Chapter 28: The Demon Clan’s Thousandfold Birth!

Even as night fell, the Young Lord Peng still wore a troubled expression.

In this world, the individual combat prowess of the demon race was inferior to that of the human race—considerably so. Yet, the demons had their own advantages. For them, bearing triplets was commonplace; giving birth to nine at a time was hardly rare, and dozens in a single litter was considered normal. Toad demons could spawn thousands at once. The demon race relied on overwhelming numbers, a sea of demons, to face the humans head-on.

At first, Lu Wu didn’t understand the reason for this phenomenon. But then he recalled his previous world, with a population of seven billion humans, but nine billion rabbits and twenty billion chickens. Suddenly, the key became clear.

Humans develop very slowly from the embryo, requiring a lengthy gestation. Demons, however, are different. The weaker the demon, the greater their fertility. Of course, for the bear and roc tribes, their birth rates were actually lower than those of humans. But on the whole, the reproductive capacity of the demon race far surpassed humanity.

Lu Wu, being so small, stealthily made his way into the demon camp. Gazing upon the myriad forms and bizarre shapes of the demons gathered there, he felt he had reached the pinnacle of his mosquito existence. Wasn’t this a feast laid before him?

He didn’t bother to conceal his presence, instead flying openly into a small camp.

A wolf demon greeted him, “I am Rock Meng. Have you come to the wrong camp?”

Lu Wu feigned surprise. “Oh? Am I not allowed here?”

As he spoke, he let out a surge of spiritual aura.

The moment the powerful soul pressure of a peak Gathering Qi cultivator was released, Rock Meng was dumbfounded, immediately prostrating himself. “I meant no disrespect! I thought you were drunk. Are you here on official business?”

Lu Wu sent a thought directly into his mind, “Of course. Tell me, how have you fared in battle on the march here? I’m investigating the merits of promising young soldiers. Don’t even think about claiming unearned credit.”

Rock Meng, still far from achieving a human form and only midway through Foundation Establishment, stammered nervously under the pressure, “Um… I… I didn’t make it to the battle against the cultivators of the Grand Void Palace, but along the way I did kill quite a few ordinary humans. I don’t know if that counts as merit.”

Lu Wu understood. With over sixty thousand demons mobilized, most would not earn any real battle merits. But having advanced over two hundred miles into the Grand Void territory, they’d encountered countless mortals along the way. The civilians on their path were doomed.

Lu Wu sneered, “Useless. Crawl over here.”

The wolf demon, its back patchy and yellowish, hurriedly wagged its tail and crawled forward.

Was this a wolf or a dog?

Lu Wu could understand—wolves who lacked power were no different from domesticated dogs in the demon world. This was the demon realm, not the animal kingdom; it was natural that countless low-level demons would be domesticated.

Rock Meng prostrated himself before Lu Wu, trembling. “Senior, I have shamed my tribe.”

Lu Wu said, “Your strength is too poor; it’s no wonder you haven’t earned merit. I’ll give you a chance to grow stronger. But it will be a little painful—though I’ll try to ease your suffering as much as possible.”

Rock Meng shook his head eagerly, “Senior! I’m not afraid of hardship. Please, be as fierce as you like!”

Lu Wu began to feed.

In this world, humans and demons regarded one another as food. Lu Wu, not eating flesh but only drinking blood, was at a disadvantage. He hadn’t expected the wolf pup to be so easily fooled.

He unleashed the leech’s gluttony, drawing blood ravenously.

Rock Meng felt no pain, but sensed his blood draining rapidly. Was this some legendary refinement of the body, a blood change to improve talent?

Even as consciousness faded, he clung to the hope of becoming stronger.

Lu Wu swiftly left the now empty camp.

Soon after, a humanoid wolf demon returned with his followers.

“Big brother, it’s lucky we weren’t sent to be cannon fodder this time,” one said.

The wolf demon, who had taken human form, smiled. “I made friends early with Young Master Ha of the Golden Toad clan. It finally paid off.”

As they entered the camp, they found a withered corpse.

One wolf threw back his head and howled at the moon.

The wolf leader, not yet fully human in face, snapped, “Shut up! This is the heart of the allied army, not Wild Wolf Mountain.”

All fell silent, cowering.

A scarred wolf muttered, “Big brother, how did Rock Meng die?”

The wolf leader replied, “It couldn’t have been someone from the Grand Void Palace. It must have been a powerful blood demon. Say nothing of this—if word gets out, it’ll only be trouble.”

Blood demons—bat demons, leopard demons, leeches—were all known for bloodsucking, with powerful clans among them. The wolf tribe was at the very bottom of the food chain, and had grown used to it.

…

In the second half of the night, Lu Wu went out twice more, each time seeking out the lone and the weak, pretending to check their credentials, then making his move.

Everywhere the hundred-thousand-strong demon army passed, the mortals within two hundred miles were almost all wiped out. These demons had all stained their hands with human blood.

Lu Wu wasn’t fooling himself; he simply needed a reason for his ruthlessness.

Three low-level demons died miserably, completely drained of blood. Yet no one reported the deaths—everyone assumed it was the work of a powerful blood demon, and no one wanted trouble.

…

In the latter part of the night, Lu Wu realized something strange. Upon closer inspection, he found that the demon hierarchy was rigidly enforced; the weak dared not rebel.

“Seems I’ve been too cautious,” he mused.

After reaching the Gathering Qi stage, the amount of blood required for a single transformation had increased dramatically, but so had his digestion speed. With so many targets gathered, Lu Wu no longer held back.

By daylight, he was openly searching the demon army for solitary targets. In a single day, he slew nineteen demons.

…

On the mountaintop, Young Lord Peng paced anxiously.

Bear Yu asked, “Big brother, why hasn’t the Grand Void Palace made a move?”

“They’re waiting—waiting for us to panic, for us to make the first move. Once we lose our defensive advantage, we’ll be quickly overrun.”

“We’re just going to sit here and do nothing?”

Young Lord Peng shook his head, “No, we’ll slowly retreat, shifting toward Southern Mountain City.”

The Grand Void Mountains were vast; Southern Mountain City lay on the outer edge, named for its position directly south of the Palace.

Bear Yu said, “You mean to defend the city? That’s a human tactic—demons aren’t used to that.”

“The city’s high walls are a valuable defense, even if only briefly.”

“But what if they surround the city and cut off our escape?”

Little Flood Dragon finally snapped, “Bear Yu, are you stupid? They have ten thousand, we have sixty thousand. It’s more dangerous if we panic and scatter during a retreat.”

The ape demon volunteered, “I’ll take charge of Southern Mountain City.”

Young Lord Peng asked, “Any unusual activity in the ranks?”

The others shook their heads. “None that we’ve heard of.”

…

In the Grand Void Palace camp, Lu Wu recounted everything to Yi Ya.

Yi Ya frowned. “It seems it won’t be easy to sow panic among the demon army. Perhaps… intensify your efforts?”

Lu Wu hesitated, “You saw it yourself—my size limits me, I can’t digest that much demon blood.”

Yi Ya slapped his thigh. “That’s easy! The disciples of the Medicine Field Hall have herbs to aid digestion. I’ll fetch some right away.”

Lu Wu raised an eyebrow, “There’s such a medicine? Is it called Digestive Tablets?”

Yi Ya looked confused. “What’s that? Some kind of supreme digestive elixir? I’ve never heard of it. Our Palace mainly grows Earth Dragon Branch, used to make Spleen and Stomach Powder, which strengthens earth-element organs—the stomach is associated with earth.”

Lu Wu buzzed with excitement. It was as if a pillow had been handed to him the moment he needed to sleep. Was it possible that, thanks to this campaign, he might finally achieve the three hundred transformations required to ascend to the Soaring Realm?

There were many ways to advance in the Book of Myriad Beasts. While the totem method studied by the Book of Knowledge was the hardest, this war had given Lu Wu an unexpected opportunity for rapid progress!