77: Chapter 77 Demon Hunting!!

In the arena, Wang Duanyue's pale gray Sword Qi trembled violently and flickered amidst the impact of the Soul Devour, yet it never dissipated!

Instead, like a fish swimming against the current, it inched forward, piercing unyieldingly toward the frantically spinning dark single eye.

"Roar——!!!"

The devil let out a roar mixed with pain and fury. The dark vortex in its single eye spun to its limit, spewing out a beam of pitch-black light as dense as substance, which slammed fiercely into the Sword Qi!

"Clang——!!!"

This time, it was a piercing, sharp sound like metal striking metal.

Wang Duanyue's figure materialized. The sleeve on his right arm, which held the sword, shattered inch by inch, revealing a forearm as sturdy as steel. Veins bulged on his arm, the web between his thumb and index finger had split, and fresh blood flowed down the hilt of the sword.

But the sword in his hand had its tip pressed against the dark vortex in the center of the single eye.

Where the sword tip met the vortex, space seemed to distort. Dense black lightning and pale gray Sword Qi splashed out wildly; every wisp of scattered energy could easily pierce through iron armor.

"Inspector Xu!" Wang Duanyue roared, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.

"Understood!"

Dark golden light surged in Xu Zhaoyang's eyes, and he suddenly pulled with all his might on the Dragon Binding Rope that had been kept taut!

This time, he didn't just use the strength of his arms; the crimson-gold Protective Aura around his entire body poured frantically into the golden rope.

"Hum——!!!"

The fine, scale-like patterns on the Dragon Binding Rope lit up one by one. The entire golden rope seemed to come alive, transforming into a true golden flood dragon that bit down hard on the devil's spine, tightening and tearing frantically!

"Brother Zhou! Brother Li!" Xu Zhaoyang shouted sharply at the same time.

Li Chongshan suppressed his injuries and once again condensed his crimson flame fist aura, blasting it toward the devil's other giant horn, forcing it to be unable to deal with Wang Duanyue's sword with full strength.

Zhou Wenyuan exerted all his strength to maintain the four water tornadoes, tightly binding the devil's body and restricting its movements.

The elder from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau also activated his jade ruyi, shrinking the light net for capturing demons to its limit. Like a great golden net, it tightly wrapped around most of the devil's body, scorching its Devilish Qi.

For a moment, the devil was trapped in the all-out siege of four experts of the Dragon Elephant Realm and the suppression of the Formation!

The Dragon Binding Rope tore through flesh, the crimson flame fist aura scorched the giant horn, the water tornadoes bound the body, and the demon-capturing net scorched the Devilish Qi. But the most fatal blow was Wang Duanyue's sword, which was pressed against the core of the single eye.

The devil struggled frantically, its hundred-foot body churning the sea and sky, creating towering waves. The eight naval warships tossed like fallen leaves in the waves; if not for their sturdy hulls and stable Formations, they would have capsized long ago.

But with every struggle, the Dragon Binding Rope tightened a fraction, the water tornadoes wrapped tighter, the demon-capturing net scorched more intensely, and Wang Duanyue's sword sank in an inch.

The black blood vessels around the single eye began to burst one by one, spraying dark green foul blood. The rotation speed of the dark vortex clearly slowed down, and its light began to dim.

The devil's aura showed signs of weakening for the first time.

"Now is the moment!" On the ship tower, a naval general's eyes were split with rage, and he roared hoarsely, "All warships, Divine Machine Crossbow Cannons, aim at the devil's body—volley fire!!!"

The order was instantly relayed to the eight warships via flag signals and voice transmission!

On the side of every warship, the tightly closed window shutters burst open, revealing the rows of ferocious giant crossbows behind them.

These were not ordinary crossbows; the crossbow bodies were cast from refined steel and Formation Talismans, the crossbow arms were as thick as an adult's thigh, and the bowstrings were twisted from the fascia of deep-sea giant pythons mixed with gold threads, gleaming with a pale blue cold light.

And the "crossbow bolts" mounted on the crossbows were, shockingly, giant bolts two zhang long, engraved all over with explosive Talismans, with their tips wrapped in crimson crystals.

With at least twenty on each side of every ship, the eight ships had nearly three hundred Divine Machine Crossbow Cannons. At this moment, they all turned in unison, the cold crossbow bolts locking onto the massive, frantically struggling devil in the sea!

"Fire!!!"

"Swish swish swish swish swish——!!!"

Three hundred piercing shrieks, shrill to the extreme, were like a funeral bell played by the Grim Reaper, tearing through the roar of the gale and waves, cutting across the dim sky.

Three hundred giant demon-breaking crossbow bolts, like three hundred crimson meteors, trailing dazzling tails of light, shot from different angles in a covering barrage toward the devil's body!

The devil seemed to sense a fatal crisis, and its six compound eyes simultaneously flashed with madness and despair!

"Roar——!!!"

It let out an unprecedentedly violent roar, and instead of resisting Wang Duanyue's sword piercing its single eye, it ignored the Dragon Binding Rope tearing its flesh, the water tornadoes binding its body, and the demon-capturing net scorching its Devilish Qi!

Its massive body shrank abruptly. All its appendages and the countless wriggling tentacles on its back curled inward at this instant, tightly protecting the most core part of its body!

At the same time, from the gaps in the dark cyan scales on its body surface, a thick, pitch-black mucus seeped out to the extreme.

The mucus quickly covered its entire body, forming a wriggling, foul-smelling, filthy armor!

"Not good! It's going to fight to the death!" The elder from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's expression changed drastically, "Retreat quickly!"

However, it was too late.

Three hundred demon-breaking crossbow bolts poured down like a rainstorm!

"Boom boom boom boom boom——!!!"

The first wave of crossbow bolts struck the filthy armor, the explosive Talismans triggered instantly, and the demon-breaking crystals bloomed with dazzling red light!

The deafening chain explosions detonated balls of crimson fire over ten zhang in diameter on the sea surface!

The high temperature and shockwave instantly vaporized the surrounding seawater, raising walls of water dozens of zhang high!

The filthy armor on the devil's body was blown to pieces, large patches of scales shattered, flesh flew everywhere, and dark green blood sprayed like a waterfall, dyeing a large area of the sea a strange dark green.

But the devil had stubbornly withstood the first volley! Although that layer of filthy armor was tattered, it had offset most of the explosion's power.

But the crossbow bolts were not just one wave!

The Divine Machine Crossbow Cannons were ingeniously designed with extremely fast reloading speeds; while the first wave of bolts had not yet fully exploded, the second wave was already loaded.

"Second round, fire!!!"

"Swish swish swish——!!!"

Nearly three hundred more demon-breaking crossbow bolts, like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, covered the area again!

The devil let out a wail mixed with endless pain and madness. Its protective Devilish Qi was completely blown away, and the filthy armor shattered entirely. On its massive body, at least a hundred terrifying penetrating wounds appeared, each as large as a house, with scorched and curled flesh at the edges, and dark green blood gushing out like a breached river!

Its aura plummeted instantly!

But just at the moment when everyone thought the devil was about to be slain—

The devil's six already dim compound eyes suddenly exploded simultaneously!

It was not attacked; it had self-detonated voluntarily!

Six clusters of filthy blood light, concentrated to the extreme, mixed with its final Origin Devilish Qi and mad Divine Soul, erupted like six blood-colored stars, sweeping indiscriminately in six directions!

This final desperate counterattack had no warning, and its speed was fast to the extreme!

The first to bear the brunt was Wang Duanyue, who was the closest!

"Pfft——!"

Although Wang Duanyue reacted extremely quickly and withdrew his sword to retreat, he was still struck in the chest by the edge of a beam of blood light!

He was struck as if by lightning, his body flying backward a hundred zhang, spraying blood from his mouth. His clothes on his chest were completely shattered, and on the exposed skin, countless fine black patterns, wriggling like living things, emerged! Devilish Qi had invaded his body!

"Brother Wang!" Li Chongshan and Zhou Wenyuan were shocked and hurriedly took action to intercept the blood light sweeping toward them, but they were also shaken, their blood and Qi roiling, blood spilling from the corners of their mouths.

And more blood light slammed fiercely into the eight surrounding naval warships and the three family tower ships behind them!

"Form up! Defend!" The generals on each ship roared hoarsely.

The Formation light on the warships shone brightly, and the soldiers desperately injected Protective Aura into the ship's defensive Talismans.

However, this blood light of the final desperate counterattack contained the devil's final Origin and madness, and its power far exceeded the ordinary!

"Boom boom boom——!!!"

Among the three family tower ships, the one located on the outermost side had its defensive Formation pierced through by two beams of blood light first!

The ship's hull was swept by the blood light, as if cut by an invisible giant blade; the deck, cabins, and masts instantly shattered and disintegrated!

Hundreds of Li Family guards, servants, and some physicians placed there on the ship didn't even have time to scream before they were eroded and dissolved in the blood light, turning into blood mist and severed limbs filling the sky!

The other two tower ships were also severely damaged, their hulls cracked, Formations dimmed, and casualties were heavy.

The eight naval warships were in slightly better condition, but the two at the very front were also hit head-on by the blood light. Their hulls developed huge cracks, cabins flooded, and soldier casualties were no less than hundreds!

Screams, cries, and the sound of ships breaking apart instantly drowned out the roar of the waves!

And the devil that launched this final counterattack had its aura withered to the extreme.

Its terrifying hundred-foot-long body began to shrink and shrivel rapidly, like a deflated skin bag.

The filthy blood stopped flowing, the broken scales lost their luster, and the wriggling tentacles hung down powerlessly.

In the horrified gazes of everyone, that massive giant, like a mountain range, actually shrank and shrank again within a mere ten breaths... Finally, it turned into a curled-up ball of flesh about the size of a child, wrapped in filthy mucus and broken scales, floating on the sea surface. Its aura was as weak as a candle in the wind, no longer possessing its previous world-destroying might.

The sea surface gradually calmed down.

The dark clouds slowly dispersed, and the sunlight shone down again, illuminating this sea area that looked like purgatory.

The broken warships floated at a tilt, the sea surface was full of wooden splinters, corpses and remains, and the strange seawater dyed in a mix of dark green and scarlet.

The smell of blood, the smell of burning, and the stench of Devilish Qi mixed together, making one feel nauseous.

After a brief silence, the surviving soldiers let out sobs and roars of those who had survived a catastrophe.

On the ship tower, Xu Zhaoyang's face was pale, with blood hanging from the corner of his mouth; he had clearly also suffered non-trivial internal injuries, but he was still gripping the Dragon Binding Rope tightly. At the other end of the golden rope, it was currently wrapped around that child-sized ball of devil flesh.

Li Chongshan and Zhou Wenyuan flew to Wang Duanyue's side, only to see this Wang Family patriarch, known for the fierce and powerful Dao of the sword, now looking pitch-black in the face, the black patterns on his chest spreading like living things, his aura chaotic, already fallen into a semi-comatose state.

"Devilish Qi has invaded his heart!" Zhou Wenyuan's expression was ugly as he hurriedly took out several fragrant Medicinal Pills and stuffed them into Wang Duanyue's mouth, then used water-attribute Protective Aura to protect his heart meridian.

"Quick! All military physicians, treat the wounded immediately!" Li Chongshan turned his head, his crimson eyes sweeping over the two broken tower ships behind, his voice hoarse but carrying an unquestionable command, "Priority to the seriously wounded! Save people at all costs!"

On the remaining tower ships, the surviving physicians recovered from their shock.

Looking at the miserable state on the sea, looking at the soldiers groaning in pools of blood and rolling in pain from being eroded by Devilish Qi, the instinct of a healer finally overcame their fear.

"Quick! Get the medicine chest!"

"Gauze! Golden sore medicine! Antidote pills!"

"Bring up those who are still breathing first!"

Jiang Hanzhou took a deep breath of air heavy with the smell of blood and the sea, suppressing the roiling blood and Qi in his chest and the lingering stinging pain in his Divine Soul.

He glanced at the ball of devil flesh that was being dragged by Xu Zhaoyang with the Dragon Binding Rope and was currently being sealed with layers of Talismans by the elder from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, a flicker of light in his eyes.

Then, he turned and strode toward the wounded groaning in pain on the deck.

A naval soldier had half his body scorched black, his left arm was missing, and wisps of black gas lingered at the wound, emitting suppressed screams.

Jiang Hanzhou squatted down, tore open his tattered armor, and his gaze quickly swept over the wound.

"Devilish Qi residue, accompanied by fire poison and filthy erosion..." He quickly judged in his heart, his hands not stopping.

He took three of the longest silver needles from the needle pouch in his bosom, pale golden blood and Qi flowing at his fingertips, and without hesitation, pierced them into three major acupuncture points on the wounded soldier's chest.

The needles entered three inches and vibrated slightly.

The wounded man's screams weakened instantly, and his rolled-back eyes regained a trace of consciousness.

Jiang Hanzhou took out another small jade bottle, poured out three "Cleansing Filth Pills" that he had refined by improving the exorcism and detoxification ideas in the secret record of blood gu, crushed them, mixed them with the wound medicine he carried, and quickly applied them to the wound.

The medicinal powder touched the black gas, making a "sizzling" sound, and the black gas was actually slowly forced out and dissipated.

"Hold him down, don't let him move around." Jiang Hanzhou instructed a nearby servant who was still in shock, then stood up and walked toward the next wounded soldier.

His technique was crisp and neat, his diagnosis precise, and his medication combined conventional medical skills with special considerations for countering Devilish Qi, standing out remarkably in the chaotic rescue scene.

Not far away, Steward, who was organizing the rescue, noticed this side, and a glimmer of surprise flashed in his eyes.

This young physician from the Jishi Hall in the outer city, facing such tragic injuries and strange Devilish Qi erosion, could actually be so calm, and seems to really have methods?

Jiang Hanzhou had no time to care about others' gazes.

He shuttled between the wounded, stopping bleeding, cleaning wounds, dispelling shallow Devilish Qi, stabilizing injuries... his movements were smooth and flowing. At the same time, he was also carefully observing these cases injured by the devil's power.

The erosion characteristics of Devilish Qi, the reactions produced with different people's Physique, the speed of wound deterioration... these first-hand materials were equally precious to him.

And in the gaps of his busy work, his gaze would always drift toward the distance, intentionally or unintentionally.

There, the ball of devil flesh, sealed with layers of Talismans, was being carefully taken to the flagship.

The size of a child...

In Jiang Hanzhou's eyes, a deep light flashed and vanished.