-----
-----
High above, the Divine Capital looked down. The moment Liyan drew the Pure Yang Sword, his aura exploded—like a sword immortal descending from the heavens, radiating waves of sharp, deadly sword energy.
The Divine Capital couldn't help but mutter to himself, "So this is the power of Lü Dongbin's sword… An ant-like demon wielding it can release enough force to sweep across the entire continent."
This was the mighty power drawn from ancient history itself—just one sword from one of the Eight Immortals, Lü Dongbin, pulled from the annals of time… and it already had such terrifying might.
So how strong must Lü Dongbin himself have been?
As he quietly marveled at the thought, Ling'er spoke gently from beside him, "Your Majesty, shall I make a move?"
The Divine Capital hadn't said anything about her joining the battle, but Ling'er had a strong feeling that she wasn't just here to watch. There was a good chance she was meant to eliminate the demon below.
In the past, she would've run from demons like this. But now? Now she was a silver dragon—and she wanted to wipe them all out.
All the demons. Including the army of evil dragons that served the Divine Capital.
The pride of dragons showed itself when Ling'er looked down on all other life. Only before the Divine Capital did she lower herself—that was the inescapable truth of bloodline.
"No need. Just watch for now," the Divine Capital replied calmly. "When the time is right, I'll let you act."
Hearing this, Ling'er lowered her eyes, but she was actually a little happy. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Beside her, Xue'er clutched her sister's massive dragon horn. She knew she was powerless to stop any of this, so she didn't even try. Just like before—even if she begged, it wouldn't make a difference. Just being with her sister now was enough.
"Pure Yang Sword… one of the Eight Immortals… Lü Dongbin... Let's see just how powerful this sword really is."
With a cold gaze fixed on the battlefield below, the Divine Capital's lips curved into a faint smirk. "Ato… Abel… kill the humanoid demon holding the sword."
His voice echoed into the void. A near-invisible thread of demonic fire seeped into the evil dragons below, while his command drifted into their ears.
Still in the middle of tearing apart lesser demons, the dragons suddenly flared with blazing fire and demonic energy. One stomped the earth—
And in an instant, over fifty dragons slammed the ground in unison.
The land ripped open as if torn by invisible claws. Crimson fissures split the earth, and molten magma surged up, dragging rocks with it—like a thousand fiery red dragons erupting all at once.
The fire shaped like red flame dragons burned away the demon armies surrounding them.
Just like that, in a single instant, a quarter of a few million demons were wiped out. Their bodies reduced to piles of smoldering ash.
"We hear Your Majesty's command!"
"Kill the sword-wielding demon!"
". . ."
With the Divine Capital's order, over fifty dragons surged forward, charging straight at Liyan.
Up in the sky, Ling'er frowned slightly in confusion. "Your Majesty… are you sending them to their deaths?"
"Why not let me go now and wipe out the demons?"
"Also, aren't Ato and Abel your trusted followers?"
"Are you really throwing them into the meat grinder too?"
She could clearly sense that those dragons—lizard-like in form—weren't even in the same league as that humanoid demon.
The power difference was like night and day.
The Divine Capital replied casually, "Sending them to die? Maybe."
"I know full well those dragons can't beat that demon. But so what? If they die, they die."
"I'm a Demon Lord. Cruelty is in my nature. Just because I gave them a bit of my power, that doesn't make them my 'trusted ones.'"
"No one becomes the Demon Lord's confidant. Not even my own kids—no exceptions."
"Well, maybe a few exceptions. Like Abel and Ato—they helped me understand Huomu City. So that makes them my trusted subordinates?"
"Nope. Totally wrong. Unless I personally care about someone, they'll never be close to me."
"And right now, I don't care about anyone. Maybe in the future, but that'll be rare."
With that, he quietly turned back to the clash happening below.
Ling'er seemed to understand. Her gaze followed his, though her dragon tail swept lightly across her sister Xue'er—as if to comfort her.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield below—
Liyan held the Pure Yang Sword as the evil dragons charged at him. Their fiery aura and terrifying momentum were enough to crush ordinary demons in seconds.
But to him?
They were nothing more than a flick of the wrist.
These dragons might be powerful enough to slaughter his demon troops—but he was on a whole different level.
Wielding a Demon Lord's suppressive artifact, having absorbed the power of seven demon city lords, and even feeding on the remains of the demons recently killed—all of that demonic energy now flowed into him.
Right now, he was continuously absorbing the essence and energy of every demon that had died. And his strength just kept climbing.
Liyan glanced down at the Pure Yang Sword. His mouth twisted into a crooked smile as a flash of an unfamiliar figure danced through his mind—someone who once wielded this sword with graceful, deadly skill.
He slowly closed his eyes, gripped the sword's hilt with both hands, and whispered, "Sacred sword slays demon dragons… black air be gone… open!"
Then, snapping his eyes open, he shouted:
"SLASH!"
In that instant, countless sword lights burst into existence around him—like a tidal wave of blades.
Tens of thousands of sword illusions shimmered in the air, hovering around Liyan.
As he swung the Pure Yang Sword down, those sword shadows erupted in a dazzling golden light. It looked warm and radiant… but the killing intent underneath made your skin crawl.
Then they launched.
Thousands of sword phantoms shot forward at blinding speed, stabbing straight toward the oncoming dragons.
The dragons hesitated. Fear flickered in their eyes.
But they knew—their king was watching from the shadows. They couldn't back down now.
With that resolve, over fifty dragons roared in unison and fired massive fireballs from their mouths.
Each fireball was hundreds of meters wide, crashing toward Liyan like blazing meteors.
BOOOOM——————
CRACK——————
The sound of impact echoed like real objects colliding—brief but intense—followed by the sound of shattering glass.
Those massive fireballs, hundreds of meters wide, were instantly torn apart into a thousand pieces by the sword barrage.
Lava and flames splattered and rained down to the ground below.
But Liyan's sword illusions didn't stop. The golden blades kept stabbing forward, aimed straight at the evil dragons.
The dragons' all-out attack—burning all the magic they had—didn't even scratch him.
At that moment, many of them roared in desperation:"Your Majesty! Help us!"
But high above, the Divine Capital just watched in silence.
Even Ato and Abel—the very first demons to ever follow him—got no help.
Because back then, when he ordered them to lead an army and attack other cities, they had the audacity to ask for more power.
It was like demanding a handout from someone way stronger than you—before you'd even fought.
If they'd failed and needed help, he might've stepped in. But asking upfront?
Way too bold.
So now, the Divine Capital simply watched as they died—cut down by the sword.
"....."