Chapter 40: Fighting the Demons

A sound of breaking air came from behind. Rod’s expression changed drastically; without bothering to turn, he hurriedly dodged to the side!
The moment he dodged, a black figure flashed past him, emitting a striking glint of cold light. Upon closer inspection, it was a demon—someone whose strength had reached the mid-stage of the Saint level! Observing him up close gave Rod a deeper understanding of demons.
Its bulging, explosive muscles contained immense power, and its fine scales reflected light brilliantly under the sunlight. Towering in height, it wielded a giant hammer with terrifying force.
Rod was puzzled by those scales. Even when his bloodline awakened, he hadn’t had such scales and had appeared normal—so why did these demons have them? He couldn’t figure out the reason and could only attribute it to the passage of time.
Giving Rod no chance to catch his breath, the demon attacked again the moment it stabilized its position.
The hammer swung, creating gusts of wind with a deafening roar. Wherever it passed, it caused devastating destruction. Faced with such strength, Rod knew he had no chance of fighting head-on.
Overwhelmed, he could only desperately dodge. The situation was critical—any magical beasts or soldiers nearby would suffer greatly. Rod kept dodging without any pattern, while the demons attacked recklessly, ignoring anyone or anything in their path, aiming solely to kill. The attacks that missed Rod struck the surrounding soldiers and beasts mercilessly, causing heavy losses.
Facing demons for the first time, Rod felt both nervous and scared. He was excited to finally encounter them, but scared because of their notorious reputation, extreme strength, and fearsome reputation.
After a brief exchange, which consisted mostly of dodging, Rod inwardly groaned. The demons’ strength far exceeded his imagination. Now he understood why people feared them so much. This was beyond what humans could achieve—explaining why even a god-tier warrior could be defeated by them! Take this Saint-level demon—for though it was only at the peak of the early stage and on the verge of reaching mid-stage, its strength was certainly comparable to any late-stage Saint-level warrior, even matching that of a quasi-god-tier fighter.

That terrifying strength and speed, along with formidable defense, made it incredibly powerful! A quasi-divine-level demon might already be able to fight against divine-level warriors.
Against ordinary opponents, even those at the saint level, Rod was confident he could hold his own—though it might be tough, he wouldn’t be completely at a disadvantage. But in the face of this demon, he was utterly helpless.
That familiar aura, that familiar appearance, caused confusion in Rod’s mind. It was very similar to the changes in his own bloodline, allowing him to faintly see his own reflection.
Boom… A moment of distraction, and the hammer missed him by inches. Instantly, he felt intense pain as the force sent him flying. Fortunately, he wasn’t hit head-on; otherwise, that force might have killed him on the spot.
“Damn it!” Rod cursed. Watching the demon chase after him again, he groaned inwardly. It didn’t even give him a chance to catch his breath—just kept attacking him. Was it to see if he was easy to bully?
In such a passive situation, his anger grew. The blood in his veins burned as he gripped the Dark Dragon in his hand. A sense of resentment arose, as if he needed to vent his frustration.
He concentrated all his combat energy in his hands and feet, diverting a little to his eyes. Suddenly, he could clearly see the opponent’s fierce attacks—no fancy techniques, just brute force and overwhelming speed.
With a cold snort, driven by his anger, his eyes turned slightly red. As the opponent swung the hammer again, he suddenly pushed off with his feet and fell straight toward the ground to avoid it. Then, using his left hand to push against the ground, he rebounded under the immense force. Immediately afterward, the Dark Dragon in his right hand swept forward, aiming straight at the demon’s heart.
“Ding…” A clear sound came as his sword was blocked by the opponent’s returning hammer. His fist felt numb and painful—the opponent’s strength was truly terrifying.
“Human, you! You will die today! You killed our dragons and destroyed our werewolves and vampires—there’s no way we can let you live!”
Finally, after so long of fighting, the demon spoke for the first time. His voice was rough, full of masculinity.
“Hmph, stop talking nonsense!” Taking advantage of the moment the demon was speaking, Rod quickly stabilized himself. Ignoring the pain in his fist, he gripped the Dark Dragon tightly and glared at the demon, speaking coldly.

He inwardly groaned in frustration. Yesterday, he had nearly lost his life in a battle against a dragon, and today, facing the demons, the situation was even more dangerous. Fighting alone—was this really fate’s cruelty? More importantly, facing his own kind filled Rod with complex emotions. Fighting against those who should be his allies—what kind of feeling was that? If possible, he really didn’t want to confront the demons or his own people. He wished desperately that demons and humans could live in peace without attacking each other—that would be a truly complete world. There was no need to divide the world into so many separate parts as it was now. But since things had come to this, there was clearly no turning back. He couldn’t reveal his identity, nor could he back down. It was a fight to the death; he could only fight to the end. As for anything else, he would deal with it as it came. If even dragons could be slain, why fear this early-stage holy-level demon? Determined, his combat energy surged within him, pouring out of his body like a poisonous snake extending its long tongue. Today, his combat energy seemed different. When facing this demon, it seemed to be drawn to something, with an unknown aura—a cold presence—mixed in, causing some changes. The situation was extremely critical. Rod didn’t have time to overthink; he temporarily attributed it to the dragon’s essence from the previous day. “Human, who… who are you? Why does your aura feel so familiar?” Seemingly sensing Rod’s unusual aura, the demon frowned and asked urgently, filled with confusion and surprise, stopping his prepared attack and staring at Rod in shock. Rod’s heart skipped a beat. Realizing the danger, he quickly scanned the surroundings. Fortunately, the demon’s fierce attack earlier had scattered everyone nearby, leaving no one around. Plus, the chaos of the battlefield meant no one would likely hear their conversation, which gave Rod some relief. Although some people might be paying attention, they were only worried that the demon might harm him. “Hmph, enough talk! If you want to fight, let’s fight!” Without giving the other party time to think or ask more questions, Rod charged at them with fierce determination. Using all his strength, he rushed forward like a storm. The sudden attack caught the demon off guard for a moment, but anger flared in him, and without hesitation, he launched a counterattack. Anxiously, Rod knew he had to kill this demon today—or his identity would be in danger. If discovered, he would surely meet a death without even a proper burial.

Fierce attacks were unleashed without hesitation, with constant sensations of numbness and pain spreading through his arms! Having been at a disadvantage all along, Rod couldn’t care less now and fought to the death. The demon race wasn’t as relaxed as it seemed either; the more they fought, the more alarmed they became. They sensed a familiar aura in this human—clearly, he was only at the early stage of the imperial rank, not yet reaching the middle stage. Normally, they could have killed such a human with a single strike, but against him, they were stuck in a stalemate, unable to kill him after over thirty exchanges. His strength far exceeded their expectations, especially in terms of power and speed, which were hardly inferior to theirs. Unable to utilize their two greatest strengths, they grew increasingly anxious and horrified. The reason they could be so strong against other humans was mainly due to their power and speed; now that they couldn’t use those advantages, their strength was significantly reduced. “Head! We’re here to help you!” A loud cry came through, and Curly and his group rushed over under Nightingale’s leadership. They had seen the situation here before—previously, they couldn’t leave because of the magical beasts, but now that those beasts were dealt with, they rushed over quickly. Rod was at a disadvantage and taking hits, and of course, they wouldn’t stand by idly. With Nightingale and the others joining in, the situation immediately turned in favor of them, and the demon race began to be brought under control. Under the siege of the group, the demons roared in fury but were helpless—after all, the enemy was stronger. Seizing an opportunity, Rod unleashed a fierce sword strike, carrying the second layer of sword intent. With incredible speed, he appeared right in front of the demon, his movement accompanied by devastating power. At that moment, he was entangled by Curly and the others and couldn’t free himself. “Bastard!” A furious roar echoed, and the sharp sword energy coming from behind made the demon feel uneasy and threatened. Ignoring the others’ attacks, he turned to face the incoming sword. He raised his hammer and counterattacked. Ding ding ding… A series of crisp sounds rang out, the loudest being the collision between Rod’s Dark Dragon and the opponent’s hammer. Sparks flew, and chaotic waves spread out in all directions like ripples, accompanied by strong winds. Those poor soldiers and weaker magical beasts in their path suffered severe injuries!

As for the other sounds, they turned out to be the noises made by Curly and the others slashing at the demons. When a royal-level powerhouse launched an attack, hitting the demons, only a clear clashing sound could be heard, after which the attack was reflected back, leaving only a slight wound without causing any serious harm!
This scene was truly astonishing, and everyone stared in disbelief.