271: No regrets, I'm here.

The western outskirts of Jiangyuan City, deep underground.

An extra-dimensional space carved out by a massive amount of fel energy.

This was the outpost established by the Gloomy Abyss in the western suburbs of Jiangyuan City, as detected by the 'Candle Dragon' department.

On the outskirts of the base, within a spacious cave resembling a sentry post, over a dozen Demonic Evils responsible for guard duty were gathered together, appearing somewhat bored.

These Demonic Evils came in various forms, and most of their auras were between the fourth and fifth rank.

They were the lower-middle-tier guards of the outpost.

A Demonic Evil shaped like a lizard, holding a rusted bone spear, complained:

"Sigh, these damn days, when will they ever end?"

"Guarding this sunless place all day long, without even seeing a living thing, I'm bored to death."

Another Demonic Evil made an ethereal sound,

"Be content. I heard something big happened to the 'Incinerator' lineage, and several peripheral outposts connected to us have lost contact."

"The lords above have been in a bad mood lately. Being able to guard this place peacefully without having to go out on those dangerous missions is already a stroke of luck."

A fleshy lump of a Demonic Evil with three heads and a noisy voice sneered with disdain:

"Hmph, dangerous missions? I think they're lucrative jobs, aren't they?"

"Following the Emissary lords to the surface to deal with those weak human cults."

"Maybe they can even snag some blood food for a snack. Not like us, gnawing on these unpalatable energy crystals every day."

Hearing this, the Lizard Fiend quickly agreed:

"Exactly, exactly. I heard the collaborators they found this time are quite cooperative, planning a big blood sacrifice ritual."

"If it succeeds, when rewards are handed out based on merit, those guys who went out to handle things will definitely get a lot of benefits."

Just then, one of the Demonic Evils seemed to notice something and said, "Hey, stop talking. Is there movement over by the teleportation array?"

Hearing this, several Demonic Evils subconsciously glanced at the teleportation array in the distance, where spatial fluctuations were constantly rippling.

That was the main passage connecting several hidden entrances on the surface.

The light of the teleportation array suddenly glowed steadily, and the spatial ripples intensified.

"It's fine, it's probably just someone coming back." The Lizard Fiend tilted its chin, its tone casual and not overly alert.

In their view, this was most likely a team returning to the base after completing a mission.

However, in the next second, a sudden change occurred!

Before the teleportation light had fully dissipated, a dark shadow shot out from the light gate like a cannonball.

Bang—!

With a dull thud, something crashed heavily in front of the chatting Demonic Evils.

The Demonic Evils looked closely and were instantly scared out of their wits!

It was actually a head!

Specifically, it was the head of the Sixth-Rank Abyssal Emissary who had previously led the team to interface with the Shadow Worship Cult!

At this moment, the head's expression was hideous and distorted, filled with extreme fear and pain.

Black blood was still gurgling from the severed neck, and the eyes were wide open, yet they had lost all light.

Hiss—!!!

All the guard Demonic Evils instantly sucked in a breath of cold air, their previous idle chatter vanishing without a trace.

They jumped up abruptly, weapons in hand, fel energy surging, as they looked toward the portal in utter terror.

The light completely faded, and a human figure wearing casual clothes, looking entirely out of place in the surrounding evil environment, slowly stepped out.

It was Chen Nian.

He casually tossed aside the headless corpse he was carrying, which had completely lost all signs of life, as if throwing away trash.

Chen Nian's gaze swept over the guard Demonic Evils before him, who were as if facing a great enemy and nearly scared to death. A contemptuous and playful smile curled on his lips.

He even had the leisure to pick up on the topic of their previous conversation he had overheard:

"Oh? Complaining about the lack of perks and only having energy crystals to gnaw on?"

"No need for regrets, I'm here."

As soon as these words were spoken, combined with the hideous head on the ground, a terrifying pressure swept over all the guard Demonic Evils like a tsunami!

The leading Shadow Demonic Evil forced down the fear in its heart and let out a shrill interrogation:

"You... who are you?!"

"How dare you trespass into an Abyssal outpost and even murder an Emissary lord!"

However, its voice trembled involuntarily.

Chen Nian only gave a contemptuous smile, not even bothering to say anything more.

He casually raised his right hand and made a phantom grasping motion toward the noisy Demonic Evils.

Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!

It was like crushing a few overripe berries.

The guard Demonic Evils, who had just raised their weapons and only half-burst their fel energy, suddenly stiffened and then exploded on the spot without warning!

They turned into several clouds of blood and gore mixed with shattered bones, rotten meat, and foul blood.

Splashing onto the dark red cave floor and walls.

[Ding! Killed a Fourth-Tier Fiend, gained 3,119 points!]

[Ding! Killed a Fourth-Tier Fiend, gained 6,172 points!]

[Ding! Killed a Fourth-Tier Fiend, gained 8,561 points!]

[Ding! Killed a Fifth-Rank Demonic Evil, gained 13,211 points!]

[Ding! Killed a Fifth-Rank Demonic Evil, gained 15,163 points!]

...The System's notification sounds rang out one after another in Chen Nian's mind.

He felt very relaxed and satisfied.

This terrifying scene completely deterred the other Demonic Evils patrolling and guarding the cave.

They watched their companions instantly turn into meat paste, then looked at the Emissary's head on the ground.

Then they looked at the human who seemed to have just done something trivial and was slowly lowering his hand.

Boundless fear, like the coldest chains, tightly gripped their throats and hearts!

"Mon... Monster!!"

"Run! Go notify the Commander lords!!"

"A powerful enemy has invaded the outpost!!"

Screams and cries instantly erupted!

The surviving Demonic Evils no longer had any Battle Intent.

Like headless flies, they fled for their lives toward different passages deep within the cave!

They had only one thought now—to spread the news of the invasion! To get as far away from this god of slaughter as possible!

Chen Nian looked at those fleeing figures and shook his head, his tone contemptuous.

"Still want to report the news?"

"Did I allow it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he simply flicked his hand.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!

A large number of extremely condensed, lightning-fast blood-colored silk threads—Heart-Devouring Demon Silk—manifested out of thin air!

They were like living tentacles of death, instantly slashing toward the fleeing Demonic Evils!

Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!

The sound of blades cutting through flesh was as dense as rain hitting banana leaves, playing a symphony of death in the cave.

Whether it was the Demonic Evils trying to crawl into narrow crevices or those attempting to activate some kind of escape rune.

Before the Heart-Devouring Demon Silk, their defense and speed became a joke.

Solid carapaces were easily pierced, and distorted bodies were precisely sliced.

Running legs were severed at the knees, and claws attempting to cast spells were sliced off along with the arms.

In an instant, severed limbs and broken arms were scattered everywhere, and thick, foul blood gushed out like fountains.

Dyeing the entrance area of the cave into a mess, like a bloody slaughterhouse.

In just two or three breaths, all the Demonic Evil guards in this peripheral sentry post were slaughtered!

However, the commotion here seemed to have attracted the attention of more Demonic Evils deeper in the outpost.

"What's going on?! Why is it so noisy outside?!"

"Such strong energy fluctuations! Who is it?!"

"Has someone broken in?"

Hectic footsteps and shocked, angry roars came from deep within the outpost's passages.

Even denser and more powerful fel energy fluctuations rapidly approached!

Clearly, more and stronger Abyssal Demon had been alerted.

They were swarming toward the entrance!

Chen Nian stood in place, listening to the clamor approaching from far to near.

Watching the dense clusters of crimson or ghostly green eyes lighting up in those deep passages.

Feeling the approaching tide of fel energy, mixed with tyranny, anger, and a hint of suspicion.

Instead of any solemnity or tension on his face, he showed the smile of a hunter seeing his prey.

"That's more like it."

"Seems I didn't come to the wrong place."

"Time for a good harvest!"