Chapter 229 - 228: I Will Never Enjoy This Merit Alone
Chapter 229: Chapter 228: I Will Never Enjoy This Merit Alone
"What?!"
The cry of stunned disbelief came from the Ape Demon.
Staggering back from the tremendous force transmitted through its blade, it had heard the woman’s cry from a short distance away. It had been about to viciously mock the human before it for overestimating herself.
’Take it down in fifteen breaths?’
’Truly audacious!’
But as its gaze subconsciously swept into the distance and it saw the scene clearly, a chill instantly enveloped the Ape Demon. A flicker of panic crossed its savage eyes.
’My two brothers... dead? Just like that, without a sound?’
’When did that happen?!’
’They didn’t even have time to cry for help?’
In its imagination, its two brothers should have already taken care of everyone else. They should have been waiting for their elder brother to join them in devouring the flesh and blood, feasting until they were full before heading back down the mountain.
’How did it turn into this without me even noticing...’
’Flee!’
There was no time for extraneous thoughts, no time to grieve for its two dead brothers.
The shock of the situation was simply too great—even more terrifying than the Demon Suppression Bureau’s encirclement on the mountain peak!
The Ape Demon knew only one thing: if it didn’t flee now, it would be joining its brothers on the road to death!
’Whatever could kill my two brothers without a sound could definitely kill me just as easily!’
WHOOSH!
It leaped up, spun around, and dashed into the dense forest.
"Captain Sun, if you keep staring into space, this monkey is going to get away."
Wu Chen glanced at the astonished look on the young woman’s face and at the Ape Demon, which had lost all will to fight, and offered a kind reminder.
Sun Yuting snapped back to her senses. She raised her saber, about to give chase, when another voice sounded from behind her:
"Captain Sun needs to guard the mountain path in case any other villains try to escape. How about you leave the Ape Demon to your subordinate?"
Sun Yuting knew exactly what he meant. Wu Chen wanted the merit.
But to her, such merits were of little consequence, so she might as well go with the flow.
"Then this Ape Demon is yours!" Sun Yuting nodded in agreement.
The moment she finished speaking, a gentle breeze brushed past her as a dark figure shot straight toward the Ape Demon.
Running through the mountains was the Ape Demon’s specialty. It covered a distance of a hundred feet in an instant over the complex terrain.
But the figure behind it was even faster. Before the Ape Demon could make its next leap, a fair, pale hand pressed down on the crown of its head, freezing it in place.
The Ape Demon reacted quickly, swinging its saber at its side.
But Wu Chen’s movements were even more unpredictable and graceful. With his palm still on the Ape Demon’s head, he used the momentum to launch himself into the air, his body circling around the demon to face it.
Then, a knee strike followed, smashing into the Ape Demon’s protruding face.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The Ape Demon’s cheek caved in, its bones shattering. The eight-foot-tall demonic body was sent flying backward by the immense force, its sharp fangs, which protruded over its lips, falling out as it flew.
It then landed heavily in an open space between several Captains, kicking up countless fallen leaves.
From start to finish, it all happened in the span of a single breath.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Wu Chen walked out of the forest. Seeing the unconscious Ape Demon, he was about to step forward and end its life.
Suddenly, he remembered something and looked at Sun Yuting, asking:
"Should we keep one alive?"
Sun Yuting stared blankly at the twitching Ape Demon on the ground, its face a bloody, mangled mess.
’A single kick took down the thick-skinned barbarian spy. And now a single kick takes down a member of the Demon Race, whose body is even tougher than a barbarian’s?’
She subconsciously rubbed her own abdomen.
"Keep it alive."
Hearing his question, Sun Yuting glanced at the two other lifeless Ape Demons.
"The fact that they could escape the encirclement in the mountains means these three are among the stronger Ape Demons."
"If we bring one back alive to the Demon Suppression Bureau, we can interrogate it for other connections."
"If the interrogation reveals anything, it’ll count as a follow-up mission for us."
Wu Chen nodded. "Give me the silver silk rope."
Sun Yuting took a thumb-thick silver rope from her storage pouch and handed it over.
SNAP! SNAP!
To prevent the Ape Demon from having any hidden tricks to break free, like a ’Demon Pattern’ or something similar that could lead to a sudden, violent outburst, Wu Chen placed his palm on its shoulder blade. With a gentle squeeze, the crisp sound of cracking bone echoed.
He then proceeded to crush the bones in its other limbs one by one.
Watching this, the assembled Captains couldn’t help but feel a chill run down their spines.
Especially since Wu Chen performed the act with a completely blank expression, as if he had repeated this motion thousands of times.
Only after crushing all four limbs, ensuring the Ape Demon had no chance of a sudden uprising, did Wu Chen begin to wrap and bind it with the rope.
His technique was exceedingly professional.
Sun Yuting watched as Wu Chen expertly threaded the silver rope around the Ape Demon’s waist and torso, finally tying it off at its ankles.
She averted her gaze, subconsciously grinding her thighs together and biting her lip.
’Does he really have to tie it up like that?!’
Once the last Ape Demon was dealt with, Sun Yuting’s gaze fell upon the corpse of the Hidden Wind Valley Elder.
She walked over to the body, clicking her tongue in amazement.
She had thought they would have to go through a lot of trouble, posting wanted posters everywhere and organizing a manhunt. She never imagined Wu Chen would kill the man before he even made it off the mountain.
"Unfortunately, I was still too late."
Wu Chen explained with a sorrowful expression, "The guy ran too fast. I got there a little late, and he killed Zhao Deyi."
Hearing this, Sun Yuting froze for a moment.
’Zhao Deyi is dead? Killed by the Hidden Wind Valley Elder?’
’This is a double blessing!’
’This was truly something she hadn’t expected.’
Sun Yuting looked at Wu Chen’s sorrowful, self-reproachful expression and quickly suppressed the smile that was beginning to form on her lips.
In truth, she had a pretty good idea of what had happened.
After all, with the terrifying skills Wu Chen had displayed, how could he possibly have failed to stop the Hidden Wind Valley Elder? It was clearly a case of borrowing a knife to kill someone.
"Though you failed to save Zhao Deyi, you saved the rest of the provisional guards!"
Sun Yuting declared loudly, "This is a great merit!"
She was setting the official narrative for the incident among her own people.
It was all about how you framed it. If you said he failed to save Zhao Deyi, that was a demerit, deserving of punishment and an investigation.
But if you said he saved most of the others, that was a merit, deserving of rewards and promotion.
After speaking, her almond-shaped eyes flickered toward Wu Chen a few times, signaling for him not to worry. If the Zhao family came looking for someone to blame, she would help him bear the burden.
"..."
Wu Chen didn’t respond. He had only taken the opportunity to announce Zhao Deyi’s death so that everyone would be mentally prepared and simply know the man was gone.
As for whether the Zhao family would come looking for trouble, he couldn’t care less.
After all, he was now in the Leakless Realm, a first-class expert.
After this Hidden Wind Valley mission, while the reward might not be enough to let him advance to the Armor Forging Realm—also known as the Grandmaster Realm—it would be no problem to reach the Perfection stage of the Leakless Realm.
He couldn’t think of any reason why the Zhao family would target a top-tier, first-class expert instead of trying to befriend him.
’All for a good-for-nothing like Zhao Deyi?’
’Then again, given Zhao Deyi’s character, the rest of the Zhao family probably isn’t too bright either...’
Wu Chen complained silently, but he felt not the slightest fear at the thought that someone from the Zhao family might come to hold him accountable.
He just wasn’t afraid.
It was the confidence that came from true strength.
’For this matter, I’d only have reason to be cautious if the Zhao family sent a Grandmaster-level expert after me.’
’But if one dares to come... this might be my chance to obtain Armor Forging Realm Martial Arts ahead of schedule!’
Wu Chen’s eyes were calm, but countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
The matter of Zhao Deyi was thus settled.
Sun Yuting’s gaze fell again on the three Demon Corpses and the corpse of the Hidden Wind Valley Elder.
Then she looked toward the now-quiet Hidden Wind Valley peak, pondered for a moment, and said to the five Silver Wolf Captains:
"For this mission to guard Hidden Wind Valley, the credit for the three Ape Demons and the Hidden Wind Valley Elder belongs to Wu Chen alone."
"The five of you will be rewarded separately by me."
"What do you all think?"
Sun Yuting used a consultative tone. It would be normal if someone objected to her proposal; they would simply discuss it further.
After all, everyone had put in effort to slay the demons, and they had all walked the line between life and death. Why should all the credit go to one person?
She herself might not care, but the lower-ranking Silver Wolf Captains couldn’t possibly be indifferent.
Anyone in their position would feel at least a little resentful.
But the five Silver Wolf Captains nodded immediately without a second thought, showing no signs of reluctance.
With solemn expressions, they all cupped their fists and bowed to Sun Yuting and Wu Chen.
"We will naturally follow Captain Sun’s orders."
"Lord Wu’s strength is immeasurable. After witnessing his battle against the Demon Fiends, we are all thoroughly convinced!"
For them, just being able to witness a Leakless Realm expert in action was a huge benefit—an opportunity they would never normally get.
Moreover, they had seen such an expert strike twice.
Even though Wu Chen’s moves were simple, the men had learned a great deal from them over the past few days.
As long as their own foundations were solid, they could comprehend his techniques and improve their own strength just by watching him fight.
Based on this alone, everyone felt they had already gained a huge advantage. How could they dare to covet credit that didn’t belong to them in the first place?
But in the next moment, they were all stunned into silence.
They saw Wu Chen wave a hand and declare in a clear voice:
"No, the success of this mission to guard Hidden Wind Valley was not my achievement alone."
"Everyone stood guard through several cold nights, and today you all fought hard against the Ape Demons to protect this place."
"How could I take all the credit for myself?"
"Therefore..."
"I will absolutely not monopolize this merit!"