Chapter 311 - 193: Encirclement and Pursuit

Chapter 311: Chapter 193: Encirclement and Pursuit

After his body was sliced in two, his upper torso was flung a great distance, while his legs took two more steps before collapsing.

The moment Wu Qiuyuan cried out, Su Mu knew it was all over.

’Failure on the verge of success!’

Without the slightest hesitation, he drew his saber and cut Wu Qiuyuan in half at the waist with a single slash.

He didn’t even look back to see the result of his strike, already streaking toward the exit of the military camp.

"Go!"

SNAP!

Shi Ziran broke the ropes binding him and sprinted desperately after Su Mu.

Xu Chongyuan, Zhong Guizheng, and the others didn’t hesitate either, all running for their lives.

By the time the demon guide reacted, they were already dozens of yards away.

"Taiping Captains? They’re Taiping Captains!"

The demon guide let out an enraged roar.

The liaison from the Pure Land Sect was dead—a grave dereliction of his duty.

"Seize them!"

The demon guide shouted.

By now, Su Mu had already burst out of the camp.

The other demons hadn’t yet realized what was happening and made no move to stop them.

"My brothers—"

The Demon Soldier Captain who had accompanied them on their journey was coming toward them. Seeing them running, he called out in surprise, "What are you all up to?"

"Just going for a run, blowing off some steam," Xu Chongyuan said.

SHLICK!

A long saber plunged into the Demon Soldier Captain’s abdomen.

The Demon Soldier Captain had let his guard down completely.

His eyes went wide, and just as he was about to unleash his power to send Xu Chongyuan flying, a flash of saber light streaked past, and his head flew into the air.

"Go!"

Su Mu grabbed Xu Chongyuan and flung him forward.

"The bow!"

He roared.

For convenience’s sake, he had asked Zhong Guizheng to carry the Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow for him before they entered the Demon Court’s camp.

Hearing the call, Zhong Guizheng unslung the Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow while still running and tossed it toward Su Mu.

Su Mu leaped, catching the bow in midair, and immediately loosed an arrow back toward their pursuers.

BOOM!

A blood-red arrow detonated with a thunderous roar amid a cluster of demons in the camp, unleashing a torrent of five-colored flames that engulfed dozens of them.

Su Mu didn’t stop, loosing ten arrows in rapid succession!

Chaos immediately erupted throughout the camp.

Su Mu’s arms ached with exhaustion.

But he had no time to worry about that. The moment the last arrow flew, he turned and bolted.

’This is no joke. If I don’t run now, I’m dead meat once the Demon Court’s soldiers catch up.’

Ten fires now blazed across the Demon Court’s camp, sending demons scattering in panic.

But soon, a long, piercing howl rang out through the camp.

A ferocious gale instantly extinguished the five-colored flames.

The towering Ox-headed Demon appeared outside a tent, radiating an overwhelming aura.

His eyes were filled with fury, mixed with a hint of shame.

He, the Grand General of the Demon Court, had been deceived by a few pathetic humans.

If this could be tolerated, what couldn’t?

"Bring them back to me—alive! I will flay them, slice by painful slice!"

The Ox-headed Demon roared in fury.

Demonic roars thundered, and the very earth seemed to tremble.

Countless demons took up the chase after Su Mu’s group.

The dust kicked up by their charge rose like a great dragon into the sky.

"Son of a bitch, this is terrifying," Xu Chongyuan cursed as he ran, wishing he’d been born with two extra legs.

They were running on fumes, using every last ounce of their strength.

Fortunately, Su Mu’s use of the Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow had thrown the Demon Court’s camp into temporary chaos.

Otherwise, they would have been surrounded long ago.

Even so, their situation was grim.

The dust dragon soared behind them as powerful demons began to accelerate.

Though the Ox-headed Demon hadn’t joined the chase himself, Tier Three and even Tier Four Demons were already in pursuit.

They had only gained a head start. When it came to pure speed, many Tier Three Demons were faster than they were, let alone the Tier Four Demons.

"Run for Hujue Pass! We’ll be safe once we reach the city walls!" Su Mu shouted.

His voice had barely faded when a great RUMBLE RUMBLE rose up on both their flanks.

They whipped their heads around to see dust billowing into the air, a dark cloud that blotted out half the sky.

For a moment, they could only stare at one another in stunned silence.

The low, rumbling thunder grew louder—RUMBLE, RUMBLE—as innumerable demons closed in from three directions.

Slaying demons was nothing new to Su Mu and his men.

But a stampede of tens of thousands of demons was something they had never even heard of.

This army was many times greater than the Tier Five Demon Tide they had encountered at Wuling City.

When facing that Demon Tide, they’d had the city walls for defense and countless allies by their side.

Now, there were only eight of them.

Even though they were all men of exceptional courage, their hearts hammered in their chests and cold sweat poured down their backs as they faced this world-altering spectacle.

In the blink of an eye, the Demon Court’s army of Demon Soldiers completed its encirclement on three sides, leaving only the path toward Hujue Pass open.

Dozens of powerful demons led the charge, now only about seventy yards away from the group.

One of them threw its long spear.

As it whistled through the air, Zhong Guizheng spun around and swung his saber to intercept it.

CLANG! The saber struck the spearhead, creating a shower of sparks.

The powerful impact jolted Zhong Guizheng’s arm, nearly knocking the saber from his hand.

The spear, its momentum barely slowed, continued straight for his chest.

He was the newest and weakest of the Taiping Captains. Having fallen to the back of the group, he had naturally become the demons’ first target.

Zhong Guizheng sighed to himself. ’I can’t believe I’m this weak... I can’t even block a single one of their attacks.’

Just then, he felt a force yank him up by the collar, and he was suddenly flying through the air.

From his vantage point, he saw Su Mu appear where he had just stood and slash down on the spear’s tip.

With a harsh, grating SCREECH, the spear was finally deflected, sent flying high and wide.

But in that brief moment, the demons had closed the distance to less than thirty yards from Su Mu.

TWANG!

Su Mu drew the Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow once more and loosed another arrow.

Taking advantage of the moment the demons were blocked by the flames, he turned and ran, having no intention of fighting them head-on.

Zhong Guizheng landed, his position shifted from the very back of the group to the very front.

He gritted his teeth and sprinted, shouting over his shoulder, "Senior Brother Su, don’t mind me! Just save yourself!"

"Junior Brother Su, we’re still dozens of miles from Hujue Pass! There’s no way we can all escape. It’s better if at least one of us makes it! Don’t you worry about us!" Xu Chongyuan shouted.

The other Taiping Captains cried out in agreement.

"I know what I’m doing! Just run! Nobody looks back!" Su Mu yelled, his voice low and firm. He spun around and fired another arrow.

The Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow, once all-powerful, now seemed utterly feeble.

Its arrows couldn’t truly harm the Tier Four Demons; at best, they bought them a few seconds of time.

Worse, using the bow drained a massive amount of his stamina.

At this point, firing the bow was like drinking poison to quench his thirst.

But if he stopped, the Tier Four Demons would be upon them in seconds.

If that happened, he might not be able to escape, but Xu Chongyuan and Zhong Guizheng’s group would have zero chance of survival.

Forget Tier Four Demons—even Tier Three Demons were beyond what they could handle.

The most logical choice, as Zhong Guizheng and Xu Chongyuan had said, was to abandon them. Let them be caught by the demons.

They could buy him a few precious moments, giving him a sliver of a chance to make it back to Hujue Pass.

’If I do that, I’ll be completely failing in my duty,’ Su Mu thought to himself. ’I’m no hero... I just can’t stand to part with the Points I’m about to earn.’

A pained expression, like he was losing a chunk of his own flesh, flashed across his face.

WHOOSH!

Su Mu threw out a round, jade-like disk.

A moment later, a Command Flag appeared in his hand. He threw it as well, and it plunged directly into the earth.

BOOM!

A wall of fire erupted into the sky, blocking the path of the pursuing demons.