Chapter 235: Difficult Survival

Within the remote Changqu County, located in Pingguan Prefecture of Qianzhou, during the Great Zhou Dynasty, Meng Chuan and his wife were walking through the streets.

"In just one year, a county town can become this dilapidated," Liu Qiyue murmured. A glance revealed numerous areas reduced to ruins, remnants of demon king attacks. The survivors hadn't bothered to rebuild; merely enduring was considered a blessing now.

"A year ago, Changqu County had over ninety thousand inhabitants; now, there are only about twenty thousand," Meng Chuan explained. "Some were slaughtered by demon kings, but more chose to leave the county and scatter across the wilderness. This is the most remote part of our rescue area. Often, by the time we arrive, the demon kings have already retreated. We simply cannot fully protect this place."

Liu Qiyue nodded.

Their main task as a couple was to protect a five-prefecture region centered around Gushan and Dongning Prefectures. Beyond that, their efficiency would drastically decrease. Because demon attacks often occurred simultaneously in multiple locations, Meng Chuan and his wife naturally prioritized rescuing nearby areas and those they cared about most. More distant places fell lower on the list, especially as some counties became increasingly devastated. Prosperous counties were naturally saved first, while the ruined ones were pushed further down the priority list. Being unable to be in multiple places at once, they had no other choice.

Nevertheless, as this was still within their designated rescue area, Meng Chuan and his wife felt a profound sense of guilt seeing the county so broken and desolate.

"`Buns! Steaming hot meat buns for sale!` a hawker's cry drifted over."

Meng Chuan looked over. Amidst the shattered ruins, a few buildings remained barely intact, one of which was a bun shop. However, there were few businesses operating in the county now, and the atmosphere was too bleak for many customers.

"`Mom, I want a meat bun,` a child emerged from a pile of rubble, gazing longingly at the bun shop."

"`It's good enough to have a full stomach; you still want a meat bun? Let's go,` a woman said, emerging from the ruins as well. Their family of five lived in a self-dug tunnel hidden deep within the rubble."

"`Mom,` the child's eyes reddened. `I haven't eaten meat in over half a year. I really want some.`"

"`Then stay here,` the woman replied, walking away with her basket, leaving the child no choice but to follow."

Meng Chuan and his wife observed this scene from a distance.

"`Let's go,` Meng Chuan said. As powerful Godfiends, what more could they do?"

The couple quietly departed.

On their journey back to Gushan Prefecture, the two walked almost skimming the ground. Meng Chuan's third eye, the Thunder God Eye, had opened between his brows, vastly expanding his Thunder Magnetic Field. Crucially, this field could penetrate half a *li* underground! While demon races usually hid very deep beneath the earth, it was rare for them to be within half a *li*. However, they occasionally encountered them, or stumbled upon demons attempting to escape underground. Such encounters were always unexpected boons. Over the past year, they had managed to kill more than a hundred demon kings through such chance encounters using this method.

"`Hmm?` Meng Chuan's brow suddenly furrowed."

"`What's wrong?` Liu Qiyue asked, puzzled."