Chapter 719: I Am the First Support

"The invincible Fifth Heavenly King..." the hero said, "I'd like to know, compared to the Demon King, who is stronger?"

This question was somewhat provocative.

Generally speaking, the strongest of the demon race is definitely the Demon King, and now an "invincible Fifth Heavenly King" has appeared—where does the Demon King's face go?

Does the Demon King not care about face?

My subordinates have the title of invincible, so what about me? Am I more invincible than invincible?

Facing the hero's provocation, Karl and Quess smiled without speaking.

The invincible Fifth Heavenly King is naturally stronger than the Demon King—this is a recognized fact, but it's not something they can say outright.

"Then I'll wait for that invincible Fifth Heavenly King to come." The hero said.

As soon as the words fell, magical formations lit up beneath the feet of the demon people—those were teleportation spells.

Before the hero could make any further reaction, or rather, before the hero paused for a moment, glanced at the two behind him, and made no attempt to stop them.

He allowed these demons to quickly vanish from the room.

Don't forget, there are still two wounded in the room, and everyone's medical supplies have been exhausted—only able to ensure Merlin and Shadow's injuries don't worsen for a certain time.

The hero worried that if he went on a killing spree, it might provoke these undead demons into resistance, leading to mutual destruction and further harm to Merlin and Shadow.

It would be better to let them go.

These demons were wounded by him—even if there were any excellent healing medicines, they would be unable to recover combat strength for a long time to come.

The hero was not worried that the fleeing demons would reappear.

Capture the thief by first capturing the king.

Defeating (killing) the Fifth Heavenly King, the Demon King, and rescuing Kailan is the top priority.

These demons can be let go for now.

If we fail to kill the Demon King this time, these demons will later come forward to offer themselves as nourishment, providing strength to us—this is common knowledge: those who cannot defeat the hero will only make him stronger.

If we kill the Demon King, these demons will become rats hiding in the sewers, too afraid to show their faces—utterly harmless.

The hero, holding twin swords, returned to Shadow and Merlin's side: "How are you?"

The two leaned on each other, not having fallen, both appearing as pale as gold paper from severe injuries.

"Don't worry about us, go save people." Shadow said.

Merlin nodded weakly, barely lifting her head, casting a protective spell to shield the two of them.

"No, I'm here waiting for that invincible Fifth Heavenly King." The hero shook his head.

He would not abandon his companions.

What? You say Uncle Arthur, as an MT holding the rear, is just basic procedure—not abandonment.

Besides, he's even been frozen.

While the hero waited for the invincible Fifth Heavenly King to descend.

Outside the Black Forest of the demon realm, two figures appeared.

Both wore traveler's cloaks, with hoods pulled low to cover half their faces.

One lifted his gaze toward the majestic Demon King City; beneath his hood was a mass of deep black, like surging fog.

After staring at the castle for a while, two points of soul-stirring red light flared where his eyes were.

"The price of blind trust, the taste of suffering—have you experienced it? Akmon." Another black-robed figure said.

The one with glowing red eyes was none other than the true Demon King, Akmon.

"Cut the nonsense, old man—how long do you have left?" Akmon asked.

"If I don't act, one day; if I do act, probably only one hour." The black-robed figure replied.

"Enough, let's go." Akmon's voice was icy and hoarse, as if issuing from the Nine Hells of Hell.

As his words fell, his entire body turned into a black mist, flying straight toward the majestic Demon King City.

The other black-robed figure simply faded away, vanishing without a trace.

In some unknown place, things seemed to have undergone some unforeseen changes.

"Boom—boom—"

The sound of the immensely heavy door opening, like muffled thunder.

The hero and Merlin and the others all stared at the door gradually swinging open.

They waited a moment, but no invincible Fifth Heavenly King arrived—instead, the tightly sealed door opened on its own.

As if inviting them to proceed to the next place.

No, not "as if"—it was an invitation.

A half-dead demon elf walked out from behind the door, bearing a face of lingering resentment: "The one you seek is in the next room."

After speaking, he immediately left.

Asasix, defeated by the hero and ranked among the Four Heavenly Kings, is only fit to be a messenger.

The hero turned his head, looking at Merlin and Shadow.

"Go ahead, don't worry about us."

"We'll wait for you here."

As members of the harem, the two displayed great magnanimity, radiating the brilliance of the Three Obediences and Four Virtues.

The hero silently raised his twin swords and brought them down.

Don't misunderstand—he didn't suddenly go mad and try to slash his own harem; the sword shadows appeared beside them, and the stored power condensed in midair.

Gradually forming a protective layer.

The hero, after all, still needs this ability—even Sun Wukong knows how to draw a circle on the ground as a prison.

To put it plainly: releasing power outward to stabilize it externally for a period of time.

It's really not hard... probably.

"Don't!"

Merlin and Shadow spoke at the same time.

The Hero's action came at a cost; after doing this, sweat could clearly be seen constantly beading and streaming down his forehead.

And those slightly trembling hands — one could tell the expenditure was considerable.

"This bit of consumption is nothing; I'll bring Kelan back." The Hero gripped the two magic swords and walked toward the wide-open gate.

It had quite the bleak grandeur of "the wind sighs cold over the Yi River; the valiant warrior departs, never to return."

Of course, given his Hero status, and since he didn't utter a death flag like "going home to get married."

Most likely he can still survive.

Beyond the gate lay a dark corridor, barely able to make out the surroundings within one meter.

At the end of the corridor was another gate.

The Hero directly raised the Ice-Fire Sword in his right hand (a magic sword enchanted with fire and ice spells) and chopped the door to pieces, walking inside.

Behind the door was another spacious, magnificent hall.

Red carpet, various decorations all around.

Finally there was some wedding atmosphere.

"Kelan!"

The Hero let out a furious roar.

Inside the hall, besides him, there were several other presences.

One was the Demon King seated on the throne at the far end of the hall, black armor covering his whole body, a pair of scarlet eyes.

Beside the throne lay a massive hammer, its head burning with flames.

Beside the Demon King stood a tall man, human in appearance, no demonic features discernible, rather fat-headed and big-eared, smiling at him.

The smile was very malicious.

A few steps ahead of them, overhead, Kelan's arms were locked in chains, suspended in midair.

Her head hung low, eyes tightly shut, unconscious.

She wore a gorgeous wedding dress, very beautiful, only this beautiful dress had already been torn to shreds.

Revealing quite a few indescribable places.

Not only that, there were many places on Kelan's body, including her golden hair, stained with an unknown yellowish-white turbid viscous liquid.

In the air permeated the scent of heather in bloom.

As a man, the Hero was not the least bit unfamiliar with this smell.

Demons, you don't play by the rules!

The Hero was enraged, and it was a violent rage; with that roar, surging power gushed from his body.

The two magic swords in his hands let out a sword's cry.

Light and dark, ice and fire combined.

Frostmourne's sorrow, Fire's joy, Light's roar, Dark's chant!

Power boiling, the Hero gripping twin swords, like a gale he charged at the Demon King seated on the throne.

This strike, unbreakable, unstoppable!

Today, all demons must die!

The enraged Hero did not notice on the other side another figure he should have been quite familiar with, hidden beneath a voluminous black robe.

In hand still holding a staff he was quite familiar with, never seen used, treated as an ornament.

Close!

In less than the blink of an eye, the Hero had already neared the Demon King; that heather-bloom scent even more intense.

The Demon King still maintained his seated posture, couldn't even reach for the hammer beside him, like a duck waiting for slaughter.

The next second.

The Hero flew backward, the twin magic swords shattering in midair, blade fragments flying everywhere, scattering dazzling light, very beautiful.

When the Hero crashed heavily to the ground, his hands still gripped the twin swords, but he held only two bare hilts.

He rolled once, half-kneeling on the ground, swallowing the blood surging up; the Hero's sharp gaze turned to the person he had ignored.

"You are..."

"Long time no see — wrong, only four hours." Tang Luo removed his hood. "Ken, you've grown stronger."

"Master!"

Ken cried out in surprise, Master Anubis!

"You... you betrayed us?" The Hero's face was full of shock.

The one who just blocked his furious strike was precisely their Heaven-Sent Divine Troops member, the continent's number one support, Beast Tamer, the erudite Master Anubis.

"Change your way of thinking."

Tang Luo tossed the broken staff aside, waved his hand in two circles beside his head.

The Hero wasn't stupid; after a brief blankness his eyes cleared: "Not betrayal! You were one of the demons from the start!"

"Correct." Tang Luo clapped lightly, laughing, taking on the role of explaining everything. "From the beginning I was an undercover agent; at the same time, I am also the demons' Fifth Heavenly King..."

Many scenes flashed through the Hero's mind.

Two crisp sounds, the sword hilts in his hands crushed by sheer grip.

"You... ac-tual-ly... de-ceived... us!" The Hero growled low.

"I didn't deceive you." Tang Luo shook his head. "Think back — did I ever tell you a lie?"

"Wait, Master, eight out of ten sentences you say are clearly lies!" Ao Yulie widened her eyes, taking the words to heart.

"Wait! If you're a demon, you're not a demon!" Looking at Tang Luo's completely human appearance, the furious Hero was simultaneously baffled.

Anubis is human; if he were a human among demons, he should have horns growing on his forehead.

The other party didn't have horns; even if some method was used to conceal them, after long-term coexistence, the Hero couldn't possibly fail to notice.

Anubis isn't an elf-demon either.

"Can't even hide horns, what kind of expert are you?"

During the Journey to the West period, Tang Luo — who mostly just clenched his fists and beat people half to death — smiled faintly, indicating an expert should know a bit of everything.

"... The Invincible Fifth Heavenly King!"

The Hero took a deep breath, reached back and gripped the Hero's Sword, "Let me see how many of my sword strikes you can block!"

Words were useless; the Hero's Sword left its scabbard!

No dazzling radiance, no longsword with sword qi crisscrossing everywhere.

Compared to the gold, gaudy hilt, the blade of the Hero's Sword was actually very ordinary.

No cold light shining, the blade wasn't bright like a mirror either; on the contrary, the edge gave a rather dull impression.

"Then how many strikes can you unleash? Let me guess — ten strikes is your limit, right?"

Tang Luo remained unhurried.

Even the Hero couldn't possibly use the Hero's Sword without any restrictions.

This kind of special exclusive artifact passed down through generations has a usage limit.

Before entering the Demon King's Castle, the Hero could unleash seven strikes; now, Tang Luo's guess was correct.

With the Hero's current strength, he could indeed unleash ten strikes — progress that couldn't be called small.

"Experience it yourself." The Hero didn't mind.

Ten strikes was just the baseline; he was the Hero, and in a burst state, eleven, twelve, thirteen strikes weren't impossible.

"Heh, you forgot, I'm a support. Demon King, you're the chosen one — go." Tang Luo said to Ao Yulie.

Ao Yulie, watching the excitement from the side, froze.

Her gaze pierced through the helmet toward Tang Luo: "Master, are you serious?"

"I'm serious. Go take a beating — no, go fight. Relax, you won't die." Tang Luo replied to Ao Yulie with his eyes.

"... So you're also the type who fears death and clings to life!" The Hero said looking at Tang Luo.

"No, purely because I'm a support; supports don't do the killing and fighting."

"Hmph!"

The Hero sneered coldly, yet didn't insist on killing Tang Luo first.

It was merely a matter of the order of death; what they did to Kailan meant all demons — every last one — must die!

The Hero now didn't even dare glance at Kailan; one look and his heart twisted in pain.

"Sigh..."

Ao Yulie sighed, grabbed her hammer and stood, walked forward ten meters, extended a hand, "I say, I'm actually a pacifist; let's resolve this dispute peacefully now — like rock-paper-scissors. You definitely wouldn't agree, right?"

"What do you think, Dem—" The Hero hadn't finished speaking before he saw the flame-wreathed hammerhead rapidly enlarging before his eyes.

Sneak attack!

For a Demon King to pull a sneak attack is perfectly reasonable.

Too bad the sneak attack was useless; a flash of sword light, and Ao Yulie's weapon was instantly cut in two.

Without a Demon King-exclusive inherited weapon, the rest of the weapons in the demon treasury were all worthless before the Hero's Sword.

Moreover, this didn't even count as the first strike unleashing the Hero's Sword's power — merely the "Keen Edge" effect inherent to the Hero's Sword, which looks dull but is actually very sharp.

"Somewhat weak?"

The Hero mused inwardly, some doubt in his heart — the Demon King's strength wasn't as strong as he'd imagined.

Very normal; Ao Yulie's strength was about the same as the initial Demon King's.

That is, Fifth Stage God-Demon Walker level.

Don't be fooled by how silly the demons are in this world — in terms of subordinates' hard power, they're truly not weak.

If a normal God-Demon Walker took this mission, it would be a standard defensive mission revolving around powerful demons.

In the end it would still be extremely arduous, with buying time as the ultimate goal.

Absolutely impossible to be like Tang Luo's group, teasing the Hero to kill time.

And now, the Hero is even stronger than the initial Demon King, so naturally stronger than Ao Yulie too.

Of course, for the Hero to deal with Ao Yulie isn't that easy either — at least far more difficult than dealing with a real Demon King of the same strength.

One strike destroyed the opponent's weapon.

The Hero struck a second time swift as lightning; this strike employed the Hero's Sword's power.

Equally plain — just a faint gleam flashing across the blade.

Power condensed, not released outward.

Mainly the Hero also worried that fully releasing the power would injure Kailan.

Unfortunately, this strike missed.

It only pierced the Demon King's armor; Ao Yulie discarded the armor the moment the blade neared and retreated ten meters.

He's not that kind of big dumb brute who wears armor for melee.

Ao Yulie, having dodged strategically, raised his hand — fireballs, wind blades, ice cones and other skills smashed toward the Hero all at once, mixed with his own wind, rain, thunder and lightning.

The Hero's location was instantly covered by destructive forces.

Various powers intertwined, lightning flashing.

Throw a person in and they'll instantly turn to char, reduced to ash, completely cremated.

The Hero and this world's powerhouses are somewhat similar to gods and demons walking among mortals — more or less "specialized" types.

The high-offense, low-defense type; against an attack of this caliber, unless defensive spells are applied, no one would dare take it head-on with their body.

The Hero is no exception.

So the Hero directly unleashed the Third Sword, the power of the Hero's Sword wrapping around his whole body.

Tanking Ao Yulie's attack, he charged out and slashed with one sword!

One sword, two uses!

Blood light surged forth.

This sword was too fast; Ao Yulie couldn't dodge completely, and a gash was torn open in his chest.

The defense of dragon scales appeared rather useless before the Hero's Sword.

With one sword striking true, the Hero swung the Fourth Sword, a horizontal sweep, directly beheading Ao Yulie in one stroke.

Only, the severed head and body turned into two clouds of mist and dispersed.

Ao Yulie appeared on the other side, hand pressed to his chest: "It hurts, it hurts."

Not just the wound on his chest — the power of the Hero's Sword still lingered on his body, continuously ravaging his form.

Merit Jade Lotus healing light emerged.

The power of the Hero's Sword was instantly dispelled; the wound on Ao Yulie's chest vanished, dragon scales faintly flashing past.

The Hero's attacking motion halted, and he looked toward Tang Luo.

Tang Luo raised a hand, drawing talismans in the void as he spoke: "Dharma boundless."

Dharma boundless!

Blood Talisman · Iron Armor!

Blood Talisman · Flight!

Blood Talisman · Healing!

Blood Talisman · Invisibility!

Blood Talisman · Substitute!

Various buffs landed on Ao Yulie.

The Hero's eyes nearly split with rage — treatment that originally belonged to him was given to his enemy, given to the Demon King!

Facing the Hero's gaze, Tang Luo smiled faintly: "I said, I'm the number one support."