Soul-Siphon Strike +1... +1...
"Good luck."
Ryuga swung the Heavenly Blaze, piercing a small leader with one strike.
His Q stacked one layer.
By now, stacking layers from small enemies was already difficult.
Only bosses would do.
However, every successfully stacked layer was a world-spanning increase in power.
To put it this way, he could currently destroy a planet, but if he stacked another 100 layers, he could split a star system.
If he were at the initial 1 to 100 layers, setting aside the Creator Demon God's strength, 100 layers would only be enough to destroy a small city.
...
"Attack!"
"Attack!"
"Alert!"
"Damn it, who, who are you!?"
The roars of the Olenos soldiers gradually died out in the firelight.
They couldn't block Ryuga's offensive at all.
Wherever the Heavenly Blaze's spearhead reached, any defensive mechanism was easily pierced and shattered.
Not to mention the giant, monstrous dragon circling and soaring in the sky.
The moment it opened its mouth, crimson fire pillars rained down from the heavens, and the melting rock spread into a scorched earth net, completely sealing off all escape routes.
Escape? There was nowhere to run.
The flames rose high like prison walls, turning the entire battlefield into an altar for burning souls.
"Relax, soon, nothing will be left here."
Ryuga said, without a trace of emotion.
Holding the Heavenly Blaze, he slammed the hilt of the spear into the ground.
In an instant, the ground shook.
The purplish-black shadow flames suddenly surged up, roaring like coiling, angry dragons.
A ring of fire spread outwards from him.
It rippled out in layers.
Wherever it passed, the Olenos soldiers' flesh instantly carbonized, and even their souls were not spared, turning into charred remains amidst their screams.
They fell down in swathes, their bodies disintegrating into piles of scorched bones on the ground.
Only their heads remained, rolling away with a 'gurgle'.
"What a pity!"
Ryuga looked down at the long spear in his hand and sighed softly.
This time, after killing tens of thousands of small soldiers, he still couldn't stack a single Q layer.
It was simply a matter of luck.
"Devil!"
"You are a devil—"
In front, only the remaining Olenos Palace Guard Commander was still standing.
His armor was shattered, but he still tightly gripped his battle-axe.
His eyes were blood-red like fire, and he roared in anger, filled with despair and unwillingness.
He suddenly lunged towards the Black Tide sludge nearby, grabbing a handful and forcing it into his mouth.
"Black Tide, grant me skin of rock!"
"Black Tide, grant me sharp blades."
"Black Tide, grant me... the power of devouring."
He allowed the muddy Black Tide to erupt from within his body, crawling out of his pores and spreading over his entire body, coiling around his limbs and bones like a living thing.
It corroded his flesh and blood, and reshaped his body.
Black and orange-red rocks grew wildly on him.
His muscles twisted and swelled, and his bones shifted and reassembled.
In a flash, his spine bulged like a mountain ridge, and his chest burst open, revealing magma-like orange-red rock formations inside.
"A Black Tide's Corroded Daemon, huh? Heh!"
Ryuga sneered.
Just as the Corroded Daemon roared and prepared to pounce, a shadow flame suddenly shot out from the darkness, piercing the Daemon's chest!
Boom!
The flame exploded, and the rock disintegrated.
The massive body trembled and let out an inhuman wail, then crashed to its knees, turning into a pile of smoking, shattered rock debris.
"Life is part of the cycle of reincarnation."
"And your part has already ended."
Ryuga declared in a deliberately hoarse voice.
Then, he strode towards the depths of the palace.
...
Inside the palace, the Lord of Olenos was still frantically feeding on unknown flesh and blood.
His mouth was covered in blood, and shreds of meat hung between his teeth.
"My Lord, we are under attack."
"The Palace Guard was completely wiped out in a single encounter."
"He... the devil, the devil is coming for the palace."
The Olenos soldier who rushed in fell to his knees with a 'thud', trembling with fear.
"There's a dragon in the sky, a dragon is circling."
"The entire city is already surrounded by fire."
The Lord of Olenos, who was wildly devouring the bloody meal, rolled his eyes and suddenly looked up at the soldier below: "A dragon? Are you joking with me?"
"No! I wouldn't dare!"
The soldier bowed his head even lower.
He didn't notice that his Lord's eyes were no longer human.
"Report! My Lord, that man, no, that devil, he, he has already broken in. My Lord, run!"
Another Olenos guard ran in to report.
"A bunch of useless trash."
The Lord instantly flew into a rage, his eyes burning with violent flames.
He suddenly stood up and rushed towards the hall entrance.
What met his eyes was the sky-high firelight and the giant dragon circling above.
His pupils instantly contracted, and his steps came to an abrupt halt.
Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and ran back to his throne, kicking a mechanism fiercely.
Click.
The wall behind the throne slowly moved aside, and a stone door opened.
The Lord of Olenos stumbled and fell inside.
Clang!
A flash of cherry-colored blade light shot out like lightning.
Sakura stepped out of the shadows, her long blade silently and swiftly piercing the heart of the Lord of Olenos!
It went in through his back and out through his chest.
The force of the blade erupted suddenly, and his heart burst open in an instant.
"You—"
The Lord's eyes bulged.
He looked at the blade tip protruding from his chest, then fell to the ground unwillingly.
"The... the Lord is dead."
"Ahhh—"
The two soldiers turned to flee.
The next moment, flames engulfed their entire bodies.
Their bodies turned to charcoal in the blink of an eye, leaving only two heads rolling onto the ground.
Their faces were twisted, still showing terror.
"Boss, I apologize."
"I wanted to leave him alive so you could finish him yourself."
Sakura sheathed her blade, her expression calm.
"It's fine."
"But, Boss, why only leave the heads?"
Sakura frowned slightly, curious.
"To build a Trophy Mound, to serve as a warning to others, and to deter the four directions."
"..."
Sakura's pupils constricted slightly, and she gasped.
In an instant, a chill ran up her spine to the back of her neck.
A sudden change occurred!
The Lord of Olenos, who had already stopped breathing, sprang up eerily.
His eyes rolled back to black, his neck twisted, and a pitch-black short blade appeared in his hand.
Carrying a chilling wind, he slashed at Sakura's neck!
Unwilling malice flashed in the dead man's eyes.
The single strike was as fast as a ghost.
Clang—
Sakura hastily turned to block.
The moment the blades collided, metal shrieked, sparks flew, and a violent force came from the edge of the blade.
The next moment, Sakura floated backward like a willow catkin, completely neutralizing the force.
This thing isn't even worth one of my strikes.
But it should be left for the Boss to kill.
"Gagaga~"
"Die—die—, you all must die."
The flames flickered, illuminating the Lord of Olenos's hideous corpse.
His mouth was stretched into an inhuman, sinister grin, and half of his body had been consumed by the Black Tide.
Like a whisper from hell, the Black Tide's Corroded Daemon was awakening.
"So you're the Lord of Olenos, huh?"
"I can't let you complete your transformation."
"What if I can't recognize you later?"
Ryuga sneered, looking at the Lord of Olenos, who was twisting and deforming as he was consumed by the Black Tide.
He tapped his toe, and the ground exploded with a roar.
The Heavenly Blaze long spear was in his hand, its tip burning with the shadow-siphoning flame.
He thrust it towards the Lord of Olenos's heart.
The Lord tried to block with his horizontal blade.
The moment it touched the spear tip, crack, the long blade shattered into pieces.
The Heavenly Blaze, carrying terrifying force, slammed into the chest of the Lord of Olenos.
Pfft!
Blood spurted, and black mist scattered.
The might of the Heavenly Blaze did not diminish.
The terrifying impact drove the Lord into the stone wall behind him.
Rumble!
The wall collapsed, and rubble flew everywhere, revealing a huge crater.
The Lord of Olenos was left with only the half of his body that hadn't been corroded and mutated by the Black Tide.
His dead, black eyes were wide open.
He fell down again, unwillingly.
He was completely gone.
"Not bad."
"You stacked my Q +1. I guess you did some good work."
Ryuga slowly pulled out the Heavenly Blaze, speaking mockingly.
Before his voice faded, the soul-siphoning flame erupted from beneath his feet.
The fire surged outwards like a tide.
Wherever it passed, the remaining Olenos soldiers were swallowed by the flames before they could even scream.
Their flesh was burned away, leaving only their heads rolling.
His flame could distinguish souls.
The pure were unharmed by the fire; the ones corrupted by the Black Tide were instantly incinerated.
Almost no one on the surface of Olenos was spared.
Streets, squares, towers... everywhere were twisted black shadows and bodies that hadn't fully mutated.
Only the uncorrupted civilians, huddled in the basements, were lucky enough to escape.
...
When Cerydra and Hysilens arrived with the main army, they only saw a hellish scene, and...
The Trophy Mound, built from tens of thousands of heads.
Hiss—
To be continued…