Facing Li Xi's attack, Fild remained motionless, his feet firmly planted on the ground. A smile of excitement on his face, he met Li Xi's twin hammers head-on.
"Boom!"
A circular blast wave erupted from the clash of their four hammers, surging outwards. The immense impact ripped up thick layers of soil from the ground, instantly pulverizing large clods into dust, creating a dense mist that obscured vision for a long time and prevented the distant demons from seeing the battle within, no matter how hard they strained their eyes.
Among the onlookers, Lasi was the most worried. Five against one, and one of them a stronger Great Flame Demon; by all appearances, this Flame Demon named Li Cha was destined to lose. Fortunately, he was closer to the battlefield, and with the special structure of the worm soldiers' vision, he could get a rough idea of the situation.
At this moment, neither of the two great demons could withstand the recoil force of the impact. They had already slid back a hundred meters, creating distance.
Fild saw that his attack hadn't harmed Li Xi, who had transformed into a Flame Demon. In fact, during their head-on collision, this ordinary Flame Demon had been able to match his strength as a Great Flame Demon. Fild's demonic blood began to boil!
"You are good. When I become a Balrog and conquer the Abyssal Plane in the future, I will certainly not forget the thrill you've given me today," Fild roared with excitement. The power suppressed within him for so long began to unleash. His body, once somewhat slender among the Flame Demons, suddenly swelled like an inflated balloon, as if a seated giant had stood up.
A terrifying aura surged along with his rising body. If Li Xi had been the king ruling the battlefield before, then Fild was now the emperor ruling it. He truly demonstrated on the Moonlit Plain what power was second only to a Balrog, and in the Abyss, he was the future god, the future master of some plane.
The two large hammers that the Flame Demons normally used looked somewhat small in Fild's hands, akin to a warrior wielding a dagger. Li Xi's brief moment of pride in his height was again diminished in Fild's eyes.
Li Xi hadn't expected his opponent to unleash his dormant power right at the start of the fight. He cursed the other party for being shameless and unfair, while also lamenting that his opponent didn't understand how to hide his strength. Didn't masters like to play the pig to eat the tiger? Why was it different with you?
He was still just a mere sixth-level little Flame Demon.
Actually, Fild wasn't foolish at all. Since his evolution into a Great Flame Demon, no Flame Demon had been able to match him in combat. The Flame Demon before him had killed three Flame Demons consecutively and could still go toe-to-toe with him without falling behind. He was very strong. If he didn't unleash his full power, he could easily flip the situation.
At their level of power, a higher level didn't necessarily guarantee victory. No one could withstand a full-force strike from the other. Not going all out, if one were actually hit, it wouldn't just be about losing face, but about losing their life.
"Boom!"
Fild steadied his surging aura and stomped his foot down. His massive feet carved two large pits in the ground as his figure instantly appeared before Li Xi.
The storm-like roar was the sound of the wind generated by his twin hammers. The vast expanse of red light was the flame generated by the high-speed movement of the hammerheads and the friction with the air. This was the scream of the Grim Reaper, and the ritual of the underworld summoning spirits!
Pure physical strength was the ultimate pursuit of all men. Violence, extreme violence, was the direction that all warrior-class professionals tirelessly strove towards!
After just a few swings, a storm began to brew. The mist and dust that had just formed around them was stirred into a turbulent vortex. With mere physical strength alone, he could cause natural climate changes. This was the full extent of Fild's power as a Great Flame Demon!
Li Xi, in his Flame Demon form, found himself uncharacteristically on the defensive since appearing on the battlefield. In terms of power, he could control it with exquisite precision, looking down on all demons. However, power that was close to crushing wasn't something that could be compensated for by mere skill. With four ounces of force to move a thousand pounds, if it were ten thousand pounds, four ounces would be exhausted before any movement.
Having fallen behind in strength, coupled with the deficiency of his single eye vision, various bad omens seemed to point towards Li Xi's eventual defeat.
Fild's twin hammers were now a blur, invisible except for the dazzling patterns formed by streaks of red light. All that was visible were the explosive sounds and the changing climate that spoke of the sharpness of Fild's offense. If a lower-level life form were here, the storm alone would have torn them to shreds.
Li Xi, utilizing his remaining single eye to its utmost, could barely keep up with Fild's movements.
The sounds of four hammer strikes were continuous, more dense than the collective sound of the dwarves forging on Kardos City's Wood Leaf Street. Hundreds of collisions in an instant, each as loud as a clap of thunder, each making the ground tremble. Then, small clods of dirt and stones were shaken into powder and carried into the air, replenishing the nearly saturated mist and dust.
For the first time, Li Xi's arms began to ache from blocking. Of course, he now only had the strength to block, with no possibility of counterattack.
"Li Xi, can you do it? If not, let me out. One Tailed Beast Bomb can kill them all," said Matatabi, the Two-Tails, from within the sealed space, sounding somewhat worried.
Isobu, the Three-Tails, also looked concerned. Ever since Li Xi could fully transform into a Tailed Beast, they always saw him as a child who hadn't grown up, wanting to step in and resolve any trouble for him.
They couldn't help it; they were afraid of dying. If Li Xi failed to dodge a hammer strike, they would die again. If Li Xi were to use Izanagi again, he would surely end up blind.
"It's fine. You know how many trump cards I have. I'm just testing the waters with this Great Flame Demon, seeing the gap between us. And now, it's about time."
"Remember, you have us behind you. We are brothers. We face difficulties together."
It was like parents worrying if they had considered all aspects for a child venturing out for the first time.
"Watch closely, I'll give him a taste of his own medicine now."
"Boom!"
Li Xi couldn't block in time. The hammer in his left hand was finally smashed away by Fild.
"Die!"
Seeing the opening appear on Li Xi's chest, Fild became as excited as a young boy experiencing his first romantic encounter. The hammer in his hand was so fast it was about to create a sonic boom.
Lasi's heart sank as he saw Fild's massive hammer smash towards the chest of the Flame Demon that was Li Xi. Such a blow could smash through a mountain, let alone a Flame Demon with a mortal body. If the Flame Demon that was Li Xi died, their hard-won advantage would vanish instantly. His face turned ashen, his heart filled with despair, as if his soul had been ripped away. He blurted out involuntarily, "It's over, it's over."
Meanwhile, the five vampires in the distance, unable to see the battle due to the mist and dust, who had already taken flight, let out cheers of a different nature than Lasi's sorrow, "Good!"
Finally, this disruptive Flame Demon would be eliminated, and everything could return to its proper course.
However, Li Xi, who was at a disadvantage, had a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his lips. A strange pattern appeared in his remaining single eye.
One tomoe, two tomoe, three tomoe. The three tomoe rotated and stretched, and a six-petaled pattern appeared!
Fild had no time to ponder the meaning of the strange pattern in his eyes. He only knew that with this hammer blow, even if flowers bloomed in his eyes, it wouldn't save him.
Just as the five vampires raised their hands in anticipation of celebration, and Lasi, though closing his eyes, couldn't stop the tears of sorrow and despair from gushing out,
Fild's hammer-wielding arm grazed the body of the Flame Demon that was Li Xi and struck the ground, creating a large pit. Fild's mind, ready to welcome another victory, couldn't comprehend what had happened.
Only one question remained:
Where is my hammer?
Li Xi didn't give his enemy time to think. He had already brushed his palm over his own body and hammer, and with a sudden burst of speed, he leaped before Fild's face.
His long-starved knee connected with Fild's chin like a kiss.
"Crack!"
Li Xi clearly heard the sound of bone cracking.
Before Fild's massive head could tilt back, a hammer carrying a vicious wind struck the spot where the knee had just connected.
The distant demons, obscured by the mist and dust, could see nothing but the clanging sounds, the sudden atmospheric anomalies, and two rapidly moving, towering figures.
At first, it was the towering Fild who was pressing down on the smaller Li Cha Flame Demon. But for some reason, at a certain moment, the sounds of battle in the mist stopped. Then came two faint cracking sounds, and then a tall figure, trailing black blood, was sent flying out of the mist and dust.
"It's the Great Flame Demon!"
A horned demon let out an incredulous howl, his voice like that of the most timid woman witnessing the most brutal scene of bloodshed, unleashing all the fear he had accumulated in his lifetime in that instant.
He didn't need to say it; the other demons could see it. The Great Flame Demon was so much taller than a regular Flame Demon, almost by the height of a horned demon. Even someone with poor eyesight wouldn't mistake who was injured.
"How is this possible?"
Duke Liander and the four vampire counts, their hands frozen mid-air as if petrified, were about to applaud.
They had held the absolute advantage moments ago, how could the situation have turned so abruptly?
That was a seventh-level Great Flame Demon!
How could he be defeated by a sixth-level Flame Demon?
Lasi, who had kept his eyes closed, unable to bear watching, vaguely heard the sounds of disbelief from afar. He squinted, opening a sliver of his eye. Upon seeing the battle situation, his eyes popped open, widening beyond his eyelids. If not for the blood vessels and nerves connecting them, his eyeballs would have fallen out.
"I... I..."
Speechless, he didn't know what to say to express his emotions. He only felt as if the soul that had been ripped away moments ago had now been shoved back in, and hope, the hope of survival, had returned.
After knocking Fild's hammer away, Li Xi pursued relentlessly. Although these injuries wouldn't be fatal to Fild, they would definitely leave him disoriented for a day or two. Strike while the iron is hot, of course, and then take his life.
So, when Li Xi reached Fild in a few steps, Fild was struggling to stand up. His legs were as soft as noodles, making him stagger and unable to stand straight on the ground, wobbling and encouraging himself that he could do it.
The other four Flame Demons remaining at the Abyssal teleportation gate had been watching the fight with a casual attitude. Their boss was second only to a Balrog, how could he lose?
But now, they were all in a panic. They had come on this trip for a bit of prestige. Such a weak plane, with five Flame Demons attacking, wouldn't it be a piece of cake? But what was happening now?
A Flame Demon defeating a Great Flame Demon?
If Fild died on this small plane, how would they explain it to their lord?
Or would they also die here and be done with it?
So, these four remaining Flame Demons, in that instant, threw their Flame Demon dignity and Fild's earlier disdain for ganging up into the toilet. They were striding towards the battlefield, hoping to save their boss from the Flame Demon that was Li Xi.
"I said you would be the most outstanding of my spoils of war. I never go back on my word." A Flame Demon's claw pierced the body of the Flame Demon, whose defense was comparable to a dragon's, and reached into Fild's chest, grabbing the heart that was still beating furiously, pumping blood throughout his body.
With his heart removed, Fild was surely dead. Even a Balrog couldn't save him. However, the Great Flame Demon's powerful vitality allowed Fild to linger on, even without a heart.
"You........"
Fild couldn't understand how he had lost. Where was his hammer that was supposed to win?
"Gulp."
Under the gaze of all the demons on the Moonlit Plain, the Flame Demon that was Li Xi directly tilted his head back and swallowed Fild's heart. The black blood flowing from the corners of his mouth further emphasized the ferocity of this Flame Demon named Li Cha.
Only no one saw that as he swallowed the large heart, Li Xi also swallowed a small bottle, a small bottle containing ten drops of golden liquid.
"A demon, this is a living demon. He is more evil than all other demons," Duke Liander trembled uncontrollably. At this moment, he admitted he was afraid.
After so many years in the Abyss, this was the first time he had seen a demon of Flame Demon level devour the limbs of another Flame Demon. Such a primitive and bloody scene made him, a vampire who considered himself a creature of darkness, shudder.
Fild's towering body, like a thousand-year-old ancient tree, lost its support and collapsed. Although his life had not completely extinguished, his death was now an irreversible outcome.
The four Flame Demons had come too late. They were only five steps away from Li Xi, but as Li Xi swallowed Fild's heart, their steps inexplicably stopped. Then, without any hesitation, they turned and ran towards the Abyssal teleportation gate in unison.
The four of them clearly understood that even fighting together, they were no match for the Great Flame Demon Fild. How could they possibly be a match for this Flame Demon who had killed Fild?
Alas, the countless life-and-death lessons they had learned had, in this moment of terror, made them forget the consequences of turning their backs to a stronger enemy.