The moment the enormous dimensional portal fully formed and stabilized, an indescribable aura of evil erupted from its depths.
The aura was so intense that the space near the entrance of the passage appeared dyed in a nauseating, thick crimson. Immediately afterward, horrifyingly dense roars and heavy footsteps echoed from within the passage. It was as if countless starving, frenzied beasts had broken free from their cages and were about to pounce on delicious prey!
Dawn Douluo, who had already entered a state of high alert upon sensing the rising evil aura and the brutal killing intent within it, had a fierce light flash in his eyes. Without hesitation, he raised the longsword burning with golden sacred flames and swung it toward the Special Assault Battalion in front of him.
"Special Assault Battalion, charge!!!"
The warriors of the Special Assault Battalion were not true soldiers, but parasites that the Spirit Hall had purged and captured from across the continent over the past year. They had been promised that if they regained honor in this battle, their sentences would be reduced and their families spared.
In reality, everyone knew they were disposable—mere frontline cannon fodder meant to slow the demon army's advance and serve as a whetstone to test the enemy's strength.
"Kill—!!!"
Upon hearing the order, the pale-faced Spirit King leading the Special Assault Battalion let out a hoarse roar. Mustering every ounce of his soul power, he charged madly toward the newly stabilized passage. Following the man at the front, the rest of the squad members roared as well, brandishing their Spirits and rushing into the passage like lunatics.
"Gao—!"
"Awoo—!"
"Shuu—!"
Almost simultaneously with the Special Assault Battalion's charge, the demon army's first wave surged forward like a tide. They appeared in all shapes and sizes: grotesquely enlarged ghouls, massive lizard-like creatures covered in bone armor, and small demons with fleshy wings. Without exception, every one of them radiated a powerful evil aura and an insatiable thirst for blood, their eyes glowing with greedy, frenzied crimson light.
"Puff!"
"Crack!"
"Boom!"
The two vanguards collided violently in a narrow area less than a hundred meters from the tunnel entrance! In an instant, the desolate battlefield outside Slaughter City was filled with the sounds of flesh and bone being torn apart!
Swords flashed within the blood mist. Soul skill lights and demonic evil energies exploded. Limbs and internal organs flew in all directions.
The ground was dyed a dazzling dark red in the blink of an eye.
In just one clash, casualties on both sides skyrocketed. Although individual members of the Special Assault Battalion were by no means weak, they were continuously torn apart by the endless hordes of demons. Yet their desperate charge proved effective—they managed to stall the demon vanguard near the passage entrance, creating a gruesome meat grinder that slowed the enemy's large-scale advance.
Blood flowed like rivers, soaking the scorched earth.
The intense stench of blood mixed with the demons' sulfurous odor, creating a suffocating miasma.
…
Inside the Demon Realm Portal.
Several figures emitting auras far more terrifying than ordinary demons watched the chaotic, brutal battlefield ahead with indifference.
"What's going on? Why is the exit blocked?" A Demon Lord with four arms and a goat-skull-like head asked in a low, raspy voice.
A high-ranking demon whose aura was nearly equal to a human Soul Douluo quickly stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and answered respectfully, "Reporting to Lord Riftbone. It seems the native inhabitants of Douluo Continent had prepared meticulously. They set up an ambush right outside the passage exit. They are a group of powerful lifeforms, and among them, the strongest individuals possess power comparable to our high-level demons."
"An ambush?" Upon hearing this, another lord—an abnormally tall and burly figure with lava-like red skin and curved horns on his head—let out a contemptuous sneer. "These ants actually dare to call themselves an ambush force! Do they really think they can stop my demon army's advance?"
The crimson giant's eyes swept over the battlefield outside the passage. He noticed that although his vanguard was temporarily stalled, the enemy was also rapidly losing troops.
"A bunch of useless trash. It's taking this long just to clear some obstacles!"
The Lava Lord snorted in dissatisfaction and turned toward a shadowy figure standing quietly behind him. "You lot, go! Crush those annoying bugs for me!"
"Yes, Lord Lava!"
From the shadows emerged five powerful figures of varying appearances. They were all capable generals serving the Lava Lord, and their strength had reached the Great Demon level—roughly equivalent to Title Douluo.
Cruel, bloodthirsty light gleamed in the eyes of the five great demons. They licked their lips, evil energy surging around them, then shot out of the passage as five dark crimson streaks of light, charging straight into the chaotic battlefield ahead.
…
Outside the passage.
"Boom!"
"Snap!"
Accompanied by several muffled explosions and the sound of bones shattering, five terrifying demon-like figures with tall, burly builds and horrifying auras charged into the Special Assault Battalion's formation like tigers into a flock of sheep.
One of the great demons with curved horns on its head smashed directly into a Soul Saint who was using a soul skill. Before the Soul Saint could even scream, his protective soul power shattered like paper. In an instant, he turned into a blurry mess of flesh, blood, and bone fragments that scattered in all directions!
"Hahaha! Weak! Too weak! So this is what the lifeforms of Douluo Continent are like—completely defenseless!"
The horned Great Demon laughed maniacally. He grabbed a Soul Emperor who was trying to attack and tore him apart in one go, sending blood and organs flying. This only excited the Great Demon further.
The five demons rampaged through the Special Assault Battalion, scattering limbs and severed corpses everywhere. Most enemies could not withstand even a single blow.
In a short time, they had successfully carved a bloody breach through the dense special assault battalion's frontline!
"Filthy abominations! Stop your rampage!" A majestic roar rang out, followed by a dazzling golden sword shadow that slashed fiercely toward the rampaging horned demon with a sharp cry.
The horned demon sensed the sacred aura within the sword shadow and reacted with extreme speed. It suddenly raised both arms into a defensive stance, and a thick, dark blue-black evil energy shield instantly enveloped its body.
"Clang! Sizzle!"
The golden sword shadow struck the evil energy shield, producing a sharp cutting sound.
The shield shook violently and actually developed deep cracks.
The residual sword energy pierced through the cracks, slashing the horned demon's crossed arms and leaving two charred wounds. Sacred flames clung to the injuries, sizzling continuously and causing endless burning pain!
"Shuu—!"
The horned demon let out a pained cry. Its massive body staggered back two steps, its crimson eyes fixed intently on the direction from which the sword shadow had come.
Dawn Douluo stood in the air, holding a longsword wreathed in golden sacred flames. Behind him floated the phantom of a pure, sacred angel, looking down upon the demons below.
"Disgusting filth… Today, I shall purify you with sacred flames!"
Dawn Douluo's voice was cold, carrying undisguised killing intent toward the demons.
"Gao—! You damned bird-man! You brought this upon yourself!"
The bull-horned Great Demon roared. The ground beneath its feet shattered as its massive body soared into the sky. It swung a giant fist wrapped in demonic power, smashing toward Dawn Douluo.
Dawn Douluo's gaze remained unchanged. With a swing of his longsword, his ninth soul ring suddenly shone. His inner soul core spun violently, pouring vast amounts of soul power unreservedly into the sword.
"Ninth Soul Skill—Angel's Judgment: Sacred Flames Burn All Evil!"
With one thrust, the sword transformed into a rain of golden sacred flames that enveloped the charging bull-horned demon. Each sword shadow carried purifying sacred flames.
"Boom boom boom!"
Violent explosions and energy annihilations erupted in the air as golden sacred flames and dark evil energies clashed fiercely and vanished!
At the same time, the other four Great Demons were each stopped by the leaders of the Spirit Empire Warriors and Douluo Warriors.
The three legion commanders selected from the Spirit Hall's most elite legions were all peak Douluo who had condensed soul cores. When they unleashed their full power, the highest-level battles instantly broke out across the battlefield. Title Douluo-level combat cleared the surrounding area in moments.
The remaining Special Assault Battalion members and low-level demons lacked the courage to approach and could only fight on the periphery.
Dawn Douluo's Angel Spirit possessed a natural attribute suppression against demons. Its sacred flames were the natural enemy of demonic evil qi. When facing a horned demon of nearly equal strength, it displayed overwhelming superiority.
"Divine Purification!"
Dawn Douluo exploited a gap in his opponent's defense. His longsword suddenly blazed with light as he brought it down fiercely… striking the center of the bull-horned Great Demon's hastily raised fist.
"No—!"
The massive horned demon let out a shrill, despairing cry. Its enormous body began glowing with golden light from within, then exploded with a thunderous boom, scattering fragments wrapped in golden flames across the sky.
In merely thirty exchanges, the horned demon—whose power rivaled a peak human Douluo—had been decisively defeated by Dawn Douluo.
However, before Dawn Douluo could even catch his breath, an aura far more ferocious and terrifying than the bull-horned Great Demon suddenly locked onto him from deep within the passage and approached at terrifying speed.
"Uwooooooh!!!"
Accompanied by a soul-shattering roar, a massive dark crimson figure burst out of the passage and charged straight at Dawn Douluo.
Its speed and power far surpassed the previous horned demon!
Danger! Danger! Danger!!!
A chill ran down Dawn Douluo's spine, his hair standing on end. This was undoubtedly a powerful expert from the demon race.
The oppressive force of its aura reminded him of the yet-to-breakthrough Golden Crocodile Elder. It was at least equivalent to a peak level 98 demon expert, or one on the verge of becoming an unparalleled Douluo.
Without time to think, Dawn Douluo roared.
The angel phantom behind him nearly overlapped with his real body. An unprecedentedly dazzling sacred light burst from the longsword in his hand.
"Angel's Judgment—Sacred Flames Burn All Evil—Ultimate Amplification!"
An even more blinding sacred flame sword light than when he defeated the horned demon slammed head-on into the approaching dark crimson figure!
"Boom—"
A terrifying explosion erupted in the sky above the battlefield. Dazzling light instantly engulfed both Dawn Douluo and the dark crimson figure.
The light and smoke slowly dissipated.
Dawn Douluo's face was as pale as paper. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
On his right hand, which gripped the sword, had split open, dyeing the hilt red with blood.
Several dozen meters away stood the dark crimson figure—a Demon Lord nearly three zhang tall, its skin covered in dark red scales and lava-like patterns.
The Lava Lord slowly pulled back the battle axe that had just clashed with the sword blade. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but it was overshadowed by cruelty and mockery.
With only about ten steps of retreat, Dawn Douluo had already suffered severe internal injuries.
"Interesting little bugs… That sacred scent… So loathsome to demons, yet destroying you will bring immense satisfaction!"
The Demon Lord stuck out his bright red tongue, licked the edge of his battle axe, and revealed a bloodthirsty smile.
During this brief lull in the fighting, even more powerful auras began rising within the Demon Realm passage.
One after another, Demon Lords of various shapes and sizes emerged from the passage, each radiating chilling auras.
Indifferent or greedy gazes swept across the battlefield before finally settling on the three peak human powerhouses—Dawn Douluo—as well as the even more majestic aura emanating from the distant mountain peak.
The true heavyweights had begun to enter the fray.
…
On the distant mountain peak, top experts such as Qian Daoliu and Chu Shanhe, who had been meticulously observing the battle, all narrowed their eyes at once.
Now… it was their turn to step onto the stage.
"Everyone," Qian Daoliu spoke slowly in a calm voice. "The real battle… has begun."
…