Chapter 301 - Stampede

The presence of the Steel Demon and the Abomination vanished from the training ground. The remnants of the Twelve Demons instantly sensed what had occurred. Relief surged through them, but so did fear. Whoever had slain both the Abomination and the Steel Demon possessed the strength to end them just as easily.

That realization hung over them like a blade poised to fall at any moment. The ten remaining demons quickly reached a grim consensus: they had to find the one responsible. They unleashed their underlings, ordering indiscriminate assaults on every Demon Lord trespassing in their territories. Thus, the Demon King Festival grew even more lively as chaos spread.

Han Wu had no idea he was the cause of the stampede. Still reeling from the backlash of Demonification, he was startled to discover that he needed to devour at least half of the Steel Demon’s corpse to fully recover. The experience taught him a harsh truth. Demonification was powerful, but unless he saved it as a trump card, its backlash alone would destroy him.

Thankfully, Xun was with him. Without his intervention, Han Wu would have been reduced to fragments. Each time Xun pulled him back from the brink, Han Wu’s trust in him deepened.

What remained was the other half of the Steel Demon’s body, along with the massive mountain of flesh left behind by the Abomination. It was enough to sustain him for a long time. With his recovery complete, he cautiously used the traits of Abominable Devour. The flesh that passed into his Void Jaw transformed into muscle, driving his body to expand at a startling pace.

When he first arrived with the grafted parts of his units, his height stood at three meters. After consuming the rest of the Steel Demon, he towered at four. His frame expanded in perfect proportion, and with it his attacks and defenses.

Sensing his strength climbing, he turned to the Abomination’s corpse. The mountain-sized corpse quickly dwindled beneath his relentless appetite.

Two full days passed before he finished transforming the monster’s flesh into his own muscle. His body now towered fifteen meters. Every one of his stats had increased alongside his body. For the first time, he felt he could stand against the Twelve Demons at their peak and, if pressed, escape with his life.

Yet not once did he believe he could defeat them. Each of the Twelve Demons was a Demon Lord who had endured countless ages in this place. They possessed not only raw strength but centuries of experience in battle. With the advantage of their home ground, killing even one of them seemed close to impossible.

He set those thoughts aside and focused instead on Xun, who had just finished grafting the two Stage 9 body parts. The surge of power they brought eclipsed anything Xun had ever gained from his own hunts. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he silently swore to follow Han Wu for the rest of his life. Words were unnecessary. As Han Wu’s slave, his thoughts were already laid bare, and Han Wu could feel the sincerity of his devotion. That knowledge alone was enough.

Han Wu opened his interface and checked the progression of the Demon King Festival. Of the original 101 Demon Lords, only forty-eight remained. The number fell by the second, each death flashing across the display like a fading ember.

The rapid decline unsettled him. His instincts whispered that someone was hunting the Demon Lords in earnest. His Epistian Brain confirmed the suspicion and speculated that the Twelve Demons had likely ordered their followers to purge the competition in retaliation for Han Wu’s slaying of the Abomination and the Steel Demon.

A low laugh escaped him. “Go ahead and kill them. I will become a God faster that way.”

The Festival’s rules were simple. The last surviving Demon Lord would ascend as Demon King. Han Wu’s goal was just as simple—survive until the very end.

He glanced back at his interface.

[Demon Lord: Han Wu

Demonic Origin: 34,890

Slain Demon Lord: 6

Enhance List:

Dragon Scales, Dragon Claws, Dragon Wings (Red, Stage 4: 70%; Traits: Dragonification)

Swordwind Arms (Purple, Stage 5: 10%; Traits: Steelcutter)

Tigerman Legs (Purple, Stage 5: 50%; Traits: Tiger Step)

Dark Locust Stomach (Orange, Stage 7: 10%; Traits: Void Jaw, Improved Digestion)

Crystal Marrow (Red, Stage 2: 80%)

Epistian Brain (Purple, Stage 5: 90%; Traits: Detection)

Cockroach Cells (Blue, Stage 9; Traits: Vigorous Cells, Supercells, Infinite Energy)]

Han Wu possessed many enhanceable body parts that hovered on the edge of awakening new traits. To push them further, he needed more Demonic Origin, which meant killing more demons.

He used Detection and swept the area for prey. His massive body granted him a far greater range than before, allowing him to sense everything within 100 kilometers. His brow furrowed when he realized just how many demons filled that span. The Steel Demon’s territory teemed with them. Whole tribes roamed aimlessly, flooding the land in restless waves.

Within that vast swarm, Han Wu picked out several Demon Lords. Their strength had waned under the relentless assault, and their bodies trembled on the verge of collapse. They would not last much longer.

“It seems I quickly need to grow stronger,” Han Wu muttered under his breath, then spread his powerful Dragon Wings and surged toward the nearest Demon Lord.

Meanwhile, Xun remained vigilant, scanning their surroundings for any sign of an ambush.

Before long, they arrived at the scene where the Demon Lord clashed with the demons. Han Wu looked down and saw that the battle was far from over.

The Demon Lord was fighting against a massive horde of Inferior and Intermediate demons, used as cannon fodder by ten or more Superior demons. Alone, the Demon Lord could have defeated any Superior demon with ease, but now it was trapped, forced to expend precious stamina and energy just to clear the swarming weaker demons. It could neither fight efficiently nor escape. Only death awaited it.

“Time to send it on its way then.” Han Wu exhaled, ceased flapping his wings, and plummeted. He then used Tiger Step and struck from above with crushing force.

The combined momentum and his enlarged form amplified Tiger Step far beyond its usual power. He crashed into the ground like a falling star, carving a crater 100 meters wide. Everything within it—the Demon Lord, Inferior, Intermediate, and Superior demons alike—was obliterated.

Han Wu collected a vast amount of Demonic Origin and several enhanceable body parts. Satisfied, he prepared for the next wave as more demons charged without hesitation. He summoned the Defiant Sword, Soul Shaver, and Soul Reaper with his Swordwind Arms while channeling energy into the Soul Seeker through his Dragon Claws.

The Soul Seeker spun violently and generated 10,000 afterimages. Han Wu hurled it, and the weapon duplicated itself 10,000 times. The overwhelming barrage of Soul Seekers swept through the demons, killing them all instantly. Those that survived the initial onslaught were cut down by his wind blades.

Within moments, Han Wu had exterminated every demon within a five-kilometer radius.