Chapter 288 Bloodbath at Ximen

The setting sun was like blood, staining the entire Jingzhou City a deep crimson.

Cheng Xiaoqing stood atop the West Gate, hands behind his back, his robes flapping loudly in the wind. Behind him, the few remaining squads of the Demon Hunting Division were all in position, along with scattered soldiers pulled from various places; they stood silently, filling half the length of the city wall.

Three hundred men.

The grand Jingzhou Prefecture Demon Suppression Division, with the Demon Hunting Division having a full complement of nearly five hundred men, now had only three hundred left capable of fighting.

Cheng Xiaoqing scanned the area below the city; dark shadows were writhing on the distant horizon—those were the demonized commoners swarming from several villages around the Life-Saving Temple.

They didn't move fast, but there were so many of them that they covered the entire plain.

Their faces were the first things that became clear.

Cheng Xiaoqing recognized those faces; he had seen the files submitted by the Demon Search Division. Tucked inside those files were portraits of the villagers from those few hamlets: honest old farmers, shy women, and barefoot children running about. They had all once knelt before the statue of that white-haired elder, kowtowing and burning incense, treating him like a living immortal.

But now, while those faces remained, they were twisted beyond human recognition.

Their eyes rolled back to show the whites, the corners of their mouths split to their ears, and saliva mixed with bloody foam dripped down their chins. Their limbs were already contorted into beastly postures, and raspy growls issued from their throats—those weren't human voices; they were beasts, demons, or something in between.

Ling Xiaoning gripped his fish gut dagger, his hands trembling.

He stood beside Chen Mu, his eyes fixed on the writhing figures below the city. His face was as white as paper, his lips quivered, and his voice was kept extremely low, as if he were afraid of someone overhearing.

"Are they... still human?"

Chen Mu didn't answer. He simply drew his soul-slaying blade and stood with it held horizontally, his gaze falling on the dark shadows below the city, his face devoid of any expression.

By the time the first wave of demonized commoners reached the base of the wall, the sky had turned completely dark.

They had no siege engines; they didn't know how to set up scaling ladders or use battering rams. They only knew how to climb frantically, using their twisted limbs and digging their teeth into the crevices of the city bricks, desperately clawing their way up.

"Release arrows!"

At Cheng Xiaoqing's command, arrows rained down from the top of the wall.

Those demonized commoners who were hit fell screaming, but some were completely oblivious, allowing the arrows to pierce their bodies while they continued to climb frantically.

Their blood splattered against the city walls—black and red mixing together, flowing down through the gaps in the bricks.

Soon, the first wave of demonized commoners climbed onto the wall, and Chen Mu's blade slashed down.

The blade's edge swept across a commoner's neck, and the head was tossed into the sky. Blood erupted like a fountain, drenching Chen Mu, yet the headless corpse still lunged forward, frantically flailing its limbs for a long moment before finally collapsing.

[Killed demonized commoner, Lifespan plundered: thirty-three years]

Chen Mu withdrew his blade and turned to face the next lunging demonized commoner; the blade light flashed again, and blood splattered once more.

[Killed demonized commoner, Lifespan plundered: twenty-one years]

[Killed demonized commoner, Lifespan plundered: forty years]

[Killed demonized commoner, Lifespan plundered: thirteen years]

The System notification sounds rang out continuously in his mind, one after another, so fast they almost merged into one. Chen Mu ignored them, mechanically swinging his blade down, then swinging it again.

He didn't know how long he had been killing or how many he had slain; he only knew that the brothers beside him were falling one by one, only to be replaced by others.

Lu Dachuan dragged his leg, which hadn't fully healed, limping as he swung his greatsword to hack down the demonized commoners lunging at him. Feng Qing stood behind the battlements, his bowstring thrumming incessantly, each arrow accurately piercing the heads of those monsters. Shen Suning moved through the crowd, a long whip in her hand, protecting the wounded brothers as they retreated.

Ling Xiaoning was also killing.

His fish gut dagger was very short, so he had to get very close to strike vital points. Several times, he was nearly tackled by the demonized commoners, but Chen Mu's blade always arrived at the most critical moment to slash through the lunging shadows.

Ling Xiaoning didn't have time to say thank you; he just gritted his teeth and continued to kill.

The battle lasted until late into the night.

The piles of corpses below the city were no longer recognizable; they covered the ground in a dark layer. Blood flowed from the base of the walls, and the air was thick with the scent of blood mixed with a burnt stench, making it difficult to breathe.

Chen Mu stood on the wall, covered in blood. He glanced at the System panel.

[Lifespan plundered: five thousand one hundred and forty-two years]

Over five thousand years.

Before this battle began, he had just under four thousand years, and now it had reached over five thousand. Yet he felt no joy; he simply withdrew his gaze and looked toward the writhing shadows outside the city.

There were still so many.

At some point, the wind had stopped. The people on the wall were still fighting, the screams and roars blending together, but Chen Mu vaguely sensed something unusual.

That odd feeling was hard to describe, as if something was approaching, pressing down so hard it was suffocating.

The next moment, it suddenly went quiet below the city.

The demonized commoners who had been frantically climbing seemed to be frozen by some invisible force, stopping their movements in unison. They tilted their heads back, looking in the same direction, letting out low whimpers from their throats as if welcoming something.

Cheng Xiaoqing's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Not good!"

Before he could finish his sentence, a ten-meter-tall behemoth stepped through the night from afar, descending with a crash.

It was a black-furred demon general, its body covered in thick black hair, every strand standing up like a steel needle. Its head was neither wolf nor tiger, and a pair of eyes burned with ghostly blue demon fire; a single glance from it was enough to make one's whole body go cold.

The most harmful thing was the fire on its body.

Ghostly blue demon fire seeped from within it, clinging to its fur. The demon fire had no temperature, yet it carried an indescribable eeriness, as if it could burn away all traces of the living.

With every step it took, it left charred claw prints on the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The footsteps were as heavy as thunder, making the ears of everyone on the wall ache, and the bricks and stones on the wall began to fall rapidly.

"A demon general... Heart-Awakening Realm Peak..."

Lu Dachuan's voice was so raspy it was almost inaudible.

No one spoke. Everyone knew that this demon general was on a completely different level from the monsters they had killed before.

But the demon general wouldn't give them time for fear. It let out a roar, pushed off with its limbs, and its massive body charged toward the city wall with incredible speed. With a thunderous boom, the entire West Gate trembled, and cracks immediately split across the wall.

"Stop it!"

Bai Junyi's roar sounded from the side. He raised his blade and charged forward, followed by several veteran soldiers, their blade lights flashing as they slashed at the demon general.

But the demon general didn't even turn its head; it simply swiped down with a claw.

Bang!

Bai Junyi was sent flying horizontally, crashing into the city wall. He spat out a mouthful of blood and slid to the ground, unable to get back up. The veteran soldiers were also struck by the demon claw, falling off the wall with screams into the swarm of demonized commoners, where they were instantly submerged.

"Captain Bai!"

Ling Xiaoning's eyes were bloodshot. He wanted to rush forward but was grabbed by Chen Mu.

Jiang Yuheng dashed forward, but his swordsmanship was not worth mentioning before the demon general. After a few exchanges, he was swatted away, crashing to the ground and vomiting blood.

Feng Qing's arrows hit the demon general but couldn't even produce a spark. Shen Suning gripped her medicine box, wanting to rush over and save people, but she was held back firmly by Chen Mu.

"Don't go over there."

Chen Mu's voice was low as he stared fixedly at the demon general.

He knew he was no match for it—the gap was far too wide—but he couldn't retreat.

Behind him were Ling Xiaoning, the still-recovering Lu Dachuan, and the brothers who were still fighting. If he retreated, they would all die.

Chen Mu took a deep breath, gripped his soul-slaying blade, and walked toward the demon general step by step.

The demon general lowered its head, its eyes fixed on this human who didn't know the meaning of death. Its bloody maw opened, letting out a heaven-shaking roar.

That roar brought a wave of foul-smelling air crashing against him, almost making Chen Mu lose his footing, but he didn't retreat and continued forward.

Step by step.

When he was ten meters from the demon general, he suddenly exerted his strength. Combining Divine Void Step with Wind God Wings, he turned into an afterimage and lunged straight at the demon general.

The soul-slaying blade, carrying the Hunyuan Calamity Astral Qi, slashed into the demon general's leg, and sparks immediately flew in all directions.

The demon general's fur was as hard as iron; the strike only left a shallow white mark. The demon general looked down at the white mark, then at Chen Mu, a hint of mockery flashing in its eyes.

In the next instant, a massive palm swiped down.

Chen Mu dodged to the side. The wind from the palm swept past him and struck the ground. The bluestone ground instantly shattered, and flying stone fragments hit him, causing sharp pain.

He didn't stop, nor did he dare to. He delivered a second strike to the same spot, but it still only left a white mark.

The demon general's massive palm swiped down again. This time, Chen Mu couldn't completely avoid it. The wind from the palm clipped his shoulder, sending him flying horizontally to crash into the wall and slide down, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Chen Mu!"

Ling Xiaoning's roar came from afar, but he couldn't afford to respond. He struggled to his feet, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and raised his blade to charge forward once more.

But this time, the demon general was no longer interested in tangling with him. It raised its massive claw and swiped down toward Chen Mu's head—a palm that blotted out the sky, carrying the power to destroy everything.

Chen Mu looked up at the rapidly approaching massive claw, his pupils contracting.

He couldn't dodge.

This strike was too fast and too fierce; he no longer had time to evade.