Twilight Boundary-Chapter 563 - 554 Human Demon General

"What?"

As the news spread, Zhong Benyi, the Heavenly Destiny General, also became furious.

At this moment, he was placating twelve Human Demon Generals. These generals had previously stayed in Official Zhou to protect the members of the Truth Sect on his behalf. Yet, they had suffered greatly there and now looked as if they had been tormented.

They were neither human nor ghost, resembling wild beasts. Only he possessed the ability to restore a fraction of their sanity. Now that they were to be garrisoned in Mingzhou, he naturally needed someone capable of commanding troops.

He needed armor, weapons, and food.

He wasted no time, planning to gather the troops and provisions within two days and get everything properly organized. Moreover, he had issued a strict order forbidding those hungry ghosts from easily deploying troops, as a small amount of grain had already been provided in the city to temporarily appease their hunger.

However, unexpectedly, just as he was preoccupied with restoring the Human Demon Generals’ sanity and had invited a doctor from Grass Heart Hall in the city to examine them, the doctor stated bluntly,

"General, your subordinates are not sick, injured, or in pain. Observing them, it appears they have shouldered some unbearable burden... To put it bluntly, it’s likely some heinous, guilt-laden act that their conscience can no longer carry."

"Therefore, one of their three souls is missing—the Karma Soul—and it is unwilling to return to its vessel."

"At this moment, they look like beasts, lacking rationality because their three souls are incomplete. If you wish for us to save them, well, our heads are still on our shoulders, so we dare not refuse. However, this matter cannot be rushed; it is an inherently slow process."

"..."

The Heavenly Destiny General listened, feeling both anxious and pained. Although he acted dominantly, he didn’t dare to pressure these doctors, only urging them to hurry, offering the gold and silver awarded by the Hu Family.

The doctor, having no other option, could only proceed according to his established methods. Meanwhile, the horde of hungry ghosts outside was completely unattended.

Just as this matter caused him urgent heartache, he suddenly heard that the Food Protection Army had raided his camp, lured away one of his detachments, and burned them to death in a hollow seven miles out. The Heavenly Destiny General was incandescent with rage. When he arrived at the scene, his eyes were practically bloodshot with fury.

"And they gave you this to eat?"

He glared hatefully towards the city, finally understanding why his troops had been so easily lured away.

For a moment, he had the overwhelming urge to turn his forces around and sack the city. However, he restrained himself, looking furiously in the Food Protection Army’s direction and roaring, "Those people know we cherish our grain, yet they resort to such despicable tricks! They are truly going too far!"

Saying this, he then instructed a Human Demon General whose soul had just been recalled, "Lead your men to charge them! Seize some provisions to temporarily fill their bellies!"

That Human Demon General also gritted his teeth, a grim smile playing on his lips, "Even if we can’t seize any grain, their flesh and blood will be a delicious, crispy treat!"

With a great war cry, he mounted the horse provided by the Heavenly Destiny General, grabbed a large saber, and, rousing the hungry ghosts seated on the ground around him, charged towards the enemy lines under the deepening cover of night, their advance like a rumbling tide.

This was the first true charge of the hungry ghosts since arriving in Mingzhou. Their momentum was tremendous, ghost qi billowed to the heavens, and even in Mingzhou City, countless inhabitants rushed to the city walls to witness the spectacle.

Upon hearing the commotion from this direction, the Food Protection Army’s side immediately erupted with the deafening sound of gongs and drums. It was the Think Tank, Iron Mouth, who had long anticipated that the hungry ghost army would attack today and had already made preparations.

When the charging hungry ghosts were halfway to their target, several squads suddenly burst out from the flank. Each soldier carried a Dianyou Flag, most of which looked as though they had been hastily stitched together overnight. Even the ink inscriptions and talisman burn marks on the flags were still fresh.

They didn’t engage the hungry ghost army head-on. Instead, they thrust the flags into the ground and quickly retreated, then nocked arrows to their bows and began to shoot.

Once the Dianyou Flags were planted in the ground, the group of hungry ghosts clearly showed signs of confusion, seemingly unable to determine their direction. However, unexpectedly, the Human Demon General at their head suddenly let out a roar and charged forward, leading the way.

The disoriented hungry ghosts, as if jolted, quickly fell in behind him. They unexpectedly broke right through the Dianyou Flag formation and charged ferociously towards the Food Protection Army’s front lines like a horde of malevolent fiends.

"Not good..."

Someone witnessing this cried out in alarm, their gaze fixed on the Human Demon General. "That leader... he’s not right..."

"That’s a hungry ghost among hungry ghosts! Though a living man, he walks the ghost path. In truth, he could be called a Ghost King, one nurtured in desolate lands like Official Zhou. With him leading the charge, those other hungry ghosts won’t lose their way. The Dianyou Flags are useless now..."

Amidst these cries, the Human Demon General was seen leading his horde to clash with the Food Protection Army’s soldiers.

Currently, those at the very front were Yang Gong’s own men, those who had joined him earliest. Leading them were the various Shopkeepers of the Red Lantern Society, persuaded by Incense Master Xu to serve Yang Gong, with the Shousui men being particularly prominent at the vanguard.

The Shousui men plunged into the enemy formation with great ferocity. Their abundant masculine energy, to some extent, naturally countered the hungry ghosts. However, as soon as they engaged, they realized something was amiss. The Human Demon General swung his great saber, and in an instant, four or five heads went flying.

Bald Zhang, his eldest disciple, and two other Shopkeepers from different branches—all of them Shousui men who had successfully refined their Five Organs—were typically formidable opponents on any battlefront.

But now, as the four of them surged forward and surrounded the Human Demon General, they found themselves suppressed by his terrifyingly ferocious saber. In just a few short exchanges, perilous situations arose one after another, and one of them was quickly slashed from his horse.

"Retreat quickly!"

Within the Food Protection Army, gongs were being struck continuously—the signal to retreat. But the remaining three could only cry out in frustration; how could they possibly withdraw now?

They felt if they were distracted for even a moment, the opponent’s blade would fall upon them.

"Watch me..."

Just then, a female general charged out from the rear. It was Lady Sun from Red Lantern Lady’s branch.

The onlookers were puzzled. If four Shousui men couldn’t handle that Human Demon General, what could a mere woman, one who followed the Execution Soul Path, possibly do except get herself killed?

But before this thought could fully form, Lady Sun had galloped forward. She didn’t attempt to meet the enemy’s saber directly. Instead, she suddenly pulled a painted scroll from her bosom, unfurled it in the air, and, chanting an incantation, sent it fluttering through the night sky to cover the Human Demon General’s head.

"Oh?"

An astonishing scene unfolded. The painting looked soft and flimsy, as if it would tear at the slightest touch. Moreover, it was just a painting; one tug and it should have fallen away. Yet, the Human Demon General was suddenly enveloped by it, head and all. He didn’t even seem to know to reach up and pull it off, instead just standing in place, roaring in fury.

His great saber swung wildly, felling many of his own hungry ghosts, as if he had descended into a berserk frenzy.

Bald Zhang and the others were scared witless. They hastily wheeled their horses to flee to the sides, their retreat a chaotic, disorganized mess, all while shouting towards Lady Sun, "Widow Sun, we owe you our lives for this one...!"

"Don’t talk! Damn it, I’m already regretting this...!"

Lady Sun cursed resentfully under her breath. She looked towards her painting; amidst the Human Demon General’s furious struggles, her artwork had already been torn to shreds and lay ruined on the ground.

Her painting could bewilder the mind and diminish a person’s cultivation. An ordinary person merely approaching it would perish. Yet, it had failed to restrain that Human Demon General. A sharp pang of heartache shot through her; her entire repertoire of skills was invested in that one painting.

Now that it’s destroyed, what could she rely on to stand her ground in the jianghu?

But the others had no time to dwell on such matters. They saw the Human Demon General break free from the tattered painting, his rage now even more incandescent, as he led his followers in an even fiercer charge.

He ignored the terrified, fleeing Bald Zhang and his companions. Instead, his eyes were fixed solely on the main Food Protection Camp ahead, on the food-protection general at its head, and the dark mass of his troops. With a deafening roar, he charged forward, gaining speed.

The more invigorated he became, the more frenzied the hungry ghosts following him grew. Their eyes turned crimson, and they stirred up chilling gusts of spectral wind as they charged with insatiable ferocity.

Though they numbered only seven or eight hundred, they charged like a pack of savage wolves or tigers, their momentum unstoppable. They plunged directly into the Food Protection Camp—whose defenders outnumbered them more than tenfold—without a shred of fear, like a ferocious tiger leaping into a flock of sheep.

CRACK! CRACK!

But just as they stormed into the Food Protection Army ranks and began to slaughter wantonly, they suddenly sensed that something was amiss. The ’soldiers’ before them toppled with the slightest push, revealing themselves to be nothing more than tattered clothes draped over bamboo poles. Inside each effigy hung a clay jar. Even the ’horses’ were mere paper mache constructions.

"Not good..."

The Human Demon General instantly realized the deception, a sense of dread washing over him. But behind him, the teeming horde of hungry ghosts had already swarmed in, blindly charging deep into the Food Protection Camp. The air filled with the continuous sounds of tearing rags and flimsy garments, shattering jars, and ripping paper men and paper horses.

The next moment, thousands of flaming arrows rained down from both flanks like a meteor shower, instantly transforming the camp into a raging inferno. The jars had been filled with flammable oil, which now splashed onto the hungry ghosts, clinging to them and burning relentlessly.

The Human Demon General, consumed by fury, roared and grabbed his mount’s mane, intending to force his way out. But at that very moment, barely a mile from the burning camp, rows of large, green banners concealed the true Food Protection Army from view.

"Normally, we are merciful, but on the battlefield, not a single one can be allowed to escape..."

Behind the banners, the Think Tank, Iron Mouth, gave a cold smirk. He took a bowl of clear water, silently chanted an incantation over it, and then, with a flick of his wrist, poured the water onto the ground.

Instantaneously, within the blazing encampment, the Human Demon General and the hungry ghosts, already being driven back by the intensity of the fire, suddenly found the ground around them turning into a treacherous mire. With every attempted step, their legs sank three feet deep into the mud, and they found themselves utterly unable to pull free.

It is said that water and fire are incompatible, yet here, the fiercer the flames blazed, the deeper the mire became, neither hindering the other. Thus, the Human Demon General, along with his eight hundred hungry ghosts, were all trapped within the camp and inexorably burned to charred cinders.

...

...

A mile or two away, the soldiers of the Food Protection Army were assaulted by the overpowering stench of burning flesh. More than a few of them couldn’t stomach it and began to retch uncontrollably.

Even Yang Gong, the food-protection general, watching from behind the cover of the green banners, couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine. Damn it, I always thought going to battle was just about risking your life, seeing who was tougher! Who knew there were such insidious and sinister methods?

"Whew..."

In Zhu Gate Town, Hu Ma, assailed by the same acrid, burning stench, couldn’t help but feel a weight in his heart and sighed inwardly, It’s said that the first Reincarnators are all heartless and ruthless, individuals who would exterminate entire families without a second thought. Now, never mind them, just look at the disciples they left behind...

Every single one of them is a black-hearted, venomous viper...