Formidable Foes
If Eddie were to confront them head-on, defeating a demon general wouldn't be an easy task. However, despite their robust bodies, the demon generals had a fatal weakness: a severe blow to the heart could instantly incapacitate them. In contrast, humans have more vulnerable spots, such as the head, heart, abdomen, groin, and spine.
Any strong hit to these areas could render them powerless. Demon generals, with only the heart as their weakness, were already exceptionally formidable. Some insectoid demon generals could even continue fighting after being decapitated, thanks to their terrifying regenerative abilities.
Their only vulnerability was their demonic heart, which powered their entire body and couldn't withstand severe damage.
If these demon generals hadn't encountered Eddie, who possessed the Innate Invisible Sword Qi, they could have continued fighting despite being injured, thanks to their brute strength and highly defensive demonic armor.
Unfortunately for them, they encountered Eddie, a freak of nature. Who could have predicted that a novice apprentice was actually an innate strongman?
Eddie's Innate Invisible Sword Qi could easily penetrate demonic armor, striking their protected hearts with overwhelming power. No one below level six could withstand the attack of an innate strongman.
The only regret for Eddie was that he could currently only unleash three strikes with his sword qi. If he could cast thousands of sword qi strikes like the Sword Spirit Lady, he wouldn't need to pretend to be weak and bait the demon generals into an ambush.
If he could unleash ten strikes, he would have directly attacked and annihilated all five demon generals.
With two strikes, he took down two careless demon generals—a remarkable achievement. Most importantly, Eddie also provided the best fertilizer to level up his Spiky Flower.
Where else could one find demon generals as fertilizer?
If the Spiky Flower fully digests the two demon generals, it might evolve into a 'Spiky Flower Witch,' and with the digestion of Demon King Hasin's arm, it might even evolve again.
Cultivating a 'Golden Crown Spiky Flower Queen' isn't easy—it requires a lot of fertilizer, increasingly from higher-level strongmen. Demon generals are undoubtedly a perfect choice!
Now Eddie could not only kill his opponents and cultivate his Spiky Flower, but also upgrade his summoning book and even gain military achievements and national contributions after victory.
It was a win-win situation on multiple fronts!
"The only ones capable of easily piercing demon armor and destroying a demon heart are the Innate Strong!" the black-robed demon general quickly realized, screaming ferociously, "So you're an Innate Strong! No wonder you dared to venture alone into our demon abyss. This is a conspiracy! Although I had my suspicions earlier, an ordinary thief wouldn't possess a teleportation scroll to the ancient battlefield of the demon abyss, nor would they have a demon general's moon blade. But your disguise was too clever. Those nine-headed beasts chasing you into the demon abyss, that bronze summoning tome, and the thorny flower - they all misled me! It's a pity I realized too late, or those two wouldn't have met such a tragic end! A human warrior wanting to train using us, disguised as a weak thief, do you think you can leave this battlefield of death? No, no, no, perish with me here! Great Lich King Guron, I offer everything to you, please grant me your power."
Eddie's heart sank upon hearing this, sensing a bad omen. This guy was going for a desperate life sacrifice!
Eddie grabbed his twin moon blades and shot out from the protective aura, charging towards the black-robed demon general. This formidable enemy had to be taken down immediately! Despite the general's protective aura, Eddie figured his close combat abilities wouldn't be strong. Eliminating his summon would dissolve the shield, leaving him vulnerable to a fatal strike. Eddie had to swiftly locate the summon, destroy the two concealed creatures, and shatter that detestable shield.
Even elemental summons must have a body or at least an energy core. Destroying that core would instantly kill the elemental summon. But where were those two elemental creatures hiding?
The obese demon general, resembling a demonic insect, charged at Eddie with a roar. Upon reaching him, the general completed his summoning. His entire body merged with the summon, transforming into swarms of black demonic insects that surged towards Eddie like a tide.
Eddie had encountered these flesh-devouring demonic insects in Dragon Valley. Fearless of fire and ravenous for human flesh, their teeth could easily gnaw through wild buffalo bones. The ones in Dragon Valley were merely Level 1, but those spawned by the demon general, now merged with his body, were all Level 3 Bronze demonic insects. The sight of these demonic insects, with their fanged, horned, and spiked heads, and their black torrent swiftly crawling through the flames, was enough to unnerve even the bravest of souls.
In the sky, the winged demon general summoned several raven-like creatures, attaching them to arrows to create a volley of smoking black arrows. These arrows circled back in flight, forming eerie arcs aimed at the back of Eddie's head.
"Found you!" Eddie dodged the barrage of black arrows, leaping over the flesh-devouring demonic insects and darting towards an unassuming corner of the battlefield. As he soared through the air, the crazed black-robed demon general brutally sliced open his own chest and abdomen. His organs burst out, spilling a repulsive black blood that formed a sinister red portal above. The portal rapidly expanded and contracted, and within seconds, a bone dragon, composed entirely of skeletal structure with hollow black eyes and smoking claws, emerged. It barely squeezed through before the portal snapped shut, severing a portion of its bony tail.
The Bronze Level 7 bone dragon unfurled its wings, made of bones and tattered skin, and dived towards Eddie. His innate eye instantly discerned the dragon's capabilities, causing a shiver down his spine. This bone dragon was potentially as formidable as a mature nine-headed beast, if not more so in certain aspects!
Eddie could no longer focus on finding the hidden Lava Beast and Hellflame Beast. He twirled his Moon Blade, narrowly avoiding the bone dragon's bite, and struck fiercely at what seemed to be the dragon's fragile wings. Sparks flew as the blade met bone, emitting a grating sound like metal clashing against iron.
"The only ones capable of easily piercing demon armor and destroying a demon heart are the Innate Strong!"
The black-robed demon general quickly realized, screaming ferociously.
"So you're an Innate Strong! "
"No wonder you dared to venture alone into our demon abyss. This is a conspiracy! Although I had my suspicions earlier, an ordinary thief wouldn't possess a teleportation scroll to the ancient battlefield of the demon abyss, nor would they have a demon general's moon blade. But your disguise was too clever. "
"Those nine-headed beasts chasing you into the demon abyss, that bronze summoning tome, and the thorny flower - they all misled me! "
"It's a pity I realized too late, or those two wouldn't have met such a tragic end! "
"A human warrior wanting to train using us, disguised as a weak thief, do you think you can leave this battlefield of death? "
"No, no, no, perish with me here! Great Lich King Guron, I offer everything to you, please grant me your power."
Eddie's heart sank upon hearing this, sensing a bad omen. This guy was going for a desperate life sacrifice!
Eddie grabbed his twin moon blades and shot out from the protective aura, charging towards the black-robed demon general.
This formidable enemy had to be taken down immediately! Despite the general's protective aura, Eddie figured his close combat abilities wouldn't be strong. Eliminating his summon would dissolve the shield, leaving him vulnerable to a fatal strike. Eddie had to swiftly locate the summon, destroy the two concealed creatures, and shatter that detestable shield.
Even elemental summons must have a body or at least an energy core. Destroying that core would instantly kill the elemental summon.
But where were those two elemental creatures hiding?
The obese demon general, resembling a demonic insect, charged at Eddie with a roar. Upon reaching him, the general completed his summoning.
His entire body merged with the summon, transforming into swarms of black demonic insects that surged towards Eddie like a tide.
Eddie had encountered these flesh-devouring demonic insects in Dragon Valley. Fearless of fire and ravenous for human flesh, their teeth could easily gnaw through wild buffalo bones.
The ones in Dragon Valley were merely Level 1, but those spawned by the demon general, now merged with his body, were all Level 3 Bronze demonic insects.
The sight of these demonic insects, with their fanged, horned, and spiked heads, and their black torrent swiftly crawling through the flames, was enough to unnerve even the bravest of souls.
In the sky, the winged demon general summoned several crow-like creatures, attaching them to arrows, transforming them into smoking black arrows.
Once fired, they automatically swerved and flew in erratic arcs, eerily targeting Eddie's back of the head.
"Ah, there you are, found you!" Eddie's figure flickered, dodging the barrage of black arrows while leaping over the swarm of flesh-devouring demonic insects, dashing lightning-fast towards the least noticeable corner of the battlefield of death.
As Eddie soared mid-air, the crazed black-robed demon general brutally sliced open his own chest and abdomen, wildly hacking with his blade. In an instant, organs shattered, intestines snapped, and various innards, along with blood, violently splattered out, releasing a nauseating, pitch-black bloody mess.
Before the blood even hit the ground, a bloody-red portal appeared above, rapidly expanding and then quickly contracting.
Within seconds, a bone dragon, composed entirely of bones, with dark eyes and four claws emitting black smoke, flew out of the blood-red portal.
It barely squeezed through before the portal closed, severing a portion of its bony tail silently as the space closed.
The bone dragon, with wings made of bones and tattered skin, flapped powerfully, diving towards Eddie. A Bronze Level 7 bone dragon – Eddie's discerning eyes instantly recognized the creature's attributes.
This realization sent a chill through his heart. The bone dragon before him was possibly as powerful as a mature nine-headed beast, or even superior in some aspects!
Eddie could no longer focus on the hidden Lava Beast and Inferno Creature. He spun his Moon Blades, evading the bone dragon's bite while fiercely slashing at what appeared to be its fragile bone wings.
'Clang!' Sparks flew as the clash between the Moon Blade and the bone wing produced a grating metallic sound.
To his shock, the bone dragon's bones were even harder than metal. Seeing his Moon Blade chip while the bone dragon remained unscathed chilled Eddie to the bone.
The strength gap between a Bronze Level 7 bone dragon and a Bronze Level 5 Grey Wolf was like heaven and earth.
Indeed, Level 6 seems to be the dividing line between first-rate and second-rate fighters.
Below Level 6, no matter if it's a human, demon, or monster, even the strongest are only second-rate, unable to make a significant impact.
Only by surpassing Level 6 can one truly be considered first-rate.
This Bronze Level 7 Bone Dragon was not something Eddie could kill with just his Moon Blades.
He had to find a way to shatter the demonic dragon crystal inside its skull; otherwise, it was impossible to defeat this unyielding bony skeleton.
"O great Lich King Gulun, hear your servant's plea. Send forth a mighty beast to obliterate the enemy before me!" The black-robed demon general's protective aura suddenly shattered and vanished, and the summoning codex thudded to the ground.
Eddie understood what this meant – the demon had summoned the Bone Dragon from the abyss, violating the ancient laws of the death battle space, and was now close to death.
The mad black-robed demon general, far from fearing his impending demise, looked at Eddie and let out a triumphant, eerie laugh, as if he had accomplished the greatest feat of his life.
Amidst that terrifying laughter, a large, gaunt black hand emerged from the demon's torn abdomen.
The hand's five long, dark nails crackled with blue electricity, and a ball of purple flame rapidly formed in its palm.
Although the Lich King couldn't fully emerge, just the hand carrying the purple flame held an energy capable of obliterating worlds.
Feeling an intense sense of crisis, Eddie shouted, preparing to do everything in his power to stop the Lich King's action.
Soaring like a bird, Eddie covered the distance at breakneck speed.
His Moon Blades spun, slashing towards the withered, black hand of the Lich King. But it was too late; the Lich King's hand had already swiftly retracted, leaving behind the ball of flame, which was hurled onto the lava and flames.
'Boom!' A thunderous explosion rocked the earth. Despite his resilience, Eddie was still sent flying by the expanding shockwave.
He realized, to his horror, that the purple flame had rapidly devoured the crystal cores of the Lava Beast and Inferno Creature, absorbing all their fiery energy. It grew rapidly, eventually forming a six-meter-tall Burning Giant.
This towering giant, ablaze with flames, was composed of rock and magma.
Its upper body resembled a human form, while its lower half was entirely made of fire.
With a swing of its arms, the flames surged skyward. Even the previously troublesome Bone Dragon, which had given Eddie such a headache, soared high to avoid the devastating fiery energy.
"Boom!" Amidst his crazed laughter, the black-robed demon general exploded into pieces. He met a gruesome end, completely disintegrated by the force of the ancient laws, leaving not even a trace of his existence, and his soul utterly annihilated.
Eddie had expected the demon's demise but was nonetheless troubled by his madness.
Summoning a Bronze Level 7 Bone Dragon was one thing, but in his fear of Eddie surviving, the demon also called upon the Lich King.
Though the Lich King couldn't fully enter, in those few seconds, he managed to throw a Silver Level 7 Fire Lord into the death battle arena!
If Grey Wolf had been there, facing this Fire Lord, it likely would have been instantly annihilated.
Now, Eddie faced the Silver Level 7 Fire Lord, the Bronze Level 7 Bone Dragon, and two demon generals, each with at least Level 5 Master strength.
How was he to fight this battle?
The most terrifying aspect was that this was a death battle arena. He couldn't flee; he had to defeat all his enemies to leave.
How could he possibly overcome these overwhelmingly powerful foes?