Chapter 468: Heavenly Demon Vanguard
Boom!
With a deafening roar, the black volcano deep beneath the Northern Lands erupted completely.
Dozens of huge Heavenly Demon vanguards shot out from the cracked ground, covering the entire sky and turning the world dark.
These monsters looked extremely strange. Some were savage humanoid figures with twelve bone wings. Some were giant multi-headed beasts as large as small mountains. There were even several black, gas-like demon shadows with no solid bodies, twisting constantly in the void.
But without exception, every one of them was covered in a thick black aura, as dark as ink.
It was the Heavenly Demon aura.
As the aura spread, the surrounding space seemed to be forcibly torn apart. Even the free energy of the laws between heaven and earth became dark and heavy.
"Roar!"
A level 85 beast-type Heavenly Demon vanguard was the first to attack. Its massive claw, hundreds of feet wide, was wrapped in rolling demonic energy. It tore through the void and slammed down toward Aiden.
The violent wind lifted layer after layer of frozen soil below, and the sound of sonic booms rang out without stopping.
Jade’s pretty face turned pale. The Divine Eyes sword in her hand almost slipped from her grip.
"You’re asking for death."
Aiden’s face remained calm as he spoke those two words coldly.
Facing the enormous demon claw that covered the sky, he did not even move a single step.
[Ding! The host is detected to be in combat. The 10,000x Critical Hit System has been activated!]
The crisp system notification rang in his mind. At that moment, the divine power inside Aiden surged like countless rivers rushing into the sea, roaring wildly.
"Heavenly Punishment Domain, open!"
Aiden lightly stomped his right foot.
Crack-BOOM!
In an instant, the void within ten thousand miles was swallowed by endless purple-gold lightning.
Countless bolts of tribulation lightning, each as thick as a barrel, appeared from nothing. They turned into a raging sea of thunder, trapping all the Heavenly Demon vanguards inside.
With the power of the 10,000x Critical Hit System, every bolt of lightning carried terrifying divine force-enough to seriously injure a level 99 Great Venerable.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dense bolts of lightning poured down like a storm, smashing hard into the Heavenly Demon vanguards.
Their painful screams echoed across the entire Northern Lands.
However, Aiden frowned slightly.
Through his Inner Spirit, he could sense that although the Heavenly Demon vanguards had been struck head-on and their flesh had been torn open, their auras had not weakened much.
"Hm? The Heavenly Demon aura can weaken the Law of Thunder by more than forty percent?"
Aiden quickly noticed something strange.
These Heavenly Demon vanguards had an unusually strong resistance to the Law of Thunder.
"Then let’s try this."
Aiden flicked his finger. A thin thread of the Law of Space turned into an invisible blade and slashed toward one of the gas-like Heavenly Demons.
Puff!
That gas-like Heavenly Demon, which should have been immune to physical attacks and normal elemental attacks, was cut the moment it touched the space blade.
Its Heavenly Demon aura was torn apart instantly, like butter sliced by a hot knife. Its entire body was cut in half at the waist.
[Ding! 10,000x Critical Hit triggered. Space-rending effect increased by 10,000 times!]
"So that’s how it works."
A look of understanding flashed in Aiden’s eyes.
With the extreme analysis of the 10,000x Critical Hit System, he instantly figured out the rules for countering the Heavenly Demon aura.
Although the Heavenly Demon aura could weaken elemental laws over a wide area, it had very little resistance against a power like the Law of Space, which acted directly on dimensions.
The Law of Space was the sharpest spear for tearing through the Heavenly Demon aura.
The Law of Slaughter had extremely strong piercing power. It could ignore defenses and destroy a Heavenly Demon’s life force directly.
As for the Law of Thunder, its single-target damage had been weakened, but its pure and powerful yang energy was still the best choice for clearing large groups and suppressing demonic energy.
"Now that I know your weakness, it’s over."
Aiden stood tall in the void as his divine might erupted.
It was the absolute pressure of a divine powerhouse.
Under that divine pressure, dozens of violent Heavenly Demon vanguards began to tremble. The madness in their eyes was replaced by endless fear.
Aiden slowly raised the purple-gold thunder spear in his hand.
The Law of Space, the Law of Slaughter, and the Law of Thunder-three completely different divine laws-began to twist and merge wildly around the spear.
Wherever the spear tip passed, space shattered inch by inch, revealing the dark emptiness beyond.
"Three Laws Combined-Divine Thunder Spear of Annihilation!"
Aiden thrust his spear forward.
There was no earth-shaking boom.
There was only a deep purple-black beam of light that pierced through the entire world in an instant.
BOOOOM!
The beam exploded in the middle of the Heavenly Demon army, turning into a storm of destruction that swept across ten thousand miles.
Space collapsed.
Slaughter spread.
Thunder roared.
Before this terrifying strike-formed from three great laws and boosted by the 10,000x Critical Hit System-all the Heavenly Demon vanguards were wiped out in an instant, without even having time to scream.
The violent storm slowly died down.
Aiden stood with his spear lowered, his clothes spotless.
In his first battle after becoming a god, he had faced dozens of Heavenly Demon vanguards-each strong enough to destroy several major nations.
Yet he had not even taken half a step back before wiping them all out.
Beside him, Jade was completely stunned. Her Divine Eyes were filled with shock.
So this was a god...
So this was the true Strength of the Great Shaw Empire’s new guardian god!
However, there was no joy on Aiden’s face.
"Something’s wrong."
Aiden looked down, his brows tightly furrowed.
Normally, monsters erased by divine power should turn into countless specks of light and disappear, becoming his experience points.
But now, although the Heavenly Demon vanguards were completely dead, their remains did not vanish.
Their huge corpses were slowly melting, turning into thick, dark-black blood.
Hiss... hiss... hiss...
The black blood was extremely corrosive. It flowed into the cracks in the ground and quickly seeped deep underground.
The white frozen soil, once covered in ice and snow, turned a strange dark red the moment it touched the black blood.
A sickening stench rose from deep underground, mixed with a faint Heavenly Demon aura.
"They’re... changing the environment to make it suitable for Abyss creatures?"
Aiden’s Inner Spirit swept through the underground area, and his expression changed at once.
He could clearly sense that after coming into contact with the black blood, the earth veins of the Northern Lands were being forcibly changed and corrupted.
These Heavenly Demon vanguards had not come to conquer cities or seize land.
They were moving sources of corruption!
This was a long-planned invasion strategy of the Heavenly Demon Clan.
They were using their own lives to transform the land!
Using the flesh and blood of the Heavenly Demon vanguards, they wanted to completely turn Earth’s land into a breeding ground for the Abyss.
Aiden suddenly turned and looked into the distance.
As far as he could see, the land along the edge of the Northern Lands was slowly changing color at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The ice and snow were melting.
The brown soil was turning dark red, filled with a violent and chaotic aura.
If this corruption was allowed to spread without being fully cleansed...
In three months at most, the entire Northern Lands would become the Heavenly Demon Clan’s kingdom on Earth.
By then, the seal of the Golden Great Wall would be useless. The Heavenly Demon army could descend upon Earth from here at any time.
"Damn it..."
Aiden stared at the land that was turning red, his eyes ice-cold.
Earth had to find a way to completely cleanse this Heavenly Demon corruption as soon as possible.
...
The void was torn open.
Above Celestial Imperial City, a huge spatial rift appeared out of nowhere, stretching for thousands of feet.
Aiden stepped out, his robes fluttering. Around him, faint flashes of thunder and the Law of Slaughter appeared and vanished.
Behind him, Jade walked out with a pale face. Fear still lingered in her Divine Eyes.
The power of a god was enough to make any mortal tremble, even if only a trace of it leaked out.
"Pass down my order. All high-level officials are to gather in the council hall."
Aiden’s voice was calm, but like a divine decree, it instantly rang through every corner of Celestial Imperial City.
A moment later, in the council hall.
The atmosphere was so heavy it almost seemed frozen.
In the center of the hall, a holographic projection formed from divine power slowly rotated, showing the terrible state of the Northern Lands.
It was frozen soil soaked in dark red blood. Black demonic energy clung to it like a disease that could not be removed, spreading wildly through the earth veins.
"This is the true goal of the Heavenly Demon vanguards."
Aiden sat in the highest seat and looked down at everyone. His voice was cold and sharp.
"They are living sources of corruption. They are using their flesh and blood to turn Earth’s land into a breeding ground for the Abyss."
Cheryl frowned and was the first to step forward.
"My Frost Law can freeze the earth veins and forcefully seal the spread of the Heavenly Demon aura."
Aiden shook his head.
"That only treats the surface problem, not the root. Ice and snow will melt eventually, and the corruption will still keep seeping underground."
Nellie raised an eyebrow. A blazing golden flame appeared at her fingertips.
"Then what about my flames of light? With Radiant Thorns and the Law of Fire, I can burn this filth away!"
Aiden looked at her coldly.
"The Northern Lands stretch for thousands of miles. How many days can your divine power last? How many high-level crystals can Celestial Imperial City provide for you to consume?"
Nellie fell silent and stepped back, unhappy but unable to argue.
"If only Sister Rainn were here."
Cheryl sighed, her expression dim.
"The soul arts of the Miko Clan can drive away this kind of Heavenly Demon aura filled with resentment from its source. Unfortunately, she is far away in Winterhold. Help from afar cannot solve an urgent crisis."
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
"Actually, there is another way."
Aiden flicked his finger, and a streak of golden light landed in the center of the projection.
Buzz!
A faint figure with mechanical wings appeared in the air.
It was Zoey, the Artifact Spirit of Celestial Imperial City.
"Zoey, can the sealing power of the Golden Great Wall cleanse this corruption?"
Aiden asked in a deep voice.
Countless streams of data flashed quickly through Zoey’s eyes, and her clear, ethereal voice rang out.
"Yes, Master."
"The core law of the Golden Great Wall has absolute rejection toward the aura of the Abyss."
"If the Great Wall’s core is fully repaired, the range of its law waves can cover all of Earth at its maximum."
"It would erase all corruption in an instant."