Chapter 116: Brilliant Fireworks Outside the City

“Ah, my apologies. Since you all can’t seem to determine a winner, I simply don’t have time to wait any longer. What should I do? With so many of you, choosing just one is truly difficult.”

A troubled expression crossed her face as Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s gaze swept over all the demons under her control. She paused thoughtfully, then a good idea occurred to her. Taking a deep breath, a surge of divine power rose up her throat, blending into her voice: “Good children, my time is short. Since you can’t decide who will be the last one standing, then all of you self-destruct. If anyone remains afterward, I shall reward them.”

Her voice, stronger than ever before, echoed through the yellow sound pipes, reaching the ears of the demons outside the city. At Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s command, the demons stiffened momentarily. Even though they were born for destruction, they still possessed a survival instinct. Yet, under the overwhelming magical control in her voice, their instinct to survive was quickly suppressed with little resistance.

Boom! A soldier-level demon destroyed its own crystal core. One explosion followed another as soldier-level and warrior-level demons self-destructed one after the other. For a time, the outskirts of the southern city resembled a grand fireworks display, with crisp detonations and splashes of black blood.

“Oh my, what a marvelous melody. Thank you all for presenting me with this final symphony. Now, allow me to take my leave. Farewell.” Amid the continuous explosions, Mei Jiu lifted the hem of her dress gracefully, bowed to the demons marching toward their doom, and then turned toward the central command of the city. The soundtrack to her departure was the death knell of the demons.

“Hm?!” Just as she turned to leave, Zhuang Xiaoyuan suddenly sensed an anomaly from somewhere behind her. She glanced back. Behind her came a series of explosions and the diminishing number of demons, nothing particularly noteworthy.

“Is it… just my imagination?” Frowning in confusion, Zhuang Xiaoyuan dismissed the odd feeling and swiftly headed toward the city center.

“Heh heh, what an unexpected discovery. So beautiful, so fragile, and yet so intoxicating. I’m beginning to grow impatient.” A mid-level evil god stood silently beyond the southern city gate, seemingly indifferent to the self-destructing demons around him. The blood-red magical tattoo on his forehead set him apart from the others, giving him a sinister aura.

“Soon, very soon we shall meet again, my little white rabbit. Heh heh heh, ha ha ha ha.” With a maniacal laugh, the blood-red tattoo on the mid-level evil god’s forehead faded quickly, returning to its original black sludge-like form. Once restored, the god glanced around blankly as if denying his previous words, then joined the self-destruction.

“Requiem.” Just as Zhuang Xiaoyuan arrived at the guarded central command zone of Maple City, she spotted the guardians still locked in battle. They were fighting a burrowing-level demon, but several guardians looked worn out—most notably the captain, Huazé.

His ability was the most conspicuous. The once-bright flames on his fiery greatsword were dim and small, clearly a sign of depleted divine power. So, as Zhuang Xiaoyuan approached, she gently played the soothing, tranquil Requiem to restore the guardians’ divine energy.

“You’re late, Xiaoyuan.” As her remaining divine power gradually recovered, the melody notes silently circled around her, ignoring the gentle breeze nearby. Wen Hui sensed Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s return and turned around eagerly, though her words remained stiff and unyielding.

“I think you’re the slow one. I took half an hour to get back, and you haven’t dealt with this burrowing-level demon yet? Are you holding us back, Wen Hui?” Floating in midair, playing the Requiem to replenish the guardians’ divine reserves, Zhuang Xiaoyuan shot back.

“The first one was long dealt with. This is the second.” Wen Hui’s tone was a little low, clearly more cautious than when they first heard the burrowing-level demon’s news at the city gate.

“What’s going on?” Sensing something off in Wen Hui’s words, Zhuang Xiaoyuan asked.

“We’ll talk later. Let’s finish this one quickly. Time’s running out. Blazing Slash!” Feeling his divine power rapidly recover, Huazé shouted and reignited the flames on his greatsword, the blazing fire cleaving toward the burrowing-level demon.

After their battle with the young evil goddess, the guardians had grown significantly. Under their combined assault, they could now handle a burrowing-level demon. However, if both of these demons had appeared simultaneously, it would have been a nightmare.

With their divine powers restored and their ultimate moves unleashed, they finally cracked open the demon’s shell, exposing the hidden crystal core inside. With the core shattered, the second burrowing-level demon was finally destroyed.

“Captain, did I miss anything? Where did this demon come from?” After the battle, Zhuang Xiaoyuan landed and asked. From Wen Hui’s tone and Huazé’s earlier urgency, she sensed something troubling.

“He came from there.” Huazé’s face darkened as he pointed toward the guarded zone behind the command post.

“That’s… a teleportation gate? Has it been destroyed?” Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s eyes widened, unable to hide her concern. To confirm her suspicion, she soared into the sky again and looked toward the gate.

Previously, focused on the burrowing-level demons, she hadn’t noticed the teleportation gate’s anomaly. Now, instead of its usual shimmering blue energy glow, the gate was pitch black, completely shut down.

Moreover, the upright gate was cracked in two, with one half toppled to the ground. Nearby, a huge crater proudly marked its presence. Around the pit lay many dead and grievously wounded, groaning in pain.

“Requiem.” Shocked at the destruction of the teleportation gate, Zhuang Xiaoyuan quickly flew toward it, playing the Requiem once more to ease the pain and staunch the wounds of the injured, aiding the medics in their efforts.

The guardians’ earlier suspicions seemed true: behind this demon beast tide was the command of a royal-level evil god. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have targeted humanity’s critical strongholds so deliberately—drawing away the guardians and attacking the teleportation gate itself.