Chapter 21: Leader, Save Me!

“Moo…”
“Moo…”
As the anguished cries of the blue demon bull beneath him grew weaker, finally fading away with its last breath, Lu Fei at last released his savage, curved, elongated fangs from the thick neck of the beast.
He was fortunate that his original form was large enough, and his fangs long enough; otherwise, he would never have been able to lock onto the bull demon’s throat.
“Big brother, this bull demon, can we…?”
The crow monster landed on the ground, its eyes blazing as it gazed at the enormous corpse before them. Flapping its wings, it edged closer to Lu Fei and spoke in a low voice.
“No…”
Lu Fei immediately shook his head, seeing through the crow’s intentions.
He, too, coveted the bull demon’s carcass.
But he was clear-headed enough to know that such a massive body was impossible for them to hide.
The great king and the two grand commanders remained high above, shrouded within the dark clouds, watching without ever intervening.
Their battle—he, the crow, and the red-skinned pigling against the bull—was likely beneath their notice.
But if the three of them tried to do anything with the corpse, it would not escape those eyes.
Lu Fei had no wish to be punished after the battle.
He glanced around.
Where once a wild grassy valley had sprawled, now everything was awash in blood.
Corpses of all manner of monsters lay everywhere, severed limbs scattered about.
The weakest, lowest-caste monsters had died the fastest, many falling before they had even realized what was happening.
Of course, the clever ones survived.
For example, any one of the three—Lu Fei, the crow, or the red-skinned pig—would have stood no chance against the blue bull demon alone.
Lu Fei was fast; the crow could fly. Either of them, faced alone with the bull, could still hope to escape.
But if the little pigling had met the bull demon by himself, he would have had no chance of survival.
Now, only the stronger and smarter monsters remained on the battlefield, fighting one-on-one or in small groups.
The fighting might have lost the grand spectacle of its opening moments.
But now the spectacle of the battle was at its peak.
One needed only to look at the two kings above—their gazes fixed with keen interest, as were those of the commanders.
Lu Fei’s gaze drifted back from the beautiful snake-woman floating in the distant sky.
He was now certain of his suspicion:
This battle had been orchestrated by the two demon kings, a deliberate harvest to cull the ranks of the lesser monsters.

It was not, as the king of Langlang Mountain had claimed, a conflict over territory.
They had not even bothered to disguise their intentions.
Not only had they neglected to put on a show of fighting themselves, they were openly enjoying the slaughter below as entertainment.
Lu Fei even suspected they had placed wagers on the outcome.
“Still…”
His gaze returned to the corpse of the blue bull demon before him, and he said, “A few sips of blood for thirst—surely the king would not begrudge us that…”
He had barely finished speaking before the crow’s eyes gleamed. Without hesitation, it pounced on the bull’s neck, where Lu Fei’s fangs had torn a deep wound that still oozed fresh blood, and began to suck greedily.
Watching the crow glut itself,
Lu Fei licked the blood from the corner of his own mouth.
He had already taken advantage of the moment to drink his fill from the bull demon’s neck.
Whether as physique or demon strength, the blue bull far surpassed any of the three of them.
A belly full of such blood would bring him considerable benefit—certainly, it would grant him much experience.
But the crow was not as lucky.
It had barely drunk a few mouthfuls when
Lu Fei saw a serpent demon approaching, its gaze fixed on the three of them.
Its body was even thicker than the last snake demon they had slain—by a full size.
Raising its head upright, it stood over four meters tall, clutching a true metal spear in its hand, unlike the crude, stick-like weapons the low-caste monsters wielded.
“A commander…”
One look was all it took for Lu Fei to realize that this snake demon was of commander rank.
That body, that aura, those eyes, that sense of danger…
He could feel it at once.
And when he met the snake’s mocking, savage gaze,
Lu Fei drew a deep breath, then kicked the crow—still bent over the corpse—firmly in the rear, and barked, “Move!”
With that, he turned and bolted.
The red-skinned pigling, who had been waiting his turn to drink, also spotted the snake demon. The moment Lu Fei spoke, he too darted away.
The crow, sent tumbling by Lu Fei’s kick, was about to protest when he looked up and saw the massive snake demon speeding toward them.
With a shriek, he flapped his wings and soared into the air.
At that instant, as the snake commander lunged forward, spear swinging,
the crow barely managed to take to the sky, narrowly evading the deadly thrust.

But while the crow had flown, Lu Fei could not.
The serpent commander glanced at the bodies of the fallen snake demon and blue bull demon on the ground,
then looked again at the fleeing white wolf and the piglet. Baring long, black fangs in a gruesome grin, he hissed, “You can’t escape…”
With a twist of his thick tail, his massive form surged after the fleeing white wolf.
“King…”
High above, within the black clouds, the white wolf grand commander, clad in silver armor and wearing a white wolf’s head, looked down at the little white wolf demon now being hunted by the serpent commander.
He suddenly turned to the wild bull king beside him and asked, “May I intervene on his behalf…?”
“You may not…”
Before the white wolf commander could finish, the wild bull king interrupted: “I have an agreement with that serpent—no matter what happens below, no monster above the rank of minor commander may act.”
“We must not break the rules…”
The wild bull king gazed across at the alluring snake demon and said lightly, “That little wolf is clever—the snake may not be able to kill him. Watch and see…”
Hearing this,
the white wolf commander fell silent, his eyes never leaving the chase below.
“Damn it, why is he after me?”
Seeing the serpent commander gaining fast behind him, Lu Fei’s expression shifted.
He had thought that running would be enough, but the snake demon was relentless.
He looked ahead, scanned the valley, and quickly veered toward the fiercest cluster of minor commanders locked in battle.
The serpent commander behind him instantly realized his plan. A green light flashed across his scales, and his speed surged as he barreled after Lu Fei.
“You can’t escape…”
A shrill voice suddenly rang out behind.
Lu Fei glanced back just in time to see a spear whistling toward him.
“Damn—”
His face changed, pupils shrinking, as he stopped abruptly. The spear missed him by a hair, passing just over his scalp.
At the same moment, the serpent commander, unable to halt his huge body, overshot and slid past Lu Fei.
Terrified, Lu Fei immediately changed direction and ran—this time not toward the battlefield of the minor commanders, but toward his own superior, Commander Bear.
“Commander, save me!!”