Chapter 2338: Cutting Ties with the Past

Of course, before truly implementing the plan, there were still some loose ends that needed to be dealt with, namely the pursuers who had followed from Evereska.

Previously, Elder Suoermante and the others had not yet fully abandoned the idea of returning to mainstream society, and thus had always maintained a tolerant attitude toward the later pursuers.

Yet, what this brought in exchange was the pursuers following one after another; having chased from Evereska to this place for nearly a hundred miles, the other side had not lost a single member, while their own side had seen several clansmen die due to their Bloodline Riot after being provoked into anger or fear.

The Maruen that Xia Duo was incarnated as was one of them, but fortunately, this body of Maruen had Xia Duo's consciousness added to it, while the other Demon Descendants were not so lucky.

They either turned into a puddle of flesh and blood or were slaughtered by the Elders after turning into mindless Aberrants.

There were already fewer than ten thousand clansmen, and these fewer than ten thousand clansmen were the result of countless Demon Descendants gathering over the past two thousand-plus years; although there were certainly Demon Descendants outside of Evereska, it was impossible for there to be as many as ten thousand more.

The Bloodline Riot was like a Grim Reaper circling the Demon Descendants, ready to claim their souls at any moment; Xia Duo found it hard to imagine how the ten thousand Demon Descendants here in Evereska had survived at all, and it was likely even harder for the Demon Descendants outside.

Therefore, he did not intend to pin his hopes on the outside Demon Descendants, turning instead to wholeheartedly gather Elf Commoners and then convert them; this was the righteous path to strengthening the Demon Descendants. Of course, the issue of natural reproduction also had to be solved, but that was a matter for later.

……

In front of the cave.

Xia Duo was showing off his Flame Demon Body to the fullest; not only was none of the surrounding Demon Descendants afraid, but on the contrary, they all cast looks of envy and reverence.

After all, most Demon Descendants now had only experienced one Bloodline Riot, which was the one at birth; although only a few Demon Descendants experienced a second Bloodline Riot, the danger level of the Bloodline Riot was already well known to all Demon Descendants.

Watching their relatives and friends die one by one from Bloodline Riots, almost none of these survivors were without fear of the Bloodline Riot.

And now, the Maruen that Xia Duo was incarnated as was able to survive the second Bloodline Riot, not only without dying but also gaining even more powerful strength—how could this not make people envious and reverent!

It was a pity that the current situation was not suitable for announcing the Spell for combing the bloodline, otherwise, Xia Duo fully believed he would be treated as a god by these Demon Descendants.

The attitude of those few Elders spoke volumes; just because of that Spell, Maruen had leaped from an ordinary young man to an existence on par with the Elders.

Once the Spell was announced, Xia Duo would surely be able to become the indisputable leader of this Demon Descendant group.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo slightly restrained the flames around his body and walked toward an Elder who was Scrying outside the cave, asking softly:

"Elder Monien, where have the pursuers reached?"

"They are in the forest to the east, and there are some in the sky as well. It looks like they are determined to hunt us down to the last!" Monien said indignantly.

Xia Duo knew that hunting them down to the last was of course impossible; after all, Demon Descendants were not fools. Even if they yearned for the mainstream, when the blade was truly at their throats, they were capable of biting back!

He felt that the reason Evereska sent pursuers was likely just the decision of a few superiors, perhaps unwilling to accept that they hadn't been able to eliminate this group of bloodline-tainted ones in Evereska.

Now they sent troops to chase them to see if there was an opportunity to clear out these Demon Descendants, and if there was no opportunity, bleeding them a little while they were at it was also fine.

Furthermore, the most realistic reason was to record the movements of the Demon Descendants and their final destination; once the major powers had established their nations and stabilized, there would inevitably be a purge that would not stop.

"When shall we act?" Xia Duo asked.

"When they charge up here, I will slaughter them in one fell swoop," Elder Monien replied.

"Kill them all?"

Xia Duo frowned; he hadn't expected this Elder Monien to be so murderous. He had originally thought that as long as they killed some to make a clean break with that side and destroyed the eyes they used for tracking, it would be enough.

But things being this way now was also not bad; it better reflected the determination of the few Elders, only—

"Will this be too provocative to Evereska?"

"Of course it will, but since we have already embarked on a path of true independence, we cannot avoid clashing with them. If not today, then tomorrow. Rather than waiting until tomorrow when the group is stronger and being timid, it is better to let them see our determination now!"

"Uh—"

Xia Duo couldn't help but laugh at himself. It was in vain that he was an outsider; although he seemed detached, on these specific issues, he was actually less decisive than these Elders.

……

By noon.

Xia Duo was just preparing to have some food with Dameng, Xidewa, and a few other childhood friends of Maruen when he suddenly received a notification from Elder Suoermante, telling him to immediately lead a team to the north, as a battle was about to begin here.

Upon receiving this news, Xia Duo was startled. Looking at the other Demon Descendants, many also had expressions of terror and anger on their faces; it seemed they had also received the notification that the Elders were going to fight the pursuers.

Subsequently, Xia Duo stood out and ordered Dameng, Xidewa, and other Demon Descendants with whom he had closer relations to notify the clansmen to stop resting and set off immediately.

Although he now had a small reputation for surviving the second Bloodline Riot, he was not yet necessarily able to command these nearly ten thousand Demon Descendants; he issued the order in the name of the Elders.

Perhaps because they had suffered too much unfair treatment in the past, the Demon Descendants had long since developed the habit of huddling together for warmth. Now, hearing the order Xia Duo issued in the name of the Elders, they quickly packed up their belongings and began to form ranks.

"Truly a nation in arms!"

Xia Duo sighed inwardly. Over these two thousand-plus years, countless Elves had been infected with Demon Aura, and in the end, only these fewer than ten thousand Demon Descendant Elves remained. After the great waves washed away the sand, there should at least be some gold left.

"Set off!"

Following Xia Duo's command, these nearly ten thousand Demon Descendant Elves began to organize themselves, taking Spellcasters or clansmen with auxiliary movement talent Spells as the core, and moved rapidly toward the north while buffing themselves with Spells.

During this process, Xia Duo hardly had to issue any more orders; these Demon Descendants spontaneously sent out clansmen who understood Teleportation or flight to scout the path ahead, while those with the ability of far-sight and Scrying guarded the surroundings from the rear.

Their movements were orderly and logical, but precisely because of this, Xia Duo felt even more regret for the Demon Descendants who had died innocently before. If they had cut ties with the Pure-blood Elves earlier, perhaps they would have already achieved independent status.

The saying "He who hesitates is lost" referred exactly to this situation.

……

Xia Duo did not pay too much attention to the battle in the rear; he believed that Elder Suoermante, a veteran Warrior who had experienced the Crown War, knew how to achieve the best results.

He was currently busy talking with the rare high-level Mages among this group of Demon Descendants. The Demon Descendant Elders were not all high-level Mages; more were respected as Elders due to their Wisdom and age.

Of course, the high-level Mage he was meeting now was not an Elder, for a simple reason—he was too young, having only experienced one Bloodline Riot. Who knew if he would drop dead one day? If he were to become an Elder, wouldn't that make the already declining morale even lower?

But now, with the Spell for combing the bloodline provided by Xia Duo, let alone high-level Mages, as long as they were Elite Mages, it was enough to cast the Spell to comb their own bloodlines!

Therefore, Xia Duo received the other party's special gratitude, and Xia Duo was also curious about how a high-level Mage could be produced among the Demon Descendants. This was not like the Elders, who had lived for thousands of years; as long as their talent wasn't completely rotten, they could always grind their way there.

The Yinsitedaoge before him had become a high-level Mage at less than 300 years old, which could be considered a genuine genius even among Pure-blood Elves, let alone among Demon Descendants who were squeezed, restricted, and even persecuted in every aspect.

Xia Duo found it very hard to imagine how Yinsitedaoge had managed to grow up.