"What? A Qi and Blood Realm Great Demon, and over a hundred Demon Fiends?"
"How... how could there be so many Demon Fiends?"
"Are there any reinforcements?"
An uproar erupted!
The patriarchs of Cyan Peak County’s four great families, along with the leaders of several smaller families, all turned pale. Even Qin Hu’s expression grew grim.
The deep mountains and old forests were Demon Fiend territory to begin with. How could it be easy to attack a Demon Nest where over a hundred of them had gathered?
The Demon Suppression Bureau had only sent seven people in total. Even if their leader, Zhang Shun, was a Qi and Blood Realm Martial Artist, there were still over a hundred Demon Fiends!
Cyan Peak County was just a small county with a population of a few tens of thousands. It had no more than five or six Bone Forging Realm Martial Artists and fewer than thirty in the Muscle Refining Realm.
Many of them were old, their Qi and Blood in decline.
If they were to launch a direct assault, how many people from Cyan Peak County would have to die?
"Hmph!"
Zhang Shun snorted coldly. An invisible Qi and Blood Power erupted from him, rising like a column of smoke.
The soaring Qi and Blood carried a staggering pressure, like the roar of a hungry wolf or the low growl of a fierce tiger, making everyone’s heart tremble.
Even Qin Yu, who was following behind his father, couldn’t help but show a change in expression.
Qi and Blood Like a Wolf!
’Is this the oppressive aura of the Qi and Blood Realm?’
A Martial Artist at Bone Forging Perfection could unleash tens of thousands of pounds of force with a wave of their hand. With Copper Skin and Iron Bones, they could shatter stone tablets and easily draw a Hundred-Stone Strong Bow.
But the Qi and Blood Realm was more than ten times stronger than the Bone Forging Realm.
Martial Arts Body Forging proceeded from the outside in. When the skin, membranes, muscles, and bones were all enhanced to their limit, one could guide their Qi and Blood into the heart, using it as a furnace to ignite the "Qi and Blood Fire," and then strengthen the five viscera and six bowels.
This allowed one to truly mobilize their Qi and Blood Power.
Thus, the Qi and Blood Realm was divided into five stages—Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lungs, and Kidneys—which corresponded to Qi and Blood Like a Wolf, Qi and Blood Like a Tiger, Qi and Blood Like a Bear, Qi and Blood Like an Elephant, and Qi and Blood like a Dragon.
This man before them, Zhang Shun of the Demon Suppression Bureau, had already reached the Perfection stage of Qi and Blood Like a Wolf!
He even showed signs of his wolf transforming into a tiger.
"I will naturally deal with the Qi and Blood Realm Great Demon. Although there are over a hundred Demon Fiends in the Demon Nest, all you need to do is clean up the weaker ones.
Once a Demon Nest forms, they start by slaughtering villages. Next, they might just slaughter a whole city!
If you don’t contribute, are you just going to wait to die?"
Zhang Shun’s cold gaze swept over the crowd, silencing everyone.
"Lord Zhang, we will naturally give our full support now that a Demon Nest has appeared! But... are there truly no more reinforcements from the Demon Suppression Bureau? Such a large horde of Demon Fiends will surely be accompanied by swarms of snakes, insects, and wild beasts.
With our strength, even if we can win, I’m afraid it will be a pyrrhic victory."
From the crowd, a middle-aged man with a grief-stricken face, bloodshot eyes, and white hair at his temples spoke in a low voice.
Looking at the white-haired middle-aged man, Qin Yu sighed inwardly.
This was Patriarch Chen, Chen Baixuan, a Bone Forging Realm expert just like Qin Hu. Qin Yu had seen him just half a month ago, and back then, he had been full of vigor and high spirits.
Now, with Chen Family Village slaughtered and the Chen Family’s elite forces wiped out, his hair had turned white overnight.
If he could, he probably wanted revenge against the Demon Fiends more than anyone else.
But he also had to consider the survivors of the Chen Family.
Looking at Patriarch Chen, Chen Baixuan, Zhang Shun also sighed to himself before shaking his head under the hopeful gazes of the crowd.
"Cyan Peak County isn’t the only place that’s been attacked by Demon Fiends this time. Of the twenty-one towns, large and small, under the jurisdiction of Bishui City, more or less all of them have been assaulted.
Being able to spare a small team for Cyan Peak County is already a stroke of luck for you.
You want to wait for reinforcements?
Not unless the Demon Fiends in all the other areas are cleaned up first!"
Zhang Shun’s voice was flat, but his words sent a chill through everyone’s hearts, as if they had been plunged into an abyss.
No wonder!
No wonder Cyan Peak County had requested aid from the Demon Suppression Bureau long ago, yet reinforcements had been so late to arrive!
It turned out other counties were also under attack by Demon Fiends!
"We can’t spend a thousand days on the defensive. We must exterminate these Demon Fiends," Qin Hu said in a deep voice.
The Great Wei Court has decreed that any discovered Demon’s Nest must be destroyed immediately!
Hiding was not an option.
If we don’t take the initiative, what happens when over a hundred Demon Fiends attack us, or when they attack the Qin Family Manor?
With an expert from the Demon Suppression Bureau here, we still have a chance if we attack first.
Taking a step back now would mean true and utter damnation.
"Correct! Speed is paramount in war! We must strike while the Demon Nest has yet to gather too many Demon Fiends and wipe them out! Otherwise, as their numbers grow, the situation will become irreversible.
It’s too late today. We set out first thing tomorrow morning!"
Zhang Shun looked at Qin Hu, a satisfied smile appearing on his fierce face.
This Qin Family was able to slay over twenty Demon Fiends, including a Bone Forging Realm Wolf King. Their strength was not to be underestimated. With their help, his own pressure would be greatly reduced.
"Lord Zhang is right. I, from the Zhao Family, will personally lead a team of twenty Martial Artists. The three Muscle Refining Realm members of our family will also go!" the previously silent Patriarch of the Zhao Family said, clenching his teeth.
"My Wang Family will also send twenty people, led by me, including four from the Muscle Refining Realm!"
The Wang Family Patriarch’s expression was grim, but he still spoke up.
"My Chen Family has suffered grievous losses. We can only dispatch ten people, with one from the Muscle Refining Realm," Patriarch Chen, Chen Baixuan, who had gone white-haired overnight, said painfully after a moment of silence.
Zhang Shun nodded, his expression placid.
This was all within his expectations. The three great families had basically committed all their available forces. Although they held some back, they still had homes and businesses to protect and needed people to stay behind.
His gaze fell upon Qin Hu. To be able to slay over twenty Demon Fiends in a single battle, not even letting a Bone Forging Realm Wolf King escape...
The greatest hope for this mission rested on the Qin Family.
Even the five experts from the Demon Suppression Bureau standing behind Zhang Shun all turned to look at Qin Hu.
Seeing this, Qin Hu remained calm and unhurried.
On the way here, he had already discussed it with Qin Yu. To annihilate the Demon Fiends this time, they would have to use the Rapid Insects.
And since they were going to act, they might as well make a stunning debut and reap greater benefits.
The Great Wei Court had a decree.
All discovered Demon’s Nests were to be annihilated, and there were merits to be gained from doing so!
"My Qin Family will dispatch twenty men, led by me personally, including four from the Muscle Refining Realm. In addition, we will provide twenty Muscle Refining Realm War Beasts!"
Hearing Qin Hu’s words, Zhang Shun first furrowed his brow.
Twenty men?
That was no different from the other three families.
But when he heard "twenty Muscle Refining Realm War Beasts," he was inwardly shocked!
Twenty Muscle Refining Realm War Beasts?
The Qin Family was actually skilled in Beast Taming? He had never heard of this before!
"Twenty Muscle Refining Realm War Beasts? What a magnificent contribution! The ’Celestial Wind’ Qin Family truly lives up to its name! I never expected you to have such a hidden card!"
A look of delight appeared on Zhang Shun’s face, and he couldn’t help but laugh.
With these twenty Muscle Refining Realm War Beasts, this battle would be much, much easier.
He had heard of the ’Celestial Wind’ Qin Family from the County City, but they were most famous for their lightning-fast Body Technique and their Fast Blade skill!
Many of their disciples went to train in the army and were extremely skilled in the art of killing!
’Could it be that they learned the methods of raising War Beasts in the army?’
’Or perhaps they had some other fortuitous encounter?’
Meanwhile, the patriarchs of the Wang, Zhao, and Chen Families, as well as the leaders of the smaller families, all stared at Qin Hu in utter shock. The veins on Wang Yong’s hands bulged.
The Qin Family actually possessed such terrifying power?
And they had known nothing about it!
"This is the result of decades of my Qin Family’s painstaking effort to cultivate them. If it weren’t a life-and-death crisis..."
Qin Hu lied through his teeth, his face straight and his heart steady.
His gaze, however, surreptitiously flickered to the silent Qin Yu behind him. ’If not for the powerful inheritance Qin Yu suddenly obtained, where would they get any War Beasts?’
’The ’Celestial Wind’ Qin Family?’
’Ever since his father, Qin Hong, had left the main family branch, they had no contact at all, aside from the fixed family assembly every five years!’
"Excellent! Then we set out first thing tomorrow morning to annihilate the Demon Nest!"