Chapter 126: Going Deeper

During this month, when Adis led reinforcements to the northern border, all who beheld the scene couldn’t help but frown, their hearts gripped by a chilling sense of dread at the brutal reality before them.

Ahead, across the vast wilderness, countless demonic beasts surged forth, howling as they charged forward, clashing fiercely with the soldiers.

The lower-tier beasts were somewhat manageable, having yet to undergo metamorphosis and thus remaining relatively weak. Ordinary soldiers, fortified behind the walls and armed with powerful crossbows, could hold them at bay.

But those that had already transformed into first-tier beasts were far more formidable.

At this stage, the original boundaries had been shattered. These creatures possessed extraordinary power; even the city walls could not stop them and inflicted heavy losses upon the defenders.

To repel such beasts, only red-robed priests or grand knights of equal caliber could be dispatched.

Yet what darkened the faces of all present was the sheer multitude of first-tier beasts swarming the enemy ranks—merely gazing upon them sent shivers down the spine.

"Your Majesty!" A familiar shout rang out from the walls.

Adis turned to see Nadiel approaching, clad in armor but with a weary look in his divine eyes.

Nadiel met Adis’s gaze and seemed to exhale in relief before saying, “Your Majesty, the walls are too dangerous. Please come down with me.”

“No matter,” Adis replied calmly, then turned his gaze downward.

At that moment, a new wave of battle erupted.

Countless beasts surged forward, enduring volleys of arrows and divine spells from atop the walls, pressing on with wild abandon.

Watching this, Adis’s curiosity was piqued.

Though the beasts were powerful, how could they lay siege so effectively? How did they exert such pressure on Nadiel, a seasoned warrior?

His questions were soon answered.

In the distance beyond the walls, dark-skinned natives draped in animal pelts, adorned with fangs and feathers, slowly advanced, their faces twisted into savage expressions.

They appeared human at first glance but displayed a primitive culture, with patches of scales dotting their skin—an unsettling sight. Their pupils were clouded with a wild madness, born from deep within, and though humanoid in shape, they bore a closer resemblance to corrupted beasts.

Yet these people were generally strong, their physical prowess rivaling that of knights.

“Demonfolk?” Adis mused silently.

Given the demonic corruption unleashed by the Dark God, it could infect ordinary beasts and even humans, though with greater difficulty.

Seeing the demonfolk on the walls, Nadiel’s face darkened as he said to Adis, “Your Majesty, these are demonfolk.”

“According to the northern church records, these demonfolk were once tribes native to the north. Over time, some were tainted by the power of the evil god; others consumed the flesh and blood of demonic beasts; and some descended from ancient demonfolk of old, passing down their lineage for generations. For decades they have relentlessly raided the northern lands.”

“They are cruel by nature, devoid of humanity. They delight in slaughter and even cannibalize their victims.”

Nadiel’s grim expression revealed his deep disdain.

Adis listened, merely shaking his head with a faint smile, unperturbed, his eyes quietly fixed below.

From these demonfolk emanated a tangled web of profound karmic ties and ominous energy, saturated with the world’s malice.

Sensing this, a spark of slaughtering power stirred within Adis’s body, inflamed by some dark stimulus, awakening a fierce craving.

Feeling this surge, Adis closed his eyes calmly as vivid scenes of impending carnage unfolded in his mind, slowly reconstructing themselves.

Meanwhile, beneath the walls, the demonfolk launched their assault.

They seemed naturally dominant over the beasts, able even to command them. To the astonishment of Bil and others, the demonfolk mounted the beasts and charged forward.

Once more, battle erupted.

But this time, with Adis’s arrival accompanied by a host of priests, the fight was somewhat easier.

Divine spells blossomed atop the walls, and under the prayers of countless believers, a stable domain gradually formed, halting the encroaching demonic energies, freezing them in place.

...

While Adis led his troops amidst the border’s demonic tide, elsewhere, on a barren stretch of land, a young man rode calmly along a great road.

“Crossing this point, I enter the depths,” the youth murmured, eyes fixed on the horizon where dark shadows began to gather.

He observed the distance with a slight smile, a pure light enveloping him.

Then, with a thought, a trace of demonic energy surfaced around him, subtly altering his aura.

His once radiant brilliance slowly dimmed, replaced by a pure, unadulterated aura of destruction laced with demonic essence.

The handsome youth’s demeanor shifted noticeably; his presence changed significantly.

“That should do it,” Chen Ming said with a smile, patting his horse. “Let’s go.”

As he pressed onward, the surroundings seemed to transform drastically.

Chen Ming could distinctly feel the land growing more detached from the world—a deliberate seclusion, as if the very world itself had consciously sealed it off.

Within, demonic energy was dense and thick—dozens of times more potent than outside.

Such concentrated demonic power nurtured monstrous beasts far greater in size and number than those beyond.

Among them, Chen Ming even spotted a third-tier demon beast resting quietly.

Yet despite the multitude of beasts, none paid him the slightest heed, as if he were invisible.

“Just as I thought,” Chen Ming mused, confirming a suspicion.

“These beasts, once infected by the Dark God’s demonic aura, have their life cores dominated by the demonic energy within their bodies.”

“By altering the aura around me, they mistake me for one of their own. Unless I provoke them, they won’t trouble me.”

He moved forward quietly, thoughts racing.

However, just as he contemplated this, a demonic ox suddenly rose ahead, its blood-red eyes fixed on Chen Ming with a gleam of hunger.