Chapter 2045: Recruitment

"Ah!" The young Demon Empress couldn't help but cry out in alarm at the sight.

Not just her, but all the soldiers on Monte City's walls turned pale, covered in cold sweat. Had the powerful Regent really been swallowed just like that?

They wouldn't have believed it before, but in that instant, the Corpse Orb opened its enormous mouth, as if it could swallow the sun and moon. Its terrifying pressure made the city's distant defenders tremble from head to toe; the monster was truly horrific.

What was crucial was its incredible speed. The monster had just opened its mouth, seemingly still far away, but in the very next second, it appeared directly at the Regent's location, its gaping maw already having devoured a large expanse of space.

Just as everyone's morale was about to hit rock bottom, countless golden rays suddenly shot down from the clouds.

The young Demon Empress stopped herself from rushing forward, quickly wiping tears from her eyes. "It's his sword energy! He's still alive!"

At that moment, a figure descended from the clouds, countless watery ripples spreading in the sky behind him. Hundreds of golden sword energies condensed from thin air, raining down like countless drops upon the Corpse Orb.

The incredibly sharp sword energies continuously dissolved the bodies on it. However, the Corpse Orb had far too many bodies; even if some were shredded by the sword energy, more immediately surged forth to replenish them.

With millions of demon corpses, it was impossible to completely destroy it in a short period.

Zu An wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. The monster's swallowing speed was incredibly fast, almost like teleportation.

The key was that it had previously appeared clumsy, yet the next second, its speed was astonishing. This deceptive contrast made it incredibly difficult to guard against.

In that very instant, the *Book of Records* in Zu An's mind showed him being swallowed by a massive mouth. The warnings from the *Book of Records* had saved him several times over the years, so he didn't hesitate at all. He immediately used "Shape Shift" combined with "Teleportation," narrowly dodging the terrifying bite.

Looking at the demon corpses constantly churning on the Corpse Orb, it was clear that anything swallowed by it would not fare well.

At this point, the Corpse Orb seemed to be in pain from the golden sword energy. Although it could replenish bodies in time, each regeneration came at a significant cost.

It opened its mouth and let out a silent roar, its entire body suddenly erupting with a thick layer of green gas. When the golden sword energies came into contact with this green gas, their blades quickly corroded and dissolved.

On Monte City's wall, people had been cheering upon seeing Zu An safe and sound. But then, many suddenly turned green, collapsed to the ground, and died on the spot.

"Such potent and terrifying corpse qi!" The well-informed young Demon Empress immediately reacted, quickly ordering medical officers to aid the victims. At the same time, she instructed formation masters to set up defenses against the corpse poison and apothecaries to distribute antidotes.

She had those with lower cultivation levels temporarily retreat into the city, leaving behind only the highly cultivated who, with their circulating essence, could resist the corpse poison to some extent.

At the same time, she gazed worriedly at Zu An in the distance. The monster was nearly ten li away, and the corpse poison was already this virulent here; wouldn't he be in even greater danger being so close to it?

Zu An also couldn't help but cover his nose, almost fainting from the stench.

This thing was incredibly foul, far worse than the fermented herring of his previous life. The monster must have used some method to accelerate the decomposition of the bodies on it; the stench of millions of rotting demon corpses was truly horrifying. No wonder it could neutralize his sword energy.

The Corpse Orb's two deep eye sockets stared at Zu An, seemingly watching him with a bewildered expression. How could this human appear unaffected by such terrifying corpse poison?

Although Zu An's current body was immune to all poisons, it wasn't immune to foul odors. The smell was so strong it almost made him vomit. He quickly formed a protective shield around himself to partially block the air, which made him feel much better.

The Corpse Orb, unwilling to give up, opened its maw again, its entire body instantly encompassing the space where Zu An was.

This time, Zu An was prepared. He instantly teleported away from his spot and conjured another hydrogen bomb. If a hydrogen bomb could blast millions of demons into corpses, then it could certainly blast millions of demon corpses into dust.

However, unexpectedly, after the Corpse Orb swallowed the hydrogen bomb, the anticipated explosion didn't occur. Instead, its belly churned, and then its large mouth opened, directly launching a green, smoke-shrouded object towards Monte City.

The experts remaining on the city wall quickly recognized the powerful bomb the Regent had just thrown, now shrouded in green mist. They were immediately terrified out of their wits.

The young Demon Empress also turned pale. She could only quickly order her subordinates to form a defensive array, but she knew in her heart that if it could kill millions of demons, their small force couldn't possibly withstand it. The Corpse Orb was incredibly cunning to bounce the bomb back at them.

Just as everyone despaired, the green-glowing hydrogen bomb suddenly vanished, replaced by the Regent.

Immediately afterwards, a terrifying explosion erupted in the distance. Unlike previous times, this mushroom cloud was green, indicating the monster's immense toxicity.

Those on the city wall didn't understand how Zu An had managed to move the terrifying metal object so far away in such a short time. They cried out in amazement and gratitude for his life-saving act.

Zu An wiped a bead of cold sweat. He had never anticipated that the Corpse Orb possessed the ability to displace a hydrogen bomb, nearly wiping out the entire elite of the demon race.

He dared not use hydrogen bombs again, lest the enemy use them against Monte City once more.

At that moment, the Corpse Orb opened its mouth and uttered a guttural, unpleasant sound that was, however, vaguely understandable as human language. "Shape Shift? Even among countless cosmic planes, that's a divine skill. I never expected someone in this weak world to know it?"

Zu An was startled. It seemed the Keyboard System was even more powerful than he'd imagined. He wondered who had created these skills and embedded them.

However, what surprised him even more was that the Corpse Orb had spoken, and in the language of this world at that.

"I've always sensed that these millions of demons were being secretly commanded by someone. It appears that's you. How should I address you?"

The Corpse Orb stared deeply at Zu An before speaking after a moment. "Human, you are powerful. You are worthy of knowing my name. I am the Master of Death."

"Master of Death?" Zu An paused, surprised. "Never heard of you."

The Corpse Orb faltered, completely unprepared for such a response.

Rage value from the Master of Death: 444,444,444...

"Who is more powerful, you or the War Priest?" Zu An thought of the boastful fellow he had encountered on Purple Mountain.

"War Priest?" The Corpse Orb sneered. "He's not even worthy of polishing my shoes."

Zu An: "..."

He had never imagined such a reply. In truth, he felt this entity exerted a stronger pressure on him.

Yet, the War Priest was also very powerful, and it was only due to planar restrictions preventing him from manifesting his full strength that Zu An had the chance to kill him.

If someone as mighty as the War Priest wasn't even worthy of polishing its shoes, then how powerful must this entity be?

By the way, if the War Priest couldn't directly descend upon this world, how did this entity appear?

Had something gone wrong with the Sealed Land?

Just then, Mi Li's voice echoed in his mind. "Don't be fooled by it. This guy is indeed strong, but definitely not as strong as you imagine."

Zu An was used to her occasional, ghost-like awakenings. He quickly asked, "How can you tell?"

"Do you remember the entities you saw in the Great Demon Sealing Tomb before? Many of them, merely knowing their names would be enough to make you collapse, turning directly into ashes." Mi Li's voice was always so calm, like an indifferent observer playing a game in the mortal world.

Zu An instantly understood her meaning. He had clearly learned the monster's name yet remained unharmed, proving it hadn't reached an irresistible level of power.

At that moment, the Master of Death's two deep eye sockets gazed at Zu An. "Human, your strength has earned our respect. We will now make an exception and give you an opportunity. If you submit to me and conquer this world with us, you can become its lord, govern this slave world, and even join us in conquering more worlds. Do you wish to be confined to this weak world your entire life?"

Hearing this, everyone on Monte City's wall was startled. It had to be said that the entity's words were very tempting.

After the battle in the Sealed Land, everyone understood the demons' power. The crucial point was that there were simply too many demons, seemingly endless. By all accounts, this was a losing war; the only question was how long this world could endure.

If Zu An accepted the terms, he could change his identity and no longer face these desperate circumstances.

Even more crucial was the allure of the last sentence. Which cultivator in the world wouldn't want to advance to a higher level?

The Demon Emperor and Human Emperor were astonishingly talented, yet they spent their entire lives unable to break through this world. Now, an opportunity lay before Zu An. What would he choose?