In the sky, the vortex formed from blood-colored flowing light shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye, gradually reducing from its initial hundred meters to dozens, then to a little over ten meters, finally revealing Bastello's figure.
Bastello drew the remaining blood-colored light into his mouth. Countless eerie blood-red runes flowed across his knotted muscles, and with every breath, he seemed to resonate with other runes in the wast sky.
An invisible pressure surged toward them, and Zesshi Zetsumei's heartbeat began to quicken.
"A single Blood Sacrifice Magic actually increased his strength this much!"
"This feeling is truly better than ever before!" Bastello clenched his right hand tightly, feeling the surging power within his body, and could not help but laugh toward the sky.
Boom!
Monstrous killing intent and aura shot into the sky.
The air fell silent for a moment, then a violent wind erupted. Within the terrifying pressure, countless streaks of red lightning flickered continuously, striking at everyone's will.
The terrifying aura startled even the Platinum Dragon Lord, who was hidden ten thousand meters above in the sky.
"This strength has already caught up to a True Dragon Lord!"
To obtain such a level of power increase, it was no wonder this demon had chosen to sacrifice a million demihumans.
What he had not expected was that this time, a Player would possess such a powerful method.
'Furthermore, according to that demon, his Blood Sacrifice Magic can negate a Player's resurrection mechanism...'
Through his use of soul power via Wild Magic, the Platinum Dragon Lord clearly sensed the souls of a million demihumans being imprisoned within the Blood Sacrifice Array, recklessly tearing and eroding the soul power across the entire Holy Kingdom border.
This was indeed magic that targeted the soul, but it still required further verification.
The Platinum Dragon Lord narrowed his eyes slightly, drew out a strand of soul power from his body, inscribed a resurrection spell onto it, and then launched it into the range of the Blood Sacrifice Magic.
The moment it entered, the blood-red inscriptions floating in the sky reacted like sharks smelling blood. They rushed forward, tearing and devouring the soul power until not a trace remained.
The resurrection magic inscribed within it was tightly bound by chains connected to the blood-red inscriptions, eventually breaking down into tiny motes of magical light.
After confirming that the Blood Sacrifice Magic was indeed effective, the Platinum Dragon Lord felt slightly relieved.
"Fight on. It would be best if both of you end up injured, and then I will finish you all in one go!"
Bastello lowered his head slightly and looked down at Helant with disdain, his face full of arrogance.
"Ahaha~~ Sir Helant, are you satisfied with this death trap I have meticulously prepared for you?!"
As he spoke, killing intent gathered and surged toward Helant like a tsunami.
The killing intent was bone-chilling, as if it lowered the temperature of the air by several degrees. Helant turned his gaze toward the city, a trace of vigilance appearing in his eyes.
'Even at a time like this, he is still worrying about those civilians!' Zesshi clenched her silver teeth, a hint of resentment appearing on her small face.
Helant is simply too kind. At a moment like this, he should be thinking about his own safety!
At the same time, she subtly pulled Calca closer and used magic transmission to say, "Holy Queen, you must not let Helant summon the Holy Domain God Lord later!"
Calca turned her head in confusion and signaled with her eyes.
"Why?"
Zesshi Zetsumei's magic transmission carried a strong sense of helplessness and worry.
"I suspect that what Helant consumes when forcibly summoning the Holy Domain God Lord is his soul essence. You can use resurrection magic, so you should understand the cost of consuming the soul."
Calca's pupils trembled as she discreetly glanced at Helant, her heart filled with shock.
For anyone, consuming soul essence was no different from consuming the limit of their own future.
And among known methods, aside from the Wild Magic used by True Dragon Lords, there were simply no other ways to replenish such a loss.
'Given Helant's righteous and kind nature, he will never abandon the innocent civilians. In other words, he will definitely consume his own soul essence later to summon the God Lord and slay the demon!'
Thinking of this, Calca felt her chest tighten and silently vowed that she must not allow this to happen.
At that moment, Zesshi continued her transmission.
"Helant cannot be teleported, so I will hold off the demon later while you take him and escape."
Calca controlled her expression and nodded slightly, doing her best not to let Helant, who stood beside her, notice anything unusual.
Thus, the two of them quietly reached an agreement.
The holy light surrounding Helant dimmed briefly. He forced himself to remain steady, but his pale face still revealed that he was strong on the outside but weak within.
Bastello crossed his arms over his chest and said casually, "It seems our oh so great Human Emissary still hasn't recovered his mana. I really wonder how you plan to face my killing move."
"We'll only know after we fight." Since he had already been seen through, Helant simply withdrew his holy light, and in an instant, the sky above the city walls was once again dyed blood-red.
"People from the Holy Domain God Lord's side love to play the hero and show off. In that case... I'll let you put on a proper show today!"
Bastello grinned and raised his hand. A blood-red light shot out and formed a three-layered circular magic array. Then, a massive screen of light rose into the blood-red sky, enveloping the entire Southern Holy Kingdom.
"Is that me?"
Helant looked up in shock, only to see his own figure reflected on the light screen.
Not only him, but Zesshi Zetsumei, Calca, and even the citizens within the city were being broadcast in real time.
"What kind of trick is he planning?" Calca froze in place, unable to understand what the demon was trying to do.
After delaying for so long, he had only set up a light screen capable of live broadcasting. If one did not know better, they would think he was here to stage a performance. (...ehm.)
Bastello's figure was greatly magnified on the light screen. His blood-red face wore a grotesque smile, and his crimson eyes were filled with predatory malice.
At this moment, everyone in the Southern Holy Kingdom saw that face, and their hearts trembled.
They knew that this demon was the true culprit who had driven a million demihumans to invade the border.
Bastello let out a cold laugh. "I want the people of the Southern Holy Kingdom to witness exactly how Helant, whom they regard as their hope, is tortured and killed by me, bit by bit!"
"Furthermore, I will not only kill you, I will also annihilate the Holy Kingdom entirely!"
That naked killing intent passed through the light screen, cutting into the hearts of all who watched like a cold wind, making their bodies tremble with fear. Only one thought remained in their minds.
"Please, Lord Helant, you must defeat the demon!"
'Annihilate the kingdom...??!'
Calca's body swayed as she clenched her teeth, an endless fury rising within her heart.
Helant was equally enraged.
"Hmph. A demon is a demon, cruel, bloodthirsty, and never abandoning its desire to destroy humanity!"
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