Su Sheng raised his hand and cast a magical blade of light. The blade chased after the demon, but as it flew past, it narrowly grazed the young man’s cheek, severing a strand of his hair.
The young man turned his head in a panic to look. Su Sheng said coldly, “My hand slipped.” Then, without caring what the other thought, he turned away.
Luo Ren turned and saw him, exclaiming joyfully, “Norton!” He swung his sword and beheaded two demons. Taking advantage of the fact that the remaining demons were still far away, he relaxed his arm and walked over.
The young man trembled with fear, standing in place and looking left and right. Seeing Luo Ren walking back, he followed without hesitation. Still feeling unsafe, he boldly grabbed the hem of Luo Ren’s clothes.
Luo Ren immediately sneered, “Get away.” He then cut off the hem that had been grabbed and cast a cold glance at the young man.
Su Sheng watched as the young man standing behind Luo Ren turned pale and stumbled backward several steps.
Feeling slightly better, Su Sheng was about to speak when he saw several demons suddenly appear ahead. Covered in green light, they lunged recklessly toward the young man’s back!
The green light meant the demons were self-destructing. This suicidal tactic increased their speed severalfold, allowing them to catch up effortlessly. Hearing the commotion, the young man glanced back, stumbled in fright, and fell face-first into the snow. Lifting his head from the snow, he looked desperately at Luo Ren and pleaded, “S-save me.”
At that moment, Wei Er also rushed out of the cave. Seeing this scene, he immediately shouted, “Help Nuo Wei!”
But Luo Ren showed no intention of helping. He didn’t even turn around, instead walking over with a detached smile.
In that instant, Su Sheng couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart. But as he watched the demons about to catch up to Nuo Wei, Su Sheng instinctively rushed forward a few steps. Seeing this, a flicker of hope flashed in Nuo Wei’s eyes, but it was soon replaced by shock and confusion because Su Sheng stopped.
Su Sheng gripped his staff but forcefully halted his steps. A moment of confusion flashed through his mind, why should he save him?
An inexplicable sneer rose from the depths of his heart: Have you forgotten how those people treated you in the end?
At the same time, he saw the fleeting shock and resentful confusion on Nuo Wei’s face when he noticed Su Sheng had stopped. In that moment, the voice of Fei Meng and the “three-day pact” seemed to echo in his ears once more.
The demons were already behind Nuo Wei. If he didn’t act now, there would be no chance left.
Behind him, Wei Er’s heart-wrenching roar echoed: “Norton!!! Why won’t you save him?”
Why… not save him…
His gaze swept over Nuo Wei’s despairing, hollow face.
Su Sheng closed his eyes briefly, his expression turning cold once more.
But in the next moment, he teleported behind Nuo Wei. The several demons about to self-destruct paused, seemingly surprised that someone would be foolish enough to charge forward. Then, they burst into maniacal laughter: “If we can’t kill him, killing you will do.”
Sensing that the demons had locked onto him as their target, Su Sheng turned and grabbed the young man, hurling him toward Wei Er. But as he looked up, he saw the composed Luo Ren turn panicked, stumbling over his own feet as he rushed forward.
“Norton, what are you doing-?”
Before he could finish speaking, Su Sheng felt a heart-wrenching pain explode within his body. Luo Ren’s furious roar echoed in his ears. Powerless, he closed his eyes, no longer even having the strength to mock himself, as his body uncontrollably fell backward.
The magic shield shattered, and a bone-chilling cold numbed the pain, forcing him to open his eyes once more to catch a glimpse of Luo Ren rushing toward him.
Blood blurred his vision. He struggled to widen his eyes, but the world before him gradually lost its color. Though a blizzard raged outside, all he could see was a vivid, overwhelming red.
Luo Ren hurriedly ran over and lifted him up. Su Sheng could feel the other’s arms trembling uncontrollably. He wanted to say something, but words failed him. Fortunately, blood clogged his windpipe, leaving him only able to cough incessantly.
“Don’t… don’t panic. I’ll heal you.” Perhaps even Luo Ren hadn’t noticed how badly his voice was shaking.
The healing magic mended some of Su Sheng’s external wounds, but his shattered internal organs remained beyond repair.
As the blood finally stopped surging up his throat, Su Sheng managed to catch a brief moment of respite.
“Go,” he said through gritted teeth, enduring the excruciating pain.
Luo Ren wanted to say more, but seeing Su Sheng’s unwillingness to speak further, he held his tongue. Quickly, he hoisted Su Sheng onto his back and carried him away.
As they passed the two others, Luo Ren shot Nuo Wei and Wei Er a fierce glare.
Instead of heading down the mountain, Luo Ren found a cave and cleared out the accumulated snow inside. The snow, which normally resisted magical influence, rapidly melted under the inch-by-inch erosion of dark magic. With a snap of his fingers, the cave instantly became dry and warm.
To ensure even greater dryness, he conjured a basin of magical flames.
Luo Ren carved out a stone bed and laid the now-unconscious Su Sheng upon it. Then, with a wave of his hand, a water mirror materialized before him.
Simultaneously, the magic mirror in the castle reflected the image of the Demon King, a prince-like figure with golden hair and blue eyes, yet crowned with a pair of pitch-black demonic horns.
The butler beside the magic mirror stood with his head bowed, listening respectfully to the Demon King’s command.
Had Su Sheng seen this person, he would have recognized him instantly, he was the king of Felichis, Luo Ren’s “father.”
With a cold expression, the Demon King ordered the castle’s butler, “Bring all the life potions to the Sacred Mountain.”
“Yes, my lord,” the butler replied respectfully, bowing as a green magical potion appeared in his hand.
…
Life potions, crafted from the tears of the Life God, were exceedingly precious. Yet now, they were poured into Su Sheng’s mouth as if they cost nothing.
The butler stood nearby, not daring to defy the Demon King’s will, but he cautiously reminded him, “My lord, a single drop of the life potion would suffice.”
Only after emptying the entire bottle did the Demon King finally pause. Softly, he asked, “Will he die?”
The butler widened his eyes in surprise, seemingly taken aback that the Demon King would ask such a question.
After a moment of consideration, he replied, “My lord, whether in healing magic or offensive magic, you are the most accomplished on the entire continent. You should know this better than anyone.”
The Demon King’s face paled slightly. He stared intently at the figure on the stone bed for a while, then suddenly performed an action the butler had never even imagined, he snapped off one of the horns on his head!
The butler gasped in horror, “Doing this will cause your magic to dissipate!”
The Demon King winced in pain, yet he nonchalantly weighed the half-horn in his hand, a careless smile curling on his pale face. “What are you worried about? My magic power wouldn’t run out even in a hundred years. But if this person dies, where would I find such an amusing pastime in the future?”
“Besides, once he fuses with this Abyssal Horn, it means he has accepted the Abyss’s gift. He will no longer be himself, and his future actions will be under my control.” As he spoke, the Demon King narrowed his eyes. “Then such unpleasant incidents won’t happen again.”
The steward silently bowed his head.
The Demon King toyed with a strand of Su Sheng’s black hair, casually asking, “By the way, how are things with Sa La?”
“That succubus escaped the Abyss and hid in the Elven Kingdom. We are sending more forces to capture him.” The steward hesitated. “He has a group of very loyal demons under his command. Could the Saint’s injuries this time be…”
The Demon King paused his hand playing with the hair. “Capture him, but don’t kill him. Bring him to the castle.”
“And don’t let such oversights happen again.”
The Demon King’s tone was calm, yet the steward broke into a cold sweat. Trembling, he lowered his head and said in a shaky voice, “Master, even at the cost of my life, your servant will capture this succubus for you.”
The flames in the stone cave burned brighter, casting the shadow of a half-broken horn on the side wall, swaying with the movement of the figures.
Just then, Su Sheng’s eyelids suddenly twitched.