In the vast Behemoth Highlands, known for their sparse population and roaming magical beasts, there also roamed a Demon King of moderate strength. Within a mountain range in these highlands, lived Tang Xuemei, a snow elf. Snow elves, a branch of the elf family, predominantly inhabited the perpetually frozen territories, thrived in cold environments, and were adept at ice magic. Aside from their snow-white skin and hair, their features closely resembled those of other elves.
Tang Xuemei had recently ascended to Level 5. Although her power was not strong enough to place her on the Demon King leaderboard, she was still considered reasonably successful among her peers.
At that moment, Tang Xuemei felt anxious because she had just been contacted by a figure whose name thundered throughout the realm. Nowadays, no Demon King could be unaware of this name, given his immense fame.
"It's about time!" Tang Xuemei prepared to receive her guest, gathering her closest dozens of lieutenants in the square in front of the snowy mountain castle to wait.
About a quarter of an hour later, the space warped into a portal, and a tall, burly figure, whose presence was understated yet still oppressive, slowly emerged. Tang Xuemei caught sight of the figure and swallowed hard. It was the legendary strongest Demon King---Zhang Nu! Tang Xuemei had never dreamed that she, a neither large nor small character, would have the chance to meet such a figure in person. The excitement was overwhelming.
The tales of the legendary Zhang Nu were well known among the Demon King community. It was said that he had slain several top-ranking Heroes, including one ranked around the top fifty, marking the highest-ranked Hero known to have fallen to date. Furthermore, Zhang Nu had successfully conquered an empire. He was likely the only Demon King among many to have successfully breached the capital of an imperial power. How this man managed such a feat was beyond her comprehension as a Demon King; it was simply unthinkable.
After the Great Demon King teleported to the snowy mountain castle using a teleportation stone, the portal generated by the stone began to collapse. After all, each teleportation via the stone was intended for a single individual and would rapidly disintegrate after completion. However, something unexpected happened. Zhang Nu pointed towards the portal created by the teleportation stone, and an immense yet invisible energy immediately surged into it, causing the rapidly closing portal to reopen.
One by one, figures emerged from the portal---individuals of various races, each exuding a terrifyingly formidable presence. Tang Xuemei could clearly sense that any one of them could easily crush her like an ant.
It was terrifying and overwhelming. Was this the power of the No. 1 Demon King? Was this his foundation of power? He had actually managed to maintain the spatial portal created by the teleportation stone, allowing what was supposed to be a one-time-use portal to operate steadily and continue transporting. It was unbelievable and astounding.
Zhang Nu's gaze fell on the Snow Elf Demon King in front of him, and he nodded: "Thank you for your help. Here is something small in appreciation, I hope you will accept it."
With that, Zhang Nu handed Tang Xuemei a skill stone. As Tang Xuemei received the skill stone, she almost thought she was dreaming. The details of the skill stone are as follows.
[Skill Stone: Ice Age] Level 5 S-rank skill stone.
A level 5 ice-type skill stone and an S-rank skill stone at that! Tang Xuemei had never even dreamed that she could obtain a skill stone of such caliber. The Demon King was indeed generous right from the start!
"Thank you!" She expressed her gratitude excitedly.
Zhang Nu appeared indifferent. Although an S-rank skill stone was extremely precious, for him, who had successfully conquered the imperial capital, it was just another addition. His loot included multiple S-rank skills acquired from the Prophet of Doom Primo and a plethora of high-level skill stones from other top-ranked Heroes. To him, it wasn't much.
Zhang Nu then introduced his companions: "These are my assistants, the Succubus Queen Han Kexin, the Thunder Empire Empress Ophelia, the Elven Empress Nancilia, the Sea Tribe Empress Shuilan, and my two other followers, Zhang San and Li Si."
He had brought six subordinates in total. Han Kexin, Ophelia, Nancilia, and Shuilan were all Level 6 mythics. Among them, Han Kexin's strength was so formidable that she was nearing legendary class. Even Zhang San and Li Si had evolved and now also possessed Level 6 mythic class strength.
This meant that each of Zhang Nu's subordinates was of mythic-class existence.
The foundation of the Chaos Federation and the No. 1 Demon King was terrifyingly robust. Although Tang Xuemei did not know their exact strengths, she could sense their power and terror from their titles alone. The disparity was immense! In front of the No. 1 Demon King, she felt she was hardly qualified even to carry his shoes.
Han Kexin asked, "Are you sure the person you're looking for is here?"
Zhang Nu sensed the area briefly and nodded, "There's no mistake. A person who has managed to collect three Eyes of the Evil God is unlikely to be ordinary."
He then turned to Tang Xuemei, who was familiar with the area, and asked, "Who is the strongest person or player around here?"
The Eyes of the Evil God were often scattered and sealed in various places. Forcing a fusion with an eye without the right conditions would only lead to being overwhelmed by its power, eventually turning into a twisted, chaotic monster. Such a creature, even if it retained its intelligence, would likely cause disturbances and end up being hunted down, making it unlikely for anyone to continuously collect three pieces unless they were a player with divine lineage capable of countering the power of the eyes, just like himself. Thus, asking directly for the strongest local made sense.
Tang Xuemei quickly replied, "In the Behemoth Highlands, there isn't a Hero or Demon King who hasn't heard of Amit the Behemoth Chieftain!"
Han Kexin frowned slightly upon hearing this, "Amit? I've seen him on the Hero Leaderboard. He seems to be ranked around thirty-eighth, similar to that Prophet of Doom Primo."
However, Zhang Nu corrected her, "You can't think like that. He has at least three eyes from the same Evil God. His power should not be underestimated."
Tang Xuemei added hastily, "Exactly, Amit's influence covers the entire Behemoth Highlands. Not only all Heroes, but even we Demon Kings shudder under his rule."
Amit had become the uncrowned king of the area. Most Demon Kings on the highlands had been slain by him and his followers, and those like Tang Xuemei who had survived did so by regularly paying tribute. In fact, from the beginning, Amit intended to 'fatten' them like pigs, preparing to slaughter them once they had grown plump.
Tang Xuemei spoke with a face filled with fear and dread, "There once was a very powerful Demon King who tried to challenge Amit but failed, and he didn't even get to see Amit's face. He is simply too powerful, nearly impossible to defeat. Even the Kaiser of the Behemoth Empire refers to him as a brother... We are oppressed under his rule, living in constant fear every day!"
Hearing this, Nancilia was unconcerned. She smiled and said, "No matter how formidable someone might be, they can't be a match for His Majesty. Since His Majesty plans to deal with him personally, your days of oppression are about to end, rest assured!"
The young elf always had immense confidence in the great Demon King.
Han Kexin asked, "What do you plan to do? This is still his territory, after all."
Zhang Nu thought for a moment and said, "Although I'm pretty sure he is the target we're looking for, I still want to confirm it first to avoid a wasted trip."
"Do you want to test him first?" Han Kexin suggested, "Let me control a few of his subordinates to probe his actual strength and capabilities!"
"There's no need for that," Zhang Nu said as a silver eye opened on his forehead, emitting a powerful and invisible energy.
Everyone present changed color at the sight, especially those who sensed the nature of the energy.
"Is this... the power of time?"
Empress Ophelia, Empress Shuilan, and the others, were all experienced and knowledgeable individuals, yet, none of them had ever seen such a powerful force of Time; it was unimaginably strong.
As the silver Eye of Time shone brightly, a massive projection appeared before everyone. When the projection became clear, everyone's expressions changed drastically once again, for the images shown were not acquired through spatial reconnaissance. These were temporal projections fetched from the far end of the timeline---visions of the future.
"His Majesty is peeking into the future!" Nancilia exclaimed in shock. "I never thought such a terrifying ability could exist in this world!"
Even the future could be scrutinized! Even someone as formidable as the Prophet Primo had to rely on a special mythic sanctum to project future timelines within its bounds. Zhang Nu needed no such measures. With his talent as the Void Overlord, he now transcended time and space, effortlessly manipulating the fundamental laws of time and space to serve his purposes. Zhang Nu was currently simulating the outcome of a direct assault on Behemoth City with his six subordinates.
The images revealed that the city's defenses were indeed robust. Amit had clearly prepared well in advance. Zhang Nu's use of the Eye of Time had allowed him to locate Amit, who could sense Zhang Nu through the resonance and had prepared accordingly. In addition to a large number of Behemoth warriors and elite forces from the Savage Beast Empire set in traps, Amit's main force to counter Zhang Nu consisted of two types: The six Behemoth Kings, each with the prowess of top-tier Level 6 warriors.
Beyond these six Behemoth Kings, there was another significant force that could not be overlooked---the Hero Cohort. Clearly, Amit was the most powerful supreme Hero of the Savage Beast Empire, revered by all other Heroes within the empire. Amit, facing a formidable enemy, would naturally mobilize this force. This ambush force indeed played a significant role in the combat scenarios displayed.
Of course, the visions from the timeline projection showed that despite Amit's thorough preparations, he ultimately fell to Zhang Nu. Zhang Nu's side did suffer some casualties among his subordinates, but such losses were minor for him, as the fallen could be resurrected at the Demon King's Altar of Resurrection.
"Interesting!" Zhang Nu closed his Eye of Time, a playful smile tugging at his lips. "This guy's preparations were more thorough than I expected."
The others exchanged looks. Even with such meticulous preparations, Amit had lost to the formidable No. 1 Demon King. And now, without the battle even starting, all their deployments, combat strategies, and hidden abilities had been exposed. In this state, it would be surprising if Amit wasn't thoroughly defeated!
Zhang Nu pondered for a moment and then said, "Let's make some preparations and set off early tomorrow morning. We should be able to give him a surprise."
Tang Xuemei was utterly speechless. This Amit, the top Hero in the Savage Beast Empire, was practically a sovereign there, second only to the Great Kaiser in both prestige and status. To them, the Demon Kings, he was like an unscalable mountain.
Yet now, he was being set up as prey, clear and straightforward.
Due to Amit's various displays of power and dominance, Tang Xuemei had always believed that there was no balance between Heroes and Demon Kings; that Demon Kings could not possibly overcome Heroes. Only now did she realize that the Demon King faction was not at all inferior to the Hero faction. With a Demon King like Zhang Nu at their helm, it wasn't impossible for the Demon King faction to surpass the Hero faction.
The next day, after making all the necessary arrangements, the Great Demon King set off with his subordinates.