Chapter Forty-Four: The Massacre of the Village

Li Xiong had walked quite a distance before he remembered Xiao Ling. He thought to himself, “Leaving that pretty boy behind in such a deserted place—isn’t that as good as killing him? Eh! That brat’s no good anyway. If he dies, he dies!”

He took a few more steps, but then reconsidered. “No, that won’t do. If he just dies like that, won’t people laugh at me for bullying the weak? No, I can’t let him die so easily. I’ll carry him back, heal him, and then challenge him to a fair duel. When I defeat him, I’ll take his head as a trophy for Young Master Ye! If he can’t be cured, no one can blame me.”

With this in mind, he turned back, hoisted Xiao Ling onto his back, and continued on his way.

He had no idea how long he walked. His legs grew weary, his stomach started to rumble, and he was just about to look for a place to rest when he suddenly spotted a village ahead, smoke rising faintly in the distance.

Joy lit up Li Xiong’s face. He broke into a run, legs pumping eagerly.

Soon he arrived at the outskirts, only to find the village in ruins. The smoke was not from cooking fires, but from the smoldering remains of burned-out houses.

A chill ran through Li Xiong’s heart, and his stomach growled even louder.

“Well, let’s look around anyway. Even some leftovers would be something,” he thought, carrying Xiao Ling into the village.

The sight inside was too miserable for words. Corpses were strewn everywhere—lying, slumped, sprawled, propped up against broken walls—all with faces twisted in agony, evidence of fierce struggle before death. Some bore sword wounds, others had been run through with spears. Blood was everywhere, the stench hung thick in the air.

Every house in the village had collapsed walls and fallen roofs; not a cow, sheep, pig, or chicken was left. Only a few stray dogs roamed about, tearing at the bodies.

Suddenly, a woman’s scream pierced the air.

It was so helpless, so heart-wrenching!

At the sound, a young woman with disheveled hair and torn clothes burst out from a ruined house, a pack of demon soldiers laughing and jeering in pursuit.

They swarmed over her, some grabbing her arms, others her legs, hauling her back towards the house.

She struggled desperately, but she was small and weak, unable to break free. When one of the demon soldiers reached too close, she bit down hard.

With a yelp of pain, the soldier let go of her arm.

Seizing the chance, the woman kicked free of the hands holding her legs, scrambled to her feet, and fled again.

A guttural snarl in the demon tongue rang out: “You idiots, how could you let the beauty escape?”

Another demon called out, “Don’t worry, she won’t get away!”

Li Xiong didn’t understand their language, but he could see the demon soldiers laughing and shouting as they blocked the woman’s escape.

With enemies before and behind, she had nowhere to run. All hope gone, she spotted a well nearby.

Clenching her teeth, she steeled herself and leapt in.

It all happened in a flash—Li Xiong had no chance to stop her!

Fury flared in his chest.

With a shout, he dropped Xiao Ling to the ground and bellowed, “You little bastards!”

His voice thundered through the air like a lightning strike, stunning the demon soldiers.

They turned to look—good heavens! A wild brute had arrived!

They each grabbed a weapon, preparing to fight.

But Li Xiong was already upon them.

“You... you... all of you, die!”

In a few strides, he was among them, swinging his twin hammers in a whirlwind of destruction.

Cries of pain and terror filled the air as demon soldiers fell by the dozens.

The few survivors fled in panic.

With the battle over, Li Xiong rushed to the well, gripped the edge, and called down, “Big... big... big sister!”

Hearing no reply, he quickly lowered a rope to climb down and rescue her.

But just then, a demon soldier nearby, not quite dead, grabbed a spear and lunged at him.

Xiao Ling, watching all this, burned with hatred for the demon soldiers. Seeing one about to kill Li Xiong, he snatched up a single-edged blade from the ground and hurled it.

The blade struck true, piercing the demon soldier from chest to back—he died instantly.

Li Xiong paid it no mind, continuing down the rope to the bottom of the well, where he hoisted the woman onto his back and carried her out.

He didn’t know how to revive her; he simply covered her with a coat and called out, “Big sister!” Shaking her for a long time, when she still didn’t wake, he burst into tears, wailing like a child.

His grief was so deep that even Xiao Ling was moved. He thought of the stories his nurse Wei had told him, of his own life, and tears streamed down his face, sorrow and rage swelling in his heart.

As Xiao Ling wept, his vision blurred with tears. Suddenly, he felt his clothes tighten as someone lifted him off the ground.

He wiped his eyes and saw it was Li Xiong, gripping his collar.

“All… all… all of this is the work of you demon soldiers!” Li Xiong stammered angrily.

“This… this… this wasn’t me. I, Xiao Ling, have never done such heartless things.” Xiao Ling replied haltingly, unable to fully convince even himself. After all, as a vanguard for the demon army, he’d always led the charge—if that wasn’t aiding evil, what was?

“Nonsense! You… you demon soldiers… none of you are any good!” Li Xiong shouted, his voice stumbling.

With a thud, he hurled Xiao Ling to the ground so hard the boy nearly blacked out.

Wiping away his tears, Li Xiong set about digging a large pit with a single-edged blade. He gathered up all the bodies in the village and buried them.

He then searched the ruined homes for any scraps of food, ate his fill, and was about to leave alone. But thinking better of it, he returned, slung Xiao Ling onto his back once more, and continued toward Black Earth City.

This time he had a goal—he asked for directions at every opportunity.

People, seeing him, took him for a monster. Though afraid, they dared not refuse him, and each pointed him the way.

Along the road, demon soldiers who saw him mistook him for one of their own and did not hinder him.

Before long, he arrived at the gates of Black Earth City.

There, he saw the massed ranks of demon soldiers, unhurriedly tied Xiao Ling firmly to his back with a vine, checked that he carried nothing cumbersome, bounced and jumped a few times, then shouted, “Demon… demon… demon soldiers, listen up! Lord Xiong is here to storm your camp! Any cowards, make way for me!”

Shouting as he ran, he quickly reached the camp gates.

With a crash, he kicked them open, swung his chain hammers, and unleashed a furious onslaught.

Demon soldiers wailed and screamed for their mothers.

One cried, “Mother, come save me!”

Another shouted, “Run for your lives, a killer’s come!”

Chaos erupted within the demon camp.

Li Xiong charged into the midst of the camp like a gale.

But as he pressed forward, his advance was blocked.

What was happening?

A demon general, mounted and armed with a massive blade, barred his way.

This general wore a spiked iron helmet and chain mail, with ringed, golden eyes and a wild, bristling beard. His mouth was wide as a blood trough, two tusks jutting out, and two horns crowned his head—neither bull nor deer, sheep nor dragon—large, gleaming and formidable.

His stature was imposing, over nine feet tall, waist like a barrel, arms like iron pillars; he stood like a black tower.

He wielded a great saber as thick as a bowl, with a five-inch spine; the blade was five feet wide and eight feet long, altogether eighteen feet with the handle.

“Halt! Who goes there? Name yourself!”

The general’s shout was like thunder from the sky, making Li Xiong stagger.

Li Xiong thought to himself, “What’s this? A contest of voices? I’ll have you know, mine is louder than yours!”

He roared back, “Your grandfather Li Xiong is here to storm your demon camp! And who are you, beast?”

His bellow was so loud it seemed to shake the heavens, the echoes lingering long in the air.

The demon soldiers fared the worst; the sound stunned them.

Clutching their ears, they writhed in pain, retreating in disarray.

Even the demon general was startled, his confidence shaken. “Heavens! This wild brute’s voice outmatches mine! This is trouble—he looks tough, not easy prey!”

But then he thought, “He may be loud, but that doesn’t mean he’s strong. If I deal with him carefully, I’ll still take his head!”

So he shouted, “I am Jin Lanni, Marshal of the Left Army, and I have come for your life!”

He spurred his horse and swung his massive blade at Li Xiong.

Li Xiong, seeing the blade descend, remained calm, raising his chain hammer and shouting, “Open!”

The blade crashed down on the iron hammer with a deafening clang, sparks flying, the sound like a cannon blast, shaking the earth.

Demon soldiers, terrified out of their wits, thought, “Mother, what is happening?!”

Jin Lanni’s hands split open from the shock, blood streaming, his saber trembling and heating up until he could no longer hold it.

With a grunt, he let go, and the blade soared into the sky.

With a shriek, Jin Lanni wheeled his horse and fled.

Li Xiong was not about to let him escape. Retrieving one hammer with his left hand, he hurled the other with his right.

The chain stretched over thirty feet; the iron hammer flew like a shooting star, heading straight for Jin Lanni’s head.

With a sickening crack, blood and brain matter spattered far and wide, the general’s corpse toppling from his steed.

The demon soldiers scattered in terror, shrieking, “Mother!” as they fled.

At that moment, not only was Li Xiong overjoyed, but even Xiao Ling on his back could not contain his delight.

He thought, “Jin Lanni, you used to bully and humiliate me. Today, you’ve met your end at last!”

Seeing the demon soldiers in full retreat, Li Xiong thought, “Now’s my chance! I’ll rush into the city and meet Young Master Feng. From now on, I’ll pledge myself to him!”

No sooner thought than done—he sped off like the wind, vanishing in a cloud of dust.

In no time, Li Xiong was at the gates of Black Earth City. He looked up and shouted, “Open… open… open the gate! Your Lord Xiong has returned!”

The soldiers atop the wall peered down. Who was this wild man? And wasn’t that the demon vanguard Xiao Ling bound on his back?

In an instant, the guards were thrown into a frenzy, weapons at the ready. They could not tell if this newcomer was friend or foe.

One clever soldier hurried off to inform Ye Feng.

Ye Feng arrived at the wall in haste.

Looking down, he exclaimed, “Isn’t that the hero who saved me over a month ago?”

He was about to order the gates opened when suddenly the sound of hooves thundered.

Following the noise, Ye Feng’s face changed. Oh no! The demon marshal Meng Keshu was approaching with his troops!

Would Li Xiong make it into Black Earth City? Find out in the next chapter!

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