Chapter 88: Divine Slaughter

The fire demon, while moving, lowered its upper body, its serpentine tail whipping rapidly side to side, like a real poisonous snake.

Unlike a poisonous snake, it does not flick its tongue, but wields a trident over two meters long; the coarse trident is black and heavy, riddled with rust, its three front prongs ending in hooks, utterly terrifying.

These two fire demons have abundant combat experience.

They crouch, concealed among the Demons, and when Lei En's charge ends and his figure just stops, they suddenly surge, attacking from front and rear, the massive trident thrusting toward Lei En's chest and back.

"Watch out!"

Kai Nieji at the warehouse entrance calls out a warning.

Lei En had already seen their intent, faced the fire demon on the right, took a long stride forward, gathered all his strength into his hands, and swung his war hammer straight ahead with force.

Clang!

A burst rang out, sparks scattering.

The fire demon's trident was knocked clean out, crushing several unlucky minor demons; the demon's hands that held the trident were shattered by the massive force, and it let out a painful howl.

Lei En dragged his war hammer forward for a strike; his stature is only a little shorter than the fire demon's, and his forehead slammed hard into the demon's chin.

Snap!

The two heads collided, and the fire demon's skull cracked like an egg hitting a stone.

At that moment, the other fire demon finally arrived, its trident brutally piercing Lei En's back, its eyes filled with cruelty and savagery.

Clang!

The trident seemed to strike an iron ingot, rebounding instantly, leaving a shallow white mark on Lei En's back.

This fire demon's hands went numb, its eyes full of bewilderment.

Stung by the thrust, Lei En staggered forward two steps, then launched a charge, executing a 180-degree pivot, crushing several sulfur hounds and minor demons, finally circling to the fire demon's side and swinging his war hammer.

Power and cold burst forth simultaneously.

The fire demon, still dazed, shattered into pieces, turning into a heap of icy flesh.

Lei En exhaled, several Demon souls flew toward him and were absorbed; on his phone interface, the battery level surged, practically leaping upward.

Each of the two fire demons supplied five units of battery power.

When the other Demon souls were also absorbed, the battery had risen to 98%, and the second battery ring was about to be filled.

Not only the Demons he killed, but also those slain by others, their souls were all absorbed.

He barely paused for even a second.

Lei En recalled the last time the battery was full: his soul ascended, the entire World Tree trembled; the feeling was great, but it might affect his combat state.

He quickly surveyed the area; the warehouse still housed countless Demons, enough for him to fill the battery many times over.

"Can't upgrade immediately; must expend this battery power first."

Lei En instantly decided, opened the interface, and found the icons for several Elements.

Without hesitation, he poured his soul energy into "Steel Body".

This is his strongest survivability skill; previously his soul power was insufficient to upgrade, but now he finally has the chance and must strengthen Steel Body. If stronger Demons appear later, Steel Body will be the first rescue option.

The moment he thought it, the battery plummeted, and the progress bar beneath Steel Body began to advance.

Every two units of battery allow the Steel Body progress bar to move forward one notch.

A large horde of Demons surrounded him again.

Demons cannot be permanently slain outside the Abyss; their souls return to the Abyss to resurrect, so Demons are always fearless of death, accustomed to overwhelming powerful foes with sheer numbers.

Lei En let himself go completely.

He knows these Demons cannot harm him, so he lets fireballs strike him, and does not dodge the sulfur hounds' bites; either he crashes into them or smashes them with his war hammer!

Charge! Swing the hammer!

Charge! Swing the hammer!

Charge...

Lei En's figure roamed the warehouse, crushing back and forth like an emotionless killing machine; wherever he passed, blood flowed like rivers, then froze by the cold burst from his war hammer, coating the floor with a thick layer of blood ice.

Shattered Demon corpses piled up, the stench of blood pungent, the entire warehouse resembling a terrifying slaughterhouse.

Demons came in endless waves, killing a batch then surging forward again, as if never ending.

Several times, Demons surrounded Lei En, sacrificing their lives to pin him to the ground; the surrounding Demons surged forward, forming a small mountain, attempting to crush him outright.

But each time, Lei En rose again, completely unscathed.

Not even a single hair fell.

Occasionally a fire demon's trident left a mark on him, but it healed and vanished after a few seconds.

Moreover, Lei En's spirit grew increasingly exhilarated; his war hammer swung heavier and stronger, as if his stamina were limitless, never tiring.

The three Kai Nieji at the warehouse entrance were shocked by the scene, their souls trembling, silently invoking the deity's holy name countless times.

They had never seen such a frenzied fighting style!

They wouldn't even dare to imagine it.

These low‑level Demons had no resistance before Lei En; none could withstand a single hammer strike, like lambs awaiting slaughter, mercilessly ravaged.

Numerical superiority became futile against absolute defense and power.

Lei En became blood‑thirsty himself; if he didn't clear these Demons, he couldn't even reach to strike the Travigi within the rune array.

The frantic, savage slaughter lasted nearly a minute.

Boom!

Lei En once again used a charging acceleration, letting the fire demon's flames scorch him, then a heavy hammer smash turned it into meat paste.

Suddenly, his view cleared; the crowded warehouse became sparse.

Lei En turned his head to scan, finding the floor littered with Demon fragments; only a handful of standing Demons remained, a few dozen, all at a distance.

"Is that it?"

He suddenly felt a bit unaccustomed and somewhat lacking. The progress bar of the Iron Body was only at 97%, just one step away from advancing to Level 2.

This upgrade consumed enough soul power for him to level up twice.

The Abyssal Gate kept spewing Demons, but the passage was narrow, so the number of Demons emerging couldn't keep up with Lei En's slaughter rate.

The many Demons earlier were actually the accumulation of over an hour.

Lei En ignored the Abyssal Gate and looked at Te La Wei Qi within the altar's rune array.

The fallen one seemed completely indifferent to what was happening in the warehouse, focusing solely on maintaining the Abyssal Gate.

He took a deep breath, sprinted forward, and launched a charge.

The distance of a few dozen meters vanished in an instant.

Lei En charged to the edge of the altar, his war hammer already brimming with full power, and slammed it into the rune array.

A tangible golden shield materialized, a layer of liquid resembling flowing metal coalesced, and the war hammer struck it heavily, emitting a thunderous boom that shook the entire altar.

Bang……

The war hammer rebounded, Lei En's hands went numb, and he almost couldn't grip it.

Violent ripples spread across the shield, but in an instant it calmed again, showing no sign of cracks.

Inside, Te La Wei Qi's face showed surprise; he turned to glance at Lei En, saw the shield was unbroken, and continued to sustain the Abyssal Gate.

"A shield this hard!"

"A bit tricky…"

Lei En felt astonished, and at the same time guessed the reason.

The shield draws energy from a magical furnace and is reinforced by the rune array, making it so sturdy; it's not because Te La Wei Qi himself is that powerful.

He was a bit skeptical, swung the war hammer two more times, yet still couldn't shatter this seemingly fragile yet indestructible shield.

At the warehouse entrance, Kai Nie Ji and Bo Luo Ke finally cleared the Demons surrounding them, sprinting over a field of corpses.

Kai Nie Ji's voice came from his mechanical battle armor: "This shield is the mechanic's 'Flowing Gold Shield'; he merged himself with the rune array, expanding the shield into a protective barrier. Without cutting off the magical furnace's power, it's hard to break it by brute force."

Before he finished speaking, a Demon that had just emerged from the Abyssal Gate rushed forward.

"You're also a mechanic, think of a way to break the shield," Lei En tossed out, raising his war hammer toward the newly arrived Demons.

One charge, breaking bones and shattering skulls.

Lei En left a pile of corpses behind him, swung his war hammer two or three times, skillfully clearing the area.

Then, he blocked the entrance of the Abyssal Gate.

Every Demon that emerged from the passage—whether a minor fiend, a sulfur hound, or a fire demon—stepped into Ai Lun E Si, barely had time to perceive the world, and was met with a heavy hammer strike.

After killing a Demon, Lei En kicked its corpse aside to keep the gate from being blocked.

One soul after another was absorbed, and the energy kept rising.

Lei En felt it was like playing a whack‑a‑mole game, and his mood inexplicably brightened.

Finally, after a string of Demon kills, the Iron Body progress bar reached its end, flashed, the number "1" turned into "2", and then instantly reset.

Lei En's whole body trembled, and he immediately sensed the change.

Countless invisible energies surged from all directions into his body, generating an intense heat that, at an unimaginable speed, reinforced every muscle and bone from the inside out, undergoing deeper restructuring.

His skin became tougher, gleaming like metal.

His weight surged rapidly, yet his figure slimmed slightly, appearing more slender and proportioned, still giving the impression of a tall, fit build without seeming exaggerated.

Every second, his defense and strength increased.

Lei En continued slaying Demons emerging from the Abyssal Gate while feeling his own condition evolve.

The three people gathered around the rune array didn't notice his oddity and tried everything to attack that shield.

Perhaps because of the foundation, this Iron Body upgrade was far faster than the first.

The whole process finished in under thirty seconds.

The skin's sheen dimmed, returning to its normal color, showing no abnormality.

In his haste, Lei En didn't know the exact effects of a Level‑2 Iron Body, only that he'd certainly become harder and that others would find it harder to kill him!

The Iron Body upgrade also boosted the Element of Strength, the two complementing each other.

The Level‑3 Strength progress bar was already more than half full.

Lei En clearly felt his war hammer become slightly lighter in his hand.

Before he could fully process it, the Abyssal Gate suddenly changed, soaring higher and expanding, its passage widening by half!

A harsh roar echoed from beyond the gate, and a towering Demon silhouette burst out.

(End of Chapter)