The Difficulty Just Leaped Three Levels, Didn't It?

"..."

"..."

Nothing was more terrifying than the air suddenly falling silent.

Fang Zheng silently stared at the witch before him, while Maghda said nothing as she watched him back. After a moment, Maghda finally let out a cold laugh.

"So, you're just a little rat that accidentally burrowed into the wrong hole. Looks like your luck is truly terrible."

Damn it!

Cursing inwardly, Fang Zheng glanced around. His situation was extremely bad. His left shoulder burned with pain, and his body was covered in wounds. He was so sore and weak that he barely had any strength left. Worse still, he was in a vast hall with nowhere to hide. He was surrounded by dozens of Cultists, with a BOSS glaring at him from behind.

I only came here to find an item. How did this suddenly turn into a BOSS battle?

The difficulty had just leaped three levels at once!

Fang Zheng's expression kept shifting, but before he could figure out how to deal with the trouble before him, the witch floating in the air suddenly changed expression.

"I can sense a strange fluctuation of power from inside your clothes... I see. That thing is in your possession. Hand it over to me!"

By the end, the witch had suddenly raised her voice. It felt to Fang Zheng as if countless bronze gongs had been struck beside his ears. His head spun, his vision blurred, and for a moment, he could not even speak. His body, which had only just risen, seemed to be struck down again, forcing him back to his knees.

"Go seize him! Bring me what he has in his clothes!"

Maghda had no intention of wasting words on Fang Zheng. In her eyes, he was merely a Militia. Though she was somewhat curious about how this Militia had appeared before her, in the Dark World, such insignificant insects had never been worth Maghda's concern. Upon hearing their master's command, the Cultists stepped toward Fang Zheng. To them, a severely wounded Militia who could not even move posed no threat whatsoever.

"Haa... haa..."

Clutching Frostmourne tightly, Fang Zheng remained half-kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath. His head buzzed, and everything before his eyes was blurry. The Cultists appeared to him as nothing more than swaying black shadows.

Am I going to die here?

His lungs burned fiercely. Every breath felt as though flames were scorching his chest. Fang Zheng raised his head and watched the vague shadows gradually draw closer. He could not even make out what the Cultists were wearing, but he knew that against so many of them, he had no ability to fight back in his current state.

Then there was only one option left.

With that thought, Fang Zheng tightened his grip on the longsword in his hand.

Just as the Cultists approached Fang Zheng, a howling cold wind rose from the ground.

"-------!!"

A freezing chill swept across the Cultists' bodies in an instant, yet they did not notice it at all. They maintained their previous movements, but their entire bodies froze in place as if time had stopped. Soon, layers of white frost began to spread across their skin, and the Soul Fire in their eyes was extinguished in an instant.

"What is this?!"

Maghda was greatly shocked by the sudden scene before her. She hurriedly raised both hands. With her movements, blood-red Magic Circles appeared at her sides, and a translucent crimson barrier quickly enveloped her. Yet even so, the freezing cold wind blasted her away in an instant. The torches embedded in the surrounding walls were also completely extinguished by the roaring gale.

For a moment, the surroundings sank into darkness.

"Cough... cough, cough..."

What kind of power was that?

Maghda wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth as she stared forward in uncertainty. She had originally thought Fang Zheng was just an ordinary Militia, but what had happened before her eyes made her no longer certain of that. She could feel an incomparably powerful force, filled with death and cold, descending upon them. How was this possible? Could the other side also be the servant of some Hell Demon King? How could this be? Why hadn't Lord Belial told her?!

Maghda swore that if she had known another Hell Demon King was involved, she would never have been so careless!

But now, it was too late!

"Huff."

The extinguished torches lit up once more. But this time, they no longer burned with ordinary flames. Instead, they burned with blue-green Soul Fire.

"Is that all..."

A deep voice rang out, and the temperature plummeted. Even under the protection of her blood barrier, Maghda still shivered violently. She could feel that an existence she could not possibly resist had descended. The entire underground hall had transformed into something else. The floor, once covered in blood and corpses, was now completely blanketed in frost. Even the ceiling was filled with Ice Shards. In the blink of an eye, the underground hall had become a world of ice and snow.

A massive figure emerged from within. It stared at Maghda before it, its blue-glowing eyes devoid of even the slightest emotion.

"Wretched insect, you dare stand in my way?!"

"I-I serve Lord Belial!!"

Maghda's face had turned ashen. She did not know which Demon King had appeared before her, but she was certain that the other party's power was no less than that of Belial, the Lord of Lies she served. At this point, Maghda no longer intended to reclaim that fragment. She even planned to abandon the mission. Of course, Belial might punish her for that, but it was still better than dying here without a sound.

"I have no intention of becoming your enemy. Please spare me..."

"Spare you?"

Hearing Maghda's plea, the massive figure looked toward her and raised the longsword in its hand.

"Your soul is filled with fear... and it shall become food for Frostmourne..."

"No-----!!"

At those words, Maghda could no longer endure it. Though she did not know what "Frostmourne" was, she understood that the other party clearly had no intention of letting her leave!

With that thought, the witch no longer hesitated. She flew backward frantically while waving both hands wildly.

"Guards! Stop him!!"

Following Maghda's shout, Cultists and Hellspawn appeared out of thin air. They blocked the Lich King's path, attempting to stop this terrifying being. Seeing this, the Lich King merely let out a cold laugh.

"Come, taste the power of the Scourge!!"

Before his words had even faded, the arriving Cultists and Hellspawn watched in terror as the frozen ground cracked open with a sharp crack. Countless Undead creatures with blue flames burning in their eyes emerged from below. Raising their weapons high, they roared and charged at the enemies before them.

For a moment, cries of slaughter filled the air, and the entire underground city became a living hell.

"Haa... haa..."

Maghda was equally terrified. She had never imagined that she would provoke such a dreadful existence. Now, she was fleeing in blind panic, completely at a loss for what to do.

"Lord Belial, save me!!"

Shrieking, Maghda raced forward madly. She could no longer leave this underground city. The teleportation circle where Fang Zheng had been was the only exit. If she did not use it, then she would have to abandon the nest she had painstakingly built over many years. But what drove Maghda to despair was that no matter how desperately she begged, she received no response from that Demon King.

"Lord Belial!!"

Swish!!

Just as Maghda reached the end of the corridor, an ice wall suddenly rose from the ground, blocking her path. At the same time, she heard heavy footsteps coming from behind her.

"Thud... thud... thud..."

"No! I don't want to die! I don't want to die here!! Lord Belial, save me!!"

Hearing the approaching footsteps behind her, Maghda was on the verge of collapse. She desperately tried to shatter the ice wall before her, but the magic she unleashed could not even break off a corner of it. Meanwhile, the footsteps behind her drew closer and closer. Maghda turned around and saw only a black figure slowly walking toward her.

"No, don't come closer! I don't want to die! Please spare me! I can become your most loyal servant! I can swear on my soul...!"

Looking at the figure approaching her, Maghda no longer cared about anything else. She hurriedly dropped to her knees and cried out. But the other party remained silent. Only the longsword in his hand emitted a freezing glint.

"...I'll fight you!!"

Seeing that her desperate pleas had no effect, Maghda finally snapped. Roaring, she flew into the air and raised both hands. Then scarlet rays and fireballs poured wildly from her hands, blasting toward that figure.

Boom boom boom boom boom!!

Amid a series of explosions, the black figure was instantly swallowed by firelight. But in the next moment, a cold flash suddenly streaked through the air!

Swish---!

The rolling, blazing fireballs were instantly split in two. Maghda's eyes widened as she stared blankly ahead. The cold flash tore through her flames and shot straight forward, piercing Maghda's body in an instant and pinning her firmly to the ice wall. Only then did the crimson barrier around her body shatter and disperse.

"I... I..."

Maghda tightly gripped the longsword piercing her body and looked at the young man before her. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but before she could speak, she let out a shrill scream. A Human-like mist was forcibly torn from her body and drawn into the blue-glowing blade. Then the witch's body went limp, slumping sideways without another sound.

Fang Zheng coldly watched Maghda's corpse. Only after a moment did he withdraw Frostmourne.

Bang!

In the next instant, everything around them shattered completely.