Chapter 186: The Heavenly Demon’s True Strength

The sword reached him first.

Heavenly Demon stepped forward.

The blade descended toward his shoulder, but a slight shift of his body was enough to let it pass beside him.

His palm landed against the commander’s chest.

BANG!

The strike barely moved him.

Even the armor covering his chest remained intact.

For an instant, the commander seemed confused.

Then his eyes widened.

BOOOOM!

A violent eruption tore through his body from within.

Dark blood burst from his mouth.

The armor across his back cracked open as black Heavenly Demon Qi exploded through it, scattering fragments of metal across the plaza.

Whatever strength remained in the commander’s legs disappeared as he dropped to the ground and became still.

Cain raised an eyebrow.

He was already moving through another section of the battlefield, yet his attention remained partly fixed on the Heavenly Demon.

’He killed him with that?’

The remaining commanders reacted at once.

The one wielding the spear poured Mana into his weapon and charged from Heavenly Demon’s side.

The spear thrust forward.

Heavenly Demon took another step and disappeared.

The weapon pierced nothing but air.

The commander immediately turned.

Unfortunately for him, it was too late as Heavenly Demon was already there.

Two fingers extended toward his chest.

An enormous amount of Heavenly Demon Qi compressed around their tips until the surrounding air distorted.

The commander hurriedly gathered Mana in front of himself.

A dense defensive barrier appeared.

Heavenly Demon’s fingers struck its center.

Shhk!

The barrier gave way as his fingers pierced through the protection and entered the commander’s chest.

The wound left behind was narrow.

The Demonic energy that entered with the attack was anything but harmless.

Heavenly Demon withdrew his hand.

The commander staggered backward.

Black Qi spread through the Mana pathways surrounding the wound, tearing through them before he could force the foreign energy out.

Dark lines appeared beneath his gray skin.

His mouth opened.

BOOM!

The energy erupted.

The commander collapsed where he stood.

Cain smiled faintly.

"This bastard really is strong."

A Zombie Race soldier rushed toward him.

Cain met its weapon with his sword.

Clang!

He struck near the guard and knocked the weapon aside before driving his foot into the enemy’s chest.

The 2nd Echelon was sent stumbling toward Jack.

"Yours."

Jack moved forward.

His gauntleted fist smashed into the zombie’s face.

BANG!

Cain had already turned toward another group.

Across the Northern Anchor Town, the battlefield was changing rapidly.

The reinforcements from the west had broken the balance that the Zombie Race had maintained until now.

Ron rushed between the ruined buildings with Lightning gathering around his spear. He ignored most of the weaker enemies and hunted the 2nd Echelons scattered among them, leaving the surrounding soldiers for those who still needed Levels.

Elara had joined the northern fighters who were struggling farther ahead.

Her sword cut through an incoming attack before Ice spread beneath another enemy, disrupting its footing long enough for Professor Irina to place an arrow through its head.

Nathan remained farther behind the advancing line.

His arrows continued flying toward whichever part of the battlefield needed support, forcing dangerous enemies to defend themselves at moments when the humans around them were already attacking.

Aurelia had pushed even deeper.

Radiant Light moved through the broken streets around her as the swords she manifested pressured several 2nd Echelon soldiers.

She did not waste much effort on the weaker enemies either.

The exhausted northern forces finally had space to recover.

More importantly, they could advance.

"Keep pushing!"

Cain’s voice carried across the nearby streets.

He continued moving with them.

Another violent surge of Heavenly Demon Qi erupted behind him.

Cain glanced toward the plaza.

Only one commander remained.

The 3rd Echelon looked toward the bodies of the other two.

Whatever intention he had possessed to continue the battle had disappeared.

He backed away, then turned around and tried to flee.

Cain raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Trying to run away?"

Heavenly Demon made no attempt to chase as he simply raised one hand.

Black Qi surged upward.

An enormous amount of Demonic energy gathered above the fleeing commander and rapidly condensed.

A massive black seal formed over the ruined street.

The commander sensed it and looked upward.

His expression changed immediately.

Mana erupted from his body as he accelerated.

Heavenly Demon lowered his hand.

BOOOOOOM!

The seal descended.

Its pressure struck the commander before the condensed energy itself reached him.

His body was forced toward the ground.

The street beneath his feet collapsed.

Then the seal followed as a violent eruption of black Demonic energy swallowed the area.

Nearby ruins shook under the impact as cracks spread through the surrounding road.

Dust rose high enough to obscure everything inside.

When it finally began settling, the street was gone.

A deep crater remained in its place.

The 3rd Echelon lay at the center, his armor had been crushed into his body.

Heavenly Demon remained where he was.

The moment he chose to end the fight, the last commander had never been given another opportunity to attack.

Cain stared toward him for a moment.

He had seen plenty of powerful humans since entering the Corridor.

Aurelia deserved her title as Radiant Sword Saint.

Northern Tyrant was currently exchanging direct blows with a 3rd Echelon through nothing but overwhelming physical strength.

But Heavenly Demon was different.

Cain could now understand exactly why this man had repeatedly reached every major advancement before the rest of humanity.

A translucent screen appeared in front of Heavenly Demon, since all of the targets tied to his Advancement Mission were dead.

Heavenly Demon remained silent as he looked at the notification.

Black Qi still circulated around his body.

His breathing had grown heavier after releasing so much power in such a short period, although the wounds across his body were already beginning to recover.

A few seconds later, he raised his head and found that Cain was looking at him.

Cain had slashed a 2nd Echelon Zombie into two.

Their eyes met across the battlefield.