Defeat swept through the enemy lines like a landslide! The tide of battle completely reversed the moment the Blazing Flame Tiger Demon died.
Even after slaying the creature with three arrows, Qin Yu did not lower his bow. Instead, he unleashed a frantic massacre. His bowstrings snapped like thunder. With every twang, a demon fiend’s head exploded like a smashed watermelon.
The other martial artists pursued the fleeing enemies with equal madness. With the demon fiends in full rout, even Meat Refining Martial Artists dared to chase down beasts whose strength rivaled Bone Forging Martial Artists. The demons didn’t even dare to fight back; they knew that the moment they resisted, a deadly arrow would come flying from behind. Many of them had witnessed Qin Yu kill the Red Flame Tiger Demon with three arrows, and they certainly had no idea what a Rune Armor-Breaking Arrow was!
Within mere moments, the entire battlefield fell dead silent. Hundreds of demon fiends, thousands of large beasts, and the swarms of poisonous insects and snakes that had covered the mountains either lay dead or had fled for their lives.
"Haha, Younger Brother Qin! Your Archery Skill is truly masterful, reaching Great Success even within the microcosm of the art. You deserve the highest merit for this battle!" Zhang Shun walked over, roaring with laughter as blood dripped from his battle saber. After the Blazing Flame Tiger Demon had been slain, he had easily slaughtered several Bone Forging Realm demon fiends, triggering the absolute collapse of the battlefield. He had originally thought he would have to risk his life by taking a Blood Burst Pill, but he had never expected such a complete reversal!
"You flatter me, Brother Zhang. I was just lucky. If you hadn’t risked your life to create an opening, and if I hadn’t had Brother Xu’s Blood Replenishing Pill and Rune Armor-Breaking Arrows, I wouldn’t have even been able to scratch that Blazing Flame Tiger Demon," Qin Yu said, shaking his head repeatedly. This time, he had stood his ground and rained down destruction, thoroughly enjoying the thrill of the slaughter.
"If your Archery Skill wasn’t so astonishing, why would Xu Chen have given those to you?" Zhang Shun casually found a dead demon fiend, wiped the blood from his blade on its fur, and shot Xu Chen a glance.
Xu Chen merely let out a dry laugh. Logically speaking, he should have been the one to fire the three Rune Armor-Breaking Arrows to support their captain. However, after witnessing Qin Yu’s archery and feeling genuinely unconfident in his own abilities, he had simply handed them over. Fortunately, Qin Yu had not disappointed him and had even performed exceptionally well!
For a mere Muscle Refining Realm martial artist to kill a Qi and Blood Realm Great Demon with three arrows—even a wounded one—was simply too astounding. The first arrow targeted the eyes to force an upward dodge, the second sealed off its retreat, and the third pierced through the neck wound straight into its heart for the fatal blow.
Three arrows fired in rapid succession. This was by no means good luck. Instead, he had calculated every possible move the Tiger Demon could make before executing the kill by striking its weakest point. If the Tiger Demon had shifted even slightly, or if the arrow had been off by a fraction, he could never have slain it so smoothly.
What they didn’t know was that this was all thanks to the Insect Nest. By utilizing the vision of the Red-bellied Eagles, the Rapid Insects, and Qin Yu himself, it had overseen the entire battlefield. It had continuously analyzed the Blazing Flame Tiger Demon’s combat style mid-battle, ultimately achieving such precise calculations.
"Exhilarating! This battle felt amazing! Qin Yu, your Archery Skill is astonishing, and those Rapid Insects are terrifyingly strong!" Zhou Feng walked over with a hearty laugh, carrying his warhammer. Like the Rapid Insects, he had charged at the very forefront. He had borne the heaviest pressure, but that also gave him the clearest view of their combat style.
Fierce and lightning-fast! Trading injuries for enemy lives was simply their norm during combat. Yet, what shocked him the most was the flawless coordination between the Rapid Insects—they fought as if they were a single entity! During the fray, they had relied purely on superior teamwork and utterly fearless attacks to intercept the demon fiends’ most frenzied assaults. Even Zhou Feng himself had been saved by the Rapid Insects several times.
Behind him, Zhang Ming, Chen Feng, and Li Hui put away their weapons. The way they looked at Qin Yu had noticeably changed. If they had initially only wanted to recruit him because of the Rapid Insects and Red-bellied Eagles, they were now completely won over by his personal strength. The other martial artists from Cyan Peak County’s Wang family, Zhao family, and Chen family all looked at Qin Yu with gazes bordering on reverence.
Seeing the crowd gathering around, Zhang Shun stood up and shouted loudly, "Everyone, this battle broke out rather hastily. If it weren’t for the Qin family and the bloody fight all of you put up, we probably would have suffered a massive loss! It was entirely thanks to your help that the Demon King was beheaded.
"As for the demon fiend corpses this time, the Demon Suppression Bureau won’t take anything aside from a small piece of the Blazing Flame Tiger Demon as proof of our mission. The rest can be distributed among yourselves here in Cyan Peak County."
County Captain Qin De, who was currently organizing his men to clean up the battlefield, revealed a look of delight in his eyes. "This... is this really appropriate? Well, since the Lord has spoken, what are the rest of you standing around for?"
The corpses of ordinary tigers and leopards were already incredibly precious, let alone the corpses of demon fiends. Their hides, after undergoing a special tanning process, would become top-tier leather. There were also demon bones, scale armor, and other materials that could fetch a high price. Out of the hundreds of demon fiends, at least seventy or eighty had been killed! Normally, the vast majority of such treasures would be confiscated by the Demon Suppression Bureau. Now that the bureau was only taking a few materials from the Blazing Flame Tiger Demon, it was an absolute windfall!
The Qin family’s contributions in this battle were obvious to all, meaning they would undoubtedly receive the lion’s share. Naturally, Qin De was ecstatic. Behind him, Qin Hu, Wang Family Patriarch Wang Yong, and Patriarch Chen Baixuan exchanged astonished glances before hurriedly calling for their men to carve up the demon fiend corpses. This single haul was equivalent to several years’ worth of revenue for their families.
Even Patriarch Chen let out a long sigh of relief. With Chen Family Village destroyed and their ranks suffering numerous casualties in this battle, this sudden windfall greatly alleviated their financial pressure.
As the crowd dispersed to process the demon fiend corpses, Zhang Shun’s expression grew solemn. He cast his gaze toward the back of the hillside and said, "The situation this time is a bit unusual. The strength of these demon fiends was much greater than expected, and they even knew how to set an ambush in advance.
"If it weren’t for the Red-bellied Eagles’ warning, the Rapid Insects holding the front line, and Qin Yu’s Archery Skill, we would have suffered a massive loss. We might have even been completely wiped out!"
"Let’s check the Demon Nest. We might find something."
The others around him also put away their smiles. Their losses in this battle were actually quite severe. Nearly half of the Rapid Insects that had charged at the front had died in action, and the rest were all injured. Out of more than one hundred and thirty martial artists, over a dozen had died on the spot, and another dozen were heavily wounded. Even Zhang Shun himself had sustained rather serious internal injuries and had nearly been pushed to the brink.
"I’ll have the Rapid Insects scout the path ahead," Qin Yu said, his expression also turning heavy.
Losing nine Rapid Insects actually meant nothing to him. The corpses strewn across the battlefield were enough for him to breed over two hundred more! However, he still needed to keep up appearances. After all, the Qin family had publicly claimed that these twenty Rapid Insects were the result of decades of painstaking breeding.
Through the reconnaissance of the Red-bellied Eagles, Qin Yu had already spotted the true Demon Nest—a natural cave situated in a valley directly behind the hillside.
"Let’s go!"
The five-man team from the Demon Suppression Bureau, along with Qin Yu, the County Yamen, and two representatives from each of the four major families, formed an elite squad of over a dozen people. They rapidly advanced forward.
Leading the way were five Rapid Insects covered in blood. Nine Rapid Insects had died on the spot in this battle, and the survivors were heavily injured, requiring rest and recovery. With the group’s travel speed, they quickly crested the small hill and took in the sight within the valley.
The valley floor was littered with feces and reeked to high heaven. There were also massive piles of human organs and severed limbs scattered about, painting a scene straight out of purgatory. It was obvious that a massive horde of demon fiends had gathered here previously. However, following the death of the Blazing Flame Tiger Demon and the subsequent defeat of its forces, the demons in the valley had completely vanished.
As they approached the natural cave deep within the valley, the Rapid Insects at the front suddenly let out a low growl, causing Qin Yu’s expression to change.
"There’s someone inside the cave!"