Chapter 61 This Year is Different from the Past

Chapter 61: This Year is Different from the Past (Second Update)

"What—what are you doing?" A leopard-humanoid stepped backward, looking vigilantly at the sturdy wild boar soldier walking toward him.

"Roar!" The mute wild boar soldier was mute, so he did not answer with words; instead, he answered directly with his fist.

With a single punch thrown, it seemed as if the surrounding air was pierced through. The unsuspecting leopard-humanoid soldier standing in the front was struck square in the chest by the blow.

His massive body flew backward, and the fresh blood spewing from his mouth traced a brilliant rainbow in mid-air.

With a heavy thud, the leopard-headed soldier's body crashed into the snow, then tumbled all the way down the mountain. The bright snow was stained crimson with blood, and he undoubtedly could not survive.

"Audacious! Have you grown tired of living?" another leopard-headed soldier shouted angrily.

The mute wild boar soldier still said nothing. He turned to face this leopard-headed soldier, his gaze as sharp and fierce as a dagger.

"Hmph!" A wild boar soldier nearby chimed in, "Do you leopard folk still take us for the old wild boar clan of the past?"

"What? Do you lot wish to be exterminated? How dare you make a move against us!" This leopard-headed soldier had already sensed something amiss, but he dared not show any cowardice. He roared, attempting to scare the wild boar soldiers back.

"Ha-ha!" The surrounding wild boar soldiers burst into laughter.

"What are you laughing at? You—you're dead meat!" The leopard-headed soldier retreated step by step down the mountain, pointing his finger at the mute wild boar soldier as he spoke.

The mute wild boar soldier gave a subtle hand gesture, and the surrounding wild boar soldiers brandished their weapons and charged at the leopard-headed soldier.

"Ahyayah!"

"Hey!"

Yet, this leopard-headed soldier's strength had unexpectedly reached the Demon General tier. His movements were extremely swift—as was natural for the leopard clan. In the blink of an eye, he flickered aside, dodging every incoming attack. Then, raising his sharp claws, he lunged to carve a hole through the chest of a nearby wild boar soldier, his eyes filled with madness.

With a sharp *crack*, the hand reaching toward the wild boar soldier was suddenly grabbed by someone!

It was the mute wild boar soldier who had made his move.

The leopard-headed soldier looked at the mute wild boar soldier in utter disbelief. Among the wild boar clan, there was only one Demon King and one Demon General. This wild boar soldier was neither the Demon King nor that black-furred Demon General; how could his combat prowess possibly be so terrifying?

Both were Demon Generals, and his own speed had always been his greatest advantage. Yet at this moment, his attack had been anticipated and intercepted. A deep sense of foreboding rose in the leopard-headed soldier's heart, and cold sweat streamed down his back.

"Roar!" The leopard-headed soldier's reaction was swift indeed. In this life-or-death crisis, he twisted his body, using his other hand to rake toward the mute wild boar soldier, his sharp claws gleaming with a cold, lightning-fast light.

With another sharp *crack*.

His other hand was once again firmly gripped by the mute wild boar soldier.

"How is this possible?!" The leopard-headed soldier was terrified out of his wits. This wild boar soldier's speed was actually superior to his own, and now both of his hands were firmly locked in the other's grip. How could he possibly attack further?

"Ah!" The leopard-headed soldier cried out in agony. With a crisp snap, his arms were broken clean by the mute wild boar soldier.

A miserable screech echoed at the foot of the mountain.

"What's that sound?" The lewd monkey stood up.

"It's coming from the foot of the mountain!" Zhou Yu said.

Ah Fei hastily rose to his feet and instructed several trusted guards nearby to go and investigate.

"It's nothing, just two little leopards. They've already been dealt with," Xuan Qing said indifferently, taking a sip of his wine.

"That mute fellow has quite decent martial prowess," Xuan Qing added casually.

His cultivation was such that he could perceive everything happening at the foot of the mountain from such a vast distance. This involuntarily reminded Zhou Yu of what Du Niang had once mentioned: cultivators who reached the Divine realm were capable of probing their entire surroundings!

Before long, a group of wild boar soldiers marched a battered leopard-headed soldier up the mountain.

The wild boar soldiers cursed and beat the leopard-headed soldier along the way, shoving and kicking him every few steps.

Seeing this, the surrounding wild boar soldiers were extremely thrilled. The leopard clan had bullied and oppressed the wild boar clan for years, but due to inferior strength, the boars had always had to swallow their anger and endure in silence.

"Kneel!" A wild boar soldier delivered a fierce kick to the back of the leopard-headed soldier's knees, sending him crashing to the ground before Zhou Yu and the others.

Zhou Yu carefully scrutinized the leopard-headed soldier.

His hands were already broken, and his entire body was covered in wounds—clearly beaten by a mob after his broken hands had stripped him of any ability to resist.

"You... the Leopard King will not let you off! You're all going to die!" Although collapsed on the ground, the leopard-headed soldier glared viciously around his surroundings, cursing aloud.

The lewd monkey frowned. He plucked a fruit pit from the table, flicked it with his finger while infusing it with demonic energy, and the pit shot forth like a piercing arrow, tearing through the air and driving straight into the leopard-headed soldier's eye.

With a *pop*, the eyeball burst, spraying a mixture of blood and fluid.

"Ah—!" The leopard-headed soldier writhed continuously on the ground, letting out a heart-wrenching shriek.

"Scream! Stop your damn screaming! Let's see you act arrogant now!" shouted the lewd monkey.

The surrounding wild boar soldiers found the sight immensely satisfying and cheered in unison: "All hail the Great King! Mighty is the Great King!"

The leopard-headed soldier thrashed about on the ground for a short while before finally coming to a gradual halt. He panted heavily, fixing his remaining single eye in a vicious glare at the lewd monkey.

"Ha-ha-ha... To think it's just a monkey! Truly, when there are no tigers on the mountain, a monkey dares call himself king!" Knowing he would not survive, the leopard-headed soldier did not beg for mercy, retaining a shred of stubborn backbone.

Hearing this, the lewd monkey flew into a rage, drew his golden cudgel, and moved to smash him into a pulp on the spot.

"Wait." Zhou Yu stopped the lewd monkey and exchanged a glance with Ah Fei.

Ah Fei stood up and questioned the leopard-headed soldier, "Was it the Leopard King who sent you?"

"Hmph!" The leopard-headed soldier let out a cold snort.

"Here to borrow grain?" Ah Fei continued to ask.

The leopard-headed soldier remained silent.

Ah Fei nodded and said, "The snow has come early this year, but in the past, even when my wild boar clan was impoverished, your leopard clan rarely came to borrow grain. Why come this time?"

The leopard-headed soldier simply closed his eyes and refused to answer Ah Fei.

Ah Fei rolled his eyes, picked up a cup of wine from the table, and walked over to the leopard-headed soldier lying on the ground.

"Since you've come from afar, you are guests. Please drink this cup of wine."

Despite saying this, Ah Fei poured the entire cup of wine directly onto the leopard-headed soldier's ruptured, bleeding eye socket.

"Ah—!" The leopard-headed soldier let out a shrill scream, so agonizing to hear that the surrounding fox folk averted their gazes, unwilling to watch any longer.

"Did you drink enough? Do you want some more? Since you like drinking wine with your eyes, how about we use both eyes together!" Ah Fei produced a sharp dagger from his waist, aiming it toward the leopard-headed soldier's remaining intact eye.

"Wait—" the leopard-headed soldier blurted out suddenly.

Ah Fei smiled and asked, "What is it?"

"I'll answer you, but stop torturing me. Give me a quick and clean end!" the leopard-headed soldier panted heavily.

"Very well!" Ah Fei stood up and tucked the dagger back into his belt.

"We came here to borrow grain this year because we caught wind that your wild boar clan had occupied Flower-Fruit Mountain."

"Who told you that?"

"You traded for three carts of wine; did you really think you could keep others from knowing?"

Ah Fei touched his ear. Indeed, wine was the ultimate luxury among the demon race. For his group to suddenly trade for three whole carts of it would boundlessly attract the attention of various factions. It seemed they had displayed their wealth too openly.

With a sharp *crack*, Ah Fei sliced the leopard-headed soldier's throat, severing his head.

"Drag his body down, roast it, and distribute it for everyone to eat!" the lewd monkey commanded.

Several wild boar soldiers immediately stepped forward and dragged the headless corpse of the leopard-headed soldier away.

Ah Fei walked back to his seat, sat down, and looked at the lewd monkey.

The lewd monkey slapped the table and exclaimed, "Damn it! I hadn't even set my sights on him yet, but he dared set his sights on me! Truly deserving of death!"

"The problem is, although these two leopard-headed soldiers have been executed, the leopard clan certainly won't let the matter rest. We still need to make some preparations," Zhou Yu remarked.

Xuan Qing had no interest whatsoever in matters of this scale. He continued drinking his wine alone, offering no comment.

"In my view, this matter isn't all that urgent. Because the heavy snow has blocked the roads and the leopard clan is short on grain, even if they want revenge, they won't choose to do it right now," Lady Hu Ji spoke up.

"Lady Hu Ji's words are entirely sensible!" Ah Fei agreed.

"However, once winter passes and the leopard clan recovers their strength and numbers, they will become even harder to deal with. Right now they lack grain while we do not—this is the prime opportunity to wage war against them!" Ah Fei continued.

Zhou Yu nodded and said, "We do indeed hold the advantage regarding grain and provisions at present."

"What is the strength of the Leopard King like?" Zhou Yu asked Lady Hu Ji. Lady Hu Ji was a long-established Demon King, so she presumably knew a great deal about the circle of Demon Kings.

"The Leopard King's strength ranks in the top five across the entire northern demon territory; he is a Higher Demon King. If I were at my peak condition, naturally I wouldn't fear him, but I haven't recovered yet," Lady Hu Ji said. Unlike the lewd monkey, Zhou Yu, or Xuan Qing, who possessed formidable regenerative abilities, she had expended massive amounts of energy and required a long period of time to recover.

"No matter! We'll handle this Leopard King ourselves! Besides, our hides are thick, and to overthrow the rule of White Bone Ridge, we must first unify the northern demon territory sooner or later. We were bound to fight him eventually!" Zhou Yu declared.

This remark deeply resonated with the lewd monkey. Being a fanatic of violence, after defeating one Demon King after another, his tail had long since curled up to the heavens, and he didn't take the Leopard King seriously at all.

Lady Hu Ji cautioned, "Though both of you are formidable, you are ultimately still only Demon Generals."

"Hmph! So what if we're Demon Generals? That Wild Ox King, the Wild Boar King, and that black boar—weren't they all Demon Kings? And didn't they still die at our hands?" the lewd monkey retorted.

Lady Hu Ji shook her head. Sweeping her gaze across Zhou Yu and the lewd monkey, she noticed the fighting desire flashing in Zhou Yu's eyes as well. She could only sigh and say, "Many people can only ever reach the Demon General tier. Once someone breaks through to the Demon King tier, they become existences capable of commanding a territory of their own. Furthermore, only after reaching the Demon King tier can one's path of cultivation truly be said to begin. Although the Demon King tier is similarly divided into three grades just like the Demon Generals, each step upward becomes exponentially more difficult."

"Because it grows increasingly difficult, the strength and power gained increase exponentially as well. Without the slightest exaggeration, a Higher Demon King can easily defeat five Lower Demon Kings!"

Lady Hu Ji's words sounded like a muffled thunderclap exploding beside the ears of Zhou Yu and the lewd monkey.