Dissent rippled through the ranks of the Desolation Corps.
"We serve at the command of our officers, and here stands the Adjutant, defiant of orders, acting on personal whims, a clear breach of military law. Harsh punishment is warranted," the towering silver-skinned elephant demon spoke with a chilling calm. His skin gleamed like polished silver, his nose elongated even in human form, and his eyes bore a sinister glint.
This statement rendered even the Colonel speechless. Had she not been harsh in her discipline? She had, after all, snapped the neck of Moon Fairy.
In any other case, the body would have dropped into the Soul Refining Cauldron and fried up like chicken. Yet, Moon Fairy was unscathed! What more could she do? Kill him again?
Aware of the growing discontent within the ranks, the Colonel knew mishandling the situation could undermine her authority.
Authority was everything to a commander. Without it, no one would lay down their lives for her. She was exasperated! However, she didn't expect that little fox would step out all of a sudden!
"Silence!" Moon Fairy's command echoed past the Colonel, reaching the throng of still ferocious, beastly demons, transformed in shape but not in nature. His shout actually shut them up.
Everyone froze. How dare this lowly fox, who had risen to the position of adjutant by less savory means, challenge them?
The silence that followed was profound.
In that stunned quiet, Moon Fairy spoke with a serene expression, "The Colonel assigned me a different task. How is that a rogue action?"
"You lie!" the elephant demon scoffed, his eyes burning as he challenged the Colonel, "We are a fierce and honorable unit, led by you. Why indulge a mere fox?"
"You doubt him? Then you handle him. That’s the way of the Desolation Corps. If you object, prove your point in combat," the Colonel suddenly declared.
"Really?" The Silver Tusked Elephant lit up at this.
A respected figure within the Desolation Corps and a leading candidate for Adjutant, he sensed an opportunity. He knew the Colonel well—she never repeated her words of favor.
As the mighty elephant demon fixed his gaze on Moon Fairy, his voice boomed like a great bell, “You wretched fox, if you claim to be male, let your claws do the talking!”
“Do you, a mere herbivore, even possess claws?” Moon Fairy retorted with a cold sneer.
“You are as insignificant as a mosquito, even if you're a carnivore. A single dropping of mine could feed you for a decade!” the Silver Tusked Elephant scoffed.
“An herbivorous beast, no matter how large, is just more meat for the taking,” Moon Fairy scoffed back.
His words struck a chord, and a third of the fierce demons within the Desolation Corps were hit, their fury ignited on the spot.
“Kill him!”
Their jealousy, dissatisfaction, and disdain for Moon Fairy erupted collectively.
In the Beast Path, emotions often surged directly and violently, their beastly natures driving them to follow brutal codes of conduct.
With a thunderous roar, the Silver Tusked Elephant unleashed a burst of radiant silver light from his body, his humanoid form charging towards Moon Fairy like a towering mountain of silver.
BOOM! His arm, thick as a tree trunk, swung down in a pure display of physical force, capable of shattering mountains.
Moon Fairy, having recently absorbed some desolation and advanced to the Establishment Dawn God Realm, knew the strength of his adversary who was in the Fourth Dao Tribulation—a titan in flesh and power!
But he was no lesser; his body, though not large, was fortified by the Divine Desolation Physique and further strengthened by the bloodlines of the Nian and the Yaksha Ancestor.
BOOM! In Moon Fairy’s hands, the eighteen-section silver Immortal Asylum appeared!
Holding the silver staff, he remained still until movement was necessary, and then with a whirl that turned the staff into a bright moon, he struck lightning-fast, smashing it against the Silver Tusked Elephant’s thick arm.
KLANG! A painful scream escaped the elephant as his arm broke! Though it was flesh, it shattered like a metallic limb, screeching as it fractured.
With a resounding crash, the burly figure was smashed into the Soul Refining Cauldron, sending a spray of scalding oil skyward.
But he hadn’t anticipated the Colonel’s penchant for playing with fire. After trying to kill Moon Fairy once already, she had been marked for death by Yun Xiao. This had made her the first woman he had experienced and still sought to kill.
Even now, the Colonel still hadn't grasped what kind of danger she was provoking.
Moon Fairy had already ceased his attack, but she, drawing out her words with a sneer, said, “Is that all? Kill or be killed, that's the rules of the Desolation Corps. Both of you are a disgrace."
She was stoking the fire.
And the Silver Tusked Elephant, a creature of violent temper, could not endure such humiliation and was easily provoked!
Moon Fairy remained still, while the elephant, lacking any scalp, let out a roar that formed a sonic storm, blasting straight at Moon Fairy, causing his eardrums to bleed!
“Die! Die!” His trunk, like a towering pillar, moved with lethal speed.
Moon Fairy gave him a cold look, suddenly transformed into a silver whirlwind, stepped onto the trunk, opened his mouth, and in an instant tore open the Silver Tusked Elephant’s crown!
BOOM! With a swipe of his fox paw, the skull shattered, the brain matter vibrated explosively, bursting like a smashed watermelon.
“Uh...” The blood from the Silver Tusked Elephant’s brain sprayed out, sending a chill through him. In a moment of emptiness, he slumped down, crashing into the Soul Refining Cauldron, and moved no more.
In his lifetime, filled with fury, roars, pursuits, curses, and slaughter, the Six Paths of Reincarnation promised eternal life. Yet, he had lived so long without understanding, arriving in confusion and departing the same way.
He lived a lonely existence.
With a buzz, Moon Fairy released his grip, flinging the Silver Tusked Elephant’s crown, which skipped across the surface of the Soul Refining Cauldron like a water scoop, finally spiraling down with the elephant into the cauldron’s oily depths.
“Brother Silver Tusk!”
As they watched the Silver Tusked Elephant perish, many of his comrades, brothers-in-arms, had eyes red as blood, grieving as if they had lost a part of themselves.
“To not even kill a mere fox, and to be humiliated in the attempt, shows true incompetence,” the Colonel remarked, shaking her head as she eyed the demons of the Desolation Corps with a sneer. “All these years with me, and you’ve grown no fangs.”
“Colonel!”
Many of the demons were provoked, steam practically shooting from their nostrils, their voices fiery with rage.
“I too refuse to accept this, I demand a duel to the death!”
“I reject this despicable fox! I do not accept this!”
“Nor do I!”
In a moment, dozens of furious demons roared, their eyes nearly bleeding with violence written across their faces. Their crimson gaze fixed on Moon Fairy, their looks alone seeming to flay him alive.
“Haven’t I always taught you? If you can't accept an outcome, then fight to change it!” the Colonel retorted with a roll of her eyes, revealing the disdainful gaze of a massive bear.
Her expression was provokingly strong, driving at least 30 demons completely out of their minds, their eyes blazing with uncontrolled fury. They were waiting for just these words from the Colonel!
“So ruthless? Are you trying to dissect me that thoroughly?”
Yun Xiao understood the Colonel’s mindset; she had recognized Moon Fairy's exceptional nature. But instead of valuing his talents, her instinct was to dissect him completely, constantly pressing his limits.
And now, her pressure had clearly reached a merciless extent.
“They say men only care about the sex and nothing else afterwards. Isn’t this woman the same?”
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