Wen Yu slowly walked to the edge of the crater, scrutinizing the squirming creature on the ground not far off.
The lower half of the Ancient Demon was gone, its waist a massive, scorched wound from the plasma hand grenadeâs explosion. Its four arms had also completely collapsed. The scales on its upper body had all shattered, revealing the organs within. Its face was blown beyond recognition. Despite such grievous injuries, the Ancient Demon was still alive!
Its eyes could no longer see, but the Ancient Demon still emitted violent screams as the Demonic Qi around its body churned wildly. It was a Demon Qi Eruption. In a short span, the Ancient Demon had used Demon Qi Eruption five times! And it was still ongoing!
But this was merely the death throes of a desperate creature.
CLICK.
The crisp sound of a lighter echoed. Wen Yu lit a cigarette and slowly exhaled a plume of smoke. The smoke drifted upward, obscuring Wen Yuâs face.
As its energy depleted, the power of the Demon Qi Eruptions weakened progressively until they ceased altogether. The Ancient Demonâs screams faded, eventually replaced by intense, ragged gasps.
Casually extinguishing his cigarette, Wen Yu walked step by step towards the Ancient Demon.
The ravaged Ancient Demon heard the footsteps and immediately cried out, "Donât kill me! Donât kill me! Youâve won! I surrender! I can control Demon Fiends! Iâm very useful! Iâm willing to submit to you! Please, spare me!!"
The Ancient Demonâs voice, once cold and brutal, now held only the desperate plea of a drowning dog.
"Oh," Wen Yu replied faintly, yet it seemed to give the Ancient Demon a sliver of hope for survival.
"I can control Demon Fiends! I can give you intelligence! Iâm willing to be your slave, your dog! Iâll do anything you ask!"
"So, you things fear death too, huh," Wen Yuâs low voice sounded, though it was nearly drowned out by the Ancient Demonâs continuous pleas.
"Wha... what?" The Ancient Demon hadnât heard Wen Yu clearly and asked again.
"I said, go to hell!" Wen Yu roared and strode forward. Empowered by his dislimning ability, the Touch of Greed in his hand plunged directly into the Ancient Demonâs head.
"Noâ!"
As the Ancient Demon shrieked mournfully, Wen Yu deactivated the dislimning state of the Touch of Greed. The Touch of Greed seemed to materialize directly inside the Ancient Demonâs head. Empowered by dislimning, which ignored defenses, such an attack became a contest of material strength.
The Touch of Greedâs claw blade was equivalent to a D-Class Weapon. The brain matter inside the Ancient Demonâs head couldnât possibly be more durable than a D-Class Weapon. Thus, it was the Ancient Demon who was injured.
As Wen Yu forcefully twisted his right hand, a harsh grating sound echoed. It was the sound of the Touch of Greedâs claw blade grinding against the Ancient Demonâs skull. Wen Yu slowly manipulated the Touch of Greed, determined to inflict maximum damage and... maximum pain upon the Ancient Demon!
The Ancient Demonâs screams grew weaker and fainter.
Wen Yu slowly withdrew the Touch of Greed. The Ancient Demonâs head beneath him had been reduced to pulp.
This time, not even the formidable physique of the Ancient Demon Tribe could withstand such an injury; it was well and truly dead.
PHEW!
A low sigh escaped Wen Yu as he gazed at the Ancient Demonâs remains, then at the surrounding yellow sand. After a moment, Wen Yu shook his head. He pulled the magic crystal from the Ancient Demonâs head, deactivated his combat state, and fed it directly to the small Soul Beast.
The Ancient Demonâs magic crystal pulsed with incredible energy. The small Soul Beast took a long time to digest it completely.
Wen Yu quietly assessed the changes. A single magic crystal from the Ancient Demon had increased the small Soul Beastâs physical stats from 50.5 to 55.5 points. Combined with Wen Yuâs own 61.5 physical stat points, he could unleash a total of 117 points when he entered a combat state!
He turned and scanned the ground carefully. After a moment, Wen Yu dug a space ring out of the sand.
It belonged to Burly Bear.
Wen Yu took three cigarettes from the space ring, lit one, and stuck it upright in the center of the crater. Then, he turned and headed towards William and the others.
...
"Is it dead?" Jiang Wentao asked, struggling to open his eyes as Wen Yu approached.
"Yes, itâs dead."
Though Wen Yu didnât know who Jiang Wentao was asking about, it no longer mattered.
"Oh," Jiang Wentao responded indifferently. His voice held no emotional inflection.
Perhaps for these professional soldiers, especially elites accustomed to special missions, death was a common sight.
Wen Yu then turned to assess Jiang Wentaoâs injuries.
His legs were gone, but for a professionist, such an injury wasnât lethal. Thanks to their enhanced musculature, blood loss was significantly less than an ordinary personâs. His other injuries werenât severe, aside from his badly twisted hands.
This injury occurred when the Ancient Demon had flung Jiang Wentao.
His twisted hands prevented him from retrieving a healing potion from his space ring.
Wen Yu took a healing potion from Burly Bearâs space ring and poured it into Jiang Wentaoâs mouth. Within a minute, Jiang Wentao could manage simple movements with his hands.
Jiang Wentao then opened his own space ring, took out another healing potion, and drank it. As the healing potion took effect, Jiang Wentaoâs severed legs began to slowly regrow.
"This is Burly Bearâs space ring; take it back," Jiang Wentao said, slipping the ring onto his left hand. "Get me some more healing potions. Iâm going to check on the others." He then took out five more healing potions from his space ring and handed them to Wen Yu.
Wen Yu accepted the potions and headed towards William.
William lay motionless in the distance.
Only when Wen Yu drew closer did he realize the horrific extent of Williamâs injuries. He had been hit head-on by the Ancient Demonâs Demon Qi Eruption, leaving the front of his body a mangled, bloody mess. If Wen Yu hadnât witnessed this battle, he would never have recognized the handsome Knight now lying before him.
Wen Yu moved closer and pressed his fingers to Williamâs neck, feeling a faint pulse.
William was still alive. With the healing potionâs effects, as long as one wasnât dead, they could be saved.
Opening a healing potion, Wen Yu struggled to find Williamâs mouth on his bloody, disfigured face. When he managed to pry Williamâs mouth open, a stream of fresh blood flowed out. He poured the healing potion in and, after a momentâs hesitation, poured in another.