Takuto Sanya was killed. Emilia neither felt anger nor shock. Her relationship with Takuto Sanya was rather ordinary. He had been somewhat useful, but his death wasn't a significant loss. Now that Isaac was free, he should be sufficient to deal with Zhang Nu.
At the same time, Emilia was fully aware that a Hero like Isaac, who had merged with an ancient Evil God, had undergone a fundamental change. Whether this was ultimately good or bad was hard to determine.
This is easy to understand. A player is, after all, just a human, with a limited lifespan and experiences. In a sense, a player's memory is like a tiny droplet of water, while the will of an ancient Evil God is like a vast ocean. When that droplet falls into the ocean, even though the powerful influence of the game creators ensures that the droplet's will remains dominant, it is still incredibly small compared to the vastness of the ocean. A Hero who controls the body of a powerful Evil God must contend with memories spanning millions or even tens of millions of years---an overwhelming and immense force. This inevitably affects the player's personality and sanity.It wasn't just Isaac who faced such issues---Emilia herself had undergone a profound transformation. She had once been an ordinary middle-aged woman, but after inheriting the memories of this body, which spanned 100,000 years, everything about her---her thoughts, her personality, her very being---had changed drastically. In truth, even Emilia couldn't clearly say whether it was the player who dominated this powerful native being, or if the powerful demigod had consumed the player.
Isaac's divine body was even more ancient, and the memories of the Evil God were far more chaotic, frenzied, and illogical. The dimensions of information the Evil God could process were beyond anything a normal person could comprehend. Under such influence, Isaac's actions had become unpredictable.
Emilia asked, "What are your plans now?"
Isaac responded with a dark and maniacal laugh. "Plans? I don't think I need such things!"
Emilia frowned. "Are you planning to go straight after the number one Demon King Zhang Nu? Isn't that too reckless? I think we should consider our approach carefully and seek cooperation from the major factions."
Isaac replied, "In a battle between gods, numbers don't matter. Besides, I don't lack followers. You can make whatever arrangements you like, but right now, all I want is to have a good fight with Zhang Nu."
Isaac had long had enough. To most, being reincarnated as an Evil God, starting with divine-class power, would seem like a stroke of incredible luck. But in reality, it was anything but. Isaac's mind was filled with the frenzied and chaotic memories of the Evil God. He felt as though his soul was being subjected to constant torment, every second inching closer to madness under the pressure.
For this reason, he couldn't wait any longer. There was only one thought in his mind now---either kill Zhang Nu, or be killed by him!
"I'll go ahead!"
After Isaac sent out this message telepathically, his gray-black robed figure suddenly vanished as if he had evaporated, disappearing from the spot with incredible speed. Emilia couldn't even sense Isaac's movement path. This was because Isaac was not a physical entity in essence---the "Formless Black Nightmare" was an Evil God composed of pure psychic energy. This Evil God never had a fixed form.
Emilia murmured to herself, "Having this one personally take action, dealing with the rank one Demon King Zhang Nu should be no problem, right?"
Emilia's confidence wasn't unfounded. Even though Zhang Nu had become incredibly powerful, evolving to a godly level, he had only just broken through. On the other hand, Isaac had inherited an ancient Evil God.
The Formless Black Nightmare was an exceptionally powerful and formidable entity, even among all the Evil Gods. If anyone could take on Zhang Nu, it would be Isaac.
......
At this moment, in Darkness City, Zhang Nu and Han Kexin had not been idle over the past few days. The recent victory not only firmly established the foundation of the Demon King's rule but also provided an opportunity for the Demon King's forces to expand further.
First, Zhang Nu aimed to annex the Sunset Empire and the Radiant Church. The Sunset Empire was one of the two major empires near Darkness City, and once it was conquered, the Chaos Sea to the south would be easily brought under control, allowing the Demon King to establish dominion over the entire region. As for the Radiant Church, it was the most influential, widespread, and widely followed religious organization on the continent. In some ways, its value surpassed that of a typical empire-level power.
Zhang Nu ordered Han Kexin to manipulate the crown prince of the Sunset Empire to annex the empire, while he personally traveled to the holy land of the Radiant Church---the Holy Light Plains, often referred to as the center of the world.
The current Pope of the Radiant Church, Dolores, had already been controlled by Han Kexin, and the Radiant Church's founding artifact, the "Heart of Holy Light," was now in Zhang Nu's possession. Given these circumstances, there was no doubt that the Radiant Church would ultimately have no choice but to submit to the Demon King's rule.
Meanwhile, Han Kexin successfully installed the new emperor in the Sunset Empire and swiftly eliminated the rebellious nobles and factions within the country.
In the end, these two key regions both fell under the Demon King's control.
At this moment, Zhang Nu received the relevant notifications:
[You've conquered the Sunset Empire!]
[You've gained "Sunset Empire Treasure Chest" x1!]
[You've conquered the Plains of Holy Light.!]
[You've gained "Radiant Church Treasure Chest" x1!]
Zhang Nu successfully acquired these two high-level treasure chests. Without hesitation, he opened them immediately.
[You've opened the "Sunset Empire Treasure Chest"!]
[You've activated the title: Sunset Demon Emperor!]
[You've gained "Gold" x70 billion, "Blueprint: Demon King's Reincarnation Tower" x1, "Blueprint: Demon King's Heavenly Altar" x1, "Level 6 Special Building Upgrade Scroll" x1, "Level 5 Special Building Upgrade Scroll" x20, "Level 5 Building Upgrade Scroll" x100, "Thirteen Elemental Gems" x4 million each, "Sword of the Demon King" x1...]
Another tens of billions in gold coins! Millions of gems! Dozens to hundreds of building upgrade scrolls! In addition to these abundant resources, the rewards included special blueprints and a piece of equipment of divine quality!
Although the blueprints were duplicates and not particularly useful to Zhang Nu, the equipment caught his attention. Zhang Nu typically didn't rely heavily on equipment, especially now that he had ascended to divine class. The reason this particular item interested him was simply because it was a divine artifact!
On the surface, it appeared to be a very simple, unremarkable stone sword. However, beneath its modest exterior, it exuded an overwhelming sense of power, far surpassing any epic-grade equipment.
After glancing at its attributes:
[Sword of the Demon King] Divine-grade item, exclusive to Demon Kings. Four stats +20,000, MP +300,000, HP +300,000. Each target killed will have their abilities absorbed, further enhancing the sword's power.
As expected, this was yet another ridiculously powerful divine weapon. Unlike the Tome of Demon King from the Thunder Empire Treasure Chest, which was more focused on creating resources and aiding development, the Sword of the Demon King was a quintessential combat weapon. The more enemies it killed and the more territory it conquered, the stronger the sword would become, with virtually limitless potential.
Very impressive! Zhang Nu was extremely satisfied.
Zhang Nu then proceeded to open the second treasure chest.
[You've opened the "Radiant Church Treasure Chest"!]
[You've activated the title: Radiant Demon Lord!]
[You've gained "Ruler of Eternal Night Evil God Fragments" ×8!]
Compared to the treasure chests he had opened in the past, this one was clearly different. Although Zhang Nu had only conquered the Holy Light Plains and taken complete control of the Radiant Church, the scale of the conquest---in terms of cities, population, and overall size---was not on par with that of an empire.
However, the Radiant Church's influence and reach extended across almost all surface nations. The church was also teeming with powerful individuals, including numerous mythic and legendary figures, and even demigods like Lucas, who could nearly rival deities with the help of artifacts. Thus, in terms of difficulty, conquering the Radiant Church was a greater challenge. Perhaps because of the unique nature of this faction and location, the rewards given were also unique.
When Zhang Nu saw the reward, he was momentarily stunned. This time, the reward included eight fragments of an Evil God. What was even more bizarre and astonishing was that all eight fragments came from the same Evil God.
At this moment, the fragments were in an inactive state, but because they were in such close proximity, it was clear that they were rapidly reviving. If not used quickly, there was a high likelihood that the Evil God would be released.
Zhang Nu already possessed the power of the Eight-Eyed Evil God and had himself ascended to become the Chaos Dragon God. While adding another Evil God to his arsenal would certainly enhance his strength, the cost-effectiveness was not as high as it once might have been. It would be more of an embellishment rather than a significant upgrade.
After some consideration, Zhang Nu decided to give the eight fragments to his most trusted subordinate, Han Kexin.
At this point, Han Kexin had already developed divine traits, but she would not be able to gather the necessary materials to advance to Level 7 anytime soon. Given this, it made more sense for her to gain the power of an Evil God. By wielding the power of the Evil God, Han Kexin could temporarily attain divine strength. Although she would certainly fall short of a true deity, she would still be a formidable force.
......
Two days later, over the Chaos Forest, countless black clouds emerged from the darkness. A terrifying and maddening aura rapidly spread, enveloping the entire region.
This aura was none other than that of the Formless Black Nightmare.
The rank 1 Hero, Isaac, had arrived.