156: Chapter 156 The Guardian Blue-backed Dragon

The appearance of the Green-backed Dragon frustrated the three Fourth-Turn Demon Kings for a while, but that was all.

The Whale Demon's corpse was far too immense, so huge that one couldn't see its end at a glance, so huge that even if the three Fourth-Turn demons joined forces, they couldn't finish eating it.

After all, this Whale Demon corpse was truly far too massive—saying it could nourish an entire area of the sea was no exaggeration.

The Green-backed Dragon was Level-5 and of dragon lineage, but no matter how much it ate, could it swallow the entire Whale Demon whole?

They were in no rush; once the Whale Demon's corpse underwent a Whale Fall, there would surely be enough for them to eat as well.

It was just that they wouldn't get to eat the absolute best portion of the Whale Demon's corpse.

But soon, they realized something was wrong.

After finishing the fattest piece of whale meat from the belly, the Green-backed Dragon did not stop.

Instead, it continued by biting into the liver and heart.

Not only that, what made the three Fourth-Turn Demon Kings even more uneasy was that this Green-backed Dragon coiled its body tightly around the Whale Demon's corpse.

Its massive dragon body prevented it from sinking, leaving the Whale Demon's corpse suspended right in the middle of the trench, no longer descending.

The Green-backed Dragon was preventing the Whale Fall!

The expressions of the three Fourth-Turn Demon Kings changed.

They realized that this Green-backed Dragon wasn't here to share a piece of the pie—it was here to monopolize the entire thing.

It didn't want the Whale Fall to continue; it didn't want the corpse to sink to the bottom of the trench.

Did it intend to claim the entire Whale Demon corpse for itself?

All three Fourth-Turn Demon Kings thought the Green-backed Dragon had gone mad.

How could it possibly devour this entire Whale Demon corpse on its own?

No matter how big its stomach was, could it swallow this whale?

No matter how much it could eat, could it finish this mountain of flesh?

After waiting for several more hours, the three Fourth-Turn Demon Kings completely lost their patience.

The Giant Squid pulled out a smaller Level-3 squid demon from the trench and sent it swimming over to test the waters.

The Hammerhead Shark also instructed a Level-3 shark to go forward, and the Oarfish likewise commanded a Level-3 Oarfish to approach the Green-backed Dragon.

The three Level-3 demons swam tremblingly toward the Whale Demon corpse.

As soon as they got close to the Whale Demon's corpse, they saw the Green-backed Dragon's tail sweep out fiercely.

The seawater churned, and before the three demons could even scream, they were swatted into minced meat.

The trench fell silent for a moment.

None of the three Fourth-Turn Demon Kings had expected such a turn of events.

The Giant Squid's tentacles froze in midair, the Hammerhead Shark's eyes narrowed into slits, and the Oarfish's body drew back slightly.

If even Level-3 demons were attacked just for getting close, what about Fourth-Turn ones like them?

The Green-backed Dragon didn't even grant an opportunity to test the waters; whoever approached would die.

Seeing the minced meat of the three Level-3 demons floating in the seawater, the demons in the trench looked at one another in mutual dismay.

The Whale Fall they had long anticipated was right before their eyes, with that massive corpse suspended in the middle of the trench.

Yet they couldn't eat a single bite, and didn't even dare to approach the Whale Demon's corpse.

The three Fourth-Turn Demon Kings had ashen faces; after waiting for so long, what they got was a feast that they could only look at but not eat.

They didn't know what to do; rushing forward meant death, but if they didn't, they could only watch.

The ocean trench was terrifyingly quiet, with only the sound of the Green-backed Dragon chewing.

The five demons of the Eastward Expedition Team huddled inside their cave, watching the stalemate in the trench, and began discussing in hushed voices.

"What do we do now?"

Blue Crab's pincer moved slightly, its voice muffled.

"I don't know. Right now, even those three Fourth-Turn Demon Kings don't dare to budge. What can Level-3 demons like us do?"

Mantis Shrimp's feelers swayed in the seawater.

"Regardless, isn't this Green-backed Dragon being too insane? It's already a Level-5 Demon King, yet for the sake of a Whale Fall, it even slaughters Level-3 demons that get close."

Sea Turtle stuck its head out from its shell and said in confusion.

"It really is too strange. The scrap portions of this Level-5 Whale Demon corpse shouldn't mean much to a Level-5 Green-backed Dragon, so why is it acting so crazy?"

Starfish's five arms gripped Sea Turtle's shell tightly.

Although the demons of the Eastward Expedition Team still found the Level-5 Green-backed Dragon's behavior strange, after discussing it for a while, they still came up with no conclusion.

After all, in the face of the Level-5 Green-backed Dragon's absolute strength, its food-guarding behavior was simply an unsolvable problem.

Bengbu lay on Mantis Shrimp's back, its eyes fixed on the Green-backed Dragon coiled around the Whale Demon corpse above the trench.

It spoke up.

"We must report this to Lord Qinling."

Bengbu continued.

"This place is indeed a gathering spot for demons, which meets Lord Qinling's requirement for building a shrine."

"But if this Green-backed Dragon keeps doing this, the demons here will soon scatter."

"What we should do must be decided by Lord Qinling."

The other demons all nodded in agreement.

Bengbu patted Mantis Shrimp's back.

"Mantis Shrimp, carry me back. You three stay here and keep watching."

The other three demons all nodded.

Hearing this, Mantis Shrimp arched its body, its feelers swaying in the seawater.

Bengbu closed its shell tight, retracted its tentacles inside, and lay flat on Mantis Shrimp's back.

Mantis Shrimp shot out of the cave, speeding toward the outside of the trench.

Blue Crab, Sea Turtle, and Starfish crouched at the mouth of the cave, watching the two figures recede into the distance without following them.

They stayed behind to keep an eye on the Green-backed Dragon and await Bengbu's return.

...

On the other side.

Another group of fleeing refugees arrived from the direction of Yongning County, entering the borders of Guanhai County.

They were dressed in rags, running out of breath.

Some carried bundles, some held children in their arms, and some supported the elderly.

Behind them was a dark, dense swarm of locusts. The swarm grew closer and closer, the sound of fluttering wings growing louder.

Looking back at the locust swarm, the fleeing refugees' faces drained of all color.

In Yongning County, they had already witnessed how terrifying these locusts were.

These locusts didn't just eat crops—they ate people!

If anyone who fell behind was pounced on by the locusts, they would likely be gnawed down to a bare skeleton by the swarm.

The fleeing refugees ran for their lives, while several men at the rear of the fleeing crowd constantly waved torches in their hands to drive back the attacking locusts.

But even so, there were still stragglers engulfed by the locust swarm.

Just as the fleeing refugees were on the verge of despair, they suddenly saw a village up ahead.

With no other choice, they summoned their last remaining strength to charge into the village, with the locust swarm surging in right behind them.

Just then, a light barrier lit up at the entrance of the village, shrouding the entire village like a layer of golden gauze.

The attacking locusts slammed into the light barrier and instantly disintegrated into powder.

A greyish powder drifted down from the sky, falling onto the people who had just fled into the village.

Wave after wave of locusts slammed into it; as the front batch turned to powder, the batch behind them pounced forward, only to turn to powder as well.

They knew there was food ahead, but they would never be able to reach it.

As long as this barrier of light remained, they would never be able to enter.

The refugees who had fled into the village collapsed onto the ground, gasping heavily for breath.

They looked up at the golden light barrier, their mouths agape, their eyes filled with shock.

They had never seen anything like this—something that could block locusts and turn them into powder.

What was this?

Was it a divine miracle?