"Look quickly, it's the Demon Lord!"

"Where? Where?"

"It really is... But why has the Demon Lord's figure... shrunk so much?"

"The Demon Lord possesses extraordinary Strength. Isn't it perfectly normal for him to change his figure at will?"

"You're right!"

"Quiet, all of you! Stop talking! The Demon Lord is coming towards us!"

"..."

Following a low growl from someone up ahead, the few people present became as quiet as quails in the blink of an eye.

After the Demon made several bounds from the distance, it finally arrived in front of the group.

"Demon Lord!"

"Demon Lord!"

"..."

Not daring to look directly, for fear of angering the Demon, several people knelt on the ground, respectfully shouting.

"You few... The scent of sin on you is decent. Barely sufficient!"

Hearing the Demon's words, a ripple of joyful surprise stirred in the hearts of the people at the front. Could it be that the Demon Lord is going to promote us to demonkind?

However, the person at the very back carefully pondered the Demon's words.

Barely... sufficient? What does that mean?

A sense of foreboding filled the man's heart. Boldly, he stealthily raised his head and looked towards the Demon standing before the group.

Wings... Where are the Demon Lord's bat wings?

The Demon's current appearance shocked him, and a thought instantly flashed through his mind.

Has the Demon Lord encountered a formidable opponent? As his thoughts spun rapidly, a voice echoed from the depths of his heart, No, I must find a way to escape!

Just then, the Demon's hoarse voice suddenly rang out beside his ear.

"Let me see... this impatient fellow, what does he taste like!"

The Demon's wide, giant claw instantly enveloped his head. The swirling purple energy atop it immediately deprived him of any ability to resist.

This is bad!

As his last thought flashed through his mind, he completely lost consciousness.

A second later, when the Demon's giant claw retracted, the man at the very back collapsed heavily to the ground with a THUMP.

Indeed, this time the Demon did not waste Strength creating demonkind. After all, its Strength was not to be squandered at this moment.

"CRUNCH, CRUNCH..." The faint chewing sounds from the Demon caused the few people still kneeling on the ground to shudder simultaneously, a sense of dread surging through their hearts.

Why does it feel... a little off?

Another sound of a body falling to the ground was heard. The remaining people couldn't help but slightly turn their heads, peeking sideways from the corners of their eyes.

After all, these individuals could be considered utterly wicked. The sound of a human body collapsing after death was not unfamiliar to them; they had even 'rehearsed' it several times inside the building just moments ago.

Hence, this abrupt sound struck their hearts like a heavy drumbeat, profoundly unsettling.

"It's Paul! He... he... he's dead!" He even screamed the last word, "dead," in terror.

"What!"

The sudden shout startled the already suspicious men, who all lifted their heads and cautiously looked around.

THUMP.

As they looked up, the Demon's giant claw happened to be retracting from another man's head.

And so, the remaining three witnessed their companion's fall from start to finish.

"They weren't... turned into demonkind! The Demon Lord didn't turn them into demonkind!"

The panicked cries instantly jolted the other two comrades awake.

"Run for it!"

The leader at the front shouted and turned to flee.

Unexpectedly, the Demon's figure abruptly appeared beside him, an ugly, sharp claw lightly resting on top of his head.

"Run? Becoming my nourishment is clearly your good fortune!"

Dark purple energy instantly penetrated his head. Soon after, a hazy, spectral image tinged with dark energy appeared beside his body—it was his sinful soul.

With a hideous gulp, the Demon sucked the ethereal Soul Body into its mouth in the blink of an eye.

"CRUNCH, CRUNCH..."

The familiar chewing sound rose again.

The remaining two were now fleeing in terror, having already run dozens of meters.

The one lagging behind glanced back as he ran and happened to see his boss fall to the ground with a THUD.

Of course, there was also the Bizarre smile the Demon gave him as it looked his way.

"AAAH!"

The horrifying scene made his legs go weak, nearly causing him to collapse. However, his survival instinct allowed him to barely stay upright. Ignoring the pale yellow liquid dripping down his trouser leg, he frantically sprinted forward.

"That damned Exorcist I can't catch up to! Do you few human ants think you can escape?"

The Demon, recalling the embarrassing memories on the Golden Gate Bridge, watched as the two men slowly receded into the distance.

Although my Strength has diminished considerably, dealing with two human ants is still a piece of cake!

The Demon's figure vanished instantly, reappearing beside the rearmost man only a few seconds later.

The fleeing man, seeing the Demon suddenly appear beside him, felt his mental defenses shatter instantly.

"BANG! BANG! BANG..."

He drew the handgun from his waist and frantically pulled the trigger at the Demon, emptying the magazine in just a few seconds.

Unfortunately, no matter how much the Demon's Strength had diminished, it was still a Demon. How could a mere human handgun harm it in the slightest?

The orange-yellow bullets failed to penetrate the Demon's body, deflecting harmlessly off its tough skin.

"CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!" The sound of bullets clattering to the ground didn't rouse the man, whose eyes were now vacant.

"CLICK! CLICK! CLICK..."

The man, his Spirit shattered, had forgotten to reload. He just mechanically pulled the trigger, staring blankly as the Demon slowly brought its huge claw over his head.

THUD.

After the thud of a heavy body hitting the ground, the familiar chewing sound was heard briefly before the Demon's figure vanished again.

Chu Feng, who had just appeared some distance behind the Demon, witnessed the entire process of the Demon consuming the evildoer's soul.

His indifferent eyes showed no flicker of emotion. These human dregs, in his view, held no value worth saving.

Besides, there was some distance between them. Even if he had wanted to save them, he was too far away to help.

The priority is to eliminate this damn beast quickly. If it continues to feed, even if it can't recover its full Strength, I'm afraid it'll conjure up some other Bizarre monstrosity.

Chu Feng stomped heavily, and his tall figure vanished in an instant.

「A minute later.」

BOOM!

A dull thud echoed abruptly in front of a grand and magnificent building as a dark red figure slammed straight into a flat expanse of yellow earth.