To think, the beastmen’s massive army had originally set out to invade the Snake Demon Country and seize the Endless Treasure. His own brother Gerdun had even set his sights on Princess Celi long ago. If they could truly threaten her life, wouldn’t that so-called “Endless Treasure” fall right into their hands like ripe fruit?
But now, word had come that his brother had nearly lost his life, and the army was reduced to ragged remnants barely clinging to survival. All because, during what should have been a guaranteed victory in capturing Celi, they had run into two Demons—one of them Xuefei.
It was she who had made off with the Endless Treasure!
So, as long as they tracked down Xuefei and gave her some excuse, there was no way the mighty Beastman Kingdom wouldn’t get it back. Indeed, ever since the beastmen had tamed ancient mammoths, they had risen to become one of the world’s top powers.
As for that fool Gerdun…
Even if he managed to bring back the Endless Treasure, his big brother would simply take it from him in the end. After all, countless spies had long been planted at his side, leaving him no chance of fighting back. In other words, everything had been meticulously planned, all accounted for—until that accursed Evil Dragon showed up halfway through.
It was all because Xuefei had ruined everything!
These days, the beastmen had become a regional overlord in the central part of the Camiran Continent by subjugating other races. Even the Evil Dragon was merely the hegemon of the East—they should be equals. The Demons might not show respect, but the Evil Dragon would have to give that much face.
Besides, even if Xuefei truly had the power to annihilate the entire army, what of it?
He wasn’t some idiot little brother who had to perch on a high seat all day. In terms of sheer size, he didn’t lose to any beastman, and his strength and magic ranked at the pinnacle of the entire race. Just two vassals under the Evil Dragon?
What a joke.
Gorfur briefly envisioned himself claiming the Endless Treasure, basking in glory, and lost himself in the daydream.
“Little girl, if you hand over the Endless Treasure, we can call it even.”
Little girl?
Xuefei nearly burst out laughing.
This guy really had no idea she was the Evil Dragon herself. Fine, it was cute enough around her own people, but why was he still fumbling so pathetically?
Whatever.
Suddenly, one of the maids standing to the side could hold back no longer. She rushed forward and berated the beastman prince Gorfur.
“Show respect to Lady Xuefei, or we’ll kill you right now!”
“No need.”
Xuefei intervened once more with Time Stop.
She admitted it now—in any case, the Gods were unlikely to appear here, whether they tried entering the Evil Dragon Domain or were blocked by additional protective barriers outside.
In other words, short of a direct assault, the Gods could never slip into the Evil Dragon Domain unnoticed. Even if they somehow infiltrated, their divine power would be suppressed, rendering them unable to harm a soul.
Xuefei simply wanted to have some fun.
“Beastman, don’t push your luck!”
Andrea had reached her limit. She abruptly rose from her seat, her purple hair shimmering more intensely as flames of fury blazed in her pupils. It seemed she might vent her rage on this insolent beastman at any moment.
“Isn’t this a Fallen Wing Clan member? Heh, mongrels the Wing Clan couldn’t stomach, now groveling under the Demons—pathetic!”
“Dare to repeat those insolent words, you filthy scum?”
Andrea flashed forward in an instant step, placing herself right in front of Xuefei and directly before Gorfur.
Her wings blotted out the sky, the pitch-black halo crowning her head resembling a dark sun brimming with the Fallen Wing Clan’s terrifying power. As Dark Filth, she had long despised ordinary creatures, and the sight of beastmen set her blood surging.
“If we weren’t in the great hall, I’d have slaughtered you stupid pigs ages ago!”
Gorfur crouched down, but even then he loomed far taller than Andrea.
“Yo ho, so you’re the queen of the Fallen Wings? But your numbers can’t hold a candle to the Wing Clan proper. Without the Demons’ protection, you’d have been trampled under our heels, begging for a mercy death long ago!”
Xuefei figured that was half right.
The Fallen Wing Clan certainly had far fewer members than the Wing Clan, but as Dark Filth—or Demon existences—they operated on an entirely different plane from regular species. They were like beings from two separate tiers of existence altogether.
“You…”
Andrea was livid. Were it not for Xuefei holding her back, she might have already lashed out and settled the score with this beastman.
Xuefei tilted her head with a playful smile. “I thought you were doing this out of brotherly love. Turns out you couldn’t care less about your poor sibling—you’re just after power, aren’t you?”
“Who said that!”
“Wasn’t it you? All that talk about avenging your brother, but what you’re really after is the Endless Treasure. Shouldn’t you be demanding your brother’s ear instead?”
Strange. This fellow actually showed no fear toward the Evil Dragon.
Xuefei was somewhat shocked by this reckless brand of courage, but deep down, she couldn’t help mocking the genetic flaw ingrained in their race…
It was said that beastmen were raised with this kind of education from childhood: newborn calves unafraid of tigers, recklessly charging ahead to the extreme, never considering the enemy’s strength. Hadn’t even his father told him that no matter how much he advanced—hundreds or thousands of times over—he still couldn’t hold a candle to the Evil Dragon?
“You bastard…,” Gorfur growled, clenching his fists in humiliated fury.
The moment those words left his mouth, the maids, the Demons, and the leaders and diplomats who weren’t Demons but had sided with the Evil Dragon—all fixed him with the same chilling gaze. Gorfur had no idea what was happening, merely staring back at everyone with his beady black eyes. In that instant, the air turned frigid as ice, icy spikes stabbing into his chest.
…It was the look reserved for the dead.
“…”
The hall fell deathly silent, but no matter how the beastman racked his brains now, there was no escaping this.
“Do you know why I forgot about you and your brother?”
“What?”
“Because—like some parvenu who rises overnight and is inevitably swept away by the tides of history—you’re nothing but insignificant ants, utterly incapable of shaking the Demons in the slightest. You’re not even worth our proper attention.”
“…”
Gorfur wanted to retort, but the words stuck in his throat, refusing to come out.
He could only watch as Xuefei propped her chin lazily, gazing down at him. For some reason, her diamond-shaped pupils morphed into black holes in his vision, expanding relentlessly as the light faded, eventually devouring everything…
He felt as if he’d been hit by a paralysis spell, able only to watch her composed smile while some unknown attack loomed—yet he couldn’t muster the slightest strength.
Was it Pressure?!
“Do you know why the Evil Dragon never bothers fighting for authority or conquering other nations? Heh, it’s not simply because we lack soldiers. And it’s certainly not because we don’t have the power.”
Xuefei’s eyes grew haughty as the Evil Dragon’s malevolence crashed into the beastman’s mind like an unforgiving tsunami.
“It’s because the Evil Dragon simply doesn’t care.”
“What you see as power is a mere trifle to her. She doesn’t give you lot a second thought. Still, I hope you remember me—and show some respect next time.”
“Of course, that would be in hell.”
With a sharp crack, the top of Gorfur’s head was replaced by a perfect cross-section. Blood erupted like a fountain as his shocked expression rolled away with his pitiful head, tumbling out of the hall.
