“Screech—!”
A sharp sound descended from above as an Eternal-tier Bat Demon opened its mouth wide and let out a piercing shriek. The penetrative power of its sonic waves was terrifying, instantly piercing through the ninety-thousand-meter Sea God manifestation to strike Kunpeng’s true body.
The sonic waves passed through Kunpeng’s thick scales and continued to ripple inward.
“Roar!”
This clearly annoyed Kunpeng. It lashed out with its tail toward a nearby Greater Demon, intending to swat it away.
However, the Greater Demon reacted with incredible speed, dissolving into a cloud of black mist to evade the strike.
Unfazed by the miss, Kunpeng shifted its form, transforming into the Golden-Winged Great Roc and soaring toward the Bat Demon in the sky.
“Skree!”
A streak of golden light flashed across the sky as Kunpeng instantly closed the distance to the Eternal-tier Bat Demon.
Its razor-sharp talons tore straight through the Bat Demon’s body, mirroring the way the sonic waves had just pierced Kunpeng.
Having seized the Bat Demon, Kunpeng pecked relentlessly at its head. The Power of Geng Gold was incredibly sharp, easily rending the Bat Demon’s hide.
The Power of Devouring was also activated, with every tear stripping away massive chunks of the Bat Demon’s flesh.
Howling in pain, the Bat Demon unleashed a point-blank sonic wave. Hellfire also erupted from its heart, instantly engulfing its entire body.
In response, Kunpeng let out a long cry.
The Geng Gold qi within its body surged, suppressing the Bat Demon’s sonic waves.
As for the Hellfire gradually spreading over its body, Kunpeng simply ignored it.
Having toyed with demons frequently of late, Kunpeng had discovered it possessed an impressive resistance to Hellfire. As long as its entire body wasn't encased and the flames didn't penetrate deep inside, it remained unaffected.
Kunpeng had even bragged to Chen Xu about this, boasting that it was a once-in-a-billion-years genius of the Bone Kun brood, born specifically for the Land of the Undead to fight Hell.
But only Chen Xu knew the truth—it was the talent enhancements he had bestowed upon Kunpeng taking effect.
The [Disordered Inheritance] within [Ancient Memory] allowed Kunpeng to be compatible with all ancient powers, and Hellfire was included among them.
“Argh! Ral! Fal! Gudun! Help me, quickly!”
Seeing that its techniques were ineffective, the Bat Demon called out to the other Hell Archdukes for aid.
A cloud of black mist exploded beside Kunpeng’s head as Greater Demon Ral swung his scythe in a wide arc.
This time, Kunpeng did not take the hit head-on. The defensive power of the Great Roc form was far inferior to that of the Bone Kun form.
However, the Great Roc form had one major advantage: extreme speed.
In an instant, Kunpeng appeared behind Greater Demon Ral. It withdrew one of its talons from the Bat Demon’s body and slashed at Ral’s back.
Ral’s scythe fell, but the expected impact never came. Instead, a searing pain radiated from his back.
Ral realized that ordinary attacks would not work against Kunpeng. He raised his scythe, attempting to parry Kunpeng’s second claw strike, but a golden flash flickered, and Kunpeng circled behind him again, landing another blow.
Ral’s reflexes were sharp. This time, he didn't bother parrying with his scythe but switched to casting magic.
Multiple runes glowed around the Greater Demon’s heart as Hellfire erupted from within, expanding outward in all directions.
Kunpeng assumed the enemy was trying to use Hellfire to force it to stop its assault, so it ignored the flames and landed a third claw strike.
All three strikes had hit the exact same spot. The flesh on the Greater Demon’s back was torn open, revealing the bone beneath.
Just as Kunpeng was about to retract its talons for another attack, the Hellfire on its body unexpectedly began to flow toward Ral.
Sensing something was wrong, Kunpeng immediately flapped its wings to pull away.
But the Hellfire extended infinitely through the air like a long chain, with one end locked onto Kunpeng’s leg and the other held by Ral.
“Fal! Gudun!”
Ral called out to the other two Hell Archdukes. After years of coordination, Fal and Gudun immediately understood his intent.
Two more streams of Hellfire descended from the sky, seemingly about to land in Greater Demon Ral’s hands.
A beam of Saint Light shot from the fortress, attempting to intercept Ral.
Ral didn't even move. He simply flicked the Hellfire chain already in his hand, using it to block the incoming Saint Light beam.
When the Saint Light hit the chain, the searing, holy energy traveled up the length of the link, causing the Bat Demon at the other end to howl in agony.
“Argh! Ral, you bastard!”
“Shut your mouth, Fu'er!”
The Greater Demon snapped back, catching the other two Hellfire chains with his right hand.
In the next moment, four wisps of Hellfire Source from the Hell Archdukes’ hearts flew into the air, tracing a hexagram array.
Corrupting auras continuously leaked out. Kunpeng felt the surrounding space begin to solidify, making flight increasingly difficult.
It took one last peck, tearing out one of Bat Demon Fu'er’s eyeballs and swallowing it. Then, it hurled the demon toward the Greater Demon and tried to fly away.
“Boom!”
Kunpeng’s golden streak came to a dead stop. An invisible wall existed in the air, forcibly halting its escape.
Greater Demon Ral caught the thrown Bat Demon with his foot, rubbed his chest, and muttered.
“What incredible strength. Even split four ways, it still hurts this much.”
He then condensed a sphere of blood in his palm and threw it onto the Bat Demon.
Under the nourishment of the blood sphere, the wounds on the Bat Demon’s body began to heal at a visible rate.
On the other side, Stone Demon Gudun and Dog Demon Fal revealed their true forms, surrounding Kunpeng from the left and right.
Greater Demon Ral, scythe in hand, dissolved into black mist and flew over as well.
“A Bone Kun capable of transformation... truly a rare specimen. A pity you were too arrogant. You reached the Eternal tier and thought you could keep relying on racial advantages to defeat your opponents.
“Do you think you’re that Bone Kun ancestor of yours? He was a masterpiece crafted by the Overlord himself.
“As for you, Lord Phili just happens to be short a grand mount. After we wash your soul with Hellfire, you will be a perfect gift.”
Greater Demon Ral grinned, a sinister smile playing on his lips.
In his eyes, Kunpeng was no longer just an enemy, but a gift that would help him rise in rank and curry favor with his superior.
“Ral, why are you wasting your breath? Let’s just kill this damned undead together!”
The Bat Demon flew over, dragging its wounded body, its remaining eye overflowing with murderous intent.
Such physical wounds meant little to an Eternal-tier being, but the problem was that his three peers of the same rank were watching.
The injury was minor, but the loss of face was major.
“I actually think Ral has a point. If we make it a gift, Lord Phili might be so pleased that he’ll transfer us away from this dangerous battlefield and swap in some other unlucky bastards.”
“Heh heh heh, Archduke Fal is right. I agree with Archduke Ral’s idea as well.”
Seeing that both the Dog Demon and the Stone Demon agreed, the Bat Demon could say no more.
Below, Netherx concealed his aura and stealthily approached Chen Xu outside the fortress.
“Lord of the Undead, that invisible barrier in the sky is a domain magic cast by the Hell Archdukes. It uses Hellfire as its source to imprison all things.
“Within that domain, the Hell Archdukes receive a Hellfire Blessing, allowing them to ignore their environment and maintain their peak state.
“Furthermore, the domain must be broken with power that far exceeds what was used to construct it. That domain up there combines the Hellfire of four Archdukes, while we only have three Priests. Even with the power of Lord Saint Feather, it is far from enough to shatter that barrier.
“At this moment, only you can do it.”
This imprisonment domain used by the Hell Archdukes was extremely troublesome, which was why Heaven had remained on the defensive.
Once outside the fortress and without the protection of Lord Saint Feather—the fortress’s machine spirit—being trapped in such a domain meant one could only call for reinforcements from elsewhere.
Chen Xu was grateful for Netherx’s intelligence, but he didn't move to break the domain immediately.
Instead, he maintained his watchful posture.
Only Chen Xu, as Kunpeng’s master, knew exactly how terrifying Kunpeng’s strength truly was. Since ascending to the Eternal tier, Kunpeng had never had the chance to fight at its full potential.
Now was the perfect opportunity to let Kunpeng show its hand.
Within the domain, Kunpeng narrowed its eyes. It had heard every word of the four demons’ contemptuous and insulting chatter.
Kunpeng’s intelligence was actually quite high. Having reached the Eternal tier and been enlightened by the Exquisite Heart, its intellect was no different from that of the other skeleton heroes.
It usually only communicated through cries because of the natural instincts of the Bone Kun race.
After all, the Bone Kun was a battle pet created by a former Lord of the Undead. As a 'pet,' despite its combat prowess, it was naturally inclined to do things to please its master.
But being soft in front of its master didn't mean Kunpeng would tolerate such insults from others.
At this moment, the desire for battle awakened in its blood, and the dignity of a king echoed in its mind.
“Skree—! Roar—!”
Two completely different sounds erupted from within Kunpeng. One was heavy and distant, filled with battle intent; the other was sharp and piercing, filled with majesty.
Under the astonished gazes of the four Hell Archdukes, two phantoms suddenly appeared on either side of Kunpeng and gradually solidified.
One was a colossal Bone Kun of staggering proportions, even larger than Kunpeng’s base form. Even without the Sea God manifestation, it reached a length of a million meters.
Its scales were covered in scars, its fins were slightly tattered, and its entire body was riddled with wounds from countless battles.
Even more shocking was the overwhelming battle intent radiating from it.
The other phantom was a Golden-Winged Great Roc. This Roc was also significantly larger than Kunpeng’s Great Roc form, though not as exaggerated as the Bone Kun.
However, within the eyes of this Great Roc was a trace of kingly majesty—an aura Kunpeng had only ever seen in Sindragosa.
The situation instantly shifted from a one-versus-four to a three-versus-four.
Rate on N.U.
