Chapter 85: Three Punches to Shatter a Demon King’s Dream! (Two Chapters Combined, 4,000 Words)
Watching the panda in front of him turn into a squirrel with his own eyes...Chu He subconsciously rubbed his eyes in confusion.
Now that he was no longer immersed in his “painting” state, he finally heard the repeated explosions outside.
He looked out the window and saw dense fog rolling everywhere, while firelight and dust burst up from collapsing buildings... demonic aura surged into the heavens!
—After the whole of Linyuan City had been sealed by Mirage, Demon King Mirage no longer needed to hide behind illusions.
“Has the world ended!?”
“No, Fiends have entered the city!”
Chu He’s scalp went numb. As a Class User, his first instinct was to rush outside and join the battle.
But just before stepping out the door, he suddenly stopped...He had no painting.
And what was a Painter without a painting?
That was even more useless than a sniper without a gun or an assassin without hands!
The only thing left in his possession was the half-finished scroll with only the outline of the panda drawn on it...
He suddenly realized that he was the one most in need of rescue!
Chu He glanced at the little squirrel and carefully crouched down, asking tentatively,
“Brother Squirrel, you’re here to protect me, right?”
The shadow squirrel tilted its head, looking utterly baffled.
...
In the skies above Linyuan City, on the magic dragon’s back, the moment Luo Yao saw Martial Saint Panda suddenly appear, she instinctively took two steps back, as though some dreadful memory had been awakened.
After a moment’s thought, Liu Anran still shook her head.
“As far as I remember, even with Panda’s current combat power, his abilities still shouldn’t be enough to deal with a Demon King...”
“Ye Ze, if you’re not certain, don’t take the risk.”
She wanted to remind Ye Ze that as long as he stayed alive, he would have his chance to avenge himself on the Demon King sooner or later.
But Ye Ze did not like revenge. He preferred settling scores on the spot.
“Don’t worry. Panda has other abilities too!” Ye Ze explained. “When the time comes, I may need your cooperation.”
Other abilities?
The moment they heard that, both Liu Anran and Luo Yao were stunned.
Could it be that, back in the Ancient Battlefield, when Panda had fought thirty-five opponents alone, he had still not gone all out!??
Only recently had the two of them begun to slowly accept the gap revealed in that Ancient Battlefield battle.
And yet now, the distance between them and Ye Ze once again seemed bottomless.
The more they tried to catch up, the more terrifying he became!
At that moment, Liu Boyan, who was still reeling from the shock of Ye Ze’s strength, suddenly felt a familiar aura...
“This is bad! It’s the aura of Abyssal contamination!”
“It looks like the Demon King is trying to turn Linyuan City into a Contaminated Land!”
Hearing that, everyone was startled again, and even Ye Ze hurriedly looked down.
On the ground where Demon King Mirage stood, strange black specks had appeared. Then a foul, rotten aura began spreading outward from that spot, expanding toward the entire city.
Feeling the contamination spread, Demon King Mirage revealed a pleased expression.
So what if it had no anti-air capabilities?
So what if it could not hit Ye Ze?
Its main objective this time had always been to contaminate the entire city from within and turn this major human frontier city into a Contaminated Land!
When that happened, this border city of China would become a forward base for the Fiends!
It carried strategic significance for the Fiends’ conquest of the entire country!
As for those humans in the sky, what if they got away?
It had only been curious to see what kind of human had managed to kill one of its Fiend Generals...And now it seemed that he was just some fellow relying on flight to escape for his life. He was not even as worthy of special attention as that little girl with spatial abilities!
Hmm... perhaps it could mark her and look for an opportunity to kill her in the future.
That was what Demon King Mirage was thinking.
Even when it saw a few surviving humans in the distance launching long-range attacks at it, it could not even be bothered to care. They could not break its defense anyway.
In the sky, Liu Boyan and the others all wore grave expressions.
“Once a Contaminated Land takes shape, even if we drive the Fiends out, it’ll be beyond saving.”
The moment a Contaminated Land fully formed, it meant that Linyuan City had fallen completely.
Worse still, all the Class Users who died within it would turn into special Fiends and fight against humanity.
“We have to end this quickly!”
Ye Ze’s words left everyone stunned yet again...
They were facing a Demon King, and he was still talking about ending it quickly?
But in this situation, the only thing any of them could do was trust Ye Ze...
Liu Anran looked at him and said decisively, “What do you need me to do?”
“Use Spatial Lock. Seal it!”
Ye Ze looked down at Demon King Mirage. The only thing he was truly worried about was its ability to teleport within its domain, because that would make it difficult for Panda’s domain to hit its target.
Without a second word, Liu Anran gathered spatial power into her staff and gritted her teeth.
“One minute at most!”
For a space warlock who had not even reached second-rank yet, being able to seal a Demon King for a full minute already required her to fight with everything she had.
And that was only possible with Luo Yao’s mana replenishment support.
“Yaoyao...”
“I’m here!”
Luo Yao extended her small hand to help Liu Anran maintain her spiritual power...
【Spatial Lock】!
The space around Demon King Mirage froze at once.
Just like the time the mantis had been unable to use Void Traverse, Mirage was no longer able to teleport either!
“Hm? What is this supposed to mean?”
Demon King Mirage froze for an instant.
At the same time,
Ye Ze moved immediately. Skill Enhancement, Martial Saint Domain!
【“Skill Enhancement - Super” has taken effect!】
【Enhancement acquired: Martial Saint Domain - Super!】
The attributes of a level-60 Demon King were absurdly high. Meeting it head-on was absolutely not an option.
But if he used a super-enhanced domain to weaken its attributes, then the situation would be completely different!
【Martial Saint Domain - Super: After the domain is activated, the Martial Saint suppresses all enemies with his aura, reducing the target’s four attributes by an amount equal to 75% of the Martial Saint’s four attributes!】
Martial Saint Panda leapt down from the sky, crashing into the ground like a meteor falling from heaven!
Open, Martial Saint Domain - Super!
It was as though darkness swallowed everything around them, leaving only the Taiji pattern on the ground shining brilliantly as it enveloped Demon King Mirage.
Domain against domain!
But the higher-order Legendary Martial Saint Domain, once super-enhanced, immediately suppressed the Mirage surrounding Demon King Mirage.
“This is bad—how does a mere low-rank human also have a domain skill!?”
Demon King Mirage’s expression changed. Since it also possessed a domain, it naturally knew the danger. It immediately tried to teleport away.
But because of Spatial Lock, it could only remain where it was and endure the domain’s effect by force.
【Domain effect active. Demon King Mirage’s attributes reduced:
Strength -417, Constitution -399, Agility -403, Spirit -309!】
“How can this be!?”
Demon King Mirage was genuinely shocked now.
Among the Fiends, strength and rank were everything.
From beginning to end, Demon King Mirage had never taken this group of first-rank Class Users seriously.
But now, it felt that the situation had gone completely beyond its expectations!
Boom—!
At that moment, Panda threw a punch, carrying the guaranteed critical hit of Fierce as Fire!
Before Demon King Mirage had time to react, the punch struck it squarely. The shockwave of that single fist, wrapped in Martial Saint Aura, made the ground tremble and sent earth and stone flying.
“Damn it!”
Demon King Mirage’s aura scattered somewhat, and it let out an enraged roar. “Damn it—!”
How could it, a king among the Fiends, be beaten into this state by a pack of low-rank insects?
The little girl Luo Yao immediately perked up. “Nice hit!”
She suddenly felt that having Ye Ze as a teammate was unbelievably satisfying!
They were actually holding the upper hand against a King-class Fiend, the kind even the main forces of the Demon Suppression Army had to avoid head-on!
She nearly wanted to shout “Awesome!”
But Liu Anran was not optimistic in the slightest. She called out anxiously, “There’s only half a minute left!”
“Its resistance is getting stronger and stronger!”
There was no need for her to say it. Ye Ze had already seen it...
Demon King Mirage had begun using its signature ability: illusions!
Panda lost sight of his target.
Mirage’s attributes were simply too high. Even after being reduced so heavily, its Spirit still crushed Panda’s and, in fact, everyone else’s.
In the sky, golden light flashed within Ye Ze’s pupils...
“Panda, Mantis—attack wherever I tell you!”
As a Summoner, he shared a mental connection with his summoned beasts. Those with sufficiently strong spiritual power could communicate with their summoned beasts directly through their minds.
And Ye Ze happened to be able to do exactly that!
It did not matter that Panda and Mantis could not see Mirage. They did not need to see it at all. They only needed to obey his commands unconditionally!
The moment Martial Saint Panda heard that, he turned and threw a punch straight into what appeared to be empty air before him!
Boom—!
“How can you see through it too...”
Demon King Mirage was struck hard by Panda’s fist a second time.
Before it could even catch its breath, a rift in the void split open across its body, and the terrifying force of Annihilation mercilessly crushed the surrounding space.
“Aaaagh—!”
As a Demon King, Mirage had never suffered such grave injuries before—nor had it ever imagined that it would!
That was right. With Demon King Mirage’s defensive power, even after its Constitution had been reduced, it could still withstand the full-power burst of both summoned beasts.
“Don’t get too full of yourselves!”
Demon King Mirage had nearly gone mad. It no longer cared about conserving energy at all and instantly unleashed dozens of Mist Shadow Clones along with Illusion-Shattering Strike.
These clones were similar to Shadow Clones. As long as they struck the target, the damage they dealt was not much different from the main body’s. If Panda were hit by that barrage, he would die without question!
That was Demon King Mirage for you. Even after being weakened, its Spirit still surpassed everyone else’s.
But Ye Ze used a squirrel Shadow Clone and, just before Panda was about to be hit, performed another Swap!
Panda returned to the magic dragon’s back.
And the target of Demon King Mirage’s all-out counterattack became the swapped-in squirrel shadow.
As for the mantis, it directly slipped into the void.
Demon King Mirage’s full-powered strike hit nothing but empty air, and only the bun shop and noodle shop nearby collapsed with a thunderous crash...
With the bonus from Martial Dao Mastery, the cooldown of Swap only required twelve seconds, which allowed Panda to evade the fatal blow.
And just as Spatial Lock was about to end, Panda leapt down once more from the magic dragon’s back!
A punch descending from the sky!
It blasted a deep crater directly into the ground.
Seeing that, Liu Boyan, Xia Qing, and even the surrounding members of the City Defense Forces all stared in utter shock...
A first-rank Class User was driving a Demon King into this kind of state!
It was unheard of!
More than that, if it had been anyone else, they would not even have dared to dream so boldly!
In fact, some of the City Defense soldiers who were farther from the battlefield saw that destructive force and thought the City Lord had returned...
At the bottom of the crater, Demon King Mirage was dazed.
The Fiends’ offensive had been carefully planned...
According to that plan, as long as they lured away the only high-rank City Lord of Linyuan City, all that remained would be a group of weak low-rank humans.
Even though Mirage was a Spirit-type Demon King, dealing with them should still have been effortless.
Then all it had to do was spread Abyssal contamination and seize the entire city...
The plan had been going so smoothly!
So why was it being thwarted so badly by a single first-rank human!?
“Humans really are tenacious.”
Demon King Mirage rose from the crater, its voice filled with fury.
It no longer wanted Linyuan City!
Something now mattered even more than taking the city—eliminating that first-rank Summoner!
Every time a great era arrived, humanity would produce individuals capable of turning the tide at the brink of disaster!
Again and again, they had frustrated the Abyss’s offensives!
Compared to destroying one city, exterminating a genius like this in advance was even more urgent!
“You are absolutely going to die!”
Demon King Mirage glared at the figure in the sky, its voice grinding with hatred. It had already decided to bring this intelligence back to the Abyss!
When the time came, more Demon Kings would personally descend, and there was no way this human would survive!
Liu Anran’s face had gone pale. She said apologetically, “I can’t keep Spatial Lock going any longer...”
A Demon King was simply too durable!
Even after its Constitution had been weakened, it still possessed extremely high defensive power and had endured a full minute...
Luo Yao had collapsed from exhaustion too. She had nearly drained herself dry just from replenishing mana.
The fog rose once more, and Demon King Mirage’s figure disappeared as it left the range of Martial Saint Domain...
Everyone’s expressions turned tense and fearful again.
From within the fog, Demon King Mirage’s arrogant voice seemed to resound from every direction:
“A low-rank human is still just a low-rank human. Do you really think you can kill me!?”
“There’s a reason kings are called kings!”
With all its attributes restored, Demon King Mirage theoretically had enough power to retake control of the situation.
But it had already decided to leave. It had to return to the Abyss, gather forces, and come back to crush this human Summoner!
The thought of destroying a human genius was even more exciting to it!
And yet, facing a scene that filled everyone else with dread, Ye Ze merely let out a long breath, his mind calm and steady...
“It’s over.”
Because under the observation of Eye of Insight, Demon King Mirage’s HP...
was only one quarter remaining!
In other words, 25% health.
“Mantis...”
Ye Ze spoke softly, and a ripple of void fluctuation flashed across the battlefield.
The mantis’s eyes suddenly burst with dark-violet radiance, like two blazing supernovas.
Demon King Mirage was teleporting away again and again, inwardly delighted.
But in the next instant, darkness engulfed its vision. Just as it froze in confusion, a pair of enormous pupils appeared above it, radiating destruction and finality.
“No, no—”
Demon King Mirage panicked.
Because in the next instant, its body was torn apart without the slightest ability to resist, then completely erased and reduced to nothingness...
【Void Killing Eyes】, unstoppable!
...
Outside the white restrictive barrier that had shrouded Linyuan City in fog, Wu Ming had personally arrived at full speed with a fifth-rank squad.
“It really is a restrictive barrier. It blocks all signal transmission and prevents anyone from entering or leaving.”
Wu Ming said anxiously, “Su Xi, quickly, break the barrier!”
Even with a whole group of fifth-rank Class Users, they still could not break through a barrier created by a Demon King.
They could only rely on Su Xi, a Spiritual Mentalist, to invade the barrier with mental power and thereby break it from within.
But that method of breaking the barrier also required quite a bit of time.
Wu Ming became more and more worried.
“Please, please, don’t let anything happen to them!”
Within the squad, the woman in the white dress, Su Xi, hurried over to the barrier.
She placed her hand against it and prepared to begin invading it with her mind...
But in the very next moment, a cracking sound rang out from the barrier.
The restrictive barrier shattered on the spot!
“Holy hell! Su Xi, that’s insane! When did your mental power get so strong!?”
“You broke a Demon King’s barrier in one second!”
Wu Ming cried out in delight, and the several fifth-rank experts in the squad all showed joy as they rushed forward.
Su Xi blinked twice in a daze. She looked almost blank with confusion.
“B-but I hadn’t even done anything yet...”