Chapter 2494: Stealing Chickens but Losing the Rice Bowl

By now, almost all the subordinates of both sides in the entire hall had been wiped out by Wangchuan. Only the eighteen Devil Generals, who were powerful experts, remained alive.

Although the number of demons in the hall had decreased, the intensity of the battle had multiplied. Previously, with many lesser creatures mixed in, many powerful individuals had taken the opportunity to hold back. But now, with all other distractions removed and both sides having probed enough, it was naturally time to get serious.

The Demon Lord no longer held back as he had at the start; every move he made was a killing blow. He was determined to keep the Lord of Slaughter here permanently. Originally, he had been absolutely confident and could slowly wear down his opponent by leveraging the power of the other Devil Generals. But now, the appearance of this mysterious and powerful individual posed a threat to him. If his opponent truly managed to rescue the Lord of Slaughter, the trouble would be immense.

One must remember that the Lord of Slaughter, having been a leader for so many years, still had a considerable number of loyal old subordinates. Furthermore, among the unaware lower and middle ranks, he was still respected and admired. It was only in recent years that, through his various schemes, he had transferred the Lord of Slaughter's loyal subordinates to remote, desolate areas, temporarily leaving him isolated. But if the Lord of Slaughter were to escape, rally his old forces, and make a call to arms, the balance of power in the entire demon world would likely be overturned. Realizing the stakes involved, he naturally dared not hold back any longer.

The Lord of Slaughter also let out a fierce cry and charged forward. He now loathed the Demon Lord intensely, wishing he could slice him into a thousand pieces. Unfortunately, he had been ambushed and severely wounded twice in a row. His current strength made even self-preservation difficult, making it truly hard to fulfill his desires.

Seeing both sides getting serious, the morale of the Devil Generals in the Demon Lord's faction soared. Each unleashed their lifelong ultimate techniques and attacked. Even those who had been injured earlier braced themselves and went to assist. At their level of strength, their recovery ability was astonishing as long as they weren't killed on the spot; they now had the power to fight again. Of course, the Dread Shadow Demon and the Doom Wraith were still locked in a fierce, undecided battle and had not joined the fray here.

The numerous Devil Generals naturally dared not interfere in the battle between the Lord of Slaughter and the Demon Lord. With the Lord of Slaughter fighting like a cornered beast, no one wanted to be dragged down with him. So, everyone naturally focused their attention on Salome. They didn't know the woman's identity, even though she had cried out "Father?" upon entering. But they were all old veterans who had followed the Lord of Slaughter for a long time; how could he have such a grown-up daughter? It was known that the more powerful a being, the less their vital essence leaked, making procreation more difficult. The Lord of Slaughter had only one daughter, who was still very young and had been placed by the Demon Lord tens of thousands of miles away from here. So, who exactly was this woman in front of them?

However, her apparent weakness clearly made her the easiest target. Mogad quickly shielded Salome, but unfortunately, his current strength and condition were no match for so many Devil Generals. Soon, he was wounded all over.

"Huh, King of Incest, why are you so weak?"

"Where are your most proficient 'Word Spirit' abilities?"

"Could he be feigning weakness to trap us?"

The Devil Generals were all very surprised, but they weren't worried. Their side held an absolute advantage, and even if Mogad was faking it, it wouldn't affect the overall situation.

"Help me!" Salome cried. Although she was quite capable, she had never fought in such a high-level battle before. Every opponent was a top expert from the demon world.

Though the Lord of Slaughter also didn't know her identity, this woman was clearly on his side, and he could sense a strange familiarity from her. Seeing her plight, he roared towards that direction. The terrifying sound waves shook the bodies of the Devil Generals who were besieging them, causing their vital energy to churn briefly. This allowed Mogad and her to recover slightly.

Just then, the Demon Lord's cold snort echoed: "Your opponent is me!" Immediately, he summoned a three-headed monstrous bird and, together with it, lunged at the Lord of Slaughter. The Lord of Slaughter's eyes turned blood-red, and he revealed his true form, resembling an enlarged Tyrannosaurus Rex. The two sides clashed furiously, and everywhere they passed, the hard statues in the imperial tomb were pulverized.

However, this imperial tomb was rather peculiar. Despite the immense energy fluctuations emanating from the two demons, the statue of the Demon God at the very top, as well as the overall structure of the tomb, remained undamaged. Both the Demon Lord and the Lord of Slaughter couldn't help but glance at the tall Demon God statue, pondering that there might be a secret here. However, at this moment, they had no time to consider too much; they could only first deal with their immediate opponents.

Without the Lord of Slaughter's assistance, Mogad and Salome were once again in peril. Salome could only look to Zu An for help.

While fending off the Shadow Devil King's attacks, Zu An replied telepathically, "First tell me their situation, then I'll save you." He knew that Salome's plea for help had been directed at him. She had clearly realized by now that she couldn't reveal her relationship with the Lord of Slaughter, or she would only become a tool for the enemies to threaten her father.

Salome gritted her teeth. In just that brief moment of hesitation, she sustained another injury. She had no choice but to reply telepathically, "Don't worry, Sorensh is still alive, but I've temporarily confined her in a certain place. If you don't save me, and I die, she'll be buried with me."

"What about the others?" Zu An remained unmoved.

"I don't know the whereabouts of those other women; what I said earlier was a lie," Salome answered helplessly.

Zu An had, in fact, largely guessed this was the case beforehand, and hearing it now, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Of course, he couldn't ignore Sorensh either. So, he immediately used his teleportation technique to appear beside Salome, pulling her away to dodge the Scorpion King's massive pincers.

Before they could even speak, a shadowy figure appeared beside them, stating, "Your opponent is me!" The Shadow Devil King's body seemed to distort with light and shadow. He was confident enough to believe his power ranked among the top three in the demon world. The King of Incest was long outdated; he even harbored ambitions of challenging the Demon Lord. His confidence stemmed from his ability to alter the flow of time around himself, making it seem as if countless spaces were layered together. Enemies simply couldn't strike his true body; he was in an invincible position before a single blow was even landed. Moreover, he still had his trump card, which made him even more fearless.

Just now, the War Priest had obtained a drop of Wangchuan Water from this fellow, yet there was no hint of distress on his face. Clearly, he possessed even more precious magical treasures, and the War Priest was determined to acquire them while the Demon Lord was distracted, knowing there would be no other chance.

Seeing the Shadow Devil King pressing so aggressively, Zu An dared not be careless. This guy was incredibly powerful! However, there was an information asymmetry; Zu An was clearly aware of his opponent's abilities. Originally, it would have been easy to break through the spatial distortion around his opponent's body by using the Gluttonous Sky Devouring Art to absorb the strange light—something he had done in the future. But to avoid creating problems for his future self, he had to abandon that solution. Fortunately, his understanding of spatial transformation was now superb. He immediately activated the Star-Shattering Profound Seal, and a tenfold attack pierced through the intricate spatial chaos, directly striking his true body.

The Shadow Devil King was greatly alarmed, unable to understand why his opponent could directly attack his true body. But there was no time to think; he had already sensed the aura of death. At this thought, he dared not hesitate for a moment, immediately activating his life-saving skill—Time Interception—to block the fatal blow. Then, seizing the opportunity, he instantly retreated tens of yards away, his expression filled with terror, hesitant to advance again for a while.

What was wrong with this guy? Why was he so powerful? More importantly, it was as if he understood my abilities? This time he had suffered a great loss. Not only had he failed to obtain any magical treasures, but he had also used one charge of Time Interception, leaving him with only one last use. Thinking of this, he was filled with bitter regret.

Zu An's expression was peculiar. When he fought the Shadow Devil King in the sealed land previously, the latter's Time Interception had been almost depleted to a single use because he had encountered a powerful enemy. Could that powerful enemy have been me?

Just then, a blue light suddenly emanated from beneath the hall, and a massive magical array appeared at everyone's feet.