At that moment, the King of Slaughter had just exhausted his strength.
He never would have guessed that his enemy would break the rules!
He tried to keep resisting, but Samigina merely smiled coldly, giving him no chance.
The domain, charged with potent corpse poison, expanded at astonishing speed, becoming the master of this place in the blink of an eye.
The King of Slaughter's Slaughter Domain had already fought Hell Demon God Marbas to a mutually disastrous end.
Then he was ambushed. How could he possibly have any strength left to resist? In an instant, it was completely drained, and he fell into an absolute disadvantage.
"Damn it! Didn't we agree to a one-on-one fight?"
The King of Slaughter cursed, glaring viciously at Samigina.
"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. We're the Demon Race. We're not as law-abiding as humans."
"If you can't win one-on-one, isn't ganging up perfectly normal? Looking at your face and title, I thought you already knew that."
Samigina's expression was impassive as he gave a contemptuous sneer.
Marbas, however, heard those words and felt the veins on his forehead bulge.
He was frustrated, but he also knew that just now, without his teammate's help, he would have been in danger.
"Enough. Let's deal with the trouble first."
"If we delay, things might change. We can't hold up His Majesty's plan."
As a friend and teammate, Samigina was already used to this and couldn't be bothered to tease Marbas.
He changed the subject, directing their hostility toward the King of Slaughter. The pressure of two ninth-rank, sixth-level powerhouses descended on him at once.
The latter could no longer bear it. He was even forced to reveal his true form, a phantom bat appearing behind him as blood-red light glimmered in his pupils.
Caught between them, he suffered more and more wounds across his body. His aura rapidly weakened, and with a crash, he plunged from the sky, landing in the ruins in a sorry heap.
"You forced me to do this!"
The King of Slaughter coughed up blood and struggled out of the wreckage.
His wings were already in tatters, and a massive bloody hole gaped in his chest—the result of their recent clash.
Clearly, the bloodthirsty, frenzied Bat King who had ruled the City of Slaughter for years was nearing the end of his life.
Yet he still didn't seem ready to give up. Samigina and Marbas exchanged a look, their disdain plain to see.
"If you had a trump card, you would've used it long ago. Why wait until you're on the verge of death? Bluffing is pointless."
Samigina spoke indifferently, but he didn't truly let down his guard. As he spoke, he fired a Necrotic Light, which shot toward his opponent.
Whether the Bat King was bluffing or not, killing him would settle everything. Samigina's reasoning was sound, but he underestimated his opponent's murderous intent. A dense life force burst forth!
Like a flash of life before death, it swiftly gathered around his chest, painstakingly repairing the gaping hole, and he raised a hand to block the attack.
"Heh heh, if I die, you won't be walking away either."
"You've been suppressing me for so many years. You're not willing to accept that, are you?"
"Kill them! Drink their blood and absorb their energy. Maybe... you'll have a chance to return to normal?"
The final words were clearly not aimed at the Demon Gods. The Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King abruptly fell silent, and its aura vanished in an instant.
Samigina and Marbas were dumbfounded. What was going on? Had he realized he couldn't win and killed himself?
Before they could even figure out what had happened, they suddenly sensed a terrifying surge of energy erupting from the "corpse" once more.
The "King of Slaughter," whose death they had confirmed just a moment ago, now stood up again. A blood-red, sword-shaped demonic mark appeared on his forehead.
"Kill!"
He said only one word.
But it was clear that both his tone and the way he spoke had changed.
The Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King had controlled this place, absorbing blood and energy every day and accumulating a vast reserve of life force.
Knowing death was certain, it had made a decisive choice just now, using all that power to repair the wounds—and then returning the body to its true owner!
The bat was dead, but the body wasn't. With the creature no longer controlling it, Tang Chen had logged back in. His eyes bloodred, he lifted his head to the sky.
Unlike in the original story, Tang Chen had not received the Light of Purification. Instead, he was still surrounded by the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King's resentment. Dazed and confused, he remained in his bloodthirsty state.
"Kill!"
He growled again like a broken record.
The powerful surge of energy was even more astonishing than before.
Sensing the change, the two Demon Gods' expressions shifted as they realized what had happened.
"That bat monster had been parasitizing this body, and now we have to face the real owner?"
"Look at how bloodthirsty he is. He was probably a madman even before he was possessed, so it makes no difference who he attacks... Watch out!"
The two were horrified, making guesses under their breath.
Their reasoning was sound. Tang Chen had indeed fallen deep into slaughter.
He had misunderstood Bo Saixi's love for him, lost himself in the Asura God Trial, and then had his body usurped by the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King.
Now, he had only shed one shackle and remained in his "lost" state, hurtling toward Samigina and Marbas as if he had teleported.
"So strong! Could he be..."
The two suddenly remembered His Majesty Lin Feng's instructions before they set out.
A Limit Douluo was hidden in the City of Slaughter—a peak powerhouse at rank ninety-nine.
Now that they saw him, this man was almost certainly the one. The Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King, which had "stolen his account," didn't know how to use the body, and its strength had been greatly diminished.
"You die, I live."
That was the hint the Bat King had implanted in him.
Tang Chen stared blankly as he released his Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul.
Then, he transformed it directly into the Asura Demon Sword, the reward for the Asura God's Eighth Trial. Needless to say, its power was immense.
With only a casual lift of his hand and one fierce strike, he sent the two Demon Gods who had just defeated the King of Slaughter flying with ease.
The balance of power reversed in an instant. Even Samigina and Marbas felt a primal dread at that aura, which made their blood run cold.
Boom! Another simple slash.
It was invisible, without intent—only an irresistible force.
Blood-red light wove together, gathering on the surface of the Asura Demon Sword, as if each surge of energy were stacking atop the last.
The two Demon Gods were struck again. They spat blood and crashed to the ground, the scene identical to before—only the ones getting beaten had changed.
"You... can take a beating."
Tang Chen, still dazed, seemed to regain a little awareness.
His words sounded almost like praise, but his movements didn't slow at all. He kept his sword in hand and pressed the attack.
If this continued, not only would the mission fail, but Samigina and Marbas would fall as well.
They both knew it. With a quiet sigh, they gave up, deciding they could only return and accept punishment from His Majesty.
"Activate the restriction and summon His Majesty. This man is too strong. We're clearly no match for him."
"Hmph. We didn't lose to this man, but to his divine artifact. That sword is exceptionally high quality!"
Samigina and Marbas communicated through their souls, then activated the restrictions they had prepared in unison.
Taking the City of Slaughter was a crucial part of invading Douluo. Lin Feng had plotted for years and taken every possibility into account.
Naturally, he hadn't overlooked the three Limit Douluo. In theory, Tang Chen had no chance of recovering after being possessed by the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King.
But it was always best to prepare for the worst. Before they left, Lin Feng had given the Fourth Pillar and Fifth Pillar trump cards that would ensure success.
Boom! Another violent tremor rang out, but this time it wasn't caused by Tang Chen's attack.
Down among the ruins, near Long Xingyu's engraved formation, chaotic light suddenly blazed.
A massive, pitch-black pillar of mysterious light burst from the remnant teleportation array, shooting into the sky and breaking through the City of Slaughter.
In the next instant, the air above, which had been calm, fractured inch by inch out of nowhere. It shattered like a mirror, reflecting the other side of the void...
Before you continue