Ling Yan's words carried a hint of bitterness as she glanced at Gu Zhong.
Gu Zhong couldn't discern the emotions in her eyes, only sensing a sense of worry.
"After all, you are still young, and your divine power is insufficient to suppress the demon race, not to mention your identity—"
Gu Zhong thought it over and over, and was about to try to persuade her again when Ling Yan interrupted him unhappily.
"Is my role there to be a mascot with no control over my own destiny?"
Mentioning her meager divine power and identity was like touching a raw nerve for Ling Yan; her initial displeasure suddenly surged, igniting sparks of anger.
"Ayan?"
Gu Zhong was taken aback upon seeing this and began to reflect on where he had said something wrong.
"Divine Lord!"
However, before she could figure it out, a cry of surprise from the soldiers in front drew her attention back to the battlefield.
From the Demon Realm, an even taller figure emerged from the thick black mist, slowly approaching them—or rather, riding a strange beast.
The beast was exactly like the demons, its entire body was black, except for its huge, crimson eyes.
It has five hooves, which step on the ground in a staggered pattern, making a crisp "clattering" sound.
Two curved horns stand tall on its head, branching and intersecting like tree branches, swaggering and showing off.
The demon riding on it was even taller than the previous ones. Its mask was carved with more intricate and bizarre patterns, its black armor was inlaid with a ring of fiery red flames, and its weapon was a long mace.
—This is a demon general.
As the demon general appeared, the black mist that had been spreading across half the area seemed to receive some kind of order, or perhaps it was forced by the power of a higher authority, and slowly, gradually sank down and disappeared at the feet of the strange beast.
Then an even more horrifying scene unfolded—a dense array of demons stood in orderly formation on the border, their numbers no less than, if not greater than, those of the gods on this side.
The black armor and silver helmet formed a stark and striking contrast. The wind swept across this battlefield from tens of thousands of years ago, carrying with it lingering cries and howls.
The hearts of all the soldiers and officers present sank suddenly, like a stone thrown into a deep well, with no sign of it settling down.
An overwhelming sense of pressure and urgency lingered in everyone's mind.
The two armies faced off on the battlefield, and it looked like a major battle was about to break out.
It remains to be seen how much more brutal and unfortunate this battle will be compared to the past.
"Gu Zhong?"
The demon general twisted its head, its burning gaze sweeping over the exhausted heavenly soldiers before it. From its hoarse voice, as if its vocal cords were being ground by fire or sand, it uttered two words of question.
"Ayan, leave here."
Gu Zhong turned to face the battlefield. She whispered her last words to Ling Yan, then leaped to the front of the battlefield, facing the seemingly invincible demon general with a solemn expression.
"You were looking for me?"
"I've heard you are... the God of War?"
The demon general's words seemed a bit disjointed, always uttering in pairs.
“There are tens of millions of other gods like me in the divine realm.”
Gu Zhong chuckled lightly, his eyes filled with disdain as he looked at the Demon General.
The demon general stared intently at Gu Zhong for a moment, then suddenly swung his long mace, striking heavily against the light barrier temporarily formed by Gu Zhong's sword light.
The light screen flickered, and the sword stuck in the ground let out a mournful cry, its blade shaking violently.
The divine sword possesses a spirit—this demon before us is very strong.
Gu Zhong summoned the sword back into his hand and gently stroked the blade with his fingers to soothe it. The divine sword slowly calmed down.
As the light barrier dissipated, the demons behind the Demon General began to stir, and some couldn't resist taking a few steps forward.
The demon general raised his hand high, stopping his subordinates from acting in a disorganized and undisciplined manner.
"war!?"
It pointed its long mace at Gu Zhong, issuing a challenge to fight.
Gu Zhong pursed his lips, raised the longsword to his eyes, and used it to conceal the fighting spirit in his eyes.
The fire in the demon's eyes burned even brighter, as if it had found a like-minded person, which made it extremely excited.
It spurred its mount, like a gust of wind, towards Gu Zhong.
"Clang!"
The clang of metal clashing against metal echoed across the silent, empty battlefield, heralding the prelude to chaos and conquest.
The demons, who were already restless, received the order to attack. Shouting, they charged forward aggressively, guided by the black mist.
The heavenly soldiers, still capable of fighting, lined up to meet the enemy. Those who have been guarding this place all along are the most courageous warriors.
Unlike before, they could no longer rely on Gu Zhong. Fortunately, there were still a few Divine Lords left behind by the young lord last time, who could temporarily serve as generals.
The demon general Gu Zhong was facing was much stronger than she had expected, with strength comparable to her own. This meant that it was almost impossible to end the battle quickly and return to the battlefield to stabilize the situation.
Ling Yan remained standing on the edge of the ever-expanding battlefield, refusing to leave as Gu Zhong had instructed.
Before them lay a scene of carnage, with countless divine warriors charging forward fearlessly.
Even though they knew that facing this demonic energy that could corrupt the soul meant certain death and complete annihilation, the current situation and the military discipline they upheld did not allow them to retreat.
Black mist pierced through the silver armor, leaving behind a corpse. But then, another streak of silver-white continued to rush forward, seemingly attempting to dispel the pure black with its own light.
No one could remain unmoved by such a scene of people singing their praises one after another.
The same applies to Lingyan; when on the battlefield, one must never be a deserter.
Even though she was indeed no match for the divine power of Gu Zhong and his ilk, as the reincarnation of the Divine Pearl, she was still stronger than most heavenly soldiers, no matter how weak she was.
She raised her head and glanced at Gu Zhong and the demon general who were fighting fiercely above. Their rapid movements and imposing manner were like bolts of lightning streaking across the sky, making it impossible to see clearly what was happening inside.
Immediately afterwards, she threw herself into the battle without hesitation.
The gods' heavenly soldiers were desperately trying to stop the demons from crossing the boundary when something unexpected happened.
The demons began to cower in extreme fear, retreating continuously, as if something terrifying was about to happen.
Some soldiers couldn't help but turn back to look towards the divine realm, wanting to find out what had happened.
Ling Yan also looked at her side in surprise. In her hands, the demons were far more fragile than she had thought. With just one palm strike, they were reduced to ashes, leaving not a trace of black mist behind.
Even the demonic energy used by the demon race to assist her could not get within three zhang of her. As soon as she took a step, the sentient black mist retreated three zhang frantically, as if her approach would bring its destruction.
The demon general, who was locked in fierce combat with Gu Zhong, paused for a moment with his long mace. This brief pause created an opening, and the longsword finally found an opportunity to pierce into its black armor.
The demon roared in anger and pain, enduring the agony and ignoring its wounds, it suddenly retreated. Black mist dripped from the blade; this was the blood of the demon.
It suddenly plunged downwards, returning to the battlefield. The terrified demons found their anchor and flocked to it.
It remained mounted on the beast, looking down down at the frail woman in a dress, so out of place on the battlefield.
Gu Zhong followed it down below. Following the demon general's gaze, she turned her head slightly and saw Ling Yan, who had not left. She couldn't help but frown.
"Tomorrow."
The demon general left behind two concise words, then raised his long mace and swung it backward, instantly obscuring the demon army with thick black mist.
The gods tensed up, their already taut nerves tightening, worried that the demons might have other tricks up their sleeves.
However, after waiting for a long time, there was no further movement from the other side, and it seemed that the troops had withdrawn.
Even though they couldn't understand it, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. What they needed now was a good rest.
But who exactly is this deity?
With the fighting over, countless curious and scrutinizing gazes converged on Ling Yan. Even though she was used to being the center of attention, Ling Yan still felt somewhat out of place in this war-torn scene.
"Line up for rest and change shifts!"
Gu Zhong cleared her throat, loudly announced the order, and then flashed in front of Ling Yan, instantly bringing her back to the camp.
The first thing Gu Zhong did was no longer to scold or question; instead, her sharp eyes carefully examined Ling Yan from head to toe.
"What—what are you doing?"
Being stared at intently by her made Lingyan feel even more uncomfortable than being bombarded by the gazes of millions of people just now.
"Check if you're injured."
With a hint of lighthearted banter, Gu Zhong drew out his words.
"I'm not that weak! Demons wouldn't last a single round against me!"
Ling Yan raised her fist and waved it, like a little peacock showing off.
Smiling and shaking his head, Gu Zhong placed the divine sword, which had just been through a fierce battle, on the sword rack.
Dissatisfied at not receiving a response, Lingyan moved closer to her, determined to get some praise.
"I'm not a useless mascot!"
"Yes! You never were."
Gu Zhong's hand involuntarily mirrored Shao Jun's action, pressing it onto the little god's head.
"So, what exactly happened in the realm of the gods?"
Ling Yan was about to protest when Gu Zhong's next question froze her in place.
"It's nothing. My birthday is coming up soon, and I heard today that the barrier between gods and demons has been completely broken. I figured you definitely couldn't go back, so I had to come instead."
For some reason, Lingyan didn't really want to tell Gu Zhong, the Demon Emperor, about the proposed marriage, and tried to cover it up.
"Hmm? So the main character of the birthday celebration disrespected the God Emperor and secretly slipped out of the God Realm?"
"Hmm—if the God Emperor finds out I've abducted a god, wouldn't that be an even bigger crime? Would he throw me into the God-Forging Platform?"
Gu Zhong squinted at her, looking at her with an air of complete indifference, and began to exaggerate the situation himself.
Is it really that serious?
The innocent little god instantly tensed up, looking at her with worry, his eyes filled with a struggle.
"So, what happened? What made you so unhappy?"
Gu Zhong leaned closer to her, scrutinizing every emotion in her eyes, and asked her again earnestly and gently.