Chapter 412: Final Battle of the Blood War (2)

The Eight-Armed Snake Demon had not expected the Orc to spot it so suddenly, but it still managed to block his battleaxe with its scimitars. This had little to do with reaction speed; the Eight-Armed Snake Demon simply had too many hands. At any given moment, it kept blades raised in every direction to fend off surprise attacks.

More than that, after parrying the Orc's battleaxe, two of the demon's six remaining arms went on the offensive, thrusting sharp blades at the Orc's unguarded abdomen.

The Orc bore down with greater force, bending the arms the demon was using to block. Instantly, another pair of arms swung up to reinforce the guard. When facing melee professionals, these multi-armed snake demons held a natural advantage.

Sensing the danger, the defensive magic cast by Light of the Firmament triggered. A golden halo expanded outward with the Orc at its center. The powerful magical force shoved the Eight-Armed Snake Demon back, and it rode the momentum to disengage from the melee.

The White Dragon Lord made his move. He compressed the casting time of a Master Tier magic spell, which normally required several seconds of chanting, to its absolute limit.

"Ice Coffin!"

The Eight-Armed Snake Demon felt the surrounding temperature plummet, the biting cold turning its movements sluggish. At the same time, a strange power rapidly gathered around its body. Instinct screamed that even though this spell wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, getting trapped would be the beginning of its end. Ignoring the energy cost, the demon surged its internal power into every part of its body to expel the chill. Thrashing its tail, it escaped the Ice Coffin's range by a hair's breadth.

A massive block of ice materialized in the air, but it failed to trap its target. The Eight-Armed Snake Demon frantically whipped its tail through the air, fleeing toward its own camp. As if possessing eyes in the back of its head, it twisted its waist to dodge the Spatial Blade fired by Mage Alan.

Retreating into its camp, the Eight-Armed Snake Demon vanished into thin air once more. However, it did not dare launch another attack on the White Dragon Lord's team. It never wanted to experience that brush with death again.

Since the enemy had fled after a single failed strike, the White Dragon Lord's five-man squad had to find another target.

Having instantly slain a crag demon and nearly killed an Eight-Armed Snake Demon, the squad drew the attention of the demonic horde. Led by a Balor demon, a group consisting of a fire-burning demon, two Eight-Armed Snake Demons, and a demonized giant turtle took the initiative to confront them.

The White Dragon Lord's expression turned solemn. Much like legendary dragons, Balor demons were synonymous with overwhelming power. The fire-burning demon was an old friend—the ruler of Former Fire-Burning City, Rabmodo Modi. The two Eight-Armed Snake Demons were unmatched in melee assassination. And while he had never seen the demonized giant turtle before, its island-like size and the thick shell on its back were enough to prove its tremendous defense.

This was a hunting party composed of powerful demons. Even ordinary wolves knew how to hunt in packs, let alone these mighty High-Tier Legendary Level demons. The White Dragon Lord rapidly chanted a spell.

"Soul-Linking Chain!"

Four chains of white energy shot out from the White Dragon Lord and sank into his four teammates. This Soul-Linking Chain was a simplified version of the one used by the Floating Tower. It could not link too many people at once, but connecting four was more than enough.

Amid the chaotic battlefield of exploding magic, the two teams faced off. Their invisible auras clashed in the air, each side hoping to suppress the other and lay the groundwork for victory. The result was a dead heat.

The short-tempered Balor demon struck first. Its Blazing Whip carved an arc through the air, lashing toward Skyhowler. The moment the Balor demon moved, the two Eight-Armed Snake Demons blurred and vanished. Magic brewed in the fire-burning demon's hands, and the demonized giant turtle silently rammed toward Skyhowler.

Skyhowler was no pushover. She activated the innate magical ability of a Transcendent Beast. A layer of yellowish-brown energy spread across her skin, instantly enveloping her entire body. Her hide grew dull and lusterless, as if coated in ash. The Blazing Whip struck her without causing the slightest reaction, and Skyhowler charged straight at the incoming giant turtle.

The giant turtle was fully the size of a small island, while the howling moon pig was only a third of that size. Despite her physical disadvantage, Skyhowler possessed a pair of razor-sharp tusks. She thrust her tusks at the turtle's head, but the demonized giant turtle pulled its head into its shell, using its hardened carapace to smash into its enemy.

Skyhowler shifted tactics. Just before they collided, she sharply pulled up in altitude and kicked her thick hooves hard against the turtle shell.

"War Stomp!"

If this stomp had landed on a steel plate, it would have pierced right through. Yet the giant turtle's shell did not even suffer a scratch on its keratin surface. However, the sheer concussive force of the heavy blow still sent a shockwave through the turtle's internal organs.

Force is reciprocal. The rebound left Skyhowler's breathing unsteady. Taking advantage, several of the fire-burning demon's Explosive Flame Spells landed right beside her, leaving a massive scorch mark. Skyhowler was injured.

A pillar of holy light descended from the sky. Sacred energy poured into Skyhowler, repairing her damaged skin and muscle tissue. In an instant, she was fully healed.

The dense holy light that healed Skyhowler also flushed out an Eight-Armed Snake Demon hiding nearby. The eight scimitars in its hands flashed with cold light as it lunged at Skyhowler's relatively soft underbelly, but the blades were thrown off course by a Deflection Force Field instantly applied by the White Dragon Lord.

The Eight-Armed Snake Demon never got a second chance to strike. The Orc hoisted his battleaxe high and brought it down hard. Having reacted, Skyhowler shifted sideways, using her absolute size advantage to ram into the ambushing snake demon.

Fighting on top of its shell enraged the giant turtle. Surging demonic energy erupted from its body, immediately putting tremendous pressure on Skyhowler and the Orc. Light of the Firmament instantly cast two shields to help the melee fighters retreat from the fray.

The Balor demon was just about to join the melee when it noticed a Spatial Blade flying its way. Confident in its strength, it leveled its burning Decapitation Greatsword across its chest. The Spatial Blade slammed into it, leaving a deep gouge on the greatsword forged from Abyssal Demon Iron.

Meanwhile, the other Eight-Armed Snake Demon crept toward Light of the Firmament in stealth. This legendary dragon's healing capabilities were simply too strong; any injuries inflicted on the two melee fighters were instantly regenerated. The demon decided to take out Light of the Firmament first. Little did it know that the moment it marked the dragon as its prey, it became the exact opening the White Dragon Lord was looking for.

Under the White Dragon Lord's Soul Sight, the stealthed Eight-Armed Snake Demon had nowhere to hide. Even the earlier move—healing Skyhowler while simultaneously exposing the first hidden snake demon—was a tactic coordinated when the White Dragon Lord passed a message to Light of the Firmament through the Soul-Linking Chain.

The Eight-Armed Snake Demon stealthily closed in on Light of the Firmament, only to walk right into an open net. With the fish in position, the White Dragon Lord relayed the signal through the Soul-Linking Chain.

"Do it!"

"Amos's Frost Domain!"

Endless frigid energy erupted from the White Dragon Lord, instantly enveloping the Eight-Armed Snake Demon. Its movements were slightly impaired, and the effect quickly worsened. A thick sense of dread welled up in the demon's heart. It detonated its internal energy, desperately trying to escape the Frost Domain's range. Once an assassin lost its stealth and agility, it was nothing but a walking target for spellcasters.

"Ice Coffin!"

Weighed down by the lingering effects of the Frost Domain, the Eight-Armed Snake Demon failed to fully evade the sudden block of ice. Three of its arms and its snake tail were frozen solid.

The Eight-Armed Snake Demon frantically erupted its energy to shatter the ice. A Master Tier magic spell could only restrain a High-Tier Legend powerhouse for a single second, but that single second was enough to decide life and death. Already prepared, Light of the Firmament followed up with an empowered Daze. While Holy Light Dragons were famous for their healing, it was not the only thing they could do.

Mage Alan tore open the magic scroll in his hand. A colossal Spatial Blade instantly materialized, slicing rapidly toward the Bano Flame Demon.

In the distance, the fire-burning demon tried to use magic to aid its trapped comrade, but Skyhowler blocked its path with her massive body. The Orc spun through the air in a bladestorm, forcing the other Eight-Armed Snake Demon and the Balor demon to retreat.

With the surrounding space locked down and its allies unable to support it in time, the outcome was inevitable. Hit by two consecutive crowd-control spells, the Eight-Armed Snake Demon was completely unable to dodge when the Spatial Blade arrived. Its triggered life-saving magic shield failed to stop the razor-sharp spatial edge.

Under the expectant gazes of the three spellcasters, the horizontal Spatial Blade cleaved through the Eight-Armed Snake Demon. Two arms were sheared off, its chest cavity was sliced open, and its demon heart was ruptured. Cut neatly in two, the snake demon's corpse plummeted limply to the ground.

Yet another High-Tier Legend demon had fallen to the schemes of the White Dragon Lord's five-man squad. After obliterating the Eight-Armed Snake Demon, the White Dragon Lord shifted his gaze to the remaining demons, specifically the enormous demonized giant turtle.

This giant turtle was not a demon native to the Abyss. It was a fallen Transcendent Beast, one that apparently carried Dragon Race blood. The White Dragon Lord spotted fine dragon scales on the limbs extending from its shell.

Its massive size granted the demonized giant turtle unrivaled strength, and its thick shell provided absurd defensive capabilities. But that same mass and heavy shell severely crippled its agility.

This type of thick-skinned, highly vital, yet immobile walking target was the White Dragon Lord's absolute favorite kind of opponent. Soul Magic bypassed physical defenses. The demonized giant turtle viewed its shell as its greatest reliance, but to the White Dragon Lord, it might as well not exist. He had only spared it at the start because he was afraid of scaring off the prey that had so conveniently delivered themselves to his door.

An eerie hum of Soul Energy rang out. Since the White Dragon Lord had tipped him off, Light of the Firmament noticed the ethereal, strange energy fluctuation beside him, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes. Compared to the straightforward nature of space magic, the bizarre nature of Soul Magic was far more terrifying. After all, dying without even knowing how it happened was a hard fate to accept.

Master Tier Soul Magic—Soul-Perishing Needle!

Forged from highly condensed Soul Energy, the Soul-Perishing Needle was only the size of a toothpick, while its target, the demonized giant turtle, was the size of a small island. The contrast created a striking visual impact.

The instant the Soul-Perishing Needle fired, the demonized giant turtle sensed a fatal crisis and instinctively retracted its limbs into its shell.

Through the White Dragon Lord's Soul Sight, he watched the Soul-Perishing Needle pierce the giant turtle's body. There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor any dazzling display of energy. The needle's energy dissolved into the giant turtle's soul, spreading instantly through its entire body like a virus. The giant turtle's soul shattered, and its island-sized body plummeted.

Although they did not know exactly what had happened to the giant turtle, the demons saw its body enter a free-fall and the energy beginning to bleed from its corpse. Realizing it was dead, they stared in disbelief. It was not until Skyhowler's massive frame charged right up to them that the Balor demon finally snapped out of it—their team had lost its meat shield.

The Balor demon grabbed Skyhowler's tusks with both hands, skidding backward under the immense force of her charge. Seeing the tide turn, the fire-burning demon immediately turned and fled, while the remaining Eight-Armed Snake Demon blurred and vanished. Loyalty simply did not exist among demons.

This time, the Orc did not use his signature leaping slash. Instead, he darted underneath Skyhowler and swung his sharp battleaxe at the Balor demon's burning ankle—a blind spot for the demon and a vulnerable weak point.

Sensing the danger, the flames on the Balor demon surged. Its already scorching body temperature climbed even higher. Skyhowler and the Orc felt as if they were fighting a red-hot block of iron. Two spells shot from behind them, sinking into both their bodies.

"Empowered Protection from Fire!"

The Orc and Skyhowler instantly felt much better. The sharp battleaxe bit into the Balor demon's burning ankle, severing it cleanly in one strike. The motorcycle-sized foot fell under the pull of gravity, spraying demonic blood hotter than magma across the sky.

The Balor demon let out a muffled grunt of agony, but it forced through the pain to finish its incantation. Endless flames erupted from its body, sweeping out in all directions. The air itself distorted into an illusory blur under the blistering heat.

"Flame Domain!"

Even though Skyhowler and the Orc retreated quickly, they were swallowed by the rolling flames. The Empowered Protection from Fire spells rapidly hit their limits, forcing Skyhowler and the Orc to project their own energy to stave off the fiery invasion.

By the time they escaped the flames, both looked like charred lumps of coal. Plumes of black smoke rose from their bodies; clearly, their injuries were severe. Light of the Firmament rapidly chanted a spell. A dozen seconds later, holy light so dense it looked like liquid enveloped the injured pair, nourishing their battered bodies. Fresh granulation tissue grew at a visible rate as the dead, blackened skin sloughed off.

As the brilliant holy light dissipated, the White Dragon Lord looked at his two companions' new looks, fighting hard to keep a straight face.

The holy light had healed their injuries, but it could not restore their lost hair. The Orc's head was now smooth and shiny as a lightbulb, completely stripped of eyebrows and eyelashes. Skyhowler had gone from a black-furred pig to a hairless pig. This, however, proved that the silver patterns on a howling moon pig were not just dyed into its fur, because even completely bald, the silver markings remained vibrant across her skin.

"Ahem! That Bano Flame Demon got away. If you two are alright, let's look for a new target," he said.

Though losing their hair hurt their image a bit, it did not impact their combat prowess in the slightest. Neither of them cared much for appearances anyway, and they immediately declared their readiness to keep fighting.

The astonishing battle record of the White Dragon Lord's five-man squad earned the unanimous approval and cooperation of the many legendary powerhouses present. Teaming up with the squad to hunt down standout demons, the scales of victory on the High-Tier Legend battlefield gradually tipped in favor of the Allied Forces.

Inside the luxurious palace at the very center of the Viper Temple, the Blade Sovereign sat high upon her throne with her eyes closed. A swarm of colorful snakes writhed around her tail.

Suddenly, the Blade Sovereign opened her eyes, a flash of irritation crossing her emerald snake pupils. She had been monitoring the battle the entire time and was sorely tempted to personally intervene and erase that blasted five-man squad. But sensing the undisguised holy aura radiating from afar, she abandoned the enticing thought and lowered her gaze to the snakes groveling at her feet.

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