Chapter 243: The Lord-Ranked Great Demon

Chapter 243: The Lord-Ranked Great Demon

Beneath Blackstone City.

After an intense clash, the Bloodline Overlord Assassin was shocked.

He had intended to swiftly eliminate the human before him and then return to Blackstone City to wipe out the Black Iron Dwarves.

However, the human's combat prowess far exceeded his expectations, and by a significant margin.

Assassin, a member of the royal family, held the rank of Bloodline Overlord within his clan. Once he completely eradicated the Black Iron Dwarves, he could establish his territory in the Lava Plains and ascend to the rank of Bloodline Lord.

Thus, he was a quasi-Lord-ranked Great Demon.

All the Bloodline Demons within Blackstone City were under his command.

His strength was so formidable that even Salein, who served the Progenitor, couldn't resist him, which made him proud, even arrogant.

Yet, despite his immense power, after dozens of rounds of battle, he had failed to defeat the human before him.

During their confrontation, the gates of Blackstone City had been breached.

Assassin even heard the sound of the Blood Sacrifice Tower collapsing, a sudden turn of events that greatly favored the humans.

Witnessing the fall of Blackstone City, Assassin's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he decided to unleash his ultimate move and finish off the infuriating human.

Others might have struggled to discern Assassin's true rank.

Lu Heng, however, had already deduced it from experience. The Bloodline Overlord before him appeared to be of Overlord rank, but his true strength was that of a Lord-ranked Great Demon.

As a royal Great Demon within the Bloodline clan, Assassin needed to conquer a territory before he could be promoted to the rank of Lord.

This was the real reason he sought to occupy Blackstone City.

If not for the persistent raids by the Black Iron Clan over the past three years, he should have already achieved the Lord rank.

Having guessed Assassin's true rank, Lu Heng had held back during their battle, reserving his trump card to counter the demon's ultimate move.

A Great Demon with the strength of a Lord-rank would undoubtedly have more tricks up his sleeve, possibly possessing a third-stage job class.

Indeed, Lord-ranked Great Demons could possess a third-stage job class.

So far, Lu Heng had only witnessed two of Assassin's job class abilities.

In other words, he was holding back one job class ability, which must be his ultimate move.

Therefore, Lu Heng also held a trump card in reserve.

...

The two engaged in a fierce contest, each trying to outmaneuver the other.

Lu Heng, with his Master-level swordsmanship and Divine Incarnation, created a scenario where two sword masters surrounded and pressed the Lord-ranked Great Demon, forcing him to retreat step by step.

However, Assassin's raw power was formidable. Despite being on the defensive, he managed to withstand the onslaught with his Lord-rank strength.

Assassin had been confident in continuing the fight, believing his robust foundation would allow him to defeat the human. But with Blackstone City breached, time was no longer on his side.

He had to eliminate his opponent swiftly and then turn the tide against the Black Iron Clan.

Moreover, he was absolutely certain of his ability to do so.

Aside from the human before him, no one here was a match for him.

Assassin waited for his Origin Energy to accumulate, then unleashed his full power, activating all his skills and releasing the ability of his first-stage Bloodline Job Class, Crimson Blood.

A surge of Bloodline Energy rippled outward like a shockwave, enveloping the entire area, leaving his opponent no room to dodge.

Lu Heng leaped backward, intending to use the speed of the Windwalker and his high agility to create distance and evade Crimson Blood.

Assassin didn't give Lu Heng this chance. As Lu Heng retreated like a gust of wind, Assassin once again utilized his Spatial Teleportation job class ability, teleporting behind Lu Heng.

Crimson Blood erupted behind Lu Heng, leaving no chance to dodge at such close range.

This move was akin to an R-Flash, leaving no room for reaction under normal circumstances.

Lu Heng had anticipated Assassin's move and, as he vanished from his original spot, he activated the job class ability he had been holding back—Shadow Traverse. His entire body vanished into the shadows.

Crimson Blood exploded, engulfing a ten-meter radius, and even the rocks were corroded by the blood's dense smoke.

Within the shadows, Lu Heng quickly distanced himself, waiting for Crimson Blood's effect to end.

Assassin spread his blood-red wings and soared into the air, his gaze fixed on Lu Heng's position.

When Shadow Traverse ended, so did the power of Crimson Blood.

Lu Heng emerged from the shadows, keenly observing the surging energy levels in Assassin.

Assassin's eyes glowed with intense red light, indicating the imminent use of an even more powerful technique.

Lu Heng quickly searched his mind, knowing this was the power of a Lord-ranked Great Demon, but there were too many types of abilities for him to discern which one it was.

As the red light in Assassin's eyes intensified, horns sprouted from his head, and a deathly aura enveloped the area.

Lu Heng took a deep breath, releasing his Divine Incarnation, and his body split into two, maximizing the power of the Windwalker, transforming into two bolts of lightning that streaked across the ground toward Assassin.

Divine Incarnation was an S-class skill, allowing the use of the original body's abilities.

So, the two Lu Hengs, with identical speed, movements, and skills, simultaneously activated Windrunner's charge.

The charge completed, and both the original and the clone struck simultaneously, one on the left and one on the right, executing the Sonic Blade and thrusting towards the Assassin in mid-air.

A loud bang reverberated as two unmatched sword beams slashed out.

The Assassin roared, raising his palm to conjure a crimson blood shield.

The clone's sword beam pierced the blood shield, shattering it.

Lu Heng's original body followed up with a Sonic Dragon Strike, unleashing an unmatched blade.

The Assassin's heart trembled, enduring the blood loss, biting his tongue to spray blood, and summoning a second crimson blood shield while unleashing his Crimson Death Ray.

The Crimson Death Ray transformed into countless blood arrows, raining down.

Lu Heng didn't use Shadow Traverse to dodge the Crimson Death Ray. Instead, he slashed through the crimson blood shield and then, using the recoil, flipped away, evading the explosion of Crimson Death Ray.

As he fell, he sensed the red light in the Assassin's eyes intensifying to the extreme, prompting him to activate Bullet Time in advance.

Just as Lu Heng's feet were about to touch the ground.

The Assassin shouted, "Die!"

His eyes shot out two Crimson Death Rays, instantly piercing Lu Heng's body.

These two Crimson Death Rays were the racial power of a Lord-rank Bloodline Royal Demon, shooting at the speed of light to instantly hit their target, leaving no room for reaction.

The moment the Crimson Death Rays were unleashed, Lu Heng's chest was pierced, leaving a gaping blood hole.

The Assassin, having struck, grinned viciously, flapped his wings, and flew upwards, preparing to sever the human's head and savor the delicious blood.

Having expended much blood in this battle, he needed to replenish to restore his fighting strength.

As he flew downwards, he saw the human rolling on the ground.

He noticed a slight deviation in the position where the Crimson Death Ray had struck.

His initial aim was the heart, the most lethal spot for humans, and a direct hit to the heart with the Crimson Death Ray would have been an instant kill.

However, this Crimson Death Ray missed the heart, striking the right side of the chest instead.

Although it didn't hit the heart, striking the right side of the chest was still lethal.

All he needed to do was follow up with a slash, drain the human's blood, and then begin his slaughter.

He flapped his wings and dove, raising his crimson longsword, and slashed downward.

In that instant.

The blood hole on Lu Heng's right chest suddenly healed at a visible speed, restoring it to its original state in the blink of an eye, as if it had never been injured, with only the hole in his clothing testifying to the deadly attack it had just endured.

After the wound healed, Lu Heng propped himself up with his left hand, flipped over, and as he rose, his right hand swiftly drew the sword, unleashing a Rift Blade.

Assuming he had already won, the Assassin relaxed his vigilance, diving down with full force, and collided with the Rift Blade, shattering his body into countless bloody fragments.

Only his head and upper body remained, rolling on the ground, mouth agape in an attempt to roar, but no sound emerged.

Lu Heng exhaled heavily, stepped forward, and pointed his sword at the Assassin's brow.

"How... is this possible...?" The Assassin, who was on the verge of victory, was now slain, and he couldn't accept it.

He, a Lord-rank Bloodline Royal Demon, a Great Demon seeking territory, had fallen to a human.

How could he accept this?

Lu Heng sighed, showing no interest in answering the Assassin's question, and instead, pierced his brow, ending his life.

Although Lu Heng didn't answer the Assassin's question, the previous strike was indeed astonishing.

The Assassin's Lord-rank Great Demon ability was the rare Crimson Death Ray.

As the Crimson Death Ray was a deadly beam that struck at the speed of light, it was equivalent to an instant hit upon release.

Its speed was comparable to a laser, but lasers required time to burn the target to inflict damage.

The Crimson Death Ray needed no such delay; upon impact, it would instantly pierce the opponent's body, leaving no room for struggle.

Indeed, Lu Heng had no space to dodge, and the Crimson Death Ray hit the moment it was released.

Fortunately, Lu Heng had anticipated the Assassin's ultimate move, and as he flew backwards, he activated the Bullet Time skill.

Within Bullet Time, even the speed of light seemed to slow down, albeit very slightly.

As the skill's name, Bullet Time, implied, it could be used to dodge bullets, but compared to the speed of light, bullets were insignificant.

Therefore, Bullet Time couldn't evade the Crimson Death Ray.

However, as the Assassin released the Crimson Death Ray, his gaze shifted.

In the instant he aimed for the heart, Lu Heng utilized Bullet Time.

Gaining a brief moment, Lu Heng adjusted his body posture.

As the Crimson Death Ray was about to strike, he shifted his body so that the fatal blow hit his right chest instead of his heart.

If it had hit his heart, it would have been an instant kill.

Although the right chest was also a lethal area, it wouldn't cause immediate death.

Therefore, after his right chest was pierced by the Crimson Death Ray, Lu Heng immediately used another A-class skill, [Damage Rewind], to revert his body's state to before the attack.

The wound healed instantly, turning the tide of the battle.

Only by combining the two A-class skills was he able to reverse the situation; without either skill, he would have been instantly killed by the Crimson Death Ray.

This battle was extremely dangerous; if it had been anyone else, they might not have even been able to force the Assassin to use the Crimson Death Ray.

Lu Heng took a deep breath and saw the kill notification.

[Assassin Bloodline Commander killed. Absorbed 6000 points.]



[Origin Energy level increased to 32. All attributes +4, Agility attribute +1.2.]



[Obtained Third-Stage Essence 'Void Blade'. Initiated Essence Contention Battle.]



[Third-Stage Essence Fusion Degree: 23%]



[The Third-Stage Essence is in a free state. Upon reaching 100% fusion, a complete rank can be obtained.]



[Temporarily obtained Essence ability: Void Blink]



[Void Blink: Release void power, traverse the void, and instantly teleport a short distance. Maximum teleport distance = 1 x Origin Energy level.]



Lu Heng's face lit up with a smile as he saw that he had obtained the Third-Stage Essence.

As he had guessed, the Assassin indeed possessed the ability of a Third-Stage rank.

However, it wasn't a complete rank, but rather the Essence of a Third-Stage rank, and this ability was the spatial teleportation he had witnessed earlier.

After obtaining the Essence, if one didn't want it, they could extract it, but not after too long.

Lu Heng saw that the Third-Stage rank Essence was 'Void Blade', and he had also witnessed the Assassin's teleportation ability.

Spatial teleportation abilities were rarely found in skill crystal cores; to obtain spatial abilities, one had to rely on ranks.

Among rank abilities, spatial movement skills were top-tier.

Therefore, this rank ability was very powerful, and there was no reason to hesitate.

Lu Heng immediately decided to take this rank, and once he obtained the complete rank, the effect of the ability would further improve.

The Black Iron Dwarf's siege of the city continued, and the battle was not over yet.

Lu Heng picked up the shattered pieces of the Assassin's Crimson Longsword and a crystal core he had extracted without a second glance, and directly stored them in his inventory.

Then, with a leap, he ran along the cliff wall and charged into Blackstone City, continuing to slay the Bloodline Demons.

...

With the Assassin's death, the battle continued to turn in favor of the humans.

Most of the Bloodline Demons in Blackstone City had already been drowned in lava within the mine tunnels, and the remaining demons, who were desperately resisting, were few in number and rapidly decreasing.

B

Now, seeing the hope of reclaiming Blackstone City right before his eyes, he shouted excitedly, commanding the Black Iron Clan warriors to charge and slaughter the remaining Bloodline Demons in the city.

These Bloodline Demons had occupied Blackstone City for three years, forcing the Black Iron Clan to become refugees.

I

At this moment, he could finally release the anger and desire for revenge that had been burning in his heart.

...

The Blood Sacrifice Tower collapsed, the city gates were breached, and the Bloodline Demon Lord was slain.

The Bloodline Demons had been defeated.

The Bloodline Succubus Saleyne watched the defeated Bloodline Demons in Blackstone City, anger filling her eyes.

She couldn't understand how, despite having superior combat power and a strong defensive fortress, the situation had turned out this way.

After the lava flooded the mine tunnels, drowning the Bloodline Demons within, it didn't stop there but continued to pour into the Magma Abyss.

The Magma Abyss, originally 300 meters deep, was now rapidly filling with lava, causing the lava level to rise to a height of 30 meters.

At this moment, a giant beast roared from within the Magma Abyss, and a massive claw extended from the abyss, clinging to the edge.

This roar shook the entire Blackstone City.

All humans, Black Iron Dwarves, and Bloodline Demons involuntarily turned to look in the direction of the sound.

Upon hearing this roar, Saleyne felt as if she had seen a glimmer of hope for a comeback. She broke free from Su Mu Yu's blockade and dove towards the direction of the Magma Abyss.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end