Chapter 477: "Filthy" City

Sitting cross-legged on the broad back of a blood lion demon that resembled a small hill, cloaked in a black robe, Muria gazed at the distant city. Its walls were crooked and dilapidated, serving more as a symbol than an actual defense. From the drifting air, he could faintly smell a nauseating stench of blood.

"Caw! Caw!" An unpleasant bird call sounded as a huge vulture, shrouded in filthy black demonic energy, flew out from the small city and headed towards Muria.

"Honorable sir, I am the lord of Black Vulture City. How may I assist you?" The black-feathered vulture, reeking of rotten flesh, landed below Muria. On its back stood a middle-aged man with a receding hairline, who greeted Muria with a somewhat anxious and humble smile.

"Just passing by." Muria wasn't too surprised by the appearance of the Black Vulture Lord. Even though he and the Balor demon had hidden their auras, the blood lion demons beneath them hadn't bothered to conceal their presence.

Two soul-level blood lion demons and six gold-level Balor demons were enough to terrify this small city lord, who was only at the gold level, making him rush out to welcome Muria.

"Would you like to rest in my city, sir? Although it is somewhat dilapidated, we can still provide services that might please you." Seeing that Muria did not seem intent on killing him, the Black Vulture Lord breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly asked in a fawning manner.

"Hmm."

"Uh…" The Black Vulture Lord, who had not expected Muria to accept his invitation, paused momentarily but quickly responded, nodding and bowing. "This way, please, sir."

After the foul-smelling Black Vulture Lord had walked some distance away, Muria, curious about this notoriously infamous continent, followed.

"What is this…" Riding the blood lion demon over Black Vulture City, Muria was shocked by the sight below. The city was even more decrepit than it appeared from afar. Houses leaned haphazardly, with no semblance of planning, and sewage and filth flowed unchecked. It was clear the city's owner had no intention of maintaining it.

The most prominent features in the city were the numerous gallows, from which hung the tortured and mangled bodies of the deceased. Some corpses had dried out completely, while others, still bleeding, were being picked at by vultures.

This wasn't a city; it was a garbage pit, an execution ground, a breeding farm for vultures, unfit for intelligent beings to inhabit.

"Sir, if your mount is hungry, feel free to use these two-legged beasts." The Black Vulture Lord sidled up to Muria, speaking with eager obsequiousness.

"Two-legged beasts?" Following the Black Vulture Lord's finger, Muria noticed the struggling residents of Black Vulture City.

These were humans, reduced to crawling on their knees by force of habit. For a moment, Muria thought he was seeing African refugees from his previous life: emaciated, with numb expressions and eyes devoid of hope.

"Descend!" Muria commanded the blood lion demon through a mental imprint, bringing him down to three feet above the ground, allowing him to observe these hellish inhabitants more closely.

"Indeed, they are no longer purely human. Ordinary humans couldn't survive in such an environment." The kneeling "humans" had various abnormal features: faint demonic markings, small horns, fur, tails, and the like.

These were not humans but more accurately described as demon offspring.

"Roar!" Seeing the demon offspring cowering before it, the blood lion demon drooled, its foul, sticky saliva dripping from its jaws. For demons, the material world's creatures were exceptionally tempting.

"Slurp!" The blood lion demon licked its lips, causing the demon offspring to shiver involuntarily. Life, though harsh, was preferable to death. No matter how difficult, they still wished to live.

"Choose twenty of you and present them to this lord," the Black Vulture Lord commanded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, treating the act of consuming humans as routine.

Immediately, an ugly and grotesque scene unfolded before Muria. The demon offspring, who had just been kneeling in humility, pounced on those around them, disregarding whether they were parents, spouses, children, or otherwise. Now, the only relationship that mattered was survival.

Soon, twenty demon offspring, their limbs broken, were placed before Muria, stripped of their clothes. Among them were young girls in their prime and children as young as eight or nine, all looking at Muria with pleading eyes.

But Muria felt no pity for their faces. He had seen these seemingly pitiful girls and children ruthlessly fighting just moments ago, their actions as cruel and decisive as any adult.

"Enjoy!" The Black Vulture Lord ingratiatingly addressed Muria's blood lion demon.

"Bang!" Just as the blood lion demon was about to accept the offering, Muria punched it hard on the back, making it close its mouth obediently.

"Tell me, what crimes did those on the gallows commit to deserve such a fate?"

"Crimes?" The Black Vulture Lord seemed puzzled by Muria's question. "These are just the marks of my boredom. Would you like to try it, sir? These two-legged sheep would be honored to entertain you with their lives."

"Is that so." Bloodlust surged within Muria, making it hard for him to hold back.

"By the way, sir, if your mount doesn't eat them, I'll let my partner have them." As he spoke, the large vulture stepped forward, ready to peck at the demon offspring.

"Crunch!" A pale bone fragment, stained with filthy blood and sticky brain matter, splattered onto the pleading demon offspring. The blood lion demon had smashed the vulture's head with one swipe of its paw.