Chapter Nineteen: Defeat and Retreat

Ye Feng was forced to retreat again and again by the demon general. Xu Yaozu and Murong Bao, seeing the situation turning dire, hurried forward to join the fight. The three of them encircled the demon general, their battle swirling like a lantern in a frenzy.

This demon general was truly ferocious, facing the three without the slightest fear. The dozen or so weapons in his many hands were wielded with astonishing discipline, neither chaotic nor disordered. The three found themselves unable to gain even the slightest advantage.

As time wore on, all three grew weary, their movements slowing and strength waning. The demon general, on the other hand, showed no sign of fatigue; his face remained unchanged, and his weapons spun ceaselessly in his hands.

Ye Feng saw at a glance that if the fight continued, they would surely suffer a great loss. He urgently called out, “Elder Xu, we’re no match for this demon—let’s find a way to retreat!”

Xu Yaozu agreed, saying, “Ye Feng is right. A wise man knows when to retreat. You two go first, I will hold them off here!”

But Murong Bao, caught up in the heat of battle, shouted, “Damn it, retreat nothing! I’ll fight him to the end!” Instead of withdrawing, he advanced, swinging his iron staff straight at the demon’s steed.

But the demon general deftly caught the staff with his twin hooks, locking it tight. Murong Bao tried to pull it back, but it wouldn’t budge.

“You old monster, what sorcery is this?!” Murong Bao, growing more determined, summoned all his strength. Yet, despite straining until he was drenched with sweat, the staff did not move at all.

“Brother Murong, retreat, quickly!” At this moment, Murong Bao was exerting all his force, leaving himself completely defenseless. If the enemy struck now, disaster was inevitable. Ye Feng shouted desperately, urging him to let go.

Sure enough, before Murong Bao could release his grip, the demon general was already swinging an axe toward him.

“You wretch! You dare swing an axe at me?!” Murong Bao tried to let go and dodge, but it was already too late. Realizing escape was impossible, he braced himself, stretched his neck, twisted his head, and shut his eyes, preparing to meet the axe head-on.

But how could a human skull withstand iron? At this critical moment, Ye Feng delivered a hefty kick, landing squarely on Murong Bao’s backside.

There was a resounding—

“Crack!”

Murong Bao flew more than ten meters away, landing hard on his rear, his posture utterly undignified.

“You brat, you kicked me!” Murong Bao, furious, scrambled up, grabbed a spear, and charged at Ye Feng.

“Brother Murong, hurry and retreat!” Ye Feng saw that Murong Bao, in his stubbornness, was about to pick another fight, and shouted in exasperation.

This shout startled Murong Bao, bringing him back to his senses. At that very moment, Ye Feng cried, “Watch out!”

The demon general’s sword was already descending. Murong Bao hastily raised his spear to block.

With a sharp crack, the wooden spear snapped in two, and Murong Bao, terrified, dodged aside. Thankfully, the sword’s force had been checked by the spear, and passed just above his scalp.

“Good brother, thank you! I’ll be off now!” Murong Bao, without a second thought, abandoned his iron staff and sprinted away.

“Ye Feng, you go! I’ll hold them!” Xu Yaozu shouted.

“Elder, don’t worry about me; you go first. I can hold him alone!” Ye Feng, afraid Xu Yaozu would be in danger alone, continued to fight, refusing to withdraw.

The two argued, neither willing to leave first, each stubbornly holding their ground. Time passed, both were exhausted and suffering.

“Elder, let’s retreat together!” Ye Feng finally suggested, seeing that there was no other way.

“Alright, together!” Xu Yaozu shouted, swinging his mighty spear at the demon general’s head. While the demon blocked, he wheeled his horse and fled. Ye Feng took the opportunity to turn and escape as well.

“Waaah!” The demon general, seeing both adversaries escape, flew into a rage, not knowing whom to pursue. But his greatest hatred was for Xu Yaozu. If not for his intervention, how could he have lost two of his best men? He let Ye Feng go and galloped after Xu Yaozu.

Xu Yaozu, seeing the demon general in pursuit, felt his hair stand on end. He thought, Why is this old demon chasing only me? If he lands a killing blow now, how could I survive? What could I use to defend myself?

He searched his body for anything useful, but found nothing. Hearing the demon’s monstrous cries close behind, he grew even more desperate. In that moment, he had a flash of inspiration: noticing the ragged cloud shoes on his feet, an idea struck.

The demon general was closing in, raising his weapons to strike. Suddenly, Xu Yaozu shouted, “Take this magic treasure!”

A dark object flew at the demon’s face, so fast and foul-smelling that he recoiled in alarm. What was this thing? Was it some deadly artifact to ward off evil?

He reined in his horse and dodged aside. The object whizzed past, landing on the ground with a thud—it was merely a tattered shoe.

The demon general was so enraged he nearly ascended to the heavens on the spot.

“Waaah! Old fool, if I catch you, I’ll skin you alive and tear out your tendons!” But when he looked up, his quarry was gone. All he saw was a riderless horse far in the distance.

Xu Yaozu had seized the moment to abandon his horse and take to the air, standing atop his spear as he soared back to the city.

Over the black earth city, he saw Ye Feng still waiting. He landed beside him, and together they peered over the battlements, counting how many soldiers had managed to escape.

Before long, they saw Murong Bao running desperately toward the gates. Delighted, they called for the soldiers to open up.

Once Murong Bao was inside, more than a thousand battered soldiers returned one after another, all wounded and exhausted.

Counting the losses, they realized over two thousand—nearly three thousand—soldiers had fallen. It was a crushing defeat.

Thinking of this, both Ye Feng and Xu Yaozu bowed their heads in sorrow.

“Elder, who is this demon general? How can he be so fierce?” Ye Feng, who had not had time to ask during the battle, now turned to Xu Yaozu for answers.

“He is the marshal of the demon army, called Meng Keshu. His ferocity comes from having reached the second level of demon power—the Vajra Realm,” Xu Yaozu explained. “The soldiers of the Demon Kingdom all cultivate demon power. There are four realms: Warrior, Vajra, Shapeshifter, and Random Transform. In ten thousand years, the highest they have reached is the Shapeshifter realm. Only the current king, the Golden Ape Sage, has attained the final transformation—Random Transform—and it was by this power that he conquered our Great Xia and forced us to submit.”

Xu Yaozu continued, “This demon general is still considered weak. It’s said that both prime ministers of the Demon Kingdom have reached the Shapeshifter realm. If they led an army against us, we’d be at their mercy, helpless to resist!”

As he finished speaking, dust clouds rose in the distance. Soon, a vast host approached, banners fluttering, weapons gleaming, stretching as far as the eye could see. At their center, a tall command flag bore the character “Meng” in bold strokes.

Beneath the flag, the demon general sat, clad in armor, with more than a dozen arms wielding various weapons, his mouth emitting strange cries as he brandished his weapons wildly—a sight both imposing and terrifying, the murderous aura palpable even from afar.

Ye Feng felt his scalp prickle. He asked, “Elder, why does this Meng Keshu have so many arms? What kind of sorcery is this?”

Xu Yaozu replied with a question, “Ye Feng, look closely at his hands. How do they differ from ours?”

Ye Feng scrutinized them and realized that Meng Keshu’s hands were indeed different: instead of five fingers, he had three claws.

As if discovering a new continent, Ye Feng exclaimed, “Elder, you’re right! He doesn’t have fingers, only three claws!”

Xu Yaozu nodded, “Exactly. These aren’t fingers, but claws. That’s because these arms aren’t the result of sorcery—they’re natural. He was born this way.”

Ye Feng grew even more curious. “But I’ve only ever heard of animals with two hands and four legs, unless it’s centipedes, scorpions, or insects with many limbs. He has no wings, so is he some kind of centipede or scorpion?”

Xu Yaozu shook his head. “Ye Feng, the world is full of strange beasts you’ve never seen. Judging by his form, he’s a mammal, one that lives in the forest. I’ve heard that in the northern woods there’s a beast called the Many-Legged Blue-Faced Hou. I believe this is one that has gained sentience through cultivation.”

Ye Feng nodded, “So that’s it!”

He suddenly thought of the white-armored general he had seen that day, who, despite being a demon, was strikingly handsome—not ugly like the others. What creature could he be?

Before he could ask, Meng Keshu pulled out a small flag, chanting something unintelligible, and waved it. Instantly, the demon soldiers surged like a tide.

Some drew their bows and shot arrows at the walls; others carried ladders to scale the ramparts; still more hauled battering rams toward the gates.

Ye Feng had no time for questions. He and Xu Yaozu shouted, “Soldiers, prepare the rolling logs and stones! The demon army is attacking!”

They urged everyone to ready the defenses, instructing, “Don’t panic; wait until they draw nearer. When you hear the order, release the logs and stones!”

A few soldiers, never having witnessed such a scene, trembled and collapsed in fear. Ye Feng encouraged them, “Don’t be afraid. Everyone is timid the first time in battle. Stand up and fight! The braver you are, the more likely you’ll survive—the more you fear, the quicker you’ll die!”

Inspired, the timid found their courage, the bold grew bolder. They peered over the battlements, eyes blazing with fury, determined to fight to the last.

Closer and closer came the demon soldiers, until even their eyebrows and beards were visible.

“Release!”

At Ye Feng and Xu Yaozu’s command, stones and logs rained down like a storm.

——

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