77: Constant friction

"Come back quickly!" Liu Chunsheng roared, his eyes bloodshot.

He rushed forward, condensing all his power into his right fist, and smashed it fiercely into the demon wolf's abdomen.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud echoed in the night.

Liu Chunsheng felt as if his punch had landed on a thousand-year-old cold iron; a piercing pain shot through his knuckles, but the demon wolf didn't even flinch.

Its abdomen, covered in hard, grayish-green fur, was three times harder than refined steel.

"This beast..."

Liu Chunsheng staggered back, the web of his hand already torn by the counter-shock, blood dripping down his wrist.

The group fought and retreated, forming a defensive circle back-to-back.

Li Fu at the end of the line was about to be caught by the demon wolf.

The beast's eyes glowed with fierce light, foul-smelling drool dripped from its fangs, and with a stomp of its front paw, it was about to pounce on Li Fu.

"Roar~"

With the strong scent of blood ahead, the demon wolf no longer cared about anything else, rushing forward to tear and bite without hesitation.

Unbeknownst to it, the wolf demon had already entered Chang Sheng Village's territory, completely unaware that danger had already arrived, its eyes only on the few pieces of meat in front of it.

Hungry, hungry, hungry!

Hunger consumed the wolf demon's entire brain.

Li Fu's face was ashen, his woodcutter's knife trembling so much he could barely hold it.

Just at this critical moment—

"Boom—"

A brilliant golden light suddenly shot up from the village, illuminating half the night sky.

The demon wolf's fur bristled all over, and it abruptly halted as if it had encountered a natural enemy.

Without giving the wolf demon time to react, a purple bolt of Thunder Punishment immediately struck down, precisely hitting the direction the demon wolf was trying to escape.

How could an evil demon, targeted by Thunder Punishment, escape so easily?

"Awoo—!"

A mournful howl pierced the night sky; the demon wolf was struck by the purple Thunder Punishment, its body suddenly stiffened in mid-air, its Demonic Qi instantly chaotic and dissipating in wisps, and its massive body crashed heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Everyone was still shaken, staring blankly at the scene before them.

Liu Chunsheng wiped a streak of blood from the corner of his mouth and looked back; Li Fu had already fallen to the ground.

He had no semblance of dignity.

"My goodness..."

Li Fu slumped to the ground, his trousers soaked, and his woodcutter's knife clattered onto the bluestone slab.

His lips trembled, and after a long time, he managed to stammer, "Is, is this beast dead?"

"Yes, is it dead?"

The surrounding villagers then awoke as if from a dream, gathering around.

Wang Houshi picked up a heavy hammer used for blacksmithing, bravely took two steps forward, then quickly retreated: "Why is this wolf so big? It's even sturdier than an old ox!"

"These creatures that become demons grow in all sorts of strange ways!"

Hunter Zhang squeezed out from the crowd, still clutching half a broken hunting fork, "I've hunted for twenty years and never seen a wolf with tusks! These fangs are half an inch longer than a wild boar's!"

"These tusks would make good weapons too."

Liu Chunsheng spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, rubbing his swollen right wrist.

"Don't get too close! Who knows if this demon is feigning death."

He said, kicking a stone over, which landed squarely on the demon wolf's charred nose.

The massive body remained motionless, with only a few wisps of black smoke rising from its fur.

Seeing that the sensitive area was hit and the wolf demon still didn't react, Liu Chunsheng stepped forward, squatted down, and used the tip of his knife to pry open the demon wolf's eyelid—its pupils were dilated, yet still a bizarre blood red.

"It's indeed dead, but the Demonic Qi hasn't dispersed."

"A few people, carry it back to the temple; we'll deal with it tomorrow! Lord Chuping's divine record can add another entry."

"Chunsheng Ge, why did such strong Demonic Qi suddenly appear near our village?"

Qian Shi asked cautiously.

They had walked so far along the village boundary, and the area outside the village was surrounded by thick Demonic Qi.

"Yes, yes, we can't get out at all now!"

Everyone stopped at the sound of this, and the few strong men carrying the wolf demon's corpse stiffened even more.

Liu Chunsheng narrowed his eyes and looked outside the village—in the night, the once familiar field paths were now shrouded in rolling gray mist, with countless faint green lights visible moving within the mist, like fireflies on a summer night, yet emanating a chilling coldness.

"Don't just stand there!"

Liu Chunsheng lowered his voice, "First, carry this beast to the temple!"

The group quickened their pace; the wolf demon's corpse swayed on the stretcher, and drops of black blood corroded small pits into the stone path, making "sizzling" sounds.

Li Fu, walking at the very end, kept looking back, always feeling that something in the mist was following them.

A good number of villagers had already gathered in the open space in front of the temple.

***

Seeing Liu Chunsheng and the others return, everyone swarmed forward, as if they wished they had more mouths to speak with.

"Temple Official Liu, what's the situation now?"

"Has another powerful demon appeared?"

Suddenly, someone in the crowd noticed the wolf demon's corpse that Liu Chunsheng and the others had carried back.

The demon wolf's corpse was enormous, like a small mountain, requiring seven or eight strong adult men to work together to barely lift it.

Its body was covered in a layer of fur as hard as iron, every strand standing erect.

"Temple Official Liu, was it this wolf demon causing trouble? Wow! You've already killed it?"

"Nonsense! This clearly looks like it was struck dead by Lord Chuping's divine thunder!"

"Look at the half-burnt body, you can even smell roasted meat."

...

Liu Chunsheng took a deep breath, stood on the stone steps in front of the temple, and surveyed the faces around him, some fearful, some expectant.

Under the firelight, the villagers' faces appeared particularly pale.

"Fellow villagers,"

his voice was hoarse but powerful, "the situation is much more serious than we imagined."

The crowd gradually quieted, everyone holding their breath and looking at him.

"It's not just this one wolf demon."

Liu Chunsheng pointed in the direction outside the village, "When we patrolled the boundary just now, we found that the entire village—including Chang Sheng Village and Nan Shu Village—has been completely surrounded by evil demons."

A collective gasp of cold air rippled through the crowd.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

Crippled Wang's hand, gripping his crutch, trembled slightly, "Chunsheng, are you saying..."

"That's right."

Liu Chunsheng nodded heavily, "Our two villages are now like prey trapped in a cage. Those evil demons have suddenly gathered for some unknown reason, and their numbers are unprecedented."]

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