Chapter 366: Continuous Surprises
The two combatants exchanged dozens of blows in the blink of an eye, with neither able to gain the upper hand. After all, both the King of the Force Demons and the Duke of Bones were demi-god abyssal lords renowned for their physical combat prowess. Unlike powerful spellcasters who could end a battle in moments with dazzling spells and falling meteors, these two fought with a intensity that rivaled such magical duels!
“As expected of demi-god-level warriors—this power far exceeds that of legendary beings. But I’m not too far from their level either…”
High above the canyon, hidden in a rock crevice, Carlisle watched the clash between the two demi-god abyssal lords from afar, his heart filled with excitement. As a descendant of a true god, despite his resentment toward his half-brother god, he had to admit that without inheriting his divine bloodline, he could never have reached this level in just a few decades—likely having turned into bones a hundred years ago!
It was precisely because of his divine bloodline and the fragments of divinity he had obtained earlier that he had the confidence to break through to the upper stages of legend and ascend to demi-god status in a short time!
“Don’t just stand around watching. I feel something strange about today’s battle—it can’t be that simple. Something else might happen. Let’s refrain from acting for now and adapt as things unfold!”
Donald wasn’t as inspired as Carlisle. It wasn’t that he lacked the enthusiasm of a young man, but he already had a solid plan to ignite his divine fire and become a demi-god. Even now, as a legendary archmage, he had several tricks up his sleeve to harm beings at the demi-god level, so his perspective had also risen.
For Donald, stepping into the realm of legend was merely a new beginning. Even if he became a demi-god, it didn’t guarantee he would reach the highest position in this world—at most, he would become the ruler of a region in the main world!
Only by becoming an immortal true god could one have the chance to witness the wonders of the universe and move toward eternity!
After hearing Donald’s words, both Carlisle and Amps calmed down, especially Amps. Having waited hundreds of years for revenge, it didn’t want to ruin everything due to impatience! Under the years of oppression by the Spider Queen, its once impulsive nature had taught it patience and restraint.
The scene returned to the battlefield between Skullbreaker Ahha and Duke of Bones Yexin.
The reason the King of the Strength Demons is known as the Skull Shatterer is that he enjoys crushing the skulls of undead creatures, which gives a clear idea of his relationship with the Duke of Bones! The battles between these two old rivals are truly earth-shattering; both sides know each other’s tactics well, so there’s no hesitation or feinting—they simply unleash their most powerful attacks. The King of the Strength Demons has the advantage of his immense strength and giant size, while the Duke of Bones possesses strength on par with his opponent, a body made of golden bones as hard as tempered steel, along with relatively agile movement. Although Ahaz’s 20-foot-tall frame boasts extraordinary agility, it is still somewhat slower compared to the petite and nimble Duke of Bones. Yet Yasin cannot use his agility to deal any real damage to the King of the Strength Demons! As an undead creature, Yasin enjoys racial advantages such as immunity to fatigue and no physical limits, but he lacks the innate magical abilities of demons. Moreover, as an undead being of the Evil Order faction, he receives far less favor from the Will of the Abyss than demons, who are its favored creatures! The King of the Strength Demons and his son, the Demon Baron Jadri, look very similar—both are robust, bald humanoid creatures with pale skin, sharp claws at the ends of their arms, clearly suited for tearing apart enemies. They also have a pair of rotten wings extending from their shoulders, and a third eye is embedded in the center of their foreheads. Unlike the Demon Baron, who is only at the golden level, Ahaz is surrounded by a dense aura of evil energy that forms a domain, like a halo, covering an area of thousands of feet around him. Entering this domain, even a semi-divine undead creature like the Duke of Bones, who has strong resistance to all forms of energy damage, suffers from reduced speed and attack power! To counter this, the Duke of Bones has to activate his own negative energy domain to offset most of the oppressive effects of his opponent’s evil domain. At the same time, the Duke of Bones undergoes a sudden transformation—his once noble-like attire is torn apart by sharp spikes emerging from his body. In just one breath, the original Duke of Bones turns into a humanoid hedgehog covered in sharp bone spines. Those golden spines, each three feet long and thicker than ribs, send chills down even Donald III, who is hiding in the shadows.
Next, the Bone Duke also spared no effort. With a push from his feet, he leaped into the air, curling into a spiky ball before rolling toward the massive body of the Force Demon King. His speed was so great that it created a gust of wind like a bullet.
If such a spiky ball rolled over one’s body, not to mention humans, even the huge frame of the Force Demon King would likely suffer greatly. An ordinary person would probably be turned into a mess of flesh in an instant!
Seeing his old rival launch this attack, the Force Demon King naturally prepared to defend against it. He glared fiercely, unleashing an evil gaze—a supernatural attack meant to affect the mind. Even peers among the strong would not dare to confront it head-on.
However, as an undead creature, the Bone Duke knew nothing of fear. He had natural resistance, even immunity, to such mental attacks. But since it was a supernatural ability wielded by a demi-god, the third eye on the Force Demon King’s forehead also opened, emitting a red beam of light. Although the Bone Duke was immune to the negative effects of the evil gaze, he couldn’t withstand the energy shock within it, causing his form in mid-air to pause momentarily.
Knowing that his evil gaze couldn’t harm the Bone Duke, Ahaz, the Skull Shatterer, had exactly this effect in mind. At the moment the spiky ball paused in the air, the Force Demon King used his spell-like ability to teleport away from the attack, dodging this lightning-fast strike.
The rapidly spinning spiky ball paused for a fraction of a second before continuing its charge toward its original target, stirring up dust and smoke along the way. A deep trench several feet wide appeared where it had been, as if dug by a giant earthworm!
“Yasin, you still rely on the same old tactics. I wonder if using this move over and over again has made it ineffective against me. Do you really think that after so many encounters, I’ll still fall for your ambush?” came a cold snort from the Bone Duke, who rose from the dust at a soul level. He didn’t respond to Ahaz’s mockery but instead shot upward like a cannonball, responding with force once again.
The Force Demon King also brought out his true strength, losing patience to continue a evenly matched fight. As he fought back, his expression twisted viciously as he said, “You wretched bone! If not for your interference, my plan would have been flawless. Now, taste just how powerful my newly acquired strength is!”
Before the words faded, both the Duke of Bones who was launching a fierce attack, the armies of the undead and demons fighting at the entrance of the canyon, and those like Donald hiding on the mountains above the canyon all felt a powerful aura rising into the sky. This aura was different from the evil and chaos of demons, nor like the coldness and darkness of undead creatures. The corrupt abyssal demon aura of the King of Magic, who had wielded this power, had completely vanished, leaving only an evil, powerful aura infused with an impeccable divine will. A formidable domain, golden in color with red hues of evil energy, appeared above the canyon. Within its thousands of square kilometers, all low- and mid-level undead creatures below the rank of gold seemed to be drenched in concentrated sulfuric acid, emitting white smoke before turning into piles of bones and debris. As for those low- and mid-level demons, their expressions shifted constantly—sometimes resembling those of fanatically devout believers, other times showing fierce evil looks. Yet soon, many low-level demons could no longer withstand the power of the divine light and knelt on the ground, devoutly chanting the sacred name of the King of Magic. It seemed they were inspired by their master in this sacred domain and became devout believers! In just a few breaths, only a portion of the high-level demons and a few mid-level demons with firm wills continued to resist the divine light, retaining their free will. “So he’s already been deified…” Donald, outside the battlefield, was shocked upon seeing the scene. This was clearly the sacred inspiration emitted by a demi-god who had obtained a divine position and become a new god. Of course, such an effect could only occur during the first time a new god issued such an inspiration. After all, demons were notoriously difficult to make them devoutly believe in any one entity due to their chaotic nature. “No, he’s not yet a fully established new god. Judging from the strength of his divine power, it’s only slightly stronger than that of an ordinary demi-god, far inferior to those totem demi-gods I’ve seen before who could rival lower gods in their own domains!” Quickly analyzing the situation, Donald didn’t back down despite the King of Magic, Ahaz, having been deified. He decided to stick to his original plan, but wait until both the main protagonists had exhausted their cards and possibly suffered mutual destruction before it was their turn to act! “Don’t be deceived by its appearance. The opponent is just a half-finished new god. Perhaps he has grasped a divine position, but the power he’s gained is incomplete. The three of us are more than enough to confront him head-on. Keep observing and wait for the right moment to strike!”
Hearing Donald’s words, Carlisle and Amps, who had also sensed something unusual about Ahab, felt somewhat relieved. Donald’s judgments had never been wrong, and they fully agreed with his analysis!
“You actually ignited the Divine Fire! No wonder! So all these years you’ve been lurking in your lair without making a move—not because you were injured and weakened, but because you transformed your power after igniting the Divine Fire!”
The Bone Duke’s usually cold and harsh voice showed a rare hint of surprise, clearly out of deep fear of Ahab, the King of Magic after becoming a deity.