The Eight-Eyed Evil God.
There were eight eyes in total.
These eyes were the sources of its power.
Each eye represented a different power.
Now, Zhang Nu had obtained one of them, the one that represented “death”.
Therefore, by activating the Eye of Death, the effect of “Necrotic Damage Immunity” could be received.
Zhang Nu’s own magic immunity mainly affected elemental types, but against necrotic energy damage, though it had increased resistance, ultimately it was not entirely effective.
However, with this eye.
By the power of Evil God’s Eye.
One could almost utterly disregard necrotic damage.
When dealing with specific enemies or circumstances in the future.
This newfound ability might play a surprising role and prove to be a game-changer.
This time.
Zhang Nu acquired 25 skill stones in total.
They were all of high quality.
Among them, there were up to ten B-rank skills.
Zhang Nu looked through the skill stones. Although the skill effects they provided were quite powerful, they were of limited help to him. However, he still picked out a few that were still relatively useful.
Which were:
[Advanced Dispel] B rank skill. Costs at least 100 MP. Dispels magical effects within the targeted range. The larger the radius, the more magic will be dispelled, and the greater the cost of MP.
[Shade Stealth] B rank skill. Allows its user to enter a shade stealth state, avoiding various forms of detection. Under the stealth state, the skill consumes 80 MP per second.
[Gift of Life] B rank skill. Passive skill. Upon mastering the skill, the user gains an additional 1000 maximum HP and can restore an additional 10 HP per minute.
These three skills.
The first was a dispelling skill, the second a stealth skill, and the last was a basic passive skill, which were still useful to Zhang Nu to some extent.
Since it could still boost his overall strength, even by just a little.
Zhang Nu naturally kept it for himself.
As for the rest of the B rank or even lower ranked skills, some of them were Demon King’s skills obtained by the Heroes after hunting Demon Kings, which were mostly worthless to Zhang Nu. He considered these to be better kept as collectibles rather than being utilized.
From his perspective.
These were merely trivial and useless skills.
To other Demon Kings and Heroes, however, these were all rare and valuable skills that were not easy to come by.
The souls that Zhang Nu used for his advancement were all Level 3 souls that he had accumulated over the past period of time.
One of the greatest gains from his battle was the two Level 4 souls.
Zhang Nu contemplated.
Even if he used up the two Level 4 souls, it would still be far from enough to awaken a second Level 4 talent.
Thus, he simply took out a Level 4 soul along with a million gold, sending Zhang San onto the Demon King Altar, and upgrading the Draconian Marshal into an Earth Drake Grand Marshal.
Soon after.
A terrifying and overwhelming pressure.
Swept across the Demon King Hall.
Zhang San had completed his evolutionary upgrade!
His stature had grown from three and a half meters to over four meters, and his golden scales had become like gold-encrusted gilded glass, appearing semi-translucent.
[Earth Drake Grand Marshal: Zhang San] Level 4 overlord unit. HP 3000, MP 850, Strength 220, Constitution 300, Agility 170, Will 155, Loyalty 100%(Locked), Fatigue 10%, Hunger 10%.
Skills: Diamond Earth Drake Form (Talent), Rampaging Dragon Qi (A rank), Adamantine Dragon Scales (A rank), Battle Dragon’s Aura (A rank), Qi Aura (A rank), Earth Aura (A rank), Rampaging Dragon Charge (B rank), Damage Absorption (B rank), Earthquake (B rank).
Magnificent!
From a Level 3 lord unit.
Instantly upgraded into a Level 4 overlord unit.
It was worth spending the 1 million gold and Level 4 soul.
The current strength of the Earth Drake Grand Marshal Zhang San could be ranked at the very top even amongst the other Level 4 overlords. His might far surpassed the Infernal Daemon, and could even rival the young elven city lord, Nancilia.
Taking a glance at Zhang San’s skills.
The amount of A rank skills he possessed was simply staggering.
However, except for the active skill “Battle Dragon’s Aura”, the rest were all passive skills, and three of them were aura type skills.
This indicated.
Zhang San was not only an overlord rank combatant.
He was also a commander with immensely powerful commanding type skills.
The value of Zhang San to Zhang Nu, and especially to the entire draconian legion, was not limited to only a high-end combative force. When hundreds and thousands of troops were left under his leadership, the impact he would bring forth unto the battlefield would be unimaginable.
The upgrade this time.
Was truly astonishing.
Unfortunately, there was not enough gold.
Otherwise, Zhang Nu would have immediately promoted Li Si into a Sky Drake Archpriest.
Earth Drake Grand Marshal and Sky Drake Archpriest.
With the combination of Zhang San and Li Si, even if they encountered a monarch rank opponent, they would still be able to hold their own.
The Archpriest was even more pricey than the Grand Marshal.
To upgrade Li Si into a Sky Drake Archpriest, Zhang Nu was required to prepare 2 million gold and a Level 4 soul.
Recently, Zhang Nu had earned a lot.
But he had also spent a lot.
Hence, he would have to put off upgrading Li Si for now.
Grand Marshal Zhang San felt that his strength was unprecedentedly powerful.
He unhesitantly requested to lead the army, “My master, our enemy has suffered a disastrous defeat, their army is in disarray and their morale is low. This one requests to lead the charge to assault the enemy’s base directly.”
Zhang Nu was not one to dawdle and drag things out unnecessarily.
The Divine Sword Heroes had hoped to take out the Dragon Demon King in a single assault.
Even if they could not kill the Dragon Demon King, they could at least destroy the Darkness Valley, along with the Darkness City within. By then, the Dragon Demon King’s forces would be greatly dwindled and diminished, even rendering him utterly powerless and devastated.
They would have never expected.
That the Darkness Valley would counter attack.
The empire had yet to establish a complete defense system within the Chaos Forest, and they lacked the psychological preparation to deal with an attack. Furthermore, the catastrophic defeat of their frontline would have a detrimental effect on their morale. There was undoubtedly no better time than now for a counter attack.
Zhang Nu began to issue the commands, “Li Si, go and recall the priests from all regions. Zhang San, gather the elite troops immediately. We will take down the Bloody Fortress!”
“Understood!”
Zhang San and Li Si had received their orders.
Both of them were exceedingly thrilled.
They promptly took action and carried out their orders.
Zhang San was tasked to assemble the elites of the draconian legion.
Li Si recalled the draconian priests across the Chaos Forest, including Berserk Beast City, Giantree City, Myriad Flower Valley, etc.
When multiple draconian priests coordinated the simultaneous activation of their teleportation fields, they could allow the draconian army to be deployed onto the battlefield in the shortest time possible.
Meanwhile.
In the Bloody Fortress.
He Tianzong and the empire representatives were waiting for news.
“Congratulations, Deputy Head He, for being able to plan such a monumental operation within such a short timeframe. This time, victory is assured!”
The empire official engaged in flattery, attempting to ingratiate himself with He Tianzong, “As long as the operation eliminates this threat in one fell swoop, allowing the empire’s plan to be executed seamlessly, Duke Bachor will definitely highly praise you and Count Kolo for your efforts.”
“If everything goes as planned, you will become the actual ruler of the Chaos Forest in the future. Please look after us colleagues when that moment arrives”
He Tianzong was very complacent and pleased with himself.
However, he was acting modest and displayed humility.
“The battle situation is still unknown, and there are still variables. We should stay vigilant! It is not too late to celebrate until after the Dragon Demon King was slain.”
In fact, in his mind.
This aerial raid operation was a sure success.
It was only a matter of fact whether it was a complete triumph or a minor victory.
A minor victory was to destroy the Dragon Demon King’s territory in the Darkness Valley, so that the Demon King’s very foundation and forces were thoroughly razed to the ground. Whilst a complete victory would be killing the Demon King outright, ultimately removing him from this game.
There was basically no doubt that a minor victory would take place.
An army composed of nearly 50,000 flying units, enough to block out the sky.
Against the Darkness Valley that did not have a barrier large enough to cover the entire territory.
In this situation, even if the forces of the Dragon Demon King were stronger than an army of fifty thousand, the hope of safeguarding the territory against this storm-like assault that would exploit every crack in the defense was almost zero.
The only uncertainty laid in whether there could be a complete victory.
From the intelligence gathered by He Tianzong, the Dragon Demon King was a being of immense power and was not to be underestimated. He previously defeated Tu Xiuming and the former city lord of Berserk Beast City, with overwhelming strength.
He even had suspicion.
The Dragon Demon King might have already become a Level 4 overlord or even stronger.
Which was why He Tianzong did not personally take action.
If the Dragon Demon King were to suddenly retaliate like a cornered beast, it would be extremely dangerous. And as the leader of this whole operation, he should not be greedy and take any unnecessary risks. Therefore, he handed the task to Cao Zuo and Zhu Yan.
Of course, if they could kill the Dragon Demon King, that would be the best.
Even if they failed, it would not matter. With their strength and the cooperation of the other Heroes, they would be at least able to restrain the Demon King.
As for whether these two Level 4 Heroes would die or not.
It was not something He Tianzong would give any thought to.
To him, even the Level 4 Heroes were just high-level pawns. As long as the pawns could achieve their purposes and play out their roles, sacrifices were acceptable.
However.
Just then.
A Hero stumbled in, “Deputy…deputy head…bad news!”
He Tianzong’s expression changed drastically, “What’s going on? Hurry up and out with it!”
The Hero was sweating greatly, he gulped down a mouthful of saliva and reported with difficulty, “The…the raid failed. We lost, and…it was a disastrous defeat!”
“What did you just say!”
He Tianzong’s eyes were about to burst from anger and disbelief, “Failed? How can it fail? Don’t you dare to shake the army’s morale with your bullshit!”
With a bitter smile, the Hero continued, “How would I dare to bullshit about such matters? But some of the surviving soldiers have escaped and returned. We have fallen for the Demon King’s trap!”
Upon hearing the grave news, He Tianzong hurriedly rushed out.
Currently, several hundred of defeated and retreating soldiers and warriors were arriving one after another.
After He Tianzong learned about the situation, he felt as if he was doused with a bucket of cold water from head to toe, his vision darkened, and he almost fainted.
From his perspective.
The battle was a guaranteed victory.
The probability of failure was negligible.
Even if they encountered defeat, with such a large air force unit, all equipped with extremely high mobility, they should be able to save a large portion of such an army.
But now, the reality was that this huge army had been almost completely wiped out, and only less than one-tenth of the troops had miraculously escaped.
This was not just a devastating defeat.
It was a loud slap to the face and an utter humiliation.
“Deputy head!”
“We’re done for!”
“What should we do now?”
“The Demon Kings were sure to waver!”
“It’s horrifying, too horrifying! We’re not not a match for the Dragon Demon King! We should hurry and seek reinforcement from the Duke and empire!”
“......”
He Tianzong exploded in anger, “Shut up!”
At this moment.
The army’s morale was in complete turmoil.
The current situation was too dangerous.
They must promptly look for a way to divert attention.
He grimly said, “The Demon King was completely prepared for the ambush from the very beginning! But how did he know about the operation ahead of time?”
A Hero immediately commented, “Could there be a spy? Maybe of the twelve Demon Kings was a mole sent by the Dragon Demon King!”
“No, all the Demon Kings responded positively to the operation and gave their all to this raid. I think the likelihood of the information leaking from the Demon Kings is not high.”
He Tianzong enraged, “There are probably moles in our guild. Hurry and check everyone who has just entered the Bloody Fortress recently. I will find this rat and tear them apart limb from limb!”
Not long after.
The Heroes came running to report.
"Deputy head, we have found our suspect. It’s Su Zhan, who joined the elite group reserve a few days ago, his previous records may have been fabricated!"
"And, he just suddenly disappeared, probably hiding."
"Hmph! Then it must be him. The Bloody Fortress has a sealing barrier, this guy can't escape now!"
He Tianzong roared: "Find that rat! Now! I want him brought to me, and I want it done right now"