Chapter 87: Demon Surge

Compared by soul strength, a Sulfur Hound is equivalent to a second‑tier Transcendent.

They are Demons; outside the Abyss they cannot be completely killed, and although most of their soul is absorbed, some of it returns directly to the Abyss.

Each Sulfur Hound gives Lei En two units of charge, a bit less than a normal second‑tier Transcendent.

Seven Sulfur Hounds, plus a few shot down by Bo Luoke and Kai Nie Ji, raised Lei En's charge by over 20% in just a few breaths!

He hadn't had time to rejoice when a flash of red light burst before him and a barrage of fireballs surged forward.

In front, a horde of minor demons were casting, their hands ignited as they hurled fireball after fireball. The fireballs were only the size of an adult's fist; though weak, they were extremely dense, covering the whole area.

Lei En let the fireballs strike him; a layer of ice armor manifested outside his body, flashing repeatedly.

Even the smallest fireball carries high temperature; ice armor, unlike a shield, is only a thin layer against the skin and can at most block a dozen fireballs.

Lei En's gaze swept over two other groups of Demons; they were few, with Bo Luoke handling one side and Kai Nie Ji the other, soon to be eliminated without letting them get far.

He immediately sprinted at high speed, charging and dashing!

A volley of fireballs struck empty air; the next second Lei En barreled into two or three minor demons, appearing among them, swinging his war hammer with his body as a fulcrum for a sweeping strike.

The sound of bones shattering rang on, brain matter burst, blood splattered.

The minor demons around Lei En fell like wheat being reaped, instantly clearing a patch.

"Jiruwa Gu…" the surviving minor demons let out a strange cry, eyes full of terror, then turned and fled in all directions.

Fu Li Da arrived at that moment, her silver longsword flashing; one swing after another, she slashed the approaching Demons.

The souls of the Demons flew out of their corpses, soaring toward Lei En.

He glanced at his phone screen and saw each minor demon contributed less than one charge unit, but their sheer number made up for it. He made several charge‑and‑strike runs, crushing one batch, hammering another, like wolves in a flock of sheep, harvesting souls; his charge rose steadily, and in just half a minute the second round surpassed 40%, growing stronger with each hit.

"Today won't be a case of misfortune turning to fortune, leveling up several tiers, right?"

Before Lei En's thought could settle, a massive wave of Demons burst out of the warehouse doors.

Countless Sulfur Hounds and minor demons surged like a tide, and behind them a half‑human, half‑snake Demon.

Their upper bodies resembled humans, but their lower halves were massive snake tails, their bodies covered in fiery red scales, like a rearing cobra, with full facial features, a ferocious visage, standing over two meters tall; their strong arms gripped a coarse trident, and as they moved their tails swayed, moving at great speed.

"Fire Demon!"

Lei En felt a slight alarm; Fire Demons are also burning demons, stronger than Sulfur Hounds, possessing intellect, no longer acting purely on instinct, and can command Demons of lower rank.

"Four Fire Demons…"

"Each Fire Demon's soul is not far below that of a third‑tier Transcendent."

"If we don't stop Te La Wei Qi in the warehouse, the Demons that appear will only grow stronger and can never be killed."

Lei En's thoughts shifted quickly, but his actions showed no hesitation as he raised his war hammer to meet them.

The group of Demons, fifty or sixty in number, under the command of the few Fire Demons behind, encircled orderly from both sides, aiming to trap Lei En in the middle and overwhelm him with numbers.

"Step aside, I've got this!"

Kai Nie Ji shouted loudly.

He had already eliminated the few Demons on the right; his mechanical armor surged forward like a comet, his massive metal foot stamping the ground, causing a slight tremor, steam billowing behind him, and with a boom he charged into the Demon mass.

The Soul Gun kept firing, and the giant sword in his mechanical armor cleaved; a single slash split several Sulfur Hounds before him in two.

Bo Luoke arrived in time, gathering with Fu Li Da beside Lei En.

The four of them blocked the warehouse doors.

"We can't let a single Demon escape from here."

Bo Luoke swiftly swapped magazines; as a ranger, his agile frame handled a swarm of low‑rank Demons with ease, a gun in one hand and a soft sword in the other.

Lei En glanced at the soft sword, thinking that Bo Luoke usually hides it in his belt, and today it finally came out.

He noticed Fu Li Da beside him, already panting heavily.

Fu Li Da is a third‑tier Holy Swordsman, the weakest among the four; she had also been wounded by an explosion, and after slashing several Demons in succession she began to feel strained.

Bo Luoke noticed her condition, shooting two escaped minor Demons while asking, "Fu Li Da, can you hold on?"

"No problem." Fu Li Da gritted her teeth in response.

Standing before the three, Kai Nie Ji was as solid as a mountain, letting fireballs strike his armor, leaving charred marks; he swung his giant sword, occasionally firing, repelling two successive waves of Demon assaults.

Yet the Demons, fierce and unafraid of death, surged forward wave after wave.

A Fire Demon let out a cry, and half the Demons suddenly bypassed Kai Nie Ji's mechanical armor, splitting into two groups to try to break out.

The warehouse doors were six or seven meters wide; Kai Nie Ji alone could not block them.

Lei En immediately charged forward, his war hammer delivering a heavy blow that radiated cold, freezing half the doorway area; a second horizontal sweep unleashed explosive force, flesh scattering, and the Demons' assault halted instantly.

With Lei En taking over, Kai Nie Ji's pressure eased considerably.

The two stood like reefs in a sea, firmly anchored at the warehouse entrance; no matter how the Demons battered them, they could not be knocked down, sealing the exit.

Occasionally a few escaped Demons got out, only to be slain by Bo Luoke and Fu Li Da behind.

From this spot, Lei En could already see the warehouse's situation clearly.

The massive warehouse held few goods, being very spacious; a glance revealed its entirety. In the center, an altar stood on the floor, bearing a complex rune formation, within which a magical steam‑engine‑like power furnace supplied energy to the formation.

Next to the magical steam engine stood a gaunt middle‑aged man.

He appeared about forty, dressed in a black formal suit, immaculate in appearance, yet his eyes glowed blood‑red, filled with endless rage and madness.

"Te La Wei Qi!"

Lei En finally saw the mastermind behind the incident.

Kai Nie Ji had long spotted Te La Wei Qi, firing several shots from his Soul Gun, but the bullets were blocked by a semi‑transparent shield that enveloped the entire formation.

The pale golden shield was extremely sturdy; even Kai Nie Ji's powerful Soul Gun could not pierce it.

Te La Wei Qi ignored the external attacks, his right hand supporting a strange rhombus crystal, dark‑green in hue, emitting bursts of black light.

He stood at the formation's center, using his own body as a conduit, drawing streams of magical energy into the green crystal in his hand.

The crystal emitted a beam that Tear the space over the open ground before the rune formation, forming a portal over two meters tall.

This is the Abyssal Gate.

The Abyssal Gate leads to a certain infernal plane; faintly one can see beyond the gate a scorching land of lava, the sky churning with smoke and dust, the earth barren and blistering, countless burning demons gathering in hordes, waiting to pass through the gate into Ai Lun E Si.

Lei En couldn't help but gasp a breath of cool air.

Fortunately, the Abyssal Gate hasn't opened completely yet, so only Low-stage Demons can pass through for now.

One batch after another of petty minor demons and Sulfur Hounds push and shove each other, like water gushing from an opened valve, surging out of the gate.

Occasionally a few Fire Demons are mixed in, clearing the way with their tridents.

At this moment, nearly half the warehouse is packed with Demons, blocked at the doorway and unable to leave.

For now they're only Low-stage Demons; when the Abyssal Gate opens a bit more, Mid-stage Demons, even High-stage Demons, will soon surge out.

Suddenly, the Abyssal Gate widened a few more degrees, and more Demons rushed out.

Lei En only glanced at it, and felt his scalp tingle.

At this rate, in less than five minutes High-stage Demons could appear, and in a massive swarm; with himself and Kai Nie Ji's four companions, they could not possibly hold them off.

"We must kill Te La Wei Qi."

Lei En seized a brief lull in the battle and shouted loudly.

As he shouted, he swept his Soul Eye over it; the soul of this Fifth-level Mechanic was black as ink, tinged with horrific crimson, like a living thing, constantly writhing and twisting, extending countless tentacles outward, an evil aura practically rising from his crown, visible to the naked eye.

Deep within the soul's core, a pair of scarlet, terrifying eyes seemed to sense something and suddenly stared back.

Lei En felt as if struck by lightning, a pain in his head, nearly losing his mind.

"Whoa! What is that?"

His whole body froze, the war hammer slowed, and several Sulfur Hounds seized the chance to pounce, knocking him to the ground and tearing at him furiously.

The incident came too suddenly; even the nearest Kai Nie Ji couldn't reach him in time to rescue.

"Lei En..."

Bo Luo Ke let out a grief‑stricken shout, his soft sword quivered, the blade straightening, and he charged forward with the sword, trying to save him while preparing to take over blocking the warehouse door.

In the next second, a burst of chilling force erupted, the war hammer swept horizontally, and the surrounding Sulfur Hounds were smashed into fragments.

Lei En leapt up; his clothes were torn to shreds by the bites, revealing his muscular body, yet there was no sign of demon bites—he was completely unharmed.

Bo Luo Ke happened to rush to his side, and upon seeing Lei En's condition, his eyes were filled with astonishment.

"Lei En, you actually are fine!"

For a moment he was both shocked and delighted—delighted that Lei En hadn't died, shocked by Lei En's terrifying defense.

The Sulfur Hound's most lethal weapon is its fang, which carries fire poison and scorching; even a Mid-stage Transcendent would struggle to endure a bite.

Lei En was surrounded by several Sulfur Hounds and bitten for a few seconds, yet not even his skin was broken.

That's just too exaggerated!

Lei En gave no explanation, nor had time to.

He gave Bo Luo Ke a brief smile, turned and swung his war hammer, crushing a lurking Sulfur Hound, and quickly said, "Captain, hold this place, I'll go in and kill him."

"Alright!"

Bo Luo Ke flicked his soft sword, taking Lei En's place.

With a booming sound, Lei En's towering figure surged into the warehouse, rampaging through the Demon horde, crudely carving a bloody path.

A few Fire Demons stayed behind to command, not personally charging the doorway.

At that moment, seeing Lei En charge in, two Fire Demons brandished heavy tridents, one on each side, flanking and lunging at Lei En.

(End of Chapter)