Chapter 529: Verbally Spreading Demon Seed

Chapter 529: The Viral Expansion of the Demon Seed

Li Wei exerted tremendous effort to save Monis.

What he hadn’t expected was the unexpectedly great surprise that came from her.

Monis could actually sense demon seeds that had yet to sprout.

For the Ice City, this ability was undoubtedly the most crucial at present.

From Monis, Li Wei learned the current number of demon seeds within the city—

A total of one hundred and sixty-three demon seeds.

Of these, one hundred and thirty-six remained dormant, not yet awakened.

The carriers themselves felt nothing unusual.

The remaining twenty-seven had already begun to sprout, entering the early stages of demonization.

Their consciousnesses had not yet been corrupted by the power of the demon seed.

Thus, they had not sensed the call and did not participate in last night’s assault on the Ice Jade Palace.

When Li Wei and Gusewei learned there were over a hundred hidden demon seed carriers within the city, they were deeply shocked.

Gusewei immediately mobilized the Valkyries and Ice Guards to arrest people throughout the night.

By morning, the arrests at the Ice Jade Palace had become a major uproar.

Many discordant voices arose within the city.

However, due to Gusewei's recent suppression of rebel forces and the dismantling of gang factions set up by Monis for personal gain, along with distributing emergency rations to residents,

her reputation still held strong. Though some grumbled, most believed their Lady Mayor would never wrong an innocent person.

Some of those arrested even felt deeply unjustly treated.

They had no idea why they were taken.

Even with Monis’s sensing abilities, not all demon seed carriers were captured overnight.

Twenty or thirty remained unaccounted for.

The Ice Jade Palace was now issuing a citywide manhunt for them.

Li Wei watched as the detained cried out their innocence from behind railings.

He glanced at Monis beside him, clad in heavy armor.

Monis refused to reveal herself before others, so she wore full-body armor to conceal her identity.

Looking at Monis, then down at the crowd below, Li Wei began to suspect the truth behind last night’s sudden attack on the palace.

If it had anything to do with Monis, perhaps the demonized attackers had come solely to silence her.

Demon seeds and demonized beings had existed since ancient times.

Over the years, Monis likely wasn’t the first to resist the corruption of the demon seed.

Therefore, the Demon God must have long known what a conscious demonized being could cause.

It made perfect sense that orders to eliminate such individuals were embedded within the demon seeds themselves.

Of course, all of this was merely Li Wei’s speculation.

There was no concrete evidence to support it.

Not even Monis herself knew whether last night’s attack was connected to her.

Perhaps it truly was just a response to the call, without deeper motives.

Monis gazed coldly at the humans below and said, “Kill them while the demon seed’s power has yet to awaken—it is the best choice.”

Her words drifted on the wind to Li Wei’s ears, carrying a scent of blood.

He looked down at the gathered crowd but said nothing.

Rationally, he knew it was indeed the wisest course.

But for those below, it was simply too cruel.

Many still didn’t understand what was happening.

They were completely innocent.

The only reason they were arrested was because they carried demon seeds.

More importantly, since the seeds hadn’t sprouted, Li Wei couldn’t be certain if they truly were carriers.

He still harbored doubts about Monis.

If she had intentionally led Gusewei to kill innocents…

Turning away, Li Wei said, “Until clear signs of demonization appear, they remain ordinary citizens—not demonized ones.”

Monis watched his retreating figure vanish into the distance.

After he disappeared, she turned her gaze back to the humans below.

Someone beneath her felt a chilling stare from above and shivered involuntarily, sensing killing intent.

Looking up, they saw nothing.

Monis had already vanished.

Li Wei and Gusewei surprisingly shared the same decision regarding the detained demon seed carriers.

Neither wished to harm the innocent.

Yet their reasons differed.

Gusewei acted from compassion and pity.

Li Wei, from suspicion that Monis might harbor ulterior motives.

During the day, among those detained in the Ice Jade Palace, demon seeds began to sprout one after another.

Those whose seeds awakened were taken away separately.

No one knew what fate awaited them.

Some thought it was fortunate; others feared it was doom.

An atmosphere of unease spread among the people.

Even the city at the foot of the mountain began to feel a growing tension.

No one knew exactly what was happening.

But with frequent recent attacks by monsters on the city, everyone realized that crisis had quietly arrived.

At night, Monis sought out Li Wei and Gusewei.

Clang!

The heavy armor encasing Monis collided, eliciting a sharp, metallic ring.

Hearing the sound, Levi turned his gaze toward the doorway.

Monis stepped inside and said, "The number of Demon Seeds has increased."

The moment those words were spoken, the complexions of both Levi and Gwythyr shifted in tandem.

"What?"

Levi found it somewhat hard to believe, his brow furrowing as he fell into deep thought. "Aguru is already dead, so why would the number of Demon Seeds still be increasing? Could they be splitting and multiplying on their own?"

If that were the case, then the Demon Seeds were no different from a virus.

Yet, this was merely the first piece of bad news.

Paying no heed to their shock, Monis continued, "A vast horde of corrupted creatures is rapidly approaching from outside the city."

Upon hearing this, Levi’s eyes narrowed instantly.

Was this to be the final, all-out assault on the city of Forlred?

He looked toward Gwythyr, and their eyes locked in mutual understanding.

Gwythyr instantly grasped his meaning, declaring, "I will immediately order reinforcements to fortify the defenses along the city walls. As for the Demon Seed carriers within the city, I leave them to you and Monis."

The cause behind the proliferation of the Demon Seeds had to be uncovered.

Otherwise, the calamity they brought would never truly end.

Levi nodded in agreement, responding, "Understood. Then that is how we shall divide our duties."

He turned his gaze to Monis and said, "We will be relying on you for what comes next."

Monis replied coldly, "I shall, of course, obey the City Lord's command."

Gwythyr looked at Monis with a touch of helplessness in her eyes.

Before long, at the military encampment situated halfway up the mountain, a massive contingent of Frost Guards and Valkyries deployed, rushing toward the city walls to reinforce them.

Gwythyr herself departed for the front lines to oversee the defense.

Within the Jade Ice Palace, a few sentries were left behind to watch over the captured Demon Seed carriers.

Gwythyr had handed down a strict directive: if the carriers proved impossible to control, they were permitted to execute them all on the spot.

Things had reached such a critical juncture that she could no longer afford any hesitation or soft-heartedness.

Compassion shown toward potential enemies was nothing short of cruelty toward one's own people.

Levi and Monis acted as a separate duo, embarking on a targeted search to purge the remaining Demon Seed carriers.

The previous night's operation had relied entirely on Monis's intelligence, with the Valkyrie units carrying out the apprehensions.

Consequently, there had inevitably been omissions.

It was also entirely possible that some individuals had sensed something amiss beforehand and relocated ahead of time.

That was precisely how a discrepancy of twenty to thirty people had occurred.

Tonight, the containment operation would be executed by Levi and Monis personally.

There would not be a single soul left unaccounted for.

Beyond that, Levi bore a far more critical mission: to uncover the reason behind the multiplying Demon Seeds.

This problem had to be solved at its root; otherwise, the corruption would know no end.

Clad in her heavy suit of armor, Monis walked down the streets, causing passersby to turn their heads in curiosity and steal frequent glances at her.

Levi swept his gaze across their surroundings, his spiritual perception already unfurling like a net.

He asked, "Where is the Demon Seed carrier?"

Monis replied, "Fifty meters ahead. Inside the second house on the western side, there is one."

With Monis guiding the way and Levi striking swiftly, the targeted eradication progress moved at a brisk pace.

Whomever Levi captured was thrown directly into the Magic Cottage.

He had partitioned a separate area within the cottage specifically for this, sealing the captives away behind a magical barrier.

Moreover, with Sancy watching over the place, there was absolutely no need to worry about the Demon Seed carriers causing any damage to the Magic Cottage.

Thud!

A man who had turned to flee the very moment he spotted Levi and Monis suddenly rolled his eyes back, collapsing headfirst onto the ground.

When dealing with ordinary mortals, a single spiritual shock from Levi was more than enough to plunge them into a state of unconsciousness.

With a casual wave of his hand, Levi opened a spatial portal and tossed the unconscious man into the Magic Cottage.

"That makes thirty-six. How many are left?"

Levi asked as he closed the spatial rift.

Monis replied, "Nine more."

Suddenly, she paused for a brief moment before correcting herself, "Now it is ten."

Levi's gaze sharpened as he commanded swiftly, "Lead the way to the one who just appeared."

Monis harbored the exact same thought.

Before long, the two of them arrived before a deserted house nestled in a remote corner of Forlred.

Levi's spiritual perception pierced right through the walls, scanning the interior.

"No one is inside?"

Monis countered, "They are right there, just underground."

Hearing this, Levi extended his spiritual perception further downward, and the sight that greeted him caused an expression of surprise to cross his features.

Beneath the floorboards lay a labyrinth of complex tunnels.

Yet, no matter how intricate the tunnels were, they could not evade Levi's spiritual senses, and he quickly locked onto two figures hiding within the subterranean passage.

"Right here."

Without another word, Levi invoked a sixth-tier telekinetic spell.

A colossal blue palm materialized in midair, plunging into the earth as effortlessly as if it were piercing through curd, ripping away a massive chunk of the ground.

The action exposed the two silhouettes hiding beneath.

The pair looked up in sheer terror at the ceiling that had just been violently torn away above their heads.

Catching sight of the two figures standing at the edge of the crater, they were struck with absolute horror.

One of them snapped out of his daze, turning on his heel to flee.

In the very next second, a blue radiance enveloped his form, and his body rose into the sky, completely stripped of its own volition.

He drifted upward until he floated directly before Levi.

"Hmm? A Demon Seed?"

Li Wei's sharp eyes instantly caught sight of the object hidden within the man's pocket.

A few black fruits, each no larger than a thumb, slipped free and floated into the air.

From these dark spheres, Li Wei could sense the faint, distinct trace of demonic energy.

The man dropped to his knees in a panic, begging for mercy, crying that he had merely found them and had not stolen a thing.

The other man stood beside them completely bewildered, utterly clueless as to what was unfolding.

Through careful questioning, Li Wei extracted the true origin of the black fruits from the trembling man.

They came from a strange and twisted tree, and consuming them granted a person immense, unimaginable power.

Thus, he had harvested the fruit in secret, selling them to desperate souls who craved such strength.

The clueless bystander was simply an innocent fool who had already consumed one of these demonic seeds.

(End of Chapter)