Inside the cave of the Demon’s Nest.
The upper echelons of the Qin, Zhao, Wang, and Chen families gathered together. As they looked at the corpses littering the ground, Qin Yu quickly recounted the matters regarding Snake Demon Li Tianyi and the Blood Demon Sect.
Patriarch Chen, Chen Baixuan, also chimed in from time to time.
Instantly, the joy of destroying the Demon’s Nest and obtaining a massive amount of loot vanished. Everyone’s faces turned deathly pale, their hearts sinking to the bottom of their chests.
"Snake Demon Li Tianyi? Why would such an Evil Demon come to a remote place like our Cyan Peak County?" Wang Family Patriarch Wang Yong gripped the saber in his hand so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"The Human Pill Technique... to think they actually dared to teach such an Evil Technique to the Demon Fiends. Once the Demon Suppression Bureau learns of this, they will inevitably dispatch experts to execute him. This matter is no longer something we can handle," Patriarch Zhao said, his expression equally grim.
The men spoke up one after another. However, in such a situation, even Zhang Shun had no solution and could only leave quickly to seek reinforcements. What could they possibly do?
Flee? If they really fled to Bishui City, the expenses in such a prosperous place would be astronomical. At most, a few core family members could go; everyone else would have to be left behind! How could they willingly give up the family foundations they had worked so hard to build?
Ultimately, they could only pin their hopes on the Demon Suppression Bureau group that had just left to bring back stronger experts. Of course, whether they harbored other plans in secret remained unknown.
"This matter must not be spread, or it will inevitably cause widespread panic," Qin Hu said after a moment.
The others fell silent before finally nodding. "Alright!"
Very quickly, they reached an agreement.
However, Qin Yu, who had been waiting on the side, did not want to waste any more time.
"Divide all the spoils. The Qin family’s efforts are obvious to all. That Blazing Flame Tiger Demon belongs to the Qin family, and my Qin family also wants half of the rest!
"Do any of you have an objection?" After speaking, Qin Yu looked at the others.
The Blazing Flame Tiger Demon! Half of all the spoils!
Wang Family Patriarch Wang Yong’s expression shifted, and he instinctively wanted to retort. But when he met Qin Yu’s gaze, which was as cold as a blade, he swallowed hard, forcing his words back down his throat.
The scene of Qin Yu drawing his bow and instantly executing Demon Fiends one after another on the battlefield echoed in his mind. Over twenty Demon Fiends had fallen to Qin Yu alone. With that unpredictable and terrifying Archery Skill, even Demon Fiends comparable to the Bone Forging Realm were dispatched with a single arrow. Most horrifying of all, even that Qi and Blood Realm Great Demon had been slain by him with just three arrows.
Furthermore, it was the Qin family’s War Beasts that had charged at the very front, withstanding the assault of the Demon Army. Beneath these astonishing battle achievements, half of their twenty War Beasts had been casualties, and the rest were severely injured. Distributing the spoils based on effort, it was perfectly reasonable for the Qin family to demand this much.
Besides, in the Martial Arts World, strength reigned supreme! If Qin Yu wanted to, he could easily wipe out all three of their families with a flip of his hand, provided he kept his distance. Moreover, Qin Yu had already formed a connection with the Demon Suppression Bureau. In the future, he might even become a member. Morally and logically, his demands were not excessive.
"Alright, my Wang family has no objections."
"Agreed."
The others murmured their assent. The patriarchs of the Chen, Wang, and Zhao families exchanged glances. They knew in their hearts that no matter what the future held, the Qin family was already the sole dominant force in Cyan Peak County.
"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Bring all the Demon Fiend corpses and leave immediately!"
"If they’re too heavy to carry, just take the essential parts! We must do our best to rush back to Cyan Peak County before dark!"
On the hillside battlefield, Second Uncle Qin De was organizing manpower to rapidly sweep the area. However, it was nearly impossible for a little over a hundred people to carry so many Demon Fiend corpses back! Of the hundreds of Demon Fiends, over eighty had been slain on the spot. Furthermore, Qin Yu had specifically targeted the massive ones.
A single Bone Forging Bear Demon weighed several thousand pounds, and a Bone Forging Snake Demon was as thick as a bucket and thirty feet long. Taking such gigantic corpses back intact was practically impossible. The mountain paths were rugged; even if they crafted makeshift sledges, dragging them would be exceedingly difficult.
More than a hundred and thirty Martial Artists from Cyan Peak County had set out. Over a dozen had died in the great battle, another dozen were severely injured, and almost everyone else had sustained minor injuries. They had to hurry back to treat their wounds as quickly as possible.
As for the hundred or so rescued villagers from Chen Family Village, they were so traumatized that they could barely walk. Over half had been driven mad by the hellish scenes and couldn’t help at all. Instead, manpower had to be diverted to take care of them. Thus, they could only choose to take the most valuable parts, such as the pelts, Scale Armor, hearts, and bear gallbladders.
The less valuable flesh and blood were discarded entirely. If even the Demon Fiend corpses were treated this way, the carcasses of ordinary beasts were certainly left behind.
Moreover, the towering stench of blood from so many piled-up corpses was highly likely to attract Demon Fiends from deep within the mountains. Even the defeated Demon Fiends and wild beasts were secretly lurking and watching. They didn’t dare to strike during the day, but they would undoubtedly launch sneak attacks once night fell.
An hour later.
The wooden sledges, crafted from branches chopped down by the hundred-odd Martial Artists, were piled high with Demon Fiend corpses. At the very front was the Blazing Flame Tiger Demon, followed by Materials harvested from the bodies of Bone Forging and Muscle Refining Demon Fiends. They wished they could stack the sledges into small mountains, but in the end, they could still only take the most precious portions away.
"Move out!"
At Qin Hu’s command, five Rapid Insects—having devoured a massive amount of flesh and blood to heal their injuries somewhat—charged to the front to clear the way. The entire procession slowly followed.
In the sky, the resounding cries of the Red-bellied Eagles echoed far and wide.
However, compared to their high morale when they first set out, everyone’s mood grew heavy—even with a full load of spoils—when they looked at the dozen corpses of fallen Martial Artists in the center of the formation, the severely injured fighters, and the traumatized, catatonic villagers.
Amidst shouts of exertion, the entire team dragged the heavy wooden sledges, hauling their war trophies in the direction of Cyan Peak County. Fortunately, the group consisted entirely of Martial Artists; even a Skin Refining Martial Artist possessed a thousand pounds of tremendous strength.
ROAR!
HOWL!
The Demon Fiends lurking in the dark, dense forests on the hillside let out wolf howls and tiger roars, their eyes fixed on the massive pile of abandoned Demon Fiend flesh and beast corpses. Vultures and crows circled in the sky, waiting for a feast. Some didn’t even wait for the human procession to go far before greedily diving down to gorge themselves.
But in the next moment, amidst low growls, no fewer than twenty-seven Rapid Insects sprinted over from a distance, greedily devouring the flesh and corpses on the battlefield. Right on their heels were ten Worker Insects that had rushed over; they immediately began transporting the corpses, retreating back along the path they had come.
In the sky, five Red-bellied Eagles acted as aerial grim reapers, driving away all the other birds. Any bird that flew even slightly too slow was completely torn to pieces.
This scene instantly struck fear into the hearts of the lurking Demon Fiends. Many of them were deserters from the great battle and were well aware of the Rapid Insects’ combat power. Nevertheless, some stubborn beasts charged forward, attempting to snatch the food, only to be turned into fresh corpses beneath the sharp claws of the Rapid Insects.
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!
A new massacre erupted across the blood-soaked battlefield.
"Devour flesh and blood, complete the evolution!
"Take the remaining flesh and blood of the Demon Fiends and beasts away. Establish a second Insect Nest!" Qin Yu’s voice echoed within the Insect Swarm’s Mind Network.
The second Insect Nest was not nearby. Rather, it was located much further away in an extremely concealed natural cave, where a new Insect Nest was already incubating.
Although the cave where the Demon’s Nest used to be was actually an excellent location, it wasn’t safe. Once the experts of the Demon Suppression Bureau received the news and began hunting down Snake Demon Li Tianyi, they would inevitably return here to investigate for clues. Therefore, the Martial Artists of Cyan Peak County, who had originally intended to burn the Demon Valley to the ground, ultimately just gathered the remains, buried them simply, and left the site otherwise untouched.
"Devour! Grow! Expand outwards, slaughter all Demon Fiends, and find Snake Demon Li Tianyi!"