Chapter 338 - 207: Show of Force

Chapter 338: Chapter 207: Show of Force

A piercing killing intent washed over the Demon Investigator from the Demon Court, and cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

He was already cursing up a storm in his head.

’Damn it, how can a Taiping Captain fly?’

’We were supposed to intimidate the Da Xuan Envoy, but now they’ve made an example out of us!’

What could he say now?

Admit that it was a Demon Court demon?

The Demon Court would have to swallow this loss in silence.

"You are right, Captain Su."

The Demon Investigator, whose human name was Lv Lake, spoke sheepishly.

Moreover, he was a student personally taught by the Demon Court National Preceptor, Liang Jinglue.

His knowledge of human affairs was the best in the Demon Court. According to Liang Jinglue, if he were in Da Xuan, he could pass the exam to become a Scholar with ease.

But now, even he didn’t know how to handle the situation.

"The Wilderness is not like Da Xuan. Many demons here do not obey the Demon Court’s orders, and there is little we can do about it."

Lv Lake said sheepishly, "I will send word back to the Demon Court and ask the Saint Venerable and the National Preceptor to figure something out.

Fortunately, none of your envoys were harmed this time."

Lv Lake cursed inwardly. ’The Da Xuan Envoy has no casualties, but we, the Demon Court, lost a Tier Three Demon!’

"I don’t care if the Demon Court can do anything about it or not."

Su Mu said coldly, "I will repeat myself. From this moment on, any demon that appears before me, if it is not from the Demon Court, will be killed on sight.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Lord Lv."

His killing intent was completely undisguised.

"Aren’t you a little too confident, Captain Su?"

Lv Lake was starting to get angry too. ’Is he threatening me?’

’This isn’t Da Xuan, this is the Wilderness!’

’For a mere Taiping Captain, you talk awfully big!’

"Let me tell you, the demons in the Wilderness who are outside the Demon Court’s control are all incredibly powerful.

If you keep provoking them like this and manage to anger them, the Demon Court might not be able to protect your envoy."

Lv Lake sneered.

’Kill any demon on sight?’

’If you were a Marquis from the Taiping Bureau, I might believe you.’

’But you’re just a Taiping Captain. Where do you get the nerve to talk like that?’

’This time we only sent a Tier Three Demon to scare you. We just didn’t expect you could actually fly.’

’Next time, it might not be a Tier Three Demon that shows up.’

’If a Tier Four Demon attacks, could you, Su Mu, possibly be a match for it?’

’And you still dare talk about killing on sight.’

’By then, who knows how many people in your Da Xuan Envoy will be dead.’

’Anyway, the only one who matters in the whole envoy is the Chief Envoy, Zhu Jiuyuan. The rest of them can all die.’

’If we don’t scare this Da Xuan Envoy witless, how can we make him obey?’

Lv Lake thought viciously.

"This is me notifying you."

Su Mu merely looked at him coldly. "The rest is none of your concern."

"Then I shall wait and see."

Lv Lake said with a sneer.

He flicked his sleeve and walked off in the manner of a human.

Lu Mingyang approached Su Mu’s side and whispered, "Was that their doing?"

"Nine times out of ten."

Su Mu said calmly, "They were trying to intimidate us. Unfortunately for them, they picked the wrong target."

"Lord Su, will they come back?"

Lu Mingyang asked, his voice tinged with panic.

Lord Zhang was lucky to survive this time, but what about the next?

Lu Mingyang had grown up in the prosperous lands of Da Xuan; when had he ever faced such peril?

It wasn’t just him; the other civil servants and clerks were all terrified.

Before Su Mu could say a word, Zhu Jiuyuan had already descended from his carriage.

"Compose yourselves!"

Showing no trace of his usual aged frailty, Zhu Jiuyuan bellowed, "Have you forgotten all the teachings of the sages you’ve studied?

To fall into such a panic over a small incident!

Have you forgotten that the sages taught us to remain impassive even if Mount Tai were to collapse before our very eyes?

Now, all of you, go and copy the Scripture of Righteous Qi! Don’t show your faces again until you’ve calmed down!"

The old man’s authority was absolute. The moment he spoke, Lu Yangming and the others bowed and assented.

"Lord Zhu, this was my oversight. I will strengthen our patrols," Su Mu said.

’As expected of the leader of the civil servants.’ Su Mu found himself looking at Zhu Jiuyuan with new respect.

To be fair, it was asking a lot for these scholars to face demons head-on.

Even in the Taiping Bureau, plenty of new recruits in White Clothes panicked during their first encounter with a demon.

Zhu Jiuyuan’s composure truly surprised Su Mu.

’It seems there was a good reason Da Xuan chose him for this mission after all.’

"This has nothing to do with you."

Zhu Jiuyuan sneered. "I thought the Demon Court was supposed to be some great power, but it seems they’re nothing special.

If all they know are these petty tricks, then I have clearly overestimated them."

Completely unfazed by the Demon Court’s attempt at intimidation, Zhu Jiuyuan said to Su Mu, "Lord Su, let us proceed as we agreed. We will slow our pace and travel just thirty li a day.

I’d like to see what other tricks the Demon Court has up its sleeve."

"Since Lord Zhu is in such high spirits, then I will gladly see this through with you," Su Mu said with a slight smile.

...

Just over ten li from the Da Xuan Envoy’s position, several demons were crouched atop a hill.

From a distance, they had witnessed the moment the Cyan Eagle Demon was struck from the sky.

They exchanged a look, each seeing the surprise in the other’s eyes.

"Who would have thought! Someone in the Da Xuan Envoy can actually fly!"

one of the demons said in a human voice.

All of these demons had wings; in the Demon Court, they belonged to the Feather Division.

The great army of the Demon Court had been divided by National Preceptor Liang Jinglue into the Beast Division and the Feather Division.

The true forms of the Beast Division’s demons were land animals, while the true forms of the Feather Division’s demons were birds.