Chapter 307 - 191: Deceiving the Heavens to Cross the Sea

Chapter 307: Chapter 191: Deceiving the Heavens to Cross the Sea

Xu Chongyuan hunched forward, took a step, and spoke with a fawning smile, playing the part of a human collaborator to perfection.

As expected of Captain Xu, a man who loved his opera and plays. His acting was divine.

Su Mu had a knack for judging character and using people’s strengths, so he entrusted the task of communicating with the demons to Xu Chongyuan.

He knew he couldn’t do a better job than Xu Chongyuan.

If it were him, a single disagreement would likely have ended with him drawing his sword to cut them all down.

"Ally, what does that mean?"

The Demon Soldier Captain looked puzzled.

It had understood the words "Pure Land Sect," at least.

"It means friend."

Xu Chongyuan said, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

His greatest fear was that the demons wouldn’t give him a chance to speak and would just attack immediately.

Now that the demons had actually held back, everything was going to be alright.

As long as these demons could actually talk, he was confident he could talk circles around them.

’Junior Brother Su’s plan is a success.’

"Friend, I understand."

The Demon Soldier Captain nodded proudly. ’It’s not my fault I didn’t understand the word "ally." You just used an imprecise term.’

"Why are you here?"

the Demon Soldier Captain demanded.

"It’s like this."

Xu Chongyuan took two more steps forward, closing the distance to the Demon Soldier Captain.

At this range, the Demon Soldier Captain could strike him just by lifting a hand.

By the same token, the distance was also perfect for Xu Chongyuan to make a move.

But he didn’t attack. Instead, he began to recount the story of capturing the assassin, gesturing wildly.

The Demon Soldier Captain had limited comprehension, but it was an eager student, constantly interrupting Xu Chongyuan to ask questions.

After a full quarter-hour of explaining, Xu Chongyuan was drenched in sweat, but the Demon Soldier Captain facing him had finally, at long last, understood.

*It* understood, but the eyes of the demons behind it were all filled with a murky stupidity. It was clear that few of them had grasped the story.

"A lord as heroic and martial as yourself must have a limitless future in the Demon Court."

Xu Chongyuan flattered.

The Demon Soldier Captain looked puzzled again.

"The moment I saw you, my lord, I knew you were destined to become a great figure in the Demon Court."

Xu Chongyuan had changed his phrasing; a word like "limitless" was too difficult for a demon.

This time, the Demon Soldier Captain understood, and its face immediately broke into a wide grin.

"I will, I will."

the Demon Soldier Captain said, patting Xu Chongyuan’s shoulder.

The moment the Demon Soldier Captain raised its claw, Su Mu’s hand was already on the hilt of his blade.

But seeing that the captain had no killing intent, Su Mu held back.

Xu Chongyuan grimaced from the force of the pat but kept his smile. "My lord, we’ve caught the assassin and are taking him back to Hujue Pass to complete our mission."

"We’re just a bit lost. Could you point us in the right direction, my lord?"

As he spoke, he stealthily pressed an ingot of gold into the demon’s hand.

Shi Ziran had said the demons of the Demon Court also liked shiny things. When Sha Tongtian of the Pure Land Sect had visited, he had gifted the Demon Court a great deal of gold and jewels.

Sure enough, upon seeing the gold, the smile on the Demon Soldier Captain’s face grew even wider.

It snatched the gold and roared with laughter. "You know how to get things done. I like you."

Xu Chongyuan’s expression froze. ’Damn it,’ he thought, ’can you just throw around a word like "like" so casually?’

"We’re also headed to Hujue Pass. You can come along with me."

The Demon Soldier Captain’s next words brought the smile right back to Xu Chongyuan’s face.

’Perfect.’

’If we travel with Demon Soldiers from the Demon Court, we won’t have to worry about running into other demons.’

"Thank you, my lord."

Xu Chongyuan said, handing over another ingot of gold.

The Demon Soldier Captain was so overjoyed it nearly danced.

The National Preceptor had said gold was a good thing; there were many things in the Demon Court that could be bought with it.

The demons didn’t understand the concept of a monetary system. All they knew was that the National Preceptor said gold could be used to buy things, and that was good enough for them.

Seeing the Demon Soldier Captain agree, Su Mu and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.

The gazes Zhong Guizheng and the others directed at Su Mu were filled with admiration.

’Junior Brother Su’s method actually worked.’

’Only someone as audacious as Junior Brother Su could have come up with such a daring plan of deception.’

’If it were them, they wouldn’t have dared to go through with it, even if they had thought of it.’

’The danger would have been immense if they were exposed.’

It seemed the demons learning to speak human languages wasn’t entirely a bad thing.

At least, in the past when they couldn’t understand human speech, a deception like this would have been impossible.

It was precisely because they had learned to speak that they could be tricked.

Su Mu and his men escorted the tightly bound Shi Ziran, following behind the Demon Soldiers.

Xu Chongyuan, meanwhile, walked at the very front alongside the Demon Soldier Captain, attending to his every need.

Whatever he was saying, it coaxed earth-shaking peals of laughter from the Demon Soldier Captain from time to time.

The other demons would occasionally glance back at Su Mu’s group, their eyes filled with greed and desire...

To demons, human Martial Artists were a delicacy.

Su Mu and his men were like fragrant delicacies laid out before a pack of ravenous beasts.

The fact that these demons could restrain their urge to eat was a sign of their discipline.

Su Mu was secretly astonished. ’This Demon Court really is something,’ he thought, ’to be able to train demons to this level.’

The more he saw, the more terrifying the Master of the Demon Court and the National Preceptor seemed.

They continued on, encountering several more squads of Demon Soldiers along the way.

This time, Xu Chongyuan didn’t need to explain, as their Demon Soldier Captain did it for them.

As they drew nearer to Hujue Pass, the number of converging Demon Soldier squads grew ever larger.

By the time they were only dozens of miles from Hujue Pass, Su Mu and his men were already marching alongside a thousand demons.

Among them were forty to fifty Tier Three Demons.

If they were exposed now, they would truly die without even a place for their bodies to be buried.

Everyone was on pins and needles, and they became doubly cautious.

Xu Chongyuan, on the other hand, was increasingly in his element.

The Demon Soldier Captains had practically begun to treat him as one of their own.

By a stroke of luck, Xu Chongyuan’s unique talents were being put to full use.

Just when Su Mu and the others thought they might actually reach Hujue Pass without any further trouble...

「One day」The demon troop suddenly made camp, and Xu Chongyuan returned to Su Mu and the others.

"This is bad."

Xu Chongyuan said in a low voice, "The Demon Court General wants to see us!"

"The Demon Court General?"

Su Mu and the others were stunned.

"The Demon Court General is the commander of the army attacking Hujue Pass. He’s a Tier Five Demon!"

Xu Chongyuan said with a grave expression, "The Demon Court’s military structure is simple. Below the Grand General are the generals, and below them are these Demon Soldier Captains."

The Demon Court was the Demon Court, after all; it didn’t have a bureaucratic hierarchy as complex as the Da Xuan Dynasty’s.

"A Tier Five Demon?"

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

A Tier Three Demon was already an opponent they could barely handle. A Tier Four Demon would be enough to annihilate their entire group.

A Tier Five Demon... its power was something they couldn’t even begin to imagine.

"If we run now, can we still make it?"

one of the Taiping Captains asked meekly.

Everyone shot him a collective glare.

There were at least a thousand demons surrounding them. Where could they possibly run?

If their identities were exposed, there were enough demons here to drown them in spittle alone.

"Why would the Demon Court General want to see us?"

Su Mu asked in a low voice.

"It’s my fault."

Xu Chongyuan said with a wry smile, "I might have laid the flattery on a little too thick with those Demon Soldier Captains. They got excited and ran off to brag to the Demon Court General."

"As a result, the Demon Court General found out about us and has now summoned us for a meeting."

"If that’s the case, it doesn’t necessarily mean he suspects our identities,"

Su Mu mused. "Where is the Demon Court General?"

Escaping was impossible now. Their only choice was to play it by ear.

"The Demon Court’s main encampment is about three miles ahead. Their Grand General is there."

Xu Chongyuan continued, "It’s said the Demon Court has gathered a hundred thousand Demon Soldiers this time, intending to take Hujue Pass in a single assault."

The moment Xu Chongyuan said this, the color drained from everyone’s faces.

A hundred thousand Demon Soldiers. What did that even mean?

A few thousand demons had nearly breached Wuling City.

Even if Hujue Pass was stronger than Wuling City, could it possibly withstand a hundred thousand Demon Soldiers?

What’s more, there were human collaborators inside Hujue Pass.

For a moment, the group even forgot about their own peril.

"How can we possibly defend against that?"

Zhong Guizheng and the other Taiping Captains, their faces ashen, murmured in despair.