Chapter 41: Live to Inspire Each Other, Die Together

Such defensive power shocked everyone. It was absurd—yet even a full-power strike from an imperial-level warrior could only leave a shallow wound. What about a gold warrior or someone even weaker? Wouldn’t it be no different from scratching them? The demons wouldn’t even take them seriously. In that case, as long as they charged forward with a great sword, ignoring attacks from others, who could stop them?

Everyone was stunned—not just Rod and the others, but also all those who noticed the scene from afar. It was sheer shock.

This sight sent chills down everyone’s spine. Looking at the dozens of demons on the city walls, they trembled inwardly. If all of them went berserk, the consequences… no one dared to imagine further.

Pained, the demon let out a roar and knocked Rod aside before swinging a hammer at another stunned person.

A muffled sound followed, as red and white liquid sprayed out—brains and blood mixed together in a gruesome display.

“Hmph, wretched humans! I’ll be back!” Then, to everyone’s confusion, the demon didn’t go berserk from his injury nor continue fighting. Instead, he coldly watched the crowd around him, gave a sharp shout, leaped violently, and dashed into the distance.

No one tried to stop him. The earlier scene had been too shocking; no one wanted to seek death. After a few leaps, the demon disappeared from sight. He didn’t stay to fight on the walls but instead jumped off and vanished into the Collins Forest. This was truly baffling to many.

Logically, although he had suffered minor injuries, his presence alone had intimidated everyone. If he had pursued his advantage while morale was high, he could have achieved great success. Yet his sudden disappearance was inexplicable.

In truth, everyone had overestimated the demons’ strength—perhaps they had truly been intimidated by their legendary reputation that had persisted for millennia!

The demons indeed possess formidable defense, without a doubt. Indeed, ordinary warriors and weapons cannot harm them! Just like in the situation earlier—a demon of saintly rank could ignore the attacks of ordinary imperial-level warriors and only suffer minor injuries. However, there are many things that others do not know.

While the demons’ defense is strong, it is relative. For example, a saintly-ranked demon can ignore ordinary attacks from imperial-level warriors and only sustain light injuries. But each rank has different defensive capabilities; the stronger the power, the stronger the defense. Demons themselves cultivate their bodies as part of their path, so their physical strength depends on their power level. For instance, an imperial-ranked demon would definitely not be able to withstand a full-force attack from an imperial-level warrior and would surely die.

Each rank corresponds to a specific level. That is to say, to kill or injure a saintly-ranked demon, one would need at least an advanced imperial-ranked warrior or a saintly-ranked warrior. They are not invincible as some people assume; otherwise, it would be against the laws of nature. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been defeated and forced to hide deep within the Source of Darkness, nor would they have had to endure so long before reappearing.

More importantly—and this is something only the demons themselves know best—is that although their defense is strong, it drops significantly once they are injured. Moreover, as the battle progresses and their strength is depleted, their defense continues to decline. Though the decline is limited, it is enough to reduce them by one rank.

This is also why that demon suddenly chose to retreat earlier! Ultimately, it’s because the reputation of demons makes too many people overlook this aspect.

“Huff, huff, huff…” He struggled to get up, feeling pain all over his body again. The demons’ retreat left Rod puzzled but also secretly relieved. Unfortunately, before leaving, he had killed one of his comrades. Looking at the comrade whose head had been smashed into a mess of flesh, he felt a pang of pain. Though such things had become commonplace, it still hurt a bit when faced with them.

“Alright, let’s continue fighting and repel the attacks of the magical beasts!” As the sun set and night was about to fall, Rod shouted loudly.

Another day was passing. After enduring one night and a whole day, the church’s reinforcements would arrive. Once they joined the fight, these dark races would surely no longer be so arrogant and overconfident.

The Church exists specifically to deal with these dark races. Though he had no fondness for the Church, Rod hoped it would arrive as soon as possible. After all, they were the only ones capable of fighting against these dark races; otherwise, there was really nothing he could do against the demons.

Fearing for himself, he realized it had been wise to follow the mysterious masked man’s advice to avoid vampires and werewolves and to run away immediately when encountering demons. At least for now, he wasn’t capable of fighting them—unless his bloodline awakened. But what would happen after that? He might even be the first to die.

With a bitter smile, he led his team straight into the encirclement of magical beasts. More and more beasts appeared on the city walls, and Rod and his group focused entirely on them, beginning a new wave of slaughter. They had absolute confidence and an advantage against the magical beasts, unleashing their full power.

It wasn’t until night fell that they left the city walls, exhausted, to return to their camp to rest and restore their combat energy. If necessary, they would return to the city walls again in the middle of the night.

Alone in the quiet room, Rod was filled with reflections. The encounter with the demons left a deep impression on him, and now, recalling it, he sighed.

“Who’s there?” he growled, looking toward the door. Just moments ago, he had sensed a presence at his door.

“It’s me!” A figure appeared before him—Nightingale. He hadn’t paid close attention to her these past few days, but she had become much thinner, her skin pale, with several wounds on her arms that were heartbreaking to see.

“How did you get here?” Rod’s tone softened as he saw it was Nightingale. He asked gently. Having spent time together, the hatred from before had vanished. After all, everyone had their own reasons. He understood the saying “one can’t help what happens to them.”

Over time, they had put the past behind them and stopped caring about it. In fact, Rod realized he had developed a slight fondness for Nightingale—a complicated emotion growing within him. He knew he didn’t want to be separated from her, didn’t want her to get hurt or feel disappointed. Perhaps this was what it meant to like someone. Feeling such emotions toward her, Rod could only sigh helplessly and smile bitterly.

“Come and see if you’re okay!” Looking at Rod, Nightingale sighed and asked with a bitter smile. This guy really gave people no peace—first slaying dragons, then killing werewolves, and now monopolizing the demons. Every action of his caused a sensation, especially the dragon slaughter, which had happened just yesterday. And now here he was again, alive and well. It was hard to believe the demons had such strong recovery abilities.
“I’m fine, it’s okay,” Rod said softly, taking a deep breath and lowering his head.
“The demons have appeared. You…” After a moment of silence, Nightingale bit her lip as if making up her mind, then raised her head and asked in a low voice.
Silence fell once more, creating an awkward and oppressive atmosphere.
“Do you plan to keep doing this? They’re your own kind, and now you’re being hunted across the continent. No one will know about your help, and even if they did, no one will be grateful. Do you really intend to go on like this until others start hunting you in return?” After a while, Nightingale suddenly raised her head, stepped forward, and stared at Rod, speaking loudly as if mustering courage.
“What do you suggest?” Rod was stunned for a moment, took a deep breath, and showed a tired expression—only in front of Nightingale would he act like this.
“Have you considered that this is your best chance? If you choose to return to the demon faction now, everything will get better! No one will be able to hunt you anymore, and you’ll find your own group. You won’t have to live in hiding anymore! You can live in the light! Do you really like living like this?” Nightingale pressed him step by step.
Her words were like thunder, leaving him completely stunned. He had thought about some of these things, and some he hadn’t even considered, yet Nightingale had brought them all up! Staring at her in shock, Rod couldn’t say a word, his heart filled with awe.
After a long while, he exhaled and calmed himself slightly. “What choice do you want me to make?”
“That’s up to you. A man should make his own decisions. If you hesitate, chaos will follow!” Nightingale’s reply was simple, shutting him down with just one sentence.
“What if I choose to join the demon faction? What would you do then?” With a bitter smile and furrowed brows, Rod suddenly asked in a teasing tone.

Hearing Rod’s words, Nightingale pondered for a moment, bit her lip, clenched her small fists, and stared straight at Rod. With a resolute tone and firm conviction, she said, “In life, I shall encourage you; in death, I shall sleep beside you!” After saying this, she continued to look at Rod without taking her gaze away.