143 Pre-war
The Huang family patriarch, who had received the news from the Chai family, was sitting in the main hall. There were six other people in the hall, four of whom were wearing leather armor or black clothes with square iron armor fragments.
The other two men, both dressed in straight-collared robes, appeared to be in their forties. One of them had eyebrows that almost met, and beside him was a six-foot-long broadsword, estimated to weigh over a hundred pounds. The other man had sharp features and a gloomy gaze, and beside him was a long spear, its blade gleaming coldly and sharp as a bullet.
The Huang family head's expression had calmed down. He said calmly, "My good-for-nothing son, I don't even know if he's dead now. Perhaps it's better that he's dead. I beg my two brothers and the others to avenge me!"
After saying that, he stood up and was about to bow to the group.
Several men quickly stood up, one of them, wielding a large halberd, saying heartily, "You're too kind, Master. The brothers are all ready. We await your orders."
The other man, wielding a large gun, readily agreed, "Yes, Brother Jie is right. We're all ready, just waiting for your command to chop that man into pieces."
The other four echoed, "We will obey the patriarch's orders."
The Huang family's courtyard was brightly lit, torches crackling in the wind and dispelling the chill. There were an estimated four or five hundred people. Nearly fifty carried bows and arrows. The rest carried broadswords and spears. Ten more carried large shields.
They stood in four rows, the weather gloomy, dark, and cold, but all wore warm inner armor over outer armor or protective armor; even the worst among them had a bronze breastplate. Their eyes were sharp, awaiting orders like tigers or wild beasts ready to devour their prey.
These people possessed vigorous vitality; the lowest level among them was second rank, and most were third rank. Fourth rank was relatively rare. They exuded an aura of being fully prepared and ready to unify the city.
The Chai family patriarch invited all three of his elders over. He knew his son was at the sixth level, but fearing his own clansmen, he had never revealed his true strength.
This time, his own son was actually defeated. This person's strength must be considerable. He should bring more people, just in case. He should bring all three hundred-plus people currently present; these people are fully equipped and well-trained.
'A war of attrition can wear you down to death, or better yet, capture you alive. I'll let you experience what it truly means to wish you were dead,' the Chai family head thought viciously.
At this moment, the Demon King Wen slowly walked over. Behind him were eight people. They were probably eight subordinates. However, some of them looked rather strange. Some always liked to scratch their faces. Some always liked to sniff here and there. Some were ice-cold all over.
But looking at the energetic soldiers before him, their eyes were filled with an immense longing—a desire to possess.
The Demon King Wen approached Patriarch Chai and said softly, "Patriarch Chai, let me help you as well."
Patriarch Chai nodded, not refusing. "Thank you, Clan Chief Wen!"
The Demon King whispered in his ear, "Don't call me Clan Chief Wen, just call me Little Sweetie. That's my name, you know, not everyone says it like that." The soft tone in his ear made the Clan Chief's heart flutter with excitement.
At that moment, the head butler arrived. "Master, everything is ready."
The head of the Chai family stepped forward and said, "There were thieves. My poor child has been caught. The thieves deserve to die..." He then proceeded to say a string of bad things about the thieves, praising his own son as if he were a saint, unparalleled in the world.
Then he announced loudly, "Everyone who participates tonight will be rewarded with ten taels of silver."
The voices below, in unison, declared, "We swear to follow our patriarch to the death!"
Chirping and puffing out, like a rebellion, they set off.
The demon slayers had a very high mortality rate. The Chai family initially recruited many demon slayers, who were initially full of ambition and confidence, dreaming of monopolizing the Demon Slayer Bureau. However, things didn't go as planned. As the number of missions increased, most of the recruits died, and the remaining ones wanted to leave.
However, joining the ranks of demon slayers is not so simple, and leaving is even more so. Low-ranking demon slayers, unless they are dead or crippled, cannot possibly escape.
At this moment, the remaining demon slayers of the Chai family were all extremely unhappy. Every so often, they had to think about completing their missions. Sometimes, they even had to humbly ask their clansmen for help. Moreover, their superior, Lu Zhanyuan, exuded a murderous aura that terrified them.
Currently a silver-ranked demon slayer, his exact strength is unknown. His aura is astonishing. He wields a dagger, stained with demonic blood, which has never been examined. It looks terrifying.
It just so happens that it's their turn to be on duty tonight.
"Third Brother, the family wants us to go help at Dexing Tower. I just overheard the messenger saying that the young master has been arrested, and it seems he's in a terrible state. It looks like he's about to die. That's why they want us to go help."
The third brother and the other two were all dressed in police uniforms, with wooden plaques hanging from their waists. Both were filled with regret. Now they were just trying to get by day by day. Upon hearing this...
The third brother said dismissively, "We're on duty tonight. Leaving without permission will be punished. If Lord Lu blames us, neither of us can bear the responsibility. So, fourth brother, it's not that we don't want to go. It's that we really can't go. That's dereliction of duty. Who can take responsibility if something happens?"
The fourth brother understood immediately and nodded at the three with a face full of admiration.
Suddenly, Lord Lu, the superior officer, appeared in the hall without anyone noticing. His voice rang out, "Everyone assemble!"
In a short while, the ten demon slayers quickly assembled in the hall. These men all had fierce expressions on their faces and rarely spoke to each other. Their eyes were menacing, and they were ready to draw their swords at the slightest provocation.
The third and fourth brothers stood at the back of the group, not daring to approach the others. These people were different from them; they had fought their way out of monsters and ghosts for the resources to slay demons, and had witnessed too much death. In fact, too many of them had died.
Lord Lu looked at his subordinate, who exuded a fierce aura, and felt a sense of satisfaction. Without this malevolent wind energy, how could he possibly subdue a vengeful spirit? You must understand, these demonic beasts eat people. As for the Chai family's plan to intervene and send people in to slay the demons, he didn't care at all.
And there was no discrimination. Everyone followed the rules. As long as you were tough enough and lucky enough, that was your skill. It's a pity that of the three people from the Chai family who came in, none of them amounted to anything; they were all terrified. It's a little regrettable.
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