Chapter 100: Hello, Demon King

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Hello, Demon King

A black mist, thick and viscous as tar, blotted out the sky. Ordinary people could even feel waves of intense nausea washing over them.

A massive carrion bird, radiating a cloying stench of rot, poked its head through the gloom. Atop it stood a figure entirely shrouded in the dark fog.

A brazen, unbridled voice echoed across the heavens.

"I am Demon King Ward! I have come to bestow death upon you, just as promised! Entertain me to your heart’s content with your struggles and wails!"

The ordinary catfolk who could not cultivate were already consumed by overwhelming terror. Even the Cultivators among them were thrown into a panic.

Demon King Ward.

Much like Voldemort in the Harry Potter stories, even if many had never seen him in their lifetime, his legend—and the fear it inspired—had circulated among every race for ages. It was a name that had terrified the world for centuries.

"All clansmen who cannot fight, return to your houses! Warriors, stand guard outside and brace for the impact with everything you have!" Alicia shouted at the top of her lungs.

Even if they weren’t the main combatants, just surviving the aftershocks would be no less than a life-and-death battle for them.

The Kingdom Saint Realm experts who had rushed over to help were equally horrified. There was no mistaking it. That gigantic carrion bird was none other than the legendary mount of the Demon King.

"The darkness has returned..." someone muttered, trembling.

Out of everyone present, Shen Yun was perhaps the only one who remained completely unfazed. He even looked a bit pleased.

This guy had finally shown up. He had been constantly worried that if this guy chickened out and fled, he wouldn’t be able to return to Earth with peace of mind.

"Little Nine."

"Okay! Ready to fight at any time."

"Then let’s..."

Just as Shen Yun was about to fly up, a sudden SPLASH rang out. A snow-white figure burst out of the lake, darting nimbly and swiftly to block his front.

It was Erin.

She still had her prize clamped in her mouth—a plump, vigorous, large fish. At this moment, the sharp claws on her fingers were fully extended. Her tail, and even her hair, had puffed up like a startled cat. Her gaze was locked onto the sky high above as she stood vigilantly in front of Shen Yun.

Was she... trying to protect him? Shen Yun was slightly stunned.

"G-Guest," the cat-eared girl began, dropping the big fish the moment she opened her mouth. After a flurry of panicked fumbling, she finally managed to catch it again. Then, she turned her head. "It’s super dangerous here! You need to leave quickly, meow."

"...You really don’t know who I am, do you."

Shen Yun suddenly smiled and took two steps back. He silently called out to Little Nine, and an intense surge of bright lightning and majestic aura erupted from his body.

SPLAT.

The fish in Erin’s hands fell to the ground. She hurriedly bent down to pick it up, clutching it tightly to her chest, and continued to stare at Shen Yun with her little mouth hanging wide open.

"Take your fish, go back to your mother, and wait for me to take care of the enemy. I’ll come back and help you grill it."

After saying that, he ignored whatever expression the cat-eared girl was making and shot straight up into the clouds. At the same time, thunderclouds rolled in. A loud roar, completely different from the Demon King’s earlier voice, shook the heavens and the earth.

"Prince Violet! Why are you here?!"

Gabriel felt like tearing his hair out. He had calculated everything perfectly. Yet, at this final step, he was still confronted by the one person he least wanted to see.

"How amusing," Shen Yun said, his voice flat as he stood amidst the lightning of the heavens and earth. "You brazenly sent someone to threaten us, and you even announced the time and location of your arrival. Yet you have the nerve to ask why I am here? Weren’t you provoking me in this manner because you wanted to settle things once and for all?"

Gabriel’s breath hitched. That actually made a lot of sense. But that wasn’t the case at all!

"Where are the wails? Where are the screams? Where are my toys for amusement?!" the Demon King’s crazed voice echoed once more. "Fear! I need fear! I need blood!"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Gabriel finally couldn’t hold back his furious roar. "It’s all because of you, you fool! You just had to make some grand death declaration! Couldn’t you have just killed them outright?!"

"I am Demon King Ward—!" The Demon King’s deranged voice pitched even higher.

Although he had already known about all of this beforehand, actually seeing it unfold still made Shen Yun want to laugh. Did he really think devouring another person’s soul would be so simple?

"Let’s put an end to this farcical comedy," Shen Yun said, raising a hand.

Terrifying lightning, blended with Little Nine’s Spiritual Power, instantaneously erupted from the clouds. The light that burst forth in that split second made the entire world as bright as day.

If this were just an ordinary Great Saint, it would have been over in that single strike. But the enemy before him was a Great Saint who had also stepped into the Half-Step Void God realm.

Only the wails of the carrion bird echoed through the lightning. Its massive body plummeted with a crash, radiating the heat of roasted meat before being blown into pieces. Meanwhile, Gabriel completely enveloped himself in a dense, black mist.

"There’s no need for us to be enemies," he said, his face looking incredibly grim. "Both you and I are destined to become gods. Wouldn’t it be a pity to die here without ever witnessing the scenery above the pinnacle?"

"You? You think you have the right to threaten my Lord?!"

Accompanied by Xiao Jie’s voice, a terrifying orange Light Cannon pierced the sky. The black mist was completely obliterated. Gabriel narrowly evaded the blast, yet he still coughed up a huge mouthful of blood.

Another Half-Step Void God?! No, just a Great Saint.

Gabriel stared fixedly at the bald man whose hands had transformed into cannons. With a divine artifact like that, his attack power was no less than that of a Half-Step Void God! To think that a mere servant could possess such a powerful divine artifact. He truly was a high-status bigshot from the Otherworld.

Gabriel no longer had any desire to fight. His figure abruptly lunged in another direction. A bigshot like that would undoubtedly have his own terrifying trump cards.

BOOM!

An impossibly fast projectile enveloped in lightning slammed ruthlessly into his back.

"Pfft!"

He coughed up another massive mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with horror. Too fast. The speed of that attack was simply too fast. Moreover, Xiao Jie had already charged over at an explosive speed.

Gabriel didn’t dare pause for even a moment, violently erupting his Secret Technique. Flee! He could only flee! He had to take evasive maneuvers as he ran!

"Too naive..."

Shen Yun’s soft murmur drifted out faintly, but this time, no one could hear it, because his speed had also surpassed the speed of sound.

The three of them shot through the clouds at extreme speeds. Their tremendous auras swept past everything in their path; wherever they flew, every beastman curled up in terror.

The reason Shen Yun called him naive was that he actually delusionally attempted to dodge Little Nine’s Super Electromagnetic Cannon with evasive maneuvers.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

One searing blast after another pierced the sky. No matter how he dodged, every single shot hit Gabriel with unparalleled precision, and Xiao Jie’s cannon blasts never missed their mark either.

Thus, after fleeing for less than five minutes, Gabriel—who had suffered repeated heavy blows—finally couldn’t withstand his injuries anymore. His speed slowed, and he was once again surrounded by Shen Yun and Xiao Jie.

"P-Please, wait a moment!"

The immense fear of death felt as if it were going to swallow him whole. He was only a sliver away from becoming a god. How could he just die here like this?