AWB Chapter 210: Next Target
Chapter 210: Next Target
Adonis slowly walked forward and stopped right in front of the broken giant ape.
The colossal Demon King of the Jagged Canyons was a pitiful sight. Uranos pushed himself up on his three remaining arms. He coughed violently, spitting glowing green blood onto the dark soil.
"I gave you a choice in my broadcast, Uranos. I told you to surrender your territory. You chose the hard way."
Uranos looked up at the mortal Emperor. The primal terror in the giant ape’s yellow eyes was obvious. He trembled. He lowered his massive, horned head toward the dirt. It was the universal posture of absolute submission.
"Please," Uranos gurgled. "Mercy. I yield. I yield my canyon to you."
Sirius stepped up behind Adonis, resting her hands on her hips. She looked at the defeated ape with absolute disgust.
"You are pathetic, Uranos," Sirius laughed mockingly. "You came all this way just to beg on your knees? I told you my Emperor was untouched by the likes of you."
Adonis looked down at the bleeding giant. He considered letting the ape live as a frontline meat shield for his new army. A level 85 vanguard could be useful.
But then, something strange happened.
Uranos stopped trembling. His lowered head began to shake.
"Ha ha ha! You fools! You absolute, arrogant fools!" Uranos roared, throwing his head back.
Glowing green blood sprayed from his shattered jaw, but he did not seem to care about the pain anymore. The terror in his yellow eyes was completely gone, replaced by a terrifying, fanatical madness.
Adonis narrowed his violet eyes. He did not step back, but he subtly shifted his weight.
"Have you lost your mind along with your pride, ape?" Adonis asked coldly.
"My pride is exactly why I am laughing, mortal!" Uranos screamed wildly. "Do you truly think a Demon King would bow to a creature made of flesh and bone? Do you think I would serve a man who defies the heavens? The Golden Light showed us the truth!"
Sirius frowned in confusion. "The Golden Light? What are you babbling about, you overgrown furball?"
"The God of Swords!" Uranos bellowed with terrifying reverence. "Ascalon descended to this dark pit! He gave us true purpose! He promised us that if we halted the cycle of death, he would elevate us to the upper realms! He promised us a place in the Golden Heavens!"
Adonis felt a cold, familiar rage tighten his chest. Ascalon was not just handing out blueprints for soul furnaces. The Sword God was actively brainwashing the primordial demons of the underworld.
"A god’s promise is nothing but a gilded cage. Ascalon is using you to fight his petty wars. He does not care about your elevation. You are just a disposable pawn on his board." Adonis stated coldly.
"Lies! I am a chosen warrior of the Golden Heavens! I will not be conquered by a mortal glitch! If I cannot defeat you in combat, I will take you to the abyss with me!"
"My Emperor! Get back!" Sirius yelled in absolute panic. "His demonic core is destabilizing! He is going to detonate himself!"
Adonis did not retreat. He stared at the glowing, expanding body of the giant ape.
"For the Golden Light!" Uranos roared one final time.
BOOOOOOM!
The massive ape exploded.
It was not a normal blast. It was the concentrated detonation of a level 85 demonic core.
Green hellfire expanded outward with the force of a falling meteor. The shockwave ripped the obsidian earth apart, creating a crater hundreds of feet deep.
Then, a hurricane of pure destruction swept over the battlefield, threatening to vaporize the front lines of both the Howling Keep army and the Demonic Monkey Legion.
"Chaos Shield," Adonis commanded softly.
He raised his left hand. A massive, impenetrable dome of violent violet ether erupted around him and Sirius. The dome expanded instantly, creating a towering shield wall that protected his entire demonic army behind him.
The green hellfire crashed against the violet shield with a deafening roar. The earth shook violently. The sky burned blinding white for several long seconds.
Then, the chaotic winds slowly died down. The green flames fizzled out into thick, toxic smoke.
Adonis lowered his hand. The violet shield dissolved into the air.
He stood perfectly unharmed at the very edge of a massive, smoking crater. There was absolutely nothing left of Demon King Uranos. Not a single bone. Not a drop of blood. The giant ape had completely erased himself from existence.
Behind Adonis, Sirius let out a long, shaky breath. She was clutching his arm tightly, her wings wrapped around her body for extra protection.
"By the abyss! He actually killed himself. He wiped out his own soul just to try and scratch you." Sirius whispered in shock.
Adonis looked down into the smoldering crater. His face was completely unreadable.
"Demons are inherently selfish creatures, Sirius. They cling to life, power, and territory above all else. Is that correct?"
"Yes, We are creatures of survival and desire. Suicide goes entirely against our very nature. It means complete erasure. No reincarnation. No afterlife. Nothing."
Adonis crossed his arms. "Exactly. For a Demon King to choose absolute erasure over temporary servitude, it requires a level of fanatical devotion that does not happen naturally."
"Ascalon’s light. The Sword God did not just offer them a deal. He must have corrupted their minds completely. He turned them into mindless zealots."
"He infected them with false faith," Adonis corrected her, "He took their primal nature and replaced it with blind obedience. It is a pathetic tactic used by weak rulers who cannot command respect through true strength."
Adonis turned his back to the crater and looked at the battlefield.
The Demonic Monkey Legion was in a state of absolute chaos. Hundreds of thousands of apes and mutated boars were staring at the empty space where their invincible king used to be. They had lost their leader, and they had just witnessed the terrifying power of the mortal Emperor who casually blocked a suicide blast.
"Attention!" Adonis commanded, his voice magically echoing like rolling thunder.
Every single monkey on the battlefield flinched and dropped their weapons in terror.
"Your King chose to die for a false god," Adonis declared loudly. "He threw his life away for a promise that would never be fulfilled. But I am not a false god. I am the physical embodiment of the Chaos Order, and I am standing right in front of you."
Adonis pointed his finger at the massive, trembling army.
"Submit to my rule right now," Adonis demanded. "Pledge your souls to the Howling Keep, and you will become part of the greatest conquering force this firmament has ever seen. If you refuse, I will throw you all into the crater and bury you alive. The choice is yours."
It did not take a single second of hesitation.
The entire Demonic Monkey Legion dropped to their knees, bowing their furry heads into the dirt. A chorus of terrified, obedient grunts filled the air. They were creatures of survival, and they knew exactly who the strongest predator in the realm was.
[System Notification: The Demonic Monkey Legion has submitted to the Chaos Order.]
[Army Size Increased. 300,000 Units Acquired.]
Sirius smiled brightly, her flirtatious energy returning instantly. She walked up to Adonis and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, resting her chin on his broad shoulder.
"You are incredibly good at making new friends, my handsome Emperor," Sirius teased softly. "Look at them. They are completely terrified of you. It is so romantic."
"They are tools for the conquest, Sirius. But Uranos’s final words have changed the parameters of this war."
"How so?" Sirius asked, tracing a finger over his chest.
"I originally thought I was just clearing out a few rebellious warlords. But if Ascalon has converted the other Demon Kings into fanatical zealots, they will not surrender. They will not listen to reason. They will fight to the absolute death to protect their divine mission."
"Does that bother you?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Not in the slightest," Adonis smirked coldly. "It simply means I do not have to hold back. I will not offer them a chance to yield anymore. I will just slaughter them all."
Adonis gently unhooked Sirius’s arms and turned to face her.
"We are not stopping to celebrate this victory," Adonis ordered. "Merge the monkey legion with your forces. I want them on the front lines as shock troops. Where do we march next?"
Sirius tapped her chin thoughtfully, her bat wings fluttering behind her.
"Well, the Dark Canyons are ours now," Sirius mapped out the territory in her mind. "If we continue south, we will cross the Red River. On the other side of that river is a massive, dead forest made entirely of black thorns. That is the territory of Demon King Malphas."
"Demon King Malphas? Tell me about him." Adonis demanded.
"His domain is called the Dark Crow’s Sanctuary," Sirius explained "He is not a brawler like Uranos. Malphas is a coward. He is a massive, multi-eyed raven who specializes in shadow magic and illusions. He controls millions of flying shadow-crows that spy on the entire firmament."
"So he is an intelligence gatherer," Adonis noted.
"Exactly," Sirius nodded. "If we march a massive army across the Red River, his crows will spot us immediately. He will know we are coming long before we reach the edge of his forest. He loves setting traps and using illusions to confuse invaders."
"Illusions only work on weak minds. My system interface automatically nullifies any form of mental interference. His tricks will be completely useless against me."
"But they will work on our troops, Adonis," Sirius warned gently. "If the army gets lost in the black thorn forest, we will be picked off one by one. Malphas is incredibly annoying to deal with."
Adonis crossed his arms, formulating a simple but brutal plan.
"Then we will not play his game. We will march the army to the edge of the Red River and set up camp. Let his crows see the massive force. Let him prepare his little traps in the forest."
"And then what?" Sirius asked, tilting her head.
Adonis revealed a predatory smile.
"And then, I will go into the Dark Crow’s Sanctuary alone. I will bypass his army entirely. I will find his nest, rip his wings off, and crush his skull. Once the King is dead, the illusions will fade, and our army can march through freely."
Sirius’s ruby eyes widened in pure admiration.
"You want to assassinate a Demon King in his own domain? Just by yourself?"
"I am a level 99 anomaly, Sirius. An overgrown bird playing with shadows is not a threat. It is a pest."