Chapter 39: Monster, Vajra? [Fourth Update]

Looking around, everywhere was littered with the corpses of monster beasts, many reduced to mangled remains. The facades of every building at the service station were draped with flesh and blood, painting a scene of unparalleled carnage.

Yang Dai summoned several more ghostly followers, sending them underground in various directions to scout. Marshal Tianpeng, the Wolf Demon, the Pigeon Spirit, Liang Zixiao, Tian Bu Zhong, and Bai Wei were tasked with protecting him as he absorbed souls nearby, following the principle of convenience.

He exercised caution, always instructing his followers to verify whether the monsters were truly dead before he absorbed their souls. Most of the beast monsters were spirits, their cultivation ranging from the second to the eighth stage of Qi Gathering. Spirits as powerful as Marshal Tianpeng were rare.

Yang Dai moved about, absorbing souls both tense and exhilarated. Time flew swiftly.

By three in the afternoon, he rested against a wrecked car on the highway, his spectral followers encircling him. Despite the dizziness, he was in high spirits.

He had absorbed one hundred seventy-two monster souls in one go! His number of ghostly followers had reached seven hundred ninety-five, getting ever closer to the thousand mark.

During this period, he hadn’t encountered Zhou Yingying and the others, unsure where they might be hiding, or perhaps, they had already perished.

“The demonic aura nearby grows thinner; it seems the beast tide has not returned,” Liang Zixiao remarked quietly.

Yang Dai nodded, replying, “With our strength, we can’t handle the beast tide. We’ll keep absorbing souls as we head back to Feng City.”

At that moment, a follower emerged from underground—it was Liu Junjie.

Liu Junjie said excitedly, “I found a terrifying beast monster, Master, do you want to absorb it? I’m certain it’s a demon, comparable to a master of the Heart Revolving Realm!”

Yang Dai did not show delight but frowned instead.

A demon on par with Heart Revolving Realm—was that something he could absorb?

Liang Zixiao asked, “Are you certain it’s dead?”

Liu Junjie nodded, “Definitely dead. When I approached, it showed no response, not even the faintest breath.”

Yang Dai pondered, “Let’s rest a bit longer. I’m not sure you all could defeat a demon.”

Spirit monsters, demons, great demons, demon kings…

Demons could speak human language, their intelligence no less than humans. One had to be cautious when dealing with them; feigning death was certainly possible.

“We can handle it! With Brother Liang, Marshal Tianpeng, the Pigeon Spirit, and the Wolf Demon working together, we can kill it. If need be, we have over seven hundred followers; we could overwhelm it. Master, you’ve absorbed four souls at the ninth stage of Qi Gathering; your soul power must have grown tremendously. It’s time to reach for higher realms. You can rest more; first send the Pigeon Spirit to check. Once it’s confirmed dead, then act.”

Liu Junjie spoke, barely containing his excitement. With a powerful demon joining them, they would be safer still.

Yang Dai found the plan reasonable and instructed Liu Junjie to take the Pigeon Spirit to investigate.

An hour later, Yang Dai’s mental state improved; at least the dizziness had subsided, though he remained fatigued and listless.

He could sense Liu Junjie’s direction and led his followers there. The area was still strewn with monster corpses, but for now, he ignored them, intent on testing himself against the demon.

Yang Dai, ever cautious, summoned the Wolf Army, instructing the Grey Wolf to lead over three hundred followers ahead.

After some distance, Yang Dai suddenly halted.

Following his gaze, a man’s corpse lay on the road—it was his teammate Guo Yu. Half his body had been gnawed away, and the remaining half-face stared wide-eyed, gruesome and horrific.

Yang Dai sighed and moved on.

Since his rebirth, he had witnessed plenty of death, so he felt little grief.

Rather than mourn, it was better to grow stronger, to become a pillar of the nation, and save more people in the future.

Half an hour later, Yang Dai arrived at the outskirts of Taihe City, finally spotting his followers. He stared wide-eyed, his body instinctively trembling.

Liu Junjie stood before a black gorilla easily as tall as a six-story building. The gorilla leaned against a residential block, the structure crushed and ruined beneath its weight. A horrifying wound slashed across its chest, several meters long, clearly inflicted by the sword aura of a formidable sword cultivator.

Was this a King Kong?

Such a massive body must be a demon, but…

Yang Dai felt a headache just looking at it—could he even absorb this?

No, he had to try!

He took a deep breath. If he couldn’t drag its soul, he would just give up.

Liang Zixiao was equally astounded by the gorilla’s size, clicking his tongue in amazement.

“Master, hurry, there are no monsters or people nearby!” Liu Junjie said excitedly as Yang Dai approached. The Wolf Army had spread out, guarding every corner.

Yang Dai instructed, “If I pass out, find a way to hide me until I wake. Everyone, beast or human, listen to Liang Zixiao!”

The followers nodded with no objections.

Yang Dai inhaled deeply, rubbed his hands together, and began to absorb the soul.

…

On the outskirts of Taihe City, at a new military encampment.

Inside a military tent, Hu Li sat before a computer, reviewing footage taken by Intelligence Bureau trialists of powerful demons.

A trialist rushed in, saying, “Director Hu, the Pillar Xiong Lie has left!”

Hu Li frowned, “Where did he go?”

The trialist answered, “He’s headed to slay the great demon leading the beast tide!”

“Ridiculous, didn’t we say there are two great demons this time? One commands the land, one controls the sky. Which is he going after?”

“He said he’ll kill both, only then can Hanxi Province be saved. Otherwise, with only one pillar, the cities will keep falling.”

“Has he obtained intelligence on the two demons?”

“I gave it to him myself. He said he remembered it.”

“Ah, in that case, let’s pray he succeeds.”

Hu Li sighed. The situation was dire; Taihe City was half overrun, the Defense Bureau’s lines constantly pushed back, even hot weapons were ineffective. As for nuclear arms, their deterrence was too terrifying—Summer Nation would not use them hastily until civilians evacuated.

Hu Li suddenly remembered something, “What about the Overlord? Has his combat squad returned?”

Yesterday, upon learning Yang Dai had been assigned to guard the bridge, he nearly exploded in anger.

This was the future pillar of Summer Nation—he must not perish amid this beast tide.

The trialist replied, “Not yet, but other squads are returning, so perhaps he’ll come back soon.”

Hu Li waved him away, and the trialist withdrew.

Hu Li resumed smoking, shrouded in clouds as he stared at the screen showing the two great demons.

…

Who knew how much time had passed before Yang Dai finally woke.

Even before opening his eyes, his head felt ready to split, his heart filled with lingering dread.

Absorbing the black gorilla nearly killed him—the process of sensing the soul wasn’t difficult, but the soul itself was so heavy that halfway through, he almost lost consciousness. Still, he stubbornly pressed on.

Having come so far, how could he abandon it?

It was like buying stocks: at first, you just want to try; once you start losing, you sell. But damn it, when it starts rising…

Seeing hope of successfully absorbing the soul, Yang Dai would never give up.

He wasn’t sure he’d succeeded; he couldn’t recall what happened, his mental state too poor. He couldn’t sense his soul space, his head hurt so much he could only describe it as worse than death.

After a long while, Yang Dai managed to open his eyes.

At that moment, Liang Zixiao was carrying him forward, flanked by Marshal Tianpeng and the Wolf Demon, acting as guardians.

“Master, you’re finally awake,” Liang Zixiao’s voice came, barely concealing his excitement.

Yang Dai, weakly, asked, “Did I succeed?”