For a moment, the entire battlefield fell silent. Even the soldiers fighting at the farthest corners came to a halt as they witnessed the brilliant, heavenly figure of Taranis hovering in the sky, a Thunderbolt of immense power dancing in his hand, its roaring presence threatening to annihilate everything in its path.

"The demons will lose tonight."

Though Taranis murmured the words in a low voice, they were laced with Soulforce and heard by every being present on the battlefield.

Those words instilled unshakable confidence in the hearts of the humans and raw, primal fear within the demons, as if they were not merely a statement, but a declaration… the unalterable will of the heavens themselves.

Even the Archdemons clashing against Stormir, and Azhryx—the Demon King himself—locked in battle with Voltrex, sensed something stir within their hearts. It was a feeling they had never experienced before, born the moment those words echoed across the battlefield.

"Hahahaha! My nephew has done his part. Now it's time for me to do mine!" Stormir shouted, blue lightning dancing violently around his body.

---

"That brat…" Voltrex sighed softly. "He knows the only way to win this battle is by killing Azhryx, so he indirectly ordered me to do it tonight."

After a brief breath, Voltrex lifted his gaze, his sharp eyes locking onto Azhryx, who was still momentarily shaken by Taranis's declaration.

"Azhryx," Voltrex announced calmly, yet with absolute finality,

"Let's end this tonight."

"Who gave you the right to decide when this battle ends!?" Azhryx muttered.

He knew the morale of the demons was at an all-time low after Taranis's declaration. The optimal strategy now was to retreat, regroup, and recover their strength.

And that was exactly what he intended to do.

"Everyone retr—"

Before he could finish, a long, dazzling blue aura enveloped Voltrex's sword, lightning crackling violently around the blade.

"No one is retreating tonight," Voltrex said, his voice absolute and commanding.

"Th-that's Sword Aura…" Azhryx murmured, his eyes widening.

"You're right. Only a handful of cultivators across the entire continent can wield Sword Aura," Voltrex replied, his figure blurring as he vanished, leaving behind a trail of lightning.

"H-he's too fast…" Azhryx muttered.

In the very next moment, the dazzling blade appeared above Azhryx, descending straight toward his head.

Azhryx reacted instantly, dodging sideways. He knew better than to face a Sword Aura attack head-on.

Yet Voltrex had anticipated that.

Mid-swing, Voltrex twisted his wrist, redirecting the blade sideways toward Azhryx.

Clenching his teeth, Azhryx hastily materialised a thick crystal sphere around his body, sealing himself within.

The blade struck the sphere, launching it toward the ground like a falling star.

The sphere crashed amidst the demon army, carving out a massive crater and sending dust—and demons caught in the aftermath—flying in all directions.

After a brief moment, the crystal shattered, revealing Azhryx within, a thin trail of blood trickling from the corner of his lips.

Once again, the clash between the two races came to a halt as all eyes shifted toward the Demon Sovereign on the ground and the Demi-God hovering above, a blazing sword in his hand.

"I was trying to retreat, but you're the one who forced my hand, Voltrex," Azhryx muttered, wiping the blood from his lips with his thumb.

"Don't blame me for the destruction that's about to occur here."

As he spoke, the air around Azhryx congealed, turning heavy and oppressive. His skin darkened into a deep crimson, while his demonic eyes sank into abyssal black, swallowing all light.

Razor-sharp claws tore their way out of his hands, and his jagged teeth elongated into a horrifying grin.

His body swelled to twice its former size, muscles bulging as if struggling to contain the monstrous power within. A terrifying red aura erupted around him, completely engulfing his form, its violent pulses warping the very air.

The ground beneath Azhryx shattered and buckled, spiderweb cracks racing outward as the sheer Soulforce pouring from his body crushed everything nearby.

"Lord Azhryx has used the Demonic Transformation!" the demons shouted, their voices filled with awe and shock.

"Hahaha! That Voltrex is as good as dead! No heavenly will can stand against the might of Lord Azhryx!" another demon laughed, mockingly recalling Taranis's earlier declaration.

Confidence slowly returned to the demons as they began cheering for their king, their roars echoing across the battlefield.

The ground beneath Azhryx trembled violently before collapsing entirely. In the next instant, he shot upward at blinding speed, closing the distance between himself and Voltrex in the blink of an eye.

His terrifying claws, glowing with violent crimson light, lashed out toward Voltrex—only to meet Voltrex's sword as he blocked instantly.

The moment Azhryx's claws collided with Voltrex's Aura Blade, a thunderous boom erupted, followed by a blinding flash of light that shook the entire battlefield.

At the point of impact, reality itself fractured, small gaps into a black, unknown dimension tearing open—something only a clash between high-ranked cultivators could ever cause..

Although Voltrex managed to block Azhryx's claw, the sheer force behind the attack was so overwhelming that he was pushed several feet backward through the air.

"H-His Majesty was pushed back!?" the Thunderbanes on the ground gasped, their mouths hanging open.

"H-how is that possible?"

"E-even seeing it with my own eyes, I still can't believe it."

These murmurs were not exaggerated in the slightest. Voltrex was the strongest cultivator of the Western Continent—a pillar of absolute power and authority not only for the Thunderbanes, but for every Bane of the Hundred Sky Mountains. He was revered as an untouchable, unyielding, and unbreakable existence—a Demi-God walking among mortals.

Yet even such a being had been forced back in a direct clash of power.

The grin on Azhryx's face widened as he lunged at Voltrex once more. A barrage of violent claw attacks followed, each strike carrying enough power to annihilate an entire city.

The Demi-God responded instantly, blocking or dodging every attack that came his way. Each clash shattered reality itself, tearing holes through the sky like cracks spreading across a broken mirror.

The waves of Soulforce surging outward from their battle grew so dense that all low-tier cultivators, human and demon alike, died instantly under the crushing pressure. Awakened Sages lost consciousness on the spot, while even True Sages were forced to their knees.

The war ground to a temporary halt, for no one was capable of fighting under the overwhelming Soulforce released by these two titans.

Only a handful of cultivators, including Taranis, remained standing, their eyes fixed upon the two kings, in whose hands the fate of the entire battle rested.

Azhryx's relentless assault continued for an entire minute, during which he unleashed thousands of attacks upon Voltrex without pause.

"Hahahaha! What's wrong, Voltrex!? Not so cocky anymore?" Azhryx roared with laughter, delivering one final blow that sent Voltrex crashing down toward the ground, shaking the vast battlefield upon impact.

"With this Demonic Transformation, my power rivals that of a peak-stage Demi-God. You, at the eighth level, can never defeat me."

As the dust settled, Voltrex's figure revealed on the ground. Although still standing, the sword in his hand trembled uncontrollably. The arm that held the blade turned completely crimson, the muscles broken and skin tore apart from the aftermath of blocking the deadly strikes of Azhryx.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.