**Chapter Seventy-Five: Beheading! Second Update**
The situation on the battlefield has already begun to change.
Soren’s army has deployed new demons on its flanks, but they are not particularly powerful demons; instead, they are a group of uniquely formed Chain Demons. In appearance, Chain Demons resemble humans, but they are entwined with chains, which serve as their clothing, weapons, and armor. Chain Demons possess unique combat skills that allow them to control four chains in battle simultaneously, which can sometimes be equivalent to the Long Whip Specialty, enabling them to perform binding attacks on their enemies.
The Challenge Level of Chain Demons is 6. While their attributes are not very strong, they can be quite troublesome to deal with.
In bl**d War Legions led by demons, the lowest level of lesser demons and Little Demons is rarely seen because bringing along these cannon fodder would further increase their logistical pressure while exploring the Bottomless Abyss, and moreover, these insufficiently excellent souls may not have the potential for advancement. Thus, the lowest tier within the demon legion approaches the strength of Chain Demons, and when cannon fodder is needed in battle, they directly utilize their Summon Demon ability. If any cannon fodder demons survive, they can directly advance.
——“Gaze of Fear!”
From the very beginning, the combat situation was dire. Even before Soren’s Demon Legion charged forward, many Coward Demons had already turned to flee. As not particularly strong demons, Chain Demons do not possess the Fear Aura ability, but they have a weaker version of the Gaze of Fear, which still exerts a significant suppressive effect on lower-level cannon fodder units, especially when the battlefield situation is unfavorable for demons, leading to a near one-sided slaughter; the effectiveness of this ability becomes even more astonishing!
“Gaze of Fear [Talent Ability]: Within a distance of fifteen meters, any target you gaze upon will make a Will saving throw. The gaze of a Chain Demon can instill feelings of cowardice and fear; if the target fails the saving throw, they will be affected by negative statuses such as fear, which can impair their combat performance. It is even possible they may flee. The difficulty of this saving throw is based on their own Charisma.”
A weakened talent ability.
Or rather, this is simply a weaker version of Soren’s original Gaze of Fear.
The Gaze of Fear that Soren possesses is effective against any living being, has a wide range, and is very difficult to resist. In contrast, the Chain Demon’s ability is limited in scope, has a lower difficulty for saving throws, and can only be used against low-level demons. Many mid- to high-level demons possess abilities that instill fear in their enemies, and numerous mid- and high-tier demons have weaker versions of the Fear Aura.
One Chain Demon is sufficient to single-handedly deal with a large group of cannon fodder. Soren lacks sufficient mid-tier demons for support and cover; many Coward Demons have already fled before they even fully reached the enemy.
The situation on the battlefield is quite bleak!
Flames burn everywhere; while these flames do not harm Soren, they are very effective against low-level demons.
The frenzied slaughter continues.
The Demon Legion seems to be completely unconcerned about the chaos; they have deployed less than one-third of their forces. The remaining troops are all held in reserve, ready to face the true attacks at any moment.
Those elite troops composed of mid- to high-level demons are the real key to determining the outcome!
The battle must rely on Soren and the more than ten mid-tier demons he has gathered around him in advance. A few days ago, the retaliation from the King of Werewolves, Yenogu, caused severe losses to the Succubus Legion. Although Soren claims to have risen in rank again, the actual strength of his commanding demon army has not seen much improvement. Most of these mid-tier demons are simple-minded Frenzied Demons and Frenzied Combat Demons, and commanding them requires little strategy, only simple orders on which direction to charge.
Flame Whip.
A fiery blaze tore through the air. Chain Demons are not immune to fire damage, and the Flame Whip itself also inflicts substantial physical damage.
The long sword sliced through the cold light!
After advancing to the form of Fire Demon, Soren exchanged his original long sword for a large nearly beheading sword. The demon form of the Bottomless Abyss is very different, and Soren’s current form allows him to wield two-handed weapons without facing significant penalties. In the future, the true form of the Flame Demon will be that of a two- to three-meter tall mini-giant. The enormous beheading sword is treated as a long sword in their hands.
Pfft.
The head of a Chain Demon was severed.
The combat power of the demons is not as terrifying as one might imagine; rather, their teamwork is remarkably harmonious. Just as Soren found an opportunity to slay a Chain Demon, his own army was nearly defeated. Chain Demons adeptly leverage their advantages and specialties in battle, focusing on slicing through the encirclement to assassinate key targets, while the demons just charge forward chaotically with no semblance of command. Killing one Chain Demon unintentionally attracted more enemies, seemingly indicating that the demons plan to turn around and behead Soren.
A line of data appeared before him:
“Killed a mid-tier Chain Demon!…”
“Extracting target’s soul power!…”
“You have gained 32 points of Soul Power!… You have successfully absorbed the target’s soul energy!… Your Fire Demon form has received a partial enhancement!…”
………………
Strange.
When Soren killed the first demon, a line of somewhat peculiar information prompts appeared.
He absorbs the bloodline power of the demons, and it seems the soul power cannot be absorbed, so it will instead feedback as killing experience to his main body. But now, it seems that after killing a demon, he can directly absorb the opponent’s soul energy, and this soul power is used to enhance his demonic power, with a Chain Demon having a Challenge Level of around 5 providing a source of power comparable to a demon with a Challenge Level of about 9.
Double experience?
Why is that? Is it due to the opposition between demons and devils? Or is it because of the mysterious rules of power in the bl**d War?
Soren is not sure why, but at least he knows that killing demons can yield more astonishing power boosts than killing demons themselves, because right in front of him, an extraordinarily lucky Coward Demon had just landed the finishing blow on another injured Chain Demon amidst a swarm of Frenzied Demons, and next, it directly advanced and mutated from a Coward Demon to a new Frenzied Demon.
Two levels in a row!
That Coward Demon skipped the low-level demon form entirely and jumped straight to the mid-level demon threshold.
Incredible.
Gaining levels in the bl**d War is unexpectedly simple; it seems any low-level demon that successfully kills any demon can directly gain an advancement.
Thud!
A sound of something hitting the ground rang out.
The recently advanced Frenzied Demon was suddenly split in two, and behind it appeared another type of dangerous demon.
——Hook Demon (Barb Demon)!
These demons stand around two meters tall and weigh about 250 pounds, and they are quite ferocious. They have a naturally low intelligence of only 6.
But that does not mean they are not dangerous.
Because Hook Demons wield large cleavers which can cause lasting Purgatory Wounds upon hitting an enemy, and they also carry toxins; any enemy concentrated upon by them is likely to contract a disease that cannot be cured by conventional means, only driven away by magic.
Finally, these creatures can go into a frenzy!
Hook Demons possess the Frenzied talent specialty and can unleash frenzies at least twice a day based on their capabilities. This ability is similar to a Barbarian’s rage state, where in a frenzied state, Hook Demons gain +4 to strength, +4 to constitution, and a +2 morale bonus to Will saves, while slightly lowering their own defensive capabilities. This frenzied state has no side effects; they do not become weakened or fatigued, much like a Legendary Barbarian’s epic rage, the only flaw is that the bonuses are not as great.
A faint Spell Light flickered.
The figure of the Hook Demon suddenly appeared behind Soren, directly swinging its large cleaver to strike.
——“High-level Teleportation Spell!”
The Hook Demon has a dangerous spell-like ability that is equivalent to a High-level Teleportation Spell, and now it has appeared directly in front of Soren.
In this situation.
Soren could no longer conceal his true strength; his bare chest instantly ignited with roaring flames, and the demonic tattoo glowed faintly, transforming back into his true Fire Demon form.
The Demon Legion intends to behead him!
……………… (To be continued ~^~)
