Chapter 270

He was so strong,

Leonard reflected.

Of course, one couldn’t underestimate a monster who had killed a Black Dragon Commander, but even so, Leonard hadn’t expected Belial’s potential to be so fearsome.

Demoniacs that were considered royalty were born with incredible, innate power, but Belial had lusted to learn the tricks of weaker beings. That had also been his downfall.

Even so, Leonard had felt a chill down his spine upon seeing Belial’s meridians and attempt at a conceptual martial art. Considering how much Belial had learned just by observing, Leonard couldn’t even imagine how powerful the monster would have become with proper training.

...Now that I think about it, people in murim learn martial arts to transcend mortal bounds, so maybe it shouldn’t be that surprising, since Belial was the fragment of a god.

For the average person, martial arts were a way to break the natural limits imposed onto them and reach a greater state of being. However, Belial had already been a divine being of sorts.

“Kugh...!”

Leonard stumbled as he was heading back toward the others.

Though he had successfully taken out Belial with Taiji Phaseless Slash, it had taken a great toll on him. His body ached all over, his healing abilities unable to keep up with the scale of injury. He had also used up nearly all his internal energy, so his vessels felt completely dry.

“Commander! Are you all right?” someone called.

“...I’m fine.”

The Golden Dragon Knights formed a protective circle around him. They had managed to steal a few glances of Leonard and Belial’s duel while fighting their own battle.

That Heart Demoniac had been extremely powerful, but by the time they charged at it, it was already on the brink of death. Besides, a newborn Demoniac wouldn’t have been able to breach the Eighteen Arhat Formation.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Thus, the knights couldn’t completely tear their eyes away from the incredible battle between the youngest commander of Cardenas and the formidable monster that kept getting stronger.

“Are you there?” Leonard asked, addressing the statue of Acala before even bothering to catch his breath.

“Of course. That was an excellent battle. It would have made a great tribute.”

Considering how many riches gods had, this was high praise.

But Leonard didn’t even bat an eye before moving onto the matter of business. “What’s the status of the others? There’s something urgent I need to tell them.”

“No one has entered battle yet, nor entered the enemy camps. I will connect you to the other Axiocersus.”

“Thank you.”

One of the reasons the Golden Dragon Knights had been assigned to attack the closest camp was their high chances of survival in case of any unprecedented situation. That way, they could warn the others ahead of time.

Three voices came out of the statue’s mouth.

—This is Wade.

—Simon speaking.

—Demian.

—It’s me, Cruella!

Simon was moving on his own, but the three others were currently leading the march. Leonard asked them to stop immediately so he could give a report of his battle with Belial.

He told them about how a new Heart Demoniac had been born and how the Named had become even stronger because the Axiocersus hadn’t been able to absorb all the energy released by dying Demoniacs.

—I believe I know why that happened.

The first person who spoke was none other than the president of the Arcane Society.

—When Demoniacs are in the Demonic Realm, they have no need for food or drink, yet they still engage in cannibalism, constantly. Why do you think that is?

From the slave class to the royal Demoniacs, they all partook in cannibalism, even those that were already as powerful as Demigod Tiers. The reason for that was the fact that they were all shards of Crom Dubh. They craved to be whole.

Once Demoniacs ascended to nobility, they developed an ego. At that point, they knew better than to try to pick a fight with someone stronger than them, but since they were now in the upper part of the hierarchy, they could go ahead and devour anyone weaker than them. The same was true for the royals.

—Since you slaughtered thousands of those monsters all at once, the traces of Crom Dubh’s essence in their blood had the impulse to condense into a single entity. In addition, since Belial was a Named, he was able to absorb part of the power to evolve.

“And since the Demoniacs were no longer alive—

because

they were dead, I mean, there was no kind of consciousness that could direct that energy elsewhere, which is why it mostly coalesced into one place,” Leonard deduced. “Is that it?”

—Mmm... Indeed, when that energy is no longer being shared between Demoniacs, it’s easier and faster for it to gather to create a new entity. It’s hard to deal with it with magic. Obstructing Crom Dubh’s essence goes beyond even Class 9 magic.

It was hard to believe that the greatest Magus in the world would admit to being powerless in this scenario. After all, this was the same man who could cast a spell verging on Class 10.

Indeed, Simon’s hands were tied here.

—If it’s inherently impossible to prevent this phenomenon, we must focus on minimizing its damage and effects.

Wade was the next to speak. As a veteran, he was well aware that when they were actually faced with such a predicament, there would be no perfect solution, no matter how lucky they got.

Still, this

was

the first time in Arcadian history that they were invading the Demonic Realm themselves. The mages and knights had already braced themselves to face unexpected hurdles.

—Our top priority should be to take out the strongest Demoniacs and clean up the weaker ones after that. It’s more dangerous for a Named to gain more power than for its energy to be at least partially absorbed by weaker monsters. Even if it gives birth to a new Demoniac, it will likely be weaker, especially considering its lack of experience.

Cruella challenged that with a question.

—But isn’t it possible that that can make noble-rank Demoniacs stronger too?

Simon nodded.

—Indeed. I expect that Teeth can turn into Hearts due to their shared physical abilities, and Tongues into Brains due to their shared psychic abilities.

At that, Demian came with a follow-up question.

—And what are the chances that a Heart Demoniac gains the power of a Brain Demoniac, or vice versa?

—I cannot say with certainty that that’s impossible... but as it stands, there are no clues or evidence that it could happen. Nevertheless, I would advise caution. We cannot say what will or will not happen in a large-scale battle.

—Wow, who knew these bastards would actually help prop each other up? Though, I’m sure the ones who end up wearing the crown will immediately lose their heads to us.

Demian growled his last words.

With that, their meeting came to an end, and the Axiocersus went silent again.

Acala’s presence seemed to burn even brighter after channeling so much of Hades’s power. It shook the ground with every step, each one purifying the land of the blood and gore left by the Demoniacs.

With his body enveloped in flames that purged evil, Acala sat at the center of the Five Great Wisdom Kings.[1]

He still had the same purifying powers as Hades’s apostle.

“This is more than enough. I will expand my Divine Territory to where you are. Stay on guard, and try not to let me surprise you.

“Understood.

“I will begin.”

The Axiocersus absorbed and channeled the power of two royal Demoniacs, tens of noble-rank Demoniacs, and countless lesser ones, directing it to Hades, allowing him to reclaim nearly five or six times the power he had regained at the base.

The Underworld was beginning to return to its original state, cleansed of Crom Dubh’s foul influence. The most famous and powerful of the five rivers, the Styx, began to flow, creating a barrier to the outside world.

It looks more narrow and shallow than the one I saw, but... it seems several times stronger. If Hades can manifest the original Styx, even the Demoniacs will find it difficult to cross.

The river that separated the living and the dead could even bind divine beings. There was a reason Hades had created the Styx before his palace.

“I’m going to meditate for a bit,” Leonard announced. “Watch the perimeter.”

“Yes, sir.”

Leonard sat right down into the lotus position.

The Named Demoniac, Belial—though a monster, he had proven to be a prolific fighter, adapting to the techniques of humans. Leonard had learned something important from their duel—growing more arms because two weren’t enough was almost a primitive idea, but it had made him realize something.

Of course, Leonard wasn’t planning on growing new arms himself, but the experience gave him an idea of how to approach the Deification of the Five Elements.

The Black Tortoise and the Vermillion Bird are able to stay in balance because they represent yin and yang, but if I try to awaken the other divine beasts, they will definitely clash with each other. There’s no way I can keep the White Tiger, Azure Dragon, and Yellow Dragon under control. But what if I sent the Black Tortoise Qi and Vermillion Bird Qi

out

of my body?

If he couldn’t rein in the powers within himself, he could simply let them out. Someone in murim might think he had gone mad from qi deviation, but Leonard turned the idea over a few times in his head.

Since the Black Tortoise Qi and Vermillion Bird Qi are already stable, I can release them, and then deal separately with the storm that will arise between the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger. And once I get that over with, I can finally awaken the Yellow Dragon, and then re-absorb the other Qi I released. This... might actually work.

If he summoned them one by one, they would disrupt the harmony, but if he temporarily separated out the energies that were already stable, he could later combine them without issue.

The principle of the Five Elements was different from Chaos Origin, which only dealt with one type of energy, and Taiji, which only dealt with two.

The Three Aspects could easily be mastered as long as the practitioner followed the steps in order, and the Four Phenomena employed simple principles of energy circulation.

This was the only way.

...If I’m unable to separate them correctly and the energies end up mixing, I’ll only end up merging them and achieving Five Elements Chaos Origin,

Leonard concluded, recalling Grace’s lesson.

Leonard ended his meditation session there and opened his eyes. It wasn’t a bad strategy, but it was too early for him to attempt to reach the Deification Tier.

“The Golden Dragon is going to start moving again. It doesn’t seem like we’re needed at the base camp right now, so be ready to provide support to the other troops and keep your eyes open for any surprises,” he instructed.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Golden Dragon Knights formed a marching line and headed for the next closest camp.

The thirty-six knights rushed forward along with their commander.

***

The mission was a great success.

The combined forces completely swept through the five Demoniac camps, killing nearly a hundred thousand monsters and expanding Hades’s power and Divine Territory in the process.

The River Styx, which had been little more than a stream earlier, was now several meters deep and over thirty meters wide. Of course, the monsters possessed far greater physical abilities than humans, but even if they could

physically

cross the river, they couldn’t overpower a god, and the Styx would not allow anyone to pass without permission.

Now, the expedition had completely taken over the Seventh Hellgate.

“Well, I guess we’ve eliminated the element of surprise,” Cruella muttered as she clicked her tongue.

They had captured significant territory that day, but the Demonic Realm was still remarkably vast, and Named and Demigod Tier monsters were still roaming around. What they had accomplished was merely minimizing the losses to come when the battle truly began.

Still, the atmosphere in the strategy room remained hopeful.

1. Acala is often depicted as being enveloped in fire and is associated with the literal center, while the other four represent the cardinal directions. ☜