Heroes' Prison

Chapter 1033 - 977 Duke of Destruction

Within the projection cast by the principal, a vast demon army stretched across the mountains and plains, blanketing the entire landscape without end in sight.

Most strikingly, in the midst of this endless demon army, over a thousand robust Giant Demons were pulling a massive black chariot, advancing in perfect unison.

Inside that enormous chariot stood a sinister black throne, upon which sat an unparalleled emperor. He was clad in a black dragon robe with a black crown atop his head, exuding an ocean-like aura of evil.

At this moment, a group of palace maidens in black robes attended to him, carrying platters of fruit, each topped with a pulsating heart, offered for his consumption.

This scene appeared as if a Demon Clan emperor was leading an inexhaustible demon army on a personal campaign!

"This is the demigod commander under the King of Annihilation—Evil Emperor Zichen!" The principal stared intently at the unparalleled emperor within the projection, providing a detailed introduction, "He was originally the monarch of a great empire in the First World, later overthrown by four knights. During my recent travels to the First World, I visited the empire he once ruled, an empire vast in territory, rich in resources, home to countless races, and inhabited by hundreds of billions of people!"

Yun and the others stared unblinkingly at the image of the unparalleled emperor, feeling the boundless oppression even from a mere projection, their souls seemingly joining this emperor in his conquests, unstoppable!

"Currently, Evil Emperor Zichen is leading this demon army from the south of Hero’s Continent! Meanwhile, demigod-level experts from other directions are also closing in around Hero Empire!" As the principal spoke, he extended his hand once more, gently waving it!

The image in the air instantly switched to a vast, boundless ocean.

At this time, the ocean was raging with towering waves, enveloped by a massive storm, pouring rain while thunder and lightning clashed.

At the ocean’s edge appeared a black wave, surging forward with the storm, resembling a massive tsunami!

Yet it was not seawater, but an unending horde of demonic creatures, densely packed, nearly filling the sea, rising and falling with the waves, their claws bared, roaring madly, forming waves!

Above the endless demon horde, a large group of humanoid demons flew. They moved in perfect harmony, each with a shaved bald head, blood-red tattoos adorned their scalps, dressed uniformly in black monk robes.

Each of them bore some form of disability, some blind, others missing an arm, some even headless, possessing only a torso.

Yet their aura was extremely powerful, their demonic Qi towering to the sky, clearly several levels above the demonic horde below the ocean.

"Pain Acolytes!" At that moment, Huang Yi suddenly exclaimed, having just recently slain a senior Heavenly Domain-level Pain Acolyte, its appearance identical to this.

However, at this moment, these Pain Acolytes were surrounding a man draped in a red monk’s robe, like stars around the moon.

The man was not bald but wore a red monk’s hat, concealing half of his face beneath it, holding a red Zen Staff. He emanated a religious, mystical aura, eerie yet powerful, seemingly the leader of these Pain Acolytes.

"Indeed! This is a group of Pain Acolytes!" The principal nodded, his gaze fixed on the central figure of the Pain Acolytes, "And the man in the red monk’s robe is the famed demigod expert under the Queen of Agony—Pain Cult Master Grohl the Regretful! During the Primordial Era, he once seduced the young Johns, who later became the God of Faith, into joining the Agony Demon Sect as a Pain Acolyte. Johns eventually left the sect, culminating in his divine enthronement. Now, Pain Cult Master is personally leading this demon army, sweeping in from the northern Dragon Sea of Hero’s Continent!"

"Dragon Sea?!" Huang Yi was instantly taken aback.

The north of Hero’s Continent was Dragon Sea, the domain ruled by the Sea Dragon Emperor!

Presently, Dragon Sea has been incorporated into the territory of Hero Empire, with Hero Harbor facing the Dragon Sea!

Pain Cult Master leading such a massive demon horde, the Sea Dragon Emperor could never withstand it!

However, it was not over yet. The dean waved his hand once more, and the scene in the air shifted again.

The scene turned into a dreary small town, with heavy dark clouds hanging low in the sky, and the streets utterly deserted, shrouded in black fog, resembling a ghost town.

Suddenly, from the end of the dim street came a series of eerie chanting sounds, a melody obscure and low, like a ghostly ballad, growing clearer and drawing nearer.

Amidst the hazy fog, nine figures clad in black robes, holding white bone staffs, appeared faintly, bowing their heads as they traveled.

As they walked, they chanted, supporting themselves with their white bone staffs using hands so thin they were mere skin and bones.

Those white bone staffs were extremely peculiar, each topped with a large skull, the jaws of which were constantly opening and closing, expelling waves of black demonic qi, forming the dense fog of the ghost town.

At this moment, these people were arranged in a mystic formation, at the center of which stood a shadowy black figure.

The black figure was shrouded in thick demonic qi, his features indistinct. In his left hand, he held a black demon codex, and in his right hand, he wielded a bone staff topped with a dragon’s skull, its hollow eye sockets burning with green ghostly flames, lighting up the surrounding darkness.

"These are the ten Dark Priests under the command of the Dark King, currently rushing from the west of the Hero Empire!" the dean introduced intently, focusing on the shadow wielding the skull-topped staff. "Each Dark Priest is at least a top-level Sky Domain expert, and the shadow in the center of the formation is the Great Dark Priest, Shi Xu, an ancient demigod who commands all of the Dark Priests. The Dark Priests excel in spells like summoning, sacrifice, and formations, and their abilities are enigmatic. Although their numbers are few, each Dark Priest can summon endless numbers of Dark Cultists. Over thirty years ago, when the Dark King Uk’ar invaded this continent, he brought three Dark Priests with him. Although those three Dark Priests themselves did not kill many people, they summoned a continuous stream of Dark Cultists, who flattened countless cities and massacred billions of beings!"

Dao Feng stared at the scene in the air, grave, and said, "Demigod Demons have come to the south, north, and west of the Hero Empire, what about the east?"

"There are also," the dean replied, waving his hand, transforming the screen in front of them to reveal the scene in the east of the Hero Empire.

It was a vast plain, covered with wild grass that was trembling at this moment, as if the whole earth was shaking.

Soon, the thunderous sound of iron hooves roared, and wave after wave of knights came charging from the far end of the plain.

These knights were clad in heavy armor, their faces entirely covered by sturdy helmets, making their features indistinguishable, and even their mounts were armored, appearing like an unstoppable iron tide!

Their mounts varied, including headless horses, skeleton horses, demon horned beasts, demon leopards, and more, all without exception demon clan mounts.

At the forefront of this iron cavalry was a black warhorse with wings, its hooves burning with green flames, ridden by a man of noble appearance.

This man wore an exquisite and luxurious set of metal armor, engraved with intricate designs, and a long cloak that trailed on the ground, embroidered with golden trims. On his hand was a gem-encrusted ring, and even his stirrups and boots were as ornate as pieces of art.

He appeared entirely different from the primitive and savage demon clan, exuding an aura of nobility and elegance, like a nobleman of pure lineage, with refined manners in every gesture.

"This is Duke of Destruction, Xueci! He is one of the sons of the King of Destruction, with an extremely pure lineage! A demigod level powerhouse!" The dean frowned slightly upon seeing this figure.

"What? The Seven Archdemons have descendants?!" Thunder God exclaimed in slight shock.

"Not only do they exist, but there are quite a few!" The dean nodded, detailing, "Under the Seven Archdemons, there is a group of demons of noble blood, who are their descendants, possessing the bloodline of the archdemons. The direct offspring of the Seven Archdemons, their own children, are conferred the title of ’Duke’. The offspring of these dukes are conferred the title of Marquess, and the descendants of Marquesses are conferred the title of Earl, and so forth, followed by Viscount and Baron, with the bloodline weakening with each generation. However, regardless of rank, all titled demons are descendants of the Seven Archdemons, possessing some degree of royal bloodline, and their power far surpasses that of other demons!"

"The Duke of Destruction, Xueci?" Huang Yi recited the name, suddenly speaking, "I’ve heard of this figure. He was once defeated by Marshal Diego! During the Ancient Times, when the King of Curses invaded this world, the King of Destruction did not participate personally, but he sent his Duke, Bloodspike, to aid. Duke Bloodspike led a vanguard of ghouls, advancing all the way to the Elemental Hills area of the Eastern Continent at that time, but was later defeated and routed by Marshal Diego, even losing a precious Giant General! That war was later hailed by historians as the ’Elemental Hills Victory’. A few eras have passed, yet this defeated vanguard has returned to the mortal realm!"

"Do not underestimate him!" the dean shook his head, "During the Battle of the Elemental Hills, Marshal Diego was already a well-established pinnacle Sky Domain expert, just one step away from being a demigod. In contrast, Bloodspike was newly born, the youngest duke under the King of Destruction at that time, his power only advanced Heavenly Realm. Now, after the passage of long years, Bloodspike has long since been promoted to the demigod level, whereas Marshal Diego has been imprisoned in the Heroes’ Prison for many years, his strength has greatly waned, so it is uncertain whether he is a match for Duke Bloodspike."