Ritchie explained, “Boss, these guys are here to discuss a collaboration.”
“Collaboration?” John raised an eyebrow, unsure of what kind of tricks the demon race was trying to pull this time.
Last time, a demon race genius also suggested working together, aiming for the Demon King’s treasure in Flame City.
The Demon King’s treasure was located in the city’s secret area, but the ultimate prize, a priceless treasure of the demon race, had already been claimed by Owen and wouldn’t be available again.
These demons couldn’t be after the Demon King’s treasure.
“They proposed co-managing Flame City with us,” Ritchie continued. “I’m not sure what scheme they’re brewing, so I’ve been stalling them.”
“Co-manage Flame City?” John chuckled coldly, immediately guessing their true intention. They likely wanted to take over Flame City and establish their own faction.
In the world of gods, only Dark Humans and players could use City Building Orders to establish cities.
Ada’s Gates City was one such city, transferred to her by John after he founded it.
If a race wanted to establish a faction, they had two options: conquer a Dark Human city or seize a city built by human players.
Compared to Dark Humans, human players were much easier to deal with.
“Humans, my patience is running thin. Don’t think that just because you have the Beast Clan’s help, I can’t take Flame City,” a man’s voice boomed from outside the city walls.
John curiously checked the scene. Thirty thousand elite demon soldiers, all at least Tier 4 in strength, stood ready for battle.
Leading them was a demon emperor, a legendary Tier 7 powerhouse, comparable to the demon race genius Owen.
In the past, John would not have been able to match a demon emperor.
But after spending more than a month in the Abyss, hunting down countless Abyss demons, his four basic attributes had seen massive improvements. His mental strength had reached 100,000 points, and his physical strength had increased to 70,000 points. On top of that, he had comprehended the power of the dark laws, making him strong enough to slay a Tier 7 powerhouse.
“Boss, what should we do?” Ritchie asked, fully confident that as long as John was present, no problem was unsolvable.
Below the city walls, the demon army roared, thirsty for blood.
But John remained indifferent. To him, these demons were no more than ants.
He locked eyes with the demon emperor leading the army and spoke calmly, “Collaboration is out of the question. However, if your demon race is willing to join under my command, I might consider it.”
Upon hearing John’s words, the demon army below erupted in furious outcry.
“Human, you’re courting death!”
“An insignificant human dares to blaspheme the great demon race! Unforgivable!”
“Lord, stop wasting time with these people! Crush them already!”
…
The demon emperor furrowed his brows, anger burning in his eyes as he glared at John on the city wall. “Human, are you joking with me?”
“It seems there’s nothing more to discuss,” John said, feigning regret. He had no patience for further words. With a swift motion, the Sword of Divinity and Demons appeared in his hand, and violent fire elements surged around him.
Whoosh!
The longsword danced, casting Hellfire, triggering a spell combo. Boundless flames engulfed the demon army below.
In an instant, the area beneath the city wall was transformed into a sea of fire.
-950,301
-949,320
…
Terrifying damage numbers flickered.
John’s area-of-effect magic, enhanced by critical hits, now dealt over 900,000 points of damage.
The weak demon soldiers stood no chance. Their pitiful screams echoed as they were annihilated in an instant.
System notifications flooded in, as John gained a hefty amount of experience and attribute points once again.
With just one skill, the demon army was nearly wiped out, leaving only a few Tier 6 epic demon lords and the Tier 7 legendary demon emperor.
“Impossible!” the demon emperor roared as he burst out of the Hellfire’s range, his hair singed and his form disheveled. He stared at John in disbelief for a long moment before finally speaking, stunned, “You… you’re the Godslayer?”
John was slightly surprised. Was he really that famous now? Even a demon emperor from the demon race recognized him?
“Damn it!” the demon emperor cursed, glaring at John on the wall. He coldly commanded, “Attack! Kill him!”
The demon lords around him looked terrified, frozen in place.
John’s earlier spell had almost killed them in one strike. If he attacked again, they would surely perish.
One of the demon lords nervously glanced at the demon emperor and cautiously said, “Lord, we can’t defeat him…”
Boom!
Before the demon lord could finish, the demon emperor punched him, killing him instantly. He then looked at the remaining demon lords, their faces full of fear, and coldly said, “Fight
or die!”
Gulp! The remaining demon lords swallowed hard, their faces pale with terror. Gritting their teeth, they reluctantly rushed toward the city wall.
At that moment, John leapt down from the wall, ready to strike.
“Run!” someone shouted. The dozen or so demon lords scattered like frightened birds, fleeing in all directions without a second thought.
For a moment, both John and the demon emperor stood frozen in shock.
“Courting death!” The demon emperor flew into a rage. His staff appeared in his hand, and several Dark Orbs shot out, instantly obliterating four of the fleeing demon lords.
The remaining ones had already escaped into the forest, disappearing from sight.
“Tsk, tsk!” John shook his head in disdain as he watched the scene unfold. “I regret it now. Even as slaves, I wouldn’t want garbage like you!”
The demon emperor’s eye twitched, feeling utterly humiliated.
“Human, do you think you’re so powerful? If I wanted to kill you, it would be effortless!” he
snarled, raising his staff. Dark magic swirled around him, forming dozens of arrows that whistled through the air toward John.
“Dark magic?” John scoffed, standing motionless. He had no intention of dodging, letting the
dark arrows strike him.
Thud. Thud.
-0
-0
…
A series of damage numbers flashed, but John’s health didn’t drop by even a single point. “What… what’s going on?” The demon emperor’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“You… you’ve mastered the Laws of Darkness? How is that possible?” His voice trembled as
he stared at John, utterly incredulous.
The power of laws was something that only a Tier 9 powerhouse, someone with extraordinary
talent, could comprehend.
Yet here was this human, only at Tier 5, having somehow mastered such a power.
This was beyond anything he could understand.
“Correct, but unfortunately, no prize!” John’s cold voice echoed, and with a sharp hum of
sword intent, a brilliant flash tore through the sky, cutting straight toward the demon
emperor.
Slash!
-166,289
-93,144
Blood splattered, and two damage numbers flickered: a critical hit of 160,000 and over 90,000
in true damage.
The demon emperor, at the early stages of Tier 7 with a health pool of nearly 9 million, wasn’t immediately threatened by these hits.
But with John’s mastery of the Laws of Darkness, the demon emperor’s dark magic attacks
were utterly useless. “Human, mark my words!” The demon emperor spat furiously, turning to flee.
“You demons really are all the same!” John sneered in surprise. With a thought, he activated
Sword Flight and immediately gave chase.
Buzz!
At the same time, the Three-Foot Black Dragon Sword materialized, splitting into three as John unleashed Sword Mastery, rapidly closing in on the demon emperor.
Cold gleams flashed.
-21,847
-21,410
…
Each hit dealt only true damage.
Sword Mastery was akin to basic attacks and couldn’t break through the demon emperor’s
physical defense, resulting in only around 20,000 true damage per hit.
Yet even so, the demon emperor’s health was plummeting rapidly. Sensing death creeping ever closer, the demon emperor panicked and pleaded, “Human,
spare me! I’ll join your ranks-no, I’ll even become your slave!”
“Hmph, you’re truly shameless,” John sneered in disgust, launching a dark magic attack-
Annihilation.
Buzz!
A surge of immense dark power roared forth as a dark energy orb compressed rapidly, forming
a small black hole. The space around it twisted and contorted, wildly devouring everything in
its vicinity.
“No!” The demon emperor screamed in terror, his body helplessly being pulled toward the
black hole.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, the terrifying dark energy erupted. Damage numbers floated
above the chaos.
-791,370
-129,580
John, having mastered the Laws of Darkness, saw his dark magic damage double.
The devastating power of Annihilation devoured half of the demon emperor’s body, reducing
it to nothingness.
Only a mutilated half-remained, lying in a pool of blood. His health was nearly depleted, leaving him powerless to survive John’s next attack.
“Human, the Faction System has been activated. Soon, powerful beings from every race will
descend. You won’t meet a good end!” Even in his final moments, knowing he was doomed, the demon emperor continued to spew threats.
“So much nonsense!” John replied with disdain. A flash of cold light appeared as he activated
his Unrivaled Sword Dance, shredding the demon emperor to pieces, leaving behind a few scattered loot items.
[You have slain a Level 1200 Tier 7 Legendary Demon Emperor, gaining 3.44 million experience points.]
[Plunder Talent activated: Mental Strength +100, Skill Points +10; you have gained the Intermediate Dark Magic skill: Dark Storm.]
The notification popped up, and John’s luck was good this time-he plundered a group-
target dark magic skill, Dark Storm.
Without hesitation, he used his skill points to upgrade Dark Storm to an advanced skill.
[Dark Storm: Level 1, Advanced Magic, deals dark magic damage to area targets based on 330% of your Mental Strength. Mana Cost: 1000, Cooldown: 30 seconds.]
With the enhancement from the Laws of Darkness, John’s power took another significant leap.
He then turned his attention to the demon emperor’s dropped loot.
A black staff, two gemstones, over a hundred skill stones, enhancement stones, and other
items.
“Talent Upgrade Stone! Origin Stone!” John’s eyes were immediately drawn to the two
gemstones.
He had obtained another Origin Stone, along with a rare Primary Talent Upgrade Stone, which could upgrade any A-rank or lower talent by one level.
John had mastered over a dozen talents, but only three of them were A-rank or below.
His C-rank Magic Damage Amplification, B-rank Dual Mastery, and A-rank Physical Damage
Amplification.
Upgrading any of these talents would result in a massive boost to his power.
After a brief moment of thought, John decided to upgrade his Dual Mastery talent.
With his Mental Strength now at 100,000 points, enhancing Dual Mastery would increase both
his physical and magic damage.
[You have used the Primary Talent Upgrade Stone. Your Dual Mastery talent has been
upgraded to A-rank.]
[Dual Mastery: A-rank; Your physical attacks now deal an additional 60% magic damage.
Normal attacks consume 10 mana, while physical skill attacks consume double mana.]
With the A-rank Dual Mastery talent, his Magic Damage Amplification increased by another
10%.
John was overjoyed as he finally turned his gaze to the black staff.
“An artifact!” he exclaimed, realizing with excitement that it was yet another powerful
artifact.