This phenomenon was not limited to a single battlefield. At every location where Martial Artists had secured a brief victory, crimson Hellgates began to manifest.
Armies of demons surged from the Hellgates in numbers far exceeding anything the Heavenly Allied Forces or the Martial Artists had imagined, reversing the situation in an instant.
Because many of the Hellgates opened directly within the ranks of the Heavenly Allied Forces, they caused significant chaos.
However, this was a transcendent world where individual might was the ultimate deciding factor.
The demonic tide merely caught the Martial Artists off guard; it failed to inflict any truly severe damage.
Several powerful Martial Artists stepped forward, manifesting their martial true intent. They unleashed multiple wide-range techniques, instantly clearing a buffer zone and giving both the Martial Artists and the Heavenly Allied Forces room to breathe.
This time, the Martial Artists integrated themselves into the ranks of the Heavenly Allied Forces rather than trying to steal the spotlight by charging into the demon swarm alone.
As long as those open Hellgates remained unsealed, the demon army would be endless. In such a situation, the best strategy was to preserve stamina and slay demons with minimal expenditure.
Currently, only Martial Artists at the mythic-tier or below had entered the fray, disrupting the balance of the battlefield.
Those who had already stepped into the eternal-tier—such as Heaven-Opening Hand Chu Bawang under the Extreme Martial Dao Lord, and Star-Plucker Bu Xingtian, the eldest senior brother of the Universe Daoist Academy—had not yet entered the battlefield directly.
These top-tier powerhouses concealed their auras and lay in wait, watching their junior brothers and sisters perform.
Just like the Hell Archdukes who had yet to show themselves, both sides were waiting. They waited to see which side would lose its composure first, or whose low-level forces would fall into desperation first, necessitating further reinforcements.
Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals, eternal against eternal—this was the unspoken rule of the Myriad Worlds.
Of course, the demons of Hell had no sense of morality. They only tacitly cooperated with the Martial Arts Alliance's moves to follow the arrangements of Phili, the Demon King of Lies, and execute the plan of the Mother of Hell.
...
In the Undead Dao Court, Chen Xu was observing the battle between the Martial Artists and the demons through the shared vision and perception of his clones.
Just then, in the Land of the Undead, the necrotic archduke Medusa approached the Black Knight that Chen Xu had left there to assist Big Boss.
“A meeting of the necrotic archdukes? An invitation for me, the Lord of the Undead? Interesting.”
Chen Xu had originally intended to wait for the ten first-generation Nephalem to be born before meeting these necrotic archdukes, but he hadn't expected them to lose their patience and come to him first.
After all, in Chen Xu's plan, these necrotic archdukes would only be truly useful when a full-scale war with Hell broke out.
At that time, it would be a true battle of life and death. Either Hell would fall, or the Land of the Undead would be destroyed. He wouldn't have to worry about the archdukes holding back.
For now, these necrotic archdukes, cold creatures who had lived for untold ages without blood in their veins, were hardly the type to possess much fighting spirit.
Since they had requested an audience, Chen Xu saw no reason to delay further.
Regardless, the shared perception of his clones wouldn't be interrupted; he would treat this as an extra bit of entertainment.
“Sindragosa.”
“My Lord.”
“Watch over these ten children. I'm heading out for a moment.”
“As you command.”
With that, Chen Xu took a step forward and arrived in the Land of the Undead.
To hold the Supreme Throne was to control the entire world of the Land of the Undead.
Within the Land of the Undead, anywhere Chen Xu wished to go was but a single thought away.
Seeing Chen Xu's figure, Medusa immediately lowered her hundreds of heads and spoke respectfully.
“Great Lord of the Undead, Exalted Chen Xu. It has been a long time. You appear even more unfathomable than before.”
Medusa's routine flattery did not move Chen Xu.
Chen Xu merely gave a slight nod in response.
“Very well, Medusa. I won't waste words. I imagine those archdukes are growing impatient.”
“How could they be, Exalted Chen Xu? You are the unquestioned Overlord of the Land of the Undead. No necrotic archduke would dare defy you.”
“Heh, perhaps.”
Chen Xu did not explain further to Medusa. His gaze had already pierced through layers of space, looking directly into the territory where the necrotic archdukes were currently gathered.
This was a secret belonging to the Lord of the Undead, one that every generation had strictly kept.
Publicly, the Lords of the Undead proclaimed that they would not pry into or invade the territories of the necrotic archdukes, and that as the Supreme Overlord, they would respect the privacy of every individual archduke.
In reality, the Lord of the Undead's vision was omnipresent. As long as it was within the Land of the Undead, there was no place the Lord of the Undead could not see.
Relying on this secret, the Lord of the Undead monitored every necrotic archduke from the shadows, enjoying the pleasure that came from such hidden control.
Naturally, Chen Xu would not reveal this secret to Medusa, even though their relationship was quite good.
Without giving Medusa a chance to speak again, Chen Xu brought her directly to the assembly site. It was the territory of an elder among the necrotic archdukes, a being on par with Alix, the Primordial Black Knight.
The eternal-tier skeleton giant, Disaster Bone.
Disaster Bone was both his name and his title.
This elder necrotic archduke's territory was located in the west of the Land of the Undead, deep within a lush Bone Thicket.
Disaster Bone did not care for artificial structures; he only liked things that were primal and natural.
Consequently, his territory was filled entirely with the natural creations of the Land of the Undead, without a single trace of later development. It could be considered a rare wilderness.
At that moment, the necrotic archdukes were gathered beneath a cluster of fallen bone trees, using the collapsed trunks as benches.
Some of the larger archdukes, such as those from the bone dragon and abomination races, chose to sit directly on the ground.
They were currently discussing Chen Xu, the Overlord of the Land of the Undead.
Suddenly, Chen Xu's figure appeared in their midst, so silent and subtle that it went unnoticed by almost every undead.
Only Alix, the Primordial Black Knight, and a few elders like Disaster Bone sensed his arrival.
Disaster Bone shifted his massive frame, the friction of his bones creating a loud cracking sound to alert the surrounding archdukes.
Only a few archdukes were drawn by his movement. After seeing the expressions of the elders, they realized what was happening and fell silent.
The other archdukes only noticed Chen Xu's presence after Medusa appeared. They quickly stifled their chatter and watched the Lord of the Undead in silence.
One could hardly blame them. Chen Xu possessed the stature of a normal human and had deliberately suppressed his aura. For necrotic archdukes who had never seen a living Lord of the Undead, it was only natural they failed to notice him.
Chen Xu walked forward slowly, passing directly by the elders to reach the far rear of the gathering.
Then, he turned around, looked at the group of necrotic archdukes, and slowly leaned back.
The Supreme Throne appeared just in time to catch Chen Xu.
Chen Xu rested one hand on the right armrest, propping up his chin. He crossed his legs and said lazily:
“Let us begin. Tell me why you are here.”
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