Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

Li Yuan landed immediately, tapped his toes, and shot out again, leaving a trail of fire as he charged into the demon horde.

"Run!"

"Help!"

Seeing his ferocity, the little demons were terrified and scattered in chaos, fleeing in all directions.

Li Yuan brandished his sword expressionlessly. These demons were all burdened with human lives, and had devoured countless innocent civilians. Each of them deserved to die.

In just a few breaths, more than twenty lesser demons died, their intestines ripped out and their bodies rotten, their deaths gruesome, and the ground was littered with severed limbs.

The remaining monsters finally collapsed, letting out terrified screams as they scattered and fled.

Li Yuan did not pursue. His gaze was fixed on the front of the group, where a huge demon king, shaped like a lion or tiger, roared angrily at him.

"Roar!"

Seeing Li Yuan slaughtering like cutting melons and vegetables, a trace of fear flashed in the eyes of the Crimson Flame Lion King. However, seeing that he was alone and his aura was only at the Condensation Realm, he quickly calmed down.

"Kid! You're asking for it!"

It let out a deafening roar and pounced on Li Yuan.

The Crimson Flame Lion King moved with astonishing speed. It opened its blood-red maw, unleashing a ball of burning flame that enveloped Li Yuan, scorching him with heat.

Li Yuan sneered, and the flames of his nameless blade surged, extinguishing the opponent's fireball.

A hint of apprehension flashed in the Crimson Flame Lion King's eyes. Crimson demonic power condensed on its claws, and it slammed one claw towards Li Yuan's head.

"Well done!"

Li Yuan stepped forward to face the Crimson Flame Lion King, and with his nameless blade, he slashed upwards.

Firelight and starlight burst forth from the blade simultaneously, intertwining and swirling to form a dazzling and brilliant blade light.

The enormous claw shadow and the blade's edge collided violently in mid-air.

"Sizzle!"

The claws were torn apart by the blade's edge, which continued downwards without hindrance, cutting into the Crimson Flame Lion King's shoulder, piercing its massive body, and then exiting from its back.

"Awooo!"

The Crimson Lion King's figure froze in mid-air for a moment, then with a tearing sound, it split in two.

Internal organs and blood splattered all over the ground, and the two halves of the body split apart and crashed to the ground with a thud.

The Demon King was killed with a single blow.

Upon seeing this, the remaining monsters completely lost their will to fight, let out terrified howls, and fled in all directions without looking back.

"Trying to leave?"

Li Yuan's expression was cold and stern. His figure soared into the air, and the enormous blade of light was like the scythe of death, relentlessly reaping the lives of demons.

The battle was over in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea; all the demons were dead, none of them escaped.

After doing all this, he sheathed his sword and gave a deep, thoughtful look around.

There were eight prisoners in total, five men and three women, all young cultivators, who were tied up and dragged behind the carriage, their bodies covered in blood.

Upon seeing Li Yuan, everyone was excited. From the moment Li Yuan appeared to the end of the battle, it happened so quickly that it was hard to believe.

Especially after seeing how young Li Yuan was, they all showed an expression of disbelief.

To kill a demon king with a single strike—what level of cultivation is that? How could it be a boy who is not even twenty years old?

"Are you alright?"

Li Yuan cut the ropes and distributed healing pills to them. Everyone was still shaken by their near-death experience. One girl collapsed to the ground, covered her face, and sobbed.

"Thank you for saving me!"

Everyone expressed their gratitude. At this moment, a middle-aged male cultivator sized up Li Yuan, his gaze landing on the token at his waist, and tentatively asked, "May I ask if you are Lord Li Yuan, the Inspector of the Demon Suppression Division?"

Li Yuan was taken aback, not expecting this person to recognize him. He cupped his hands and said, "It is indeed I. I have now been transferred to Longyou. Who are you subordinates, and how did you come to be attacked here?"

Upon hearing that it was indeed Li Yuan, the male cultivator's face lit up with excitement: "Lord Li, we are local cultivators, responsible for logistics, and belong to the Shule Demon Suppression Division. We were ordered to collect supplies, but we were attacked on the way."

His face was grim. "My name is Zhou Liang, and I am a disciple of the Tianshan Sect. If it weren't for your timely arrival, sir, we would probably all be food for the demons by now."

Upon hearing Li Yuan's name, the other cultivators all showed admiration. As the most dazzling genius among the younger generation of the Tang Dynasty, his name had already spread throughout the entire Longyou region, and they had long heard of his various deeds.

"So they're brothers from the Tianshan Sect."

Li Yuan returned the greeting with a cupped hand. Since the outbreak of the war, the cultivators of Longyou Road had been the first to be affected and were all involved. Those with high cultivation went to the front line to kill the enemy, while those with lower cultivation were responsible for logistics and intelligence work. No one could stay out of it.

"How's the situation at the Shule Demon Suppression Bureau?"

Li Yuan was eager to learn more about the people from Shule City that he had encountered there.

Zhou Liang's face darkened: "This is not good. Since the fall of Mengchi Protectorate, Shule has become the front line. Demon soldiers attack every day, and the Demon Suppression Division is severely understaffed. Everyone is struggling to cope."

"Wait, you're saying the Mengchi Protectorate has already fallen?"

Li Yuan was taken aback. When he was in Kucha, he had received news that Mengchi was still in a tug-of-war, but he did not expect that the situation would change so much in just a few days.

"Yes, several more demon saints and demon emperors have joined the fight. Even Lord Feng couldn't withstand them and had to retreat."

Li Yuan felt a heavy weight in his heart, never expecting the situation to be so serious.

Just as they were pondering, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves came from afar. It turned out that Wu Yu had arrived with more than a dozen men.

"Don't be alarmed, everyone. They are my men, on their way to Shule. Please pack your things and we'll set off together."

Zhou Liang was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately called on his companions to get to work.

"Wu Yu, clean up the battlefield and send someone to inform Zhao Hu and the others to meet up and head to Shule City."

Half an hour later, everything was ready, and Li Yuan, with the nine newly joined wounded soldiers, set off again.

On the way, Li Yuan told Wu Yu and the others about the situation. Everyone was heavy-hearted, as the situation in Longyou was more severe than they had imagined.

But since we're already here, we have to go no matter how dangerous it is.

On the evening of the second day, the group finally arrived at Shule City.

From a distance, the city wall, built of rammed earth and stones, was covered with mottled marks. Some parts were broken, while others had charred fire marks. The wall was covered with a dense array of huge claw marks and large patches of dark brown blood.

It's clear that it has been through countless fierce battles.

The city gates were tightly closed, and the drawbridge hung high in the air.

Outside the city, numerous monster corpses lay scattered, and a strong, pungent stench permeated the air, clearly indicating that a fierce battle had just taken place here.

Li Yuan rode his horse to the city gate, showed his token, and after his identity was confirmed, the city gate slowly opened and the drawbridge creaked down.

The group walked through the streets, where there were wounded everywhere. The makeshift tents were full of wounded soldiers, and the city's defensive formations were already riddled with holes and practically defunct.

Many houses were destroyed, leaving only ruins, and the people were busy cleaning up.

"Haha, Brother Li, it's been years. I never imagined you'd become an inspector."

A burly middle-aged general strode forward, his armor covered in knife marks and claw marks, his left arm wrapped in a blood-soaked bandage. He flashed a hearty smile as soon as he saw Li Yuan.

"General Hu, it's been a long time."

The visitor was none other than Hu Cheng. They had fought side by side in Tiger Wolf Gorge. Li Yuan already knew before he came that Hu Cheng had been transferred to Shule.