Li Wuyi's expression shifted, and he shouted urgently: "Stop them!"
A dense mass of figures shot into the sky, their secret arts and Artifacts blazing with light as they surged toward the streak of crimson.
But how could they possibly stop it? The blood-colored light twisted a few times, evading every attack, and in the span of a heartbeat burst through the encirclement. With a single flash it shrank to a tiny red dot in the distance.
Among the Demon Race, Shadow Demons were the most adept at concealment, but when it came to escape techniques, no demon dared claim superiority over Blood Demons. The Blood Escape was unmatched under heaven!
Li Wuyi's face turned ashen. More than twenty demons fleeing might not sound like many, but every single one was a Half-Saint. If they went into hiding within the Star Realm and ran rampant, the result would be nothing short of bloodshed on an unimaginable scale. Yet at this moment, there was no one capable of stopping them.
The Star Realm's side had no shortage of False Emperors either, but after days of continuous battle, they were utterly spent. Setting aside whether they could even catch up, even if they did, what could they accomplish?
"I'll go!" Yang Kai's body swayed as he prepared to move, but Li Wuyi's hand shot out like lightning, seizing his arm. He slowly shook his head. "Don't bother chasing."
Yang Kai said: "We're just going to let them escape?" The tide of battle had turned firmly in their favor—if they didn't press the advantage and wipe the enemy out now, the consequences would be endless.
Li Wuyi replied: "What could you accomplish even if you chased after them alone?" He jerked his chin toward the raging battle below. "This is where the critical fight is."
Yang Kai knew he had a point, but watching so many demon Half-Saints slip away still gnawed at him with frustration.
Li Wuyi read his thoughts and offered a word of consolation: "Once we've settled things here, we can deal with them at our leisure. They're all demon Half-Saints—if they stay hidden, so be it. But the moment they dare show their faces, their whereabouts will be immediately exposed."
Yang Kai gave a slight nod, then frowned in puzzlement: "How did they flee so decisively..." Though he had sealed the passage between the two realms, the demons still had the power to fight on. If the battle continued like this, even if the Star Realm won, it would come at a devastating cost. Yet those dozen-odd demon Half-Saints had fled the instant things turned against them, as if they had planned it all beforehand—completely abandoning the millions of demons still on the field.
Without those Half-Saints to anchor them, the already-disadvantaged demon army had no way of going toe-to-toe with the Star Realm's forces. In truth, the Half-Saints' flight, while leaving behind a hidden danger for the Star Realm, had been an enormous help in the current battle.
If one called it a case of a warrior severing his own arm to survive, the price paid seemed far too steep.
And Li Wuyi's reasoning wasn't without merit either. Demons were wreathed in demonic energy, unmistakable in their appearance. If the ones who fled chose to stay hidden, nothing could be done. But if any dared show themselves, they would immediately face a coordinated assault from the Star Realm's powerhouses—hardly a grave concern.
Yang Kai was still turning over in his mind what the demons could possibly be playing at when Li Wuyi's brow suddenly furrowed. "Something's wrong."
Yang Kai's heart lurched. He followed Li Wuyi's gaze and saw that on the battlefield below, countless demons' demonic energy was surging skyward. An uncountable horde had suddenly gone mad, attacking every living thing within reach.
Their targets included not only the Star Realm's armies but also their own companions beside them.
Low-ranking demons were like this. Demon Generals were like this. Demon Commanders were like this. Even many Demon Kings were not spared. In the blink of an eye, every demon's eyes had turned crimson red, and they had become completely unrecognizable, knowing nothing but slaughter.
The demon army, already at a disadvantage, was thrown into even greater turmoil. Though the demon Half-Saints had withdrawn from the battlefield, the demon forces still remaining here were hardly a negligible force. But in their frenzy, the demons had turned upon one another. Not only were Li Wuyi and Yang Kai struck dumb by the sight—even the soldiers on the front lines locked in desperate combat with the demons gaped in disbelief.
In just a few short breaths, the demons had suffered untold casualties.
Li Wuyi and Yang Kai exchanged a glance, and in each other's eyes saw shock and bewilderment. But now was not the time to get to the bottom of things. Li Wuyi immediately sent orders to his personal guard to change the flag signals.
Yang Kai also flashed away, withdrawing to the Jizi Army.
"Sir, what's happening?" Yao Si asked urgently. He too had witnessed the bizarre turn of events on all sides and was completely in the dark.
"I don't know—pull back first!" Yang Kai swept his gaze left and right, located the weakest point in the demon line, and led the Jizi Army in a charge toward it.
They cut and killed their way through, every man drenched in blood, their killing intent seething like a cauldron.
It was not only the Jizi Army that retreated. Every legion that saw Li Wuyi's flag signals began pulling out of the battlefield.
The entire battlefield transformed—fifty-five great armies became fifty-five ironclad torrents, smashing through the demons blocking their path and carving out a path to freedom.
One by one, the armies withdrew from the field, with Li Wuyi's Jiazi Army being the last to pull back.
Looking over their shoulders, the sounds of carnage on the battlefield still had not ceased—but within that maelstrom, not a single human remained. It was nothing but demons, killing demons.
Night fell. A cold wind swept across the land, and a chill ran down every spine.
"This... what on earth is going on?" Xie Wuwei murmured in a daze.
Who the devil knew? Yang Kai couldn't offer an answer either. No one could possibly have anticipated a scene like this. The Coiling Dragon Great Formation had long since dispersed. Over on Li Wuyi's side, the Jiazi Army's commander wore the same blank, bewildered expression.
Victory had come far too suddenly—so suddenly that no one had been the least bit prepared.