Chapter 841: Twist and Turn
Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97
The male demon seemed to be rather familiar with the admiration of the low-level demons. He waved his wings, triggering invisible airwaves that surrounded the high-level demons like a barrier and kept the lowly chaotic-blood demons from coming close.
He sniffed and shouted, “We are now pursuing the remnants of the Blade of Chaos. Those believers of Chaos are brutal and dangerous. In order to hide their traces, they have slaughtered all the villages that they have passed through. There was not a living soul left!
“For the sake of your village, you’d better confess honestly. Have you seen any suspicious demons over the past three days? If you keep your discovery to yourself, you will be regarded as an accomplice of the Blade of Chaos, and you shall not be pardoned!”
The mayor’s face was as deathly pale, and he shook his head hard.
The male demon was not expecting a positive reply in the first place. Seeing that all the villagers were intimidated, he changed tack. “Does your village live on the Ghost Teeth Flowers?”
The mayor nodded cautiously.
“Excellent!” The male demon smiled coldly. “The remnants of the Blade of Chaos that we are chasing after have been heavily wounded. They are in desperate need of healing drugs such as the Gold Stamen Liquid. In case the Gold Stamen Liquid in your village is stolen by them, we will now confiscate all the assets in the name of the Gold Shadow Guardians!”
“What!”
At this moment, not only the mayor but also all the villagers started yelling despite the honorable identities of the high-level demons.
The village was poor and the land barren. The livelihood of the villagers all counted on the Gold Stamen Liquid, which was collected from the Ghost Teeth Flowers.
The harvest season had just passed. Although the tax rate of the chaotic-blood demons was even higher than that of the black-blood demons, and seventy percent of the Gold Stamen Liquid had to be submitted, the villagers got to keep the remaining thirty percent after all.
The thirty percent of Gold Stamen Liquid had to be traded for the useful items that the villager could not produce as well as crystals and gear for training, which was the hope for the young demons in the village.
But those ‘Gold Shadow Guardians’ were claiming all the Gold Stamen Liquid now. How was the village going to survive the coming year?
Many chaotic-blood demons had been reveling in the excitement of finally meeting some high-level demons. But now, they felt as if their skulls had been opened and somebody had just poured a bucket of cold water into their heads.
However, the chaotic-blood demons’ reverence for the high-level demons was almost natural. Nobody dared to refuse the demand however outrageous it was.
The mayor’s facial muscles twisted for a long time, and his back was even more hunched than before.
The male demon was apparently used to the reactions of chaotic-blood demons. “Other than the Gold Stamen Liquid that has been collected, there is still some left in the lumps of the Ghost Teeth Flowers. Also, if the lumps are pulverized into powder, it can be used to treat wounds, too.
“In case that the remnants of the Blade of Chaos get access to those things, we are going to destroy the garden of the Ghost Teeth Flowers!”
“What!”
It was a greater shock for everybody on the spot.
When all the Gold Stamen Liquid was claimed, it was going to be a tough year. But as long as they made it through the year, the villagers would be able collect new Gold Stamen Liquid in the harvest season next year.
But if the garden of Ghost Teeth Flowers was destroyed, they would be doomed!
The Ghost Teeth Flowers were extremely dangerous carnivore plants. Even many demon beasts were scared of them. The village had paid a high price to transplant and develop the Ghost Teeth Flowers, at the cost of the lives of more than ten villagers. After five years of sweat and blood, only a small garden had been established.
The garden of Ghost Teeth Flowers was the future and hope of the entire village.
But right now, just because some heavily wounded remnants of the Blade of Chaos were passing by the village, they had to endure such a disaster that was irrelevant to themselves!
“No. You can’t destroy them!”
“The Ghost Teeth Flowers are what we live on!”
“Show some mercy, masters of the Gold Crow Kingdom!”
“Please, saintess!”
The demons in the Dry Leaf Village young and old all kneeled and kowtowed hard until their heads were all bleeding and the blood was all simmering.
The attractive high-level demons, on the other hand, did not care for such drama. The male demon in the lead shrieked, and two golden eagles that were hovering in midair took a turn and suddenly lunged at the garden of the Ghost Teeth Flowers in the east of the village.
Hiu!
The two golden eagles opened their mouths, from which, two narrow, long, red rays spurted out and darted toward the garden.
BOOM!
The two red rays pierced into the garden. The Ghost Teeth Flowers that sensed the waves of energy had only just opened their bloody mouths when two loud explosions echoed deep below the ground. Like two volcanoes had just erupted, a lot of magma spurted out from the ground, and enormous fireballs soared into the sky. Flames thousands of degrees high in temperature soon wreathed the entire garden.
“Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!”
Countless Ghost Teeth Flowers were twisting weirdly in the flames and screaming miserably. Before long, they were only burnt into ashes without any lumps remaining.
“Ahh!”
Many villages collapsed to the ground in grief.
Dozens of healthy, strong demons were gnashing their teeth, their eyes red. Yet, they did not know where they should cast their furious eyes.
The high-level demons were still talking and laughing. They seemed to be complimenting the owner of the two gold eagles, praising that he had trained them well and built the two biochemical beasts with such magnificent appearances.
“Mayor.” The male demon ignored the weird vibe among the villagers and continued demanding from them. “Ask your villagers to help us move the Gold Stamen Liquid. Also, submit the Gold Stamen Liquid that is kept in your households as well as all the other healing drugs. No medicine is to be left to the believers of Chaos!”
Crack! Crack!
Many young villagers, including Lei Chuang, were already on the verge of an outburst. They were biting their teeth so hard that noises were echoing.
Li Yao inwardly frowned. He observed the positions of the high-level demons and calculated the data, coordinates, and direction crazily.
Although he hated to expose his identity, he found it intolerable to watch the villagers be butchered should they get involved in a conflict with the high-level demons.
Besides, if the newcomers decided to wipe out the village, it was not like they would spare him.
The air could not have been tenser.
A battle was going to break out at any moment.
Looking at the golden eagles hovering in the sky and the high-level demons who were chitchatting casually, utterly unthreatened, the mayor slightly sighed and bowed deeply, while he replied obediently, “Understood, masters. We’re going to check all the healing drugs right now.”
The mayor then turned around and roared, “What are you waiting for? Did you not hear what the masters here said? Pack up all the Gold Stamen Liquid and healing drugs and offer them to the masters!”
The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what to do. They did not dare disobey the commands of high-level demons, but they were unwilling to hand over their livelihood just like that, either.
The young demons’ muscles were all bulging, their eyes bloodshot. They were as still as towers.
The mayor gritted his teeth and staggered close with his club. Then he beat the young demons with the stick and yelled, “Why are you not moving? How many heads do you think you can afford to lose if the masters are delayed while they are hunting the Blade of Chaos? Go now!”
Pada!
After the mayor beat them, he fell over due to a loss of balance.
“Mayor!”
The villagers immediately lost their cool. They hurried to help him to his feet.
Those who were timid were already walking to their homes, however reluctantly.
The younger demons who were gnashing their teeth in fury lost their determination, too. Those who had feet stomped on the ground, and those who did not, bashed the earth hard with their tails and squatted, covering their head with their hands.
All the villagers lost their will to resist. They prepared to pack everything up gloomily.
“Wait.”
Right then, Jin Xinyue, the saintess of Pantheon of Demons who had been at the center of the high-level demons, suddenly opened her mouth and stopped the villagers.
Her voice sounded very young, but it was sweet like a refreshing spring, making everybody who heard it feel comfortable from their ears to the heart.
The villagers looked at each other in a daze, confused. They sensed that the saintess was different from other Gold Shadow Guardians.
Jin Xinyue glanced over all the villagers warmly as she smiled and said, “The Gold Stamen Liquid is your livelihood. I did not expect that you would offer all of it willingly without any complaint. It is indicative of your loyalty to the Pantheon of Demons.
“Rest assured. We are not so unreasonable as to take your livelihood away just like that.
“Just now, it was only a minor test to determine your loyalty to the Pantheon of Demons.
“Now that you have proved your faithfulness, as a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons, will I simply let you suffer the losses?”
While talking, Jin Xinyue extended her jade-like hand and snapped something silver into the mayor’s hand, which turned out to be a glamorous silk bag.
The mayor swallowed hard and opened the bag. He gasped so hard that he almost fell over again.
The mystic rays inside the silk bag illuminated his face.
“The ‘Five-Colored Pearl’ inside the bag should be three times more valuable than your garden of Ghost Teeth Flowers. If you sell it in the town, you should be able to get through the difficult times,” Jin Xinyue said casually.
“Three times!”
The desperation and fury of the villagers immediately turned into ecstasy and gratitude.
“Moreover…” Jin Xinyue’s wings slowly stretched out. One of the golden feathers fell softly and flew to the mayor’s pocket as if it were alive. “This feather is my badge. When the tax officer in charge of your village comes here, show him the feather and tell him that Princess Xinyue has decreed that all the taxes of the village will be reduced by half in the next three years!”
“Half taxes?”
Many villagers were already jumping to their feet.
“Lastly…”
Jin Xinyue glanced at the healthy, strong demons in the village with delight in her eyes. She then said crisply, “The new call of soldiers is coming soon. A new war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is about to commence.
“The war will be the final confrontation between the two Sectors. We will sweep across the Grand Desolate Plateau, break through the Giant Blade Pass, and march all the way to the capital of the Star Glory Federation, conquering all the human beings of the Heaven’s Origin Sector!
“Only the bravest, most loyal soldiers are entitled to join the greatest war in the history of the Blood Demon Sector!
“Logically, one or two soldiers will be conscripted from villages such as yours.
“But just now, your loyalty moved me. I will conscript… fifty soldiers from your village!”