Chapter 155: Night of Slaughter

High in the sky, a deep moon hung, half-veiled and faintly tinged with a faint crimson hue.

Down on the earth, in every corner of the city, a group of figures draped in black robes emerged from nowhere, and then, amidst the terrified expressions of countless people, cast off their heavy garments.

In all directions, a massive horde of half-demons poured out recklessly, unleashing a bloodbath that stained the ground in shades of crimson.

"Demons!"

"Why are there demons here?!"

Countless screams echoed all around, faintly accompanied by bursts of low, ferocious laughter echoing with unbridled malice.

At the end of a street, a four-armed demon walked steadily forward.

He possessed a towering, pitch-black physique and a grotesque face that seemed far removed from that of a normal human.

These were the Four-Armed, a race entirely distinct from humanity even before their demonic corruption, which only made their alien traits more pronounced.

He strode quietly down the avenue, his immense power crushing the surroundings, leaving a trail of corpses in his wake.

"Heh, Kali, can't you walk a bit faster?" a voice sneered coldly from ahead.

In another corner further up, a tall, dark-skinned figure emerged, radiating immense power—undoubtedly another four-armed demon.

"Jeny, what's the rush?" Kali said calmly. "No matter what, the final yield will include our share, so why hurry?"

"That's just the portion to be offered to the Kings," Jeny sneered, looking at Kali. "But I haven't had my fill yet..."

He swooped downward, his powerful body surging with a mixture of blood qi and demonic energy as he swept toward a surviving young man.

The scene transformed instantly. The youth struggled and roared, but under the crushing weight of that terrifying power, the flesh and blood were stripped from his body, gradually condensing into tiny, blood-red drops of vital essence.

This vital essence resembled bloodstones, yet its effects were far inferior, refined by these demons using secret arts and fraught with impurities.

Ahead, the young man wailed as the flesh melted from his bones, leaving behind a skeletal frame that collapsed with a heavy thud.

Such scenes played out relentlessly across the city as countless demons hunted, reveling in this lavish feast.

As the slaughter progressed, at a certain location, an altar began to glow faintly, gradually drawing in the surrounding blood and flesh to condense into drops of essence upon its surface—operating at an efficiency far more horrifying than that of the other demons.

Beneath the altar, a towering four-armed demon stood in silence, gazing at the pulsating crimson glow before him while silently chanting.

A terrifying aura radiated from his body, spilling into the surroundings and pinning several lesser demons behind him to the spot, unable to move.

"How is it looking here?" Kali asked, walking up behind him.

"Almost done," the demon replied, lifting his gaze to the sky and staring into the distant firmament. "At the current rate, it will be over in just a little while."

"Before that, however, we need to slaughter everyone left here. The more who die, the purer and better the final condensed essence will be."

Kali nodded, glancing at the few half-demons standing behind him. "Go sweep the perimeter and make sure no one was missed."

The half-demons bowed respectfully, slowly retreating and vanishing into the distance.

After a moment, Kali stared at the altar, which remained unchanged, and felt a twinge of boredom. "Forget it, you can watch over this."

"I'm heading out."

With those words, he turned and walked away without looking back.

Time slipped by. Desperate cries echoed through the air, weaving together a profound strand of destiny that lingered stubbornly, refusing to disperse.

"Heh heh, almost there," muttered the towering four-armed demon, staring at the altar before him.

Suddenly, a sharp premonition pierced his mind. An instinctive surge of intense crisis compelled him to shift his gaze toward a corner behind him.

There, the figure of a youth slowly stepped into view. He looked very young, yet the powerful blood qi roiling around him was formidable enough to command respect.

"Who are you?"

Sensing the formidable power emanating from the newcomer, the demon spoke in a raspy, bizarre voice.

Opposite him, Aedis merely smiled at the demon's inquiry. He offered no reply, continuing his steady advance without pause.

Instantly, an overwhelming pressure bore down upon the demon, carrying an aggressive battle momentum coupled with a violent surge of blood qi.

Feeling this, the demon's heart sank. His half-kneeling frame slowly rose as a similarly formidable, yet slightly demonic, surge of blood qi rolled outward, clashing directly with Aedis.

Yet the next moment, a crushing majesty struck him, sending a wave of vertigo through his mind and forcing him to take an involuntary step back.

"How is this possible?"

Panic gripped his heart, and he scrambled to react.

However, Aedis had already closed the distance.

While still a short distance away, Aedis suddenly accelerated, leaping forward with blinding speed. At the same time, his blood qi erupted fully, combining momentarily with potent spiritual power to utterly suppress his opponent.

In an instant, the demon was driven onto the defensive. His four arms whipped about frantically, wielding ferocious strength in a desperate bid to halt Aedis's advance.

Yet the effort was in vain. The next moment, Aedis closed in, a potent surge of bloodline power erupting instantaneously to drive elemental forces deep into the demon's body, locking him in place.

A long spear descended from above, driving downward amid a deafening shriek of wind pressure.

"No!" the demon roared in defiance, sensing the fatal crisis hurtling toward him.

Then, a razor-sharp spearhead thrust forward, expanding rapidly in his vision. His entire head exploded into mist, leaving only a headless torso that twitched and spasmed endlessly.

Endowed with formidable demonic vitality, the creature stumbled backward under the fierce impact until he crashed to the ground, his body still convulsing.

Seeing this, Aedis shook his head. "Terrifying physical strength, but his soul is relatively fragile. A minor psychic shockwave was enough to destabilize it."

"I wonder how those Demon Kings fare."

Shaking his head, Aedis glanced at the still-twitching corpse of the four-armed demon, kicked it aside, and continued forward.

Ahead, following the prolonged slaughter and refinement, the archaic altar was suffused with a brilliant crimson glow, adorned with numerous bloodline crystals.

These were condensed from the lives of ten thousand souls in this region, refined to absolute purity by the altar. Comparable in utility to bloodstones, they were exceptionally precious.

"Hmm, fluctuations of law power—originated from those Demon Kings?"

Aedis looked over the altar, arriving at this conclusion in his heart.

Behind him, as the sounds of battle gradually echoed outward, the commotion seemed to have caught the attention of several lower-level demons, who were now hurrying toward the scene.