the mountain bandits. They are very confident that no one will come.

Moreover, these sentries had not experienced combat for many years and were quite lax.

"Change formation, unleash!"

Wang Youfang rode his horse to the front, and with a command, his adjutant raised a red command flag, and the order was quickly relayed from top to bottom to every soldier.

"put!"

At Wang Youfang's next command, his adjutant waved a command flag.

Tsk tsk tsk! ! !

Countless rockets shot from bottom to top and landed in the mountain village.

"Enemy attack!!!"

At this moment, the bandit on guard in front of the mountain stronghold's city wall finally realized what was happening. With a fierce roar, he frantically pulled the alarm bell and kept banging it.

But it's too late.

A dense swarm of dark arrows rained down from the sky, like fine raindrops, instantly felling countless bandits who had just gotten up and run out of their houses.

Those who died were relatively quick to die; the bandits who didn't escape in time were immediately set ablaze by the burning oil packets attached to their arrows, and were burned alive by the scorching flames while screaming in agony.

However, this was only the first wave of arrows, followed by two more waves.

After more than a decade of management by Blood Butcher, Black Wind Stronghold has become a well-organized village with orderly buildings and neatly planned streets.

At this moment, this once lively and playful village was burned to the ground and turned into a sea of ​​fire.

The flames gradually died down, and the strong smell of burning coals drifted up from the mountain on the wind. Wang Youfang looked up, his brow furrowed.

It seems that Black Wind Mountain Stronghold was easily wiped out in this way?

Although he expected the process to be easy, he didn't expect it to be this simple.

At the very least, Black Wind Stronghold still has Blood Butcher, a martial arts master. Even if he's weak, he couldn't possibly be so easily defeated by these volleys of arrows...

He summoned several martial arts masters and several squads of soldiers, and in a few breaths, they quickly arrived at the mountain stronghold, which had been reduced to ruins.

After passing through the city wall gate, which was still barely recognizable, he, Ao Yang, Zhang Qingye, and the others entered the mountain stronghold.

They couldn't tell where the roads were or where the houses were.

The ground was covered with warm white ash, and charred corpses and burnt weapons were scattered everywhere.

Blackened wooden pillars jutted out of the ashes, pointing towards the sky. The entire mountain village was a scene of utter devastation; not a single living creature remained.

"This infamous Black Wind Mountain stronghold, just like that, gone?" Wang Youfang still felt a sense of unreality.

Although it is said that fame cannot rival officialdom, the imperial court can wipe out bandits who gather in one place as long as it is determined.

But today, he felt that the process had gone too smoothly and too easily.

After all, there was no resistance whatsoever, and even Blood Butcher wasn't in this village, which seemed rather strange.

"Let's go, Lao Wang. Anyway, wiping out the bandit stronghold is just a side effect. I hope things will go just as smoothly from here on out."

Ao Yang patted Wang Youfang on the shoulder and said casually.

Anyway, the main goal today is to wipe out the demons. This Black Wind Stronghold is just a side project. Blood Butcher isn't here; he's probably out robbing and not in the stronghold.

“That makes some sense…” Wang Youfang rarely looked at Ao Yang with such respect. He had initially thought of Ao Yang as just a muscle-bound brute, but unexpectedly, what he said at this moment was quite insightful and made some sense.

After searching the area and confirming that there were no problems, the group quickly led their team back.

While the main force replenished its ammunition and weapons and reorganized its formation, they took advantage of the situation.

Wang Youfang, along with Ao Yang and several others, plus skilled fighters from various factions, selected several elite squads of soldiers, and prepared to set off. Traveling light, they crossed the Black Wind Mountain stronghold and headed deep into the Black Rock Mountain.

In dealing with demons, having more ordinary soldiers wouldn't be of any use; in fact, it would slow things down and alert the demons.

......

......

Behind the mountain stronghold lies the depths of Black Rock Mountain.

The sky was overcast with dark clouds, and the low, dark clouds pressed down overhead like towering, precarious mountains weighing on one's heart.

As the army marched, the steep mountains and cliffs gradually transformed into rolling green hills, as if the weather was warming up and spring buds were sprouting. However, upon closer inspection, they were still barren.

Two Xuanjia Guards, fully covered in black armor, immediately took the lead, holding a round, compass-like object in their hands, constantly correcting their direction.

Although they had already explored the area and confirmed the presence of a demon's lair, they remained cautious and apprehensive.

Even a demon that is still recovering from serious injuries must be dealt with carefully.

Following the location information provided by Wang Youfang, and with the guidance of the two Xuanjia Guards, a hill soon appeared before them.

Reaching the top of the hill and looking down, one sees steep, brownish-gray rock walls on all sides, forming a huge "口" shape like a wall, with a deep, bottomless pit in the center. The pit is filled with black mist, making it impossible to see anything; it's dark and indistinct, as if it leads straight to the depths of the earth.

"It should be here..."

A guard in black armor carefully examined the compass needle in his hand, his voice hoarse.

"Let's do it." Another Xuanjia guard spoke up. Although her voice was through her helmet, it was still clear and crisp, like that of a woman.

She directed the staff from the supernatural affairs department she had brought to set up around the deep pit in an orderly manner.

Meanwhile, Wang Youfang, Ao Yang, Zhang Qingye, and other martial arts instructors were not idle either. Instead, they turned around and gave instructions to the people they had brought.

On the Crimson Flame Sect's side, there are three martial arts masters, Ao Yang, Li Chengfeng, and Song Mu, with twenty disciples, all of whom are members of the Dark Hall. Among them are Song Qing and others who won the small competition and were specially recruited into the Dark Hall.

"All of you, come here!" The hoarse-voiced man warned the crowd without any politeness. "Although this kind of lair is the lowest of the low among demons, it is not something that just any demon can create. We suspect that the demons that have fled from the prefectural city are not ordinary demons. At the very least, they are messengers. Therefore, you must all be on your guard and deal with them carefully."

Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—this was the most basic division among ordinary people in the Great Xuan Dynasty. This applied to humans as well as demons.

Just like in the human world, the demon realm also has several hierarchical divisions based on status and class.

The status of these demons as messengers is similar to that of human festival priests.

Upon hearing this, everyone became alert and fully cooperated with the actions of the Strange Affairs Bureau. Several mirror-like objects were inserted into the soil and rocks after circling the deep pit.

Then, the armored guard, who was suspected to be a woman, took out a mirror from his robes.

The mirror is square on the outside and round on the inside. The outer frame is made of gold and is engraved with many delicate and intricate patterns. The inner surface is a small and exquisite mirror, smooth and lustrous. In the sunlight, a faint silver luster flows across its surface.

She bit her index finger and carefully slid it across the mirror, creating what appeared to be some unknown handwriting, resembling a dragon or a phoenix, delicate and exquisite.

The bloodstains remained on the mirror, and a magical scene unfolded: the bright red blood slowly faded, as if absorbed by the mirror, while the silvery luster quickly became active, giving the impression of overflowing from the mirror.

"Now..." she spoke again, her voice weak. Even though it was covered by a black mask, everyone could almost see the sweat on her forehead.

呲~

The silver light that had been gathering for so long burst forth, a silver pillar like moonlight, and a surge like a tidal wave, making the air tremble.

Simultaneously, the ring of silvery-white mirrors surrounding the crater also began to shimmer. Boom!!!

Almost simultaneously, with lightning speed, before anyone could react, a silver beam of light, like divine punishment, crashed down into the deep pit.

hum~

Two streams of chaotic energy, one black and one white, began to swirl, turning the entire crater into a battlefield where black and white soldiers fought fiercely.

Finally, it seemed that the white side had the upper hand, suppressing the black mist below and gradually devouring and purifying it, with the momentum of parting the clouds and dispersing the mist.

Call ~

Like the black mist's last struggle, or like a rebound after hitting rock bottom, suddenly, an unnamed wind swept through the deep pit. The black wind spread, vast and endless, carrying a fishy smell that made people want to vomit.