After enduring the tormenting banquet, early the next morning Duanmu Huai and the others returned to the fortress city, because the decisive battle was next.
Of course, Lia did not come along. Before leaving, however, she held Duanmu Huai's hand and repeatedly exhorted him, saying that although Lia knew her dear was very strong, Sais might very well end up dragging him down. If he encountered any danger, she asked him to immediately retreat—she would continue leading the army here and wait for him.
When she said these words, Lia didn't avoid King Gandi or Magikoe at all, which made Magikoe grind her teeth in anger, while King Gandi wore a helpless, bitter smile. He understood that Liass really did have the confidence to needle them like this, and it wasn't his place to say anything now.
As for Lia, Duanmu Huai could only give a helpless smile, but he wasn't angry. Although Lia's words were indeed sharp, and once they involved him they became full of aggression, this also showed that Lia was truly a cute and straightforward girl—at least she wasn't like the harem concubines in those palace dramas he used to watch with his mom, who smiled sweetly on the surface and called each other sisters, only to turn around and start stabbing each other in the back…
To be honest, as a man, Duanmu Huai really couldn't stand that sort of thing.
But at least he could be sure of one thing.
That one called Zhen Huan was definitely a believer of Treachery and Deceit, no doubt about it.
Compared to those women in palace dramas, Lia was far more lovable.
Duanmu Huai didn't say much more. After that, he returned to the fortress city, where King Gandi immediately began reorganizing the army without pause. The entire force set out again, advancing toward the royal city ahead.
This time, King Gandi intended to stake everything on a single battle and completely crush the demon army!
It wasn't that King Gandi was reckless—rather… given the current reality, he simply had no other choice.
In terms of troop numbers, most of Sais's army had either been wiped out during the demon invasion or reduced to remnants. Even the civilian population had suffered massive casualties due to the earlier riots and the subsequent demon invasion. Under such circumstances, supplies were scarce, manpower was lacking, and Liass was watching like a tiger from behind.
In this situation, it was either all-in to crush them in one go, or all-in to be crushed.
There was no third path!
Fortunately, Duanmu Huai was here, and he truly had the power to contend with Demon Men, so… King Gandi still had confidence.
On the other side, upon learning that the Sais army was advancing, the Demon Men legion also moved at the news. They knew this would be the final battle in Sais. If they completely destroyed this Sais army, then Sais would have no remaining resistance, and the demon race would be free to do as they pleased!
At this point, the demon army still didn't know that Sezer had been subdued by Duanmu Huai. After all, the idea of a Demon Man being turned into a familiar was simply too unimaginable. Unable to find Sezer, Gik had no choice but to personally lead the troops. Soon, on a battlefield, the human and demon armies faced off against each other.
Then, Duanmu Huai was seen gripping his greatsword as he strode out from the crowd. He raised the sword and pointed it forward!
"Demon Man! Come out and die!!"
This was something Duanmu Huai and King Gandi had agreed upon beforehand. Since Sezer had said that the Demon Man Gik was a gentlemanly, knightly type, then if challenged to a duel, he would definitely come out to respond. If he didn't, it didn't matter—but if he did… wasn't that perfect?
"Interesting."
Soon, a figure stepped out from the demon army. Only… this guy truly looked quite distinctive.
Even Duanmu Huai couldn't help but twitch the corner of his eye when he saw him.
It was no wonder Duanmu Huai reacted this way—because… the thing in front of him wasn't human at all!
Duanmu Huai had seen many Demon Men before, including the former Demon King Jill, Satrara, Ezeru, and Sezer. These Demon Men all basically had human appearances. Even Noth, that Dragonman, usually looked human.
But this Demon Man, Gik, was completely different!
His entire body was yellow, and he had a long-necked triangular snake head, looking just like an alien!
This wasn't even remotely human—it was some kind of monster that had gained sentience!
"How interesting. I didn't expect a human to dare clamor for a fight with a Demon Man?"
A trace of curiosity flashed across Gik's face as he stood there with his arms crossed, staring at Duanmu Huai.
"Very well, human. I respect your courage. Come! Let me see what you're capable of!!"
You said it yourself—don't blame me later.
As Gik's words fell, a killing intent surfaced in Duanmu Huai's eyes. He strode forward, raised his greatsword, and charged straight at Gik!
However, at that very moment, a voice suddenly rang out from within the demon ranks.
"Lord Gik, be careful! He's that Demon Man killer!"
"What?!"
Hearing this warning, Gik's expression changed drastically. Of course he knew who the "Demon Man killer" referred to. However, because Duanmu Huai kept a low profile, many people didn't know what he looked like. Gik hadn't thought much of it at first, but upon hearing the warning, he immediately grew tense.
Duanmu Huai's reputation for killing Ezeru, Noth, and the former Demon King Jill had long spread throughout the Demon Realm. No matter how confident Gik was, he didn't think he was stronger than the former Demon King Jill!
But now, there was no way to avoid it!
"Hah!!"
Duanmu Huai roared, swinging the greatsword in his hands down at the Demon Man before him. Yet what he hadn't expected was that the instant he attacked, Gik's entire body suddenly softened like noodles and split apart, instantly becoming like seaweed in the ocean, dodging Duanmu Huai's strike. Then, one of Gik's tentacles lashed out, striking Duanmu Huai's greatsword and knocking it aside. Immediately after, countless thorny tendrils split and grew, wrapping tightly around the greatsword!
"Good!!!"
Seeing Duanmu Huai restrained by Gik, the demons erupted in cheers, while the humans were filled with dread. They had never seen such a bizarre Demon Man before, nor had they expected that in just a single exchange, he would already have subdued Duanmu Huai!
How was this supposed to be fought?
Excellent!
After restraining Duanmu Huai, Gik also breathed a sigh of relief—he was scared too!
In the Demon Realm, Duanmu Huai's battle record was known to all. But how exactly he had killed those Demon Men and the former Demon King was something no one knew. Naturally, the demons tended to believe that Duanmu Huai had obtained some kind of weapon capable of breaking a Demon Man's invincible barrier.
After all, historical legends spoke of such weapons—two swords, named Sunlight and Chaos. It was quite possible that he had acquired one of them, which allowed him to break the invincible barrier and kill Demon Men. That was why, when counterattacking, Gik chose to immediately seal his weapon and restrain his entire body!
But that still wasn't enough!
Although Gik did have a knightly spirit and was willing to duel one-on-one, facing such a terrifying enemy who had consecutively slain multiple Demon Men, he didn't dare hold back!
Thus, the moment he bound Duanmu Huai, he intended to finish him in one decisive push!
No matter how strong this guy was, he was still just a human!
However, just as Gik was about to strike, a surge of black flames suddenly erupted violently from Duanmu Huai's body! At the same time, Gik felt a heart-rending pain, as if even his soul were being burned, assaulting him from all directions!
Not good!
At that instant, Gik was utterly shocked. He had thought Duanmu Huai relied solely on some weapon to break the invincible barrier—but now it seemed… that wasn't the case at all!
Damn it!!
Feeling this terrifying, scorching yet icy agony, Gik hurriedly began to transform, twisting as he tried to retreat. However, what Gik hadn't expected was that just as he tried to change form and pull back, a large hand suddenly thrust out from the black flames and grabbed him tightly!
Immediately after, Gik saw Duanmu Huai emerge from the flames like a demonic god, seize his body, and yank hard!
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
Gik's shrill scream echoed across the battlefield. At this moment, he could no longer maintain his transformation and reverted to his original yellow rubbery alien form—but one of his arms had already been torn off alive by Duanmu Huai!
"Bang!"
Stepping out of the black flames, Duanmu Huai coldly looked at Gik writhing in agony in his grasp like a maggot, then casually tossed aside the torn-off arm. Next, he raised both hands and viciously drove his fingers straight into the crown of Gik's skull!
"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
At this point, Gik was almost stunned by the heart-rending pain. If he were an ordinary person, he would have died long ago—but as a Demon Man, his regenerative ability was extremely strong, so he didn't die so easily. Instead, he felt the pain even more intensely!
Yet Duanmu Huai didn't relax because of Gik's wailing. With both hands embedded in Gik's head, he lifted him high so that both friend and foe on the battlefield could see clearly—then… Duanmu Huai suddenly exerted force and tore outward to both sides!!!
The scream came to an abrupt stop.
The Demon Man Gik was ripped straight down the middle, torn into two halves in Duanmu Huai's hands. Blood and viscera gushed out from the ruptured sides of his body. Immediately after, everyone saw a red sphere slowly emerge from the blood, rising upward.
A Demon Blood Soul!!!
Seeing this red orb, both humans and demons were shocked. They had all heard legends of the Demon Blood Soul. According to rumor, when a Demon Man died, their soul wouldn't perish with them, but would instead turn into a Demon Blood Soul and merge into another body.
Then, either it would take over the body and revive—
—or the original body would be strong enough to devour the Demon Man's power and spirit in reverse.
So what about this Demon Blood Soul?
As both sides stared fixedly at it, Duanmu Huai snorted coldly. He tossed aside the bisected corpse, then suddenly reached out and seized the Demon Blood Soul that was trying to escape. Instantly, black flames erupted once more. Accompanied by a shrill wail, the Demon Blood Soul was completely destroyed in Duanmu Huai's hand!
"...…"
At this moment, the battlefield fell into deathly silence.
Everyone stared in disbelief at the utterly annihilated Demon Blood Soul, their hearts pounding violently.
This was the first time they had ever witnessed a Demon Man being killed before their very eyes—and with even his soul completely erased!
"The Demon Man is dead!"
As a king, King Gandi still had his composure. He was the first to come back to his senses, raising his hand and roaring loudly.
"All units, hear my command—attack—————!!!"
(End of Chapter)