A muffled boom suddenly echoed through the heavens and earth, shattering the green light into fragments. The Eternal Flame had charged at full speed, unlike Parochia who had only momentarily dodged. This time, the green light barrier was finally broken.
However, the scene wasn’t as glorious as it seemed. The Eternal Flame’s flames were scattered, almost revealing its true form. It was clear that the impact had been almost entirely borne by itself, making it worse off than Parochia, who had merely been repelled.
The Eternal Flame had considered this a sneak attack, feeling somewhat awkward about it. But he never expected that the King of Azure would predict his move and set up a barrier behind him. The only stroke of luck was that due to his hesitation, he had only sped up to join the battle, rather than launching a full assault, which could have resulted in more damage.
Ahead, the King of Azure continued to relentlessly pursue Parochia, each green light fragment imbued with immense power, slicing through the air towards his opponent.
Parochia was in constant distress. Each green light was a manifestation of the King of Azure’s blood essence, transformed from the ethereal to the tangible, with immense destructive power. Such an attack couldn’t last long, and all he needed to do was outlast it. However, the problem was that the demonic race simply couldn’t afford to be worn down.
Just as the Eternal Flame had managed to recover, before he could rejoin the fight, the King of Azure took the initiative to strike. The King of Azure clenched his fingers, and the green light in the air shattered into countless rhombic fragments, transforming into a green tornado, descending directly upon the Eternal Flame!
Under the relentless cutting of the countless green fragments, the Eternal Flame’s pale flames were sliced apart, and each flame was severed from the others, turning into floating embers, gradually extinguishing.
Even someone as powerful as the Eternal Flame was momentarily overwhelmed. He finally lost his composure and roared, “Return the Deep Dark Blessing! In your hands, it can’t unleash its true power!”
While Parochia evaded desperately, he retorted, “His Majesty the Demon Emperor himself said that the Deep Dark Blessing should be kept by me during this battle. If you want it, go and talk to His Majesty after this is over.”
Parochia refused to hand over the Deep Dark Blessing because only the black mist emitted by this famous gun could counter the King of Azure’s slicing attacks.
The King of Azure’s green blood essence was too effective against the demonic aura. Whether it was Parochia’s corrosive power or the Eternal Flame’s pale flames, they were all cut apart under the green light.
Only the dark aura released by the Deep Dark Blessing was superior to the green light, but its rate of fire was limited, making it less versatile than the King of Azure’s free-flowing attacks.
Seeing Parochia in increasing peril, the Eternal Flame, though filled with resentment, had no choice but to intervene.
In fact, facing the King of Azure was similar to facing the human Heavenly King Zhang Boqian; both had a unique ability that greatly countered their opponents. If they maintained control of the battlefield, even if the other side was stronger, the battle would still be difficult.
The best strategy was to trade blows, to compress the enemy’s advantage. When the final battle depended on the total amount of power, they would ultimately lose.
The Eternal Flame had fought Zhang Boqian many times and understood this principle well. The problem was that Parochia was slightly weaker than the King of Azure and clearly not the right candidate for such a plan.
The Eternal Flame finally cleared the flying rhombic fragments, let out a long roar, and instantly accelerated, charging towards the King of Azure. But just as he started, another green light barrier appeared in front of him!
Cursing, the Eternal Flame didn’t retreat but instead charged forward, colliding with the barrier.
The green barrier shattered into a storm of fragments, surrounding the Eternal Flame, and began cutting him once more.
After a moment, the Eternal Flame managed to clear the green fragments. This time, he was much more cautious, observing the surroundings before cautiously approaching the King of Azure.
As the Eternal Flame observed, Parochia, fuming, shouted, “If we delay any longer, things will get worse, and you won’t be able to escape blame. I’ve fought against Zhiji once, and my old wounds haven’t healed, so you have no excuse.”
For a proud demon like Parochia, admitting to having injuries was a significant loss of face. But the relentless attacks of the King of Azure, each green light slicing him, forced him to show weakness in front of the Eternal Flame.
The Eternal Flame continued to approach, saying, “When are you going to use those reserves?”
Parochia, grimacing, gritted his teeth and said, “Fire!”
Several dukes and vice-dukes outside the battle circle rushed in, unleashing a concentrated barrage. From their guns, primal force bullets imbued with the aura of dawn were fired.
Even the King of Azure couldn’t ignore this, setting up multiple green barriers to block the attack, while also launching several green lights, continuing to pursue Parochia.
Parochia, enraged, could do nothing but dodge and block.
The Eternal Flame then said in a low voice, “Reno, this kind of attack will harm your very essence. With proper rest, you could live for hundreds more years. Is it worth risking your remaining life for this?”
The King of Azure, blocking another wave of dawn bullets, replied, “If you had more of these primal force bullets from the humans, I might indeed have trouble. But do you have any left? If not, stay here and keep me company. Perhaps we can continue tomorrow.”
The dukes and vice-dukes of the demonic race had retreated, their supply of dawn primal force bullets exhausted. However, this attack had clearly drained some of the King of Azure’s blood essence.
Parochia, perceiving this, immediately turned to attack, and the Eternal Flame joined in, unleashing a deluge of pale flames, pushing back the King of Azure’s offensive.
With the two great lords giving their all and the aid of the famous gun, the King of Azure gradually fell into a disadvantageous position. But he fought without reserve, clearly determined to hold his ground, leaving the two lords momentarily helpless.
Knowing words were futile, the Eternal Flame launched a ferocious assault, while Parochia, shaken by recent events, attacked with even more viciousness.
The King of Azure, though increasingly taxed, refused to retreat.
At this moment, the green ring on the distant horizon had faded, disappearing completely. Enraged and humiliated, Parochia shouted, “Very well, then I’ll take your life in exchange for Qian Ye and Nighteye!”
The Eternal Flame sighed, “If Qian Ye hands over the Book of Darkness, I can speak to His Majesty and perhaps spare his life. Why do you insist? The Book of Darkness isn’t his to begin with. Why cling to it so fiercely?”
The King of Azure replied calmly, “You wouldn’t understand. After this battle, you’ll need to think about how to face the Queen’s wrath. Also, I’ve fought this far not to die here.”
A distant voice boomed, “How dare you! What are you doing?”
The Lord of Shadows finally arrived.
The Demon Emperor traversed the void, appearing to observers as a dark storm swiftly passing through the field of vision.
He was now infinitely close to the top layer of the world, with Alpha Star’s orbit nearby. Traces of his passage remained in the void: tiny asteroids, small primal force explosions, and indistinct flames, all forming a discontinuous trail.
The Demon Emperor suddenly slowed, revealing a shadowy figure. In front of him, a piece of flying land appeared out of nowhere.
The flying land was not large, comparable to a normal mountain range on the continent. However, the entire land gave an impression of non-materiality, especially at the edges where it met the void, with clear double images and illusions, as if it were a projection of another world.
The Demon Emperor walked directly toward it.
Before him, all the double images and illusions froze, then parted, revealing an ancient script-covered path.
Inside was an extremely strange space. From the entrance, one could see no end, with darkness close by and a bustling city in the far distance, surrounded by colossal buildings and spider-like shadows.
The whole world was in a somber palette, with the sky crisscrossed by countless boundless grids. A giant spherical light source hung high, casting a dim yet oddly gentle light.
Sensing someone entering, the spherical light source swiveled, illuminating a bright area in front of the Demon Emperor.
The Spider Queen lay lazily there, her lower body a spider form, her upper body human, like a beautiful woman sprawled on a black pedestal, exuding an eerie allure.
“How is it?” the Demon Emperor asked.
The Spider Queen, with a fluid movement, rolled over and looked at the Demon Emperor, “It’s good, very good. The Shadow World is slowly being restored. But should I thank you or curse you? My children have lost half a million lives for this.”
The Demon Emperor said calmly, “More will die. The restoration of the Shadow World means the purification of the dark origin. Any spider demon tainted irreversibly will perish. But those who survive and the new offspring will regain the power and heritage of the ancients. Which side do you choose?”
The Spider Queen, stunned, sighed and lay back, “Kane, can’t you say something to comfort me?”
The Demon Emperor said, “Will you reclaim the fragments that have fallen from this mother world?”
This was the birthplace of the spider demons, the Shadow World. Long ago, the mother world had been slowly and irreparably deteriorating. First, the crystal walls cracked, and over time, the cracks widened, leading to the breaking off of fragments.
Generations of Spider Queens had tried everything to stop the deterioration, even reclaiming some fragments, but it was like a drop in the bucket for the mother world.
When the new world arrived, the Demon Emperor went to the Spider Queen with a piece of world law claimed to be from the peak of the world.
The Spider Queen, combining it with her dark origin, found it could indeed halt the mother world’s disintegration and even restore it. In the process, she regained the lost memories of the ancient races.
The Shadow World was a projection of the Evernight World, and in ancient times, the spider demons were the most loyal allies and subjects of the dark progeny.
If the dark progeny were the embodiment of the dark origin in the Evernight World, then the spider demons were the projected forms of the dark origin.
The Spider Queen considered, knowing the Demon Emperor’s question was not for altruistic reasons.
She replied, “Of course, it would be best to reclaim them. The Shadow World could be restored faster, but without them, it’s just a matter of decades or centuries. Do you want the fragments?”
The Demon Emperor readily admitted, “Yes.”
The Spider Queen, even more readily, said, “Fine, if you find them, use them.”
The Demon Emperor nodded and prepared to leave.
The Spider Queen called out, “Kane, I heard some interesting news in my idle moments.”
“Apparently, Markel was rebuffed three times by Habsburg over a war trophy. But the old wizard hasn’t done anything to upset the balance in a thousand years, save for pretending to be dead on the council. Was that item for you? When did you become so patient? Compared to him, my children don’t fare well under you!”
The Demon Emperor turned and looked at her, “What are you getting at?”
The Spider Queen shrugged, her crossed arms causing a graceful undulation, “I just want to remind you not to become the second Andua. Blackwing’s inability to think clearly is good for us, for Lilith, and for everyone. You, however, thinking unclearly at this time would be disastrous.”
The Demon Emperor’s dark shroud dissipated, revealing a perfect face, like the most exquisite statue in eternal darkness, “Rosinya, like you, I have no other choice. One person, one clan, may not be so important, but the entire race? There’s no choice.”
The Spider Queen murmured, “Yes, no other choice.”
The Demon Emperor said, “I wish there was, but I can’t find it.” With that, he vanished from the Shadow World.
The giant spherical light source rotated, and the Spider Queen faded into the darkness, a wistful expression on her doll-like face. Even as they recovered their heritage, there was still no choice.
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