This Mr. Long was definitely not a mere underling. How could a subordinate of the Demon King dare to address the master in such a manner? Moreover, without uttering any incantations, he effortlessly teleported right in front of Han Kexin, skillfully intercepting the attack in Ijin Shinju's most formidable form.
Such prowess was not only on par with that of the Succubus Queen but may have even surpassed it entirely! Kondo Kyohei and Saiki Daioh, the two Heroes, found themselves dumbfounded. This enigmatic individual, who scarcely spoke and seemed almost inconspicuous, unexpectedly possessed such formidable power? What exactly was happening here?
However, before the duo could ponder or devise any countermeasures, Zhang Nu rubbed his hands together. Lightning crackled in his left hand, while his right hand conjured dragon flames. Employing the Sword Forming Technique, he forged a long sword condensed from his thunder flames.
"Shit! There's killing intent!"
Kondo Kyohei sensed a bone-chilling killing intent. Before he could react, Zhang Nu took a step forward, effortlessly traversing several hundred meters underwater to stand before Kondo Kyohei. With a single fluid motion, he cleaved through him from head to toe, simultaneously evaporating the surrounding seawater.
[You've slain a Level 6 Hero. Hero's soul +1! Skill stone +4!]
In a singular stroke, a formidable Level 6 Hero was severed in half on the spot. The intense heat and thunder instantly transformed the remains into fragmented carbon. This spectacle left everyone present in a state of shock. Even though Kondo Kyohei's strength had diminished due to Ijin Shinju's surprise attack, he still retained six to seven-tenths of his power and should not have been dispatched so effortlessly.
After Zhang Nu dealt with the first adversary, he swiftly shifted his focus to the second. Saiki Daioh was petrified. Kondo Kyohei could not even endure a single strike from this monster. How could he fare any better? Fucking shit! He must immediately flee!
Zhang Nu unleashed a lethal Death Stare. The colossal sea drake form of Saiki Daioh convulsed violently, accompanied by a wretched scream. Like a disassembling puzzle, its immense body disintegrated into hundreds and thousands of fragments. Each piece further fragmented until the colossal form vanished into dust and dispersed into the sea water.
[You've slain a Level 6 Hero. Hero's soul +1! Skill stone +3!]
One sword strike, one dead black-gold sharkfolk. One glance, and a hundred-meter sea drake met its end. The entire process took less than half a second. Ijin Shinju was caught off guard. She could not discern the true identity or strength of this mysterious individual. Finally, she grasped why the Succubus Queen could act so confidently.
It had been some time since the Succubus Queen ascended to Level 5, garnering fame across ten Demon King channels. She was undoubtedly one of the most successful and powerful Demon Lords to date. Once Ijin Shinju confirmed her identity, she no longer doubted her leadership and status. Little did she expect that this seemingly inconspicuous figure cloaked in mystery, with no discernible presence, was the true powerhouse.
Zhang Nu, gazing at Ijin Shinju, inquired, "Any last words? I'll give you five seconds!"
The tone, the demeanor---Zhang Nu seemed to dismiss her entirely, an infuriating affront to Ijin Shinju. Currently in her most formidable state, boasting at least the strength of a Level 6 monarch, she found this individual's disregard deeply insulting.
However, Ijin Shinju had to admit that this mysterious figure, whose depth, origin, and even identity remained unknown---whether Demon King, Hero, or indigenous being---possessed an exceptionally formidable and elusive strength. This made her reluctant to take action, as she lacked confidence in her ability to handle this situation.
She spoke with a solemn tone, "You are powerful, but you cannot defeat me. In the state of the Yamata Ancient Naga, I have eight lives to spare, while you only have one."
Zhang Nu chuckled, "If you were really that confident, you would have attacked already instead of posturing here."
"...!"
For some reason, Ijin Shinju felt an almost absolute self-assurance in her current form. Yet, simultaneously, a strong instinct warned her of the danger, she must not engage with the being before her, or the consequences would be severe.
She said, "The reason I tried to deal with them is that they had no qualifications to cooperate with me. However, you seem different from them. We can jointly explore the Empress's Tomb, and the profits will be split fifty-fifty!"
Zhang Nu shook his head.
Ijin Shinju inquired, "Are you dissatisfied with the split?"
"No, the five seconds have passed, your time is up."
Ijin Shinju, incensed, could not believe this damned individual really showed no regard for her. It was an outrageous insult!
"Fine! Since we can't reach an agreement!"
"Let's see what exactly gives you the audacity!"
Ijin Shinju was about to unleash an attack by driving the body of the Yamata Naga when her expression suddenly turned horrified, with an incredulous disbelief, "What's happening? My body...."
She sensed it. For some unknown reason, her body could no longer move. The eight snake bodies underwent a bizarre transformation. These giant snakes, as if intoxicated by the radioactive waste of the island country, were rapidly mutating. Their scales quickly shed, and snake fangs grew like tusks of wild boars. Huge tumor-like growths swelled all over their bodies.
"Ah!! Arghhhh!!!"
Due to the fusion state, the body of the Yamata Naga underwent a monstrous change. This directly affected Ijin Shinju herself. She felt that all the abilities of the Yamata Naga had failed, and the Yamata Body was collapsing at an alarming rate. Finally, she realized what was happening.
"Damn it! Damn you!!"
"You actually poisoned me!"
Han Kexin looked on in confusion and bewilderment. She recognized the strength of the Potato Demon King, but she had never expected that this powerful guy, apparently also had the skill to poison. When was the poison administered? The toxicity was too outrageous! What kind of poison was it? It could turn the target into such a grotesque state.
In just ten seconds, the eight snake bodies had completely twisted and transformed into eight irregular, uncontrollable, and disgusting flesh monsters. A strange aura continuously emanated from them, causing Han Kexin to feel a hint of psychic contamination. Suddenly, she realized something---she had sensed a similar aura in the Mountains of Madness. This Potato Demon King did not actually use poison; he used the power of an Evil God?
However, upon closer inspection, Han Kexin found that this power of the Evil God was different. At least, it was entirely distinct from the Evil God's power from the Mountains of Madness. She was extremely shocked. Could it be that the Potato Demon King had more than one powerful fragment of Evil God on him? How much more power was he hiding?
The Yamata Naga is indeed powerful. Although Zhang Nu could crush it with his sheer strength, the Yamata Naga has the ability to resurrect itself each time a head is sacrificed. In other words, it would take killing it eight times to permanently eliminate the threat. This would be a significant waste of time.
Zhang Nu's previous delay was not entirely intentional. The reason he did not eliminate the eight Ancient Nagas immediately was mainly to conduct an experiment. During their battle, he quietly injected a large amount of Corrupted Blood into the eight naga generals, triggering the power of the Evil God Fragment - "Source of Corruption." The eight naga generals, during their attacks, were unknowingly infused with a substantial amount of Corrupted Blood. Unaware of this, Ijin Shinju recalled them and initiated the fusion ritual, transforming them into the Yamata Naga.
At this moment, the Corrupted Blood took effect. The Yamata Naga was daemonized, and the body lost control. Ijin Shinju had to abandon the fusion and detach herself from the Yamata Naga. However, even so, her body had already been thoroughly permeated by the poisonous Corrupted Blood.
Strictly speaking, the Corrupted Blood was not a conventional poison. It was more like the blood of an Evil God, saturated with a malevolent aura far deadlier than any poison. While toxins can be mitigated using certain spells or antidotes, the effects of the Evil God's blood are irreversible curses and distortions.
Ideally, with the main entity gone, the Yamata Naga should have automatically disintegrated. However, the colossal creature continued its monstrous transformation, turning into an indistinguishable mass of flesh and blood. The eight ancient Nagas that constituted the Yamata Naga were inadvertently injected with too much Corrupted Blood, resulting in their bodies being thoroughly demonized. Although it continued to undergo this malevolent transformation, there was a high probability that the physical body would completely collapse if the process continued.
This won't do. It must be stabilized. Zhang Nu opened his vertical eye, the crimson Eye of Death, staring at the eight-headed monster. The undeath energy, imbued with the aura of the Evil God, was being injected into the creature's body through this eye.
"Undead Creation!"
Since obtaining the Eye of Death, Zhang Nu had only used Death Stare. However, as the origin of the death power of the Eight-Eyed Evil God, how could it have only one Talent ability like Death Gaze?
The domain of the power of death had given rise to countless magical spells, with the most common being necromancy. What Zhang Nu was currently casting was a very common necromancy spell called Undead Creation. This magic ranged from the lowest F-rank to the highest rank, S-rank. It could create anything from small skeletal soldiers to massive Frostbone Dragons and Death Titan, as long as there was sufficient undeath energy.
The body of the Yamata Naga underwent another transformation. Each snake bone spike extended outward, and the massive body grew several pairs of irregular fleshy wings. Eyes appeared on its neck and back, while the tail split into numerous octopus tentacles.
However, gradually, it stabilized.
[Evil God Monstrosity: Yamata Evil Serpent] Level 6 overlord unit...
Skills: Evil God Aura (Talent), Mental Corruption (Talent), Yamata Sacrifice (Talent), Mastery of Eight Elements (Talent), Elemental Storm (A rank), Elemental Fusion (A rank), etc.
Introduction: This monster is created with the power of the Evil God, possessing unimaginable strength and chaotic consciousness. No one can truly control it, but its body is not stable and can only be maintained for a maximum of 36 hours.
Success! Zhang Nu was somewhat surprised. He had successfully created an Evil God monstrosity. Although this monster could only be maintained for 36 hours, it was excellent for a first attempt. The birth of this monster was mainly due to the powerful effects of the polluted blood. However, targets contaminated with this kind of Evil God blood were too unstable and unlikely to survive. Therefore, Zhang Nu used the Eye of Death to transform it into an undead monster, achieving approximately 36 hours of stability.
Although this Yamata Evil Serpent might not meet Zhang Nu's standards in terms of strength, it would bring chaos, slaughter, and contamination wherever it went. However, due to its instability and contamination capabilities, Zhang Nu could not bring it back to his territory for further use. It could only be considered a disposable item.
Overall, it was not bad. Zhang Nu estimated that the strength of this serpent was not necessarily inferior to the combined efforts of Kondo Kyohei and Saiki Daioh. It had the capability to deal with some weaker Level 5 monarchs.
Evil God monstrosities were uncontrollable, but Zhang Nu insisted on trying to control it. He activated his recently acquired Dominator's Eye, connecting his mind directly to the Yamata Evil Serpent. This act of directly connecting one's mind to an Evil God monstrosity would be equivalent to seeking death for an ordinary person. The moment the connection was established, an overwhelming tide of chaos, madness, bloodlust, pain, hatred, and indescribable emotions would flood in like a torrent.
This was akin to a powerful psychic attack. However, with the Dominator's Eye, Zhang Nu was immune to such backlash. He directly took control of the Yamata Evil Serpent, manipulating it like a puppet.
"Not bad! Another toy added to the collection!"
Zhang Nu looked at the barely alive Ijin Shinju and said, "As for you..."
Her strength was still formidable, but due to merging with her subordinates who were completely contaminated without any precautions, every blood vessel and inch of skin in her body were now tainted with the Corrupted Blood. This malicious force not only nullified various abilities but also initiated a transformation in her body.
Ijin Shinju hastily begged for mercy, "Don't kill me! I'm willing to join under your banner, willing to be your subordinate!"
Zhang Nu chuckled, snapped his fingers, and expanded spatial energy, pushing away the surrounding seawater to create a dry space on the seabed. He established a mental connection with the Spirit Sanctum and used it as a medium to notify Su Yan to come quickly for the reward, as time was running out.
Su Yan was well-prepared and promptly teleported using the teleportation stone.
"What is this place?"
"The seabed!"
"What? The seabed!"
"Enough, no more nonsense. Kill this Demon King!" Zhang Nu ordered, "This isn't where you should stay. Quickly receive your reward and hurry back to work!"
Su Yan was baffled. The reward was a Demon King, but how did Boss manage to capture a Demon King under the sea? Su Yan was terrified when she saw the Evil God monstrosity, wondering what kind of creature it was. Though full of confusion, this was not the time to ask questions, she quickly drew her sword and beheaded the Demon King. She was somewhat excited. A Demon-King reward gifted by Boss on the spot. There was no way this was anything lower than a Level 4 Demon King, right?
At that moment, a notification appeared:
[You've slain a Level 5 Deep Sea Naga Demon King!]
[You gained 2413 training points, Deep Sea Domain talent, Yamata Ritual talent, Naga's Heart talent.】
Seeing the sudden yield, Su Yan was utterly bewildered. Over 2400 training points? Wasn't that equivalent to an ordinary person training for over two thousand years? Even with average aptitude, practicing for two thousand years would likely make one a formidable powerhouse. Such a vast amount of talent points allowed her to reach Level 5 without any issues.
"This, this, this..."
Su Yan was too excited to form coherent sentences. She had been dragged into this situation, and in a daze, she had casually made a kill, unexpectedly killing a Level 5 Demon King, a monarch-class entity!
Zhang Nu said, "I have other matters to attend to. You can go back now. Make good use of this power, and don't disappoint me. Understand?"
"Yes! Thank you, boss!"
The Demon King bestowed power upon the Hero girl to enhance her performance. Su Yan was well aware of the substantial weight of this reward. Based on the meager contribution she made, she was far from deserving such a significant bounty. In this day and age, Level 5 Demon Kings were a rare sight, and Heroes capable of killing one were virtually non-existent in the entire Thunder Empire. Yet, here she was, having haphazardly slain one."