[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-evolution-from-little-devil-to-devil-empress":3,"chapter-evolution-from-little-devil-to-devil-empress-evolution-from-little-devil-to-devil-empress-chapter-35":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Evolution: From Little Devil to Devil Empress",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1079755,1395,"Chapter 35: Crucible Ranking [14] - Undead","evolution-from-little-devil-to-devil-empress-chapter-35",35,"\u003Cp>Although Liora watched Lord Embers soar into the sky and lunge at the Two-Headed Devil, she didn’t have the will or the time to intervene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following Lord Embers’ cold command, the undead all over the city began to move, rushing toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was true for even the skeletons of the once-powerful Devils.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, because these Devils stood on top of the city wall—not far from Liora—they were the first ones to attack her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A loud whistling sound was heard as a large, muscular skeleton shot toward Liora at full speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although its flesh was gone, based on its appearance, it was clear that this was the Armored Devil—or what remained of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a thunderous bang, the Armored Devil slammed into the place where Liora was standing, raising his hand and punching forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gray flame in his eye sockets flickered as his fist blasted Liora’s head, causing it to burst like a watermelon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood splattered, and her lifeless body fell to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, only a moment later, both the blood and the body transformed into shadows, which wriggled like tadpoles before blending into the darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Armored Devil had never been smart to begin with, and now that he had died and been summoned as an undead, his intelligence was even more lacking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from being able to execute some simple commands, it could be said that he was a mindless puppet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As such, witnessing the strange scene before him, he became confused, wondering what had just happened and where his target had gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, though, the shadow beneath his body squirmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the Armored Devil could react, Liora’s figure flashed behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pitch-black, ghostly scythe appeared in her hand, and with a casual wave, it struck directly at his abdomen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bones making up the Armored Devil’s body cracked the moment the scythe touched them, and they shattered like fragile glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gray flame in his eyes flickered even more intensely as the scythe passed straight through him—like a sharp knife piercing a piece of paper—cutting him in two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, he wasn’t dead just yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He opened his jaw wide as he pushed against the ground with his hands, launching himself forward, attempting to take a bite out of Liora’s legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Liora reacted quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment before the Armored Devil’s head reached her, she waved the black scythe again, this time swinging it downwards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sharp, gleaming tip penetrated the Armored Devil’s forehead, nailing his head to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if a switch had been turned off, the gray flame in his eyes instantly disappeared, while the struggle of his separated body ceased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, he was truly dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, Liora didn’t have time to celebrate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though she had slain the Armored Devil in just two moves, the momentary delay had allowed the other powerful Devils to surround her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, sensing the beating auras rapidly approaching her, it became clear to her that more enemies—undead—were coming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But despite the seemingly dangerous situation she found herself in, she didn’t panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Judging from the Armored Devil’s combat power, these undead don’t possess the full strength they had when they were alive.\", she analyzed calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Based on her observations, these undead only retained about half of their original power, meaning that they were considerably weaker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If so, dealing with them should not be that difficult.\", Liora whispered, and just like before, her figure vanished, leaving only a phantom where she previously stood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking the initiative, she teleported in front of another Devil and, turning the scythe into a dagger, she embedded it deep into its skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With her previous experience, she had already understood that the skull was the undead’s weakness and, unless she destroyed it, they would remain \"alive\".\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Continuous cracking sounds echoed as Liora shuttled through the shadows, using every means in her arsenal to shatter the skulls of the undead she met on the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite the overwhelming number of enemies and the tight space in which she could operate, she surprisingly faced little danger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shadow Assimilation allowed her to maneuver through the siege, while the Myriad Devils Armor—now stronger than ever before—made it so that injuring her was nearly impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the attacks of the Devils themselves would be unable to penetrate her seemingly invincible defense, much less these—way weaker—undead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, individual power was never the undead’s biggest strength. Rather, it was their number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how many undead Liora eliminated, more would soon pop out and take the fallen’s place, continuing the siege.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These undead were summoned using the Devils of the city as materials, and as such, their actual number was unfathomable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Liora didn’t mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using the shadows once again, she teleported in front of the elderly Devil and, with a single punch, blasted his skull into pieces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hint of strangeness flashed in her crimson eyes, but it quickly disappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a deep expression, she observed the surrounding battlefield, and after analyzing it, she continued her ruthless attacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her movements carried no sense of urgency as she methodically cleaned up the undead, slowly whittling down their numbers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, while Liora was taking her time, another person could no longer afford to wait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After parrying another of the Two-Headed Devil’s sonic attacks, Lord Embers took the chance to glance at the city, and when he saw Liora’s figure, his eyes burned with anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he no longer held back and unleashed his full combat power—fighting evenly against the Two-Headed Devil—he was far from satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His goal had never been to survive. From the very start, his plan was to kill the Two-Headed Devil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It seems that I have to use ’that’. I originally wanted to keep it as a trump card against this guy, but now, I can no longer wait.\", he thought, and while suppressing the effects of the uncanny murmurs, his eyes took a deep gray color.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strange Devil Runes danced in his two palms as he whispered in a low, almost inaudible voice:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gather!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment this single word fell, the world around him changed once again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gray mist that had engulfed the entire city boiled, and with a swoosh, it swooped toward the undead, integrating into their skeletal forms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The power of the undead rose as more and more mist poured into them, causing Liora’s expression to change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just then, deafening booms sounded one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many gray runes spread across the undead’s bones, and they—who should have become a threat—suddenly exploded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their remains turned into a sea of bones, which gathered in the air right above Liora.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shrieks, cries, and mournful wails echoed in her ears as she seemed to see countless Devils’ souls merge together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, not only were their souls merging, but their bodies too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The countless broken pieces of bones landed one on top of the other and combined, like strange Lego pieces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the final bone fell into place, the original undead were all gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In their place, a single, twenty-meter-tall monster stood, made exclusively out of bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was humanoid, but dozens of hands of varying lengths extended from each of its sides. In its abdomen, many visages could be seen roaming around, some of which Liora recognized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Armored Devil... Elderly Devil...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many recently slain Devils squirmed in the creature’s abdomen, their eyes staring straight toward Liora with undisguised hatred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In unison, the faces opened their mouths, letting out a high-pitched, terrifying scream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if in response, the joints of the undead creature squeaked and its body trembled slightly, before lunging at Liora.\u003C\u002Fp>",1260,"2026-06-03T10:39:03.667Z",1,"novelbin.me","d37ea384407781958b0912d36b1c6a1e0805f524c9990ec776be1404d23506cd","evolution-from-little-devil-to-devil-empress-chapter-36","evolution-from-little-devil-to-devil-empress-chapter-34",482,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fevolution-from-little-devil-to-devil-empress-cover.jpg"]