Chapter 2031: Total Annihilation

Zu'an's heart stirred. He realized that a fight in such a place likely meant allies from the demon race were nearby.

He flashed, quickly reaching the scene.

A woman and several men were under siege by a large group of demons. The men had formed a protective circle around her, clearly guarding her.

The woman wasn't idle either; she was rapidly casting various spells to attack the surrounding demons.

Despite their efforts, their comrades continuously fell. As soon as someone collapsed, they would be dragged away by the surrounding demons and devoured in an instant.

A comrade attempted a rescue but was immediately pounced upon by other waiting demons. A horrific shriek was heard, and he was quickly torn to pieces.

The remaining comrades' eyes turned red witnessing this scene. Unfortunately, they could do nothing but watch helplessly as their defensive perimeter shrank.

It was clear that in a moment, the overwhelming number of surrounding demons would engulf everyone, and they would follow their comrades' fate.

Just as the group despaired, a sword light suddenly streaked through the air. A large group of demons immediately screamed and fell.

The group looked back and, seeing Zu'an flying towards them, gasped in recognition:

"It's the Regent King!"

"Princess, we're saved!"

These people were precisely Princess Soren of the Demon Race and her personal guards.

Just then, a heavily wounded young personal guard, realizing Zu'an was still some distance away, smiled serenely. He then formed a complex hand seal and chanted a series of profound characters.

At this point, Princess Soren, who was nearby, finally noticed his unusual behavior and urgently cried out, "Ah Kuan, no!"

But the guard had already completed his incantation. A brilliant purple light suddenly flared around him, sending out streaks of purple energy that pierced through all the approaching demons.

But his entire being was also drained of its last vitality, and he slumped to the ground.

By this time, Zu'an had arrived and repelled the remaining surrounding demons one by one. Everyone slumped to the ground, utterly exhausted and unable to muster any strength.

Princess Soren rushed to the young personal guard's side: "Ah Kuan, why were you so foolish?"

The young personal guard's pale face showed a faint smile: "Princess, my injuries are too severe. I can't survive. It's better to burn my last bit of life to protect you for a little longer."

Princess Soren instantly burst into tears, "Ah Kuan, do you have any unfulfilled wishes? I will surely help you fulfill them."

Since they fell into this perilous situation, Ah Kuan had fought the most valiantly, and his injuries were sustained while saving her.

The young personal guard shook his head slightly: "I'm an orphan; I have no one to worry about. If there's really any wish..."

He paused, looking at Princess Soren's beautiful face. Even in his extreme weakness, his hesitation was palpable: "Could I hug... Princess?"

Before he could finish, Soren had already embraced him, sobbing softly.

The surrounding guards watched this scene with no hint of jealousy, but rather with profound sadness in their eyes.

Ah Kuan had grown up with the Princess since childhood; in a way, they could even be considered childhood sweethearts.

Although he deliberately hid it, believing he was good at concealing it, who among them didn't see his admiration for Princess Soren?

Who wouldn't be fond of the beautiful and noble Princess?

Unfortunately, their statuses were vastly different. As a guard, he understood his duty and fate, and could only keep his love hidden deep within his heart.

It was only in his last moments that he finally let go of all reservations and opened his heart.

Feeling the Princess's fragrant body holding him and her crying for him, a faint smile finally appeared on the face of the young man named Ah Kuan.

He raised his hand, wanting to wipe away the tears from the Princess's face, but unfortunately, he ran out of strength halfway through and his hand softly fell, his breathing ceasing entirely.

"Ah Kuan!"

The few people around them couldn't help but wipe away their tears.

Witnessing this scene, Zu'an sighed. In the war against the outer-world demons, he wondered how many more partings of life and death he would witness.

At this point, the demons, who had just been wary of Zu'an's sword aura, became restive. Their hungry instincts drew them closer again.

Looking at the drooling, foul-smelling demons, Zu'an reflected that while his own world also had demon and fiend races, they generally resembled humans. Unless they deliberately displayed their racial characteristics, they could blend into human society without any difficulty.

These demons from beyond, despite having names similar to local 'yao' and 'mo', looked vastly different to the naked eye. Each was grotesquely shaped; even the ferocious beasts of this world seemed refined in comparison.

Of course, these demons before him were likely the lowest tier. The demons previously encountered in Purple Mountain and Qiu Chi possessed high intelligence, whereas these seemed more like creatures acting purely on instinct.

For example, they had just been startled by Zu'an's sword aura, but after a moment, unable to resist their primal hunger, they began to converge on the center again.

The people in the center could not only clearly see the demons' menacing teeth but also smell the foul odor emanating from their mouths.

The expressions of the Demon Race members changed. They had witnessed the horror of these demons; individually, they might not be strong, but their numbers were overwhelming. For every one they killed, ten more immediately appeared.

"Unending, truly unending!"

Conversely, their comrades were being devoured one by one by these demons. Watching this happen repeatedly was simply too horrifying.

"Big Brother Zu, let's break through quickly, or these demons will cling to us forever," Princess Soren said, forcing back her grief. She couldn't let her personal guards die in vain.

"Break through?" Zu'an shook his head. "No need."

He was here to rescue people, not to escape.

He stood with his hands behind his back in the middle of the field. Suddenly, golden ripples appeared in the sky, and golden weapons slowly extended from within them. Then, the sky seemed to rain gold, and countless demons were instantly pinned down.

Countless golden sword qi streaked in all directions at imperceptible speeds, leaving only trails of golden light.

The Demon Race members watched in stunned silence. Princess Soren's mouth was slightly agape as she murmured in awe, "So beautiful..."

In what felt like mere blinks of an eye, the ferocious demons around them were almost entirely annihilated. Only a few at the outermost periphery, sensing danger, fled in terror.

The subordinates beside Princess Soren stared with wide-open mouths, gazing at Zu'an with admiration. "The Regent King is truly a divine being!"

Zu'an noticed that many had deep, bone-visible injuries. He took out some healing medicine and handed it to them. "How did you end up here? Where are the Little Demon Queen and the others?"

The people thanked him profusely, and Princess Soren then replied, "We entered the Sealed Land with the Little Demon Queen. Because this place is so vast and covered in white, to search for the Second Prince and his forces, each of our races took our troops and searched in different directions. When we passed through a snow valley, we fell into a demon ambush, and our entire army was wiped out. It's all my fault..."

She started crying mournfully. The surrounding guards quickly comforted her, saying it wasn't the Princess's fault; no one could have predicted they would encounter the demons' main force.

"Main force?" Zu'an shook his head slightly. "These are probably not the demons' main force."

"So many powerful demons, and they're not the main force?" The Demon Race members were astonished.

Zu'an said gravely, "Demons have incredibly terrifying reproductive capabilities. This number is merely a drop in the ocean; it couldn't possibly be their main force."

He had dealt with demons several times and knew their capabilities. Although there were many of these demons, they didn't exert enough pressure on him; they certainly weren't the main force.

Hearing this, the Demon Race members felt a pang of despair. They had initially thought they'd encountered the enemy's main force, making their annihilation understandable. But to think they had only met a minor detachment meant that the other groups were likely in even greater peril.

"Who proposed the strategy of dividing forces?" Zu'an asked gravely. In an unknown place, splitting into multiple groups seemed unwise no matter how one looked at it.

"It was the Young Golden Peng King," Princess Soren replied. "He believed this place was too vast and that searching in various directions would accelerate our progress. Furthermore, the expedition consisted of troops from different factions, who often had conflicts among themselves. Forcing them to stay together might lead to further incidents. The Little Demon Queen and we all found his suggestion reasonable."

Zu'an snorted. "If you want to speed up the search, you just need to send out more scouts in all directions, not genuinely divide the army. As one of the Four Great Generals of the Demon Race, he couldn't possibly be unaware of this."

Princess Soren's voice trembled. "Are you saying the Young Golden Peng King is suspicious? But why would he do that?"

Zu'an shook his head slightly. "With too little information, it's hard for me to judge. I hope I'm just overthinking it."

He pointed behind him. "If you travel a few hundred more miles in this direction, you'll reach the exit of the sealed land. Once the sun and moon change outside, you can safely leave. I still need to continue searching for the others."

At this, Princess Soren's face showed determination. "I'm coming with you."

The other Demon Race guards rose one by one:

"We wish to go with you!"

"The Demon Race has no deserters!"

"For the glory of the Soren family!"