Chapter 327: The Shuffle Battle, Little Red Evolves! (Combined)

The White Flood Dragon Territory's human fortress was initially completed; after leaving Red Rock Territory, Qin Chuan and Lin Yue had a new goal, and meanwhile, in another part of the First Level of the Heavenly Stairway, a discussion about humanity was taking place inside a temple suspended in the heavens.

In the deepest part of the Spirit God Hall of Kariritli, within the main hall that Qin Chuan had never entered even during the instance strategy stage, a group of statues—or rather, the statues corresponding to the demon gods of the Half Demon Clan—had gathered here.

"Humanity has already begun constructing a fortress in the White Flood Dragon Territory."

"The statue in the foremost position flickered with a hazy light, its indifferent voice carrying a hint of gloom, echoing within the empty hall."

"Below him stood eleven statues of similar size, one of which had completely dimmed, while the other ten glowed with flowing light."

"This is the entirety of the Half Demon Clan's Mythic Stage Second Realm."

"The one who just spoke is the strongest existence under the Ancestor, the leader of the Twelve Great Demon Gods, the Sin Punishment Demon God Aganir."

"Further down, there are over forty statues somewhat smaller in scale."

"These are all the surviving First Realm demon gods of the demon race."

"Yesterday, the Ancestor mentioned to me that humanity is quite abnormal," Aganir said in a low voice.

"The Moon Spirit Clan is the oldest among the participating races in the Race War."

"They bear part of the duty to guard the order of the Race War, needing to assist later races, but this assistance, which should have ended, did not truly cease after humanity ascended the Heavenly Stairway."

"They still maintain an ambiguous relationship with humanity."

"And humanity itself also has some abnormalities."

"They possess a home-field advantage sufficient to surpass two levels, meaning that even without the Moon Spirit Clan's help, they can more easily clear the instance descent stage than other races."

"The Moon Spirit Clan was the first to join the war, while humanity was the last."

"The Ancestor suspects that the Moon Spirit Clan has concealed some information from us, and humanity may possess certain special permissions that are extremely crucial to the Race War."

"Or perhaps, some secrets."

"What secrets?" another great demon god couldn't help but ask, "Does the Ancestor have any direction for his speculation?"

"Yes." Aganir spoke slowly, "Although we have never found any trace, the Ancestor has always speculated that this ten‑thousand‑year Race War is merely one instance of the Race War."

"Before us, on this battlefield called the Heavenly Stairway, there has occurred once, or perhaps more than once, a Race War."

"The Moon Spirit Clan, as the earliest race to arrive here, likely had brief contact with, or obtained some remnants from, the race that participated in the previous Race War."

"Considering the timeline, if there was another ten‑thousand‑year period before this one, the Moon Spirit Clan would most likely have come into contact with the tenth race of the previous ten‑thousand‑year era."

"And humanity is also the tenth race."

Aganir's words paused slightly, "The Ancestor has already conversed with the ancestor of the Moon Spirit Clan."

"Unfortunately, we were unable to probe out any valuable information."

"But sometimes, having no information is itself a kind of information."

"The Ancestor believes that humanity's uncertainty will bring considerable trouble to our clan, and they could become the greatest threat in the Race War."

"Moreover, among humanity's current conflicts with the many races on the Heavenly Stairway, the conflict with our clan is the greatest." Saying this, Aganir glanced at the dimmed statue among the twelve, including himself.

"In our struggle against humanity, we have already lost one great demon god."

"Previously, the Remnant Ember Demon God Parus descended, and its true form was slain by the Blue Moon Chief Priest; this is the first death of a Half Demon Clan great demon god since the last reshuffle a thousand years ago."

"Although the Moon Spirit Clan was the one who actually acted, at this moment the Half Demon Clan tacitly blamed humanity for the loss."

"Hmph!" another great demon god grunted, his voice tinged with anger, "The meddlesome Moon Spirit Clan."

"If it weren't for their insistence on protecting humanity, humanity would have been wiped out during the final instance stage when the SSS‑rank instance descended."

"Alright, every time a race ascends the Heavenly Stairway, that bunch always sticks a finger in." Another great demon god drawled, "Since humanity poses such a threat and our clan harbors unknown hidden entities, the Ancestor surely intends to nip the threat in the bud."

"Good." Aganir said in a deep voice, "Our clan bears rules in human form, drives massive demonic power for battle, and is also partially influenced by that demonic power."

"Competing in schemes with other races is difficult."

"This has never been a field the Half Demon Clan excels in."

"What we excel at is overturning the table."

"Regardless of any special qualities humanity may have, eliminating them in advance is sufficient."

"However, achieving this is not easy." Aganir's voice paused, "The lordship of the White Flood Dragon Territory has already been seized by humanity, and only a being of the Mythic Stage First Realm can intervene."

"Besides that, humanity's two leaders, Luo and Yue Li, as well as the Gatekeeper who has yet to be found, are all outside the White Flood Dragon Territory."

"As long as they are not dead, humanity will not be truly exterminated."

"Therefore, in this battle we must employ a three‑pronged approach."

"Three‑pronged approach?"

"The multitude of demon gods' momentum stalled for an instant."

"This statement is not hard to understand; it merely means simultaneously acting against humanity's newly built fortress, their two strong individuals, and their Gatekeeper."

"That way, they cannot support each other, and we can completely cut off humanity's future."

"But…"

""Relying solely on us, I fear we cannot accomplish that," said Empty Pupil Demon God Parxia, one of the Twelve Great Demon Gods, "Destroying humanity's fortress is not difficult."

"With humanity's current foundation, if five or more demon gods act together, they can overturn the fortress and slaughter all the humans inside."

"To be safe, we will dispatch ten directly; this undertaking will surely succeed."

"But the other two matters are not so easy to handle."

"Luo and Yue Li are very strong."

"According to current information, although they have only just ascended the Heavenly Stairway a few days ago, their strength is already comparable to the limit of the First Realm."

"Merely the First Realm limit; any one of us descending could easily erase them," another great demon god scoffed.

"You can't say that; wasn't Parus originally thinking the same way?" Parxia said, "Although Parus was ultimately deleted after being schemed against by the Blue Moon Chief Priest, prior to that Luo and Yue Li had already defeated his descended form."

"Moreover, based on feedback from encountering Luo in multiple instances, Luo appears to possess some kind of extremely special means."

"He can silently and instantly defeat his opponents."

"We still do not know whether such a means has any limitations."

Therefore, there is a certain risk in wanting to kill these two people.

In the past, the dungeon stage had home-field advantage, making anything possible." The great demon god who had just shown disdain let out a low hum, "Now they have lost the home-field advantage; no matter how strong Luo is, it's just that.

That special ability you mentioned must be due to the home-field advantage.

Upon ascending the Heavenly Stairway, all races are equal, and all systems will undergo balance adjustments.

How could such an unstoppable ability still exist?

"This..." Pasiya was momentarily speechless. Indeed, the balance adjustment is meant to ensure that no race ascending the Heavenly Stairway possesses an absolutely unstoppable ability at equal strength.

But he always had an ominous premonition.

"Pasiya, you have always been the most cautious among the great demon gods; caution is good, but this is no reason to shrink back." Aganir spoke in a deep voice, "Think from another angle: they are already strong now; dare you let them keep growing stronger?"

Upon hearing this, Pasiya fell silent.

Indeed, even knowing Luo and Yue Li are strong, could we possibly not fight this battle?

We still have to fight, just dispatch a few more people as a precaution.

"Our clan will dispatch three great demon gods to descend simultaneously." Aganir spoke slowly.

Three?

The assembly of demon gods erupted in an uproar.

At first glance, sending only three out of eleven seems few.

Actually, that's not the case.

Because the Mythic Stage of the Second Realm lies on the Second Realm of the Heavenly Stairway, and they likewise target each other.

Such a descent is grandiose; it's impossible for other races' Second Realm not to know.

If too many Second Realm beings descend at once, other Second Realm beings are likely to find an opportunity and directly capture the true forms of those Second Realm powerhouses.

"Not all three great demon gods are the entirety." Aganir spoke in a deep voice, "The human race has many enemies; why should we bear all the risk?"

"This matter requires pulling in other races as well."

"Apart from the Moon Spirit, none of the other four races can think of staying out of this."

"Each race sending two or three Second Realm beings would total over ten." The flower demon god Kamiya, one of the twelve great demon gods, spoke softly, "With so many powerhouses, shall we jointly encircle and slay Luo and Yue Li?"

"That's not the case." Aganir shook his head, "Although Luo and Yue Li are important in this operation, the most important is actually the human race's Gatekeeper."

"Our clan lacks the ability to pinpoint the Gatekeeper, but the human race's entrance to the Heavenly Stairway is located where the Crystal Clan tribe resides; given those Crystal Clan folks' old scheming, they surely have a backup plan."

"They surely know where that Gatekeeper who teleported away first ended up."

"Half of the descending Second Realm powerhouses will encircle and slay Luo and Yue Li, the other half will encircle the human race's Gatekeeper." Aganir's voice was filled with killing intent, "Moreover, ten First Realm beings are not enough for the White Jade Territory."

"What we want is not merely to destroy the human race's fortress."

"We must also prepare to kill our way into the human race's Dream World the moment the Gatekeeper falls."

"Just like the Lan tribe did a thousand years ago."

"This battle still requires some preparations." Aganir looked at the demon gods below, "At least twenty demon gods must relocate to the vicinity of the White Jade Territory within these two days, ensuring they can at any time strike into the White Jade Territory without anyone noticing."

"Kamal, you will be responsible for arranging this." Aganir said to one of the demon gods further down, "If you handle this well, I will report to the Ancestor to request merit for you, letting you fill Palius's vacancy and become a new great demon god."

"Yes!" The demon god named Kamal's voice was filled with ecstasy, while the other demon gods' eyes showed envy.

But envy is useless.

Kamal is a veteran First Realm demon god, and moreover a direct subordinate of Aganir; with a vacancy among the great demon gods, Aganir wishes to promote his direct line, and no one can stop him.

"Other races, I will contact them." Aganir spoke in a deep voice, "From now on, everyone focus their split spirits in the Spirit Temple, standing by for orders."

"This battle will be a reshuffle."

"Yes!" —

"Huh?"

Lin Yue, traveling together with Qin Chuan, frowned slightly and stopped.

"What's wrong?" Qin Chuan turned his head to look.

"Just now I suddenly felt a palpitation." Lin Yue furrowed her brows, "I feel uneasy, as if something major is about to happen."

"Palpitation..." Qin Chuan's expression became slightly more solemn.

If others felt this, it could still be an illusion.

But Lin Yue, as the possessor of the Life-Decree Talent, feeling this is likely an omen.

Could it be related to the human race's newly built fortress?

This speculation quickly surfaced in Qin Chuan's mind.

"The fortress's teleportation array should be completed soon." Qin Chuan spoke slowly, "With the teleportation array, we can return to the White Jade Territory at any time."

"Even if the human race's fortress in the White Jade Territory encounters a powerful enemy, we can still provide timely support."

"How about the Gatekeeper?" Lin Yue whispered, "How is the Gatekeeper doing now?"

"Everything is normal." Qin Chuan's eyes full of confidence, "Others wanting to find the Gatekeeper will find it not so easy."

"Then that's good." Lin Yue nodded slightly, feeling a bit relieved.

Having confirmed the preparations, the two temporarily set aside this minor incident and continued along the previously planned route toward the Akas Territory.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

During these two days, more human powerhouses entered the Heavenly Stairway; with abundant resources, Feng Yin and Long Ji successively stepped into the Mythic Stage.

Feng Yin remained as before, concealing his identity while acting alone in the Heavenly Stairway, gathering information while using his Insight Talent twice daily to share the gathered intel with Qin Chuan.

Long Ji, meanwhile, holds the title of Lord of the White Jade Territory, overseeing the human race's fortress there and managing related affairs.

Everything is developing in a good direction.

Qin Chuan and Lin Yue, after two days of travel, finally reached the Akas Territory; after slaying the obstructors, they arrived at the mouth of the largest volcano in the Akas Territory, the crater of Mount Akas.

"Squeak~"

Little Red was summoned by Lin Yue, gazing down at the volcanic crater, feeling the terrifying heat that even it found scorching, a solemn and anticipatory expression appearing in its eyes.

It nodded at the two, drew a deep breath, and then without hesitation leapt down, diving into the scorching magma.

One minute… five minutes… ten minutes…

In the agonizing wait, a spot of extraordinarily vivid crimson suddenly flared at the very center of the magma.

In the next instant, a column of fire shot up from the magma, blasting a huge hole through the surging lava.

A figure appeared before Qin Chuan and Lin Yue, dragging a huge tail like a braised‑pork cloud, its whole body alight with clear fire‑red crystals.

The scorching magma dimmed at that moment.

Only a streak of crimson remained, greedily devouring all heat in the world.

(End of chapter)