NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1001: True Name
"The peak of the demon god level? Impossible!"
As a horrified roar rang out, the atmosphere quaked. A black beam of light shot into the sky from the palace complex of the Ancestral Court, coalescing once more beneath the dark-red sky to form Constantine's figure.
Only now, its face was filled with shock. It stared solemnly at Tyretis, who stood behind the rift. "Tyretis, that human has already reached the demon god level!"
Chen Chu's growth rate once again exceeded Constantine's imagination. In the battle ten star-hours ago—ten days in Blue Planet time—that human's combat power had been comparable to a middle-stage ancient-titan-level demon god, but his realm had still been in the late stage of the great demon king level.
According to its calculations, no matter how astounding that human's talent was, it should have taken at least one day-cycle for him to break through to the demon god level. That time window would have been enough for them to gather all of their forces and destroy the human alliance.
After all, under normal circumstances, even a great demon king with exceptional talent would need ten or several dozen years to break through from the late stage to the peak, and the leap from great demon king to demon god could leave one stuck for a century or more without a breakthrough.
Constantine had already set its expectations high for Chen Chu, even considering the possibility that he was a reincarnated wisp of origin from some unknown primordial existence, but it never imagined that in just the blink of an eye, that human would reach the demon god level.
What's more, in the instant when the second true demon's scale activated and the wisp of true-spirit-level power within it erupted, Constantine, who was presiding over the balance, vaguely glimpsed that overwhelming halberd strike. It was a blow on par with a peak demon god. Even among the entire Purgatory Demon Clan, there were only a few who could match that level of might.
Seeing Constantine's composure fraying, Tyretis said in a low voice, "That human's growth speed has indeed exceeded our expectations, but while he has reached the demon god level and achieved peak combat strength, it's not as if he can't be suppressed. In the end, none of this matters. What's important is that we've already achieved our goal. Now that the summoned beast is gone, there is no one left in the human alliance who can stand against me."
Tyretis was confident. Even before it refined the trunk of the Eternal Divine Tree, the peak combat strength of its merged dual true forms had already rivaled a half-step true spirit. Now, a single one of its true forms had reached the limit of the demon god level. Once both were merged again, it would completely surpass the demon god threshold and wield power capable of contending with a true spirit, even if only one of the "ordinary" kind that had just crossed the threshold and wasn't capable of surpassing levels in combat.
Even so, its strength would surpass all other demons. Had it not been wary of that summoned beast, whose power was even greater, it would have already invaded the human alliance and crushed everything with absolute force.
Constantine gravely said, "Tyretis, we can't give that human any more time. We must launch the war immediately and crush the human alliance."
"Indeed, he must not be given more time." Tyretis nodded slowly. "I will personally visit the Ankor Sacred Demon Empire and inform Deorus and the others to make preparations. Five star-hours from now, we will launch the extinction war."
Unlike the Heavenly Feathered Race, which appeared vast but had already reached the limit of its civilization's development and could be worn down slowly over time, the human race was a fast-growing enemy that expanded with each passing moment. Such a race needed to be suppressed swiftly with great force.
Even if the battle cost them multiple demon gods and led to the deaths of countless demon kings and great demon kings, it would still be worth it. After all, in critical moments, these demons were meant to be expended.
Moreover, to be thorough, Tyretis intended to meet another great demon god. The Faeries had already been destroyed. Cardeos, who had refined the foundation of an entire civilization, was no weaker than Tyretis. Together, they would be more than capable of suppressing the human alliance.
The Purgatory Primordial Ancestor's injuries were also far more serious than expected. As long as the human alliance was no longer a threat, Constantine wouldn't dare attempt to awaken the Primordial Ancestor by force. The Ancestor's wrath was not something it could bear. That was good news for Tyretis.
Boom!
Space trembled as Tyretis's massive true form slowly vanished into the depths of the rift, leaving Constantine standing solemnly beneath the sky. After a long while, Constantine turned into a streak of black light and disappeared into the demonic palace of the Ancestral Court.
Soon after, tremors spread through the Dark Demonic Morkaya Empire, which had lost most of its elite army in the recent battle. The Greeta Battle Demon Empire also stirred once more. One after another, injured demon kings and great demon kings emerged from seclusion.
At the same time, over two hundred million troops from the three great empires—Dark Morro, Bellvitane, and Freymund—arrived outside the Morkaya Empire's borders. Before they even drew near, the overwhelming demonic force plunged the entire world into darkness.
Within the rolling, sky-obscuring demonic clouds, over a hundred demon kings and great demon kings stood tall, as if marching from the depths of hell on an expedition. Above, six figures radiating terrifying auras loomed faintly in the clouds.
At the edge of the Morkaya Empire, Brooks stood wreathed in demonic qi beside Tarorya. His expression was grave as he looked ahead. They arrived fast. The last great battle just ended not long ago, yet the legions from other empires have already rushed to reinforce. Weren't the eight great empires said to be at odds with one another?
While Tyretis headed toward Ankor and Chen Chu was condensing his pseudo-true name, the atmosphere within the human alliance turned tense due to the anomaly before them. Above the base at the forbidden zone battlefield, ten towering figures sat upon thrones within the empty white expanse of space.
These ten figures included the three supreme powerhouses of the human race, Heavenly King Zhenwu, and Heavenly King Yan Kuang, who had returned after breaking through to the peak of the heavenly king level and mastering supreme laws, placing him on par with a pinnacle great demon king.
The remaining seats belonged to the three divine kings of the Heavenly Feathered Race, the Lord of Holy Light, whose peak chief-god-level power rivaled that of an ordinary demon god, and Divine King Tarodell from the Alliance of Gods.
Qian Tian slowly said, "Everyone, I assume you've all seen the abyssal descent ahead?"
The Golden-Winged Divine King Tolstoy nodded gravely. "That anomaly couldn't be missed. But for now, we're still uncertain whether it means the Purgatory Primordial Ancestor has awakened. That Ancestor is said to have suffered grave injuries and been in slumber for thousands of years. If it has awakened, that would mean its wounds have healed, which spells despair for us."
At this point, everyone present fell silent. Though none had seen the Primordial Ancestor in person, just hearing its name—an ancient true-spirit-level being—was enough to make even divine kings and supreme powerhouses feel as though they couldn't breathe.
Qian Tian nodded. "That is exactly why I've called this meeting. The Primordial Ancestor is a barrier we cannot avoid. Next, I'll have people investigate whether the Ancestor has indeed awakened. In the meantime, all of you must pull back your forces and prepare to activate the God Defense System in case it descends."
The three divine kings of the Heavenly Feathered Race, along with Divine King Tarodell, nodded solemnly. They were well aware of the human race's so-called God Defense System: detonating every apocalyptic nuclear weapon buried at over two million kilometers' worth of relay points to shatter this region of the world and trigger a chain reaction in the forbidden zone that would collapse the domain of primordial beings, thus stopping the true spirit's descent. However, such a tactic would kill a hundred enemies at the cost of a thousand allies. Unless the Primordial Ancestor truly awakened, it would never be used.
As the mood of the meeting grew heavier, Qian Tian suddenly smiled. "Actually, there's no need to be so tense. As long as the Primordial Ancestor hasn't awakened, we still have the upper hand. With Chen Chu's colossal beast ally on our side, we currently hold the edge in top-level combat power. What we need to resolve now is the difference in numbers between us and the demon gods of the eight Purgatory Empires. Just before the anomaly occurred, we received an important piece of news."
"What news?" asked the Heavenly Feathered divine kings, along with Heavenly King Zhenwu and the others who were still in the dark.
All eyes turned to Qian Tian, who smiled and said, "When we dispatched envoys to the Heavenly Feathered Race, we also sent a heavenly king to contact another civilization that had been at war with the Purgatory Empire—the Faerie Race. And we succeeded in establishing communication. At present, the Faeries, like the Heavenly Feathered Race, have abandoned their ancestral territory, which can no longer be defended. After leaving behind a portion of their forces to harass the Ankor Sacred Demon Empire, the rest of their living forces are marching toward us and are already within several hundred thousand kilometers of our Expansion Division."
"What? The Faeries' powerhouses are already here!" The divine kings, including Tolstoy, all showed signs of excitement.
As a civilization capable of resisting three Purgatory Empires on its own, the strength of the Faeries was not to be underestimated. If they joined the alliance, the combined strength of their coalition would skyrocket once more. Even if the number of divine kings still fell short of those across the eight Purgatory Empires, the gap would no longer be significant.
While the Heavenly Feathered divine kings were still feeling elated, ten thousand kilometers away from Chen Chu's place of seclusion, the mighty army of the alien race had already come to a halt. Several Faerie Kings stood solemnly, their gazes fixed straight ahead.