The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 265: Chapter 262: City Siege

Night, a gentle breeze, moonlight.

A contingent of a thousand men moved silently through the mountain forest.

If there were any mountain folk left in Dingzhou, they would have surely mistaken them for Ghost Soldiers. How else could they walk with hardly a sound?

"We’re here."

Yang Fangyu said slowly.

The advantages of having a map were on full display; they had reached Guiyuan County without taking a single detour.

As one of the poorest counties in Dingzhou, Guiyuan County was in such a state that its walls were only two zhang high, and even those looked severely damaged.

Bai Yuan just closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings for a moment.

"One Tier Six Demon. The rest are below Tier Five."

Hearing Bai Yuan’s words, both Yang Fangyu and Li Huan looked astonished.

Although they had witnessed Bai Yuan’s methods as a Demon Hunter before, to know the situation of the demons in the city before even reaching the walls of Guiyuan County... that was a bit too outrageous.

"Send the men out. Check if there is anyone within a three-li radius."

"We attack the city tonight!"

Bai Yuan spoke faintly, but his words were laced with killing intent.

His luck couldn’t be bad forever. Previously, Fenggu County had been under the watch of a Tier Seven Great Demon, which was why Bai Yuan hadn’t opted for a frontal assault.

But now, there was only a Tier Six Demon in Guiyuan County.

’There might be some powerful Demons or barbarians hiding, but the probability is low.’

’Since we’re here to seize opportunities, we have to take some risks.’

At Bai Yuan’s words, both Yang Fangyu and Li Huan were visibly stirred. Though they didn’t understand why Bai Yuan was being so decisive this time, all they had to do was trust him!

They had both fought alongside Bai Yuan before and knew his combat intuition was unbelievably sharp.

The men they brought this time were elites. Within just two hours, the surrounding area was thoroughly scouted—thanks in no small part to the map, of course.

Once it was confirmed that the area for three li around was clear, Bai Yuan decisively led his men into the city.

The situation in Fenggu County had been pure bad luck, running into both the Cao Bang and the Celestial Profound Sect at the same time.

...

"K... King! This is bad!"

A massive Pig Demon, as tall as a man, barreled recklessly through the streets of Guiyuan County.

Guiyuan County had few intact streets to begin with, and under its rampage, they became even more precarious.

Soon, the Pig Demon appeared outside the Guiyuan County Magistrate’s Office.

The moment it burst into the County Magistrate’s Office, it was sent flying by a kick from a young man.

Its massive body flew backward, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"So reckless."

The young man fanned the dust away from his face.

He crossed his arms and looked at the Pig Demon.

"What happened?"

he finally asked.

"King, a group of humans has broken in!"

Hearing the Pig Demon’s words, the young man’s eyes lit up.

Guiyuan County had now become a Demon City. Those living here obviously couldn’t be human. This young man was, naturally, a Demon.

"Excellent!"

He burst out laughing.

The Profound People wanted the glory of killing them, but didn’t they feel the same way?

As long as they sent the corpses of these Profound People to the Great Wall, they would receive a hefty reward. The stronger the corpse, the greater the reward.

Otherwise, why would unruly monsters and Demons like them live in these houses built of stone?

The reason the Demon Sect’s Celestial Heart Sect was so influential in the Northern Plains was because its teachings aligned perfectly with the traditions of the Northern Plains’ monsters, demons, and barbarians. Simply put: the strong are revered.

And through the Celestial Heart Sect’s millennia of proselytizing, the might of the Demon God had become deeply ingrained in the hearts of the Northern People.

They firmly believed that as long as they worked for the Demon God, they would be rewarded.

For a thousand years, the Demon Sect had always operated this way: merit was always rewarded.

The young man strode out the door.

He had only taken a few steps when he saw a human with a long saber at the end of the street, watching him with great interest.

"A Demon?"

A smile touched the human’s lips; he seemed very interested in him.

The young man’s mouth also curved into a feral grin.

In the next instant, his figure erupted forward, swift as a cheetah, transforming into a phantom image as he lunged toward Bai Yuan. The terrifying power of a Tier Seven Great Demon was unleashed!

Bai Yuan tightened his grip on his long saber.

He swung the saber in an upward arc, aiming to split the young man in two from bottom to top.

But the young man’s body twisted bizarrely in mid-air. In a physics-defying posture that would make Newton turn in his grave, he shifted horizontally, narrowly dodging Bai Yuan’s slash.

Using his momentum, he appeared before Bai Yuan in an instant.

A strange scene unfolded before him.

The human actually dropped his saber and reached for him with both palms.

’Ridiculous human!’ The young man sneered inwardly.

’It’s common knowledge that the physical bodies of demons are far superior to humans. For this human to actually attempt close-quarters combat... well then, I’ll grant him his wish!’

The young man also threw a punch at Bai Yuan.

The moment their fist and palm collided, a torrent of poison, like a landslide and tsunami, surged madly from his hand and into his body.

The young man was horrified.

"You despicable human!"

He was nearly driven mad; the rampaging poison almost made him lose his mind.

Suddenly, he heard a strange CROAK of a toad by his ear, and then felt a large splash of liquid drench his face like a downpour.

"AHH!"

He let out a heart-wrenching scream.

His entire body was being corroded by the venom, melting beyond recognition.

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow. ’Demons really are something else. The dosage of poison required is several times that for a human.’

’Then I’ll just up the dose!’

Another large splash of venom was spat onto the young man’s body, as if it were free.

Finally, the young man could no longer hold on and dissolved into a puddle of blood.

He truly regretted not listening to his elders’ teachings. Humans were indeed shameless.

Bai Yuan wiped the corner of his mouth.

’Poison techniques really are most effective against the uninformed.’

’Some damn person gave me the name Ten Thousand Poison Yama, which causes every human Martial Artist I fight to be extremely wary of me, cutting the effectiveness of my poison techniques by more than half.’

’Only an arrogant young Demon like this one, who doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth, would let me fully unleash the power of my Manggu Zhuhe Technique.’

’When you think about it, I should be thanking you.’

With a single slash, Bai Yuan cut down the Pig Demon that had been following the young man and couldn’t stop in time.

It wasn’t that the Pig Demon was stupid, but that Bai Yuan had killed the young Demon in less than three breaths.

Of course, this didn’t mean Bai Yuan’s true combat power was that much greater than the young Demon’s. It was just that poison techniques, once successful, are the kind of cultivation technique that immediately grants the upper hand.

Otherwise, people in the Jianghu wouldn’t keep their distance from anyone known to be skilled in poison arts.

Bai Yuan was glad he practiced fast-saber techniques.

The efficiency of farming mobs was surprisingly high.

Enhancement Points +679

Enhancement Points +798

...

The demons were at least at the Yijin Pass level, especially those from the Northern Plains. Weaker demons couldn’t even make it south of the Great Wall.

Two hours later.

Guiyuan County was finally back in human hands.

Bai Yuan, Yang Fangyu, and Li Huan met at the Guiyuan County Magistrate’s Office.

"How satisfying!"

Yang Fangyu exclaimed, thoroughly exhilarated. He had always loved his days in the Northern Garrison Army, hacking down demons without restraint, and tonight, he had finally relived it.

Li Huan, in comparison, was in much worse shape.

His lower strength was only part of it; mainly, Li Huan’s past experiences didn’t allow him to be as at ease on the battlefield as Bai Yuan and Yang Fangyu.

Nevertheless, his face was also filled with excitement.

They had only been in Dingzhou for less than two days and had already conquered a county seat. This already met their minimum objective.

One had to understand that a county seat represented a noble title.

The Xuan Yang Court was extremely strict with its management of noble titles. Even the former Lingzhou General, Lu Xiao, who died in battle, was only posthumously granted the title of Earl.

Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron... A Duke was naturally out of the question. Only a few prominent and powerful clans were qualified to receive the title of Marquis. For a commoner, the highest one could hope for was an Earl.

The Xuan Yang Court would determine the noble rank based on the size of the conquered city.

A city like Guiyuan County would be worth a Viscount title at the very least.

In just one night, a Viscount title was in their grasp.

Yang Fangyu hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly. They had suffered fewer than a hundred casualties in this battle; it could almost be described as a bloodless victory.

Both men looked toward Bai Yuan.

They hadn’t personally witnessed Bai Yuan slaying the Tier Seven Demon, but they had heard about it from the soldiers.

If Bai Yuan hadn’t decisively slain that young Demon, they wouldn’t have been able to conquer Guiyuan County so quickly.

With a Tier Seven Demon presiding over it, Guiyuan County was no different from Fenggu County before. Even the Cao Bang and the Celestial Profound Sect had to tread with extreme caution, yet they had taken it with ease. Bai Yuan’s contribution was immense.

Yang Fangyu’s expression turned solemn. "Ah Yuan, you contributed the most to taking this city. It should rightly be yours."

Li Huan’s eyes flickered.

In the end, he also agreed, "Brother Yang is right."

There was only one Guiyuan County, but there were three of them from three different factions. Sharing it was impossible.

That brought up the problem of distribution.

Although Li Huan was reluctant to give it up, he knew that if Bai Yuan hadn’t acted this time, he and Yang Fangyu might not even have been a match for that Tier Seven Demon.

Yang Fangyu had already openly relinquished his claim. If he were to speak up now and try to compete for Guiyuan County, he might get the city in the end, but the friendship between him and the other two would be over.

Bai Yuan was a little surprised.

Guiyuan County represented the title of a Viscount, yet Yang Fangyu and Li Huan had yielded it to him so decisively.

Even if he were to offer them compensation, it would still be nothing compared to a Viscount title that could protect a family for hundreds of years.

Bai Yuan had always been the type of person who returned a foot of respect with ten feet of his own.

Besides, he currently had no heir and no family, so a Viscount title was of little use to him.

As for establishing a branch sect, it was unnecessary given the current strength of the Divine Mansion Sect.

He had come to Dingzhou mostly for the Enhancement Points.

"Brother Yang, Brother Li, we’ve only just arrived in Dingzhou. Who knows, we might have even greater gains ahead. Why don’t we discuss this after we’ve conquered a few more cities?"

Hearing this, both Yang Fangyu and Li Huan felt a weight lift from their hearts.

Although they appeared nonchalant on the surface, how could they not care when a noble title was at stake?

Not to mention, their circumstances meant they needed a Viscount title more than Bai Yuan did.

Yang Fangyu laughed heartily. "Ah Yuan has a point! We still have time. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we each get a city in the end?"

Li Huan was also fired up by the bold words. "Maybe it’s not impossible for us brothers to take a Prefecture City! An Earl title for each of us!"

"That’s right."

Yang Fangyu chimed in.

Bai Yuan looked at the two excited men.

’These two are quite the optimists...’