Calamity Messenger-Chapter 73 - 60: Inside and Outside the Woodland

Under the blessing of the Heroic Painting, the first three waves of the demonic frenzy seemed no longer a challenge to Jiang Shi and others, but rather a game of cutting melons and vegetables. It felt as if the Mansu Forest Land was no longer a terrifying forbidden place full of crises, but a playground for beautiful maidens.

But happy times are always short.

"Isn’t this number... a bit too much?" Qian Gongyu’s voice slightly trembled, "There didn’t seem to be this many yesterday, right?"

After the fourth wave of the demonic frenzy began, the dense fog did not get too close to the shelter but maintained a distance of two hundred meters. At first, they didn’t understand why the fog suddenly seemed cowardly, until the demons started marching through the mountains and fields.

Too many.

The red-furred monkeys with lava-covered backs crawled out of the fog; even hunched over, they were taller than adults, with muscular, savage and terrifying appearances, packed densely together, numbering nearly a thousand at a glance, and there were visibly many more in the fog. The footsteps were thunderous, and if it rained now, the rain would turn into steam before reaching the ground due to the lava on their backs. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Their commander was five gigantic Ape Kings. If the backs of ordinary Red Apes were just covered with scorching lava, then the Ape Kings’ backs were erupting, constantly flowing with orange-red molten lava.

"The Demon King of Qi Kingdom’s Third-Turn Secret Realm ’Oil Melting Cave’, the Red Ape King." Jie Yuan Shao spoke calmly, only her tightly gripped sword exposing her emotions: "Ancient texts call it, the First Demon of the Third Turn!"

Thousands of demons, the Demon King of the First Third-Turn!

"I had a vague feeling something was off in the first three waves, and now it’s certain; the difficulty of today’s demonic frenzy is indeed higher than yesterday’s." Shang Xinlei said, "Although there were also five Demon Kings yesterday, their power levels were uneven, and even their affinities were so poor that they offset each other’s offensives, their demons under command being chaotic and uncooperative. Today’s formation is the real power of the five Demon Kings united!"

"Sister Shang, my good sister, why are you even praising them?" Qian Gongyu was on the verge of tears: "Should we quickly run back and rely on the city walls? Anyway, I’ve killed over two hundred demons; as long as I can take this blood weapon out, I’ll be satisfied, and I’ll leave the rest to the statues..."

"But she seems to think it’s not enough." Shang Xinlei pointed ahead: "She’s far more greedier than us."

Jiang Shi pulled out another Blood Weapon Long Saber from somewhere, both blades glowing with spiritual energy, indicating they’ve both unlocked the First Seal by killing a hundred demons. While they were still striving to unlock the seal of three hundred demons, Jiang Shi had already begun unlocking the second blood weapon, evidently not as easily satisfied as Qian Gongyu—she intended to kill two thousand demons, transforming the two blood weapons into Legendary Enhancement Materials!

Faced with the requirement of killing two thousand life-taking, the overwhelming army of Red Apes was seen by her not as an obstacle, but as a feast of gourmet delights!

As the Red Ape King beat his chest and roared, the Red Apes responded in unison, surging towards Jiang Shi like chariots and waves!

"I’m not content with taking just one ordinary token." Shang Xinlei walked past them: "Do you know why Jiang Shi built the Heroic Painting spectacle?"

Qian Gongyu was stunned, watching Jie Yuan Shao and Shang Xinlei also charge into the enemy ranks, she finally realized Shang Xinlei’s implication—without the Heroic Painting, they would have to fight backed against the city wall edges, naturally unable to compete with Jiang Shi for monsters.

Clearly, Jiang Shi wanted to kill two thousand demons to unseal blood weapons, yet building the Heroic Painting was more disadvantageous to her because without it, she could rampage through the army alone without competition.

But without the Heroic Painting, Qian Gongyu and the others simply couldn’t kill a thousand demons.

Qian Gongyu’s expression twisted like constipation, neither running backward nor charging forward, as if controlled by two souls, she hesitated to run, thinking it wasn’t right, hesitated to charge yet lacked the courage. She stood still until the Red Apes attacked, and only under the urging of the illusionary power of the bond did she reluctantly scream: "I’ll kill, I’ll kill, isn’t that alright!"

By now, the bond effect on them was extraordinary, the Pearl Tears Alliance remained in its primary state, but having built new statues in the first three rounds, the Comrades Association bond was elevated to an intermediate level.

"Comrades Association: When the number of Comrades Association members ≥4, for each member present, Qi Blood +100, Agility +100, all close combat attacks cause 30% splash damage, and Comrades Association members will support each other. (Blade Warrior, Chaos Warrior, Dragon-Breaking Warrior, Life-taking Warrior)"

The values didn’t change, only added splash damage. But just 400 Qi Blood and 400 Agility were enough to strengthen them into humanoid tyrannosaurs, not inferior to the First Demon of the Third Turn, the Red Ape King; even messengers specializing in Qi Blood of the third turn would be blown apart by their punch!

Yet they were still amidst the perilous battlefield, the increase in Qi Blood didn’t mean enhanced defense, only strength, recovery, and life force were greatly boosted. If their defense tokens were broken by the Red Apes’ focused attacks, they would still be caught and even critically injured. They were like leopards, capable of rampaging through a herd of buffalo, yet once their steps slowed and they got injured, they’d face brutal stomping.

Dancing at the edge of blades, brushing against life and death!

Step by step, splattering blood with each step, treading on a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, Shang Xinlei felt her long-stagnant flying circle technique at last reaching a new level. Finally, in the moment of a flying circle’s return, her fingers lightly shook, massive Qi Blood in her body spun, turning into the invincible momentum of the flying circle, revolving around her once, tracing a spectacle of blooming blood flowers!