236: Could it be that a powerful force has actually broken in?

Southeast of Luoxia Mountain, within a rugged valley shrouded in dense malevolent energy.

Three young Special Agents wearing Spiritual Energy Bureau uniforms were pushing themselves to the limit, stumbling through craggy rocks and twisted trees.

Their clothes were tattered, their bodies covered in wounds, and their faces were etched with extreme exhaustion and panic.

They were a reconnaissance squad from the Luoxia City Spiritual Energy Bureau, ordered to enter Luoxia Mountain to investigate abnormal spatial fluctuations.

As a result, they encountered a Barrier that formed instantly, cutting them off completely from the outside world.

"Fast... faster! They're about to catch up!" The one running in front was a young man with a buzz cut named Zhao Lei.

He screamed back as he sprinted, his voice hoarse from excessive tension.

"Brother Lei... I, I can't run anymore..." The young Special Agent in the middle, wearing glasses, was named Li Hao.

His face was deathly pale, his steps were faltering, and his breathing was so rapid it seemed he might stop breathing at any moment.

"Li Hao! Hang in there! You can't stop!" The one at the back was a dark-skinned, sturdy young man, Wang Meng.

He gritted his teeth as he supported the nearly collapsing Li Hao, sweat mixed with blood sliding down from his forehead.

"We've already put some distance between us and them! If we just cross this mountain stream, we might find a way out!"

However, a flash of despair crossed Li Hao's eyes:

"But... can we really escape?"

"The whole mountain is sealed off, those ghostly things are everywhere, we're like turtles in a jar!"

Hearing this, Zhao Lei immediately roared:

"Don't talk that pessimistic crap!"

"Didn't you feel that commotion just now? Rescue must have arrived!"

Li Hao suddenly let out a miserable laugh:

"Reinforcements? Heh..."

"That Barrier outside, that kind of power, what kind of reinforcements could get in?"

"We're dead! We're all going to die here!"

By the end, Li Hao was on the verge of a breakdown.

Zhao Lei wanted to say something more, but the sharp screeching from behind instantly made the hair on his body stand on end.

"Over there! Those few that slipped through the net!"

"Catch them! Lord Demon Master wants them alive!"

Cold and cruel hunting voices rapidly approached from the forest behind.

Mixed with the sounds of trees being snapped and the clatter of falling rocks.

The three Special Agents' expressions changed drastically as they pushed their last bit of strength to charge forward.

However, they had already been fleeing in this Demon Realm for several hours, and their stamina was long since exhausted.

They also bore wounds from their previous encounters with Demonic Evils.

At this moment, their speed grew slower and slower, and the distance between them and their pursuers was rapidly shrinking.

Whoosh—!

A sickly green venomous arrow pierced the air, grazing Wang Meng's shoulder as it flew past.

It splashed onto a nearby rock, instantly corroding the hard stone into a sizzling, smoking pit.

Wang Meng broke into a cold sweat; his foot tripped on a protruding tree root, and he fell to the ground along with Li Hao, whom he was supporting.

"Wang Meng! Li Hao!" Zhao Lei hastily braked and turned around to pull them up.

"Don't worry about us! Brother Lei, go!" Wang Meng endured the intense pain, pulled an energy pistol from his waist, and fired several shots toward the direction of the pursuers. "I'll hold them off!"

"Bullshit! If we die, we die together!" Zhao Lei's eyes were bloodshot as he also pulled out his weapon and fired frantically into the shadows.

Li Hao struggled to get up, but the wound on his leg tore open, blood gushing out, causing him to collapse again.

"Hehe... run, why aren't you running anymore?"

A sinister voice came from ahead.

Dozens of figures emerged slowly from the forest shadows like phantoms, blocking all possible escape routes for the three.

Leading them was a Demonic Evil with a humanoid body but the head and tail of a lizard.

Its scarlet tongue flickered with a hiss, and its eyes glinted with a cruel, mocking light.

The other Demonic Evils were of various forms—some covered in bone spurs, others wrapped in vines—but without exception, they all emitted an evil aura of at least the fourth or fifth rank.

"Lord Demon Master said to bring them back alive." The Lizard Fiend grinned, revealing a mouth full of fine, sharp teeth. "These kids are quite good at hiding; they made us search for a long time."

"Hurry up, don't waste time." Another Bone-Spur Fiend said impatiently. "The commotion outside just now wasn't right; I keep feeling uneasy."

"What's there to be uneasy about?" The Lizard Fiend sneered. "It's surely those reckless humans who crashed into Lord Demon Master's Barrier. They're probably mostly dead by now."

"Still, you're right. Move quickly; let's start with the weakest one!"

With those words, the Demonic Evils approached Li Hao, who was slumped on the ground, their long, slender claws reaching out.

"Li Hao!" Zhao Lei and Wang Meng's eyes nearly burst as they fired desperately.

But the energy bullets hit the defensive evil light on the Demonic Evils' bodies, only producing scattered sparks and failing to cause any effective damage.

"The struggles of an ant." The Bone-Spur Fiend waved a hand, and a wave of red energy swept out, sending Zhao Lei and Wang Meng flying. They slammed into the rocks, coughing up blood.

Li Hao watched helplessly as those scale-covered claws reached for him, his eyes filled with despair.

He knew that once possessed by a Demonic Evil, his consciousness would be gradually eroded, and he would slowly turn into a walking corpse-like Demon Servant.

Right then—

Rumble rumble rumble—!!!!!

A terrifying, world-shaking explosion suddenly sounded from the distance!

Following that was a series of violent roars, as if mountains were collapsing and space itself was shattering!

Even from a great distance, that terrifying vibration was clearly felt; the ground shook violently, and the surrounding mountain rocks tumbled down!

Everyone, whether the three Special Agents or the dozens of Demonic Evils.

All were startled by this sudden upheaval, their movements coming to a halt.

"What's the situation?!" The Lizard Fiend snapped its head toward the main peak, a flash of suspicion and alarm in its eyes.

"This commotion... isn't right!" The Bone-Spur Fiend's voice was grave. "This isn't something an ordinary battle could cause..."

Zhao Lei coughed blood, struggling to prop himself up.

He looked toward that chaotic light of energy soaring into the sky, and a light of hope erupted in his eyes:

"It's rescue... it must be rescue from headquarters!"

"Could... a powerhouse really have broken in?" Li Hao said weakly, a faint glimmer of hope reigniting in his heart.

"Impossible!" The Lizard Fiend retorted sharply, but a trace of undetectable wavering had entered its voice. "With so many Lord Commanders there, how could humans possibly..."

"Don't worry about that!" Another Vine Fiend interrupted. "Our mission is to catch these ants! Complete the conversion! Move now!"

The Lizard Fiend's gaze turned fierce, suppressing its inner unease: "Right, catch them!"

The Demonic Evils no longer hesitated, their claws accelerating toward Li Hao!

The other Demonic Evils also lunged at the injured Zhao Lei and Wang Meng, evil energy surging as they prepared to completely subdue them.

"It's over..." Zhao Lei looked at the lunging Demonic Evils and closed his eyes in despair.

Wang Meng roared, still wanting to resist, but his heavily injured body would no longer obey him.

Li Hao watched as that claw came within less than half a meter of his throat, the shadow of death completely enveloping him.

However—

At this critical moment.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh—!!!

Several beams of deep green energy, condensed to the extreme and emitting an aura of annihilation.

Like death rays tearing through the Void Realm, they descended from the sky without warning!

With incomparable precision, they struck the several Demonic Evils lunging at Zhao Lei, Wang Meng, and Li Hao!

"Ugh, ah—!!!"

"No—!!!"

The struck Demonic Evils only let out short, extremely shrill screams.

Then.

Splatter! Splatter! Splatter! Splatter! Splatter!

Their bodies were like they had been thrown into an invisible meat grinder; the moment they contacted the green light beams, they exploded violently!

Sturdy scales, tough muscles, twisted bones... all were instantly decomposed and annihilated by the violent Nether-Dread Energy!

Turning into a spray of flesh and blood and scattered energy flows!

Instant kill!

An absolute, undeniable instant kill!

This sudden upheaval caused the scene to fall into a deathly silence!