Chapter 266: Crater of Death

Chapter 266: Chapter 266: Crater of Death

The truce lasted exactly three seconds after Bart’s ultimatum.

ROOOOAAAR!

The Starlight Serpent’s eyes snapped open. Its massive body uncoiled from the tree trunk, scales of shimmering starlight catching the pale sky. Its mouth opened, and a beam of silver-white energy erupted outward.

FWOOSH!

The beam swept across the front line of cultivators. Those caught in it didn’t scream. They didn’t even have time to react. Their bodies instantly turned to grey stone, their expressions frozen in mid-charge. CRACK! The stone statues toppled over, shattering into pieces on the crystalline ground.

"Scatter!" Bart roared, his jovial demeanor vanishing. "Don’t let that breath touch you!"

The Flaming Bird shrieked, diving from the highest branch. Its wings spread wide, and a torrent of white-hot fire rained down on the left flank. BOOOOOOM! A dozen cultivators were incinerated instantly, their ashes scattering in the wind.

The Crystalline Scorpion burst from the ground, its star-metal pincers snapping shut around an Early Astral cultivator. SQUELCH! The man was cut in half, his blood spraying across the crater. The scorpion’s stinger whipped around, impaling another cultivator through the chest.

The massive bull-like creature with runes carved into its hide—charged forward, its hooves cracking the earth. CRASH! It plowed through a squad of Peak Grand Core cultivators, sending bodies flying like ragdolls.

The Shadow Panther flickered in and out of reality, its twin tails whipping through the air. It appeared behind a group of cultivators, its claws tearing through their backs before vanishing into the shadows again.

"Princess!" one of Lyra’s guards shouted. "We need to fall back!"

"Silence!" Lyra snapped, her violet eyes blazing. "Use the Celestial Lotus Formation—now!"

Her guards formed a circular formation around her, their mana linking together. A massive lotus of golden energy bloomed around them, its petals deflecting the Starlight Serpent’s petrifying breath. BZZZT! The beam struck the lotus and scattered, but the guards were visibly straining.

Bart, meanwhile, was a whirlwind of silver blades. He dashed between the beasts, his daggers carving deep wounds into the Shadow Panther’s flank. SHUNK! SHUNK! The panther snarled, its claws raking across his shoulder. Blood sprayed, but Bart just laughed.

"Not bad, kitty!" he yelled, kicking the panther in the face and sending it tumbling backward.

The battle raged for hours.

The cultivators fought with desperation, their numbers dwindling with every passing minute. The Shadow Panther was the first to fall. A combined assault from Bart, a team of Peak Grand Core mercenaries, and a well-placed lightning spell from Lyra’s guards finally brought it down. CRASH! The panther’s body hit the ground, dissolving into shadow particles.

The Bull was next. It took the combined efforts of thirty cultivators, including three Early Astral Realm masters, to bring it down. The bull charged one final time, its runes blazing, before a massive earth spike erupted from the ground and impaled it through the chest. SQUELCH! The golem crumbled into rubble.

But the cost was staggering.

More than 30% of the cultivators were dead. The crater was littered with bodies—some turned to stone, others burned to ash, others torn apart by claws and pincers. Of the remaining 70%, nearly half were heavily injured, their auras flickering weakly as they struggled to heal.

Lyra was bleeding from a gash on her forehead, her golden lotus formation shattered. Bart’s left arm hung limply at his side, his shoulder dislocated. Even the hidden cultivators who had been forced out of the shadows were dead or dying.

The Starlight Serpent was heavily injured, its scales cracked and bleeding silver ichor. The Crystalline Scorpion was missing one pincer, its carapace shattered in a dozen places. The Flaming Bird’s left wing was torn, its flames flickering weakly.

Lucian moved through the chaos like a ghost.

He had been waiting for this moment. The Varga clan member—a Peak Grand Core vampire with distinctive white hair and crimson eyes—was staggering away from the front line, clutching a wound on his side. He was trying to retreat, to find a safe place to heal.

Lucian appeared behind him with Light Steps.

The vampire sensed him at the last second and spun, his eyes widening. "Who—"

SHUNK!

The Blood Reaver pierced through his chest, the blade emerging from his back. The vampire coughed blood, his eyes locking onto Lucian’s face. There was no recognition there. He didn’t know who Lucian was. He didn’t know why he was dying.

Lucian twisted the blade. "You can blame this on your clan for attacking my village 15 years ago."

The vampire’s body crumbled to ash. Lucian took his storage ring and disappeared back into the shadows.

The hooded figure finally moved.

It had been standing at the edge of the crater the entire time, watching. Now, as the Crystalline Scorpion limped toward the tree, its shattered pincers dragging on the ground, the figure raised a hand.

FWOOSH!

A torrent of black-red fire erupted from the figure’s palm. It wasn’t normal fire. It was something darker, something ancient. The flames burned with an intensity that made the air itself scream.

"Hellfire," the System whispered beside Lucian, its voice unusually serious. "That’s Hellfire."

BOOOOOOM!

The Hellfire engulfed the Crystalline Scorpion. The star-metal carapace, which had deflected spells and weapons all battle, melted like wax. The scorpion screeched, its body thrashing wildly before collapsing into a pool of molten slag.

The hooded figure lowered its hand.

For a moment, no one moved.

Then, a group of Peak Grand Core cultivators—seeing an opening—rushed toward the tree. An Early Astral Realm woman led them, her eyes fixed on the glowing fruits.

The hooded figure waved its hand.

SWISH!

A single spark of intent shot forward. It was tiny, barely visible. But when it struck the first cultivator, his body simply... ceased to exist.

The spark continued, tearing through the group like a scythe through wheat. The Early Astral Realm woman raised a barrier, but the spark shattered it instantly, slamming into her chest and sending her crashing to the ground, her body covered in deep, festering wounds.

Lucian’s eyes widened. He recognized that intent.

Destruction Intent.

The woman coughed blood, her eyes blazing with fury. "You... how dare you attack me?!"

She raised her hands, a massive sphere of golden energy forming above her head. "Die!"

FWOOSH!

The hooded figure didn’t even flinch. It raised its hand, and a saber materialized in its grip. The blade was dark, curved, and radiated an aura of absolute annihilation.

"Annihilation Wave," the figure murmured.

SWISH!

A wave of dark energy, infused with Destruction Intent, erupted from the saber. It met the woman’s golden sphere and obliterated it instantly. The wave continued, striking the woman directly.

She didn’t even have time to scream. Her body disintegrated, leaving nothing behind.

The crater fell silent.

Princess Lyra’s face was pale, her guards trembling behind her. Bart, for the first time, wasn’t smiling. His hand was tight on his daggers, his eyes fixed on the hooded figure.

"What... what is that thing?" Lyra whispered.

Bart swallowed hard. "I don’t know. But we’re not fighting it."

Lucian activated Primordial Sight from the shadows.

His right eye burned. Blood dripped down his cheek as he forced the ability to pierce through the layers of concealment. The figure’s status appeared, flickering.

[Name: ???]

[Race: Demon]

[Bloodline: Infernal Demon Bloodline]

[Cultivation Base: Mid Astral Realm]

[Ability: SS-Rank Hellfire]

Lucian’s blood ran cold.

A demon?