Chapter 261 | The One Who Devours All

Longevity Demon stood on the messy street, looking up.

At the limit of her vision, the figures of two birdmen—one black, one white—collided fiercely in the sky, churning the clouds and light.

She couldn't fly.

So she could only watch those two flyable beings fight in the heavens.

Headquarters had supernatural objects that could grant flight, and they had vertical take-off and landing fighters.

Whether by supernatural objects or machinery, she could have taken to the air to join the fight.

But she didn't move.

What would happen after she took flight?

Supernatural objects and fighter jets were external tools; their flexibility and maneuverability were concerning.

Before two monsters who could naturally fly, she would be as clumsy as a sitting duck.

If she went up, she likely wouldn't be able to help and would instead become a burden that Judgment Angel would have to divide his attention to protect.

Or she might simply become a weakness for Yue Shi to prioritize.

Her ability could be activated with just a gaze within a certain distance, silently stripping away an opponent's lifespan.

But just now, Judgment Angel had tried several times to force Yue Shi toward her, yet that long-haired man always intentionally avoided her, resolutely refusing to get close.

Once could be a coincidence, but two or three times meant only one thing: insight.

“He knows,” Longevity Demon’s heart sank.

“A probing ability? Or some kind of supernatural object?”

Probing abilities weren't rare. However, being able to accurately detect the detailed effects of another's abilities was terrifying.

This meant that in front of Yue Shi, no one had secrets, and all trump cards could be seen through in advance.

Longevity Demon’s gaze closely followed the battle in the sky.

Judgment Angel was surrounded by brilliant holy light, pouring down light spears like rain, while pillars of light occasionally tore through the sky with immense momentum.

But anyone with eyes could see that he was consistently at a disadvantage.

That “Black Angel” was too flexible; space was like a toy in his hands.

With every flash, Yue Shi appeared in an awkward position. As his black feathers flapped, spatial rifts coiled around and sliced through the holy light.

The movements of the two were incredibly fast, exceeding the limits of what the naked eye could capture.

From the moment Yue Shi took to the sky until now, it seemed like a long time had passed, but in reality, it was only a brief moment.

Longevity Demon didn't know what happened to Judgment Angel, but she suddenly saw his movements become sluggish and slow, as if he had fallen into a mire.

When experts fought, a tiny mistake could determine life or death.

Yue Shi’s figure took the opportunity to close in, one foot stepping heavily on Judgment Angel’s back while his hands clamped onto those pure white wings.

“Ah!”

A shrill, distorted scream rang out.

There was also the sound of flesh and bone being torn apart.

Judgment Angel’s pure white wings were brutally ripped off by Yue Shi!

Blood shimmering with golden light spilled from the sky.

Judgment Angel became a broken-winged angel, screaming as he plummeted from the heights.

But during the fall, a star array appeared beneath his feet.

Then his figure appeared directly on the ground, avoiding the embarrassment of crashing from the sky.

Judgment Angel knelt on one knee, two massive, bloody wounds on his back. Blood sprayed out, and his aura was withered.

The surrounding investigators were dumbfounded, the color draining from their faces.

A captain from headquarters had actually been defeated so miserably?

Longevity Demon’s expression was extremely unsightly.

Every captain was very busy, each having their own assigned task area.

She and Judgment Angel had both been urgently recalled to Yujing to hunt down the wanted criminal.

They had thought that by gathering the power of two captains, even if they couldn't suppress Yue Shi, they should at least be able to stall him.

Never did they expect that this wanted criminal’s strength had already exceeded conventional categories, reaching another level entirely.

Enduring the intense pain, Judgment Angel struggled to stand up and roared hoarsely toward Longevity Demon, “Old hag, let’s join forces—”

Before he could finish his sentence, something white and blurry slapped right into his face.

It was a wing!

Yue Shi was actually using Judgment Angel’s own wing as a weapon to hit him in the face!

Under his heavy injuries, Judgment Angel couldn't dodge in time.

There was a dull thud.

He was sent flying by a single strike from his own wing, crashing into the ruins of a half-collapsed building in the distance, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Who are you calling an old hag! I am clearly a pure and beautiful young girl!”

Longevity Demon cursed under her breath, but her movements didn't hesitate for a second.

Her pupils shrank, and her vision immediately locked onto Yue Shi, who was within her range.

But at the very moment she gazed at him, Yue Shi’s figure vanished from the spot.

In the next instant, a vicious wind attacked from behind!

Longevity Demon’s reaction speed far exceeded that of an ordinary person. Her rich combat experience allowed her to immediately twist her body to block.

But she didn't know that in the eyes of outsiders, she was currently just like Judgment Angel was a moment ago—suddenly moving in slow motion.

Rip!

Yue Shi’s claws raked heavily across Longevity Demon’s back.

The flesh was torn open, and the wounds were deep enough to see bone!

Even more terrifyingly, the flesh around the wound quickly turned grey and decayed, and this decay was spreading to the surroundings.

“Hmph!” Longevity Demon groaned, a look of pain flashing across her face.

The lifespan stored within her body ignited passively, and strange flames covered the wound.

The decay immediately stopped spreading, and the wound showed signs of slowly healing.

“Divine Judgment!”

From the ruins, Judgment Angel struggled to raise his hand. Ignoring his own heavy injuries, he shot a pillar of light toward Yue Shi to stop him from continuing to harm Longevity Demon.

Yue Shi’s body swayed slightly, easily avoiding the pillar of light.

Taking advantage of this gap, Longevity Demon made a startling decision.

She didn't counterattack, nor did she spare another look at Judgment Angel.

She turned directly, her lifespan burning fiercely as she pushed her speed to the limit, sprinting away from the battlefield without looking back!

She ran.

Yue Shi didn't think much of it. It was normal to run when you couldn't win; he understood perfectly.

The one who was truly shocked and incredulous was Judgment Angel, who had just crawled back up.

He endured the agonizing pain and stared at Longevity Demon’s retreating back, his eyes filled with three parts shock, three parts confusion, and ninety-four parts fury.

“You old hag, you fucking...”

She actually ran away alone!

By herself!

The other surrounding investigators also widened their eyes in disbelief.

The captain’s image had completely shattered.

It was absolutely rotten!

If even a captain was like this, was there any hope left for headquarters?

Regarding this, Longevity Demon, who was running with all her might, didn't care at all about her image collapsing.

Staying alive was more important than anything else.

Other people's opinions? What kind of thing was that?

Although she looked young, her actual age far exceeded that of ordinary people, already approaching three digits.

She had experienced too much and knew too much; she wasn't someone these youngsters could compare to.

Today, Yue Shi was wreaking havoc in Yujing. This scene gave her a sense of déjà vu, as if yesterday were repeating itself.

She thought back to thirty years ago.

Back then, headquarters had also been fiercely provoked by someone with absolute power, slapped in the face, and completely crushed.

At that time, she was being jointly controlled by those great elite families who held all the resources, serving as a communal “life-extending physician.”

But later, those elite families and headquarters experts who resisted to the end all died miserable deaths overnight.

The ones who had families with them were wiped out entirely.

And she, Longevity Demon, had lived until now precisely because she ran away in time.

Nothing was more important than one's own safety.

If she died, what the world would become in the future had nothing to do with her.

So-called responsibility and honor were as light as dust in the face of life and death.

Therefore, the moment she sensed things were going south, Longevity Demon chose to flee immediately.

This was the only correct solution; she didn't need to hesitate for even half a second.

Yue Shi didn't immediately chase Longevity Demon. Instead, taking advantage of Judgment Angel’s shock and daze, he went straight for his life!

“Strike while he’s down!”

Judgment Angel had the hidden danger of 「Divine Erosion」. If he were only beaten to a half-dead state, it would be easy to provoke him into a frantic counterattack, accelerating the erosion process.

Things could easily go wrong if it dragged on; he had to be finished off as quickly as possible!

With a ruthless gaze, Yue Shi teleported in front of Judgment Angel.

A star array had already appeared beneath Judgment Angel’s feet; he was also about to flee, only half a beat slower than Longevity Demon.

But in that half-beat, Judgment Angel moved in slow motion again.

He couldn't perceive that time had slowed down at his position, nor did he have time to think about anything.

Yue Shi’s hand directly pierced through his chest, and an invisible suction came from his palm.

Judgment Angel’s eyes widened, and the halo above his head quickly dimmed and vanished.

The blood flowing from the wound gradually turned back into a normal bright red, no longer shimmering with golden light.

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.

Yue Shi didn't give him a chance to speak. Several spatial rifts flashed and crossed through him.

Judgment Angel, this captain who symbolized the majesty and power of headquarters, couldn't even leave behind any final words before being shredded and banished. He was completely finished.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

The surrounding investigators, as well as the citizens who had glimpsed this scene, all froze in place.

Their eyes were rounded, their pupils shaking, as they watched an angel die a tragic death on the street.

A captain from headquarters was dead.

Just killed like that?

Boundless fear flooded over them.

Yue Shi didn't waste even half a second. He turned his gaze toward the direction Longevity Demon had fled and teleported in pursuit.

He wanted to force her to use that ultimate ability, 「Longevity with Heaven and Earth」.

The method was simple: just beat her to death.

Beat her until she was at the end of her rope, beat her until she had no way out.

When that time came, she would naturally think of taking him and this world down with her.

Longevity Demon was much more troublesome than Judgment Angel.

The trouble didn't lie in how sharp her attacks were, but in how fast her speed was.

The moment Yue Shi’s figure teleported to a position behind her, she had already dashed away, leaving a string of afterimages and only a gust of wind.

Yue Shi could only slow her down from time to time.

“Oh, little brother. I’ve already run away and admitted defeat, so why must you keep chasing me so relentlessly?”

“We have no past grudges and no recent enmity. I didn't even lay a hand on you just now, so why bother chasing me?”

Longevity Demon’s voice drifted from ahead, intentionally creating a sense of ease, but the speed of her feet didn't slow down at all.

Yue Shi always appeared in Longevity Demon’s blind spot, and this time was no exception.

His voice came from behind her: “I’m chasing you precisely because I want to!”

“Your presence here represents your stance.”

“You wanted to kill me, and now you’re only choosing to flee because you saw that you couldn't win.”

“How can I allow someone who wanted to kill me to live?”

Longevity Demon’s figure turned sharply as she rushed into a commercial street, her mouth never stopping: “There are no eternal enemies in this world, only eternal interests.”

“Tell me, what do you want? Do you want a long lifespan? I’ll even throw in a beautiful big sister as a bonus~”

What responded to her was a ruthless strike from Yue Shi.

But Longevity Demon wasn't killed, nor did she self-destruct; the injuries she received were rapidly recovering.

“Your ability is so special; I bet many old fossils must really need you, right?”

“Or perhaps, you’re an old fossil yourself!” Yue Shi mocked.

Longevity Demon was the hardest person to kill he had encountered so far.

To be more precise, she was the one who could take the most punishment.

The speed, defense, recovery, reaction time, and various resistances brought by sacrificing her lifespan were all extremely high.

She had taken a claw strike from Yue Shi head-on and was actually able to heal herself at extreme speed!

Hearing Yue Shi’s mockery, Longevity Demon wasn't angry at all; she was past the age of getting angry.

She also knew very well that anger would only affect her judgment. At a critical moment of life and death, losing control of one's emotions was fatal.

Longevity Demon didn't choose to run toward the sparsely populated outskirts of the city; instead, she specifically ducked into crowded areas.

Open areas were not conducive to her hiding or maneuvering, whereas crowded places gave her a chance to slip away in the chaos.

She could use the complex terrain and the panicked crowd to shake off the pursuit.

More importantly, in a crowd, she could siphon a lot of lifespan to store and replenish her own consumption.

Yue Shi saw through her plan at a glance, but he didn't stop her. Instead, like a cat playing with a mouse, he allowed her to rush into the more densely populated areas.

He even spoke with interest, his voice teasing: “Hey, why haven't you self-destructed yet?”

“My name isn't ‘Hey’!” Longevity Demon’s heart shivered, and her footsteps faltered slightly.

As expected, her ability had been completely seen through by Yue Shi.

Even her trump card was known by the enemy; how was she supposed to fight this?

Longevity Demon was unwilling to just die.

Yue Shi’s laughter echoed, becoming increasingly manic and unbridled: “Hahaha, hurry up and blow up! There are plenty of people here; it’s perfect for them to be buried with you. How lively!”

Longevity Demon gritted her teeth hard.

Self-destruct?

She did indeed have such an ability, but the effect was unknown; after all, it could only be used once in a lifetime.

She didn't want to die.

Having lived for so long and experienced so many storms, how could she fall here?

Since there was no way out, she would stall!

Stalling for even one more second was worth it. Perhaps in the next second, the true foundation of headquarters or some other hidden powerhouses would arrive to rescue her.

Yue Shi didn't intend to give her that chance; he was truly fighting to kill her.

Seeing that she still had no intention of using Longevity with Heaven and Earth, Yue Shi gradually lost his patience, and his attacks became increasingly sharp and lethal.

Boom!

A spatial rift passed through Longevity Demon, simultaneously slicing a skyscraper in front of her in half.

The lacerations on Longevity Demon’s body quickly mended. The massive severed building crashed down toward her, forcing her to make an abrupt stop and turn.

Slash!

Yue Shi attacked again. This time, Longevity Demon couldn't completely dodge; her arm was grazed, and a large chunk of flesh decayed. Her lifespan burned frantically to stop the decay from spreading.

The affected citizens nearby screamed and fled in all directions.

From time to time, someone was injured by the aftershocks of the battle or accidentally wandered into a zone of distorted space, their bodies being torn apart.