Chapter 589: Cut Down

Richard Tyssen’s eyes widened in disbelief. There were several hundred Hewmos standing around the Great Xia expert! They weren’t just similar in appearance, but identical! They all had moth-like heads, skeletal wings, humanoid bodies, and radiated an aura of pure violence and slaughter.

“This is impossible!” He screamed, his entire body trembling as though he had been refuted in the most humiliating manner imaginable.

Li Xiaofei stood with his arms crossed, casually curling a finger at him.

“Solo duel or group brawl—you decide.” His tone was mocking.

Richard Tyssen swallowed hard, a flicker of realization crossing his face. He forced bravado into his voice as he barked, “Fake. This is all fake! A mere mortal body cannot possibly endure the karmic burden of summoning so many Demon Gods. Illusions—these must be illusions!”

He clung to his reasoning like a drowning man as his eyes lit up with renewed hope.

“The Demon God Hewmos, whom I summoned, will surely defeat the counterfeits surrounding you!”

His conviction seemed to strengthen with every word as confidence seeped back into his voice. His renewed arrogance drew attention from the battlefield, as experts on both sides overheard him. A ripple of unease spread through the ranks, stirring the tense atmosphere on both sides of the conflict.

“Hahaha.” Li Xiaofei threw his head back and laughed, his voice echoing across the battlefield. “Take a look at the expression on the so-called Demon God you summoned before you speak.”

Richard Tyssen’s heart sank, and he instinctively glanced down. What he saw made his blood run cold. The Demon God beneath him, the terrifying entity he had named Hewmos, was trembling ever so slightly, but unmistakably.

It was fear. Pure, unadulterated fear. Its massive body quivered, muscles twitching uncontrollably. Its grotesque and ferocious face no longer had an expression of savage brutality or unrestrained malice. Instead, its stiffened features and the look in its eyes betrayed only sheer terror. Terror of what? Richard Tyssen had an inkling of the answer, but he refused to accept it.

“I recall you saying,” Li Xiaofei remarked casually, “that if I could summon creatures like this subspace trash, you’d kneel and lick my shoes.”

Richard Tyssen’s face turned deathly pale.

“You seem conflicted,” Li Xiaofei said with a mocking smile. “Does it feel humiliating?”

“You...” Richard Tyssen stammered, his voice shaking with both anger and shock. “I am the heir of the Tyssen family, one of the ten great families of Yiggs! How dare you humiliate me with such base and despicable methods?”

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

“Typical of a spineless, deceitful pig,” Li Xiaofei spat with disdain. “You were the one who offered to kneel... Forget it. I wouldn’t let you dirty my shoes with that filthy tongue of yours.”

His expression darkened as he said, “You have three seconds to prepare for your death.”

“Great Xia dog!” Richard Tyssen roared, his voice cracking with rage. “Do you think you’re invincible? Lord Hewmos, kill him now!”

Before his words had echo through the air—

Whoosh!

The moth-headed, skeletal-winged monster shot forward like a streak of light, slicing through the air with an ear-piercing whistle as it charged directly at Li Xiaofei. It was finally making its move!

Will the full strength of this so-called Demon God truly erupt now? Can the phantoms summoned by Li Xiaofei stand a chance?

Everyone’s hearts were in their throats.

Thud.

Hewmos dropped to its knees. It had sped toward Li Xiaofei with incredible momentum, only to stop abruptly and kneel before him.

Bang, bang, bang.

The massive creature bowed repeatedly, its head knocking against the void.

Li Xiaofei froze for a moment before a smile crept across his lips. He had already seen through it. The Demon God Hewmos was nothing more than a general-class creature from the Terror clan of the Subspace. It was fearsome, but far from unique. Such general-class Terrors were as common as weeds in the Black Iron Wind Ruins. And Li Xiaofei? He was now the de facto master of the Black Iron Wind Ruins.

Even the new No. 88 King of Terror, Barush, was no more than a dog at his feet. Though Li Xiaofei didn’t know how Richard Tyssen had managed to summon this general-class Terror, Hewmos, into the real world in its entirety, it was clear that Richard had severely miscalculated this time.

All it would take was a single thought from Li Xiaofei to contact Barush and casually summon a hundred or so general-class Terrors like Hewmos. Of course, there were certain restrictions. Unlike Tyssen’s summoning method, these creatures could not remain in the real world for long, nor could they unleash their full strength. But for intimidation? It was more than enough.

As expected, Hewmos was utterly terrified as it collapsed into a kowtow before Li Xiaofei. This spectacle left the experts on both sides of the battlefield completely dumbfounded.

Even Richard Tyssen, who had harbored a sliver of hope just moments ago, felt his hope vanish like smoke in the wind. He realized things had taken a disastrous turn. He didn’t say another word as he spun to flee.

"Kill him," Li Xiaofei said calmly.

"As you command, great King," Hewmos replied, revealing its true allegiance without hesitation.

Still kneeling, it flapped its skeletal wings once, and over a dozen crimson mist-like tendrils shot out from its body. The whip-like tendrils roared through the air like writhing serpents.

Richard Tyssen screamed in terror as the crimson tendrils coiled around him and dragged him back across the battlefield.

"No!" Richard’s anguished cry was filled with desperation and fear.

The tendrils lifted him into the air, presenting him before Li Xiaofei like a sacrificial offering. Li Xiaofei pressed a hand onto Richard Tyssen’s forehead and sent inner qi through his body.

"Interesting," Li Xiaofei murmured, his gaze sharp. "Your physical state is unremarkable."

He paused, sensing further. "The energy within you... It’s similar to Great Xia's inner qi, but it holds no unique characteristics."

After a moment of investigation, Li Xiaofei addressed his victim in an icy tone. "Richard Tyssen, right? I’ll ask you once—do you want to live, or do you want to die?"

"I want to live! I’ll lick your shoes if you let me!" Richard Tyssen blurted out, his voice trembling with desperation. "Don’t kill me! I surrender!"

His Saint-level strength came from summoning, and had been granted by his connection to Hewmos and the creature’s shared strength. He possessed little strength that was truly his own. Without the grueling training and refinement required to temper his abilities, his sudden acquisition of power had left him arrogant and ungrounded. His mentality, unfit for the weight of real strength, crumbled the moment he faced true adversity.

"You think you’re worthy of licking my shoes?" Li Xiaofei sneered. "Now, tell me—how did you summon a Subspace creature?"

Richard Tyssen hesitated for a brief moment. But when he felt the killing intent in Li Xiaofei’s eyes, he quickly relented. "I’ll tell you! The Tyssen family possesses an innate spatial bloodline. When I was nine, I encountered a true god. He helped me fully awaken and refine the power of my bloodline and taught me the method to summon Lord Hewmos."

"A god?" Li Xiaofei’s tone sharpened. "What kind of god? What’s their name, and where are they?"

Richard Tyssen stammered, "An omnipotent true god from beyond this world. He called himself the Messenger of Eden, and his name is Morentes. His current identity is a Star—"

Before he could finish—

Whoosh!

A streak of silver light flashed as Richard Tyssen’s head exploded in a mist of blood, cutting him off forever.

Li Xiaofei felt a chill run down his spine as an unprecedented sense of danger enveloped him, as though every cell in his body screamed in warning.

Danger! Extreme danger.

He reached for the last green strand at the back of his head and pulled it out.