Ch. 105 - The War Demon
Scarlet DescentThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Wei Wei was startled and quickly looked up, seeing a massive, tilted building ahead.
This was a commercial district, but now it was completely deserted. Not a single person could be seen. The sky was growing darker, and the light from streetlamps and shop windows spilled out through the glass. In front of him stood a massive, dome-shaped shopping mall. It had only two floors but covered an enormous area. The mall was still under construction, with scaffolding surrounding its exterior, though its stark concrete structure had already taken shape.Now, however, one corner of the mall had sunk into the ground, and its dome was cracked in the middle, giving it an eerie appearance.“Rotting Swamp?”Wei Wei immediately recognized the phenomenon upon seeing it.This was caused by the Rotting Swamp.Captain Ouyang had mentioned that Pandora’s Box, a high-level demon artifact, could spread plagues to targeted populations but came with unavoidable side effects: the area surrounding it would turn into a rotting swamp. Captain Ouyang’s direct orders were to locate Pandora’s Box and seal it shut.It seemed that their opponents were also aware of this characteristic and had hidden Pandora’s Box in such a vast and unfinished shopping mall to obscure its location and contain the spreading swamp. However, as the swamp expanded due to the artifact’s influence, it corroded part of the mall’s foundation, causing one corner to collapse and the dome to crack under pressure.“Vroom…”The frog-mouth knight didn’t slow down upon reaching this point; instead, she revved up her engine and sped forward.Thump-thump-thump!Wei Wei could hear the “heartbeat” of the motorcycle growing louder and more intense.“Are we just charging straight in?” Wei Wei couldn’t help but feel a bit shocked before muttering with admiration: “This is exactly what you’d expect from a War Demon…”It was often said that most War Demons were brutes, with only a few being clever strategists. This girl clearly belonged to the former category…Before he could finish his thought, several figures were suddenly flung out from around the mall. They landed awkwardly in various positions before cursing and struggling to stand up again. But when they saw the roaring motorcycle approaching—with Wei Wei sitting on its back—they immediately stopped cursing and adopted a more composed demeanor befitting their seniors.“So they’ve already found it…” Wei Wei glanced at them as he realized what was happening.One of those thrown out was Uncle Gun, who somehow landed vertically against a wall as if gravity didn’t apply to him. He clutched his double-barreled shotgun like a statue carved into the wall—strangely elegant despite the situation.On the ground below lay Little Lin—or rather, what appeared to be his shattered remains—but upon closer inspection turned out to be a broken plastic mannequin from a display case.Another Little Lin emerged from nearby amidst shattered glass.Meanwhile, Lucky Sister landed gracefully in an inflatable mascot set up for an event across the plaza. She slid down unscathed without so much as ruffling her clothes—her posture still elegant.It seemed they had arrived earlier and were engaged in some kind of confrontation.As this thought crossed Wei Wei’s mind, he waved at them before turning his attention back toward the mall.Inside that unfinished structure—dark and devoid of lighting—a heavy shadow slowly emerged.The moment it appeared, an invisible sense of oppression filled the air.Though standing silently on a low step, it exuded an aura as if commanding thousands from atop a mountain.Facing three opponents, it radiated nothing but an aggressive stance.Even though it stood there quietly, its presence made everyone feel as if they were walking on thin ice.Wei Wei’s heart sank as he realized who this figure was:A War Demon—and at least fourth stage.So this was part of the Seventh Clergy’s plan: knowing Pandora’s Box needed protection but not wanting to allocate too many guardians here, they stationed a fourth-stage War Demon instead. This explained why Uncle Gun and his team had likely found Pandora’s Box earlier but hadn’t managed to seal it yet—it was being guarded by this terrifying opponent spreading high-fever disease throughout Scrap Iron City.“Little Wei! Sen Sen!”From atop his perch on the wall, Uncle Gun spotted them and immediately waved—but his expression changed drastically mid-sentence: “Wait!”Before he could finish speaking, the grotesque motorcycle roared past him—leaping into midair with its rider still aboard.Even Sen Sen seemed surprised by this sudden move—she hadn’t realized she was still on board.The motorcycle soared three or four meters high before its rider braced herself with her three-meter-long conical lance aimed directly at the figure standing in front of Pandora’s Box.“!”The figure raised its head sharply—revealing only a pair of deathly pale eyes—before lifting one hand to block the lance.A tremendous force struck, and Wei Wei felt as though the full weight of the frog-mouth knight had been thrown against him.His body was flung backward uncontrollably, separating from the blood-flesh motorcycle. Suspended mid-air with no leverage, he feared being crushed into pulp by the overwhelming impact. In desperation, he twisted his body, unleashing his crimson power. A scythe-like weapon formed in his hand, blood flowing from his palm as the blade extended to three or four meters in length.Wei Wei reached out and hooked onto a nearby streetlamp, using the momentum to swing himself and the frog-mouth knight safely to the ground.“Are all you War Demons this insane?”Landing with a thud, his legs trembled slightly from the shock. Ignoring the pain, he removed her frog-mouth helmet and instinctively complained.Beneath the helmet, a pale-skinned girl with a cold expression and fierce determination replied: “When facing a War Demon, you can’t be afraid. Fear means you’ve already lost.”“You’ll also lose if you get punched!” Wei Wei retorted before turning his attention to the figure standing at the mall’s entrance. The War Demon.Among the Twelve Systems of Demons, they were universally recognized as having the weakest defenses against direct attacks.In their initial stages of infection, War Demons became unnaturally calm yet combative. With deeper infection came incredible strength and speed, along with battle intuition. Once they completed their first ascension ritual, they unlocked even more terrifying abilities—becoming beasts of war, walking cannons capable of destruction on an unimaginable scale.All otherworldly powers and tricks seemed laughable in the face of their raw strength.…Of course, this was also why most War Demons were brutes—they relied so much on muscle that they didn’t bother growing brains. “To encounter such a powerful War Demon here…”Wei Wei couldn’t help but feel a pang of awe.War Demons were always prime recruitment targets for the Foundation. In fact, many teams under Foundation jurisdiction had War Demons as their captains. Ouyang himself had once served under a War Demon captain. However, War Demons rarely worked for others—partly because few could tolerate their disobedience and combative nature.While there were initially many War Demons, few reached maturity due to their inherent tendencies toward self-destruction. Unlike other systems of demons, two War Demons would inevitably clash upon meeting—either establishing a hierarchy through combat or fighting to the death.Still, there was no denying that this was one of the most formidable opponents Wei Wei had ever faced. “Little Wei! What are you doing here?”Uncle Gun rushed over to help lift Sen Sen—the girl clad in silver armor—and whispered to Ouyang:“Pandora’s Box is inside.”“I figured…”Ouyang exhaled deeply and rubbed his numb hand. “Is it that difficult?”“It’s beyond difficult,” Uncle Gun sighed. “We’ve only exchanged a few blows, and I’m already about to piss myself.”Ouyang raised an eyebrow at Uncle Gun’s exaggeration but quickly noticed the layers of sweat on his body and how his supposedly steady hands holding the shotgun trembled slightly. It was clear that Uncle Gun and Lucky Sister had been deeply affected by Pandora’s Box’s disease-inducing aura.Although they had initially left via helicopter—both to locate Pandora’s Box from above and to avoid its influence—the prolonged exposure had taken its toll.Now they weren’t in much better shape than Wei Wei himself had been earlier. “This is impossible; we can’t beat him.”Lucky Sister approached them with her usual grace but wore an uncharacteristically grim expression:“No one expected the Seventh Clergy to deploy both a high-tier demon artifact and a War Demon priest. That thing has turned this mall into its war domain—we can’t get in from any direction.”“No problem; we’re here now.”Ouyang smiled—a feral grin that caught Lucky Sister off guard.“What good will that do?” she asked incredulously.Sen Sen might also be a War Demon, but she was only at third stage—one level below their opponent. If her grandfather—the late Order Knight—were still alive, there might have been hope. But unfortunately, his funeral had just been held recently.In Scrap Iron City’s current state, only Captain Wei Wei—if he could suppress their opponent with his higher-tier crimson power—might stand a chance. “My dream is about to come true…”Ouyang took a deep breath: “Back in training camp, our instructor told us to have dreams and listed twelve of the greatest dreams in this world for us to choose three from.”“He said all other trials were nonsense; only by completing these three dreams could we truly graduate—and if we completed more than three, he’d be completely convinced.”“Twelve dreams…”Everyone present froze for a moment before turning to look at Ouyang in surprise.“Yes,” Ouyang said with a faint smile:“To fight a War Demon—and win.”“To date a Love Demon—and break her heart.”“To make an enemy of a Curse Demon—and drive him mad.”As he spoke, he drew his black short gun: “Today I’m going to accomplish my first dream.”A grin spread across his face—a mix of excitement and madness.Deep down, he had always wanted to know: between crimson power and war… which one truly reigns supreme in close combat?