What do you mean, "about to die"? That fellow, Kuang, is tough as nails. Although he looked severely beaten three days ago, his soul wasn't actually harmed. With his current cultivation, he could recover in no time—it's hardly a major issue. Did he go off enjoying himself for a few days only to start a war? Even if he did, how many people could possibly injure him with his strength? How could he be "about to die"?

"What exactly happened? Tell me quickly!" Ye Jingyu asked immediately, his heart filled with doubt.

Hou didn't waste any more time on pleasantries and immediately recounted everything that had transpired over the last few days.

The day Ye Jingyu left, Kuang dispersed his legion for personal recreation, while he himself took his five thousand elite soldiers to the nearest city, Mienyan City, to indulge.

The first two days passed uneventfully—nothing more than eating, drinking, and playing with women. But last night, while Kuang was enjoying himself with a woman at the Tianxiang Tower, he got into a dispute over a 'tiger-woman' with the Mienyan City Lord's son. Naturally, the City Lord's son was no match for Kuang, and Kuang killed him instantly in a fit of carelessness. If it had been any ordinary City Lord's son, Kuang's strength meant killing him would have been no big deal. However, this Mienyan City Lord was no simple figure; the City Lord's father was one of the Seven Great Generals under the Destruction Lord during the ancient war. Severely wounded during the apocalypse, he went into seclusion along with the Destruction Lord. Although the City Lord himself hadn't reached the Cosmic level, he possessed an absolutely formidable armed force left behind by his father: the Mienyan Battle Squad.

That was an unparalleled squadron composed of eighteen peak Grand-level masters. Back when the demons were still in the Abyss, this squad had a record of slaying Cosmic-level experts. Over the years, they had only been held back from advancing to the Cosmic level due to their inability to grasp that final layer, but their actual combat strength was absolutely on par with average Cosmic-level masters.

They were battle machines designed solely for combat.

While Kuang's strength was respectable, facing one of them alone was nothing he'd worry about. But the enemy had eighteen of them. The combined strength of these test-headed demons meant even a peak Cosmic-level master wouldn't be confident of victory, let alone Kuang.

When the Mienyan City Lord learned his only son had been murdered, he immediately rushed over with the eighteen battle demons. After just one brief exchange, Kuang was knocked flying backward. Moreover, his five thousand personal guards stood no chance against the enemy's fifty thousand strong army. In the end, Kuang and his few remaining guards put up a fierce resistance, which gave Hou the chance to break out with a portion of the troops to seek reinforcements.

After hearing Hou's account, everyone present fell silent, especially the demons Wu, Yue, and Yan. They had heard of the Mienyan Battle Squad; they were indeed a force not to be trifled with—eighteen beings at the Grand level whose actual combat ability surpassed that of ordinary Cosmic masters.

More importantly, the Mienyan City Lord and Yuan were comrades who had grown up together and were the most loyal adherents of Yuan. Unlike Ye Jingyu, an outsider, if his cultivation hadn't been so poor, the Earth Alliance might have already been one of the Ten Great Strong Cities.

Nobody could fathom what Kuang was thinking, killing the City Lord's son. When did that fellow ever avoid causing trouble?

In their silence, everyone turned their gaze toward Ye Jingyu. In their view, Ye Jingyu was someone sent by Yuan, and therefore, effectively one of Yuan's own. As a rootless outsider, he certainly wouldn't risk offending a major figure like the Mienyan City Lord for the sake of a disobedient subordinate.

But soon, a single sentence from Ye Jingyu completely swept away their assumptions...

"Wu, Yue, Yan, you take all our brothers and rush to Mienyan City at maximum speed. Xiao Hei, transform! We're heading to Mienyan City first..." As Ye Jingyu spoke, Ni Bo, standing behind him, had already manifested his true form. He now stood three zhang high, entirely obsidian black, with blazing flames burning beneath his four hooves, radiating a terrifying pressure.

Ye Jingyu swiftly shoved Hou onto Ni Bo’s back and leaped up onto him. Little Tao Tao had already shrunk to the size of a small cat and was perched on Ni Bo’s head.

"Whoever dares harm my people, I will exterminate their entire lineage!" At that moment, Ye Jingyu’s domineering nature erupted completely, fully exposing the fierce protectiveness inherited from Dugu Bachan.

With a forceful stomp of his four hooves, Ni Bo vanished from the sight of the gathered demons, leaving only a trail of black smoke. All the demons were stunned for a moment, but then a massive roar erupted from them. Especially the Kuangnu Demons—without waiting for commands from Wu, Yue, or Yan, they leaped onto their mounts and thundered toward Mienyan City. Even the Kuangnu Demons who had returned with Hou cast aside their mounts, riding double with their comrades as they raced toward Mienyan City.

Watching the demons vanish in a lightning dash, Wu, Yue, and Yan exchanged glances, their eyes filled with disbelief. They clearly hadn't expected Ye Jingyu to actually seek trouble with the residents of Mienyan City for the sake of a subordinate who wasn't even completely loyal to him yet.

"What should we do?" Yan, the charming woman, was the first to speak.

"Kuang is our comrade, after all. Let's go. If a mere human dares to go, do you think we wouldn't?" Wu said coldly. With that, he slapped the Tyrannosaurus Beast beneath him and led his contingent away. Yue followed without hesitation. As for Yan, she paused upon seeing this, a strange expression flickering in her eyes, and she murmured, "Perhaps, our destiny truly will change because of his arrival?"

With those words, her twenty-five thousand Nightmare Clan warriors also set into motion...

Mienyan City was situated southeast of Disha City, less than fifty kilometers from the Blood Demon Legion's base. Outside Mienyan City, of the five thousand personal guards Kuang had led, fewer than a hundred remained. Kuang himself was covered in hundreds of wounds, large and small. Blood fountains still spurted from many locations on his body; nearly half his skull was caved in, and one arm had been completely torn off, spattering the ground with gore. Behind him, those few hundred guards were also heavily wounded, many soldiers needing others to support them just to remain standing.

Around them, heaps of shattered corpses were piled high, and the ground itself was utterly devastated—here a massive crater, there a deep pit. In many places, the soil possessed a faint golden sheen—the dried blood of demons, both Kuangnu and Destruction Demons.