Chapter 572: The Vile Demon's Escape
Chapter 572: The Vile Demon’s Escape
Meanwhile.
Deep within the underground Lava Spider Nest in the Hammerfall Tunnel.
A red-and-black, grindstone-sized lava spider scuttled over to Graham, who was deep in thought, and began to chatter excitedly.
"Little one, take your time, no need to rush. What do you want to say?"
Graham, sensing the lava spider's agitation, comforted it while extending his palm to place it on the lava spider's forehead, covered in fiery red fur.
Through telepathy, he could better understand what the spider was trying to convey.
Although he could understand the meaning of the spider's chattering, the language of spiders was too limited to express complex ideas. For example, it could only roughly indicate the strength of the other party.
"These are lava hounds, and not just any lava hounds—two epic-level lava hounds!!" The next moment, Graham's eyes widened as he perceived the images in the lava spider's mind, and he let out an astonished exclamation.
His voice was trembling and nearly shrill, his excitement and agitation evident.
"Wait, how is this possible?" After a few seconds of shock, Graham sensed something amiss as he regained his composure.
"I've never heard of two lava hounds fighting to the death."
"Even over breeding rights, the loser is usually just driven away, not killed. This..."
Graham instinctively felt that something was off.
"Could it be a trap?"
But then he reconsidered.
It seemed unlikely. Who would have the resources to kill two epic-level lava hounds and wait for him to fall into the trap? If they had such power, they could easily kill him directly.
"In that case... let's have the lava spiders scout the area thoroughly. If there's no trap, I'll go to the scene immediately."
Graham quickly made his decision.
A few minutes later.
After dozens of lava spiders scoured the area around the lava lake and confirmed there were no ambushes, Graham cautiously approached the two 'mutilated' lava hounds.
After double-checking that there were no traps, Graham focused his attention on the lava hounds.
He examined the gruesome, crisscrossing wounds on the lava hounds' bodies and compared their massive claws. There was no doubt—they matched perfectly.
"The claw marks are indeed from each other!"
"Truly rare, to encounter such good fortune!"
Graham's eyes sparkled with excitement.
On his way, he had repeatedly pondered this situation.
If it were a trap, it would likely have sprung the moment he approached the bodies.
"Someone set this up on purpose? Impossible! Once I summon Emperor Nayubrekkan, any trap will be a joke."
"Besides, who would go to such lengths to set such a trap? Two epic-level lava hounds, that's a huge investment. And without the mutual sense of the lava hound species, finding even one in the complex underground lava rivers would be nearly impossible."
Graham immediately ordered dozens of lava spiders to carry the two massive lava hound corpses back to the nest.
Once back in the lava spider nest, the two enormous lava hound bodies were placed beside the epic-level lava giant, and the giant lava spider emitted a hiss of excitement.
"Excellent! This is years ahead of schedule!"
"Rayne, this time, you're finished! Lady Luck won't always favor you!"
"Blasphemers who offend the great Emperor Nayubrekkan will meet their end in death!"
With a triumphant sneer, Graham prepared to initiate the 'Spider Spirit Ritual.'
Meanwhile.
In the Imperial Capital of Temeril.
In the sky, a black and a colorful torrent clashed, as Dragon Knights and infected dragons, as well as Griffin Knights and infected flying knights, engaged in fierce combat.
"All cannons, load incendiary rounds!" Orders were rapidly issued from the Federation's armed dirigibles.
"Aim at the infected dragons, fire!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Instantly, a cloud of small mushroom clouds erupted from the body of an infected green dragon, its skin becoming pockmarked and engulfed in flames. However, it seemed oblivious to the pain, as black malevolent qi poured out of its body, extinguishing the flames and continuing its charge toward Elder Ivan.
Clearly, the malevolent qi infecting the dragon was far too potent for ordinary flames to combat.
However, a smaller infected flying knight, hit by a single shot, burst into flames and fell from the sky as a charred lump.
King against king, general against general.
Rayne would not let Menya face the Vile Demon directly. He had already engaged the hundreds-of-meters-tall Vile Demon from a distance.
Thanks to the energy form of his full moon move, 'High-Frequency Blade,' which could extend and reshape at will, Rayne wielded what appeared to be a hundred-meter-long silver-gray chainsaw, chopping at the Vile Demon from various angles!
The destructive power of the 'High-Frequency Blade' was so intense that even the Vile Demon's mantis-like black, sharp limbs would lose a chunk when they deflected the blade.
This clearly left the Vile Demon unaccustomed to such pressure!
Even ten thousand years ago, when it faced the goddess Matilda, it had never been so disadvantaged.
"Roar!!"
With a roar, the Vile Demon unleashed a visible, transparent wave that surged like a tsunami, spreading in all directions.
Its intention was clear: to disrupt Rayne's attack rhythm and create an opening for a counterattack.
But Rayne vanished from his original position in a flash, reappearing on the Vile Demon's right side as the sound wave dissipated, and he swung his High-Frequency Blade at the Vile Demon once more!
This was 'Shadow Traverse' combined with 'High-Frequency Blade'!
While the simultaneous use of these techniques consumed a massive amount of psi energy and stamina, for the enemy, it was nearly an unsolvable combination.
Even the goddess Matilda, who was hidden nearby as the coalition's reserve, was momentarily captivated by the spectacle!
"So enduring? That shouldn't be possible!"
"Even a Full Moon Wizard, in theory, should be drained of both stamina and psi energy after repeatedly using full moon moves and subspace traversal."
"How can he still be so energetic?"
Several times, Matilda was ready to intervene as the battle grew critical, but each time, Rayne managed to turn the tide or dodge at the last moment.
This forced her to suppress her desire to join the fight.
According to their agreement, she was the reserve, to be called upon only if Rayne signaled for her help.
On the other side.
Rayne had a clear goal for this battle. Before he could fully harness the power of the Chrono Key, his best option was to limit the Vile Demon's abilities.
He planned to deplete the Vile Demon's malevolent qi to reduce its combat effectiveness, ultimately aiming to dismember it at the right moment.
Although the Vile Demon could regenerate malevolent qi, it required time.
The recovery of malevolent qi took time.
What Rayne lacked most was time.
He planned to return to Sky City after restraining the Vile Demon in front of him, to use a small amount of his lifespan to stabilize the seal there.
Rayne was confident that even without the Divine Shard to absorb, he could still take this final step within a few years through his own efforts.
Having boosted his physical and mental abilities to their peak for the third time, he seized the opportunity once again, using the High-Frequency Blade to slice off the fifth limb of the giant Vile Demon, which resembled a mantis's forelimb but was actually a rib.
The massive, pulsing black heart had now revealed a small crack.
In the sky above the Cyrodiil Highlands, within Sky City.
A bustling scene of repairs was underway on all levels except the bottom.
"Your Excellency Helm, I heard that the Vile Demon's main body in the Imperial Capital has become active again, and the battle has begun?"
"Yes, Your Excellency Moria, that's what I'm most concerned about", Helm said, his brows furrowing.
Although the Imperial Capital had high-level combatants like the Throne of Rayne and the goddess Matilda, the battle was still extremely dangerous.
Logically, the ancient goblin Sky City, a powerful weapon, should be deployed in this decisive battle that would affect the entire world.
"Isn't the Throne of Rayne's concern overthinking it? At this moment, we should deploy the Sky City, this powerful weapon, into the battle! Let the Vile Demon taste our might", Helm waved his hand emphatically, slightly agitated.
Moria was no longer surprised by Helm's excitement and battle enthusiasm.
However, at first, Moria hadn't expected that the dean of the Federation Mechanical Institute, a seasoned research leader, was also a battle enthusiast.
The last time they controlled the mechanical dread dragon king together, he had discovered this trait.
Of course, such genuine passion did not hinder anything; instead, it made him seem very trustworthy. As a result, he and Helm quickly became good friends.
They not only frequently exchanged ideas on the creation of high-end mechanical devices but also deeply discussed various combat scenarios.
"About that", just as Moria was about to respond, suddenly!
Both of them noticed a faint vibration coming from the metal floor beneath their feet.
The vibration was brief and fleeting!
If it were anyone else, they might have overlooked it in the noisy repair environment, but both were Dawn Wizards with exceptionally sharp senses, and they immediately felt that something was off.
This was definitely not the result of a heavy object landing!
A heavy object landing could not cause a vibration that spread throughout the entire Sky City, even if it was only a slight one.
"That vibration seemed to come from below!" They immediately looked at each other, shock evident in their eyes.
"Quickly investigate the situation below", Helm turned to the wizard at the control panel and said.
"Yes, Your Excellency Helm."
The Crystalized Wizard at the control panel immediately began to activate the Sky City's internal cameras for inspection.
This physical inspection could be used when magical inspection was not suitable.
"Bad news! The Malevolent Qi below has thinned, no, the Vile Demon has disappeared!"
"The Malevolent Qi... The Vile Demon opened a hole in one of the walls on the lower level and left Sky City", the Crystalized Wizard said, his face pale with shock.
"What!"
This situation was clearly unexpected.
Initially, both had thought that even if something unusual happened, it would be the Vile Demon breaking free from the seal and fighting within Sky City. But now, the Vile Demon had actually left?
This...
Helm immediately grabbed the internal camera to check, while Moria looked out the porthole to track the Malevolent Qi's path.
"An unexpected turn! The Vile Demon has really escaped!"
Helm was disheartened. Just a moment ago, he had doubted whether Rayne was overly concerned, but the current situation proved that the Iron Throne Rayne's judgment was indeed prescient!
"Bad news, Your Excellency Helm, the Vile Demon is heading towards the Imperial Capital!"
Moria's eyes were fixed on the large, dark gray cloud of Malevolent Qi moving away, his face pale as he shouted in alarm.
"Damn! Could it be that even at such a distance, the Vile Demons have some kind of connection or sensing ability?"
"Quick! Notify the Iron Throne Rayne immediately! Notify Princess Menya immediately!"
Helm called out urgently.
Meanwhile.
In the sky above Imperial Capital Temeril.
Menya, after blasting a corrupted griffin rider with a fire blast, looked at Rayne, who was suppressing the Vile Demon in battle, and felt reassured.
"Great! Although we can't completely eliminate the Vile Demon, if Rayne can fully suppress it, the victory in this battle is almost certain."
However, at that moment, the Communication Mark on her red wizard robe's chest began to flash urgently.
With a touch from Menya's delicate hand, a slightly panicked female voice said urgently:
"Princess Menya, Sky City has sent an urgent message. The Vile Demon sealed on the lower level has escaped and is now rapidly heading towards the Imperial Capital Temeril!"
"What!" Menya's composed and elegant face showed her first sign of distress since the battle began.
"Why didn't you notify the Throne of Rayne!"
"We did, but the Throne of Rayne didn't respond!"
Indeed, in such an intense battle, Rayne couldn't be expected to divert his attention to an unknown message.
"Bad! I need to tell Rayne about this immediately", Menya thought.
But before she could, a large, dark gray cloud of fog, seemingly slow but actually very fast, appeared from the distant horizon, reaching them in the blink of an eye.
This cloud of fog maliciously curved around and suddenly attacked from behind Rayne!
"Rayne, be careful!" Menya shouted!
Rayne's instincts were on high alert. He immediately used 'Shadow Traverse' without hesitation, teleporting to the other side of the air.
The valiant goddess Matilda, clad in classical battle armor and wearing a rooster-comb helmet, suddenly appeared where Rayne had been, launching a bright blue energy spear at the new cloud of Malevolent Qi!
"Go!"
Even though Matilda hadn't received Rayne's message, she decided to intervene.
After all, the situation had drastically changed!
The appearance of the second Vile Demon put their ally Rayne in grave danger.
"Two Vile Demons?!"
"It's the one from Sky City", Rayne's eyes narrowed, his heart sinking.
The worst-case scenario had occurred.
He had tried to prevent the two Vile Demons from meeting.
Even in this battle, he had decided to keep Sky City in the distant Cyrodiil Highlands and not use it.
But plans couldn't keep up with changes, and the situation was beyond his control, leading to the worst possible outcome.
(End of Chapter)
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