Chapter 34: Burn to death.

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Burn to death.

Chen Yuan raised his hand, and the ocean of fireflies followed behind him. Chen Yan lifted the black bell, and Chen Feng rested his sword against his shoulder.

The three High Lords stared at them.

And then, seemingly not wanting to wait for the ocean of fireflies to arrive first, the burly demon suddenly charged.

"Don’t stay too close to each other. Make sure to keep your distance, lest we get caught up inside that pesky fire ocean."

The other two followed. Their bodies exploded forward.

This time, they moved with everything they had. The burly demon crossed the distance first, his enormous fist heading straight toward Chen Yuan.

The force behind it caused the air to compress, blasting the surrounding air away. The mountain below cracked from the pressure before his fist even reached Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan did not move.

Chen Yan did.

The black bell appeared between his fingers as he rang it in the direction of the burly demon.

BOOOOOOOOOONG!

The bell’s sound erupted outward, and an invisible shield appeared between them. The burly demon’s fist stopped several inches from Chen Yuan.

BOOM!

In a single punch, several layers of the shield were destroyed, and the fist was merely an inch away from reaching Chen Yuan’s face.

However, the burly demon’s body trembled in the next second, and immediately afterward, an invisible force slammed into his chest.

BOOM!

He was thrown backward, backflipping in midair several times before stabilizing himself. Before he could find his footing, Chen Feng appeared behind him.

The ancient sword flashed.

SHING!

The burly demon twisted his body, but the sword cut through his shoulder instead of his neck.

Blood sprayed.

"You two! Do something now!"

Chen Feng followed the strike with his elbow.

BOOM!

His elbow struck the demon’s ribs. The sound was deep enough to shake the surrounding air. Several ribs shattered, and the burly demon was sent flying.

The bald High Lord attacked Chen Yan in time. He appeared out of thin air, his body dropping onto all fours in midair as he moved sideways with unnatural speed.

His fingers extended toward Chen Yan’s throat.

Chen Yan’s eyes narrowed, and he rang the bell again.

BOOOOOONG!

The demon’s body was forced sideways. Chen Yuan’s fireflies immediately filled the space he had been pushed into.

The bald demon roared and tore through them with his claws.

Dozens of fireflies exploded.

Then thousands more surrounded him. The demon’s flesh began burning, and the pain struck him all over his body, causing him to force himself through the swarm in panic.

"Damn it, human!!"

Chen Yan looked at the demon running away.

"Too reckless. Do you think all humans walk the path of the sword, willing to fight at close quarters all the time?"

The bell rang again in the demon’s direction, and momentarily, its eyes lost focus for a split second. But that brief moment was more than enough for the fireflies to chase after it and surround it again.

The bald demon was trapped again.

The ocean of Flaming Fireflies surrounding him had expanded to several hundred meters in every direction, forming a vast sphere of crimson-golden flames that completely enclosed his body.

Countless fireflies drifted through the space around him, their tiny wings beating rapidly as waves of heat continuously washed over his body.

Everywhere he turned, there were more of them. He swung his claws desperately.

Dozens of fireflies exploded.

He tore through another section, but hundreds more immediately filled the empty space.

The flames continued burning his flesh as he roared in anger.

"AAAAAAARGH!"

His roar of pain echoed across the mountains.

He tried to force his way through the swarm, crawling through the air with his limbs stretched forward. His body moved rapidly in one direction, but just as he was about to reach the edge of the flames, the black bell rang again.

BOOOOOONG!

His eyes lost focus.

Only for a fraction of a second.

His body continued moving from its momentum, but his thoughts became strangely blank.

By the time his senses returned, the fireflies had already closed the distance. The ocean of flames surrounded him once more.

"NO!"

He turned around and attacked in another direction. Again, the bell rang.

BOOOOOONG!

His body became sluggish, and the fireflies swarmed around him. The bald demon’s expression became increasingly desperate. He had never experienced such an irritating opponent.

What he didn’t know was that this was Chen Yuan’s well-planned battle tactic, and he was the first one to suffer under it in this world.

Fighting head on traditionally? Dream on!

Chen Yan did not even need to attack him directly. Every time he tried to escape, that black bell would ring, disrupting his thoughts for the briefest instant, and Chen Yuan’s Flaming Fireflies would immediately take advantage of that opening.

The bald demon’s body continued burning.

His skin cracked.

His flesh regenerated.

Then it burned again.

The process repeated over and over until even his regeneration began struggling to keep pace with the constant destruction.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

His roar shook the surrounding mountains.

The thin female High Lord heard him as she cautiously looked for opportunities. Her eyes moved toward the enormous sphere of flames.

Her expression darkened. Then blood began seeping from her skin. It came slowly at first. A thin crimson layer appeared across her arms, then her shoulders, her chest, and eventually her entire body.

The blood did not immediately fall. It gathered around her. The amount continued increasing as the female demon’s face became paler while the crimson liquid accumulated around her.

Blood was the foundation of their regeneration.

Every demon possessed a certain amount of blood that could be used to rebuild their bodies. The more blood they had available, the more punishment they could endure.

Once that reserve was depleted, regeneration would become increasingly difficult.

She hated using this much. Every drop she released was fuel she would not have later. But she had no choice. If she did nothing, her companion would eventually be burned until there was nothing left to regenerate.

The blood around her rapidly expanded. A small pool became a river, the river became a torrent, and then the torrent became an ocean.

The enormous mass of blood surged into the sky behind her, spreading outward until it became a crimson sea hundreds of meters wide.

The female demon raised one hand.

The ocean moved.

It crashed toward the sphere of Flaming Fireflies.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Blood and flames collided. The impact created a gigantic explosion of steam. The front of the blood ocean immediately began evaporating.

The crimson liquid hissed violently as countless droplets vanished the moment they came into contact with the fireflies.

The female demon’s expression twisted. She pushed more blood forward. Another wave crashed into the flames.

More blood disappeared, and she continued forcing it forward.

The ocean of blood gradually pushed against the outer layer of fireflies, but the heat remained overwhelming. Entire sections of the crimson sea evaporated into thick clouds of steam before they could reach the bald demon.

Chen Yuan watched from a distance.

A smile appeared on his face.

"I wonder just how stupid you can be."

His eyes settled on the enormous blood ocean.

"To actually use blood to counter my flames?"

The female demon’s expression became furious.

"You!"

Chen Yuan laughed. He raised one hand. At the same time, Chen Yan lifted the black bell.

"Ring."

BOOOOOOOOOONG!

The sound spread across the battlefield.

The female demon’s eyes suddenly lost focus. The bald demon inside the flames experienced the same thing.

Both demons froze. Only for a split second, but that was all Chen Yuan needed.

His fingers moved.

The number of Flaming Fireflies increased as he burned through his spiritual energy reserve. The crimson-golden lights poured into the battlefield from every direction, rapidly multiplying until the enormous ocean of flames expanded several times.

The fireflies did not simply remain around the bald demon. Instead, they surrounded the female demon as well.

The two demons suddenly found themselves inside the same enormous sea of crimson-golden flames.

The female demon looked around and noticed her blood was everywhere. Her own blood had become fuel for the flames.

Her expression finally changed.

"No..."

The fireflies touched the blood. The crimson liquid immediately began boiling. Steam erupted across the battlefield.

The female demon’s eyes widened.

"Release it!"

She desperately pulled her blood back toward herself. The bald demon roared from inside the flames.

"Don’t pull it back! Release everything!"

"What?!"

"If you keep it here, the flames will consume it all! Let it collide! Everything!"

The female demon gritted her teeth. She understood.

Their blood was supposed to protect them. Instead, Chen Yuan had turned the enormous amount of blood she had released into another source of fuel for his flames.

"Release the blood!"

The bald demon screamed.

"All of it!"

The female demon hesitated. Every instinct within her screamed against it. That blood was part of her regeneration reserve.

If she released everything, she would have almost nothing left to repair her body afterward. But the flames were already spreading through it. If she kept it, there would be nothing left anyway.

"Do it!"

The bald demon’s scream echoed through the flames. The female demon finally clenched her teeth.

"Fine!"

She threw both hands outward.

The ocean of blood exploded.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An enormous wave of crimson blood surged outward from within the Flaming Fireflies. The pressure was immense. The blood tore through the surrounding flames, forcing a passage open.

Fireflies were pushed away. Ten of thousands evaporated, and the two demons followed the opening. The bald demon crawled through first, his body badly burned and missing large portions of flesh.

The female demon followed immediately behind him. They escaped the fiery confinement and landed in the air several hundred meters away.

Both were breathing heavily.

Their bodies were covered in burns as the blood surrounding them had been reduced dramatically.

The female demon looked toward Chen Yuan with hatred.

"You..."

Her voice trembled.

"You bastard!"

The bald demon’s face twisted in pain.

"You used my blood against me!"

Chen Yuan laughed.

"You gave it to me."

Before they could attack Chen Yuan again, a figure suddenly appeared beside them. The burly High Lord came crashing through the air.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

His body flew backward like a meteor. The bald demon barely had time to turn before the burly demon smashed directly into him.

The two bodies collided, sending the bald demon spinning, and in the next instant, the female demon was struck as well.

BOOM!

All three were sent flying together.

They crashed into a distant mountain, and the entire mountainside collapsed. A massive cloud of dust rose into the sky.

Eventually, Chen Feng slowly emerged from the other side. He was still holding his ancient sword after beating the burly High Lord there.

A demon is always weaker than a human in the same realm.

Their only advantage...

"Is their number..."

The burly demon struggled to rise from the rubble, his broken head struggling to look toward Chen Feng.

Then he saw the other two humans floating not too far away from them. His breathing became heavier. The bald demon crawled out from the wreckage, and the female demon followed.

For the first time, none of them attacked. They simply stared at the three humans as the realization slowly settled over them.

They couldn’t win. The three humans possessed completely different strengths that overwhelmed them. One was a terrifying swordsman whose physical combat ability was overwhelming.

One controlled the battlefield through that strange black bell, constantly interrupting their movements and preventing them from escaping.

And the last one...

The burly demon looked toward the enormous sea of Flaming Fireflies still filling the sky.

"...is annoying."

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"Annoying?"

The demon’s expression twisted.

"You’re a damn pest."

Chen Yuan laughed out loud.

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

And then they heard it, the sound of burning flames, crisp against their ears, slowly approaching them as they looked toward Chen Yuan, Chen Yan, and Chen Feng.

The three humans were still approaching them through the sky.

Chen Yuan’s enormous sea of Flaming Fireflies followed behind him, covering the sky in crimson-golden light. Chen Yan held the black bell in one hand, while Chen Feng rested his ancient sword against his shoulder.

None of them appeared particularly hurried. Almost too casual as if they were strolling in a park.

The three demons remained silent.

"We can’t win this."

The female demon’s voice trembled as she looked at the three humans approaching them.

"Then we run."

"Run?" The burly demon stared at her. "Where?"

Neither of them answered.

They were surrounded. Behind them were the ruined mountains, while ahead stood Chen Yuan, Chen Yan, and Chen Feng. The enormous sea of Flaming Fireflies remained suspended behind Chen Yuan, filling the sky with crimson-golden light.

Chen Yuan looked at them calmly.

"How does it feel?"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"To be powerless..."

The female demon’s expression changed. She clenched her teeth before slowly lowering her head.

"We surrender."

The bald demon followed after a brief hesitation.

"Please... We can tell you everything."

The burly demon’s face twisted.

"We can tell you where our forces are stationed. We can tell you everything about the Blackmoon Kingdom’s plans."

He looked toward Chen Yuan.

"Just let us live."

Chen Yuan didn’t answer.

Instead, Chen Yan slowly raised the black bell. The three demons immediately became tense.

"Wait!"

"Don’t!"

Ring...

BOOOOOOOOOONG!

The sound spread across the battlefield.

The three demons suddenly froze as their minds fell into a brief trance. Their bodies remained fixed for a brief moment, unable to react properly.

Chen Yuan raised his hand.

The enormous sea of Flaming Fireflies behind him surged forward.

It expanded rapidly, nearly doubling in size until the crimson-golden flames formed an enormous ocean nearly one kilometer wide.

Then it swallowed the three High Lords.

"NO!"

The female demon immediately turned and fled.

The flames followed.

She changed direction, desperately twisting her body through the air, but the ocean of fireflies moved with her.

"Get away!"

She released a stream of blood and used it to push herself forward. The blood immediately caught fire.

Her expression changed.

"No!"

The flames climbed along her body.

She screamed and desperately tried to tear the burning blood away. Nearby, the bald demon slammed both hands against the ground.

BOOM!

The earth exploded beneath his fists. He crawled through the crater, trying to escape beneath the flames, but the fireflies descended after him.

They followed him into the crater.

"NO! GET AWAY!"

His flesh began burning.

The bald demon desperately punched through the flames, destroying thousands of fireflies at once. Yet countless more immediately filled the gaps.

Then the black bell rang again.

Ring...

BOOOOOONG!

His body froze for a fraction of a second.

The fireflies swarmed over him.

"AAAAAAAH!"

The burly demon roared as he charged through the flames. His enormous fist struck the burning ocean.

BOOOOOOOM!

Thousands of fireflies were destroyed, but the flames immediately closed around his arm.

His skin burned away.

Flesh regenerated.

Then it burned away again.

"GET OFF ME!"

He punched the earth repeatedly, creating huge craters beneath himself as he desperately tried to force a path through the fire.

But wherever he went, the Flaming Fireflies followed.

The female demon tried flying upward.

The flames followed.

She rushed downward.

They followed.

She crawled across the mountainside.

They followed.

The three demons gradually realized there was nowhere they could escape to.

Chen Yan raised the bell again.

Ring...

BOOOOOONG!

Their movements slowed for another brief instant. Chen Yuan immediately pushed more spiritual energy into the Flaming Fireflies.

The ocean of flames surged forward. The three demons were completely swallowed.

"PLEASE!"

The female demon screamed.

"We surrender!"

The bald demon’s voice became hoarse.

"PLEASE, STOP!"

The burly demon slammed his fist into the earth one final time.

BOOM!

But the flames engulfed him before he could escape.

Their bodies continued regenerating, but the fire consumed their flesh faster than they could recover. In the end, their abbility became their worst nightmare.

A never ending pain that tortured them to their deaths.

Eventually, their screams gradually weakened. The female demon’s movements became slower, the bald demon collapsed onto the ground, and the burly demon could no longer raise his fists.

Still, the Flaming Fireflies continued burning until their regeneration finally stopped. The three High Lords collapsed into the flames, their bodies slowly turning to ash.

Their final screams disappeared beneath the endless crackling of the crimson-golden fire.

Chen Yuan lowered his hand. The enormous ocean of Flaming Fireflies slowly dispersed. Nothing remained of the three High Lords.

Chen Yuan lowered his hand. The enormous ocean of Flaming Fireflies slowly dispersed, leaving nothing behind but drifting ashes.

The battlefield became strangely quiet.

Chen Yuan turned his head toward Chen Feng.

"That formation is still there."

His gaze shifted toward Blue Cloud Mist City, where the enormous teleportation formation remained suspended above the ruined City Lord Mansion.

A faint smile appeared on his face, "Do you wish to send a big gift to the Blackmoon Kingdom?"

Chen Feng’s eyes narrowed slightly, and then a smile appeared over his face, "How can I refuse?"