Human Clan Defender

It was just a glance. Jiang Zuo's attention had been captured, his expression becoming dull as if he was completely immersed in the woman's beauty.

At this moment, the woman in the palanquin beckoned gently with her jade hand, smiling charmingly, "Husband, come over quickly. I have been waiting for you for a long time!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zuo slowly walked towards the woman, his expression becoming more and more vacant. When he arrived in front of the palanquin, the woman reached out her jade hand, intending to grab Jiang Zuo's arm and pull him into the palanquin.

"I have been waiting for you for a long time!"

The dullness on his face completely vanished. A cold light burst from Jiang Zuo's eyes. The hand holding the hilt of his blade tightened, unleashing the power he had been accumulating in an instant.

The long blade was drawn from its sheath. A light humming resounded through the night sky.

An earth-shattering Blade Slash fell upon the woman.

"AAHH—"

A piercing scream erupted as the woman's beautiful face turned pale, viciously struck by the long blade.

BOOM!!

The delicate body was sent flying. The big red palanquin was split in two by the blade's light.

When Jiang Zuo made his move, the surrounding people, who had been motionless, all turned their heads in unison to look at him and then charged over.

"Bring it on!" Jiang Zuo roared angrily, his long blade bursting forth with endless light, bisecting one of them at the waist.

There was no spray of blood. Only two halves of a body fell to the ground.

It was apparent that these people weren't real humans, but a kind of unusual puppet.

In a few breaths, all the people who came out with the palanquin were completely slaughtered.

With his long blade pointing obliquely at the ground, Jiang Zuo's gaze turned to the front. His previous Blade Slash had been a long time in the making, but whether it was truly capable of killing a Fiend Level Strange Monster remained a question.

The body of the woman in red that had fallen to the ground had now disappeared without a trace. Immediately afterward, a horrifying Yin Evil Aura erupted from within the estate.

A woman dressed in a big red garment appeared. Her once delicate face was now ruined beyond recognition. A blade wound split from her brow downward, revealing the bluish skin underneath.

At first glance, she resembled a Demon Evil wearing an attractive skin, but that skin had been brutally destroyed.

"Among so many women, I chose this particular skin I favored, but to think it would be ruined by your hand. How should I punish you?"

The woman's originally gentle voice was gone, replaced by a hoarse and unpleasant sound. When coupled with the split skin and the blue flesh revealed beneath, it was even more horrifying to behold.

"Demon Evils causing chaos in Great Qin deserve death!" Jiang Zuo's voice was cold as ice, his grip on the long blade tightened even further.

His Blade Slash had failed to kill her. Now, confronting her head-on, there wasn't much chance of winning. However, retreating was no longer an option. Since he could not retreat, the only choice was to fight to the death.

As the woman in red came closer with each step, the bone-chilling coldness seemed to cause frost to form on the ground. The dense Yin Evil Aura was strong enough to instantly freeze an ordinary person's blood solid, killing them.

"Aren't you afraid of death?"

"Ever since I joined the Demon-Subduing Division, I have been ready to die. Even if you kill me today, someone will avenge me one day!" Jiang Zuo chuckled coldly.

He feared death, but he wouldn't show fear in the face of a Demon Evil. Any Demon Hunter would meet their end by a Demon Evil one day, something Jiang Zuo had understood for a long time.

When the woman in red was within three feet of him, his hand gripping the long blade moved abruptly. The blade erupted with a blinding light, slicing through the night sky and ferociously striking towards her.

CLANG—

The blade stopped. A palm grabbed the blade's edge, its skin as clear as jade cracking open to reveal the blue flesh beneath.

A chill frost spread along the blade's edge. In an instant, Jiang Zuo quickly withdrew.

But before he could steady himself, a terrible force struck, shooting directly into his mind.

At that moment, Jiang Zuo's body shook violently. Unbearable agony surged from his mind, distorting his face as blood flowed from all his orifices.

A mental attack!

Compared to Ghostly and Resentment Level Strange Monsters, a Fiend Level Strange Monster had a much stronger mental attack capability. Just one assault, and Jiang Zuo had lost most of his combat strength.

As he lay powerless on the ground and the woman in red drew near, a blazing radiance suddenly burst forth. All the Yin Evil Aura around seemed to meet its nemesis and began to dissolve.

Then, the woman in red cried out in alarm and recoiled backward. The skin she was wearing decayed at a visible rate, revealing the fierce face underneath.

"Is this—"

Jiang Zuo struggled to lift his head, only to see a person walking towards him, radiating blinding golden light, dispelling the surrounding darkness.

A god! Unprompted, this thought surged in his mind. But quickly, the pain in his mind brought Jiang Zuo back to his senses.

He focused, and the features of the person approaching became crystal clear.

"Shen, Shen Changqing!"

"Steward Jiang, are you alright?"

Shen Changqing reached Jiang Zuo's side, his expression calm. He looked down at the other man lying on the ground, a far cry from his usual refined and cultured appearance.

Having confirmed the identity of the newcomer, Jiang Zuo's heart, which he had been holding tight, finally relaxed a bit.

Shaking his head, he struggled to get up from the ground. "I won't die. That Demon Evil possesses immense strength; it has certainly reached the Fiend Level, and it's not just any ordinary Fiend Level creature. You must be extra careful!"

By now, Jiang Zuo had realized that Shen Changqing was the help sent by the Demon-Subduing Division. The other party used to be just a lowly Demon Hunter under him. Now, Jiang Zuo himself needed rescuing. The thought felt somewhat absurd.

However, the situation was stronger than the man. Jiang Zuo also understood that the gap between his own strength and that of Shen Changqing was indeed widening. With his current state, it would be impossible for him to join hands with the other to fight the Demon Evil.

What remained was to rely on Shen Changqing alone.

"It's a trivial matter," said Shen Changqing with a smile, then turned to look towards where the Demon Evil was. "Steward Jiang, just rest on the side; leave the rest to me."

Opposite him, the skin cloaking the woman in red had completely vanished. It revealed her green-hued skin, with black and red veins protruding underneath. Her visage was so ferocious and unlike that of a normal person, it would instill fear in anyone who saw it.

"You are Shen Changqing!"

"You know me?" Shen Changqing's expression showed surprise.

He had encountered many Demon Evils and even conversed with possessed ones. However, a Demon Evil with its own flesh, like the one before him, was a first.

Fiend Level Strange Monster. Unlike other Strange Monsters, this level of Strange Monster possesses a flesh body of its own.

This meant a Fiend Level Strange Monster had no need to possess another person. Although it lost the advantage of being intangible and immaterial like lower-level Demon Evils, having flesh made it much more powerful.

Recalling the descriptions of Fiend Level Strange Monsters from his memory, Shen Changqing had already made a plan in his heart.

The woman in red's blood-red eyes fixed on the newcomer, and her non-human tongue licked her lips, revealing a chilling smile. "For destroying two of our Eternal Alliance's strongholds, your name is already on our must-kill list. Killing you will likely bring me many benefits," she declared.

Faced with the threat, Shen Changqing wore what he thought was a genial smile. "What a coincidence. Killing you, I too will reap many benefits."

With that, he instantly vanished from where he stood. In the next breath, he appeared in front of the woman in red and threw a punch with explosive power that tore through the air.

BOOM—

The air exploded, creating a blast of airflow. Caught off guard, the woman in red was sent flying by the formidable force.

Her green skin cracked. The blood that seeped out emitted a foul stench, making one want to vomit.

"What a disgusting smell!" A look of distaste showed on Shen Changqing's face, but his attacks continued unceasingly. He stepped forward, shooting forward like an arrow loosed from its bow. He didn't even wait for the woman in red to fall before his next onslaught arrived.

BOOM!

BOOM!!

Sometimes with his fists, sometimes with his palms. Each strike strong enough to break the air hit the woman in red with unerring accuracy.

In the clearing, the Demon Evil's pitiful and unwilling screams echoed through the night sky.

"How can his strength be so formidable!" Barely retreating to the side, planning to meditate to heal, Jiang Zuo, witnessing this scene, was utterly astounded.

He had personally clashed with that Demon Evil. He knew all too well the strength of the Demon Evil.

Fiend Level! And not just an average Fiend Level! After all, it blocked his long-accumulated Blade Slash without sustaining any injury, which spoke volumes.

Even an average Grandmaster facing that Blade Slash might not have been killed, but Jiang Zuo was certain he could have wounded them. But it was no use. His peak strength Blade Slash had only damaged the opponent's husk and hadn't managed to inflict any real harm.

Therefore, he understood that the Demon Evil's strength was surely not as simple as just stepping into the Fiend Level.

Yet this powerful Demon Evil had no power to resist in Shen Changqing's hands.

In Jiang Zuo's view, the woman in red, who had been so arrogant before, was now caught in a one-sided beating. She couldn't even defend herself, let alone muster the power to resist. Moreover, she was being battered in midair, without even touching the ground. This scene shocked him deeply.

BANG— "Is this the strength of a Fiend Level Strange Monster?"

BANG! BANG!

Another palm strike burst forth, shattering her green skin.

"ROAR—"

The woman in red's furious and resentful roar continued to rise in the night sky.

BANG!

BANG!!

Amidst the beating, the roaring gradually weakened.

At last, delivering a palm strike imbued with all his Great Sun True Qi, Shen Changqing gracefully retreated.

The woman in red, who had been beaten for a long time, finally collapsed to the ground with her battered body. Her green skin was now completely split open, foul-smelling blood flowing unceasingly. She struggled to her feet, her eyes filled with hatred as she glared at Shen Changqing.

"You—"

Before she could finish, a terrifying power surged within her.

BOOM!!

Her body exploded, flesh and blood flying in all directions.