The Dawn of the New World

Just like the swine demons and the capra demonlings, Hao Xuan realized that even the 13th demon was a variation of one of the animals when it turned to the side and the giant shell that was on its back came into view.

'It's a turtle demon??'

He thought inwardly moments before the automated warnings came flooding in.

[Warning!]

[Extraplanar Energy Buildup Detected]

[Energy Levels Reaching Critical Levels]

[Incoming Energy Wave]

[Brace for impact!]

Hao Xuan's pupils shrank to the size of pinholes as he swiftly jumped twice and landed behind the biggest tree nearby.

The mouth on the turtle demon's abdomen opened and it let out an obscenely loud roar closely followed by an explosion of demonic energy. The shockwave hit first, making even the ground quiver and split in many places.

Then came the hellish energy that set half the surrounding forest alight.

Hao Xuan's shoulders sizzled and the first layer of skin was immediately evaporated. He couldn't use too much internal energy so the pain had to be tolerated for the time being as he cursed inwardly.

'Dear god, that wasn't even an attack and it easily penetrated my skin. There is no way I can fight that thing and live.'

The insurmountable disparity within their respective levels left very little to the imagination. This altercation would only end in one way and Hao Xuan wasn't willing to risk it.

He took in a deep breath and tried retracing his steps but because most of the foliage was burned off it was highly likely that he would be caught.

'Damn it, no choice but to wait it out then.'

Still, that didn't mean he couldn't spy on the demons in the meantime so after a few seconds he slowly peeked around to see what was going on.

The Capra demonlings were kneeling in front of the turtle demon while the swine demons were cowering where they stood, too afraid to even come close to it.

The capra demonlings looked like they were speaking but Hao Xuan couldn't hear any sound. They gestured towards the various piles of limbs, seemingly explaining what was where.

A huge serrated tongue came out of the turtle demon's abdomen and swung around in the air before pointing towards the mound made from internal organs. The rest of its body awkwardly shuffled along and started slurping on the intestines like noodles and chugging in the rest without a care in the world.

Hao Xuan felt sick to the stomach seeing the horrific scene but he couldn't look away.

The turtle demon scarfed down the entire pile before trudging back the way it had come.

Elated, Hao Xuan thought it would return to wherever it had come from but to his dismay, it sat down on the other end at a spot that overlooked the entire crater.

A series of growls came from its abdomen and only then did the demonlings and the swine demons move.

Each one of them chose a random pile and started chomping on the body parts. But seeing them carelessly spread out in all directions made Hao Xuan want to do it even more.

'This would be the perfect time to attack. The capra demonlings are distracted and the swine demons couldn't care less about what's going on around them. If only the turtle demon wasn't there I could move in.'

The weakest of the swine demons was less than 30 meters away. If he was quick enough it wouldn't even take twenty seconds from start to finish.

'But that fatass isn't going anywhere...'

The turtle demon had already sat down lazily and it didn't seem like it would be going anywhere anytime soon.

*beep*

Just when Hao Xuan was thinking of what to do Baracus came up with an idea.

'Why not lure the demon away?'

'Did you really think I didn't think of that? But how will I lure it away?' Hao Xuan quipped.

'Call for the mount.'

'Mount? Grey?'

'Yes, call it over. The demon will surely give chase. Given its size and weight, it is unlikely that the demon will be able to catch it. And while it is away you can launch an attack on the smaller demon and retreat in time.'

Hao Xuan only had to consider the option for a few seconds before shooting it down.

'No, it's too risky. It might seem fat and lazy but it's still a powerful demon. Who knows what kinds of abilities it has? I'm not risking Grey's life like that without any-'

But even before he finished the thought another idea popped up.

'Wait a second, since it's such a powerful demon it will also have astute sensory abilities. Rather than Grey coming here I can order him to create a disturbance somewhere in the distance. The turtle demon will sense it and check it out.'

Without waiting for a response from Baracus Hao Xuan quickly closed his eyes and relayed the order to Grey.