Chapter 298: Hope

"Human losses are still being investigated," the black-robed figure said. "But it's estimated the losses aren't significant."

Nine Abyss Demon Saint remained silent.

This time, the demon race suffered heavy losses. Their siege encountered fierce resistance! Even many Fifth Heaven Great Demon Monarchs were significantly depleted.

"Investigate first."

Nine Abyss Demon Saint finally spoke, "Thoroughly investigate through all channels to understand the human race's losses this time. Also, ascertain the human race's true strength now. Investigate everything clearly, then report it to the Demon Emperors, and let them decide."

The black-robed figure also nodded.

The situation this time was worse than they had anticipated. They never imagined that a large group of ancient Regis Godfiends would emerge. Longevity is limited by the rules of heaven and earth; even the demon race cannot make ancient beings live far beyond their lifespan limits, yet the human race had managed it.

In the evening.

Meng Chuan flew high in the sky, watching countless people entering and exiting Dongning City's four gates. Under the glow of the setting sun, the myriad individuals appeared as tiny as ants.

"Whoosh." A figure streaked through the air. It was Venerable Qin Wu.

"Master," Meng Chuan greeted respectfully.

"Every great city is the hope of countless mortals living in the surrounding wilderness," Venerable Qin Wu said, looking down. "Look, people living in the wild can transport grain to the city to sell at high prices. They can buy clothes, weapons, and cultivation manuals within the city... and they can also send their talented children to the city's academies for cultivation."

Meng Chuan looked down. Entering the city was indeed a joyous occasion for many wild mortals.

"With great cities, life has hope. Without them, they would be utterly lost, forever plunged into darkness," Venerable Qin Wu stated. "Moreover, with so many great cities as strongholds, we can deploy the ground network to survey the entire world. Whether it's for the people's hope or for controlling the world, these great cities must remain. Otherwise, with the demon race wantonly slaughtering, we would find it difficult to even investigate."

"I've heard that the demon scourge is quite severe on Two World Island," Meng Chuan said. "Outside the city, one often encounters demons causing trouble."

"There, humans and demons almost coexist," Venerable Qin Wu sighed. "Unfortunately, Yuanchu Mountain and Black Sand Grotto-Heaven are struggling even to protect our original territories, let alone help Two World Island."

Meng Chuan nodded.

Living in this era, he indeed felt helpless.

In his youth, the world maintained a semblance of peace, with fortified passes guarded everywhere. In the past few decades, however, they first abandoned the passes, then the strongholds, prefectures, and counties... Most people now lived like primitives, with only a minority residing in the great cities.

"The changes have been too rapid in recent years," Meng Chuan murmured.

"Yes, very rapid changes," Venerable Qin Wu said. "The demon race even intended to use this battle to completely conquer our human world. However, how could the human race, which has stood strong until today, be so easily defeated? The demon race's losses this time were severe enough that they will likely need more thorough preparations before launching their next offensive."

"What was the outcome of this battle?" Meng Chuan's eyes lit up.

Venerable Qin Wu smiled, looking at Meng Chuan, "I'm here to tally the results. How many demon kings did you slay?"

"I encountered a demon king squad in Chu'an City, killed five, and one escaped," Meng Chuan said. "At Silver Lake Pass, I encountered another demon king squad and killed six. Then, in Dongning City, I encountered a Fifth Heaven Great Demon Monarch. In total, I eliminated eleven Fourth Heaven Demon Kings and one Fifth Heaven Great Demon Monarch. As for regular demon kings? They can be ignored."

"A Fifth Heaven Great Demon Monarch?" Venerable Qin Wu's eyes lit up.

"I captured it alive." Meng Chuan waved his hand, and an ice sculpture of a head appeared beside them. The Azure-scaled Demon King's head was frozen inside, its eyes now open, looking at Meng Chuan and Venerable Qin Wu.

"Master, I'll leave it to you to handle," Meng Chuan said.

"Excellent." Venerable Qin Wu waved his hand and put it away, then sighed with a mix of emotions, "The most troublesome thing this time was the appearance of a group of Fifth Heaven Great Demon Monarchs. They are all very cunning. They first send demon king squads to attack the city; if they find it's guarded by a Regis Godfiend, they retreat. But if Marquis Godfiends are defending the city, they launch a surprise attack. Almost all the Marquis Godfiends who died in this battle were killed by Fifth Heaven Great Demon Monarchs."

"There are only three super-large fortified passes in the world; Fifth Heaven Demon Kings can't enter them, can they?" Meng Chuan asked. "They must have entered at the Fourth Heaven level and then broken through?"

"Mm."

Venerable Qin Wu nodded, "They should be newly promoted Fifth Heaven Great Demon Monarchs, but each has received gifts from the Demon Emperors and carries powerful treasures. From the intelligence, it seems they can almost all unleash peak Regis Godfiend strength. Of course, relying on external objects... they have some flaws compared to true peak Regis Godfiends."

Meng Chuan nodded.

For example, the Azure-scaled Demon King's physical cultivation time was shorter. If it were a true peak Fifth Heaven Great Demon Monarch, its physical body would naturally be much stronger, making it several times harder for him to kill.

Meng Chuan was also considered to possess peak Regis Godfiend combat power, but he was strong in many aspects: an undying body, unparalleled speed, divine abilities, fiend-qi... His Master's gift of a Creation realm alien corpse allowed his Demon Slaying Blade to transform, making Meng Chuan very well-rounded. If not for the transformation of the Demon Slaying Blade, Meng Chuan truly couldn't have cleaved open the Azure-scaled Demon King's body.

"Starting today, you will continue hunting demons underground," Venerable Qin Wu instructed. "Normally, you can also reside in Jiangzhou City."

"Understood." Meng Chuan revealed a joyful expression.

He could be with his daughter now.

"What about Qiyue?" Meng Chuan asked.

"Other Marquis Godfiends still need to be deployed, and we also need to make corresponding arrangements based on the demon race's actions," Venerable Qin Wu said. "You are responsible for rescue operations, so you have more freedom."

Meng Chuan nodded, realizing he couldn't reunite with his wife for now.

Time passed.

The atmosphere across the world remained tense, yet Meng Chuan returned to his previous routine, investigating underground for six hours each day and returning home in the evening.

Meng Chuan had prepared a set of tokens for his family members to sense each other's locations, and he knew which city his wife was in. However, according to Yuanchu Mountain's rules, he couldn't go disturb her, so the couple could only communicate through letters.

"A'Chuan, I just received news today that my Master, 'Marquis Tianxing,' is also among the Marquis Godfiends who died in battle. After hearing this, I felt dazed, my mind filled with memories of Master teaching me archery on the mountain. Even now, as I pick up my pen to write, the grief is unbearable..." Liu Qiyue's words silenced Meng Chuan.

He knew more than his wife did.

Yesterday, when he delivered many demon corpses to Yuanchu Mountain, he learned a lot of news from the Yuanchu Mountain Lord, discovering that a total of twelve Marquis Godfiends had died in this battle. Yuanchu Mountain had not suffered such heavy losses in many years.

"Qiyue,"

Meng Chuan also wrote back, "I've also received news. Twelve Marquis Godfiends from Yuanchu Mountain died in this battle, eleven of whom were killed by Fifth Heaven Great Demon Monarchs, and Marquis Tianxing was among them. However, the demon race suffered even greater losses..."

He stopped after writing two pages. Finishing the letter, Meng Chuan looked at the bright moon outside the window, feeling a sense of uncertainty.

He and his wife were temporarily separated, each performing their duties, and numerous Marquis Godfiends had fallen. When would this war end? He couldn't see the end at all.

"Little Gray, deliver this letter to Yuanchu Mountain." Meng Chuan tossed the letter out the window.

A gray bird descended and transformed into a woman. She respectfully took the letter, then soared into the sky, heading directly for Yuanchu Mountain under the cover of night.