The demon lord who had just attacked instinctively withdrew his strike. The other three demon lords, seeing this, did the same, their eyes widening in surprise.
Qian Niao looked at the familiar silhouette before him, unable to recall where he had seen her before.
"Qian Niao, who is this human? How do you know her?"
A lesser demon lord glared at Qian Niao, and the other two did the same. It was clear from their gazes that their relationship with Qian Niao was not good.
Qian Niao did not reply. He looked at Qi Manyao and then remembered everything. He knew that his own Houpi Legion had been ordered to capture Wan Lei and was aware that the Molang Legion, which had attempted the capture before, had been annihilated.
Before this, he had been pleasantly surprised and relieved to hear about this incident. The surprise was that Wan Lei had indeed won the battle against the demon invasion of the Lei Feng Realm and had ascended to the immortal realm, arriving at the Bitter Sea battlefield. The relief was that his friend had not been captured or killed by the demons.
However, Qian Niao's relief was short-lived, as his Houpi Legion soon received orders to lay an ambush and capture Wan Lei. He wanted to secretly inform Wan Lei, but he didn't know where Wan Lei was. Later, when Wan Lei fell into the trap and was besieged by the demon army, Qian Niao was also anxious. But what could he do? Should he rush forward and fight the demons alongside Wan Lei? He was unwilling to kill people from the positive plane for the demons, but that didn't mean he was willing to betray his own race and help the positive plane kill demons. Otherwise, he would have accepted Wan Lei's invitation to stay in the Lei Feng Realm and would not have gone to such lengths to return to the Bitter Sea battlefield.
This time, even if he charged forward to fight with Wan Lei, it would be futile. Hundreds of thousands of demon troops had completely surrounded them, and Wan Lei could not break through. All he could do was silently pray for his friend in his heart, hoping that he could break out and survive. Moreover, he could only guarantee that every attack he made would be directed into the sky. Qian Niao was still Qian Niao, unmatched in his ability to slack off. He wasn't an idiot. If he had foolishly run over during the siege and said, "Good brother, I'm here, I've missed you so much," he would likely have been executed on the spot by the demon commander for treason. He didn't want to kill, nor did he want to die. He just wanted to go home, remaining the simple Qian Niao.
At first, he only knew that the objective was to capture Wan Lei alive, but he did not know the specific plan. The commander's stratagems were not something a mere demon lord like him could know. It was only when the teleportation array activated that he realized the demons had such a backup plan. He became anxious, but it was useless. If they, the demons, were teleported to the negative plane, it would be fine; they could return to the battlefield. But if Wan Lei were captured and taken to the negative plane, he would have no hope of ever returning home. Fortunately, they were teleported to this unfamiliar place, and Wan Lei still had a chance to escape.
Seeing the girl before him, and combining it with the fact that they were here to capture Wan Lei, he realized that this girl must be from the Lei Feng Realm. Then, he remembered who she was. Qian Niao had never met Qi Manyao, but he had seen the statue displayed in the Lei Di Palace's harem. He naturally knew that the girl had exchanged her life for Wan Lei's life, laying the foundation for the defeat of the demons and the allied forces of the three families, leading to these events. After Liu Naiweng's defeat, Qian Niao had also heard from others about Qi Manyao, greatly admired her, and remembered her name.
"You... are Qi Manyao? Weren't you dead? Did your positive plane's Immortal Venerable revive you?" Qian Niao spoke Qi Manyao's name, which made her overjoyed.
"Yes, it's me." Qian Niao had never met Qi Manyao, but Qi Manyao had met Qian Niao. During the battle at Lei Di Palace, Wan Lei and Qian Niao had fought for three hundred rounds, and she later heard that Qian Niao had rescued Wan Lei when he infiltrated the Liu family. "Heh, this Wan Lei is truly useless, always needing to be rescued."
"After I was revived in the immortal realm, I heard that the demons in the Lei Feng Realm were defeated. I thought you had also died in battle. I didn't expect to see you here. It's wonderful."
The three demon lords beside them exchanged glances, wondering what was going on. How could a human and a demon be chatting so happily?
Qian Niao scratched his head and chuckled twice.
"I also didn't expect you to be revived. It must mean Wan Lei succeeded. Congratulations to you. Before the final battle, Wan Lei told me that after he ascended to the immortal realm, he would seek out an Immortal Venerable to revive you. He actually managed it, truly remarkable."
Now, the three demon lords understood. Qian Niao and Wan Lei knew each other and had chatted! This was unacceptable! The three immediately aimed their weapons at Qian Niao. The leading demon lord shouted coldly, "Qian Niao, are you a traitor?"
"I am not a traitor, nor have I betrayed the demon race." Qian Niao's explanation was weak and unconvincing.
"Nonsense! I've seen this human before. On the battlefield, she and a white giant dragon charged in, killing so many of our comrades. You say you're not a traitor? Fine then, kill her, and we'll believe you."
Upon hearing this, Qi Manyao gripped her spear tightly. Enemies were still enemies, and even Qian Niao couldn't be fully trusted. Moreover, even if Qian Niao didn't kill her, the three demon lords wouldn't let her go.
Qian Niao took two steps forward, blocking Qi Manyao behind him, and sighed, saying, "You also know my principles. I never kill, not even people from the positive plane. Furthermore, she is someone my friend Wan Lei cares deeply about. Wan Lei went through great hardship to revive her, and he worked so hard to bring her back. I cannot let his efforts be in vain. I'm sorry, I cannot let you kill her."
"You and Wan Lei are friends? Hmph, and you say you're not a traitor. Earlier, when the First Legion of Emperor Jingxian's direct army attacked a positive plane universe, the entire army was wiped out, and only you escaped. We thought there was something wrong with you back then, but we lacked evidence. So, you were a traitor, and they let you go? Today, I'll capture you alive and claim credit!"
With that said, the three demon lords attacked Qian Niao in unison. Qian Niao, helpless, could only draw his weapon to defend himself.
"Girl, you go first. I'll hold them off." Qian Niao said to Qi Manyao without looking back.
Qi Manyao immediately shook her head.
"No, if I leave and you are captured by them, the charge of treason will be unavoidable, and you will be executed. The only way now is to kill them. Then, with no witnesses, no one will know you committed treason, and you can return to the negative plane with peace of mind."