Chapter 297: Death and Injury

"A fifth-level demon monarch is very hard to kill," Meng Chuan said.

"Yes, once they reach the fifth level, these great demon monarchs have extremely strong vitality," Marquis Xihai nodded.

"I've already captured it alive. After the battle, I'll hand it over to Yuanchu Mountain," Meng Chuan stated.

"Captured alive?" Marquis Xihai was surprised.

Based on his common knowledge, even if a fifth-level great demon monarch's body was in many pieces, it could still counterattack at any moment. He had only dared to approach after the demon power had dissipated, fearing a sneak attack that would hinder Meng Chuan.

"Hmm, oh, and this is Senior Brother Yu's body." With a wave of Meng Chuan's hand, the body of Marquis Ziyu appeared on the ground nearby, lying there. The white-haired old man, Marquis Ziyu, had a bloody hole in his chest, his heart having been gouged out.

"Senior Brother Yu." Marquis Xihai looked at the body, a mournful expression on his face.

"Marquis Xihai, I'll leave things here to you. I still need to check other places." Meng Chuan glanced at Marquis Ziyu's body, feeling a touch of sadness, but he had witnessed too much over the years.

"Understood." Marquis Xihai nodded, knowing that Meng Chuan was likely in charge of rescue operations.

Meng Chuan immediately transformed into a streak of light and flew away.

Although the other cities and medium-world entrances he was responsible for had not requested further assistance, Meng Chuan still needed to check on them.

Venerable Qin Wu, like a sword streaking across the sky, arrived outside a large city. He was still nearly a hundred miles away from the distant battlefield where godfiends and demon monarchs were fighting.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

On the battlefield nearly a hundred miles away, sword qi naturally condensed in the void. These condensed sword qi, through close-range strangulation, swiftly slaughtered all six fourth-level demon monarchs.

Venerable Qin Wu cultivated the 'Thirteen Sword Fiend Demon Body'. At his level, the area within a hundred miles of him was his domain. A single thought could condense sword qi to slay enemies. After all, fourth-level demon monarchs were truly weak to Venerable Qin Wu, not even requiring him to unleash his Sword Fiend.

"Killing demon monarchs is easy, but traveling still takes time." Venerable Qin Wu stood mid-air, glancing at the token in his hand. "All cities within two thousand miles have withdrawn their requests for aid; the battles should all be over."

"Our human race suffered heavy losses in this battle, but I wonder... what are the demon race's losses?" Venerable Qin Wu mused silently.

He took a step.

He flew to a large mountain over a hundred miles away and silently sat cross-legged on its peak. The war wasn't over, and the demon race might counterattack. He naturally had to be ready for rescue at any time.

Time flowed on.

Night fell, and yet peace began to return across the land. By the time dawn broke the next day.

"Whoosh." An ethereal male figure appeared beside Venerable Qin Wu.

"Master," the ethereal figure said respectfully. "Your disciple has returned to Demon Saint Jiuyuan's small grotto-heaven. Almost all the demon monarch teams have returned now."

"All back in the grotto-heaven?" Venerable Qin Wu frowned slightly. "It seems they've temporarily halted their offensive? What about the demon race's losses?"

The ethereal figure exclaimed, "The losses are enormous! Many demon monarchs say that when they attacked cities, they were ambushed by King-level godfiends! They claim our human King-level godfiends are very treacherous, using the 'Boundless Domain' to approach... Under close-range ambushes, the demon monarch teams suffered terribly. It's considered good if two or three demon monarchs from a team managed to escape; some entire teams didn't return at all."

"Hmm." Venerable Qin Wu nodded slightly. "Have you learned anything about the approximate losses of the demon race?"

"Not entirely clear," the ethereal figure hesitated. "I'd estimate losses to be around half, but that's just my guess."

"Good. Continue to monitor them and inform me immediately of any developments," Venerable Qin Wu instructed.

"It feels like the demon race has lost their morale. I fear there won't be a second wave of attacks for a while," the ethereal figure said.

Venerable Qin Wu showed a slight smile: "Let's hope so!"

Inside Demon Saint Jiuyuan's grotto-heaven.

Many fourth-level demon monarchs gathered, eating, drinking, and chatting.

"We just went to intercept human godfiends, and out popped True Martial King!" The White-Browed Wolf Demon Monarch, holding a wine cup, couldn't help but say with lingering fear, "True Martial King... he's almost one of the top King-level godfiends among humans. It's said he can even contend with a Demon Saint. The six of us were practically scared witless. We immediately scattered, burrowed into the ground, and fled for our lives. Only I and Red Fox, with our primordial spirits reaching the third level, could remain clear-headed enough to escape quickly and barely survive."

"To encounter True Martial King and still have two of you survive is quite good," another demon monarch commented.

The Red Fox Demon Monarch next to him said, "True Martial King was eager to save the godfiend. If he had concealed his aura and approached cautiously, it would have taken more time, and we might have been able to slay 'Marquis Qingmu'. But he appeared from a distance... scaring us off. We fled immediately, which naturally allowed Marquis Qingmu to survive."

"We were also pretty miserable," a Pig Demon said while eating meat. "We attacked a city but ran into a Peacock Beast. When that Peacock Beast spread its tail... beams of golden light shot out. Each beam was a King-level attack. With hundreds of golden beams striking, we were practically terrified out of our wits. Only by relying on our strong physical vitality did two of us manage to escape."

"A Peacock Beast? What kind of Peacock Beast?"

"Is it also a demon?" The other demon monarchs wondered.

"No," the Pig Demon shook its head. "Not a demon, not a human. It felt more like a lifeless, special weapon."

"Our team also encountered a strange beast. That beast could definitely rival a peak fifth-level great demon monarch. When it opened its mouth, the world went completely dark, devoid of all light. We were so terrified that we desperately burrowed into the ground and fled. In the end, only I survived."

These demon monarchs recounted their individual experiences.

Recalling the scenes they had been through, they still felt lingering fear.

"Jiuyuan," the black-robed figure said, flipping through scrolls in the great hall. "From the intelligence provided by these returning demon monarchs, it seems that most of the human cities... are guarded by King-level combatants."

Demon Saint Jiuyuan listened in silence.

"Only a very few are guarded by Marquises working together. Typically, they select extremely powerful Marquis godfiends, and two of them together are enough to resist our team of six demon monarchs," the black-robed figure continued. "Moreover, after some time of fighting, strong reinforcements would arrive. Those confirmed to be responsible for rescue by Yuanchu Mountain are Venerable Qin Wu, Venerable Li Guan, True Martial King, King Mingyu, and Marquis Dongning. And those responsible for rescue from the Black Sand Grotto-Heaven include Venerable Bai Yaoyue, Venerable Meng Tiange, King Tongming, and King Ronghuo."

"King Mingyu? King Ronghuo?" Demon Saint Jiuyuan spoke. "Weren't they both King-level godfiends from five or six hundred years ago? If they're alive today, they should be nearly a thousand years old."

"Yes," the black-robed figure replied. "Many of the King-level combatants appearing across various locations this time are King-level godfiends from centuries ago. There are also some exotic treasures and weapons. Our losses on all fronts have been significant."

"I know," Demon Saint Jiuyuan said. "I can sense the severity of our losses through the tokens. What we need to know now is... what are the human race's losses? If their losses are also terrible, then it will have been worth it."