Chapter 984: Soul of the Flame Demon

"A dream demon..."

Bulu Kantik's flaming face showed surprise; it had not sensed Lei En's trace at all, and carefully examined Lei En, who hovered with dark red bat wings spread, the vague aura making it perceive extreme danger, and its expression instantly became cautious.

"First a succubus lord, then you, a dream demon lord!" Balo Flame Demon said gravely, "Does the Joyful Queen intend a massive campaign into the Misty Mountains?"

The Joyful Queen is the succubus queen Mei Kan Weita; the vast majority of succubi and dream demons in the world serve her.

Therefore it assumes that the dream demon and succubus before it are the Joyful Queen herself.

Lei En gave no reply.

"Or perhaps you are her master?" Balo Flame Demon guessed again, considering the possibility low, yet unaware that it was the truth.

Lei En retorted, "You have no right to know."

Those words were exactly what Balo Flame Demon had just said to Ai Luotixiya, and Lei En now returned them verbatim, his contempt and mockery unmistakable, instantly enraging the demon.

"A lowly dream demon dares such arrogance before the great ancient Balo Flame Demon; then let me properly punish you on behalf of your master, daring to despise a higher demon will cost you your life!" Bulu Kantik's roar echoed across the Luo East Hills.

"Wei Tuka, go kill that succubus."

"And you!"

Balo Flame Demon pointed his decapitation sword at Lei En, "I will personally send you back to the Joyful Queen's court to be revived, but before that you will taste every pain."

"As you command, sir." Satè Demon Lord turned into a shadow projectile and shot toward Ai Luotixiya in the sky beyond the castle.

Lei En did not block it, his focus remained on Balo Flame Demon.

If he gave his all, killing this Balo Flame Demon would not be hard, but to avoid exposing his identity he could only employ melee force and psychic spells, plus a few Arcane and Shadow Magic techniques; thus slaying the Balo Flame Demon became tricky, likely requiring a hard fight.

The Balo Flame Demon was engulfed in scorching flames, almost becoming a massive fireball, its true form invisible.

The ground beneath it melted, like a pool of lava.

A terrifying demonic aura burst forth, spreading for a kilometer radius, forming a palpable pressure; corrupt energy boiled, countless flames merged into a sea of fire, even the air heated, causing every demon within the area to suffocate.

The two sides faced each other for a few seconds.

Bulu Kantik's momentum peaked, yet he saw Lei En hovering in place, expression relaxed, not suppressed by his higher lord's aura; finally unable to wait, he lunged forward, opening a massive maw and letting out a long‑brewed roar!

"Roar..."

That roar contained the Nine-ring "Lawful Shock", deafening, like a massive explosion, its sound wave visible to the naked eye.

At the same time, its left hand's flame whip snapped out forcefully.

The flaming whip, when struck, instantly extended a hundred meters, lightning‑fast, lashing toward Lei En's body.

It often uses the flame whip to punish subordinates; a great demon struck once turns to ash, and even a demon lord would be gravely wounded.

Snap!

Amid the roar, the flame whip struck the air, producing a booming crack.

Lei En vanished.

In an instant, his mind leapt behind Bulu Kantik, and the titanium holy sword descended, delivering a Nine-level Reverse Slash.

Balo Flame Demon seemed to have anticipated, and as it drew the flame whip it already turned, charging its right hand, and swung the massive oddly‑shaped decapitation sword upward.

Clang!

The two weapons collided without any flourish.

Bulu Kantik, as a higher demon lord, was above Thirty-level; he was taller than an ordinary Balo Flame Demon, nearly ten meters tall, and his decapitation sword was even larger, over five meters long and weighing tens of thousands of pounds. Lei En, transformed into a dream demon lord, was only human height, and the titanium holy sword was just a little over one meter long.

The two weapons, differing in size and weight by more than tenfold, collided, appearing far mismatched; the titanium holy sword was like an egg striking a stone.

Yet the result was the opposite!

Balo Flame Demon felt an unprecedented terrifying force emanating from the decapitation sword; the power was so great it nearly made him lose his grip, his entire right arm searing with pain, lava splashing.

Its massive body seemed hammered hard, its lower half driven into the molten ground up to its waist.

This is impossible!

Bulu Kantik shouted inwardly, that as a higher Balo Flame Demon he had lost a power contest to a reptilian‑like feeble dream demon!

But under the enemy's overwhelming force, he could not utter a word.

Boom!

Balo Flame Demon sank into the ground, unable to release pressure; the titanium holy sword pressed down on the decapitation sword, its tip drove into his face, cutting a half‑meter‑deep wound across the middle, nearly cleaving his head in two, magma‑like blood gushing out.

The resistance on the sword suddenly eased, and Balo Flame Demon vanished.

Leap through fire!

It reappeared in a blaze hundreds of meters away, the wound on its face healing rapidly, and it raised its head, letting out a ferocious roar.

Flames erupted across the sky, instantly sweeping the surroundings.

Nine-ring Flame Storm!

Bulu Kantik's mastery of fire magic was terrifyingly high; not only could he instantaneously unleash a Nine-ring Flame Storm, but its range was larger, flames denser, temperature higher, the overall power far surpassing ordinary Nine-ring techniques, approaching Ten-ring, turning the space within a kilometer into a furnace, like an erupting volcano.

The high‑temperature environment greatly favored Balo Flame Demon, also serving to damage enemies, block sight, and allow effortless fire‑jumping.

Releasing the flame storm, Balo Flame Demon instantly vanished again.

Its body merged into the boundless fire, performing several fire jumps and teleports, buying time for the facial wound to fully heal while the enemy suffered the flame storm's damage.

"This flame is pretty fierce!"

Lei En felt the scorching heat; the Energy Furnace absorbed fire elemental energy, taking about two or three seconds to consume thirty percent of its total capacity.

Balo Flame Demon's trace was also hard to lock onto, as if it were everywhere.

Psychic Storm!

Lei En raised his hand and also cast a Nine-ring Technique; an invisible yet massive psychic force suddenly manifested. Its range was smaller than the flame storm, but the collision of the two disparate energies created a void at the exact center of the flame storm.

Balo Flame Demon still did not appear; Lei En's mind leapt to the center, expanding an external mind‑force field.

Both flame and psychic energy were blocked outside.

He scanned the surroundings, and the All-Seeing Eye instantly caught Balo Flame Demon's trace, darting left and right, leaping back and forth within the flames.

At the moment he found the Barro Flame Demon, the next spell was ready as well.

Mind Blast!

The Barro Flame Demon had just finished a fire‑jump, lingering only for an instant, when the Mind Blast struck it, and its body instantly froze.

The power of the Nine‑Ring Mind Blast, even if its defenses and soul were extremely strong, inevitably caused a mental sting, like a needle prick in the brain.

Lei En instantly Mind‑jumped over, and the titanium‑gold Holy Sword thrust toward the heart from behind.

The sword tip lodged halfway, the Barro Flame Demon regained its Willpower, and with a boom a fierce resisting fire ring erupted, blasting Lei En back half a step; seizing the chance it fire‑jumped, appearing behind Lei En, and the decapitation sword came down straight.

Lei En flashed to create distance, and a blazing long whip followed like a shadow, coiling around like a venomous snake with eyes.

Snap!

The flaming whip struck the mental force field, the transparent field instantly collapsed, and the whip tip hit Lei En's chest with a crisp sound.

Lei En was instantly flung outward.

The shapeshifted Dream Demon wore no clothes, only a pair of greaves, and its chest was clearly intact, with only a faint white mark that vanished in an instant.

The Barro Flame Demon widened its eyes, utterly unable to believe.

This whip gave its all; even though the opponent's mental force field blocked it a bit, reducing its power, it still shouldn't have been unable to pierce even the skin!

"Is it really a physically frail Dream Demon?"

"Stronger than me."

"The defense is equally terrifying…"

The Barro Flame Demon felt deep doubt, but its movements were unaffected, and it immediately fire‑jumped to appear in the direction Lei En was being flung, swinging the decapitation sword again.

In the flames, its advantage was overwhelming.

Mind‑jump and flash occur during casting gaps; Electric Flash Teleport cannot be used, and when Lei En's mind shifted, the Dream Demon's bat wings behind him took on a dark‑gold sheen, revealing metallic feather patterns, making the wings stronger, more powerful, yet light and agile.

Titanium‑gold Wings!

Swish!

Lei En forcefully flapped his wings, forcibly canceling the backward trajectory, changing direction to dodge the decapitation sword, and sped past the side of the Barro Flame Demon.

He casually launched a Mind Blast.

The Barro Flame Demon's movement stalled, its flaming whip swung awry, striking the ground; with a rumble, a hundred‑meter‑long trench split the earth, flowing with lava and fire.

Now Mind‑jump was usable again, and Lei En instantly jumped.

This time, he appeared in front of the Barro Flame Demon, only a few meters away, almost pressed against its face, and his eyes emitted two beams—one dark‑green, one light‑green—corresponding to Disintegrate and Maximized Enfeeblement.

The Dream Demon's innate talent is mental power, but it is also a Demon, so mastering Shadow Magic is unsurprising.

Both spells come from the Eye Demon elder.

Lei En upgraded everything to Nine‑Ring; although he lacks Affinity Element, the amplification from "Eye Beam Ray" and the "green" boost of the Prism Light Principle make his power no weaker than that of a Holy Soul Wizard specialized in Shadow Magic.

The two beams pierced the layers of flame, aiming at the Barro Flame Demon's eyes.

Amid the mental sting, it sensed Lei En's position and danger, and without hesitation, its eyes also fired two thick crimson beams.

Nine‑Ring Lava Beam!

Lei En pre‑emptively judged the enemy's move, tilted his head slightly, and offset his own beams a bit, avoiding direct clash with the Barro Flame Demon's beams.

The lava beam struck Lei En.

At the same time, Lei En's two beams hit the target, striking the Barro Flame Demon's eyes.

"Ah…"

Bu Lukantike let out a painful scream.

Its physique was extremely robust, withstanding the instant‑death effect of Nine‑Ring Disintegrate, but Maximized Enfeeblement invaded at the moment it resisted Disintegrate, preventing exemption; its strength was instantly reduced, and its terrifying aura dropped a level.

A wave of fatigue rose, even the soul felt weakened.

The Barro Flame Demon sensed something wrong.

Although Maximized Enfeeblement could be dispelled in just a few dozen seconds, against an enemy of this caliber, even a few seconds could be fatal.

It immediately cast Greater Teleport, not to flee but to wait until it survived Maximized Enfeeblement before returning to fight.

However, the Nine‑Ring Maximized Enfeeblement slowed its casting as well.

And it was riddled with flaws.

Lei En ignored the lava beam striking him, raised a finger, instantly unleashed a Seven‑Ring Greater Dispel Magic, perfectly interrupting the Barro Flame Demon's teleport.

It realized it was still in place and immediately fire‑jumped.

Lei En simultaneously Mind‑jumped; as the Barro Flame Demon emerged from the sea of fire, it fell into an invisible mental force field, massive intent wildly contracting like an unseen hand, squeezing its body from all sides, pulling its wings, gripping its limbs, as if trapped in quicksand, unable to move.

Mind Blast!

Lei En's eyes flickered as he released the spell for the third time.

The Barro Flame Demon, its soul weakened, had its mental protection become fragile; its mind went blank, eyes dazed, the flames on its body extinguished simultaneously, and its will and body ceased resisting.

Swish!

Lei En violently flapped his titanium‑gold wings, pushing his speed to the limit, accelerating, and the titanium‑gold Holy Sword sliced out a lightning‑like blade, a ninth‑level Destruction Critical Strike added to the blade, slashing toward the Barro Flame Demon's neck.

The sword light flashed and vanished.

In an instant, Lei En appeared behind the Barro Flame Demon.

He halted, turned his head to look back, the Barro Flame Demon's skull tilted and slid open, the cut on its neck smooth as a mirror; along the cut's direction, its massive wings behind were also sliced off.

The massive body slowly fell.

But before it hit the ground, the Barro Flame Demon's corpse turned into a blaze that dispersed.

"Flame Rebirth!"

Lei En had no surprise at all.

Bu Lukantike is a high‑ranking Demon Lord, possessing at least two legendary Elements, the "Flame Crown", and his mastery of fire spells surpasses many Holy Soul Wizards and Grand Mages; having studied the "Flame Body" for countless years, he already mastered Flame Rebirth.

This resurrection ability has its own advantages and disadvantages compared to "Phoenix Nirvana".

Although flame rebirth does not diminish strength and restores the state to its peak, the number of resurrections is limited, depending on how many constant flame rebirths exist.

Flame rebirth can delay taking effect; Barlo Flame Demon did not revive immediately.

It is waiting for the opportunity.

However, this instead ruined its chance of resurrection; Lei En at a glance found Barlo Flame Demon's soul, which was like a small flame merging into the sea of fire, thinking it hid very well, but unaware that before Lei En's soul's eye, it was as obvious as a lighthouse in darkness.

Lei En pretended to be searching around, with his back to Barlo Flame Demon's soul.

A soul stone suddenly appeared.

It precisely fell into the flames where Barlo Flame Demon was; the soul stone is an alchemical item invented by KangJieladeGreatSage, each soul stone comes with a simplified version of the "Soul Sealing Technique", having a suppressive effect on targets of soul existence form.

Although Barlo Flame Demon's soul is extremely powerful, but in its demon soul state, it still cannot resist the soul stone's absorption effect.

It realized it had made the most foolish mistake.

"No……"

"Master, save me!"

In the silent despairing cry, Barlo Flame Demon's soul was drawn into the soul stone; it had three chances of flame rebirth, yet it never got to use any of them.

There is still another chapter tonight.

(End of chapter)