The ground no longer resembled a plain. It looked like a carcass that had been torn apart countless times; craters, fissures, half-burned demon corpses, and columns of black smoke still rising.
The number of soldiers... had decreased. There was no longer a complete ring of a thousand demons.
But those who remained were elites.Daniel had managed to kill the weaker demons, but it had taken a tremendous amount of energy and power from him.
Unfortunately, killing demons wasn’t as easy as killing humans or most other races, and taking down even one of them was far harder and more exhausting than killing a thousand humans.
And now, the ones remaining were the best and most powerful among the thousand-strong army, and worse, Wargon hadn’t even joined the battle yet.
Daniel struggled to steady his breathing. The demonic energy in Orsius’ body was wildly restless; he knew he was in a dangerous situation, but he hadn’t expected it to be this extreme.
In the current state, it was impossible for Orsius’ body not to be destroyed. This was the end of the line for this body, unfortunate, but there was no alternative.
Still, he had to endure a little longer. He had a plan to obtain what he wanted, but to do so, he first needed to set the conditions.
And to set those conditions, he had to first enrage Wargon enough to make him act recklessly.
"Almost... three hundred." He glanced around to count the remaining demons.
In reality, he could have killed all of them by now, but unfortunately, killing demons is incredibly difficult and a real headache. That’s why, even though he had the power to do it, he couldn’t.
Otherwise, he would have slaughtered the full thousand demon soldiers at least dozens of times already, but of course, that damn innate trait of demons...
Wargon stepped forward. He slammed his massive mace into the ground. The shockwave rattled the bones of the surrounding demons.
"Killing Orsius was the biggest mistake of your life, human."
With a single gesture, the remaining soldiers reshaped. The ranks compressed, the circle tightened. Auras overlapped.
Daniel quickly realized Wargon was about to unleash his final attack.
He only had a second.
"Demonic Overdrive."
Every nerve in his body screamed, and demonic energy violently surged through his muscles. His veins turned black, and his heartbeat pounded like a war drum.
At that moment,
the ground beneath him exploded.
Massive dark spears erupted like a forest of death from every direction.
In the sky, winged demons dove simultaneously, their energies locking together, forming a colossal spear that crashed down.
Daniel didn’t run. He went straight into it.
With a spin, a blade of void formed around him.
One horizontal strike, head, body, wings, all cut apart at once.
But this time, the enemy didn’t fall back. Three successive waves of energy slammed him. It was clear they wanted to finish him, even at the cost of their own destruction.
The first hit shattered his knees, the second crushed his ribs, and the third slammed him into the ground.
A few moments were enough for the battle to heal some of his wounds.
For a moment, silence fell.
Then Wargon appeared.
His mace rose and came down like a mountain. Daniel could only lift his hands.
The impact... it was as if it split the world.
The ground collapsed for tens of meters around them, and even the elite surrounding soldiers were crushed.
Daniel was thrown back, rolled on the ground, and stood, but this time on his knees.
"You’re getting tired." Wargon exhaled.
He wasn’t alone.
Five elite demons appeared behind him. Their auras synchronized with Wargon’s. The air pressure was so high that the ground cracked.
Daniel rose.
"Heh, you think this is enough to defeat me? The original owner of this body thought the same."
He placed his hand on his chest. The demonic energy burned intensely this time.
At this stage, he had no choice but to burn the life energy of this demon to overcome the lack of power. It would accelerate the destruction of this body, but there was no alternative.
[Black Dominion]
The environment shifted.
Shadows grew heavy. The soldiers’ movements slowed.
Daniel vanished. A moment later, he appeared behind an elite knight, thrust his hand into the armor, and tore out the heart.
Without pause, he spun, sending a wave of darkness, and three more exploded.
But a response came.
Six simultaneous attacks.
Daniel blocked one, deflected two, but one struck his shoulder, pulverizing the bone.
"Better."
Wargon leapt forward, striking blow after blow. Another clash erupted between their weapons.
With every soldier he killed, the pressure eased; with every elite that fell, the battlefield narrowed.
But the cost? His body was breaking. His life energy was being drained faster than he expected. At this rate, he might not even last ten more minutes.
"Finish them! All forces!" Wargon roared in anger. Even his tone showed frustration; he hadn’t expected such heavy casualties.
Eight hundred demons had been killed just to capture one person. When he returned, his brother would surely punish him.
He had expected to finish this battle, in the worst-case scenario, with the deaths of a hundred to two hundred demons, but he had severely underestimated the power of this human.
He was familiar with the real Orsius’ true strength and knew that his friend was truly one of the best, and in their battles, he had never been defeated.
And now, an entire thousand-strong army, along with him, couldn’t defeat this fake Orsius? It was ridiculous and absurd!
The remaining demons unleashed everything they had, forming a true storm of hellish energy.
Daniel stood in the midst of the storm, blood flowing from his wounds, but Orsius’ innate ability healed each injury one after another.
Seeing the massive attack coming toward him, and witnessing his body on the verge of collapse, he let out a sigh.
"Looks like I have no choice."