Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

"Run? Where can they possibly run to!" Wen Yu sneered, a faintly sinister grin on his face. He then directly grabbed Zhao Mingming and strode towards Star's location.

"Come on! Boss will take you to see the Demon City!"

Wen Yu's reasoning was simple: Since you fled back to the Demon City, I'll just go there and slaughter you! Isn't it just one city to massacre? According to military intelligence, there are only two Level 4 Demon Fiends inside. Even if there are unobserved ones, say four more, that number is far from insurmountable in my eyes. With formidable individual strength, slaughtering a city single-handedly was definitely no joke!

「...」

Star moved with incredible speed. Under Zhao Mingming's guidance, they sighted the Demon City in less than an hour.

Demon City was the military's designation. The military referred to their own settlements as outposts. Of course, these were just names; one could call them whatever they wished.

The Demon City was comparable in size to their outposts. Viewed from above, its internal layout wasn't much different either. The most significant distinction was the three colossal Demon Realm's Gates, each nearly fifty meters high, towering behind the Demon City. Countless Low-grade demonic creatures continuously streamed out from these gates, and one could occasionally even spot the figures of a few Third-level Demon Fiends!

Grey-black Demonic Qi relentlessly gushed from the three Demon Realm's Gates, only to be absorbed by a thirty-meter-high cylindrical object positioned in the city's center.

From Wen Yu's vantage point, it was clear that the amount of Demonic Qi absorbed by the cylindrical object was astounding. Even as vast quantities of Demonic Qi spewed from the Demon Realm's Gates, the Demonic Qi density near the Demon City didn't increase at all.

Inside the Demon City, countless Demon Fiends densely packed the entire area but, surprisingly, made no move, remaining motionless within the city.

On the 20-meter-high city wall, three Level 4 Demon Fiends stared intently at Wen Yu, killing intent and apprehension clear in their eyes.

Three Level 4 Demon Fiends, one of which is an Ancient Demon... Wen Yu briefly assessed the quality and quantity of high-level Demon Fiends in the Demon City and slowly nodded. This is a fight we can take!

As Wen Yu threw Zhao Mingming off Star's back, Star immediately opened his massive maw and let out a ferocious roar!

Then, his body plunged downwards at an extremely high speed.

Empowered by the Demon Dragon Armor's augmented skills, Star greatly enjoyed using his robust, divine beast body to directly smash enemies to death.

Seeing Star's figure drawing ever closer, a Level 4 Demon Fiend on the city wall, unable to contain its killing intent or the overwhelming pressure emanating from Star, roared and charged down the wall, heading straight for him!

In an instant, flesh and blood splattered everywhere!

This bizarrely-shaped, early Stage Level 4 Demon Fiend was killed instantly by Star's massive impact. Then, Star, without slowing, sped directly towards the Ancient Demon!

Seeing Star's huge figure approaching, the Ancient Demon on the Demon City wall smirked sinisterly at Wen Yu on Star's back but made no attempt to dodge, remaining calmly in place!

A sudden, ominous premonition welled up in Wen Yu's heart!

And then...

BOOM!!!

A deafening noise erupted from near Star's head; a black light shield had directly intercepted him.

The hemispherical light shield completely enveloped the entire Demon City. Star slammed into it with all his might, but it was like hitting an impenetrable wall of bronze and iron!

The tremendous recoil shattered the scales on Star's forehead, and a few drops of Dragon Blood spilled out. Star had no time to brake; the immense inertia caused his entire body to smack directly onto the light shield, like a giant fly!

Star slid down the light shield from mid-air. The wound on his head wasn't large; for Star, this degree of impact naturally wouldn't cause any serious injury. Unfortunately, the sudden collision still made him see stars.

"Boss... we fell into a trap..." Star transmitted through the Soul Connection.

The moment the violent tremor occurred, Wen Yu, holding Cyclops, had already leaped off Star's back, simultaneously looking at the massive light shield enveloping the Demon City.

Under the white sky, the black, semi-transparent light shield flickered with flowing light. Although dark in color, it didn't obstruct the view into or out of the city. Judging by how it had blocked Star's collision earlier, its defensive power was clearly astounding!

"Boss... save me... this is a trap..." Star was dazed by the impact, suffering what humans would call a slight concussion. He kept muttering deliriously through the Soul Connection.

"Alright, you're fine. This isn't a trap. Get over here, quickly!"

"No..."

Only then did Star register, realizing that apart from a stinging pain in his forehead, no other part of his body felt like it had been attacked.

"Oh, oh."

Star let out a strange yelp and slowly stood up. Perhaps because the effects of the concussion hadn't fully dissipated, Star, still dizzy upon standing, went the wrong way and bumped into the light shield again.

「...」

After a long while, Wen Yu and his two soul pets quietly observed the Demon City.

Ten minutes earlier, when a disoriented Star had stumbled over to Wen Yu's side, the protective barrier enveloping the entire Demon City had already vanished.

'Protective barrier'—that was the name Wen Yu had given the black light shield.

Star's injuries had also healed completely. The species innate talent of a divine beast was certainly no joke.

Once Star's head cleared, he immediately began to roar and bellow, continuously spewing Dragon Flame at the Demon City.

Unfortunately, every blast of Dragon Flame was intercepted by the protective barrier outside the Demon City.

Wen Yu frowned, observing the Ancient Demon still standing on the city wall.

From start to finish, even when Star was extremely close to the Demon City, this Ancient Demon showed no sign of attacking.

From this, it seems this protective barrier might be two-way! It defends against attacks from outside and also prevents the Demon Tribe inside from attacking out.

After pondering for a moment, Wen Yu's thoughts suddenly turned to the black cylindrical object standing in the center of the Demon City.

"Star, take me up for a look."

「...」

In the sky, Star continuously tested the protective barrier above the Demon City.

No matter how strong Star's attacks were, or even if he merely tried to enter the Demon City, he was outright blocked by the protective barrier.

Wen Yu, meanwhile, simply stood on Star's back, scrutinizing the black cylindrical object.

Each time Star attacked, black light flared on the cylindrical object. Then, a large amount of the Demonic Qi it had absorbed would gush out, replenishing the protective barrier's energy.

Wen Yu nodded and directed Star to fly to the front of the Demon City.

Then, he spoke to Zhao Mingming, who was waiting there.

"New intelligence: there's a 30-meter-high cylindrical object in the Demon City. My initial judgment is that it's a device generating the protective barrier. Its energy source is Demonic Qi. The protective barrier is very strong; at least, I can't break it with my current strength. Each time it negates an attack, it consumes Demonic Qi."

Seeing Zhao Mingming diligently taking notes, Wen Yu continued, "The protective barrier is likely bidirectional. It can block attacks from both sides—both physical and energy attacks. It prevents creatures from entering from the outside but doesn't stop those exiting from within. Alternatively, the barrier itself might have a simple friend-or-foe identification system, or some creature is controlling it! That's all the intelligence on this protective barrier."

Zhao Mingming quickly finished his notes and sent Wen Yu's intelligence to the Chief Commanding Officer.

Then, looking at Wen Yu, Zhao Mingming asked, "Commanding Officer, since we can't get in, what should we do?"

Gazing at the massive Demon City, Wen Yu said softly, "If I can't get in, they naturally can't get out. I'll wait right here. Let's see if they can truly tolerate a human bottling up their entire city of Demon Fiends inside this protective barrier."