Demons from Hell

The fourteenth level of the Necropolis of the Gods.

It was a desert world, scorching and covered in endless stretches of yellow sand.

Across the vast desert, sandstorms raged.

The blazing sun beat down, and the sand was scorching hot.

The entire world was so dry that it seemed to contain no moisture at all.

"This environment is truly awful!" Kolan appeared in the desert world and felt that it was even harsher than the Blazing Desert on the Yulan Continent.

Kolan began surveying the world.

Before long, he had finished exploring it.

Unlike the twelfth and thirteenth levels, the fourteenth had only one Mid-God Gatekeeper.

Kolan flew straight toward a yellow-brown mansion. It was the Mid-God's residence.

"Haha, someone has finally made it to the fourteenth level! As long as I kill you, I, Maiken, can leave the Necropolis of the Gods and regain my freedom!" Kolan released his divine power, and a burst of laughter rang out from below.

The entire yellow-brown mansion exploded, revealing a burly man.

Kolan's eyes narrowed. The man was wearing a badge on his chest.

A Fiend Badge?

Kolan wondered if his opponent was a Demon, or something like one.

Demons were the elite of Hell. Only the strongest Mid-Gods could become Demons.

Demons represented strength and courage.

This Demon was a Mid-God, but he was far stronger than an ordinary Mid-God.

"Remember this: the one who kills you is Kolan, from the Yulan Plane!" Kolan held his blade ready, a frigid aura radiating from him.

"Die!" Maiken's sword swept toward him.

Kolan swung his blade as well.

"Boom!"

The weapons clashed, and the frenzied force rebounded against them both.

"What tremendous strength!" Kolan thought, startled.

Since entering the Necropolis of the Gods, Kolan had relied on a body comparable to a Midgod Artifact. Although he wasn't skilled at physical attacks, that was only relative; he had never been at a disadvantage in the Necropolis.

Yet Maiken could match him in a head-on physical attack without giving an inch.

Kolan knew Maiken cultivated the Laws of the Earth, renowned for their powerful physical attacks and defenses.

Still, this showed just how strong Maiken was.

Maiken was far stronger than the Mid-God on the thirteenth level.

"I didn't expect you to be this strong." Maiken took a step back, staring at Kolan in surprise.

Instead of getting angry, Maiken was delighted. Killing an ordinary Mid-God gave him little motivation and no sense of accomplishment.

As a Demon, what was there to boast about in killing an ordinary Mid-God?

But this was different. His opponent was strong, so killing him would be satisfying—and Maiken would also gain his precious freedom.

"Die!" Maiken struck with his sword, putting considerably more power into this attack than the first.

Kolan didn't back down. He charged forward with his blade.

The two fought head-on.

"Pfft!"

Maiken's sword struck Kolan, sending out sparks but failing to wound him. Kolan's blade, however, cleaved into Maiken. His Pulse Armor split apart, and a gruesome wound nearly tore through his chest. Blood gushed out, and broken bones gleamed white.

"Good, very good. You've managed to enrage me!" Maiken grinned savagely. "I became a god after a thousand years of cultivation. I ventured into Hell and spent ten thousand years cultivating to become a Mid-God. I became a Demon after another hundred thousand years, and roamed Hell for three million years. Today, I'll cut off your head and stain my Fiend Badge with your blood!"

His injury didn't make Maiken retreat. Instead, it only made him more reckless.

"What's there to boast about in becoming a god after a thousand years? Maiken, you're the one who'll die today, not me!" Kolan sneered.

"If you didn't have a Highgod Defensive Artifact, that last strike would've been enough to kill you!" Maiken scoffed. "Too bad you're only a Mid-God. You can't use a Highgod Defensive Artifact properly!"

"Shh, shh, shh..." Maiken's divine power surged, immediately healing his wound. At the same time, his Pulse Armor restored itself in the blink of an eye. As long as his divine power held out, the armor could recover instantly.

He seemed confident, certain of his own strength.

Highgod Artifacts were powerful, but only Highgods could unleash their full might.

He couldn't break through the defense of a Highgod Defensive Artifact, but his physical attacks could bypass its outer defense.

The Earth Pulse of the Laws of the Earth could strike an opponent's internal organs directly through vibrations!

"Die!" Maiken's aura surged as he revealed his true form.

He was a Divine Beast—a gigantic yellow-brown bull with blood-red eyes. Its four hooves stamped the ground, sending out a terrifying vibration.

Kolan realized that Maiken's attack and defense had both increased dramatically.

"These Divine Beasts really are the darlings of the world!" Kolan cursed inwardly.

He had no choice but to grow cautious.

Kolan brought up two Mid-God Divine Domains and layered them together, suppressing Maiken.

At the same time, he stopped holding back and unleashed Fused Divine Power. His physical attacks grew ten times stronger!

Kolan's strength increased dramatically under these conditions.

Maiken, on the other hand, was suppressed by Kolan's Divine Domain, leaving him about as strong as before.

"Boom!" Kolan swung his blade.

The strike sent Maiken into a panic.

The blade smashed through the armor protecting Maiken's body, then stopped. But the terrifying Soul Attack killed Maiken outright.

Maiken's body fell to the ground.

Kolan stored the Artifact and the corpse in the Space Ring, then dripped his blood onto it to claim ownership.

"As expected of a Demon. He's far wealthier than the Mid-Gods on the thirteenth level. He had a million Ink Stones, five Low-God sparks, six Midgod Artifacts, ten Lowgod Artifacts, and fifteen Midgod Artifacts." Kolan inspected the Space Ring, looking pleased.

Maiken's wealth was greater than the combined wealth of the divine-level powerhouses on the twelfth and thirteenth levels.

A Demon was truly a Demon!

"The reward on the fourteenth level should be much more generous, too!" Kolan hurried eagerly toward the passage.

The passage was inside the mansion Maiken had built.

A smooth, enormous stone slab lay by the entrance to the passage. On it sat a black tray.

Fifty Soul Gold Beads, a hundred Amethysts, and a dark ring.

"Is this... a Soul Defense Artifact?" Kolan swallowed hard, staring fixedly at the dark ring.

The dark ring wasn't a Space Ring. It was a Soul Defense Artifact, and judging by the fluctuations of its divine power, it was a Soul Defense Highgod Artifact.

Artifacts were divided into Material Defense Artifacts, Attack Artifacts, and Soul Defense Artifacts.

Among Artifacts of the same level and quality, Attack Artifacts were the least valuable, Material Defense Artifacts were more valuable, and Soul Defense Artifacts were the most valuable.

That was because any god could refine Attack Artifacts and Material Defense Artifacts with some effort.

Soul Defense Artifacts were different. Only gods with extensive knowledge of the soul could refine them.

That made Soul Defense Artifacts rare and precious.

Kolan hadn't expected the reward Beirut had given him to be a Soul Defense Highgod Artifact!

Even the most ordinary Soul Defense Highgod Artifact was incredibly precious.