Chapter 997: Targeted
But when it comes to foundation…
Does the Ten Thousand Demons Fortress have any?
They've got some, sure.
But compared to the combined might of the allied forces, it's nothing.
Back in the day, they relied on their overwhelming strength, seeing the allied legions as mere ants, and never prepared for a prolonged war. So they didn't bother stockpiling resources or building a deep foundation.
Which now makes things extremely painful.
They woke up to reality in the past few decades, but trying to gather resources now is a hundred times harder than before.
Only with the cooperation of the Demon Arrival Organization did they manage to accumulate a little—still nowhere near enough.
"Can't we just blow up the Earth Core? If we're going down, they're going down with us!"
The Judgment Demon Sovereign spoke in a chilling tone.
He was easily the most striking figure in the hall—
The only one with the form of a human woman.
The other Demon Sovereigns all looked at him with strange expressions.
"We can't blow it up yet…"
"The Earth Core is extremely high level. Our magical engines haven't successfully refined it. We can't even detonate it yet."
While the lower realm's beings are capped at level 200—
The Earth Core is level 500.
With the current level of magic tech, refining a level 500 Earth Core to destroy the realm would take a lot more time.
And they don't have that time now.
According to the original plan, it would take ten years to fully refine.
They were now in year nine.
Just one year short.
All these years had consumed massive resources from the Ten Thousand Demons.
But if they succeeded in refining it, channeling all that power into the Demon Sovereigns—each one could surpass level 250.
Their strength would skyrocket, completely overwhelming the allied legions.
But time waits for no one.
No one expected Lemoris Fortress to fall so fast.
Let alone the Heavenly Demon Capital falling right after.
"Damn that Blazing Phoenix Demon Sovereign!"
"If he hadn't been so cocky, Lemoris wouldn't have fallen!"
One Demon Sovereign now blamed the dead Blazing Phoenix.
With those words—
The others looked even more grim.
Yeah…
In a way, that was true. He did drop the ball.
If he hadn't been so arrogant, Lemoris could've held out.
Long enough for reinforcements from the other fortresses.
At least a month or two of resistance.
"It's not entirely his fault…"
"That non-specialist is strange. His abilities counter us perfectly!"
"Once you're hit by him, Black Flame sticks to you—it blocks our Undying Resurrection technique."
"And negates our innate regeneration."
At that moment—
The Spirit Sky Demon Sovereign spoke up in defense of the Blazing Phoenix.
The Demon Sovereigns went silent, their expressions tense.
The fall of Lemoris and the Heavenly Demon Capital—
All of it was due to that one non-specialist.
Honestly…
The entire crisis of the Ten Thousand Demons Cavern could be pinned on him.
They hated Ling Zhan—but also feared him.
After Blazing Phoenix, both Ten Thousand Swords and Frost Demon Sovereigns were killed.
Right in front of Spirit Sky's eyes.
"We need a countermeasure for his abilities."
"If we don't, any of us who face him will die."
Spirit Sky spoke heavily.
In the past, they would've scoffed, accused him of exaggerating.
But after so much blood and loss, no one dared to argue.
"If we can't purify or dispel it, then let's use secret arts to redirect it."
Xuanming Demon Sovereign, the seasoned veteran, spoke.
With ages of battle experience behind him—
He had strategies for all kinds of weird skills.
This one: a forbidden art called 'Causal Transfer.'
It forcibly transfers all damage received to a sacrificial proxy.
Conveniently—
The Ten Thousand Demons Cavern had no shortage of mass-produced soldiers.
Let them be the proxies—any damage to the Demon Sovereigns gets redirected to them.
Of course…
It wasn't without cost. The Sovereigns would have to trade away their own lifespan.
The more transfers, the more years shaved off.
It couldn't be used infinitely.
Otherwise, they'd have been invincible long ago.
"So… who's going to face the non-specialist?"
Judgment Demon Sovereign asked.
"I will."
Spirit Sky replied calmly.
"I'm in too! We'll kill that bastard together!"
The Abyss Demon Sovereign said coldly.
"With that guy's personality, I bet he'll lead the vanguard. That's our chance to kill him!"
"I propose we send five Demon Sovereigns!"
Plague Demon Sovereign added seriously.
"Then I'll cover your backs. If any of you fall, I'll step in."
Even Xuanming Demon Sovereign himself spoke.
Damn…
Just saying this out loud would shock the world.
To deal with a single level-180 non-specialist, they were mobilizing all top-tier forces of the Ten Thousand Demons.
Even the level-200 Xuanming was stepping up as backup.
That's one hell of a lineup.
"It's settled. Go prepare the sacrificial proxies for the damage transfers!"
The deployment: five Demon Sovereigns in total.
Spirit Sky, Judgment, Abyss, Plague, and Xuanming.
The first four: frontline combat.
Xuanming: emergency backup.
In this setup—
If they still couldn't kill the non-specialist, they might as well give up.
Xuanming spoke gravely: "As long as we kill that non-specialist, all other problems will solve themselves."
"Ignore the other world-class powerhouses for now."
"Just focus on that non-specialist!"
Smart move.
He saw the key to breaking the stalemate.
After all, before this, powerhouses like Azure Dragon Meng Zhang, Rotten Witch Cathy, and Adasim of the Xuantian Guild had been around, yet none had shaken their dominance.
But once that non-specialist showed up, everything fell apart.
Kill him—and the tide turns!
"Kill!!"
Xuanming roared.
"Kill!!"
The other Demon Sovereigns followed with fierce shouts.
They would not rest until the non-specialist was dead!
No way that bastard survives this level of targeting!