Chapter 954: Waste Utilization

When Lei En entered the great hall of the Iron Fortress, he saw Ai Luotixiya seated on the throne, surrounded by two squads of Dark Angel bodyguards, scolding several Great Demons.

These legendary Great Demons were once Barazakun's subordinates, now crawling at the Succubus's feet, not daring to lift their heads.

They have already witnessed the new Demon Lord's ruthless cruelty.

After a blend of grace and might, Ai Luotixiya waved her hand and dismissed the Great Demons.

"Well done."

Lei En shapeshifted into the form of a Dream Demon, appearing beside the throne, and laughed, "You already have the bearing of a Demon Lord."

Ai Luotixiya was startled at first, then, hearing the familiar voice, she exclaimed with delight, "Lei En."

She instinctively rose to bow, but Lei En said, "Remember, you are now a Demon Lord; do not reveal my existence."

"Hmm." The Succubus nodded lightly.

She gazed at Lei En's Dream Demon form, yet could not contain her excitement, "Lei En, we succeeded! In just a few hours we breached Wang Long Fortress, capturing the strongest stronghold in the Misty Mountain Plane—truly a miracle!"

"Hehe…" Lei En smiled calmly, "I told you, the strongest fortresses are always taken from within."

"Yes, I understand now."

Ai Luotixiya, having grasped this deeply, asked curiously, "Is Barazakun already dead?" She had learned the news from Reslin, but had not seen it herself.

"Of course." Lei En replied.

"I intend to use Barazakun's corpse to assert authority before the Demon army, so I can more smoothly inherit Barazakun's territories," Ai Luotixiya requested, having fully assumed her role as a Demon Lord.

"That won't work; I have other plans for Barazakun's corpse," Lei En shook his head, briefly explaining Barazakun's true identity.

"Ancient Black Iron Dragon!"

Upon hearing it, the Succubus let out a startled cry.

The owner of Wang Long Fortress turned out to be a massive dragon, not a Demon—how astonishing. She realized why Barazakun named the fortress Wang Long Fortress, and recalled Lei En's earlier comment on the name, finally understanding.

"Lei En, have you known this secret all along?" the Succubus asked, unable to help but wonder—what world could possibly hide from Lei En's eyes?

"You could say so." Lei En gave a noncommittal smile.

Ai Luotixiya thought, indeed.

After a moment's thought, she said, "Without Barazakun's corpse, subjugating his lands may be a bit troublesome, but not a big issue. I plan to spend two days consolidating the Demon army at Wang Long Fortress, then lead the troops out of the fortress and spend half a month conquering the entire territory."

Barazakun's domain is vast, covering roughly sixty percent of the north shore of the Gamma Lan Plain; Wang Long Fortress is merely the administrative center.

"Fine." Lei En nodded, "You are a Demon Lord; you may decide these matters yourself, no need to consult me."

"Alright."

Ai Luotixiya was not lacking in opinion; she simply knew that all this was possible thanks to Lei En's backing.

"I intend to reinforce Wang Long Fortress, redeploy some rune formations, which will require the help of Thundercast Celestial Soldiers. Additionally, to guard against neighboring Demon Lords exploiting the chaos, I plan to dispatch several Dark Angel squads, accompanied by the Demon army, to the border for reinforced defense."

"Once I fully control the territory, my next step is to strike at the two Demon Lords in the northern Gamma Lan Plain, eliminate them, and seize the entire north shore."

"The southern shore's forces are more complex; those five Demon Lords may be linked to Abyssal Lords from other planes. Moreover, the Gamma Lan River hinders, making the southern conquest harder."

"I plan to spend a year subduing the south shore, unifying the Gamma Lan Plain."

"During that time, I will send Demons to gather source crystals and search for source crystal veins. Once discovered, I will report to you immediately."

The Succubus reported her plan item by item.

Lei En gave unconditional approval, satisfied, "Your considerations are thorough; it may be hard on you."

"Not hard at all," Ai Luotixiya said sincerely, "Compared to the days of fleeing, being a Demon Lord is far easier. And with so many Dark Angels, they are so powerful; I feel that across the entire Misty Mountain Plane, there may be no enemy the Dark Angels cannot defeat."

Speaking of that, the Succubus recalled the earlier battle, still finding it unbelievable.

Over two hours of blood‑soaked melee, the Dark Angels annihilated more than two hundred thousand Demon troops, achieving a zero‑casualty miracle under that terrifying siege!

No, this is a miracle!

"Even the strongest legion needs an outstanding leader to be effective," Lei En encouraged, then reiterated, "Ai Luotixiya, you are the most suitable candidate."

Faced with near‑unconditional trust, the Succubus felt deeply moved and silently swore to work hard to earn achievements in return.

Lei En read her thoughts; this was exactly the effect he wanted.

His gaze swept across the hall.

Beneath the throne, blood flowed like a river; tens of thousands of Demon corpses and fragments nearly covered the hall floor, piled up a layer as if a nightmare scene. Thundercast Celestial Soldier‑disguised sorcerers and vampires were commanding hundreds of Demons to clear the bodies.

This was only the corpses in the hall; from the hall to the outer plaza, the number of Demon bodies multiplied several times over.

Lei En felt a sudden stir in his mind.

He asked, "Ai Luotixiya, what do you intend to do with these Demon corpses?"

She was momentarily stunned, not understanding why Lei En suddenly cared about Demon corpses, but replied, "Demon corpses have no value; their organs and materials are of little use. In the Abyss, if left on the battlefield they need not be tended, and they will decompose automatically within months. The corpses from this battle are too many; leaving them piled in the fortress is unacceptable, so I intend to burn them all."

"Hold off on burning; I might have another use for them," Lei En said after a moment's thought.

Demon corpses!

He had never considered this before; in his view, the most valuable part of a Demon is its soul.

Demons do not need to eat, nor require water.

They inhale the Abyss's air to draw evil energy, obtaining the needed power, replenishing stamina, and recovering fatigue. Demons lack the physiological sense of hunger; theoretically they can ingest anything, including soil and stone, excreting exactly what they consume.

A Demon's mouth is for tearing in combat and vocalizing; many Demons even lack a mouth.

Without food or water, they need not engage in production and require little rest to maintain vigorous combat power, and they are numerous.

This is the Demon army's greatest advantage, and also its most terrifying aspect.

The Demon's favorite food is souls—of their kind, of enemies, of mortals—especially the souls of fellow Demons; feeding on other Demons' souls can greatly augment their strength, the fastest path to promotion, without equal.

Vampires feeding on blood is also a method of advancement, satisfying their thirst for blood.

Yet regardless of the method, the stronger a Demon becomes, the more it relies on evil energy, sinking deeper into the Abyss, unable to stay away for long.

Ai Luotixiya, to prevent further degeneration, eats like a mortal, drawing energy from food, freeing herself from dependence on the Abyss.

After death, Demons' bodies decompose and return to the Abyss.

This is a kind of reincarnation.

And their souls have two possible outcomes: if they die outside the Abyss, the soul returns to a place within the Abyss where evil energy has gathered, revives there, regresses one rank in power, and retains its memories;

If they die within the Abyss, a Demon soul can also be preserved, but it no longer retains memory or power, falling to the lowest tier and becoming a base demon. Only by advancing again to the previous rank can the past memories be recovered, which is virtually impossible, with a probability less than one in ten million, effectively zero.

One is resurrection; the other is almost true death.

Anyone who knows about Abyss demons knows this, and demons have long been accustomed to it, so they value the soul more than the body.

Lei En is the same.

He exploits the fact that a Demon cannot revive after dying in the Abyss, recklessly harvesting Demon souls; those souls he absorbs can never appear again.

From a probability near zero, it becomes an actual zero.

Now, he realizes that a Demon's corpse might also be usable.

The value of something varies in different eyes; if his idea comes true, it will narrow the power gap between the Prime Material Plane and the Abyss. It may only close the gap by a small step, the disparity remains huge, but no opportunity can be missed.

Ai Luotixiya was bewildered: what use could a Demon's corpse have?

But she still agreed.

"I'll have the Demon stack these corpses first,"

"Wait for my word." Lei En gave no explanation, flashed to the throne, gathered dozens of Demon corpses into the Nebula Ring, and then hurried away.

He left the Star Destroyer at the Watch Dragon Fortress, hovering aloft while maintaining an Invisibility Field.

Then he activated a phase beacon, teleporting directly from the distant Abyss back to the Prime Material Plane, appearing on a mountain in the Nuosiruier western suburbs, riding nonstop, teleporting northward in succession, quickly crossing the Northern Great Grassland and entering the territory of the Brantania Knight Nation.

Lei En did not linger in the Knight Nation, continuing to teleport north.

After a little more than half an hour.

He had already arrived at the Northwind Cold Zone, the domain of the orc tribes.

It is now near winter; the Northwind Cold Zone is already frozen for thousands of miles, snow drifting for ten thousand, and all that can be seen is barren, uninhabited ice‑snow forest and silver earth. In such a harsh cold, only hardy intelligent races like orcs and trolls can barely survive.

Turning east after reaching the Northwind Cold Zone, Lei En teleported several times and finally arrived at his destination—the Deep Mud Swamp.

This dim swamp spans a vast area, its night also covered by ice and snow.

"It's been many years since I last came,"

From high above, Lei En looked down at the snow‑clad landscape, exhaling white vapor, feeling nostalgic. The last time he came to the Deep Mud Swamp, he was only a ninth‑level Wizard, not even a legend; now he is a twenty‑second‑level Holy Soul Wizard.

In just a few short years, his power has multiplied countless times, giving him a sense that things have changed while he remains the same.

He let out a few sighs, and his figure vanished from the sky.

Each disappearance to reappearance spans dozens of miles, and in just a few seconds he surveys the area within dozens of miles.

"Found it."

A moment later, Lei En located the target.

Ahead lay a dense conifer forest deep in the swamp, towering trees laden with thick snow, spectacular under winter light. Yet within this ice‑snow forest hides a concealment array; the rune array is expertly arranged and its aura subtle, but it is ineffective before the All-Seeing Eye.

Lei En teleported straight in; the scene shifted, revealing that the temperature inside the rune array is much higher than outside, though the lighting is dim and the environment extremely humid, retaining the swamp's characteristics.

"Who?"

A loud shout rang out.

Five or six spells followed, shooting in from all sides, the swamp beneath his feet roiled, vines sprang to life, coiling like serpents.

Lei En didn't even glance at the attacks, expanding a mental force field.

When the Nine-ring Technique activated, the incoming spells instantly melted like snow, and the thick vines crumbled to dust.

He looked at a spot in the swamp, lightly tapped the air with his finger, and a high‑level dispelling spell burst forth, breaking the Invisibility Field there; after the air warped, a wooden cabin built of logs appeared beneath the trees.

A Minotaur stood at the cabin's doorway, eyes wide in astonishment.

"What, don't you recognize me?" Lei En laughed.

The Minotaur was first stunned, then ecstatic, and finally, when speaking, turned obsequious, flamboyantly exclaiming, "Boss! No, Consul! Ah, Consul, you suddenly grace my secluded hut without any prior notice, leaving me unprepared."

Lei En chuckled dryly, his face stern, and asked, "Not welcome?"

"Never, never!"

The Minotaur's form shifted swiftly, becoming a dark‑skinned, slender, tall human youth—black dragon Yi Geng.

He took three steps in two, approached, and said anxiously: "Boss, your current status is extraordinary; you are not only the Empire Consul but also a Holy Soul Wizard. How could I be remiss? I'm just afraid the conditions here are too poor to entertain you."

"Boss, please come in quickly."

Lei En nodded, followed Yi Geng into the cabin, and found the interior many times larger than it appeared outside, clearly employing a spell similar to the 'Leonard Shelter', with an elegant arrangement and several rooms.

"My home is rather modest, I hope you'll forgive my simplicity," Yi Geng invited Lei En to sit in the living room, respectfully bringing him a cup of hot tea.

Lei En lifted the cup, took a sip, and said, "It's already quite good."

He glanced at the cautious black dragon, smiled, and said, "Sit down, let's talk; I've come with serious business."

"Understood."

After sitting, Yi Geng asked curiously, "May I ask, boss, what is the matter?"

He had been unable to contain his excitement; Lei En, a distinguished Holy Soul Wizard and Empire Consul, had traveled thousands of miles, humbled himself to come to the Deep Mud Swamp to find him—surely not a trivial matter. With Lei En's current standing, any person could be dispatched to inform him, and even a monumental issue would be reported to Nuosiruier immediately.

Lei En cut to the chase, asking directly, "Can you cultivate Black Soul Mushrooms using Demon corpses?"

As he spoke, he tossed out several Demon corpses.

An evil aura filled the cabin; Yi Geng jumped up in fright, both from the Demon corpses and, more so, from Lei En's words.

"Cultivating Black Soul Mushrooms with Demon corpses?" Yi Geng stared, momentarily speechless.

(End of Chapter)