I am becoming the ultimate demon.

Chapter 5: The First Battle, Demonic Blood Displays Its Power; A Pyrrhic Victory, the Truth About th

"Follow me and charge in!" Ji Chang'an's heart tightened, and he began to lose his composure. He felt a surge of blood rush to the top of his head, and his vision went black for a moment.

Having already lost a son and a daughter, the only remaining member of the Ji family must not perish here!

The remaining people panicked immediately. If the young master of the Ji family died here, it would be a really big deal. He was the only heir of the Ji family.

"Save him! If we can't save the young master, no one will return to Xiong'an alive!"

His voice was hoarse, and with a flick of his whip, he charged into the woods first.

Seeing this, the soldiers behind them dared not hesitate any longer. They disregarded their formation and rushed into the dense forest in a swarm of hundreds of men. Swords clashed, armor scraped against each other, and chaotic footsteps crushed the snow.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The roar shook the snow off the branches.

"Fellow traveler, I've caught you!" a deep voice rang out.

Ji Lin felt his waist and abdomen gripped tightly by sharp claws, the scales scraping against his fur coat with a screeching tearing sound.

The chill and the stench of blood rushed into his mouth and nose, and the scenery before his eyes rushed past rapidly. The monster was dragging him deeper into the dense forest!

Seeing that the sharp claws were about to pierce his body and blood was seeping out, he couldn't care less. With a thought, his consciousness sank into that blood-red template and merged with that drop of dark red [Demon Blood - Flaw].

Agility quickly increased to 20, and his body began to become demonic and grow enormous.

He felt his body turn into a wisp of smoke, easily slipping out of that giant claw.

"I was careless. I didn't expect you to have this kind of skill." A deep voice said with a mocking tone.

Ji Lin turned around and saw that the demon was ten feet tall, even taller than himself in his demonic form. It had a round head, its body covered in black scales, a hunched posture, and a pair of huge black eyes that were fixed on him.

It was opening and closing its sharp, sickle-like claws, making a scraping "scratching" sound.

At first glance, it does indeed look like a large black bear.

He was truly terrified by the enormous black creature before him, and it was incredibly lucky that he escaped death from its giant claws.

"It's a big black bear, kill it!" the county magistrate roared, directing the soldiers behind him.

"A black...black bear...is it really that big?" The magistrate wiped the cold sweat from his forehead again, which seemed to be even more than before.

The dense forest was pitch black, with only the noise of the approaching crowd. From a distance, only a huge outline could be seen.

Hundreds of people rushed in with Ji Chang'an, their footsteps disordered. Several bolder ones thrust their spears and swords at the demon, slashing wildly. After a few clangs, they hit something hard and sparks flew up.

"Could this be... a King Kong Bear?" County Governor was greatly puzzled.

The monster brandished its sharp claws, easily deflecting more than a dozen spears that were thrusting towards it.

It ignored the soldiers, only thinking about killing its own kind and sucking its demonic blood to help itself level up faster.

"Light the torches! Light the way!" Ji Chang'an's roar came from behind. Only then did he remember to provide light. As the soldiers lit dozens of torches, little did they know that the demon had already chased after Ji Lin and disappeared before their eyes.

"That thing is gone," a soldier in front relayed back.

Ji Lin was worried that the monster might harm his father, so he didn't go far. He simply kept a safe distance from the monster and waited silently for it to attack in order to ensure the safety of the main force.

The monster quickly caught up, eagerly swinging its claws, slashing left and pulling right.

Ji Lin exerted force with his feet, and the horizontal branch snapped with a "crack," sending him drifting backward like a falling leaf. The claws grazed his chest, tearing his fur coat in five long gashes.

Wow, that was fast! But... I can still manage.

His agility of 20 points gave him a nimbleness far beyond the norm.

Although this monster has destroyed a powerful force, I can use my speed advantage to deal with it and try to outmaneuver it.

Ji Lin retreated gently while dodging, not in a hurry to retaliate, always maintaining a subtle distance from the enormous figure.

Defeating it doesn't seem so easy; its body covered in scales and sharp claws clearly indicate high attack and strong defense.

Fortunately, I added points to agility; if I had added points to other attributes, I probably would have been defeated by it long ago.

He was observing.

We must find its weaknesses.

The monster's entire body was covered in scales, with even its joints covered in fine scales, seemingly without any flaws. Only a pair of large, jet-black eyes were exposed, glowing with an eerie red light.

"Hiding is useless, fellow human. In the face of absolute power, these tricks are meaningless... Give up the struggle and you'll suffer less." The monster's voice grew increasingly impatient as it failed to break through the defenses.

Before it could finish speaking, Ji Lin, who had flashed past, punched it on the head with a muffled "bang!"

It was no big deal for the demon. It was just stunned for a moment, not expecting that this weakling would dare to attack it.

"No rush, big black bear, we have plenty of time to play around." Ji Lin said, then walked around behind it and punched it twice on the back of the head.

"Thump thump thump!" It still didn't hurt or itch, but it completely enraged the monster.

Suddenly, it spread its arms wide, and its jet-black claws began to spin rapidly! Its body then transformed into a black whirlwind, tearing apart and severing ancient trees as thick as a person's embrace wherever it passed, with wood chips mixed with snow flying wildly in the sky!

"Boom boom boom!"

With large swathes of trees cleared, the view suddenly opened up. The flickering firelight finally illuminated the forest scene clearly.

Two inhuman black figures stood facing each other.

One was tall and hunched over, with menacing scales; the other, though slightly shorter, was also covered in eerie black markings, with long, flowing hair, dark eyes, and a face that vaguely resembled... the outline of the young master of the Ji family!

"Demons...monsters! Both of them!"

"That's...Young Master?! How come Young Master is also..." Everyone looked at Ji Chang'an.

Amid exclamations, Ji Chang'an pushed aside the soldiers blocking his way and staggered forward a few steps.

"Lin'er? Are you... alright?" He looked at his son in this state, his heart filled with mixed emotions, but... as long as he's alive, that's good.

"Don't come any closer, protect my dad!" Ji Lin told everyone, his eyes never leaving the monster, monitoring its every move. Getting hit by it once would be the end of them.

This monster has high attack and defense. Even if all these armored soldiers attack together, they may not be able to gain an advantage. Even if they win, they will suffer heavy losses.

The monster turned its head, its dark eyes sweeping over the crowd, and a sinister smile appeared on its lips.

"You should pick the softest persimmons to squeeze."

Its body slumped slightly, then it suddenly turned and charged towards the densest part of the crowd!

"Scratch, scrape, scrape!" Heavy footsteps sent snow flying.

"It's coming! Be on guard! Form ranks!!" Ji Chang'an roared. The front-line soldiers stepped forward in unison, raising their shields.

"Fire the arrows!!!" the county magistrate ordered.

The bowstrings twanged, and arrows rained down. Hundreds of arrows shot toward the monster, most of them clanging and bouncing off its scales, with only a few getting stuck in the gaps between the scales.

The monster neither dodged nor avoided, but crashed head-on into the shield!

"Boom!!"

A loud bang was accompanied by the muffled sound of bones shattering.

The four or five armored soldiers in the front row were knocked backward, shields and all, and spat out blood.

The crowd immediately surrounded it, and dozens of spears thrust at the towering demon's body, managing to pry off several black scales.

The monster, in pain, went berserk and swung its arms again, unleashing its Whirlwind Claw once more!

The surrounding soldiers were struck as if by a heavy hammer, screaming as they flew backward, crashing into trees and splashing blood across the snow.

Ji Lin seized the opportunity to pick up two arrows and launched an attack from behind, leaping up and landing precisely on its broad shoulder!

The two arrows were driven deep into its two large eyeballs.

"Pfft!" Black blood splattered out.

"Aaaaaaah!!! Damn it! Damn it!!!"

The monster reacted very quickly, suddenly pulling Ji Lin down from behind and slapping him hard.

"Rip!"

Five deep, bone-revealing wounds spread from his left shoulder to his chest, spurting blood! The excruciating pain overwhelmed his consciousness, and his demonized body flickered violently, barely able to maintain its form.

"Young Master!!" Yun Cui cried out as she ran out of the crowd, trying to drag him to safety, but she couldn't budge the giant at all. She used all her strength to move it a fraction of an inch.

"What are you standing there for? Go and help!" the magistrate scolded.

Several burly men immediately rushed forward, lifted Ji Lin up, and led him to a large rock to rest. Several boxes of Molotov cocktails were placed at his feet.

Because the monster lost sight of the creature, it tried to escape, but Ji Chang'an commanded his soldiers to stop it.

"We can't let it get away, otherwise countless people will suffer."

Ji Chang'an ordered a group of skilled men to secure ropes tightly around the monster's limbs and neck. "One, two, three, pull!"

Dozens of people exerted their strength, and the ropes tightened. The monster crashed to the ground, stirring up a cloud of snow dust.

"It can't escape now!!" Everyone seemed excited; they were finally going to take down this harmful thing.

However, the next second, the monster's limbs suddenly contracted, pulling several squads of soldiers who were holding the ropes in front of it! Its claws lashed out wildly, and blood and flesh flew everywhere. In an instant, more than ten people died tragically.

It quickly cut all the ropes binding it, and even though the monster had lost its sight, it could still sense Ji Lin's location.

"Damn it... If I eat you, I can recover, my kind..."

It tried its best to fight back, letting out a terrifying roar, and charged suddenly toward Ji Lin.

Seeing this, Ji Lin endured the excruciating pain, pushed Yun Cui aside, and rolled to the other side of the rock.

"Boom! Crack!"

The monster's claws scratched wildly at the rock wall, sending rocks flying and leaving deep marks.

"Damn it, I was so close!!"

Ji Lin snatched the torch from the soldier's hand and threw it at the several open boxes of Molotov cocktails!

The flame touched the black oil.

"boom!!!"

Blazing flames shot into the air, instantly engulfing the monster! Black scales crackled and popped under the intense heat, and the stench of charred flesh filled the forest.

The monster let out a deafening scream, rolling and struggling in the sea of ​​fire.

Ji Lin suddenly stood up and picked up a blood-stained broadsword from the ground.

Step forward and charge!

All power was concentrated in this single strike.

The blade flashed past the flames, slicing across the monster's charred neck.

"Snap!!"

A jet-black head rolled onto the snow, the headless corpse swayed twice, and then collapsed with a thud, the remaining flames of the demonic body burning.

Ji Lin could no longer hold on; the broadsword slipped from his hand, and his demonic state vanished. The black markings disappeared, and his body returned to normal. He collapsed to the ground, his vision blurring.

Everyone looked at the young master of the Ji family with strange eyes.

Just then, a system notification popped up:

【Ding! 】

[First encounter with the 'Demon' and successful survival. Anomaly points +3.]

[Battle data collection...in analysis...]

[Further system functions unlocked:]

[1. Insights: Allows you to view basic information about the target.]

2. Storage Capacity: Can store various anomalous substances.

A cold, mechanical voice echoed in my mind, and the crimson template unfolded automatically.

【Season Arrival】

[Outliers: 3]

【Strength: 6/10】

Agility: 5/10

[Constitution: 5/10]

[Spirit: 5/10]

As his gaze fell upon the lifeless corpse of the monster, a few lines of faint writing appeared:

Blood Demon

[Status: Fundamental damage, body disintegrating]

[Collectible Item: Magic Core]

Sure enough, the system can be used in this way.

Ji Lin struggled to get up and walked to the monster's corpse.

The enormous body was visibly turning gray and shriveling at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Finally, a roughly pigeon-egg-sized, irregularly shaped, multifaceted black crystal, dark and lusterless, condensed at the location of the corpse's heart.

Ji Lin picked it up; it was cold and heavy to the touch, and he could vaguely sense the pure energy contained within it.

[Suitable substance detected: Magic Core. Store in storage space?]

"Deposit." He silently thought to himself, and the black crystal disappeared from his hand and then appeared in his inventory.

Almost simultaneously, a cacophony of voices and hurried footsteps drew closer.

"Here it is!"

The torchlight dispelled the shadows, revealing Ji Chang'an's pale and anxious face, as well as the shocked and varied expressions on the faces of the crowd.

Yun Cui rushed forward crying, but was too frightened to do anything by the hideous wounds on Ji Lin's body.

Ji Chang'an strode forward, took off his cloak and wrapped it around his son, his arms trembling.

He glanced at Ji Lin, then at the rapidly dissipating remains of the demon, his lips moved, but in the end he asked nothing, only saying in a hoarse voice:

"Let's go home... Let's go home."

On the way back, the snow got even heavier.

The carriage jolted along, and Ji Lin, wrapped in a thick blanket, leaned against Yun Cui's chest, his consciousness hazy and his eyes filled with complex emotions. His wounds had been simply bandaged, but blood was still seeping through.