How Much For Your Soul?

It was 3am when the army charged through the entry to the Nether Realm. Everything was planned down to the last detail so there would be no prior warning before Blackrock City was locked up tighter than a nun's chastity. The Demon Lord could not be allowed to escape.

The scouts trail-blazed for the army, taking out any hindrances to their march. With the converted Nether Realm residents leading the way, it only took an hour to reach the target. It helped that everyone could fly, bypassing the rough terrain. The army quickly executed their orders and broke off into their different teams once the city was surrounded.

Blackrock City didn't know what hit them. They lived in relative peace, the only danger was from the inhabitants themselves. Even the different Clans and Families would not attack whole cities, preferring to only target opposing factions territory within the city walls. A citywide siege was simply unheard of, and thus very hard to suddenly defend against.

Even though the Nether Realm was always in a perpetual dusk-like state, the time, strangely enough, seemed to be the same as Glory City. Most of Blackrock City's residents were still asleep as it was only 4am, only a few guards on night duty were awake to see the flood of people envelope the city walls.

Shen Yue watched from Blaze's back as the soldiers performed remarkably. He was worried that these new manoeuvres and tactics would take a while for the men to get used too, but there were very few mistakes. After this campaign, he would have to reward them well.

There was chanting of 'surrender or die' being yelled out by the invasion force, and since nearly everyone was asleep, this chant woke them. The message was clear, but there were always fools that thought themselves to be at the top of the food chain. These were brutally slaughtered, even when half of them tried to surrender after attacking.

Jade Seal Family Fort was one of the priority targets as it was one of the top dogs of the city. They were one of the few human Clans that had survived the harsh environment of the underworld and would hopefully be an asset to Shen Yue. As such, they were given a bit more leeway when their compound was assaulted.

The chant they had screamed at them was 'we are human, surrender or die with the traitors'. Since their compound was located in a more central area, they had already witnessed the unmerciful efficiency the defenders were slaughtered. Since the invaders also claimed to be human, the head of the Family gave orders for everyone to surrender. Still, ten or so 'tough guys' had to be brutally subjugated.

On the other side of the city was the Wugui Clan, a turtle humanoid confident in the physical strength of their bodies. They were not known for their brains and settled everything with force. Unfortunately, the Empire's men were given clear instructions. Kill any who resist. Eighty percent of the clan was wiped out in five minutes as transformed demon spiritualists tore them apart like paper.

Even though they had quite a few Demi-God experts, they were only fighters. Against demon spiritualists, they would always be at a severe disadvantage. The Wugui were not used to this treatment, everyone in the Nether Realm knew of their culture and would react accordingly.

They were a warrior race and only respected the strong. They would fight an opponent even if they were superior to the Wugui, as backing away from a challenge was considered cowardly. Unfortunately for them, once the proud Wugui Family members attacked the Empire's army to prove themselves, they were slaughtered to the last man. Only the women and children were left alive after a quick and ferocious battle.

All over the city, small battles were being fought as it was an instinctual reaction to attack an aggressor. Following along behind the front line were the troops responsible for handling those that surrendered. They were herded out of the city limits to be guarded until the city had been cleared. If there was even a hint of people trying to escape, they were killed and their bodies left there to warn others.

It was a brutal campaign by any standards, but Shen Yue found himself not caring very much. They were given the option to surrender, so his conscience was clear for the thousands dying that tested his men's conviction in following their word. Surrender or die.

The Dark Guild's compound was the main target, as such the heavy hitters made a B-line straight to their front door, bypassing everything else. There was no chanting from these troops, the only target to be kept alive was the Demon Lord, everyone else was marked for death.

From Shen Yue's vantage point high over the city, (for an underground world, there sure was a lot of space) he watched as members of the Dark Guild first attacked with vigour, then begged for mercy as they were literally torn apart. It seemed that the majority of this force were residents of Glory City and held a lot of resentment towards the Guild. For years they had been attacked by these cretins but had no target to retaliate.

Now with years of hostility built up, and the object of it right in front of them, they ripped into them with a vengeance. Shen Yue turned slightly green witnessing the savagery of his men. His sharp eyes not missing a single detail as limbs and entrails went flying through the air as the blood-crazed soldiers carved their way through their hated foe.

Eventually, the sub-leaders Long Sha and Gui Sha made an appearance to try and counter the crazed slaughter of their men. They were the law enforcement elders of the Dark Guild and second in strength only to the Demon Lord. This meant nothing to one Heavenly Fate soldier as he blinked in front of Long Sha and pulled his head and spine out of his body Predator style.

Gui Sha seeing this nearly shat his pants and tried to retreat to where his master was cultivating in seclusion. Unfortunately, two blood-covered men appeared before him, blocking his path.

"Please, I surrender!" He begged, but it made no difference.

Gui Sha suddenly had his arms seized from behind, and a fiend in front punched their hand into his stomach. His face morphed into one of pain, then panic as the soldier pulled his hand out grasping Gui Sha's intestines. They fell out like sausage links, and even in terrible pain, terror and disgust, his stomach tried to empty its contents.

Quick as a whip, the Empire soldier wrapped the intestines around Gui Sha's neck when he noticed he was about to be covered in vomit. With his esophagus suddenly blocked, Gui Sha's body violently convulsed as he was strangled to death while trying to vomit.

'Not a particularly pleasant way to die' thought Shen Yue as he watched this unfold. He used to love watching violent deaths in movies when he was back on Earth, but seeing it in real life turned his stomach. Even with all the people he had personally killed, he was still vulnerable to this gore-filled scene. Shen Yue still had a long walk on the road of a Wuxia protagonist ahead of him if this still disturbed him.

Maybe that was a good thing, Shen Yue wanted to be ruthless to his enemies, but he didn't want to be seen as a monster by his Empire. Still, this brutality would make for good propaganda of what his enemies to expect if they challenged him. He carefully remembered the men of this squad, he had plans to create a team of devils that would be feared as his avengers.

Preventing dissidents is better than having to destroy them as they raise their ugly heads. If his Empire knew what awaited traitors, they might not be so quick to rebel. Because that's what the Dark Guild was, traitors to humanity. They preyed on Glory City only for profit and then tried to wipe them out with a beast tide. Yes, this would definitely be good propaganda for his Empire. Fuck with our Empire, and face the fury of its Avengers!

All over the Blackrock City pockets of resistance were being destroyed, there were no more people brave enough to provoke the invaders. But the Demon Lord had yet to make an appearance, had he flown the coop? The Dark Guild headquarters still had to be thoroughly searched, so Shen Yue still held hope that he was trapped in their net.

From the novel, Shen Yue knew that the Demon Lord had been in seclusion to try and advance his cultivation, only appearing after Glory City had been attacked by the Wugui Family. He must be somewhere in these buildings, probably underground where he would not be disturbed. Suddenly, a dark figure shot into the sky trying to escape!

Since the troops had strict instructions to capture the Demon Lord, even in their blood-lust fueled frenzy, they would not kill anyone fitting the description they were given. His dark grey human appearance and his Eight-Armed Darkhell Fiend transformation had been drilled into this team selected to capture him.

Shen Yue expected a good fight since this was one of the main antagonists of Nie Li and had a healthy serving of plot armour. But he was sadly disappointed. The Demon Lord was quickly overwhelmed in both power and numbers. He was knocked out, stripped naked and bound ready for Shen Yue to deal with.

'Oh well,' Shen Yue thought to himself, 'At least this wild card was caught, now to see what he knows!'