Chapter 2033: Problem

"I... I think I smell blood." Sorenshi's face was pale. Although her cultivation level wasn't high enough to clearly see the distant dead city, as a demon, her sense of smell was naturally keen.

"There's a dead city ahead. It looks like it was the scene of a brutal battle; the blood hasn't dried yet," Zu An explained in a low voice.

Sorenshi's voice trembled slightly. "Could it be the Little Demon Queen's troops...?"

Zu An didn't reply. Instead, he accelerated, flying forward.

Soon, they arrived outside the city.

Most of the city was buried in snow, with only a few broken walls and ruins exposed. It appeared to be a city abandoned long ago when the demon race's defense lines contracted.

However, this place had clearly seen a major battle recently. Bloodstains covered the city walls, and much of the snow was stained dark red. A strange stench mixed with the coppery smell of blood permeated the air.

The sight made Sorenshi, despite being accustomed to many hardships, bend over and dry heave.

Zu An walked further inside, and Sorenshi quickly followed him.

They searched around and found scattered weapons and shields, but no human figures or bodies.

"Why isn't there a single corpse?" Sorenshi's voice trembled. Everything before her was too eerie. There were no bodies of demon race soldiers, nor any bodies of fiendish demons. Not even dismembered limbs or other remnants were to be found.

Zu An said gravely, "Those fiendish demons consume bodies, even those of their own kind."

Sorenshi recalled how some of her companions had also been devoured by fiendish demons, and she could no longer hold back, vomiting in a corner.

Zu An's mood was also heavy. The complete lack of remains clearly indicated that the fiendish demons had won this battle; otherwise, it wouldn't be like this. Gazing at the blood-red landscape, Zu An could imagine how brutal the battle had been. The hellish scene around him filled him with an inexplicable rage.

Just then, gasps and heavy footsteps approached. Over a dozen Komodo dragon-like monsters surrounded them, seemingly drawn by Sorenshi's retching. The monsters' skin was largely cracked, as if covered in rotting flesh, with disgusting slime dripping from them.

"Crawlers!" Sorenshi's face turned ashen. She had seen the power of these creatures on the battlefield before. Though ugly, they were incredibly fast and immensely strong, easily tearing through soldiers' armor. What was crucial was that their slime was poisonous; if one accidentally got it on them, their body would quickly corrode into a mass of rotting flesh. Many demon race soldiers had perished at the hands of these monsters.

At that moment, the Crawlers noticed her. As if seeing delicious prey, they grew excited. Their previously cumbersome crawling turned into a swift charge, rushing toward Sorenshi with incredible, unimaginable speed.

Just as Sorenshi was about to retaliate, a sword qi shot out from the side. In a flash, sword shadows filled the air. The next moment, the heads of all dozen or so Crawlers separated from their bodies, leaving them undeniably dead.

Sorenshi gritted her teeth, pulled a heavy hammer from her storage bag, and slammed it repeatedly onto the Crawlers' heads, smashing all of them into bloody pulp.

"What's wrong?" Noticing her unusual behavior, Zu An walked over and asked.

"Even if these Crawlers are decapitated, their tongues can shoot out and injure people, and they can spray poison. Many of us suffered greatly because we didn't know this back then." Sorenshi gritted her teeth, a hint of satisfaction finally appearing on her face.

Zu An knew she had witnessed her subordinates' complete annihilation, accumulating immense pressure, so letting her vent was for the best.

Just then, he suddenly looked toward a certain spot. "Who's there!" With a casual wave, a terrifying suction force smashed a figure hidden behind a wall and pulled them forward.

Sorenshi had thought it was another fiendish demon and rushed over, swinging her heavy hammer. But when she saw the figure clearly, she was startled. This person was clearly not a fiendish demon but rather dressed as a demon race soldier.

"You are...?"

"I'm a survivor from the battlefield; I'm not a fiendish demon, don't kill me!" The person quickly waved their hands in defense. The man opposite them was terrifyingly powerful; without even seeing how he moved, a dozen Crawlers were decapitated. And this person had been pulled over instantly from such a distance.

"Are you one of the Little Golden Roc King's subordinates?" Sorenshi found the person somewhat familiar. Being of noble status and having interactions with the Little Golden Roc King, she naturally recognized those close to him.

"Yes, Princess, I am Wang Gu, a scout captain under the Little Golden Roc King. I saw you just a few days ago," the man replied, overjoyed, and quickly explained.

Zu An asked, "How did you end up here? Are you a survivor from this place?" As he spoke, he subtly observed the other person. They were relatively clean, with no visible combat wounds.

Wang Gu said with a worried expression, "The Little Golden Roc King heard that the Little Demon Queen's army was ambushed by fiendish demons, so he specifically sent me here to check the situation and see if there were any survivors. There are dozens of brothers like me, each taking a different direction. It seems I'm probably the only one who found the right place."

At this point, Sorenshi approached him. "Brother Zu, he is indeed a subordinate of the Little Golden Roc King."

Zu An secretly checked him and, confirming he wasn't possessed by a fiendish demon, released him.

"Was this the Little Demon Queen's central army?"

Wang Gu, the scout captain, replied, "Yes, but according to our intelligence, the Little Demon Queen broke through with her remaining troops and escaped. They weren't completely wiped out."

Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she wasn't dead, there was still hope. "Where is the Little Demon Queen now?"

"Your subordinate doesn't know the specifics, only that they broke through. The exact direction is unclear," Wang Gu replied.

"Where is the Little Golden Roc King now?" Zu An asked. If this scout didn't know, surely someone of the Little Golden Roc King's high position would.

"Roughly five hundred miles to the northeast," Wang Gu indicated a direction.

"Take us there." Zu An considered that five hundred miles wasn't too far, and it would be best to check the situation there first.

"Alright!" Wang Gu nodded eagerly, then gave a shake, and suddenly two wings emerged from his ribs. He flew directly into the air. "Regent, Princess, please follow me."

Zu An secretly nodded. As the best scout, he indeed had some tricks. He casually put his arm around Sorenshi's slender waist and followed.

Noticing Sorenshi showed no resistance, a hint of surprise flashed across Wang Gu's face. He wondered if the Soren family's Princess was going to marry the Regent. Such important news had to be relayed to the Young Prince.

Although Wang Gu's flying speed wasn't slow, it was still far inferior to Zu An's. However, Zu An didn't urge him to go faster; instead, he was organizing his thoughts. From the very beginning, he had felt something was off, and now he finally understood what the problem was.

The initial intelligence stated that the Second Prince, aiming for a permanent solution, had led a large army into the Sealed Land to fully repair the ancient seal. Perhaps because their main base had been invaded, there had been no overflow of fiendish demons from the Sealed Land in recent days, and there were no signs of battle near Ironplain City.

But why were there fiendish demons everywhere inside this Sealed Land? Shouldn't those fiendish demons be busy fighting the Second Prince's army? It was known that the Second Prince's army, assigned to guard the Sealed Land, was quite powerful. With the advantage of terrain, they should have been evenly matched with the fiendish demons here. With his large army pushing in, the outcome shouldn't have been decided so quickly. How could the fiendish demons have had the spare capacity to ambush the various reinforcements brought by the Little Demon Queen?

Could it be that the Second Prince's army had been completely annihilated in a very short time? Or had some powerful entity appeared among the fiendish demons, causing their strength to surge? But why weren't they leaving the Sealed Land?

Suddenly, a thought struck him. Could it be that these creatures were doing this on purpose, laying a trap to lure and destroy reinforcements by intentionally letting the demon race's armies enter?