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Chapter 196, page 195: The Desperate Shurahat, the Demon Clan's Lament

in situ.

call--

Gu Yuan slowly exhaled a breath of scorching white air.

The surging power in his chest still resonated throughout his limbs and bones; that punch was delivered without reservation, representing the ultimate power he could unleash with his current physique.

In the distance, the dust from the huge chasm created by the Demon King's backward flight had not yet dissipated, but his aura had become so faint as to be almost annihilated.

He knew perfectly well that even if the Demon King survived this attack, he would surely be severely injured and on the verge of death.

"Li-Li Lai's... techniques?"

Upon hearing this distraught whisper, Gu Yuan finally turned his gaze to the source of the sound—Shurahat.

The demon strategist, who in the original story could foresee a thousand years into the future and had flawless plans, now had all the color drain from his face.

Those deep, all-seeing black pupils were now filled with only bewilderment and disbelief.

Gu Yuan immediately understood: his existence and his power were completely beyond the scope of what the other party had foreseen.

Startled by Gu Yuan's gaze, Shurahat was jolted awake, struggling to recover from his shock.

Almost instinctively, he leaped back dozens of meters, his black robes fluttering in the wind, before daring to give Gu Yuan a serious and careful look. He was filled with fear.

"Nammenlos?" he uttered the pseudonym again, his voice dry and hesitant.

He desperately hoped it was some kind of illusion or magic, or that he could get a positive answer from the other person to explain all this upheaval.

Gu Yuan completely ignored his question.

His gaze swept indifferently across the surroundings, and more and more demons and humans emerged from their simple dwellings, gathering around in fear or confusion.

Most of the demons' faces were filled with confusion and astonishment. Things had happened too fast. They only heard a roar and felt the ground tremble beneath their feet, but they couldn't understand why the Demon King's aura had suddenly disappeared.

The one who broke the deathly silence was the human woman who had narrowly escaped death earlier.

Awakened by overwhelming joy, having witnessed the entire event, she shouted with all her might, her voice filled with ecstasy: "Yes, the hero! The hero has arrived! He sent the Demon King flying with a single move—a single move!"

"What?"

The scream echoed through the crowd of people, who were all stunned for a moment before seeing the horrifying trail of destruction.

Shock and horror eventually transformed into uncontrollable excitement, and hushed whispers spread and rose like a tide.

"The Demon King—has he been defeated?"

"Is it true? That arrogant demon king—"

"He's a hero! The legend has come true!"

Conversely, the demons fell into even greater chaos.

"Nonsense!"

"How could Your Majesty—"

"Lord Shurahart! What on earth is going on?!"

They all turned their gaze to the strategist, the only one in the room who could still maintain some composure, hoping that he would deny this absurd news.

However, Shurahart's lips only moved, but no sound came out.

His silence plunged the hearts of all the demons into despair.

Just then, a huge shadow loomed over, accompanied by the whooshing sound of wings flapping against the air.

Boom—

The enormous dragon slowly descended onto the open ground in the center of the plaza, the dust it kicked up causing the nearby demons to involuntarily take a few steps back.

On the dragon's back, Millie Aldeh, holding Celie, leaped lightly down.

She quickly scanned the entire area, her gaze lingering briefly on the ravines formed by the Demon King and the calmly standing Gu Yuan, her eyes filled with undisguised surprise.

As for Celia, she even stumbled slightly when her feet landed.

After witnessing Gu Yuan's actions, her face lost all trace of its usual arrogance and composure, leaving only a near-blank expression of shock.

One move—just one move?

This thought swirled wildly in her mind, almost tearing her perception apart, and she began to make comparisons uncontrollably:

The Demon King's physical defenses were incredibly strong, enough to withstand many of her powerful spells, while although I possessed profound magical power, the elf's body was ultimately not as resilient as the demon's.

In other words—if Gu Yuan's punch had landed on him, the result wouldn't have been as simple as being knocked away, but rather—

It was instantly crushed, turned into blood and dust, and not even a trace of its existence was erased.

This is not a gap that can be bridged in just a few days, or even decades—what exactly did he go through?

Or was it that he had been pretending all along?

A profound sense of doubt and an indescribable feeling of frustration intertwined, leaving her frozen in place, even temporarily forgetting everything around her.

Gu Yuan ignored Celia's turbulent emotions behind him, and also paid no attention to Millie Alde's probing gaze.

He surveyed all the demons present, his gaze calm, but his tone chilling: "Are the demons here the entire elite force of the demon race?"

These words struck Shurahart like a thunderclap.

He instantly understood the deeper meaning behind Gu Yuan's words—cleansing!

The fragmented visions of the future that had been shattered by Gu Yuan's appearance were now forcibly pieced together into a clear and terrifying ending:

completely annihilated!

Almost without thinking.

"--escape!"

He had to remind his compatriots that any resistance was futile against an existence capable of instantly killing a demon king; the only way to survive was to escape!

However, his warning came too late and was too shocking.

Most of the demons were still reeling from the shock of the Demon King's possible defeat, and for a moment they were somewhat bewildered.

As Gu Yuan watched this scene, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

As he drew his divine sword and made it hover beside him, he spoke calmly: "Miliarde."

Without needing to say anything more, the elf behind her immediately understood. She suppressed the turmoil in her heart, and her hands, which had already completed their spellcasting, released the magic power she had gathered.

A semi-transparent spherical barrier rapidly expanded from her center, instantly enveloping the core area of ​​the entire Sword Village!

The few demons who reacted the fastest had just rushed to the edge of the village when they were bounced back as if they had hit an invisible, tough wall!

"A barrier—it's a barrier!" a demon cried out in terror.

As Shurahart watched the rising barrier light screen, the last glimmer of hope in his eyes was completely extinguished.

His face was ashen; he knew his last hope was gone. It was all over. This was a long-planned trap.

In stark contrast to them are the humans who survived the catastrophe.

The rescued woman stood up with the help of her companions, her eyes filled with endless gratitude and admiration as she looked at Gu Yuan.

The elderly female village chief's hunched body trembled slightly with extreme excitement.

She pushed away the young man who was supporting her, took a few steps forward, and stared intently at Gu Yuan with her cloudy eyes, as if she wanted to etch his image into her soul.

She murmured to herself, "A hero—this must be the true hero—who else could possess such—such immense power—"

Her withered hand clenched into a fist, and a thought grew wildly in her mind, bringing long-lost hope: "Humanity—can be saved!"