High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 268: Chapter 165: The Demon Race’s Killing Trap (Part 2)

And all twenty of the Flying Star Realm warriors had perished. Not one survived.

His gaze moved past the edge of the battlefield, settling on the mostly collapsed residential district of the outer city.

Once, it had been a place brimming with life; now, it was a scene straight from hell.

Toppled buildings stood like giant tombstones, their rebar and concrete twisted out of shape. Torn furniture and shredded clothing lay scattered everywhere, while gruesome patches of blood stained the ground.

The suppressed sobs of survivors and the helpless cries of children could occasionally be heard, sounding particularly jarring amidst the dead silence of the ruins.

An aura of despair hung in the air, pressing down on everyone’s heart like a cold, heavy stone.

Scenes like this, a veritable apocalypse, had become more common recently as Stargates appeared with increasing frequency near towns and cities. This was the third time Li Wen had witnessed such a sight with his own eyes.

The peace and tranquility of the small county had become a thing of the past.

Li Wen stood motionless for about ten minutes, silently recovering his depleted True Essence and Spiritual Power. At the same time, he stood guard over his two companions. Their conditions had stabilized slightly after taking medicinal pills, but they remained in a deep coma.

He waited until the low roar of an engine sounded from the horizon. A large, multi-functional aircraft bearing the military insignia of the Hua Country arrived, and several teams of well-trained medics and support personnel quickly took charge of the scene.

After a brief handover and confirming that the wounded were receiving more specialized medical attention, Li Wen boarded his own, faster personal aircraft.

Its engine spat out a ghostly blue tail flame, cutting a streak of light through the deep night as he returned to his usual station—Bluestone County.

...

「Later that same night, tens of thousands of kilometers from Nanzha County.」

Kindling University. The mountain behind Enlightenment Peak.

The night wind swept through the ancient pavilion where the white-haired principal stood alone at its edge. Before him hovered a three-dimensional virtual screen composed of soft light.

The screen silently played a recording of the brutal battle that had just concluded in Nanzha County, along with a shocking casualty report.

On the screen was a long list of the fallen, a list born of blood and fire. Every name had once been a life, vibrant and full.

”More and more small- and medium-sized Stargates are beginning to appear near ordinary county towns.” The principal’s voice was low, laced with a heavy weariness.

He looked at the profiles of the fallen, his gaze lingering on some of the younger faces. His fingers tightened unconsciously.

”If this continues, our very foundations will be weakened to an unbearable degree.”

He tilted his head slightly and spoke into the empty air of the pavilion. ”Number 2.”

”Principal, I am here.” A gentle, yet completely toneless synthesized voice resonated within the pavilion.

”Summon the leaders of the Blue Star Alliance’s primary member nations. Emergency online meeting in one hour. Highest security level.”

”Command received. Initiating highest-level communication protocols and sending encrypted meeting invitations to the leaders of all member nations. The meeting will convene in fifty-nine minutes in the ’Dome Conference Room’ virtual reality.”

The AI assistant, Number 2, responded with speed and precision.

...

「Meanwhile, in the distant Demon Realm, deep within the colossal lair of the Evil-eyed Demon King.」

Unlike the small and medium-sized Star Gate regions corresponding to Bluestone County or Nanzha County, the territory occupied by the Evil-eyed Demon King was wracked by surging energy tides, and the air was saturated with a much denser Demon Power.

Its terrifying, abyss-like compound eyes stared intently at a portrait brought back by several Flying Star Realm demon soldiers who had managed to escape.

The portrait featured a single figure: Li Wen.

After confirming the intelligence, the Evil-eyed Demon King did not fly into a rage. Instead, a low, distorted hiss, thick with greed, rumbled from deep within its throat.

A prodigy who has reached the Ninth Layer of the Nine Heavens Divine Body! On the merit boards issued by the Demon Emperors, his worth far exceeded that of an ordinary Marquis Level expert of the Human Race!

It had been stuck at the peak of the Marquis Level for far too long. The coveted King Realm was just a single step away, yet that step was like an insurmountable chasm.

Furthermore, the rare treasure in the Demon Emperor’s treasury that could help it break through this bottleneck—the Soul-Eroding Demon Lotus—required a despair-inducing amount of merit.

’But if I can get my hands on the corpse of this human, Li Wen...’ A fiery glint of desire ignited in the Evil-eyed Demon King’s cold compound eyes.

”Gather all of my Bright Moon Realm subordinates!” The Evil-eyed Demon King’s voice, carrying an unquestionable authority, spread out through vibrations in the Demon Power.

Soon, dozens of figures, each radiating powerful fluctuations of Demon Power, gathered in the dark hall.

They came in all shapes and sizes. There were ferocious Wolf Demons and vicious Hawk Demons, but the most striking among them was a Fox Demon. She had an enchanting face, a slender figure, and two fluffy, fiery-red tails trailing behind her.

She stood near the front. Though her aura was powerful, it felt faintly stagnant, as if she were stuck at a bottleneck.

The Evil-eyed Demon King’s gaze fell precisely upon the two-tailed Fox Demon.

”Chi Ling,” the Demon King spoke, its voice raspy as it addressed the Fox Demon by name. ”Stuck at the Peak of Second Transformation (Peak of Bright Moon Realm) for ten years, have you? It doesn’t feel good, does it?”

The Fox Demon, Chi Ling, trembled slightly. She lifted her head, her charming yet wild eyes gazing at the Demon King with a mixture of hope and reverence. ”Reporting to my King, for ten whole years, I have been unable to make any progress.”

Her voice was soft and melodious, yet it carried an almost imperceptible undercurrent of anxiety.

”Very good.” A Demon Core, swirling with tricolored light and emitting a tempting, otherworldly fragrance, slowly rose from within the Evil-eyed Demon King’s massive claw.

”This is the Demon Core of a three-tailed Celestial Fox. Its essence is pure, and it can help you shatter your shackles and advance to the third transformation, the Great Sun Realm.”

Chi Ling’s breath caught in her throat. She stared at the hovering Demon Core, all else forgotten.