Chapter 89: Level‑Four Power

Lei En, regardless of what Demon emerged, swung a hammer straight at its head.

Clang—, the huge metallic crash echoed through the warehouse, and Lei En involuntarily stepped back two paces, forced to leave the Abyssal Gate.

The Demon was also flung several meters away.

It was only then that Lei En saw its true form.

It resembled a fire demon, but its body was far larger; broad shoulders and muscular arms bore a row of spikes, a snarling head sprouted a pair of black horns pointing straight up, its chin hung soft, tentacle‑like whiskers, its scales turned black, elongated pupils stood upright, exuding a wildly brutal aura.

"Lei En, watch out, that's a fire demon commander!" Bo Luo Ke shouted, warning Lei En.

Lei En gave a slight nod, alert in his heart.

In his soul‑eye, the fire demon commander's soul equated to a fifth‑grade transcendent, i. e., a Mid-stage Demon, far stronger than ordinary fire demons.

The Demon reacted instantly, flipping onto its feet.

It stood about two‑point‑five meters tall; with a five‑meter tail, its agile serpentine tail supported the massive body, clad in crude plate armor, wielding a huge decapitation sword.

"&%#$%……"

The fire demon commander looked at Lei En and spoke.

It spoke in Abyssal Language, which Lei En could not understand, and he did not wish to know; he immediately raised his war hammer and charged.

In an instant, he surged to the Demon's front.

Now!

The hammer clashed with the decapitation sword and was blocked.

Lei En was surprised; this fire demon commander was stronger than he had expected.

He now possessed a Level‑3½ "Power", plus a second‑level steel body, infused with Dragon‑Force Technique; even a casual strike delivered seven‑to‑eight thousand pounds of force, and no Demon had ever withstood a single hammer blow.

But this fire demon commander managed it.

As the hammer hammered, cold air erupted, pouring over the fire demon commander; a layer of flame ignited on its body, canceling the cold, producing no freezing effect.

Nevertheless, the fire demon commander was forced to retreat by that hammer strike.

Lei En knew he still held the advantage in raw power.

He surged forward, swinging the hammer again, ready to hammer the Demon once more; even if it could block a few blows, he would drive it back with no retreat, knock it down, and finish it with a single hammer.

Clang clang!

Three consecutive booms erupted, sparks flying between hammer and sword.

The fire demon commander's decapitation sword measured over 1.5 meters, forged of some unknown metal, poorly cast and very rough, weighing about two hundred pounds.

After Lei En hammered it a few times, the blade developed a notch and the entire sword became slightly deformed.

The fire demon commander was repeatedly forced backward.

After another clash, the fire demon commander was repelled by massive force; its serpentine tail snagged on the corpse of a sulfur hound, instantly losing balance, and its upper body toppled sideways.

Lei En seized the moment, raised his hammer, and slammed it toward its waist.

With his strength, the hammer need not strike fully; a slight graze would split this Mid-stage Demon in two.

The hammer tore through the air with a sharp whoosh, about to strike.

The fire demon commander suddenly uttered a rapid phrase, apparently a command word.

"&%#！"

Lei En still could not understand, yet sensed the authority and intimidation in the words, an inexplicable fear rising within him, as if the Demon before him were the world's most terrifying being; his whole body trembled, and the hammer he was swinging halted midway.

The state lasted only a brief moment, less than a second.

When Lei En finally broke free, it was already too late.

A massive serpentine tail struck him hard, hurling him dozens of meters, landing amid a pile of Demon corpses.

The fire demon commander let out a smug, wild laugh.

However, it laughed once then fell silent, seeing the human stand up unharmed.

Confusion flashed in its eyes, unable to comprehend the situation.

Striking enemies with its tail is a fire demon's signature skill; combined with Fear Technique, it can often reverse the tide at crucial moments. As a fire demon commander promoted to Mid-stage Demon, a single tail swipe can shatter the hardest obsidian in the furnace, its sharp tail scales and spikes comparable to a full‑force decapitation sword slash.

It clearly struck its target, yet did not expect this outcome.

Lei En rose, patted his chest, feeling a faint pain, but nothing serious.

He was actually a bit uneasy; fortunately he had just upgraded his steel body to second level, greatly boosting defense, otherwise he would surely have been injured.

Seizing the fire demon commander's daze, Lei En charged again.

After two clangs, the massive force let him regain the upper hand; on the third strike, with a clang, the fire demon commander's decapitation sword shattered.

Unarmed, it could not even block a single hammer blow.

"&%#！"

The fire demon commander repeated the trick, attempting to halt the enemy's advance with Fear Technique, preparing to flee.

This time, Lei En was already prepared.

At the instant it opened its mouth, Lei En surged forward, crashing into it, breaking the spell; simultaneously, his hammer was positioned before him, the head delivering a heavy smash, his entire strength erupting.

Amid a sound of bones shattering, the charge halted, and the fire demon commander's corpse fell.

Its chest caved in, the innards ground into mush by the hammer; the charge ended before it even died.

Lei En exhaled; killing this fire demon commander was not easy, far trickier than a first‑stage Demon.

Nevertheless, the reward was great.

One fire demon commander's soul equated to six or seven ordinary fire demons, granting him 35% energy!

If he could slay two more fire demon commanders, he could upgrade again immediately.

Lei En glanced back at the Abyssal Gate and saw that while he fought the fire demon commander, within just a few dozen seconds a large wave of first‑stage Demons surged out.

Kai Nie Ji had to abandon the rune formation, taking his place to block the gate.

Lei En hurried over, helping him clear this batch of Demons.

Spirits rose one after another, turning into electric charge; the second circle battery quickly passed the halfway point again.

"Lei En, I'll guard the Abyssal Gate, you go test if you can break the formation." Kai Niej said quickly: "The Flowing Gold Shield can disperse incoming attacks, spreading them evenly across the shield. To attack repeatedly within a short time, concentrating on one point so it can't disperse, that's the chance to shatter it."

"My mechanical armor is of the agile type, mainly using a soul gun to attack, lacking power bursts, so I have to rely on you."

Kai Niej spoke while slashing demons emerging from the Abyssal Gate with a greatsword.

Lei En had already seen that Kai Niej's combat skill was average.

In fact it could be called somewhat clumsy and inexperienced.

Mechanics are casters, rarely adept at melee; even when piloting mechanical armor, they usually rely on the armor's defense, hard‑standing enemy attacks, then firing the soul gun wildly, or using many mechanical puppets to overwhelm foes with a sea‑of‑men tactic.

Kai Niej is the vice president of the Mechanical Guild, a famous wealthy magnate, accustomed to luxury, surrounded by followers, rarely gets a chance to fight personally, lacking combat experience.

Now he can fight Demons to the end without falling, mostly thanks to this costly mechanical armor.

As a Level Seven Mechanic, a High-tier Transcendent, Kai Niej has not displayed his expected strength.

Of course, Lei En had no intention of criticizing Kai Niej.

Kai Niej did not retreat when the battle began; instead he chose to stay, risking his life, and that act alone makes him beyond reproach.

Lei En charged forward, reaching the rune formation beside the altar.

Bo Luo Ke and Fu Li Da were both here, frantically attacking the protective shield—one continuously firing, the other slashing with a long sword, stirring slight ripples.

Unfortunately their attacks were like scratching an itch through a boot, of no use.

Lei En said, "Captain, you go help President Kai Niej; I'll handle this."

"Alright." Bo Luo Ke and the other immediately stepped back.

Following Kai Niej's hint, Lei En began striking the protective shield.

He steadied his stance, inhaled deeply, clenched his war hammer in both hands, finely channeling his whole body's strength into his grip; his arm muscles swelled as he swung the hammer in a circle, producing a hurricane‑like roar, and he slammed it down heavily.

Boom!

The deafening crash echoed through the whole warehouse, like a huge stone dropped into a pond; the translucent golden shield quivered violently, and the altar beneath it shuddered.

In the center of the formation, Te La Wei Qi was drawn in, staring at Lei En with a twisted face, as if Lei En were his mortal enemy.

Lei En ignored Te La Wei Qi, hammer after hammer, nonstop!

Boom! Boom! Boom…

The war hammer kept swinging at a very fast rhythm, striking the shield almost once per second, each hit on the same spot.

Each heavy blow created ripples that spread; before one wave subsided, another surged, intersecting; the entire altar kept shaking, the shield wobbling as if about to break.

The previously expressionless Te La Wei Qi finally showed some panic.

He wanted to attack Lei En from inside, but as the formation's medium he must maintain the Abyssal Gate, unable to move a step or cast spells.

He could only watch helplessly as Lei En raged against the shield.

Half a minute later, the shield still held.

After exhausting his strength to hammer down more than twenty times, Lei En felt weary and had to pause temporarily.

It wasn't that he lacked stamina, but his power burst exceeded his body's limit, needing a breather.

He could see the shield was a hair's breadth from shattering, as if it could collapse at any moment, yet he was always short of that final breath, unable to finish it in one go.

From the Abyssal Gate, another Mid-stage Demon emerged.

This Demon was a Lava Demon Hound promoted from a Sulfur Hound; its massive body stood taller than an adult when its limbs touched the ground, its skin oozed viscous blood of flame like volcanic lava, and its huge maw spewed fire and thick smoke, burning anyone who approached.

Kai Niej relied on his mechanical armor to grapple the Lava Demon Hound up close, while Bo Luo Ke and Fu Li Da restrained it from the side; the three together faced no immediate danger.

Within the Abyssal Gate, roaring sounds never ceased, suggesting another Mid-stage Demon was about to appear.

"We can't keep dragging this out."

"If one or two more Mid-stage Demons appear, besides me, the captain and his team will surely die, and Mr. Kai Niej will find it hard to escape."

Lei En glanced at his phone's battery.

While attacking the shield, he absorbed another batch of Demon souls, raising the charge to 80%, enough to use.

He opened the Power Element icon and poured his soul energy into it.

The charge dropped rapidly, the progress bar advanced immediately; already past half, within ten seconds it consumed over twenty units of charge, reaching the limit again, flashing and becoming Level Four!

Level Four Power!

Lei En didn't fully experience the change of Level Four Power; without hesitation, he used the remaining charge on "Dragon Power Technique."

The Dragon Power Technique's progress bar began moving instantly.

This rare‑grade spell consumed less charge than Lei En expected, using fewer than forty units, and the Dragon Technique Power rose to the Second Ring.

"Could enhancing Mystic Elements be easier than strengthening Physical Elements?"

Lei En thought about it.

Many spells can reach the Ninth Ring, but Physical Elements rarely reach Ninth Level; some famous Physical Elements and skills cap at Level Five or lower.

The thought flashed, Lei En didn't dwell on it, and immediately applied a Second Ring of Dragon Power Technique to himself.

A phantom of a dragon head descended, as if endless power filled his body.

Lei En adopted his stance, took three deep breaths, raised his war hammer high, and struck down with force.

Boom!

One hammer fell, the entire altar shook, and the shield's fluctuation was more violent than any previous strike.

Lei En pressed on, quickly swinging the hammer again.

Boom!

The shield was on the brink of collapse, with several winding cracks appearing; the whole rune formation flickered, and the magical energy inside leaked out.

Fear appeared in Te La Wei Qi's eyes; his whole body trembled, his hand holding the Abyss Crystal grew unsteady, and the Abyssal Gate's opened passage also swayed.

Lei En without hesitation smashed down the third hammer.

Amid the explosion, the protective shield shattered in response, like a punctured bubble it vanished instantly.

Te La Wei Qi's figure was exposed.

The rune formation was destroyed; he suffered backlash, opened his mouth and spewed a large mouthful of fresh blood.

Without magical energy support, the black‑green Abyss crystal dimmed, its emitted light vanished, and the Abyssal Gate over there could no longer be sustained; after a few tremors it closed.

Before the passage closed, a Demon's desperate cry came from the Abyssal Gate.

"No…"

Te La Wei Qi also shouted wildly.

His pupils shifted from red to black, evil black aura coiled around him, his whole being was nauseating, filthy beyond measure; just a glance could drive one mad, as if countless strange hands were scratching inside the heart, unbearably painful.

"Hahaha…"

Te La Wei Qi let out a shrill cackle; the eerie laugh carried terrifying power, shaking the entire warehouse.

In the midst of battle, Kai Nie Ji and two others heard the laugh, instantly became stunned, while the lava demon hound was unaffected, seized the chance to knock the mechanical armor to the ground and bite madly.

Te La Wei Qi was enveloped in black mist, strands of black mist forming tentacles extending outward, flailing in the air.

He equipped the Abyss crystal, floated up, turned to prepare to flee.

Suddenly, a heavy war hammer whooshed in, its head struck the head squarely; with a crack, brain matter splattered, and Te La Wei Qi's headless corpse fell down.

(End of Chapter)