The Name of Eternals

Chapter 251: Listening to Opera, Suppressing Demons

"Liangzhou?"

The innkeeper's eyes lit up with interest when he heard Li Hao's inquiry. He smiled and said, "Are you from Liangzhou, sir? Then you must have seen that young General Haotian, right?"

"Hmm?"

Li Hao was surprised and asked, "You know about him too?"

"Of course! Who doesn't?"

The innkeeper laughed. "Our Youzhou is not far from Liangzhou. The chaos there a few months ago, with those damn demons attacking and surrounding the city, has long been spread across all provinces. I heard that even the old man from the Xia family God General's mansion went to support them."

As he spoke, his face was full of curiosity and anticipation as he looked at Li Hao:

"I heard that during that catastrophe, the demons came out in full force, with countless demons sweeping through, demon kings flying everywhere, darkening the sky. It was like a plague of locusts, leaving nothing behind. Liangzhou was about to fall when General Haotian emerged and suppressed all those demons. In the end, a single battle flag could deter countless demons. Is that true?"

"…"

Li Hao hadn't expected the events in Liangzhou to have spread so far, even to a small town in Youzhou. But it made sense; several months had passed, and news, though slow, would have spread by now.

"More or less," Li Hao replied. "What's the situation in Liangzhou now? Have the demons retreated? Is there still conflict?"

"It's all peaceful now. No demon dares to go to Liangzhou anymore. I heard that the royal army was dispatched to clean up. Nowadays, even a stray dog needs a tag to enter the city. Security is very tight there."

The innkeeper relayed what he had heard.

Li Hao relaxed a bit. It seemed that Zhuhuoshen and Yinfuren were indeed the ones overseeing the situation in Liangzhou. The true forces of the Dragon Gate and the Sacred Palace hadn't been fully deployed there.

And now, the greatest demon king who had attacked Liangzhou was standing right behind him, already subdued.

With this thought, Li Hao didn't say more. He changed into the simple clothes prepared by the innkeeper and looked at the night outside. It was still early, and the town was lively with drums and gongs.

In a good mood, Li Hao said to Xiyan, "Let's go for a walk."

"Okay!"

Xiyan perked up immediately, her small red tendril curling around Li Hao's wrist. She asked curiously, "Was that Haotian General you?"

"Yes."

"Is 'General' a title? There doesn't seem to be such a title in the Great Wilderness."

Xiyan, having been in the Great Wilderness, had only half-understood information from those who came to seize the Dao charm blood fruits. She knew little about the human race in the Dayu Dynasty.

Li Hao smiled and patiently explained through telepathy while taking Xiyan and Zhuhuoshen out.

Yinfuren stayed in Li Hao's spatial domain. Li Hao had infused a large amount of energy into Yinfuren for healing. After briefly merging with Zhuhuoshen, she seemed to touch the threshold of the Dao realm and was now in seclusion.

Under the night sky, Li Hao strolled through the small town.

Though the town was old, the aroma of food from the households filled the air, giving it a homely feel.

Stone-paved roads, old wooden stakes, a small river flowing past many homes.

Lanterns hung along the way, indicating a festival.

Following the sound of drums, Li Hao reached the town center, where a stage was set up, and many people were standing outside listening to the opera.

The front rows had tables and chairs for local notables, sipping tea and munching on melon seeds while enjoying the show.

Xiyan, like a curious child, kept asking Li Hao about everything she saw.

Zhuhuoshen, though silent and cold-faced, also observed everything around him, reflecting the scenes of human life in his eyes.

Children played outside the stage, elders clapped their hands in praise of the performance.

Li Hao walked forward, handed over a silver ingot, and took a seat at a tea table, quietly listening to the opera.

In the Great Wilderness, during short breaks, he could only gaze at the stars and moon, playing tunes to pass the time. Here, he could relax.

But soon, Li Hao sensed something unusual. He didn't get up, just casually picked up a few melon seeds, cracked them, and threw the shells on the ground.

The melon seed shells, caught in a sudden breeze, flew into the night sky, heading toward a hillside a dozen miles away.

A group of demons was approaching, drawn by the lights and sounds from the town.

Seeing the bright lights and hearing the joyous sounds of drums and laughter, they grinned evilly.

But before they could act, a seed shell descended from the sky, piercing through their bodies.

The demons fell dead instantly, without even seeing what hit them.

Only one seed shell remained by the last demon's corpse.

In the town, the opera continued, and under the moonlight outside, the bodies of the demons lay quietly.

"Bravo."

Li Hao joined the crowd in applause at the climax of the performance.

When the opera ended, and the crowd dispersed, Li Hao returned to the inn with Xiyan and Zhuhuoshen, enjoying a good night's sleep. He hadn't slept well in days since leaving the Great Wilderness.

At dawn, sunlight illuminated the demon bodies outside the town. Someone spotted them in the morning light, screamed in terror, and rushed to the Demon Ward office.

The office doors were barely closed, and two officers, still half-dressed and sleepy, rushed to the hillside upon hearing the news. Seeing the demon corpses, they were shocked and dumbfounded.

News of the demon corpses spread quickly, causing alarm in the town. But Li Hao had already asked the innkeeper for directions to Liyang City and set off with Zhuhuoshen.

Since he was here, he decided to check on Liyang City. The Xia family had supported Liangzhou, and as a fellow human, he couldn't ignore their plight.

Traveling along the official road, Li Hao passed two cities. He covered Xiyan's aura with his Dao domain and had Zhuhuoshen use his own to hide his presence. Though they lacked a demon pass, they evaded detection by the city's formations.

Formations could detect demons at the Absolute Technique level, but against Dao domain-wielding demons, they were useless.

Only major cities and the capital had special divine weapons to detect Dao domain demons, but these were rare. Ordinary cities relied on formations.

Both cities were heavily guarded, indicating demon attacks, though less severe than Liyang City.

Li Hao, passing by, dealt with demons lurking dozens of miles outside each city with ease.

Liyang City.

Located in the northwest of Youzhou, it was surrounded by tall mountains, forming a natural barrier. Liyang City was the main defense point.

The Xia family heavily guarded it year-round. Losing Liyang City meant losing the northwest frontier of Youzhou, endangering over a dozen other cities.

Currently, corpses of demons and Xia family soldiers were piled up outside the city, covered by tattered battle flags.

In the city lord's mansion, the war room was tense. Three advisors and seven generals, including several young Xia family lieutenants, were red-faced with anger.

"Damn beasts, they've cut off our supplies, trying to starve us out!"

"Trying to take us down with minimal cost, these demons are getting crafty!"

"Should we call for reinforcements? There are two Absolute Technique demons, maybe more hidden. Without the formation, we'd have fallen long ago. No need to hold out."

"Reinforcements? The demons from Gluttony Valley are waiting for us to call for help, ready to ambush them halfway. They're using us as bait!"

"True, the situation at home isn't great either. The Gluttony Valley Lord attacked half a month ago, now hiding somewhere."

"We're defending Liyang City, can't rely on the family for everything. We must solve this ourselves. Maybe we should follow the example of the Li family's Duke Xingwu in Yanbei and call for support from local families?"

"Different situation. Yanbei wasn't saved by those families, they were a small part of the help."

"Even a small part helps. Time to make those families bleed. They hoard wealth and exploit people, hiding deeper when demons attack. It's time they contributed!"

"Hard to call for help now, we don't have time. I have another suggestion."

"What is it?"

All eyes turned to an advisor.

The middle-aged advisor looked around, especially at the young Xia family lieutenants, and said softly:

"Why not change our battle flag?"

"Change the flag?"

"Yes, everyone knows about Liangzhou. Why not send an elite unit, change armor, and fly General Haotian's flag, pretending to be reinforcements from inside the pass?"

Hearing this, everyone was stunned. The city lords' eyes lit up, but the young Xia family lieutenants were angry. One pondered, while another shouted:

"Impossible! This is Youzhou, our Xia family's territory. We aren't dead yet, how can we fly an outsider's flag?"

The advisor expected resistance and quickly said, "It's a temporary measure. If it can save lives and reduce casualties, it's worth it."

"No way!"

The young lieutenant shouted, "In Youzhou, only our Xia family's flag flies! This is our base!"

"It's just a stopgap…"

"And if the flag doesn't scare the demons?"

Another interrupted, "That kid has disappeared for months. His flag's been studied by demons, it won't scare them now. People have been using it to bluff, but the demons saw through it long ago. It's lost its power."

"Exactly."

The first lieutenant added, "Don't pin hopes on outsiders. Think about how to lure out one of those Absolute Technique demons, and use the formation token to trap and kill it."

The advisor sighed, knowing the young Xia family members valued honor too highly to consider this option.

But he felt it might work, maybe even create a breakthrough.

As they debated, a sudden tremor interrupted them.

The generals rushed out to see the city's formation glowing with golden runes, under attack by a demon wielding a scythe-like arm.

"Stop!"

A young Xia family lieutenant flew up, shouting in anger.

"Thought you were asleep, needed to wake you up."

The demon laughed, continuing his attack on the formation. "Stay alert, we could attack anytime."

His brazen behavior enraged the young lieutenant, knowing the demon wanted to keep them on edge, preventing rest.

They could adapt, but the soldiers inside the city were fearful, lacking the stamina and morale.

"Provoking my Xia family will cost you, Gluttony Valley!"

The young lieutenant shouted in anger.

"Oh? What cost? I'm right here, come at me."

The demon taunted.

Other generals arrived, restraining the young lieutenant. An old general, exuding Absolute Technique aura, stepped forward.

Seeing this, the demon retreated a few hundred meters, laughing, "I'll be back tomorrow."

He turned to leave.

The old general charged out, shouting, "You think you can come and go as you please?"

He pursued, but stopped a thousand meters away, seeing the dense demon army ahead, avoiding an ambush.

The demon sneered and signaled his army to retreat.

Just then, a rider approached on the official road.

The crisp sound of hooves echoed as the rider calmly approached.

"Hmm?"

"Who's this fool, daring to ride here? Another noble brat seeking glory?"

The demon glanced at the rider, unimpressed. Many such fools had died here recently.

Turning to leave, he suddenly stopped.

Behind him, the demon army's aura was rapidly diminishing.

He turned to see a strange sight.

The rider moved slowly, but demons fell like wilted wheat, lifeless.

Seeing this, the demon's heart pounded. An indescribable aura enveloped him.

Boom!

His body exploded in mid-air.