Goldenhowl chased his prey ever further for three full days. He always seemed on the verge of success, yet the human eluded his grasp time and again. The same pattern repeated itself ad nauseam, stoking increasing anger.
He was one of the five, or perhaps even three strongest demon forefathers, yet he vaguely felt helplessly toyed with by a single youngster.
More infuriatingly, there was no clear direction to the flight. The kid went east one second and west the next, making it impossible to surmise his intentions.
More than once, he felt the urge to call on other demon forefathers, but there was no guarantee they could cut off such an elusive target either
More importantly, he wasn’t keen on letting the other tribes get a slice of the pie.
He’d become more and more certain over the past few days the kid was Jiang Chen. The human was certainly hiding shocking secrets that exacerbated his greed the more time pa.s.sed.
How could a young cultivator never tire from such a long chase, if not for the help of wondrous treasures?
To Goldenhowl’s annoyance, his speed wasn’t decisively higher than his target. Had he been as swift as a winged demon, he’d have completed the capture by now.
He was absolutely superior in raw power. Not even the help of a few sacred beasts tipped the scales in Jiang Chen’s favor.
Silverhammer had certainly been defeated by a sudden, sinister ruse.
Leading Goldenhowl on a merry chase was rather enjoyable for the young lord, but it wasn’t without risk. He was almost intercepted several times over the past few days.
If that were ever to happen, a fight to the death would be his only option.
But his cultivation was currently far lower, he would need to break through to fourth level divine, the help of all his treasures, as well the cooperation from the four sacred beasts to stand a chance at victory.
Otherwise, fighting to a standstill would be the best case scenario. In fact, he’d more than likely get the short end of the stick.
He didn’t want to reveal his full strength and elicit the attention of the demons under these conditions.
Unless the kill was certain, doing so served no purpose but to attract unwelcome attention.
Instead, fleeing made him appear weaker. By leading the demon away without a moment’s respite, the main goal was to create a window of opportunity for the Goldbiter Rats.
If they’d grasped the timing right, then they should have already begun their a.s.sault against the golden demons. The rats’ horde-like numbers should be able to overwhelm the fifty or so thousand enemies. After all, Goldbiter Rats were the golden demon tribe’s nemesis.
Along the way, he also told the four sacred beasts to return to Immortal, while he led the demon forefather away all by himself.
Goldenhowl was almost at his wit’s end another few days later. He’d vaguely begun to suspect a hidden agenda behind the kid’s actions.
The latter should have been fast enough to break away. Why was he always within sight, giving off the impression he’d be caught with just a little more perseverance?
But it proved to be merely an illusion, perhaps fabricated by the kid on purpose!
Feeling like he’d been played, he loudly transmitted, “Kid, is fleeing all you can do? Is that what your human inheritances teach, to run away like a chicken?”
The goading attempt made Jiang Chen chuckle. This sort of clumsy, ineffective effort served no purpose but to amuse him.
The old demon seemed to be at his limit. Otherwise, a dignified ancestor wouldn’t have blurted out such puerile nonsense. It was time to end this farce.
The pursuit had lasted eight days by now, enough to wrap up the battle at Immortal and evacuate the sacred land.
So he replied with a chuckle, “You’re the leader of your tribe, but no matter how mighty, you’ll sadly become a lone wolf starting from today. This young master will let you keep your wretched life for now. I’ll take your head next time.”
He activated the Measure of Heaven as soon as his words fell. His figure instantly vanished from the sky.
The bewildered Goldenhowl stared into s.p.a.ce. He stayed pensive for a moment, then suddenly paled. “So his goal was to lure me away?!”
A demon’s thought process was quite peculiar. A human cultivator would long have suspected possible deception at work.
But because of their tremendous strength, demons often walked into traps willingingly, confident they couldn’t be stopped regardless.
Against Cloudrumble and the tribe’s crack troops, even ten human G.o.ds would be helpless to turn the tide. That had been the source of Goldenhowl’s reckless confidence.
But Jiang Chen’s teasing tone had made him uneasy. Why was a puny human kid talking so big?
“d.a.m.n it, did I play into his hand?” His heart spasmed. For no apparent reason, a s.h.i.+ver ran across his spine.
He scanned the surroundings, but could no longer spot the kid. His chest tightened. Not daring to continue the chase a moment longer, he turned around and made a beeline for Immortal as fast as he could.
But when he reached his destination, he almost coughed up blood! The vast sacred land was, against all odds, entirely deserted, while his elites had seemingly vanished from the face of the earth after eight short days. He couldn’t even find the beginning of a shadow!
What he did find was the intense lingering aura of a bitter ma.s.sacre, making him restless. His face gradually darkened as he studied the aftermath.
He gnashed his teeth, feeling that he’d plunged into an icy hole. “How can this be? How?! Not even ancient humans had this kind of power. How could their later generations be stronger than their forebears?”
It defied all logic!
Yet, the longer he examined the scene, the more he despaired. He couldn’t deny the cruel truth.
The cultivators of his tribe hadn’t been lured away, but had been… completely annihilated!
Every last of them, including Cloudrumble, had seemingly disappeared from this world!