38: Go ahead! I'm carrying everyone's hopes on my shoulders, you bastard!

"Tell me, where is that demon?" the Silver Scale Rhino King asked from a high vantage point, looking down at the demons in the arena.

He actually didn't want to come, as he was severely injured and needed to recuperate.

The Silver Scale Rhino King had received news of the events here several days ago.

Knowing what had happened, the Silver Scale Rhino King was naturally furious; he had just been injured, and now some petty scoundrels were jumping out to cause trouble.

This was practically shitting on his neck, a blatant act of taking advantage of his misfortune.

Even so, the Silver Scale Rhino King's original plan was to let the other party be arrogant for a while.

Once his injuries had healed a bit, he would make that fellow regret ever coming into this world.

Since the other party came out to cause trouble while he was injured, their strength was likely inferior to his.

They might even be far inferior to him in his severely injured state.

Otherwise, there would be no need for them to cause trouble here; the resources in his southern and northern regions were far more abundant than here.

Even if they were wary of his backer and dared not touch him, doing other things besides killing him would not be managed by any demon.

So the Silver Scale Rhino King was completely certain that he could take down the other party.

However, what the other party did was simply too outrageous.

If he didn't act soon, the entire Vortex Forest would probably only have the northern and southern regions left.

Given the other party's deranged behavior, they might not even spare the Central Vortex Forest.

No, the other party had already acted in the Central Vortex Forest, but they suffered heavy losses and returned in defeat.

The Silver Scale Rhino King also knew that those demons from the Vortex Forest West were working for the other party.

In the current environment, they were helping the other party stir up chaos in the Vortex Forest again.

At this moment, the Silver Scale Rhino King naturally had a grim expression when facing these demons.

However, what made the Silver Scale Rhino King feel a bit strange here was that there wasn't a single high-level Demon Qi Realm demon in the arena.

All of them were around the Demon Qi Realm Third or Fourth Stage.

One must know that most of the demons in the Vortex Forest West had been gathered here by him.

It even took some effort.

After the incident with Chen De, those demons were naturally unwilling to come obediently when faced with such a summons again.

Because they truly believed that Chen De was sent by the Silver Scale Rhino King.

Even if the Silver Scale Rhino King was severely injured, he wasn't dead yet, right?

Any demon who dared to do that would simply be courting death!

So, one by one, they all acted as if they hadn't heard anything, going about their business.

Upon hearing this news, the Silver Scale Rhino King was practically fuming.

A demon had arrived and disrespected him by taking advantage of his misfortune, and now even some ordinary demons dared to play such games.

When did the demons of the Vortex Forest West become so bold as to disregard even the commands of the Silver Scale Rhino King?

It was obviously impossible for the Silver Scale Rhino King to find them one by one, so he naturally sent his subordinates to invite them.

Upon seeing the demons that were brought in, the Silver Scale Rhino King was simply shocked.

After not coming for so long, the Silver Scale Rhino King had originally thought the demons of the Vortex Forest West were very powerful.

But upon seeing them, they were a bunch of weaklings, with only this much left, yet they still dared to defy him. How could demons be so brave!

At this moment, around every few demons, his subordinates were standing guard.

Although they were just low-level demons, for the severely injured Silver Scale Rhino King, it was best to avoid fighting if possible.

Except for crucial matters, it was good to let these subordinates handle the rest.

Perhaps a small portion was not brought, but it was harmless.

Moreover, in the previous war, not a single demon from the Vortex Forest West participated.

The war didn't affect this area, so why did they look even more miserable than the demons in the north?

Each one looked emaciated; the Silver Scale Rhino King couldn't imagine what had happened in the past few days.

To actually turn such a large Vortex Forest West into its current state.

When the Silver Scale Rhino King arrived, he couldn't even find a single demon with a slightly higher cultivation to question.

The Silver Scale Rhino King could only pick the highest-ranked among the short ones to question.

The chosen demon was immediately taken away by the Silver Scale Rhino King's subordinates to be questioned by the Silver Scale Rhino King.

The Silver Scale Rhino King also learned in detail from him what had happened in the Vortex Forest West over the past two days.

Upon learning of such events, the Silver Scale Rhino King's body couldn't help but tremble.

This was a manifestation of the Silver Scale Rhino King's extreme rage!

Deranged!

Absolutely deranged!

Even in his most brutal days, the Silver Scale Rhino King had never done such a thing.

This was no longer a simple plundering of resources; it was even worse than killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

No wonder! No wonder!

As soon as the Silver Scale Rhino King stepped into the Vortex Forest West, he smelled a faint scent of blood everywhere, that smell was simply ubiquitous.

So, such cruel slaughter was happening in the Vortex Forest every day!

The other party could actually keep it so secret!

Wait!

Secrecy!

The Silver Scale Rhino King seemed to have thought of something. How did the other party keep it secret?

Right!

Blood Mark!

The Silver Scale Rhino King remembered that when he fought with the Shadow Wolf King, the Shadow Wolf King had also used such a move.

Are they of the same clan? Coming for revenge?

But that's not right. Firstly, from the description, the other party isn't a wolf-type demon!

Most importantly, neither he nor the Earth Spirit Magic Tiger King killed the Shadow Wolf King, and the Shadow Wolf King isn't dead yet.

Although he had been trying to find that bastard Shadow Wolf King, he hadn't found him yet.

The Silver Scale Rhino King furrowed his brows in deep thought.

No, not only that, there was something else he had missed.

When that demon left, he seemed to have gone to these demon races once.

The Silver Scale Rhino King thought of the Blood Mark again, immediately understood something, and secretly thought, "This is bad."

He immediately struck out, pushing away the demon in front of him.

As soon as the Silver Scale Rhino King's power touched this demon, the other party showed a pained expression and then exploded.

This level of explosion was fine for dealing with Demon Qi Realm demons, but against the Silver Scale Rhino King, even in his severely injured state, it was utterly useless.

These demons of the Vortex Forest West were already so few; if they died, they died.

If it were the original scale, he would feel a pang of regret, but now, it was just like that.

What the Silver Scale Rhino King was truly worried about were the demons he had brought with him.

They couldn't withstand such an explosion.

In fact, when Chen De injected energy into the mark, there were no cultivation requirements for the host.

Just like the mark the Shadow Wolf King placed on Chen De back then.

Previously, Chen De had no concept of the Shadow Wolf King's Blood Mark.

Now that Chen De had reached the late Demon Origin Realm, he finally understood what kind of existence that mark was.

If it were detonated from within the body, it would be enough to kill a Demon Spirit Realm demon.

Even if it exploded externally, probably no demon within the Demon Origin Realm could withstand it.

And at that time, Chen De was only at the Demon Qi Realm Eighth Stage, yet he could be implanted with such a powerful mark.

Although Chen De really wanted to blow up the Silver Scale Rhino King too.

However, Chen De knew that even if he injected the maximum amount of energy into the mark, it would be impossible to blow up the Silver Scale Rhino King, not even in his severely injured state.

Moreover, too much energy inside would make it easier for the Silver Scale Rhino King to detect it.

After all, Chen De was only at the Demon Origin Realm; facing a Demon Spirit Realm like the Silver Scale Rhino King, the concealment effect would definitely not be as good as the Shadow Wolf King's.

Since that was the case, why waste effort, and even risk gaining nothing?

So Chen De settled for the next best thing; since he couldn't blow up the Silver Scale Rhino King anyway, he might as well blow up his subordinates.

It might even make the Silver Scale Rhino King furious, or make him anxious to save his demons, and so on.

The Silver Scale Rhino King was already injured, which could potentially worsen his injuries or something.

The marks Chen De placed on those demons before were only just enough to kill themselves.

This time, Chen De placed an advanced version; any close-range demons whose external cultivation had not reached the Demon Origin Realm would undoubtedly die.

Although Chen De had previously promised those demons to spare their clansmen.

However, this was also out of necessity for Chen De!

Such actions, forced by circumstances or under duress, were still forgivable.

Especially for a moral person like Chen De!

To put it bluntly, this was at most a small indulgence of morality.

Chen De believed that those demons who died before, and those who were about to be blown up now, if they knew they could contribute their last bit of strength to Chen De, they would surely feel extremely happy and honored.

After all, he, Chen De, was so moral.

After realizing this, the Silver Scale Rhino King, despite his injuries, forcefully unleashed his full power.

However, there were simply too many explosions; even with the Silver Scale Rhino King's disregard for his own safety, he only managed to save a portion of his subordinates.

Most of them still perished in the explosion.

For the Silver Scale Rhino King, these were not just any demons dying; they were all demons of his Mystic Rhinoceros Clan!

The Silver Scale Rhino King's heart felt like it was bleeding!

The sound of explosions ceased, and the smoke dispersed.

The scent of blood in the air seemed to have intensified a bit.

Looking at the demons he had protected, the Silver Scale Rhino King's face was pale, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

All the surviving demons were stunned by the explosion; before they could recover, they saw their King spitting blood again.

They were all greatly frightened and visibly panicked.

The Silver Scale Rhino King endured the pain, gritted his teeth, stuffed a handful of spirit medicine into his mouth, and weakly said, "Go, return to the southern region!"

All the demons quickly followed in the Silver Scale Rhino King's footsteps.

...

In the distance, Chen De heard the commotion from the Vortex Forest West, but he didn't hesitate for a moment and continued walking.

Humans are not plants; how can they be emotionless!

How can people be without feelings? Chen De is not an emotionless beast!

During this time, they adored Chen De, and Chen De, in turn, established a deep friendship with them through this process.

This profound bond between ruler and subject is probably not something ordinary people can easily understand.

It's just that fate had other plans; Chen De had to leave eventually.

Regarding the demons sacrificing themselves to help Chen De.

Chen De knew, he knew it all. Even if he left, they would still help Chen De one last time.

Chen De was moved; Chen De exchanged sincerity for sincerity, and Chen De's sincerity saw its reward.

This made Chen De believe that true feelings exist in the world.

Otherwise, Chen De didn't know if he could continue like this.

Fortunately, there was such a group of grateful demons, silently supporting Chen De from behind.

Chen De knew that even if he didn't act, they would definitely use their lives to block the Silver Scale Rhino King for Chen De.

This was his, Chen De's, influence over the demons in the Vortex Forest West!

Chen De knew even more that if they found out that even by risking their lives, they couldn't affect the Silver Scale Rhino King, and couldn't help Chen De in the slightest, how sad and despairing they would be!

So he gave them a push, which also fulfilled their wish.

Chen De was moved! Chen De was sad! Chen De's eyes welled up with tears!

But precisely because of this, Chen De should not stop.

He could not betray the hopes and trust of the demons of the Vortex Forest West.

Why did they help Chen De? Was it not to overthrow the tyrannical rule of the Silver Scale Rhino King and restore peace to the Vortex Forest?

Although they didn't say it, Chen De knew that's what they thought.

Before eliminating the Silver Scale Rhino King, how could Chen De have the face to go back?

So the only thing Chen De could do was—

Advance!