Wen Yu slowly walked to the edge of the crater, scrutinizing the squirming creature on the ground not far off.
The lower half of the Ancient Demon was gone, its waist a massive, scorched wound from the plasma hand grenade’s explosion. Its four arms had also completely collapsed. The scales on its upper body had all shattered, revealing the organs within. Its face was blown beyond recognition. Despite such grievous injuries, the Ancient Demon was still alive!
Its eyes could no longer see, but the Ancient Demon still emitted violent screams as the Demonic Qi around its body churned wildly. It was a Demon Qi Eruption. In a short span, the Ancient Demon had used Demon Qi Eruption five times! And it was still ongoing! But this was merely the death throes of a desperate creature.
The crisp sound of a lighter echoed. Wen Yu lit a cigarette and slowly exhaled a plume of smoke. The smoke drifted upward, obscuring Wen Yu’s face.
As its energy depleted, the power of the Demon Qi Eruptions weakened progressively until they ceased altogether. The Ancient Demon’s screams faded, eventually replaced by intense, ragged gasps.
Casually extinguishing his cigarette, Wen Yu walked step by step towards the Ancient Demon.
The ravaged Ancient Demon heard the footsteps and immediately cried out, "Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! You’ve won! I surrender! I can control Demon Fiends! I’m very useful! I’m willing to submit to you! Please, spare me!!"
The Ancient Demon’s voice, once cold and brutal, now held only the desperate plea of a drowning dog.
"Oh," Wen Yu replied faintly, yet it seemed to give the Ancient Demon a sliver of hope for survival.
"I can control Demon Fiends! I can give you intelligence! I’m willing to be your slave, your dog! I’ll do anything you ask!"
"So, you things fear death too, huh," Wen Yu’s low voice sounded, though it was nearly drowned out by the Ancient Demon’s continuous pleas.
"Wha... what?" The Ancient Demon hadn’t heard Wen Yu clearly and asked again.
"I said, go to hell!" Wen Yu roared and strode forward. Empowered by his dislimning ability, the Touch of Greed in his hand plunged directly into the Ancient Demon’s head.
As the Ancient Demon shrieked mournfully, Wen Yu deactivated the dislimning state of the Touch of Greed. The Touch of Greed seemed to materialize directly inside the Ancient Demon’s head. Empowered by dislimning, which ignored defenses, such an attack became a contest of material strength.
The Touch of Greed’s claw blade was equivalent to a D-Class Weapon. The brain matter inside the Ancient Demon’s head couldn’t possibly be more durable than a D-Class Weapon. Thus, it was the Ancient Demon who was injured.
As Wen Yu forcefully twisted his right hand, a harsh grating sound echoed. It was the sound of the Touch of Greed’s claw blade grinding against the Ancient Demon’s skull. Wen Yu slowly manipulated the Touch of Greed, determined to inflict maximum damage and... maximum pain upon the Ancient Demon!
The Ancient Demon’s screams grew weaker and fainter.
Wen Yu slowly withdrew the Touch of Greed. The Ancient Demon’s head beneath him had been reduced to pulp.
This time, not even the formidable physique of the Ancient Demon Tribe could withstand such an injury; it was well and truly dead.
A low sigh escaped Wen Yu as he gazed at the Ancient Demon’s remains, then at the surrounding yellow sand. After a moment, Wen Yu shook his head. He pulled the magic crystal from the Ancient Demon’s head, deactivated his combat state, and fed it directly to the small Soul Beast.
The Ancient Demon’s magic crystal pulsed with incredible energy. The small Soul Beast took a long time to digest it completely.
Wen Yu quietly assessed the changes. A single magic crystal from the Ancient Demon had increased the small Soul Beast’s physical stats from 50.5 to 55.5 points. Combined with Wen Yu’s own 61.5 physical stat points, he could unleash a total of 117 points when he entered a combat state!
He turned and scanned the ground carefully. After a moment, Wen Yu dug a space ring out of the sand. It belonged to Burly Bear.
Wen Yu took three cigarettes from the space ring, lit one, and stuck it upright in the center of the crater. Then, he turned and headed towards William and the others.
"Is it dead?" Jiang Wentao asked, struggling to open his eyes as Wen Yu approached.
"Yes, it’s dead." Though Wen Yu didn’t know who Jiang Wentao was asking about, it no longer mattered.
"Oh," Jiang Wentao responded indifferently. His voice held no emotional inflection. Perhaps for these professional soldiers, especially elites accustomed to special missions, death was a common sight.
Wen Yu then turned to assess Jiang Wentao’s injuries.
His legs were gone, but for a professionist, such an injury wasn’t lethal. Thanks to their enhanced musculature, blood loss was significantly less than an ordinary person’s. His other injuries weren’t severe, aside from his badly twisted hands. This injury occurred when the Ancient Demon had flung Jiang Wentao. His twisted hands prevented him from retrieving a healing potion from his space ring.
Wen Yu took a healing potion from Burly Bear’s space ring and poured it into Jiang Wentao’s mouth. Within a minute, Jiang Wentao could manage simple movements with his hands.
Jiang Wentao then opened his own space ring, took out another healing potion, and drank it. As the healing potion took effect, Jiang Wentao’s severed legs began to slowly regrow.
"This is Burly Bear’s space ring; take it back," Jiang Wentao said, slipping the ring onto his left hand. "Get me some more healing potions. I’m going to check on the others." He then took out five more healing potions from his space ring and handed them to Wen Yu.
Wen Yu accepted the potions and headed towards William.
William lay motionless in the distance. Only when Wen Yu drew closer did he realize the horrific extent of William’s injuries. He had been hit head-on by the Ancient Demon’s Demon Qi Eruption, leaving the front of his body a mangled, bloody mess. If Wen Yu hadn’t witnessed this battle, he would never have recognized the handsome Knight now lying before him.
Wen Yu moved closer and pressed his fingers to William’s neck, feeling a faint pulse. William was still alive. With the healing potion’s effects, as long as one wasn’t dead, they could be saved.
Opening a healing potion, Wen Yu struggled to find William’s mouth on his bloody, disfigured face. When he managed to pry William’s mouth open, a stream of fresh blood flowed out. He poured the healing potion in and, after a moment’s hesitation, poured in another.