What's wrong? Is Helant getting soft-hearted again?
Zesshi bared her small canine teeth, shot Calca a sidelong glance, and reached out to tug on Calca's sleeve, signaling her to quickly get out of Helant's embrace.
'My own strength is acceptable, which is why Helant reluctantly agreed to let me stay. But if another soft beauty appears... it would be troublesome if he also agreed to let her stay!'
After Calca awkwardly stepped out of Helant's arms, rationality once again took over her mind. She looked at Bastello, who was watching the show with his arms crossed in the sky, his expression completely confident, and immediately understood what Zesshi meant.
Then she said firmly, "I will also advance and retreat alongside Helant!"
Helant forced a bitter smile and looked seriously at Zesshi and Calca. "He came for me. You two should leave while you still can..."
"I said I will protect you!" Zesshi Zetsumei shook her head resolutely.
As she spoke, she was about to raise her scythe and fly into the sky to begin the fight, but Helant, quick-witted as ever, stopped her.
"Since this demon dares to stand there and wait, it proves that magic traps have already been set around him! I know you care about me, but the more urgent the situation, the calmer you must be!" Helant grabbed Zesshi by the shoulders with both hands and quickly warned her.
'The audience hasn't arrived yet. I can't let you start fighting!'
If she disrupted his rhythm, Helant would definitely teach Zesshi a proper lesson.
"Keke~ Miss, you should learn more from Sir Helant. Don't be so reckless." Bastello sneered, and several crimson, transparent threads appeared around him, each one carrying a strange murderous intent.
Helant looked up at the crimson night sky. After his terrifying perception detected the hidden presence of the Platinum Dragon Lord within it, he deliberately said, "Your Blood Sacrifice Formation shouldn't only have that little function, right?"
"You discovered it..."
Bastello turned to look at the five blood-red pillars of light in the mountains and spread his arms in a welcoming posture.
"Ah..."
The next second, millions of undead seemed to wail within the blood-red pillars of light. Their mournful screams passed through the void, reaching everyone's ears as if striking directly at their souls.
Zesshi and Calca instinctively felt a chill. They shuddered slightly as they looked up at the sky, their faces filled with shock.
As the wailing of the undead echoed, Bastello burst into loud laughter.
"A million demihumans offering their lives will present a grand funeral for the Holy Domain God Lord's Human Emissary!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
As soon as he finished speaking, the five blood-red pillars of light cracked one after another. Half of them transformed into countless blood-red runes, densely covering the entire space centered around Bastello like a swarm of insects, linking together and circulating endlessly.
If one looked closely, they could even see tiny blood-red chains connecting each rune.
The strange sealing power contained within them made Zesshi Zetsumei's heart tremble even with the slightest sense of it.
"Is this the sacrifice of a million living beings?"
"To be precise, it should be five hundred thousand." Helant's gaze never left Bastello.
The other half of the blood-red pillars of light transformed into countless tiny blood-red tides, surging out from the mountains like a tsunami, leaving an exaggerated spectacle of blood waves in the sky.
The power contained within was as magnificent and turbulent as the tsunami it resembled.
"He's going to absorb that?!"
Calca silently channeled her Holy Light Power and erected a Light Shield in front of Helant.
"Come, be used by me!"
Bastello's body suddenly began to swell, and his knotted muscles writhed beneath his formal attire.
Finally, with a tearing sound, he burst out of his clothes, transforming into a muscle-bound demon nearly ten meters tall, radiating a tyrannical aura.
This was completely at odds with his previous somewhat elegant and dignified appearance.
Whoosh!
The surging blood-red light in the sky rushed straight toward him as if responding to a summons, then began to spiral into a massive Blood Vortex a hundred meters wide, enveloping him within it.
The blood-red light dyed the sky crimson, staining even the stars and the full moon a deep red.
Within the Blood Vortex, Bastello's aura continued to soar.
What followed was a terrifying surge of momentum that violently produced a shockwave sweeping across the entire city.
The wind howled, yet Calca felt the air grow thick and viscous, making it difficult for her to breathe for a moment.
Seeing this, Helant quickly covered her with Holy Light, allowing her to breathe more easily again.
Her heart pounded. "The demon has become so strong!"
Amid the faint roaring of the vortex, Bastello took out an emerald-green orb within the Blood Vortex. It was [Eternal Life Sustenance: Will to Survive].
Holding the orb with both hands, a look of fanatic devotion appeared on his face.
I never thought I would be fortunate enough to receive a special item bestowed by Lord Helant. This is truly... Subarashii!!
'For Nazarick, for Lord Helant!'
Bastello clenched the orb tightly. The fanaticism in his eyes intensified once more. As the orb shattered, a dense vitality first anchored itself within the demon's heart, then began beating vigorously.
That powerful vitality immediately began strengthening all of Bastello's attributes through his heart: physique, Magic Power, and even his soul.
As expected of Lord Helant's power!
He felt as if he had stepped into a completely new dimension, like a leap in life itself... if one had to describe it.
He felt that, in terms of combat power, he could even reach half of Lord Demiurge!
Then he slowly raised his head. The Blood Vortex paused for a moment before accelerating its rotation, pouring directly into Bastello's mouth.
Zesshi sensed Bastello's continuously rising aura and began to feel increasingly uneasy.
Under normal circumstances, she had the confidence to contend even with a True Dragon Lord.
But Helant had just exhausted his Magic Power, and this demon's strength was still rising. She was beginning to doubt whether she could protect Helant.
However, she silently swore to herself, "I absolutely cannot let Helant summon the Holy Domain God Lord!"
In fact, she doubted Quaiesse's claim about consuming Life Force. A Player or an NPC is the least likely to lack Life Force!
Judging from the intelligence footage earlier, what Helant most likely consumes is Soul Power.
This is the power of the source!
She glanced sideways at Calca, and an idea formed in her mind.
'I'll take the opportunity to sneak attack Helant later and make him unconscious, then have Calca take him away while I stay behind to stop this damned demon!'
She was extremely confident in her own strength.
At most, Bastello's strength was on the same level as hers. Even after the Blood Sacrifice enhancement, he was only at the level of a True Dragon Lord.
She looked at Helant's handsome profile, and her eyes gradually became resolute.
"I can fight this demon!"
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15 Advance chapters:
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