“What happened?”
Choi Kangjoong checked the impact zone with a Sky-eye Giant.
The explosion had occurred in the center of Blood Castle.
Lutal was unscathed, having escaped the blast radius thanks to the high speed of his boosters.
The small Apocalids that were inside Blood Castle were destroyed beyond recognition.
The flying Apocalids were sucked into the aftershock and soared high into the air.
“The Central Command Giant’s condition isn’t good.”
It hadn’t taken a direct hit from the explosion, but its relatively soft belly had been struck, resulting in a large wound.
It was holding on with Rapid Regeneration, but it was in no state to remain on the battlefield.
“Replace it with Central Command Warriors.”
The Central Command Warriors flew out, and the Central Command Giant returned to the vicinity of the Soil Pit.
“What is going on?”
Iselin asked.
“It looks like Count Ambi did something.”
Count Ambi was inside Blood Castle.
Marquis Vespira looked up at her and spoke.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Would you like to guess?”
“Why should I bother with a petty game when it would be faster to grab your throat and wring the answer out of you?”
“Demons of Ruin really are no fun. You don’t know the meaning of amusement.”
“Just answer me. Why did you use my subordinates as sacrifices for this nonsense without permission?”
“Why? Because you are in a very, very precarious state right now, Marquis.”
Marquis Vespira could not deny it.
“So you intended to get rid of my subordinates and stab me in the back?”
“Of course not. Can’t you feel it? The Demonic Energy boiling inside your body.”
Marquis Vespira raised his left hand.
Dark red Demonic Energy swirled around his hand.
Just as she said, power was surging forth.
It was comparable to Blood Castle absorbing blood for more than three days.
All his subordinates were dead, but this situation was more pleasing.
“How did you do it?”
“I increased the concentration of Blood Castle by using your subordinates as sacrifices. Let’s just say the explosion was a side effect.”
“It won’t last long.”
“Five minutes at the shortest. At most, ten.”
“That will be enough.”
Marquis Vespira gripped the hilt of his sword.
The hard metal, forged with Demonic Energy, shrieked as if it were about to break.
“A Demon of Greed wouldn’t help others without a price.”
“What use is greed in the face of death? One must survive first. Do you want to end up in that monster’s maw together?”
“Hardly.”
Marquis Vespira formed a Dark Blade.
It was much larger and more intense than when the other Demons of Ruin were alive.
“Come.”
Marquis Vespira beckoned with his hand, provoking Lutal.
Lutal felt nothing toward such emotional gestures that would only work on species with feelings.
His only goal was the efficient Production of the Apocalid.
It was a matter of how to minimize the consumption of nutrients.
If he were thinking only of his life, running away would be the best option.
Could Marquis Vespira annihilate the Apocalid within five to ten minutes?
It was impossible.
By the time a few Giants died and some Warriors were cut down, Marquis Vespira’s battery would run dry.
However, that was inefficient.
The nutrients used to produce the Apocalid were not obtained for free.
Stopping Marquis Vespira was the way to protect those nutrients.
Therefore, there was only one thing to do.
Kwaaaa!
Lutal descended using his boosters.
Marquis Vespira held his sword high.
The Brutal Lord and the Demon of Ruin faced each other on a battlefield where only the two of them remained.
Lutal dived down silently, and Marquis Vespira burst into laughter at the pleasure of fighting a powerful foe.
Lutal swung his four Abyssal Claws ferociously.
The upper claws were held in a reverse grip, making the attacks simple yet fatal.
The Middle Leg alternated between reverse and standard grips, confusing Marquis Vespira.
He attacked brilliantly from multiple directions, using his tail to strike or spring off the ground.
Marquis Vespira handled his sword with confidence, trusting his senses.
Since he had his armor and Blood Castle, he didn’t care about grazing hits.
He stood his ground stubbornly, focusing only on blocking, slashing, and stabbing.
While the two exchanged blows, Count Ambi did not stay still.
She attempted to assist Marquis Vespira with Magic and attack Lutal.
Even though Lutal was fast, it wasn’t as if she couldn’t hit him with a few offensive spells.
However, her attempt was thwarted.
A faint energy flickered behind her.
It was a small change that could easily be ignored, but this was a battlefield where anything could happen.
She threw her body forward as if bouncing.
Slic.
A Death Blade cut her skin.
It was a small wound, but the Death Mana delivered hellish pain.
“Aaaaagh!”
Unlike her alluring voice, the scream was eerie and horrific.
“If I heard that at night, I’d have to sleep with the lights on.”
“Outer Mind! How is someone who should be on Earth here?”
“I’ve been here from the beginning.”
Choi Kangjoong moved behind Count Ambi using Stealth Blink.
As soon as he disappeared from her sight, she twisted her body to the side.
Slic.
Her arm, severed below the elbow, fell to the ground.
Count Ambi clutched the area, writhing in pain.
‘I’ll die on the next attack…! What should I do?’
Count Ambi racked her brain and thought of a good method.
The Outer Mind’s true body was a Human.
And a vigorous male in his twenties at that.
‘If I seduce him, he’ll fall for it. He’ll at least be shaken. In that gap…!’
Count Ambi was confident in her appearance.
It was a beauty she had polished to lure other species through greed.
Her body was also exceptional.
Her large breasts and wide hips stimulated a male’s reproductive instincts.
Her aesthetically superior lines could steal the heart of even a eunuch.
Count Ambi wiped the confident expression from her face and acted out a pitiful expression.
She pulled her arms together to emphasize her chest and twisted her waist suggestively.
“Pl-please spare me… If you just let me live, I’ll do whatever you tell me to. Please?”
She displayed the skills she had used to seduce countless men and demons.
Choi Kangjoong paused.
“You can even take me as a Slave. You can do whatever you want with my body.”
Count Ambi spoke with a voice full of hot breath.
Lines that would make anyone’s blood boil.
There was no way it wouldn’t work, even if she was missing an arm.
“You’re ugly.”
“Wh-what?”
“Whether it’s your face or your body, it’s too artificial.”
Her appearance, surgically altered with Demonic Energy, was uncanny.
If he were an ordinary person, he might not have noticed or would have been too captivated by the beauty to care.
Choi Kangjoong, the Outer Mind, was different.
Because he viewed things through multiple overlapping visions and was extremely sensitive, that artificiality appeared far too prominent.
It was something he didn’t feel when facing Iselin or Dielka.
“You’re calling me ugly!”
Count Ambi was someone who had even given up a portion of her chaotic Demonic Energy to become beautiful.
“That’s impossible! Your eyes must be the ones that are strange!”
Count Ambi’s eyes rolled back as she lunged at him.
She was so enraged that she attacked an opponent she couldn’t possibly beat.
Choi Kangjoong extended the tip of his Chitin Blade toward the prey that was approaching on its own.
Puk.
The Chitin Blade pierced Count Ambi’s chest.
An Air Walker plucked her limp body and carried it away.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwaang!
The fight between Lutal and Marquis Vespira was still ongoing.
“Lutal is being pushed back.”
Marquis Vespira, who had become even stronger through Count Ambi’s magic, was gradually gaining the upper hand over Lutal.
Choi Kangjoong did not just sit by and watch.
He linked the brains of all Apocalids to analyze Marquis Vespira’s swordsmanship.
Thousands of eyes observed Marquis Vespira’s every action in meticulous detail.
“So that’s how it is.”
Ten seconds were enough to grasp the regularity of the swordsmanship Marquis Vespira displayed.
At that moment, Lutal’s response changed.
He dodged Marquis Vespira’s sword as if he were predicting the future.
“What is this fellow doing?”
Marquis Vespira was flustered.
The creature that had been busy just blocking was suddenly dodging with ease.
It was nonsensical.
He had never heard of such rapid improvement.
It wasn’t as if the creature had been going easy on him.
If that were the case, it would have ended the fight sooner.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
Anger was loaded into Marquis Vespira’s sword.
He recalled the days he had lamented over being surpassed in talent.
To think he would feel that again from a Monster.
Lutal did not stop at simply absorbing Marquis Vespira’s swordsmanship.
He adapted so that he could use his four Abyssal Claws and modified his tail movements based on calculations.
Lutal’s movements became more concise and threatening.
“To think a mere Monster…!”
Marquis Vespira, whose swordsmanship had been stolen, swung his sword almost haphazardly.
Lutal parried it with an air that suggested it was so easy it was almost tiresome.
Slic. Slic. Slic. Slic.
Lutal slashed Marquis Vespira’s wide-open chest four times.
The armor split apart.
Dark red energy surged through the gap.
The energy of Blood Castle that Count Ambi had concentrated into him rapidly drained away.
“Aaaaagh!”
The weakening Marquis Vespira was unable to come to his senses from the pain inflicted by the Death Mana.
It was a fatal moment in a fight between powerhouses where a single blow could take a life ten times over.
Slic. Slic. Slic. Slic.
Lutal severed Marquis Vespira’s limbs.
He impaled the torso with his tail and stabbed the limbs with his Abyssal Claws, carrying the Marquis toward the Soil Pit.
Since he was a strong opponent, Lutal didn’t feel comfortable leaving him to a Walker even in his dismembered state.
Marquis Vespira, granted the luxury of being transported by Lutal, fell into the Soil Pit.
Splash.
His limbs dissolved quickly.
His torso also became soft and mushy.
Marquis Vespira, overcome by the fear of death, screamed.
“Duke Akirif!!!!!”
His resentment toward Duke Akirif, who had dragged him here, became his final words.
“I suppose because they’re demons, blaming others is their default setting.”
It was the same for Count Pabelus and Marquis Vespira.
Count Senzo, who had invaded the 6th Dimension Fortress, was a different case since he had been captured by Duke Akirif.
“Let’s finish off the rest.”
“Krrrk.”
“You rest. You’ve done your part.”
“Krrrk…”
Lutal crouched near the Soil Pit.
He placed his tail in the Soil Pit to be supplied with nutrients.
His body wasn’t particularly large, but because he had grown stronger, he consumed nutrients in vast quantities.
Pleasure-inducing substances were secreted in his brain as a reward for defeating Marquis Vespira.
Iselin was intrigued by the faint upward curl of Lutal’s mouth.
She had thought he was devoid of any emotion, but it seemed he possessed a little bit.
“A fascinating species. They utilize organic matter almost like minerals. Sufficient reason for research.”
The same was true for Serad.
[You have acquired Evolution Points.]
[You have acquired Evolution Points.]
[You have acquired Evolution Points.]
[Owned Evolution Points: 98,923,687 points]
After scouring the Orc Sea and the Elf Sea and being on the verge of swallowing the entire Metra Sea, his Evolution Points were nearly at 100 million.
“What should I upgrade first?”
He could open the Hive Class, but for now, the Supertitan Class Kuongi was sufficient.
What remained was one of the six types of Species Evolution.
He excluded Psionic Bioweapons for now.
Even if he reached Level 7, there was no place to use it yet.
“I think Psionic Combat Nerve is the best option.”
If Psionic Combat Nerve had been at Level 7, Lutal wouldn’t have ended up in a state where he needed healing from Iselin several times while fighting Marquis Vespira.
He didn’t feel a lack in Psionic Chitin Blade or Psionic Chitin Gauntlet because there were many things assisting them.
“Once I swallow larger sea regions or fight the Duke, I’ll be fighting S-Class opponents frequently.”
Choi Kangjoong decided to upgrade his Psionic Combat Nerve.
The absorption of nutrients remaining in the Dimension was also in its final stages.
The demons and Magic Beasts brought by Marquis Vespira and Count Ambi put up a desperate resistance to survive, but it was in vain.
Running away was also useless.
They could not escape the eyes of the Sky-eye Giants looking down upon the Dimension from the Dimensional Sea.
Every Metra in the City was also cast into the Soil Pit.
Knowing that those contaminated by Demonic Energy could not be restored, Serad resented Duke Akirif more than Choi Kangjoong.
Still, finding it hard to watch near the Soil Pit, he moved far away and settled in a quiet spot.
“I loathe to admit it, but the Elf’s words are valid. 80% probability that these beings harbor no hostility toward me. Probability of them driving out Clessence is questionable. Continuous observation required.”
Just as Iselin had said, a change was occurring in Serad’s heart.