Chapter 689 Confronting the Demon King, Take Them Out (Part 2)

The flock of Three-legged Migratory Birds they were tailing had only one Great Demon, but its population numbered in the thousands—a scale few other Demon Beast clans could match.

The sight of several thousand Three-legged Migratory Birds migrating together was quite spectacular. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they blotted out the sky, and few Demon Beasts dared to provoke them along the way.

This changed when they accidentally strayed into the airspace of a Six-winged Roc.

The Six-winged Roc’s sharp talons tore the migrating flock of Three-legged Migratory Birds in two. Instantly, countless bird corpses rained from the sky. The flock’s leader shrieked in fury, its eyes nearly bursting, but it was powerless to stop the roc’s rampage.

At the critical moment, Song Changsheng, who had been tailing them all along, quietly released his own aura, frightening the Six-winged Roc away.

This left Niu Dazhuang not knowing whether to laugh or cry. They were sworn enemies with Demon Beasts, yet this time, they had acted as a “guardian angel” for them.

The flock of Three-legged Migratory Birds probably never imagined they would one day be saved by Human Race Cultivators.

After the massacre, the Three-legged Migratory Birds collected their heavy hearts and resumed their journey.

「Three days later.」 Having lost nearly half their number, the Three-legged Migratory Birds finally reached the Beast Tide’s gathering point.

From a great distance, Song Changsheng could see the Demon Qi surging into the heavens. Judging by the sheer scale of the Demon Qi, the number of Demon Beasts gathered there was no small figure.

To avoid detection, the two of them didn’t dare get too close, finding a small hill from which to secretly observe the situation.

“Changsheng, what do you see?”

Niu Dazhuang nudged Song Changsheng, asking impatiently.

“Demon Beasts. In the sky, on the ground—they’re everywhere. Judging by the scale, there are at least two hundred thousand of them, if not more.”

“Two hundred thousand?” Niu Dazhuang’s expression changed slightly. Although Luoxia City had faced Beast Tides of over half a million more than once, that didn’t mean a tide of this size wasn’t terrifying.

Dingyuan City was only built a little over a decade ago. Despite the immense investment of manpower and resources, it had never truly faced a large-scale Beast Tide.

If the city’s defenses proved inadequate, the lives of Luoxia City’s disciples would be needed to fill the gaps. The last time they faced the Black Dragon Demon King, Luoxia City suffered over ten thousand casualties and still hadn’t recovered its strength.

“And this is just the scale we can see now. It doesn’t include those still on their way. Plus, as a Beast Tide moves, it sweeps up vast numbers of Low-tier Demon Beasts, snowballing in size. The final count could easily double.”

“Dammit, is this really a newly ascended Demon King? To have this much pull!” Niu Dazhuang couldn’t help but growl in frustration.

In their estimation, this Beast Tide was expected to top out at a hundred thousand at most. With the Great City Lord personally overseeing the defense of Dingyuan City, they should have been able to repel it easily.

But as things stood now, the dream was beautiful, but reality was cruel.

“Don’t forget, this is the Demon Realm. The armies of the Human Race have never set foot here. The Demon Race has been rooted in this land since ancient times, and the density of Demon Beasts is beyond imagination.”

“On top of that, many Demon Beasts have fled here from what is now Tuo Province. We can’t judge the scale of this Beast Tide by old standards.”

“Fuck! Dammit! I swear, my whole life is going to be spent fighting Demon Beasts,” Niu Dazhuang cursed under his breath. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he looked at Song Changsheng and asked, “Have you seen any sign of the Demon King?”

Hearing this, Song Changsheng shook his head slightly. “Not yet.”

“We have to identify the Demon King’s species. That’s the only way Eldest Martial Uncle can prepare a specific counter-strategy. We’ll have to lie low here for a while.”

Song Changsheng frowned slightly. This was an extremely dangerous move. After all, a massive number of Demon Beasts were gathered across from them, including more than a few Tier Three Great Demons. If they were discovered, escaping would be difficult.

But Niu Dazhuang had a point. Each Demon Beast had unique abilities. As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles. Understanding the situation beforehand would allow them to formulate a targeted response and minimize casualties.

So the two of them lay in wait on the hill. The sun and moon cycled overhead. Then, one morning, the earth began to tremble violently. A boundless wave of Demon Qi erupted into the sky, making the hairs on Song Changsheng’s entire body stand on end.

Song Changsheng’s focus sharpened instantly. In a slightly hurried tone, he said, “The Demon King is about to appear.”

‘This is the first time I’ve ever seen a Demon King-level Demon Beast with my own eyes,’ he thought, feeling both apprehensive and a little excited.

He activated his Pupil Technique and focused his gaze. In the center of the Beast Tide, a behemoth had appeared at some unknown point.

It stood a thousand feet tall, its body covered in hard scales that shimmered with a ghostly light. It flicked a scarlet, forked tongue, its pair of vertical, jade-green pupils filled with cold indifference. Atop its massive, triangular head was a single, colossal horn shaped like a water buffalo’s.

Its enormous body was covered by a layer of cicada-like wings, which trembled ceaselessly.

The most eye-catching feature was a scarlet line on its underbelly, running from its lower jaw all the way to its tail.

Seeing this series of distinct features, the identity of the Demon King before them was obvious—the Six-winged Dragon Snake.

Legend said it was the offspring of a True Dragon and a Golden Cicada. Having inherited the bloodlines of two Divine Beasts, its power and talent were exceptionally formidable. It also possessed a trace of dragon’s might, giving it a natural, absolute suppressive power over other Demon Beasts with inferior bloodlines.

“A Six-winged Dragon Snake… No wonder. No wonder it could summon so many Demon Beasts.” A cold sweat broke out on Song Changsheng’s forehead.

In terms of how difficult it was to deal with, the Six-winged Dragon Snake was far more of a threat than the Thunderous Demon King slain by the Great City Lord’s sword.

Niu Dazhuang also broke out in a cold sweat. He said urgently, “We have to report what we’ve found here to Master and Eldest Martial Uncle.”

“Right.”

Song Changsheng nodded, and the two began to slowly retreat.

Suddenly, a chill ran down Song Changsheng’s spine as an immense sense of crisis enveloped his heart.

“Not good!”

Song Changsheng whipped his head around. The Six-winged Dragon Snake’s pair of jade-green, vertical pupils were now fixed on them, glinting with a sinister light.

Even though they were extremely far away, a single glance was all Song Changsheng needed to know that the creature was staring right at them.

Song Changsheng’s scalp tingled with fear. He grabbed Niu Dazhuang’s arm and yelled, “Run!”

The word was barely out of his mouth before the two of them took off, running for the Canglan River for all they were worth without a single look back.

Watching the two ants in its field of vision, the Six-winged Dragon Snake flicked its tongue and said coldly, “Kill them.”

ROAR—

Four roars erupted from the Beast Tide as four figures shot out in pursuit of the fleeing Song Changsheng and Niu Dazhuang.

“We have pursuers,” Song Changsheng said, glancing back. His expression grew grave as he saw the four figures rapidly closing in.

“The Six-winged Dragon Snake isn’t chasing us, is it?” Niu Dazhuang asked in a panic.

Song Changsheng couldn’t help but roll his eyes at him. ‘In the Demon King’s eyes, we’re just ants. Even glancing at us was beneath its dignity. Why would it possibly come after us itself?’

“They’re all Flying Demon Beasts. If this turns into a battle of attrition, we’ll be the ones to lose. We have to find a chance to take them out.”

“Take them out? Are you kidding me? Those are four Great Demons! And we’re on their home turf! They could summon a horde of beasts to tear us apart in minutes.” Niu Dazhuang’s eyes went wide. He’d always thought of himself as reckless, but he never expected to meet a true master of the craft.

“If we don’t take them out, how do you plan on escaping?”

Niu Dazhuang’s expression shifted rapidly. He gritted his teeth. “Dammit, let’s do it. Tell me the plan.”

“I’ve observed them. There are four Demon Beasts: three Tier Three Low Grade Blue-eyed Demon Butterflies, and one Tier Three Middle Grade Giant-winged Celestial Eagle.”

“We have to repel or kill the Giant-winged Celestial Eagle first—it’s the biggest threat to us. Only then will we have a chance to escape with our lives.”

“Alright, I’ll go take it down!” Niu Dazhuang said, gritting his teeth.

Hearing this, Song Changsheng flatly refused. “No. Your Body Technique isn’t fast enough to keep up with it. I’ll deal with it. You hold off the three Blue-eyed Demon Butterflies.”

“Can you… handle it?”

Song Changsheng’s expression was firm. “Trust me!”