Hai Su County
The houses were tall and sturdy, with flags fluttering in the wind. The roads were paved with bluestone, and the city walls were even taller. It was a safe place to live.
"No, don't kill me! Ah!"
At this point, a scream broke the silence. A young lady was running down the street, her hair was disheveled, as though she had seen a ghost. A cavalryman was chasing after her on horseback, holding a blade in his hand. Upon closer inspection, the cavalryman had sharp teeth and claws. He was no longer a human, but a demon.
Very quickly, the cavalryman caught up to the young lady. The cavalryman didn't have any protective feelings for the fairer sex. With a single slash, the young lady fell to the ground.
The cavalryman seemed to be hungry, as he leapt down from his horse and pounced on the corpse. He then dug out the heart, which was still beating, and started biting into it.
Fresh blood flowed down the bluestone tiles, as it started to gather.
"Kill!"
"Not good, it's a demon."
This wasn't the first time this happened. Smoke rose up from several places in the county, as the flames danced. The people were panicking, as the soldiers chased after them. From time to time, they would chop someone down, as their faces were covered in fresh blood.
"Bastard!" At this point, someone shouted out in anger. In a blink of an eye, he charged forward and elbowed the unprepared soldier.
"Pa!" The sound of bones breaking could be heard as the soldier groaned and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. However, he didn't die. His eyes flashed red as he reached out with his hand.
"Let go!" This soldier was an expert in martial arts, and thought that he would be able to kill the soldier. He didn't expect that he wouldn't die, and instead got caught. He struggled with all his might.
In the blink of an eye, another soldier was pushed forward, and a "pu" sound could be heard as the blade pierced through him. The soldier groaned and died instantly.
The soldier whose ribs had been broken laughed out as he reached out with his hand, and pulled out another heart. He then screamed out in pain.
"Kill, kill, kill!" Within the county, King Lu's army transformed into demons and started massacring the entire city. Blood started to gather in the air, as the people in the city tried to escape. The soldiers stood guard at the gates, and killed anyone who tried to escape.
At this point, blood flowed like a river. The crows in the sky smelled the blood and flew around, cawing loudly. Occasionally, a few black crows would dive down and peck at the corpses, before flying back up to the branches. Their red eyes were filled with vigilance as they looked around.
"Sir, it's not good. The emperor's army has turned into monsters and is massacring the city!!" Haisu County Yamen was located in the west of the city. On the screen wall, there was a 'Silent Retreat' sign. There were two locust trees in front of the gate. Now that spring had arrived, there was a patch of shade. At this moment, a constable rushed in with several bailiffs, their faces filled with terror.
The magistrate was deep in thought about how to supply the Lu army with rations when he woke up from his stupor. When he saw the constable in front of him, he frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Milord, the emperor's army has turned into demons and is massacring the city!!"
"Audacious! How dare you say that His Majesty's army has become monsters? You deserve to die!" When the Magistrate heard this, he jumped in fright and shouted angrily, "Men, arrest this traitor."
The magistrate had heard of this rumor before, but thought that it was just a rumor. He was a commoner, and was only promoted by King Lu to be an official. He had always been loyal to the King, and even if the situation wasn't favorable, he would still be loyal. How could he believe such a rumor?
"Ah!" Even before the magistrate could finish speaking, he heard screams of agony, as well as the roars of wild beasts. His body trembled as his face turned pale. He then looked around the building.
All he could see was a raging inferno, and the sounds of killing filled the air. Tens of feet away, he could see a soldier covered in scales chopping down a man, before burying his head in food.
"We're finished!" The Magistrate's legs turned to jelly as he fell to the ground. A pungent smell of blood assaulted his nostrils, causing his pants to be wet. When the constable and bailiffs saw the Magistrate in such a state, they gritted their teeth, "Let's go, let's fight to the death with these demons."
These people rushed out, and within moments, screams could be heard. They were either killed or torn to shreds by the demon soldiers. They didn't stop there, and rushed towards the Yamen.
At this point, footsteps could be heard. A serving maid seemed to have heard the news, and went out to investigate. The Magistrate recognized her, as she had just been bought not too long ago. She had a pretty face, and wanted to shout out, but couldn't. A demon soldier had already pounced on her.
"Ah!" The serving maid screamed as she fell to the ground. The demon soldier didn't care about her as he pounced on her and bit down on her neck, causing fresh blood to splatter everywhere.
The rest of the demon soldiers rushed in, and no matter who it was, they killed and ate them. The Magistrate could even hear the familiar screams of his wife and daughter. His legs trembled as he shouted, "I am a sinner, I am a sinner. How could I allow demons to enter the city?"
The screams weren't much, but after a while, there was no more sound. The Magistrate's face was pale, and he didn't even have the courage to look at his wife and daughter. His face was filled with despair as he mumbled, "I am a sinner. I am a sinner. How could I allow demons to enter the city?"
He paced back and forth for several steps, his eyes were blank. He then used a rope to tie himself to the top of the stairs, and placed it around his neck. He then kicked off the stool, and his body started twitching violently. After a while, there was no more sound, and he floated along with the wind.
Blood Qi and resentment swirled around him, as they transformed into blood Qi which flowed towards King Lu's army.
"What an intoxicating smell." King Lu who had just entered the city spoke out softly as he stepped into the pool of blood. Eunuch Liao was by his side, and could hear King Lu mumbling, "I've only obtained half of the Demon King's authority. I'm half human and not a demon, neither human nor ghost. Furthermore, I can't force demons to possess my body."
"I can only feed on blood like this to attract the demons to form an army."
"Compared to humans, I'm getting more and more sinful by the day."
Eunuch Liao lowered his eyes, as though he didn't see the tragedy that was unfolding before him. He then spoke, "But your majesty is already the Demon King."
"Since you're not human, how can you talk about sin?"
"Humans eat all kinds of beasts and plants. How can there be plants and beasts that come to take revenge? What kind of world is this?"
Seeing King Lu's bitter smile, he then continued, "The last time we massacred the entire city, there were only four thousand demons left. After this incident, I reckon that at least another three thousand demons will possess their bodies. That's a total of seven thousand demons. That should be enough for us to fight."
At this point, a lieutenant from the Scout Battalion urged his horse forward and dismounted. He then knelt down on one knee and bowed, "Your majesty, the Imperial Army has arrived. They are led by the Imperial Envoy Ji Cong Yun. They have a total of forty thousand soldiers, and it's possible that they have more reinforcements."
The lieutenant from the Scout Battalion was still conscious, but his face was now covered with fur, as though he didn't see the massacre around him.
"Good timing." King Lu raised his head and revealed a cold smile. He then spoke to Eunuch Liao, "Officials are useless. I didn't believe it at first, but now I'm convinced."
"No matter what, I still have twenty thousand soldiers. If I really wanted to attack, I would have surrounded them and killed them all in one fell swoop."
"But this Ji Cong Yun only has forty thousand soldiers, and yet he's urging them to march forward. Not to mention the demon soldiers, just the fact that they're marching so far away is a huge taboo."
"It's been said that even the Daoists didn't have time to gather. They're really rushing to their deaths."
"Your majesty, that's how the Imperial Army and the officials are. Previously, Pei Zi Yun had surrounded us to the point where we couldn't even breathe. But now that the peaches have ripened, they started to push Pei Zi Yun aside. Furthermore, they started to fight amongst themselves for credit, and didn't cooperate at all. All of them wanted to be the first to claim credit for themselves. Even without the demon soldiers, Your Majesty can still defeat them."
"You're right. Just look at how fast they've advanced. Even without the demon soldiers, I can still defeat them." King Lu spoke before shaking his head, "However, my army is at the end of the road. Even if we can defeat one of them, we won't be able to defend against the other two."
"Taking turns to wear them down is also effective."
"Without the demon soldiers, I can only defeat two of them before I'm exhausted. After that, I'll be defeated by the third. That's how these officials became famous."
"Who knows, in a thousand years, I might even be able to become a general." As King Lu spoke up to this point, he couldn't help but laugh. He then raised his head and saw that the blood sacrifice was almost complete. In mid-air, a demonic dragon floated in mid-air, surrounded by a mist of blood. It swam back and forth, its eyes glowed red.
"My sons, follow me out of the city to hunt." As King Lu spoke, his voice traveled into the ears of every single demon soldier. The soldiers who had been slaughtering their way out of the city gathered around. At first, they were in small groups, but when they reached the city gates, there were more than ten thousand of them.
At this point, the entire county was filled with rivers of blood. Limbs and corpses were strewn all over the place. Some wild dogs were sneakily tearing at the corpses, their eyes glowing red as they followed behind the demon soldiers.
King Lu looked over and saw that at first, there was some confusion. But soon after, they regrouped and regrouped. Their horses and foot soldiers were in perfect formation. Flags were flying everywhere as they gathered about a kilometer away from the city.
"The demon race has a strict hierarchy, but when used in an army, there are rules." The flags fluttered in the wind, as the stench of blood permeated the air. King Lu laughed out, "Good sons, follow me into battle."
As he spoke, he whipped his horse and led his army out.
At the same time, the flags on the plains fluttered in the wind. The army was lined up in a formation of forty thousand soldiers. The Imperial Envoy, Kan Cong Yun, followed by several generals. When he saw that King Lu's army only numbered ten thousand, a look of ridicule appeared on his face.
"If King Lu had stayed in the city and fought, he might have been able to hold on for some time. But now that he's fighting to the death, he's really digging his own grave." Kan Cong Yun laughed coldly, as though he was overjoyed.
"Your Excellency is blessed. That's why I've been bewitched by your Excellency's actions. That's why I'm digging my own grave." Someone tried to flatter him.
Kan Cong Yun couldn't help but laugh as he corrected, "This isn't my good fortune. It's the Emperor's good fortune."
As he spoke, he even clasped his hands towards the heavens. The people around him were all in awe as they thought to themselves, 'Even to this extent, he doesn't forget the Emperor's good fortune. This man has become an official.'
"Your Excellency, there's a message from the Imperial Court. It says that King Lu might be a demon, and we have to guard against him." A Daoist hurriedly reported.
"Nonsense!" When Kan Cong Yun heard this, his face fell as he shouted out angrily. He then stared at the Daoist and laughed coldly, "How can there be demons in this world? Are you colluding with the enemy, and trying to disrupt the morale of my troops?"
These words were laced with a cold intent. The Daoist wanted to argue further, but was so cold that his face turned green. He then retreated, and didn't dare to try to persuade him any further.
"Your Excellency, why are you so angry? This Daoist is just a messenger. He's scared out of his wits. If the rumors are true, would King Lu really be defeated? Haha! "A general watched as the Daoist left and laughed.
At this point, everyone around him burst out into laughter.
Kan Cong Yun laughed out, as his eyes burned with passion. This time, King Lu had been defeated. It was only a matter of time before he was able to reclaim his lands. Since he had defeated King Lu and captured him as a captive, it wasn't a matter of being promoted anymore. It was a matter of being conferred a title.
At this point, he laughed coldly and spoke to the general, "There's no need to speak further. Listen to my orders. I don't believe in demons. Even if he's a demon, with tens of thousands of troops around, all demons and ghosts will be crushed."
"Raise the drums!" Following the order, the drums rang out as the entire army marched forward.
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