Tao's movements instantly froze.

How is that possible? Those were three grenades! He couldn't believe the outcome, preferring to think it was all his imagination.

But the hot muzzle pressed against his forehead told him this was no dream.

BANG.

Before Tao could even utter a plea for mercy, the indifferent Chu Feng pulled the trigger.

THUD.

The sound of the body hitting the floor was somewhat muted. The fallen Tao, his eyes wide open in death, stared straight at the outstretched arm of the weapon shop owner.

Chu Feng walked out of the weapon shop. He scanned the vicinity; it was very quiet. Then, he looked up at the sky, where thin clouds veiled nothing out of the ordinary.

Hasn't this Demon noticed what's going on here yet?

Chu Feng frowned and turned his gaze toward another direction—the adjacent street. From there, intermittent gunfire could still be faintly heard.

I'll take another walk down that street. I refuse to believe you've gone blind.

Having made up his mind, Chu Feng started down the road toward the next street.

He had only taken a few steps when the sound of rapidly flapping wings reached his ears.

Looking up in the direction of the sound, he saw several dark-red figures rapidly flapping their bat-like wings as they flew towards him.

Are those... demons? No! They don't have demon horns.

Chu Feng's sharp gaze almost instantly made out the appearance of the approaching figures.

Dark-red bodies, bat-like wings on their backs, and sharp, pitch-black claws—they indeed bore a striking resemblance to demons.

But they lacked the most distinct demonic feature: the iconic horns on their heads.

These things are much smaller too, barely two meters tall?

With a flip of his palm, the pistol vanished. The next moment, the slender Demon Hunting Blade appeared at Chu Feng's side.

The monsters' flight speed was indeed poor, and their eyesight seemed lacking. After flying for some time, they finally reached the airspace above Chu Feng's street but, for a long moment, failed to spot him standing in the middle of the road, longsword in hand.

"Hey! You idiots in the sky, look down here!"

After waiting a while, seeing they seemed about to leave, Chu Feng, unable to bear it any longer, had no choice but to shout loudly at the creatures.

Fortunately, the long, pointed ears on the sides of their heads were quite sensitive; at least they heard Chu Feng's shout.

Hearing his call, the creatures turned in mid-air. They cocked their heads like wild beasts, staring at Chu Feng as if confirming his identity.

The next second, the bat wings on their backs beat in unison, and all three dived towards Chu Feng's position.

The three monsters, closely resembling demons, dived in a wedge formation towards Chu Feng, reaching directly above him in less than two seconds.

Chu Feng clearly saw their bared, pitch-black claws and the fangs at the corners of their mouths.

They don't carry much of a demonic aura, and their strength looks unimpressive!

Chu Feng swung his longsword. A flash of silvery-white light streaked by, and two monsters were instantly bisected.

SPLAT. SPLAT.

The two monsters, now in four pieces, shrieked as they hit the ground, then gradually fell silent and disintegrated into ash.

As for the third monster, though it dodged Chu Feng's swing and successfully struck his body, it was violently thrown backward by a rebound of golden light.

They really are weak! Chu Feng watched the monster struggle to get up not far away, then lightly flicked his wrist, giving his longsword a flourish.

The sole remaining monster, however, did not cherish this fleeting chance to live. Instead, after getting to its feet, it opened its ferocious mouth and let out a beast-like roar.

Then it charged ferociously at Chu Feng.

So it really has no intelligence? It's like some kind of shoddy product.

Chu Feng had originally thought that if the monster fled, he would spare it to carry a message back. He hadn't expected it to be so unintelligent as to charge him again.

Alright then, let me send you on your way!

As the monster rushed up to Chu Feng, a lightning-fast blade arc instantly slashed across its neck.

A salty sea breeze swept past, and the monster's body simply dissipated with the wind.

「In the center of San Francisco, in front of a massive, Baroque-style domed building.」

Dozens of figures were arranged in five neat rows, kneeling uniformly on the ground.

Directly before them stood the Demon from Hell, its head crowned with two huge goat horns.

"Congratulations, you have met the minimum criteria to ascend to become demons!

In these past days, you have demonstrated your loyalty with your actions.

So now, right here, in what you humans call City Hall, I will assist you in holding the glorious ceremony to ascend to become demons."

The Demon's raspy voice was cadenced, its words imbued with a bizarre, bewitching power.

Hearing the Demon's words, the eyes of those kneeling gradually turned blood-red, their expressions intensely excited.

"Praise sin! Thank our Demon Lord for this gift!" It's unknown which of the kneeling scoundrels spoke first, but the others quickly chimed in.

"Praise sin! Thank our Demon Lord for this gift!"

"Praise sin! Thank our Demon Lord for this gift!"

"Praise sin! Thank our Demon Lord for this..."

"..."

The Demon squinted its eyes, somewhat intoxicated by their praise.

The Demon opened its eyes and looked down at its palm. The Human World is indeed a fine place! Ascension... it doesn't seem so unattainable after all!

Its huge palm instantly covered the head of the nearest person, and the purple, bizarre energy began to coalesce once more.

I just need to eat a little more... The Demon looked at its devoutly kneeling subordinates, greed gleaming in its eyes.

The grotesque transformation began again. Hearing the man's agonized screams, the others kneeling showed no fear. Instead, they were thrilled, their eyes filled with a peculiar anticipation.

One of them exclaimed, "A Demon... I'm going to become a powerful Demon too!"

CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

A moment later, a faint chewing sound emerged from the Demon's mouth. Its palm had already moved to hover over the head of the next depraved scoundrel.

It's my turn! It's my turn... Feeling the bizarre sensation from above his head, the second person in line trembled slightly in ecstasy.

The purple, bizarre power gathered again in the Demon's palm. Just as it was about to descend upon the second person's head, the force halted in mid-air as the Demon paused.

Two demons wiped out? The Demon was startled, feeling two threads in its mind instantly snap. Just as it dispersed the energy and retracted its palm, intending to investigate whatever pockets of resistance had emerged, another thread in its mind, representing one of its subordinate demons, snapped.