Chapter 79

Without the pursuit of the demon race, everyone returned smoothly along the original path, exiting the forest.

It was now mid-afternoon, with the sun high in the sky. Ahead lay a field of grass and a river, making the world seem exceptionally vast. The stuffiness accumulated in the narrow space of the forest was completely released.

"It's still better outside; it feels so comfortable."

"The forest is only suitable for sightseeing; living there long-term would be fatal."

"Let's go back to Lujia Town, then stay overnight in Mian County, and return to Dayuan Prefecture tomorrow."

"Alright!"

Everyone's spirits were lifted, and their steps became much lighter.

The soldiers secretly heaved a sigh of relief. In the past, when killing demons, demons would often suddenly appear, and the soldiers would be the first to die, followed by the scholars. Although they had been loyal and diligent throughout the journey, even with Nunu present, they still had some resistance. However, everything was over now.

Before long, everyone saw Lujia Town from a distance. The three scholars with the best eyesight had their faces turn serious.

Outside Lujia Town, the ground was littered with the corpses of fish demons.

Inside Lujia Town, everything was in ruins. The short walls outside the town were collapsed everywhere, and many houses had been flattened, as if a great flood had passed through. Some houses in the distance seemed to have been set on fire, the flames now extinguished, but still emitting light smoke. Many people could be seen busily working.

"Slow down and prepare to fight the demons."

Everyone hurriedly began to prepare for battle, drawing their swords, raising their spears, and taking out their arrows. The scholars also put down their robes, dipped their pens in ink.

Nunu stood on Fang Yun's shoulder, looking straight ahead, and then said in a normal voice, "Ying ying, ying ying."

Fang Yun asked, "You mean there are no demons?"

"Ying ying!" Nunu nodded.

Without waiting for the scholars to give orders, everyone let out a sigh of relief. They now unconditionally trusted Fang Yun and Nunu.

"Let's go and see what's going on! Don't be too happy too soon. If demons attack, we cannot leave, or we will be deserters."

Everyone became tense again upon hearing this, but no one complained; the atmosphere in the group was not good.

These people had been continuously fighting demons, and their minds and spirits were exhausted.

The three scholars exchanged glances and frowned. If demons suddenly appeared, the morale of the group would immediately collapse.

Mr. Wang said, "No one likes to risk their life to kill demons. You don't like it, and I don't like it either. Even the Lord of the Academy once told us that if he had a choice, he would rather read the classics, drink tea, and enjoy the moon every day, but he cannot! We cannot either! The demon race wants to raise humans as food, and the barbarian race wants to invade our beautiful homeland. If we indulge in the pleasures of life, we will eventually become slaves to the demons and barbarians!"

"Back then, the demons and barbarians could not leave the demon world, giving our race a chance to breathe. Later, the Battle of Muye outside Chao Ge City was not a battle between the Shang and Zhou dynasties, but a battle between the human race and the demon and barbarian races! King Wen knew that humans and demons and barbarians could never coexist; they are eternal enemies, and only one side can be completely exterminated to end the conflict!"

"We, the literati, are the last line of defense for the Holy Yuan Continent and the hundreds of millions of humans. Our will and our strength are the last fortress of the human race. If we dare not fight, the human race will be doomed!"

"Do you want to be raised like pigs, slaughtered, and served on a plate?"

"No!" a few students said softly.

"Do you want to see your relatives and wives and daughters become playthings of the demons and barbarians?" Mr. Wang asked again.

"No!" more people said this time.

"Do you want to hand over the land of the human race, paved with the bones of our ancestors, to the demons and barbarians?"

"No!" many people shouted.

"Then, use the power bestowed upon us by the Star of Literature and the sages to exterminate these demons and barbarians, so that our families and descendants can live in peace! Even if we become dry bones! This land belongs to the human race, and no one can take it away! As long as the human race does not perish, the righteous spirit will always exist!"

Everyone was inspired by Mr. Wang's words. This was not the encouragement of a war poem, but a direct impact on the heart!

"The human race will not perish, and the righteous spirit will always exist!"

Everyone roared in unison, and the original aversion to war disappeared completely. They were eager to capture the demons that had destroyed the town.

When they arrived at the town, the mayor and some people came to greet them.

"What happened?" Mr. Wang asked.

The mayor's eyes were red, and he said, trying to hold back his grief, "I don't know what happened. An hour ago, a large group of demons rushed over, led by a turtle demon as big as a house. Then a large snake appeared, and they started fighting. The turtle demon used magic, flooding half the village. Other demons also used magic, some releasing poison, some setting fires. We just finished counting, and over forty people in the town died, and more than thirty are missing, probably captured and eaten by the demons."

"How did they leave?"

"That turtle demon was particularly powerful. The snake demon couldn't hurt it and was instead injured by the turtle demon and other demons. In the end, the snake demon had to flee. Those demons seemed to value the snake demon highly and didn't bother with us, chasing the snake demon away."

"Did you seek help from the magistrate of Mian County?"

"I tore up two official red documents, and the nearby army should be here soon."

"Did those demons have a demon general?"

"I don't understand demon language. Chengcai, you know demon language, answer the scholar's question."

The student An Chengcai, whom they had met before, walked over. He was much thinner than a few days ago, his eyes slightly dark, and he no longer looked like a newly married young man.

The mayor sighed lightly and said, "His beautiful wife is missing, probably captured by the demons, but she might be hiding somewhere. Chengcai, tell them what happened."

An Chengcai bowed to everyone and said, "Gentlemen, the demons' words were chaotic, and I can't repeat them all, but I can guess the general situation. The snake demon seemed to have stolen something, and the Yangtze River Dragon Palace sent a turtle demon to kill the snake demon. The snake demon called the turtle demon a demon general, but the turtle demon was much more powerful than a regular demon general. The snake demon easily killed three regular demon generals but couldn't defeat the turtle demon."

The three scholars and a few scholars changed their expressions.

"Does the turtle demon have a protruding part on its head, like it's about to grow horns?"

"Yes! Could it be a dragon turtle?"

"It can't be a dragon turtle. Dragon turtles are also of the dragon lineage and are on par with the dragon. That demon turtle likely has dragon lineage and belongs to the pseudo-dragon race; otherwise, it wouldn't be so powerful. What about the snake demon?"

"I'm not quite sure about that." An Chengcai lowered his head, deep in thought, as if trying to recall something.

Mr. Wang asked again, "Does the snake demon have a red fleshy crest on its head and black and red stripes on its body?"

The mayor immediately shook his head and said, "No! The large snake demon had nothing on its head, and its body was green. It was a large green snake, very scary, especially when it opened its mouth. But the large green snake didn't seem to hurt people intentionally; the demon turtle killed many of us. Even Mr. Yang might have been captured by the demons."

An Chengcai suddenly clenched his fists and lowered his head even more.

Nunu looked at An Chengcai suspiciously, sniffed lightly, and her gaze fell on An Chengcai's chest, as if thinking about something.

"Besides those few demon generals, how many other demon soldiers were there?"

"At least five or six hundred, mostly fish demons. But the snake demon killed over two hundred, and the bodies are outside; you can count them."

Mr. Wang sighed lightly and said, "We will stay here temporarily and wait for the army to arrive. Whether to leave, stay, or fight will be decided when the army arrives. Don't just stand around; help the people in the town."

So everyone began to help the people in the town clean up the destroyed areas.

Before long, over thirty armored ox carts came from the distance, forming a rolling cloud of dust.

The lead vehicle was an armored ox war chariot, also pulled by two armored oxen. However, these two oxen were covered in iron armor, and the chariot they pulled was very small, with only three people standing on it: one driving, one a general in armor, and one the magistrate of Mian County, Mr. He.

Everyone immediately went to greet them, and the armored ox carts gradually slowed down. The general jumped off the war chariot; his face was not covered by a helmet, and although Fang Yun did not recognize him, many people around him did.

"General Chen!" everyone greeted.

Fang Yun immediately guessed that this must be the prefectural general of Dayuan Prefecture, Chen Xibi, a fifth-rank official.

Mr. He and Chen Xibi were both jinshi (advanced scholars), but one was elegant, and the other was rugged.

"What happened?" Chen Xibi scanned the crowd and asked.

Mr. Wang immediately reported the events.

"Who is Fang Yun?"

"I am, sir." Fang Yun stepped forward and said.

Chen Xibi looked at Fang Yun and nodded, then said to everyone, "Since there are two demon generals, there's no need to disturb the Lord of the Academy. The great scholars of Jing State are all at the Holy Academy and have not returned yet. The Lord of the Academy must stay in Yuhai City to prevent the sea race from attacking. I will leave two units of the prefectural army to guard here, and the rest will follow me to pursue and kill those demons to prevent them from killing more people."

Chen Xibi paused, scanned the crowd from the State Literary Academy, and said, "You are temporarily conscripted into the prefectural army! Follow me to exterminate the demons!"

Mr. Wang glanced at Fang Yun and said to Chen Xibi, "Sir, we just killed a demon general, and our qi has not recovered. Especially Fang Yun, who just became a pre-saint scholar, is not yet capable of great deeds. It would be better to let Fang Yun return to the State Literary Academy and let us follow you to kill the demons."

The people nearby were greatly surprised. Pre-saint scholars were rarer than pre-saint students, with only one appearing in a hundred years. Moreover, pre-saint scholars were the current limit, and no one except Confucius' direct disciples could become pre-saint scholars.

The status of pre-saint scholars was higher than that of ordinary scholars, almost approaching that of jinshi.

An Chengcai stared straight at Fang Yun, his eyes full of shock.

Nunu, however, continued to stare at An Chengcai.

A hint of surprise flashed in Chen Xibi's eyes, and he then asked Fang Yun, "Are you seriously injured?"

"No."

"Can you draw a bow and wield a sword?"

"Yes."

"Then follow me! Without experiencing life and death on the battlefield, how can you be a good man! I have a 'Mountain Inkstone' here; I will lend it to you. If you encounter danger, inject your qi into it to trigger the power of 'Mountain Ode' to protect yourself! As long as I am not killed in battle, you will not die!" Chen Xibi then casually threw the Mountain Inkstone to Fang Yun.

Fang Yun hurriedly caught it and said, "Thank you, General Chen."

Chen Xibi smiled slightly and said, "The future of Jing State depends on you, but for now, you must listen to me!"

Everyone laughed.

"Let's go!" Chen Xibi said decisively.

The student An Chengcai suddenly shouted, "General, my wife may have been captured and killed by the demons. As a scholar, I cannot let this go unavenged! I am proficient in archery, often hunt, and have also helped the townspeople kill demons. Please allow me to join the army, sir."

"Alright! It's a pity you are not a scholar, or I would lend you a literary treasure. You will join the students! Get in the cart!"