Outside the stone cave, whether it was ten days and a half month or just three to five days, some battle—large or small—would erupt.
Shaya had played the role of traitor to absolute perfection.
Every Demon Commander within a ten-thousand-li radius had been lured over by her, along with the forces under each of those commanders. And every demon race unit that arrived with the intent to rescue met with nothing but the Wuniu Tribe's merciless counterattack, followed by total annihilation.
Three months of formulaic battles had brought tremendous growth to the Wuniu Tribe's members. Setting aside the warriors who broke through their shackles one by one under the baptism of blood and became true fighting men, even the dozen or so Shaman Warriors and Shaman Adepts had, without realizing it, broken through their own bottlenecks and advanced to higher stages.
The Wuniu Tribe now had two newly ascended Shamans in addition to Yulu, who was a high-grade Shaman. This meant the entire force received even greater shamanic empowerment.
Their numbers had grown considerably as well.
At the start, the Wuniu Tribe had only three thousand members.
But after three months, that number had swelled to five thousand—nearly double what they had begun with.
The extra two thousand tribesmen were captives taken from battle after battle, then healed and restored. They broke free of the demonic energy's corruption, recovered their sense of self, and joined the Wuniu Tribe without hesitation, becoming its members and playing critical roles in one battle after another.
Over three months, the Wuniu Tribe had participated in more than a dozen engagements, eliminating at least ten thousand enemies and slaying over a dozen beings of Demon Commander rank. Such an achievement was nothing short of brilliant. One could say that across the entire Barbarian race, no other force led by a Great Shaman could match the Wuniu Tribe's record. After all, beings of the Demon Commander rank were essentially on equal footing with Great Shamans—for other Great Shamans to kill a Demon Commander, they would need to steel themselves for a fight to the death.
But the Wuniu Tribe was different. Every leader of every demon race unit lured into the ambush was cut down by Shaya in a single exchange, and the unit would descend into chaos. Then the Wuniu Tribe, charging in from every direction, would crush them mercilessly.
In three months, not a single demon remained within a ten-thousand-li radius.
Shaya's contributions had earned her recognition from all the Barbarians, even though she was still technically a member of the demon race. Everyone knew she was on their side.
In truth, these three months of battles had largely been orchestrated by Shaya, with the Yulu twins assisting at her side. As for the Wuniu Tribe's supreme commander, Lord Wuniu himself, he had not shown his face for three months. He remained in his stone cave the entire time.
Whenever any Shaman wished to meet with Yang Kai, Shaya turned them away—even Yulu was denied access.
Had Shaya not been so dedicated to luring and destroying enemies, so unwavering in her stance, everyone might have suspected that Yang Kai had fallen under her control.
One day, three months in, the Shamans and Shaya were gathered in discussion, deliberating on their next move, when Shaya suddenly seemed to sense something and turned to glance behind her. Her expression sobered, and she bowed deeply: "My lord!"
The Shamans all looked up as well. Yang Kai had appeared nearby at some point, and they hurriedly rose to bow in greeting.
Yang Kai waved his hand and spoke: "Pass the word—have everyone prepare. We move out tomorrow."
"Move out?" Yulu started slightly. "My lord, are we heading somewhere else?"
"The demons in this area are gone," Yang Kai replied. "There's no point staying here. We go where the demons are."
"My lord, you know about—" Yulu looked surprised.
There truly were no demons left in the area. Over three months, under Shaya's relentless luring strategy, every demon within a ten-thousand-li radius had been summoned in and destroyed.
Though there were still demons further away, those demons did not fall under Shaya's jurisdiction. Each Demon King's territory had its limits. The demons beyond that range belonged to other Demon Kings, and even if Shaya sent distress signals, they might not respond.
They had been discussing among themselves whether to relocate, but with Yang Kai absent, no one could make the decision.
They hadn't expected him to show up at such a critical moment.
Yang Kai smiled faintly. "I may have been cultivating the whole time, but I've been keeping well informed about what's happening outside."
As he spoke, he glanced at Shaya. Having placed a soul imprint on her and made her his slave, Yang Kai could casually peer into Shaya's thoughts. He checked in every few days, so he was thoroughly aware of the current situation.
"Then I'll pass the orders down right away," Yulu said, her spirit lifting as she set about making arrangements. The other Shamans dispersed as well. The migration of a five-thousand-strong force was no small task, and there was plenty to attend to.
Shaya was kept behind by Yang Kai.
Once the two were alone, Shaya's brow twitched, and she stared at Yang Kai in astonishment: "My lord, your aura..."
They had been separated for only three months, yet this foreign man's aura had grown several times more imposing than before. By the demon race's classification of strength, he was likely on the verge of touching the Demon King level.