Chapter 414 - Defeating the Flame Demons

Han Wu unleashed his remaining strength the moment the Flame Demon King emerged, transforming into his own Demon King form. With his current strength, he was able to restore his former 100-meter-tall height and the majesty he once commanded.

The Life Cells of his Demon King form activated their Infinite Energy trait and flooded Han Wu with energy that he channeled into Everchange. He converted all of it into the ice attribute, and the weapon’s energy from Everchange spread outward, engulfing the surrounding space. Frost crept across the lava pool as huge sections of molten rock hardened into jagged volcanic stone.

Furious, the Flame Demon King beat its wings and summoned searing flames in its hands before shaping them into a fiery whip that cracked toward Han Wu.

Han Wu’s Iron Wall materialized in time, completely nullifying both the physical strike and the fire’s heat.

At the same time, Qin Shuang lent her strength. She summoned a huge sphere of lightning and plasma so dense that it struck the Flame Demon King and destroyed one of its wings.

The Flame Demon King lashed back. Its strike came too fast for Qin Shuang to dodge. Even though her Lightning Armor turned her body into pure lightning, making her immune to physical damage, the whip carried intense Fire Energy that tore through her defense.

The blow left Qin Shuang heavily injured, and Han Wu’s anger erupted. He resolved to pour everything into his next attacks, transforming once more. This time he used Black Dragon King Transformation, and darkness swallowed the surroundings.

Within that darkness, Han Wu’s body grew dense scales, and the pressure unique to Great Dragons surged from him. His scales were incredibly resistant to physical and magical damage, rendering the lava pool’s heat useless. With a single flap of his wings, he plunged into the lava pool to face the Flame Demon King head-on.

The demon, a life form of pure fire immune to physical damage, still found itself cursing the strength of Han Wu’s Black Dragon King Transformation.

Han Wu summoned numerous Void Jaws to devour the lava surrounding his foe. Once they digested it, he converted its energy into pure Dark Energy and used it to release corrosive breath attacks that dissolved everything in their path.

The Flame Demon King’s body couldn’t withstand the relentless corrosion, and its core was exposed. Han Wu spotted it at once and struck with renewed intensity.

The Flame Demon King possessed a trace of intelligence and realized that it would die if the battle continued. It surrendered and begged for mercy, but Han Wu was afraid that the demon was just feigning and kept beating it until he had chewed off half of its core.

When their battle finally ended, the Flame Demon King cowered before Han Wu. After all, his Black Dragon King Transformation radiated a dread even greater than that of a true Great Dragon.

Han Wu wielded not only the Skills of the Great Dragons but also powers they lacked, such as the Void Jaw. His strength was overwhelming, and the Flame Demon King feared that even surrender wouldn’t save its life.

In reality, it had overestimated Han Wu. Although the Black Dragon King Transformation was powerful, it remained bound by the Middle Realm’s laws, limiting its duration to only five minutes.

Had the Flame Demon King endured for even half a minute longer, it could have turned the situation around and killed them instead. However, its fear of death made it surrender, and that hesitation sealed its defeat.

Han Wu ordered the Flame Demon King to follow him away from the lava pool, which served as a recovery spring for the demon. As long as it remained within it, its regeneration and combat power reached their peak. Han Wu wanted it far from that source of power to ensure it couldn’t renege on its submission and attack them later.

Terrified of dying, the Flame Demon King obeyed every command and silently followed Han Wu out of the lava pool. Deprived of the lava’s energy, it shrank several times and lost nearly all its strength. In this weakened state, it couldn’t even defeat Qin Shuang, much less the more powerful Han Wu.

Han Wu started to lay out his terms. He would spare the Flame Demon King if it surrendered the Fire Ring.

The moment Han Wu mentioned the Fire Ring, the Flame Demon King shook its head. No threat, not even death itself, could make it hand over that treasure.

Han Wu’s fury boiled over, and he almost killed the Flame Demon King before Qin Shuang intervened. She used a special method and discovered the reason for its defiance: the Fire Ring was the source of the lava pool. As long as it was there, the lava pool would endlessly regenerate itself and gradually expand. The Flame Demons were born from that lava, and while it existed, they would continue to live.

The Flame Demon King feared death, but it also cared deeply for its kind. Even if it perished, it would never let Han Wu slaughter the rest of its subjects.

Unfortunately the Fire Ring was so precious that Han Wu was more than willing to exterminate the entire race to obtain it.

Before he acted on that thought, Qin Shuang stopped him. The lava pool was huge, and they had only managed to freeze a small portion of it today. There could be a far larger expanse hidden beneath the surface, possibly teeming with more Flame Demons. Using brute strength to take the Fire Ring was a waste of both time and energy.

Han Wu accepted her reasoning and chose a different approach. Instead of eradicating them, he would take them in as his units. He promised that if the Flame Demon King swore allegiance and led its followers to worship him, he would find or create a better home for them.

The Flame Demon King requested a Soul Oath. Han Wu had no intention of breaking his promise, so he swore from the depths of his soul to not kill the Flame Demons and to find them a new habitat.

When the Soul Oath took effect, the Flame Demon King returned to the lava pool and retrieved the Fire Ring.

Han Wu took it and froze as he sensed the incredible power inside. The Fire Ring brimmed with fire-type laws woven into its core. He could clearly sense that if he refined it, he could infuse his divine realm with a fire-type law. Once that happened, every unit within it would receive the blessing of fire.

Qin Shuang shared his joy. They rested until Qin Shuang’s injuries had fully healed, and then they set out again.

After obtaining the Fire Ring and taking in the Flame Demons, Han Wu had gained much from this trip. He returned to the mine with the good news, ready to expand his influence once more.

He had just entered the mine when the scent of blood and flesh reached him. A bad feeling tightened his chest, so he delved deeper into the mine. As he feared, the place was littered with his subjects’ corpses.

He used Detect and found one sole survivor who had hidden beneath a mountain of corpses and survived the massacre.

Han Wu’s heart tightened with dread. “What happened here? Tell me quickly.”

The survivor choked out, “Goblins... There were so many goblins! They came, defeated Lady Jing and Lord Sun, and took the Transmutation Golem...”

Han Wu clenched his teeth. He knew who had sent the goblins.

“Huang Shengjun, I will kill you!” he snarled.