High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 267: Chapter 165: The Demon Race’s Killing Trap

The few demon soldiers who were slightly more composed tumbled over each other to speak, their voices warped with fear.

”That man... in purple... he charged out all by himself! The Red Scale Commander and the other three rushed him, but in the blink of an eye, they were all...”

”Heads went flying! Bodies exploded! Then our generals, it was like they were cursed, struck down one after another... all in their vitals! It was... it was too fast! Just too fast!”

”That’s right! We... we didn’t even have time to run!”

”He’s not human... He’s terrifying!”

The dozen or so demon soldiers all spoke at once, and though their accounts were chaotic, their descriptions were astonishingly consistent.

A Late-stage Bright Moon Realm expert from the Human Race, clad in purple, had moved with unimaginable speed, effortlessly annihilating all the Bright Moon Realm demon generals who dared to challenge him.

The anger on the Evil-eyed Demon King’s face gradually faded, replaced by an inexplicable... excitement.

Its goatee even twitched upward slightly.

’Just one? Lightning-fast? Late-stage Bright Moon Realm? Yet he can instantly kill multiple opponents of the same level?’

The Evil-eyed Demon King repeated these keywords, its ghostly green eyes growing ever brighter. It suddenly broke into a low, grating laugh, like the shriek of a night owl.

”Hehehe... HAHAHAHAHA... Excellent! Excellent! Truly excellent!”

It had actually declared it ”excellent” three times, its gaunt body trembling with excitement as if it had just heard the most wonderful news.

”You!” It cut off its laughter and commanded the dozen or so demon soldiers sprawled on the floor.

”Draw me a picture of this human! Now! Immediately! Every single one of you. And make it accurate!”

Though still terrified, how could they dare disobey an order from a Marquis Level Demon King?

They scrambled to their feet, picking up bone fragments or channeling their Demon Power to sketch on the floor, the walls, and even on each other’s backs.

Soon, seven or eight portraits were presented to the Evil-eyed Demon King. Though varying in style, they all shared highly consistent core features: a young man with a cold demeanor, profound eyes, and a purple uniform.

The Evil-eyed Demon King stepped closer, its ghostly green gaze roving over each portrait like the most precise of scanners, meticulously comparing them.

It paid special attention to the parts that depicted the details of his eyes and temperament.

After a moment, it nodded in satisfaction.

”Mm, very good. It is him.” The Evil-eyed Demon King’s voice returned to its former cold calm, now tinged with a bizarre warmth.

Seeing that their master’s mood seemed to have improved, the dozen or so still-shaken demon soldiers couldn’t help but breathe a secret sigh of relief, thinking they had cheated death and were in the clear.

However—

”In that case, you all...” The Evil-eyed Demon King’s voice was flat and emotionless. ”Can rest easy now. Knowing too much always invites disaster.”

The looks of relief on the faces of the seven or eight demon soldiers instantly froze. An overwhelming, icy sense of doom washed over their bodies and souls.

”My King, spare us!!!”

Their shrill pleas were cut off mid-cry—

VMMMM!

A darkness as deep as ink suddenly descended, as if all the light in the Bone Hall had been devoured in an instant.

This was no simple absence of light, but a bizarre domain filled with the suffocating corrosion of Demon Power, a soul-freezing cold, and spatial distortion.

The darkness lasted for less than a single breath.

When the black mist receded like the tide, all that remained were a dozen or so pools of viscous, twisted black sludge, faintly emitting wisps of green smoke.

Not even a single shard of bone remained.

The Evil-eyed Demon King didn’t even raise an eyelid, as if it had merely brushed away a few unsightly ants.

In the vast, cold hall, only its gaunt silhouette remained, along with the horrific, still-warm stains at its feet.

The Evil-eyed Demon King sat down cross-legged again, but its ghostly green gaze looked past the swirling Star Gate, as if piercing through the endless void barrier to fall upon the distant ruins of Nanzha County.

The corners of its mouth, which resembled dry tree bark, seemed to pull upward into a silent smile, one filled with the cruel anticipation of someone who had just discovered a priceless treasure.

’Heh... so this must be that Human Race prodigy with the perfected Ninth Layer of the Nine Heavens Divine Body. Such a young monster... I’ve searched far and wide...’

It whispered in the cold, empty hall, in a voice only it could hear.

Deep within its ghostly green eyes, a glint of greed so intense it seemed tangible flashed.

Behind it, the inky-black domain rippled slightly, like an abyss opening its soundless maw.

...

Outside Nanzha County, flames licked at the broken walls and ruins. The acrid smell of smoke and char, mingled with the stench of blood, drifted on the cold night wind.

The smoke of battle had yet to clear, and the air still thrummed with the aftershocks of a fierce clash of energies.

After killing the last fleeing demon soldier, Li Wen did not leave immediately.

His solemn gaze swept across the devastated battlefield, quickly settling on several collapsed Human Race Guardians.

He knelt to check on them and found that two of the Late-stage Bright Moon Realm Guardians were still faintly breathing, their chests rising and falling with extreme difficulty.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Li Wen took out one of the highest-grade Healing Elixirs he carried, pried open their jaws, and carefully administered it.

The elixir dissolved instantly, transforming into a stream of pure, gentle life energy that protected their fading heart meridians.

Only after doing all this did he stand up and finally take in the true extent of the devastation Nanzha County had suffered.

According to information he temporarily accessed from the garrison’s internal network, the defensive force stationed here consisted of six Bright Moon Realm Guardians—a peak-stage captain and five late-stage members—along with twenty Flying Star Level Guardians.

Now, the captain and the other three late-stage members had been killed in action, leaving only these two, who were clinging to life thanks to his elixir.