Chapter 132: I Have Been Waiting for You for a Long Time
Two blade lights, carrying an aura of infinite terror, collided fiercely, and then never extinguished, becoming the sharpest rays between heaven and earth. On the canvas of the night, they drew countless straight lines, driving countless dark clouds from afar, obscuring countless stars.
A gale howled, grass stems snapped, and the black stone tablets shattered one after another, turning into terrifying projectiles like arrows. The cemetery was filled with screams. Whether it was the noblewoman weeping for her son or the numb aristocrats, they all came to their senses and fled in all directions, though none knew how many would manage to leave alive.
No one knew how much time had passed. The wind finally stopped. Countless clods of earth and gravel fell like rain. The two terrifying blade lights never shone again.
The clouds in the night sky dispersed, and starlight illuminated the cemetery, revealing that the grassy slopes for several miles around had uniformly sunk by several feet!
In the distance, the moon gradually rose above the horizon.
The Demon General stood at the highest point of the grassy slope. Her figure was still short, but silhouetted against the full moon, she appeared immensely tall.
Her helmet, covered in verdigris, had been broken during the battle and was casually discarded on the ground.
She wore her hair in a single topknot, looking somewhat comical, like a little girl, yet her expression was utterly ferocious.
Around the topknot, some stray strands of hair trembled incessantly in the night breeze, resembling withered branches after the cold crows had flown away.
If one looked closely, they could probably see the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and those white hairs.
Wang Po stood below. On the left side of his neck was an extremely fine wound, from which blood seeped out.
If the Demon General’s blade had been another inch deeper, his head would have been severed like a ripe fruit.
Looking at the short figure atop the grassy slope, Wang Po remained silent.
Who could have imagined that such a powerful and terrifying Demon General was actually a woman?
The Demon General turned to Wang Po and said, “You might be stronger than me in the future, but for now, you are not my match.”
As she spoke these words, her expression was indifferent and cold, devoid of any emotion, for this was merely a statement of fact.
Wang Po said, “Yes, there is still a gap between you and me.”
He did not conceal his respect for this number one expert of the demon race.
The two clashes of blades between Wang Po and the Demon General—one before Nuorilang Peak and the other before Xue Lao Cheng—could be considered the two most important temporal nodes of this war.
In both encounters, the Demon General had always held a slight edge over him.
Though it was an extremely fine line, it was as difficult to cross as a natural chasm.
In their final encounter tonight, Wang Po achieved victory only because her injuries were far more severe than his.
A few days ago, Xiao Zhang had left a bloody hole in her chest with the Frost Remnant Divine Spear, and it had shown no improvement by tonight.
Wang Po said to the Demon General, “Senior, please tell me where Hei Pao is.”
The Demon General sneered and said, “Why should I tell you?”
Wang Po said, “This altar is clearly a trap. Hei Pao has brought the demon race to such a state. Don’t you hate him?”
The Demon General laughed wildly, “Hahahaha! You males always look down on us women. How would you know how formidable the military advisor is? She even killed my big brother, whom I didn’t dare provoke, and toyed with the entire continent for hundreds of years. How could I hate her? I only worship her.”
Wang Po didn’t know what to say.
The Demon General turned and looked at the distant moon.
Just as Wang Po thought she might recite a poem, he suddenly heard her utter a curse.
“A bunch of idiots.”
The Demon General said with a look of disdain, “They had to learn from the human race to use starlight to replace holy light. How could it ever be as good as moonlight! What ‘Southern Cross Star Sword’? Just hearing the name sounds stupid, hmph!”
A tsundere snort.
That short figure dissipated before the full moon.
Golden blood rained down from the sky, like flower petals, covering the entire grassy slope.
……
……
Xue Lao Cheng was faintly visible within the demonic flames. The location of that cemetery was very clear because it was exceptionally dark.
Suddenly, two extremely faint lights appeared in that dark area, then gradually faded.
Everyone looked towards a certain spot in Xue Lao Cheng, and thus saw the golden light that subsequently illuminated the true darkness of the night.
When a powerful being of the Demon General’s caliber died, heaven and earth naturally responded. Everyone in the demon palace sensed it and fell silent.
“She was my aunt, a truly remarkable woman… well, she just never grew tall.”
The Demon Lord looked at Nan Ke regretfully and said, “My teacher and I originally hoped you would become the second her in the future, but you were too honest, allowing your father to trick you into the abyss.”
Ever since Nan Ke followed Chen Changsheng and the others into the demon palace, she hadn’t spoken a word. Her expression was helpless, like a wounded beast that couldn’t find its way home.
The Demon Lord quickly shook off his sadness, looked calmly at Chen Changsheng, and said, “The altar is destroyed, the agreement is made. Can I leave now?”
Everyone present knew that ‘leave’ in this sentence didn’t mean actual departure, but something else.
Chen Changsheng didn’t respond. He looked seriously at the Demon Lord and said, “I don’t know whether to admire you or pity you.”
This sentence wasn’t about leaving or surrendering, but about the Demon Lord’s mental journey over these past few days.
With the human army at the gates, what should the demon race do? Accept it in silence, or defy the ancestors’ teachings and make one final, desperate gamble?
Chen Changsheng believed the Demon Lord must have been in great pain these past few days.
……
……
“He is not in pain.”
A voice suddenly echoed in the demon palace, but its source was unclear.
“Many years ago, when Xue Lao Cheng was besieged by that brat from the Jie family, I suggested building an altar to use the Starry Sky Kill to reopen the spatial passage, but Xing Shandong disagreed. His Majesty is just like his father, so he is not in pain. In fact, he might even derive some kind of martyr’s pleasure from it.”
The voice disappeared for a moment, then reappeared.
“I have not sensed that deity, so I do not understand their fear, this obsessive pursuit of so-called freedom—where does it come from?”
This voice was very pleasant, like spring water falling into a still pond, or like a zither string plucked by a fingertip, and that hand must surely be beautiful as well.
The black demonic flames swirled again, like withered trees sprouting from a swamp, gradually revealing a corner of a garment.
That garment was also black.
The legendary demonic flames, said to be able to incinerate all things in the world, had failed to ignite that piece of clothing.
It was a black robe.
So this was where he had been hiding—in the abyss behind the demonic flames. No wonder the human army couldn’t find any trace of him in Xue Lao Cheng.
Zhi Zhi suddenly said, “Everyone says your voice is ugly. It seems that was a misrepresentation.”
To be concerned about this issue at such a time could only mean that her way of thinking was indeed somewhat unconventional.
Old Master Tang said, “This is her original voice.”
Looking at Hei Pao, even his eyes changed slightly, like ripples appearing on the surface of a well.
Hei Pao ignored them, looked at the Demon Lord, and said, “Although Nan Ke is my student, you have always regarded me as your teacher. I do have a rare shred of pity for you. But after struggling for days between the destruction of your race and the ancestors’ teachings, in the end, you still refused to heed my advice.”
The Demon Lord was silent for a moment, then said, “That’s because I love you. I don’t want you to become even uglier.”
Hearing this, everyone was stunned. They didn’t know if the word ‘love’ referred to affection for a teacher, or…
The Demon Lord looked at Xu You Rong, smiled, and said, “I love you too.”
Speaking of the most famous and sensational romantic affairs on the continent in recent years, the only thing comparable to the marriage contract Chen Changsheng had produced at the Green Vine Banquet over a decade ago was probably the Demon Lord’s declaration to the entire continent when he was still a youth: “I want Xu You Rong very much.”
Tonight, in the demon palace, Xu You Rong had been very quiet, and the Demon Lord hadn’t spoken a single word to her. Many people thought the rumors were just rumors, that the declaration wasn’t true. That the demon army’s southern invasion in the first year of the new kingdom was merely to conceal the demon race’s weakness, not because the Demon Lord truly wanted to seek Xu You Rong’s hand.
Then, they heard this sentence.
Chen Changsheng didn’t interrupt the Demon Lord, nor was he even angry.
In his view, this was only natural.
How could a remarkable figure like the Demon Lord not love You Rong?
“But I love the military advisor even more, because the military advisor is a strange person.”
The Demon Lord looked at Xu You Rong, apologetic, and explained seriously, “I am also a strange person. I feel empowered when I’m with other strange people.”
“Thank you. I thought you would never say it.”
Hei Pao’s voice was still so pleasant, not deliberately enchanting, yet naturally moving.
The Demon Lord said, “It’s all coming to an end. I have to leave behind the words I want to say.”
“It’s not time for the end yet.”
Hei Pao looked at him with pity and said, “Xing Shandong didn’t even know my true thoughts. How could you possibly know them?”
The Demon Lord smiled bitterly and said, “I’ve already given them the Starry Sky Kill.”
“That thing is in my hands.”
Old Master Tang said to Hei Pao, “Back then, even if you wanted the stars, the people of Luoyang would have been willing to pluck them down for you. But unfortunately, those days are not these days.”
The meaning of this sentence was very clear: no matter what, he would not give the Starry Sky Kill to him.
Hei Pao looked at him with a hint of mockery and said, “Back then, insignificant characters like you and Shang were beneath my notice.”
Old Master Tang said with emotion, “Yes, at that time, your side was the most brilliant figure of that era.”
Hei Pao corrected him seriously, “Not just that era. Even now, he is still the most brilliant one.”
Old Master Tang said, “But even if he were resurrected, he couldn’t take that thing from me.”
The Starry Sky Kill was hidden somewhere unknown. Perhaps he carried a special spatial artifact on him.
The mockery at the corner of Hei Pao’s lips grew stronger. “Who said I want the Starry Sky Kill?”
The Demon Lord said, “You once told me that position is relative, and that our continent has been moving through the star sea all along.”
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng naturally thought of Wang Zhi Ce’s notes and the images he had calculated at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum back then.
The Demon Lord continued, “Even if you used the altar to send the message, if the Holy Light Continent cannot determine our position, how can they open the passage?”
The meaning of this sentence seemed complicated, but was actually very simple and clear.
If you stand on the grassland and hear someone calling you, you can only roughly judge the direction, but you cannot determine their exact location.
Unless you maintain contact with the other party, gradually narrowing the margin of error through continuous exchanges of information, until you find them.
Without the Starry Sky Kill, how could Hei Pao establish a stable connection between the two continents that could last for a period of time?
Hei Pao said, “I told you, I don’t need the Starry Sky Kill.”
The Demon Lord said, “That’s impossible. All the ancient texts clearly record that this is the only way to open a spatial passage.”
Hei Pao said, “I know of a method that can allow the Holy Light Continent to determine our position.”
The Demon Lord asked, slightly startled, “What method?”
Hei Pao looked at Chen Changsheng and said, “I have been waiting for you for a long time.”