Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1648: Chapter 520: Mercy, Infuriation, and Confidence—Who’s Gone Mad?

Although Xia Hong had been in the Ice Abyss for more than fifteen years, and had come into contact with all sorts of Deceitful Monsters, when he carefully counted, apart from Divine Deceit, he had already seen all four types: Craftsman, Nightmare, Fierce, and Demon.

Yet his overall understanding of Deceitful Monsters was still limited.

Where exactly these beings came from, why killing people could make them stronger, what their ultimate purpose was… such questions remained.

First, it could be confirmed that Deceitful Monsters were able to separate from humans and move freely as independent entities—there were plenty of examples to prove this.

But at the same time, they could parasitize the human body in a living form. Earlier, He Yuanhun and the Mirror Immortal were such cases. Only such fusion carried extremely high risk and could be reversed at any moment, with the Deceitful Monster turning on its host.

The more reliable approach was to kill the Deceitful Monster first, then obtain the item it left behind—or rather, its true body—and after fusing with it, one could gain its methods and abilities.

A Deceitful Monster begging for mercy was not something Xia Hong had never seen before. For example, back when he annexed Longyou, there was that White Dew Monster of the Yanglu Realm.

He had not spared that White Dew Monster at the time because he only had Cold Resistance Level Cultivation then, his strength merely a few dozen manes. To keep around a Deceitful Monster that could casually utter an obscure and imposing title like Qishan Demon Lord, he neither had the confidence nor the backing to control it.

But things were different now.

“Spare me, spare me, I know how to reach the Dark Realm…”

From the moment the Xia Army began the siege until now, only a little more than one hour had passed, so it was still daylight.

The daytime chill couldn’t invade the area around the Lord’s Hall at all, simply because this place had already transformed into a sea of fire. The vast green smoke was burned into rolling black fumes by the great flames of the Yangxu Tripod; the fire clung to the body of that Six-armed Green-faced Evil Demon like maggots gnawing on bones, seeping from its Skin Membrane into its flesh and then into its marrow. Just looking at it, one could almost feel the pain.

“Ah, spare me, my lord, spare me…”

Within the sea of fire, the Six-armed Green-faced Evil Demon kept wailing and begging for mercy. It fell to its knees before Xia Hong, even imitating humans by kowtowing on the ground.

Xia Hong’s gaze wavered for a long time; in the end he drew in a slight breath, gently waved the Dragon Sparrow Saber in his hand, and shrank the burning range of the Yangxu Tripod.

Sizzle…

As the might of the Yangxu Tripod weakened, the firelight suddenly stalled. The sea of fire that had originally stretched across several li began to rapidly contract; in less than a dozen breaths, it completely shrank to just around the body of the Six-armed Green-faced Evil Demon.

As the sea of fire shrank, the billowing black smoke that had filled the surroundings began to gradually dissipate. After several dozen breaths, the black smoke was replaced by the chill surging in from all directions, and the form of the Six-armed Green-faced Evil Demon was fully revealed.

“Lord…”

With the black smoke gone, the front ranks of the Xia Army from three directions—Xia Chuan, Xu Ning, and the other eleven of Xianyang Level—immediately rose and flew over.

Without the command of a Xianyang Level, and with the commotion at the Lord’s Hall, the Beisuo Garrison had long since lost the will to resist. The three columns of the Xia Army had already all broken into the city and were spreading out, steadily exterminating enemy soldiers inside who still tried to put up stubborn resistance.

“Is this the Deceitful Object that was inside Yang Zhun’s body?”

Xia Chuan and the other ten stared at the kneeling Six-armed Green-faced Evil Demon, their pupils filled with shock. Even though the demon’s figure was wretched at this moment, with not an inch of unburned flesh left on its body, the powerful aura emanating from within it still left them deeply shaken.

Such a powerful Deceitful Monster had been beaten by Xia Hong until it fell to its knees and begged for mercy.

“Just how strong has Big Brother become?”

“Is the Lord still only at Xianyang Level cultivation?”

………

The thoughts in Xia Chuan and the others’ hearts were naturally unknown to Xia Hong. He simply lowered his head, staring at the Six-armed Green-faced Evil Demon on the ground, and spoke in a deep voice: “Get out from Yang Zhun’s body. Don’t play tricks.”

“This lowly one understands, this lowly one will come out right away…”

Seeing the flames still clinging to its body, the Green-faced Evil Demon knew that its life was still firmly in Xia Hong’s grasp, so it didn’t dare harbor any schemes. Its body shuddered violently, then began rapidly shrinking.

In less than three or four breaths, it had become the size of a normal person, and that twisted demonic face reverted to Yang Zhun’s appearance.

Hiss…

The Lord’s Hall had long since become a ruin. As Yang Zhun’s form returned, all the green light on his surface instantly converged at his brow. Moments later, the green light detached from his body and flew out, heading directly toward Xia Hong.

Only, halfway there, a sudden mutation occurred!

A streak of scarlet brilliance abruptly shot in from the north, flying straight toward the green light with uncanny precision, its speed terrifying.

The instant the strong light appeared, Xia Hong snapped his head up to look, yet he made no move at all. He simply watched the radiance approach; even when the newcomer snatched away the green light, he did not act from beginning to end.

“Xia… Lord, this Six-armed Evil Demon does not belong to you…”

After intercepting the green light, that person did not pause, but rapidly descended onto the ruins of the hall. He grabbed the unconscious Yang Zhun with one hand, and before his body had even come to a full stop, a voice rang out—one Xia Hong knew all too well.

When the scarlet light scattered, a tall, clean-shaven middle-aged man appeared, his face pale, a black Longsword at his waist, clad in a white brocade robe.

“Yanling County Governor, Chu Tian…”

Seeing who it was, Xia Chuan immediately moved to Xia Hong’s back and spoke in reminder. Yet before he could finish, Xia Hong raised a hand to cut him off. Thinking of how Xia Hong had just come back from the Moao River, and of how he still had not shown his true face, Xia Chuan vaguely guessed a few things, and promptly closed his mouth.