Chapter 32:High lords of the demon race.

Chapter 32: Chapter 32:High lords of the demon race.

The enormous blood orb continued to pulse above the City Lord Mansion. The trembling gradually subsided.

The surface of the orb began to flatten, the round shape stretching outward until it became a gigantic disk suspended in the sky. Its surface remained crimson and strangely smooth, like a vast mirror made entirely from blood.

But there was no reflection within it. Instead, something else appeared across its surface. Beyond it was a land no one had ever seen before.

The sky was dark and covered by thick clouds, while the ground stretched endlessly toward the horizon beneath a dim red light. The land appeared barren and desolate, with almost no vegetation in sight.

But there were countless figures across the expanse. They crawled across the distant landscape.

Some moved on all fours. Others dragged themselves forward with their arms, while some twisted and stumbled across the barren ground with limbs that no longer resembled those of humans.

There were so many of them that Zhao Lianyu could barely see the ground beneath their bodies. Then, seemingly noticing her gaze, one of them suddenly looked directly at her.

Its mouth opened, and a sickening howl came through the blood mirror.

"AAAAAAARRRGHHHH!"

"Arehahrwss!!!"

Within seconds, the entire land beyond the mirror erupted into an enormous chorus of screams. The sound rolled through the blood mirror like an endless ocean.

"RRRRAAAAAAAAHHH!"

"KYYYAAAAAA!"

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

Thousands upon thousands of voices overlapped until they became a single deafening roar. The sound poured through the blood mirror and spread across Blue Cloud Mist City.

Cultivators below stopped fighting. Some looked upward in confusion and horror, while others stared at the gigantic crimson sphere with their weapons still raised in their hands.

Then someone screamed.

"Demon! Demon invasion!!!"

The answer came almost immediately. Like a scene out of a horror movie, a figure dropped out from the blood mirror. It fell from the sky and struck the roof of a building.

BOOM!

The roof collapsed beneath its weight, dust exploded into the air, and yet the demon crawled out from the wreckage despite its body being badly deformed from the fall.

Then another fell.

And another.

And another.

Within moments, demons were pouring through the blood mirror like a sickening ocean of crawling horror.

They did not descend in an orderly manner. They simply threw themselves through the opening, some falling several hundred meters before crashing onto rooftops, while others landed directly on the streets or clung to the sides of buildings with their hands and feet.

Some immediately began crawling across the rooftops. Others dropped onto all fours and sprinted through the streets. Their twisted bodies moved with frightening speed as they scattered throughout the city.

"Kill them!"

A cultivator finally shouted.

The surrounding cultivators reacted almost immediately. Spiritual techniques erupted through the streets, and sword techniques flashed across the city.

Fireballs and blades of spiritual energy tore through the incoming demons, sending pieces of flesh flying across the rooftops.

But more continued falling. For every demon that was killed, several more emerged from the blood mirror.

The cultivators began to realize the problem immediately. There was no end to them. A young cultivator raised his sword toward a demon crawling across the roof opposite him.

The demon suddenly leapt, and the young cultivator swung his sword in time, splitting its body apart.

Before he could breathe, the severed pieces began moving. One half crawled toward his leg while the other dragged itself toward his back.

"Get away!"

He stumbled backward and released another technique.

Across the city, similar scenes unfolded.

Buildings that had already been damaged by the earlier fighting became hunting grounds for the demons. They crawled across walls, clung to rooftops, and squeezed through broken windows while their shrieks echoed through the streets.

Above all of it, the blood mirror remained suspended in the sky.

Zhao Lianyu looked at it, sensing the familiar sword intent that was still flowing within it. Her expression became pale.

"They used my attack..."

The words escaped her quietly.

The two demons had used the destructive power of her sword technique to complete the formation. They had turned her sword qi into the final component of the strange disk.

Zhao Mingyuan’s laughter came from behind her.

"Hehehe..."

Zhao Lianyu slowly turned.

Zhao Mingyuan’s body was still partially covered in blood, his chest sunken in, while Sun Qian crawled beside him with half of his body charred.

"Now you understand, Your Excellency."

Zhao Mingyuan spread his arms.

"We were never trying to defeat you."

Sun Qian’s grotesque grin widened.

"We were waiting for you."

Zhao Lianyu’s eyes became cold.

"From the beginning..."

Her gaze moved across the city.

"You planned all of this."

Zhao Mingyuan laughed.

"Of course."

His white pupils narrowed.

"Do you really think your arrival here was a coincidence?"

Zhao Lianyu’s expression changed. The moment those words left his mouth, she finally understood the full extent of the trap.

They had known she was coming. Perhaps the full invasion in the southern border was also part of their plan, to attract most of the Kingdom’s forces there, stretch the human forces thin, and use the opportunity to strike this region.

How about the other western region? The North? Have they been invaded too?

Before Zhao Lianyu could say anything else, the atmosphere around the blood mirror suddenly changed.

The howling demons on the other side became silent. The countless creatures crawling across the dark land slowly moved aside.

Something was approaching, and eventually, three figures emerged from the darkness.

The first was a tall man with a completely bald head and an unusually long neck. His skin was pale and covered with thin black veins that spread from his throat across his face.

His arms reached nearly to his knees, and each finger ended in a thick, blunt claw. He wore the remains of dark robes around his waist, leaving most of his upper body exposed.

Beside him stood a woman with long, tangled hair that covered most of her face. Her body was unnaturally thin, with shoulders far too narrow for her height.

Several extra joints protruded along her arms, causing them to bend in ways that made her hands hang almost against the ground.

Her mouth was hidden beneath her hair, but something beneath the strands continued moving as though she were quietly chewing.

Then, standing beside the two of them, was the third figure.

He was enormous.

His body was broad and heavily muscled, but his proportions were strangely distorted. His left shoulder was considerably larger than his right, and one of his arms hung almost to his ankles.

His head was completely smooth, without a single strand of hair, while his face contained only two narrow eyes and a mouth that stretched almost from cheek to cheek.

The three demons stood side by side beneath the blood mirror.

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then the atmosphere changed.

The spiritual energy within the surrounding heavens suddenly began to churn.

The clouds above Blue Cloud Mist City started moving.

At first, it was only a faint movement, barely noticeable against the darkening sky. Then the clouds began gathering from every direction, slowly converging above the City Lord Mansion.

The wind grew stronger.

Dust and debris scattered through the streets below as the spiritual energy in the air became increasingly turbulent.

The three demons remained completely still.

Then their auras erupted.

BOOM!

An immense wave of spiritual pressure descended from the sky.

The clouds above the city were pushed outward by the force before rapidly gathering again, forming a gigantic vortex around the three figures.

The sunlight vanished.

Darkness spread across Blue Cloud Mist City as the thick clouds covered the heavens, swallowing the bright afternoon sky until not a single ray of sunlight could reach the streets below.

The city fell beneath a strange, oppressive shadow.

The fires burning throughout the streets became brighter against the darkness, their flickering flames illuminating the ruins and the countless demons crawling through them.

Another wave of spiritual pressure descended.

BOOM!

Buildings trembled.

Windows shattered.

The ground beneath the City Lord Mansion cracked under the immense pressure, while weaker cultivators staggered backward and struggled to remain standing.

The spiritual energy surrounding the three demons continued to rise.

Peak Foundation Establishment!

The bald demon’s aura alone was enough to make the surrounding spiritual energy tremble. The thin woman beside him possessed an equally terrifying presence, her aura spreading through the sky despite her slender body.

But the enormous demon standing between them was different.

His aura was far heavier than the other two beside him, and it pressed down upon the city like an invisible mountain, forcing even the other two High Lords to seem slightly less imposing beside him.

The three of them stood side by side, their figures silhouetted against the blood-red mirror and the darkened heavens. The clouds above them continued to churn.

Thunder rumbled somewhere within the darkness.

RUMBLE...

The sound rolled across the entire city, followed by another distant roar as the heavens seemed to react to the appearance of three High Lords at once.

Cultivators throughout Blue Cloud Mist City looked toward the sky. Some froze, others tightened their grip around their weapons, and a few could no longer suppress the fear spreading across their faces.

Three High Lords had appeared above their city.

And among them was a demon whose presence was even more terrifying than the other two. The enormous demon slowly lowered his gaze toward Blue Cloud Mist City.

His narrow eyes swept across the burning streets, the collapsing buildings, and the countless demons pouring through the blood mirror.

Then his gaze stopped on Zhao Lianyu.

A faint smile slowly appeared across his enormous mouth. The darkness above the city deepened.

Three High Lords had descended into Great Yan.

Zhao Lianyu’s expression finally changed, her face turning pale as she stared at them.

"What are the High Lords of the Demon Race doing here?"

"How can they be here?! Shouldn’t they be occupied by our human High Lords?"

The title High Lord was not something that could be given to just any powerful being. It was a reserved title for beings who had stepped into the Peak Foundation Establishment Realm, a realm that, for many races, was impossible to reach in their lifetime.

Zhao Lianyu knew this very well.

After all, there were barely six cultivators who held the title of High Lord in the entire Great Yan Kingdom. Each one of them was given the task of keeping watch on the movements of the enemy’s High Lords.

How can they be here?!

The enormous blood mirror remained suspended above the city as the three demons stepped forward. The burly demon looked down at Blue Cloud Mist City.

His mouth slowly opened, thick strands of saliva stretching between his teeth. Bits of flesh remained stuck between them, mixed with fresh blood that dripped slowly from the corners of his mouth.

"So this is the human kingdom."

His voice was deep and strangely calm, yet there was something unnatural about the way he spoke. Each word seemed to drag slightly, as though his voice were coming from somewhere deep inside his body rather than his throat.

Behind them, countless demons continued crawling through the blood mirror. Some dragged themselves forward on all fours, while others climbed over one another, their twisted limbs and pale faces filling the dark opening.

Their shrieks and distorted laughter echoed through the sky as more and more demons poured into the human kingdom.

Zhao Lianyu’s grip tightened around her sword. Her gaze moved from the three newcomers to the countless demons pouring into the city below.

And seemingly noticing her gaze, the three demons suddenly disappeared.

Zhao Lianyu’s eyes widened.

She immediately sensed their presence around her.

Before she could react, the three figures reappeared at the same time.

The bald demon stood to her left.

The thin woman stood to her right.

And the enormous burly demon stood directly in front of her.

They had completely surrounded her.

Then their spiritual pressure descended.

BOOM!

Zhao Lianyu’s body suddenly became still.

The immense pressure confined her from every direction, pressing down on her body and locking her movements in place. Even circulating her spiritual energy became difficult under the weight of three Peak Foundation Establishment auras.

She gritted her teeth and tried to move.

Her fingers trembled.

But she couldn’t even take a single step.

The bald demon tilted his head.

His unusually long neck bent slightly to the side as he examined her with curiosity.

"So... this is a human female? Male? What is she? So weird... So weird..."

He leaned closer.

"Why does she look like that?"

His expression was strangely innocent, almost like a child seeing something unfamiliar for the first time.

"Are all humans like this?"

He looked toward the woman beside him.

"Do they all wear veils?"

The thin woman didn’t answer. Her head remained lowered, her tangled hair covering most of her face.

Her lips moved beneath the strands.

"...soft... warm... still alive..."

She continued muttering quietly, almost to herself.

"...blood... so much blood... I wonder..."

Her fingers twitched.

Zhao Lianyu’s expression became increasingly cold as she stared at the three demons surrounding her. The enormous burly demon stepped closer.

He was so close that she could feel his breath against her face through the veil.

One of his massive hands reached forward and grabbed her cheeks. He tore her veil away, revealing the beautiful face hidden underneath.

But a demon didn’t appreciate beauty. They appreciated decay. His thick fingers pressed into her skin as he slowly tilted her face upward.

"Damn demon!"

Zhao Lianyu glared at him.

The demon didn’t respond. His narrow eyes remained fixed on her for several seconds before slowly shifting toward the city below.

The streets were already drowning in chaos.

Demons crawled through the ruins, tearing apart buildings and chasing fleeing cultivators. Fires burned across several districts, while the flesh pillars continued standing throughout the city, their grotesque bodies pulsing under the crawlers all over their surfaces.

The burly demon gave the destruction only a brief glance before turning his attention back to Zhao Mingyuan and Sun Qian.

His fingers remained around Zhao Lianyu’s chin.

"You two."

His voice remained deep, and every word seemed to carry a peculiar distortion, as though several voices were speaking beneath his own.

"You actually managed to pull this off. I’m impressed."

Zhao Mingyuan and Sun Qian immediately appeared beside him and lowered their heads respectfully.

"High Lord."

The bald demon looked toward them.

"How are the other regions?"

Zhao Mingyuan answered immediately.

"We have received word from the other groups."

He paused.

"The southern region has fallen as we predicted. The humans fled, and their defense lines crumbled under our siege."

A faint smile appeared on the High Lord’s face.

"And the north?"

"The northern operation is still underway. We have not received confirmation of its completion yet."

The High Lord nodded slightly.

"And the west?"

Zhao Mingyuan’s expression became slightly more serious.

"The western operation has failed."

The burly High Lord’s fingers continued pressing against Zhao Lianyu’s cheek.

"Why?"

"The human High Lords intervened before the formation could be completed. They noticed us, and the three High Lords are engaged in a fight against the human High Lords in that region."

The burly demon remained silent.

There was no anger on his face, not even a trace of disappointment, as he simply looked toward the burning city below.

After a few seconds, he spoke.

"One failure."

His eyes narrowed.

"Two successes."

He turned his gaze back toward Zhao Lianyu.

"That is hardly a loss."

The thin woman’s grotesque mouth slowly curved upward on one side as she slowly spoke.

"Even with one region lost, we have already damaged the foundation of the human kingdom. Slowly, we will corrode this kingdom into our land, keep these humans captive, and enslave them as a food source to be herded."

Zhao Lianyu’s expression changed.

The High Lord did not seem interested in wasting any more time.

His massive hand slowly released Zhao Lianyu’s chin before moving downward. His fingers passed over her neck, then her chest, until his palm finally pressed against her abdomen.

"I wonder how a human spiritual root looks..."

Zhao Lianyu’s expression changed.

Before she could react, his hand slowly sank into her body.

There was no wound. His flesh simply passed through hers as though her body had suddenly become nothing more than water. His fingers continued sinking deeper into her abdomen, and an unbearable pain immediately spread through her entire body.

"AHHHHH!"

Zhao Lianyu’s body convulsed violently within the demon’s confinement. Her back arched as every muscle in her body tightened at once, while her fingers curled uncontrollably around nothing.

The pain felt as though something was being torn apart deep inside her, spreading from her abdomen through her chest and into every limb.

Her breathing became ragged as she struggled against the female demon’s restraints, but the more she fought, the tighter the demon’s arms wrapped around her body.

"Get... your hand... out!"

Her voice came out between strained breaths, her face twisted with pain as her body continued trembling helplessly in the demon’s grasp.