Chapter 126: The Monster King’s Demand

For several seconds, neither of them moved. Malthen remained on one knee. Sora stood in front of him, struggling to keep himself upright. His human form had vanished from his body, revealing his natural slime-like substance in the shape of a small blue figure.

The two stolen skills from Malthen still remained inside his body, but Sora could already feel the toll they had on his system. Demonic Reinforcement was a powerful skill, but Demonic Regeneration was even more so. Both had belonged to a Monster Lord-class demon. Stolen from him, and nearly overwhelmed his system. Sora knew it was different from what Tanaka could do with Endless Abyss.

Tanaka could devour a lot more than just skills. Power, abilities, traits, even parts of the soul itself could be devoured and incorporated into Endless Abyss with enough concentration. Tanaka’s Endless Abyss did not have the restriction of only being able to steal skills. As a result, Skill Theft also had a few drawbacks.

The skill could be resisted by a stronger opponent. The stronger the opponent was, the more difficult it would be to steal a skill from them. Someone who was significantly stronger than oneself could completely resist Skill Theft. Malthen had resisted a few of the attempts. But Sora managed to steal the skills because Malthen was already injured.

Once stolen, the skill could not be returned. Malthen would never be able to use Demonic Reinforcement nor Demonic Regeneration again. Sora could wield them as his own. It was that drawback which made Sora’s body to shudder. He attempted to move, but his slime-like body refused to obey. "What’s wrong with me?"

"Hey!" A blur shot past Sora. Raxolf. The Star Wolf Lord was already at his side and scooped Sora’s body with his jaws before he could hit the ground. "Hey, you!" Telepathy. "Get me down. I’m not finished yet." Raxolf didn’t listen. "You’re done." He turned around and began running towards the back of the battlefield. Sora kicked and wriggled in Raxolf’s jaws, but his slime-like body refused to move. "Now, now, stay put."

The Star Wolf Lord said. "I can still fight." "Shut up." "You managed to defeat him!" "Exactly why you are going to stay put." Raxolf picked up speed, and Sora’s efforts became useless. The Kijin princess had already rushed to meet them as soon as Raxolf arrived. She was the first one to reach Sora and examined his body. "He’s... unstable." She frowned. "You fool! You couldn’t have taken two skills from a Monster Lord-class demon while in such condition!"

Sora said nothing. "You could’ve ruined yourself!" "I won." That was all he said. "You know what Tanaka told us!" "I don’t care what Tanaka told you." Sora turned to face her. Relia sighed. "Your king trusted you to fight. He did not want you to kill yourself." Sora’s body became smaller. "I only wanted him to stay alive." Relia’s gaze softened and she placed a hand on his slime-like body. "I know." She shook her head. "And that is why you need to rest." Sora stopped struggling. Raxolf looked around. "He did good." Relia nodded. "He did." She turned her gaze back to the exhausted slime that was Sora. "Now, stay alive long enough to do it again."

The news of Sora’s victory spread rather quickly. A non-Monster Lord-class demon had taken down a powerful Varkesh demon. And the result was noticeable almost at once. Raishin was the first to notice it. He turned his head to the back of the battlefield for a brief second and then returned his attention to the two Monster Lord-class beasts before him.

The air around Raishin sparked with electricity and the lesser Varkesh monsters around them froze in place. The Kijin leader said nothing, but the look in his eyes was enough for the surrounding monsters to tremble. One after another, the Varkesh monsters within Raishin’s aura began to collapse. It was an overwhelming pressure that forced the Varkesh back. Even the lesser ones were unable to advance.

Raishin exhaled sharply and vanished in a blur of movement. Lightning Step. He reappeared right next to one of the Monster Lord-class demons and delivered a crushing blow to its chest with Thunder Fist. The beast roared in pain and staggered, but Raishin was already gone. Another blow, another death. He did not boast, he did not laugh. Raishin continued fighting and the more Varkesh monsters that threw themselves at him, the more he killed.

This went unnoticed by Raveana. She was busy laughing. "Ah-Ah-Ah, so you’re finally having fun are you!" She jumped into the air and delivered a powerful slash to a Monster Lord-class beast with Battle Trance. Her eye had turned feral as she did so, but the Varkesh was faster and struck her shoulder. Raveana hardly took any damage, but she did not retreat. Instead, she grabbed hold of the beast’s arm. "Again!" Titan Breaker. The beast’s chest caved in and it let out a guttural cry of pain. Raveana simply laughed. "Yes! Oh yes, this is fun!"

She raised her fist and delivered another blow. Not a single bit of her energy was being conserved. Not a single part of her wanted to stop. The battlefield was her plaything, the monsters her toys. Ryuken, on the other hand, was playing a much more controlled game. The moment his sword sliced off a limb, he moved in for the kill. Another slash and another limb went flying. War Blade. Ryuken turned his blade and delivered a slash across another monster’s throat. He turned and was already facing a new opponent, but the first corpse had yet to hit the ground. Dragon Guard surrounded him in a ring of aura and he twisted the sword in his hand, attacking with skillful techniques.

He did not waste any energy, any strength, only precision and focus. Rogan was quite literally running through the battlefield. A Monster Lord-class beast was about to strike him, but Rogan caught it and tossed it aside. It crashed into three smaller Varkesh creatures and Rogan turned to the side, catching another one by the throat and slamming it into the earth. Iron Dominion reinforced his body and Unbreakable Will kept him on his feet despite several wounds on his chest.

The weaker monsters of Varkesh were already realizing something. They had thought that Eldoris would retreat before pressing the attack. Their corrupted forces had been the deciding factor in the fight thus far, but the stronger warriors of Eldoris were already using Corruption Resistance to break the effect of the corruption. The Kijin warriors fought through corrupted monsters and Raizen slashed through them. So did Razer, who along with the Orcs had breached the Varkesh ranks. But the cost was being paid by the lower class warriors. Goblins fell, Star Wolves collapsed. Another Greater Orc was slain and yet another Star Wolf was injured. Tanaka took notice of these deaths. His expression darkened.

They had gained ground, but Eldoris was suffering great losses. Then the sky changed. Drakar spread his wings. The Wyrmkin leader jumped up and hovered above the battlefield for a second before diving down. The first monster that looked up was too late to react. Drakar flew past it and twisted his wings, hovering above the battlefield again. A monster screamed and tried to run, but Drakar was faster. He dove again and the battlefield was littered with the corpses of Varkesh monsters.

A group of them looked up and the moment their heads were turned, Drakar’s wings sliced through the air and he dove down again. On the ground, Torga stood his ground. The Ironcarapace Turtle leader activated his defensive skills and a powerful barrier protected those who fought behind him. Injured warriors were shielded, supply carriers were kept safe, even the lower class warriors had the barrier to fall back on. "Stay behind the barrier!" Torga roared. A wave of attacks crashed against the barrier, but it stood firm. Behind him, the warriors of Eldoris gathered.

In the wooded part of the battlefield, Grok and Sartel had finally joined forces. The two leaders had fought side by side long enough to read each other’s patterns. Now their attacks blended together and the combined strength of the Lizardman and Serpentkin was overwhelming. Grok planted his spear in the ground, activating his powers. Sartel moved with him and the two of them intertwined their mana. Their bodies moved in perfect harmony and the strength of the Lizardman and the poison of the Serpentkin became a single technique that no Varkesh monster could stand against.

Grok forced the enemy into range. Sartel delivered the killing blow. Poison spread through the monsters’ bodies and Grok slaughtered the weakened foes. Sartel drove the enemy toward Grok and the Lizardman crushed them. Grok and Sartel repeated the technique and the monsters fell. Above them, Zephyr observed the fight. His Heavenly Eye was surveying the battlefield. Every formation, every opening, every weakness was analyzed by the Kijin leader. "Western flank is holding! Eastern Varkesh formation collapsing! Three Monster Lord-class enemies advancing toward Raizen! Drakar is clearing the north! Raveana has breached the center line!" Telepathy. Constantly, he sent out the information to his allies. It was not enough. Zephyr looked up and a group of shadows appeared above the battlefield. Flying monsters.

Varkesh had responded in kind. Rhazek had summoned an aerial force to deal with the Mana Birds. Zephyr narrowed his eyes and his wings spread out behind him. The Mana Birds formed up behind him. "Stay together." Zephyr activated his skills and a powerful wind pushed him forward. His Heavenly Eye fully opened and he saw every creature, every formation on the battlefield. He moved the Mana Birds in a specific pattern, making them break off, reform, attack, retreat, and repeat. The air around Zephyr shimmered as the Varkesh flying beasts fell, but he did not stop. He led the fight and the battlefield was already changing.

Rhazek observed the changes from the sidelines. His expression had been one of amusement the whole time, but he could not deny the truth. Eldoris was growing stronger. His forces were being thinned. The Demon Wolf king looked the battlefield and his crimson eyes widened slightly. Then he laughed. Not in rage, not in annoyance, but in genuine amusement. His fingers tightened around the armrest. "This is fun." His lips curved into a smile. "So this is what it is like when you push them that far." He leaned forward. "Let’s see how far you can go." Rhazek raised his hand and the remaining Varkesh commanders looked to him. His voice echoed across the battlefield. "Stop holding back." The new command was simple. "Empty yourself."