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They did not see Light come back even after waiting for quite some time. However, the rumbling sound was getting closer and closer.

“Light won’t be coming back. His scent is currently getting further and further from us,” Xia Fan looked in the direction where Light had run to and turned back to talk to Nikai. “He’s left through a very narrow cave that we have no way of using.”

Nikai was stunned. She refused to believe that the very respectful and introverted boy would actually abandon them.

Though Xia Fan did not explicitly state that, even Nikai could guess that it all must have been a ploy this entire time. A tunnel which only Light could get through, but which neither Xia Fan or Nikai could squeeze into. It was apparent that his departure had been pre-planned!

“Why? Why is this happening?” Nikai asked.

She was very disappointed, her worldview completely collapsing. Nikai had sympathized with the plight of the Shimmers greatly, which was why she had done everything she could to take good care of Light. Yet at the end of the day, all she got was betrayal! Nikai had no idea how she could find it in herself to trust another person again.

“I don’t know the exact reason either,” Xia Fan shrugged, “But right now isn’t the time for us to discuss this. It seems we’ve been surrounded from all sides. There are a lot of foreign smells coming from everywhere. They should be coming into view in the next three minutes.”

Nikai looked around. They had been brought down a forkless path by Light. Now that both the way forward and back had been blocked, the only option left for escape was to carve out a bloody path through whatever obstructed them.

Nikai gathered herself. “What should we do now? Do we attempt to flee?”

“If Light intended to harm us, they surely have considered that I would use my speed. The most important thing in a battle is to remain calm, and to never act in accordance with the enemy’s assumptions. If it is their desire for us to disengage and speed away, then that is exactly what we won’t do,” Xia Fan said.

Nikai felt a trace of security after hearing Xia Fan’s words. It was a good thing he was here. Xia Fan possessed a keen analytical judgment and sense of smell that greatly surpassed what people normally possessed. They enabled him to keep calm in a situation when Nikai was evidently already flustered.

“Prepare yourself and get behind me.”

Xia Fan had Nikai climb on his back once again, using two strands of rope to secure her. Nikai was already a girl who did not have much resistance to authority, so of course she did as she was instructed, obediently climbing onto Xia Fan’s back and tightly hugging his broad shoulders.

“Logically speaking, we ought to retreat the way we came, seeing as that is the path we know. But right now, I’m planning to continue making our way forward; though there’s plenty of movement ahead of us, it seems they are just waiting for us, and I will always act against my enemy’s expectations.” Xia Fan said.

“Okay, you’re in charge,” Nikai nodded as she tightened her grip on Xia Fan’s shoulders even more.

*Whoosh!*

Xia Fan abruptly dashed forward, accelerating quickly. At that moment, Xia Fan could hear the rumbling sounds suddenly stop. The enemy must have not expected Xia Fan to continue forging ahead, rather than retreat when in trouble.

At the same time, Xia Fan could hear the sound of earth breaking behind him, most likely coming from enemies who had hidden themselves under the cover of darkness. Upon realizing that Xia Fan was not backtracking and had instead opted to charge ahead, they must have leapt out and decided to give chase instead.

He could imagine just how many enemies there were; the moment they surged out from the darkness and started chasing, he could feel the very ground tremble. If Xia Fan had retreated the way he had come, he would surely have been caught in an intense firefight with the majority of the enemy.

Instead, there were fewer enemies on the path ahead. Just their appearance was enough to make Nikai shudder; with black leathery skin and eyes, a good portion of their bodies decomposed and cracked. It was actually a horde of demonized Demi-dragons!

There was a huge difference between dragons and demonized dragons. After demonizing, dragons would no longer live using lifeforce, but rely on a sort of spiritual power. Despite their bodies rotting and crawling with white maggots, they would not feel any pain, as if their bodies were no longer important. Even if their hearts were dug out and buried, the demonized dragons would still be able to unleash their full combat strength.

They were no different from dragon corpses. They were clearly dead, yet still remained alive!

There was no way to kill an enemy that was already dead, aside from destroying their soul. Even if all that remained was a wing or a claw, they would still savagely lunge at their enemies.

“Huuu~”

Xia Fan let out a long sigh. He did not expect to run into such an enemy. From how they formed up, it appeared the enemy was made up of different groups of Demi-dragons. What had once been Statue Demi-dragons, Sapphire Demi-dragons and Patterned Wyverns, was now just one unified swarm, Demonic Demi-dragons!

“Heavens, the demon race’s influence has already reached the buffer zone!” Nikai gasped.

Before they were demonic Demi-dragons, they were of course just normal Demi-dragons. Flame Soul, whom Xia Fan had killed, was once a proud flame dragon before he was subjugated by the Demon King Stanley, possessing the arrogance and talent of the dragon race.

But after the demonization process, Flame Soul became Stanley’s mount. Even his son continued to serve the demon race.

The bodies of demonic dragons no longer glowed with divinity, all that was left being darkness and rot. If Bright Pearl had seen Flame Soul, she promptly would have wanted to kill him. For a proud dragon to be made a slave to demons, turning into a thing that stank of rot, was an absolute disgrace to the dragon race!

“Looks like my previous speculation has been proven right. Stanley has been on assignment here. I’m afraid he has already converted a majority of the Demi-dragons in the buffer zone, turning them into slaves for the demon race!

“But it appears as if he did not accomplish his assignment in full, as these Demi-dragons are still trapped in the buffer zone and have yet to make their way to the mainland,” Xia Fan said.

“No matter what, we must not allow these Demonic Demi-dragons access to the mainland. It would be an apocalyptic calamity for Subduing Demon City if that happens!” Nikai exclaimed.

Xia Fan rolled his eyes. Stopping the Demonic Demi-dragons from making it to the mainland? That was far too grand a goal, not something he could achieve by himself.

But he could somewhat understand what Nikai was feeling. She was a descendant of a Demon Slayer clan, after all, so she harbored an intense hatred of things that had been demonized. Those clans might even consider the elimination of such existences their life’s mission.

But Xia Fan and the Skywings were just reinforcements that the Demon Slayer Legion had invited. They did not have any particular deep attachment to the Lower Realm.

“To think I would fall into a trap on my first solo operation without Traveling Buddha. Without my important human shield, there’s now a significant decrease to my combat strength,” Xia Fan shrugged. “Leave the front to me, and I’ll have to rely on you to cover my back.”

How infuriating!

Nikai realized that in Xia Fan’s eyes, she was not as important as that damned chubby friend of his. Nikai was a goddess, someone everyone could only dream about getting close to.

But now, this goddess was obediently heeding Xia Fan’s instructions, hugging his back without any complaints, her mesmerizing feminine scent on full display, yet he was yearning for that fatso? How inhumane was that? The two couldn’t be having an affair, could they?

Xia Fan shot off suddenly. He went sprinting at his top speed, startling Nikai while her mind was elsewhere. Nikai hurriedly squeezed Xia Fan’s back tight, locking her slender thighs around Xia Fan’s waist to prevent herself from falling off, and activated her Divine Wings of Color.

A colorful pair of wings sprouted above Xia Fan’s back, a dazzling array of light that was akin to a huge butterfly, as the pair hurtled toward a mass of Demonic Demi-dragons at insane speed.

*Crunch*

The sound of bones shattering filled the dark cave. Xia Fan suddenly had an idea, and began using Nikai’s wings as weapons!

Wielding the two huge wings, Xia Fan shuffled through a pack of Demonic Demi-dragons, the two wings brusquely bashing into the bodies of the frightening creatures. When matched with Xia Fan’s high speed, an astounding amount of force was applied, so great that the bones of the creatures of darkness shattered the moment they came into contact. Black blood and flesh sprayed upon the walls like splashed ink.

Nikai withstood all this in silence. She was not like Xia Fan, someone who had eaten Grade Nine energy crystals growing. Her Divine Wings of Color sapped a lot of her energy, and she would feel a pain, as if her entire body was being drained, while using them.

Nevertheless, this was quite possibly the most effective application of their high speed assault. Nikai hugged Xia Fan tightly and grit her teeth, forcing herself to endure the experience.

“I know it’s taking a lot out of you, but please hold on. These creatures have yet to recover, and we’re about to break out through the passage ahead,” Xia Fan told Nikai, his voice low yet composed, as if he was giving Nikai more strength.

Wordlessly, he pressed a transparent Grade Nine energy crystal into Nikai’s hands. Nikai did not care for her image of a lady and immediately pressed the crystal to her lips like a ravenous wild dog.

There was no one in this world who could keep up with a speedster’s pace, as their fighting tempo was simply just too fast. Nikai could feel her wings weaken with every passing second as she endured the tens of thousands of impacts happening, each hit reducing her energy bit by bit. If Nikai’s internal energy reserve was like a lake, then this lake was currently bursting from its banks, water gushing out wildly.

“Hold on just a little more, we’re just about to make it out!” Xia Fan cried.

*Zing*

As Xia Fan darted out of the tunnel, their field of vision suddenly expanded. After leaving the narrow tunnels, they were now in a circular vacuum and dome-like space. Countless Demonic Demi-dragons raised their eyes and stared right at the two human intruders with surprise and suspicion in their eyes.

It seemed the end of this tunnel led directly to the lair of some Demonic Demi-dragons. Their blackened bodies were squirming, giving off the impression that the place was crawling with maggots.

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