Without checking what demon emerged, Reyn immediately brought his hammer down on it.
Clang! The deafening clash of metal on metal echoed through the warehouse. Reyn was involuntarily pushed back two steps, forcing him away from the Void Gates.
The demon also flew back several meters.
Only now could Reyn make it out.
It resembled a Fire Demon but was much larger. Broad shoulders and powerful arms covered in sharp spikes. Its fierce head bore a pair of black upward-curving horns, with tentacle-like soft appendages dangling from the chin. Its scales turned black, narrow pupils vertical, exuding mad, furious aura.
"Reyn, careful—that's a Fire Demon warlord!" Pollock shouted in warning.
Reyn nodded slightly, inwardly alert.
In his Soul Eye, this Fire Demon warlord's soul matched a fifth-level superhuman, a mid-level demon whose power far exceeded ordinary Fire Demons.
The beast's reaction was lightning-fast: it sprang to its feet instantly.
Nearly two and a half meters tall, five with the tail. The flexible serpentine tail supported its massive torso clad in crude plate armor. In its hands, it gripped a huge decapitating sword.
"&%#\$%..." The Fire Demon warlord looked at Reyn and uttered something in the Void tongue.
Reyn understood nothing and didn't want to. He swung his hammer and charged.
In an instant, he was before the demon.
Clang!
The warhammer clashed with the decapitating sword, the blow repelled.
Reyn was somewhat surprised: this Fire Demon warlord was stronger than expected.
His current Force was at three and a half levels, plus level two "Steel Body" and "Dragon Power Art" enhancement—any blow reached at least seven to eight thousand pounds sterling. No demon had withstood even one hammer strike so far.
Yet this one did.
Simultaneously with the hammer, bone-chilling cold burst out onto the demon. The flames enveloping its body flared brighter, neutralizing the cold and preventing frozen movement.
But the Fire Demon warlord retreated from the blow too.
Reyn realized he held the edge in raw power clash.
He surged forward sharply, raising the hammer for another strike. Even if the demon withstood several attacks, sooner or later it'd retreat, fall, and one precise blow would end it.
Cling! Cling! Cling!
Hammer and sword clashed deafeningly three times, sparking showers.
The Fire Demon warlord's decapitating sword, over one and a half meters long, was forged from unknown metal. Primitive craftsmanship, crude-looking, weighing about two hundred pounds sterling.
After several hammer blows from Reyn, nicks appeared on the blade, the weapon noticeably deforming.
The Fire Demon warlord retreated under the barrage.
After another clash, monstrous force hurled it back. Its serpentine tail snagged a sulfur hound corpse, it lost balance, upper body toppling sideways.
Reyn waited for exactly that. He spun the hammer, aiming at the demon's lower back.
With his power, a mere graze would cleave this mid-level demon in half.
The hammer whistled through the air, about to hit.
The Fire Demon warlord suddenly barked a short phrase like a command:
"&%#!"
Reyn still understood nothing but felt authority and threat in the words. Sudden inexplicable fear gripped him, as if facing the world's most horrific being. His body trembled, the raised hammer freezing midway.
The state lasted very briefly, less than a second.
When Reyn shook it off, it was too late.
The powerful serpentine tail lashed him with force, hurling him a dozen meters into a pile of demonic remains.
The Fire Demon warlord issued a triumphant laugh.
But the laugh cut short: he saw the human rise again, without a sign of injury.
Bewilderment reflected in the demon's eyes; it couldn't comprehend.
The tail strike was Fire Demons' signature move. Combined with fear spell, it often turned battles at critical moments. As a mid-level Fire Demon warlord, one strike could shatter the Underworld's hardest obsidian. The tail's sharp scales and spikes matched a full-power decapitating sword blow.
He was sure he hit, never expecting this outcome.
Reyn stood, rubbing his chest. A faint ache, but mild.
Actually, he was a bit scared. Fortunately, he'd just upgraded "Steel Body" to level two, sharply boosting defense. Otherwise, that blow would've wounded him.
Exploiting the Fire Demon warlord's daze, Reyn charged again.
After two clanging blows, monstrous force gave him advantage again. On the third, cling, the decapitating sword shattered.
Weaponless, it couldn't withstand one hammer strike.
"&%#!"
The Fire Demon warlord resorted to the tried trick, trying fear spell to halt the advance and flee.
This time Reyn was ready.
The instant the demon opened its maw, Reyn accelerated sharply, slamming into it, interrupting the spell. Simultaneously, he thrust the hammer forward, unleashing full power.
Bones cracked, the Charge halted, and the Fire Demon warlord's corpse crashed down.
Its chest caved in, internals pulped by the hammer. It died before Reyn finished his Charge.
Reyn exhaled. Killing this Fire Demon warlord wasn't easy; far more dangerous than low-level demons.
But the reward was great.
One Fire Demon warlord soul equaled six or seven ordinary Fire Demons, yielding thirty-five percent charge!
Killing two more would let him level up again.
Reyn turned to the Void Gates and saw that during his fight with the warlord, a new large batch of low-level demons had poured out.
Kenji had to abandon the rune array to hold the gates.
Reyn hurried to help deal with the wave.
Souls rose one after another into charge. The second battery bar quickly filled over halfway.
"Reyn, I'll guard the Void Gates—you try breaking the array," Kenji said quickly. "The 'Liquid Gold Shield' distributes damage evenly across the surface. Need several consecutive strikes on one spot in short time so it can't redistribute energy. Only way to breach it."
"My mechanical armor is lightweight type, main weapon spiritual rifle—lacks explosive power. All hope on you."
Kenji spoke while cleaving emerging demons with his huge sword.
Reyn had long noticed Kenji's combat skills were mediocre. Clumsy and unrefined.
Mechanics are casters; few excel in melee. Even in mechanical armor, they rely on defense to weather attacks, then snipe with spiritual rifles or overwhelm with mechanical puppets.
As Mechanics Guild vice-chairman, a wealthy notable, Kenji was used to luxury and entourages, rarely fighting personally, lacking experience.
That he battled demons without falling was mostly thanks to expensive mechanical armor.
As seventh-level mechanic, high-rank superhuman, Kenji didn't show expected power.
Of course, Reyn wouldn't criticize.
Kenji didn't flee danger but stayed to fight, risking life. That alone earned respect.
Reyn Charged to the rune array on the altar.
Pollock and Frida were there, desperately attacking the Protective Shield. One fired nonstop, the other slashed with longsword, causing only light ripples.
Alas, their attacks were useless as pebbles to an elephant.
"Captain, step back—leave this to me," Reyn said.
"Got it," Pollock and Frida retreated immediately.
Following Kenji's advice, Reyn attacked the Protective Shield.
He assumed a stable stance, deep breath, gripped warhammer two-handed, precisely controlling power flow in his arms. Muscles bulged. He spun the hammer, whistling like a hurricane, crashing onto the target.
Boom!
Deafening roar echoed through the warehouse, like a huge rock in a pond. The semi-transparent golden barrier shook violently, even the altar trembling slightly.
Trevichi at the array's center fixed Reyn with intense, rage-twisted glare, as if Reyn were his mortal foe.
Reyn ignored him. One strike followed another!
Boom! Boom! Boom...
The hammer relentlessly pounded the Protective Shield at high speed, nearly once per second, always the same spot.
Ripples from each powerful blow spread; one wave not faded before the next hit. They overlapped, altar shaking nonstop, barrier seeming about to collapse.
Trevichi, previously calm, finally panicked.
He desperately wanted to attack Reyn from inside, but as array medium maintaining Void Gates, he couldn't move a step or cast.
He could only watch helplessly as Reyn furiously assaulted the Protective Shield.
After half a minute, the barrier still held.
After delivering more than twenty full-force strikes, Reyn felt fatigued and was forced to pause temporarily.
It wasn't that he had run out of strength; he had simply overexerted himself, pushing beyond his body's limits, and needed to catch his breath.
He could see that the Barrier was about to fall—it seemed like it could collapse at any moment—but he always fell just short of that final push to break through it.
Meanwhile, another mid-level demon emerged from the Abyss Gates.
It was a Lava Devil Dog, evolved from a sulfur hound. Its body was enormous; even on all fours, it towered over an adult human. Thick, fiery blood like volcanic lava flowed over its skin. Flames and thick smoke poured from its massive maw; anyone who approached it would suffer burns.
Kenji, relying on his mechanical armor, engaged the lava dog in close combat. Pollock and Frida distracted it from the flanks. The three of them were holding their own for now—no immediate danger.
A continuous roar echoed from the Abyss Gates, as if more mid-level demons were about to appear.
"Can't drag this out any longer."
"If one or two more mid-level demons show up, the captain and the others will definitely die, and even Mr. Kenji might not make it."
Reyn glanced at the phone's charge indicator.
While attacking the Protective Shield, he had absorbed another batch of demonic souls, and the charge had reached eighty percent—enough.
He opened the Force element icon and poured spiritual power into it.
The charge dropped rapidly as the progress bar began filling. It was already half full, and within ten seconds, absorbing more than twenty charge segments, it reached the end again, flashed, and advanced to the fourth level!
Force at the fourth level!
Reyn didn't bother studying the changes from the fourth level of Force in detail. Without stopping, he spent the remaining charge on "Dragon Force Art."
The "Dragon Force Art" progress bar immediately started filling.
This rare spell required less charge than Reyn expected. Using less than forty segments, "Dragon Force Art" was upgraded to the second circle.
"Does upgrading secret elements really happen more easily than strengthening physical ones?" Reyn wondered.
Many spells could be upgraded to the ninth circle, but he rarely heard of physical elements reaching the ninth level. The limit for some well-known physical elements and skills was only five levels, or even less.
The thought flashed and vanished. Reyn didn't dwell on it and immediately applied the second-circle "Dragon Force Art" to himself.
A phantom dragon head descended onto him, filling his entire body with what felt like boundless power.
Reyn braced himself, took three deep breaths, raised his warhammer high, and smashed it down with full force.
Boom!
The impact shook the entire altar, and the waves on the Protective Shield were far stronger than from any previous strike.
Reyn kept up the pace, swinging the hammer swiftly and continuing his assault.
Boom!
The Protective Shield was on the verge of collapse. Several winding cracks appeared on it, the entire rune array flickered, and the magical energy began to dissipate.
Fear finally appeared in Trevichi's eyes. He trembled all over; the hand holding the Abyss Crystal shook, and the passage opened by the Abyss Gates shuddered too.
Reyn struck a third time without hesitation.
A deafening crack rang out, and the Protective Shield burst like a punctured bubble, vanishing instantly.
Trevichi's figure was now defenseless.
The rune array was destroyed, and he suffered a backlash—blood gushed from his mouth.
Without magical energy support, the black-green Abyss Crystal dimmed, the beam of light it emitted vanished, and the Abyss Gates, deprived of their anchor, trembled and closed after a few moments.
Just before the passage sealed, a desperate demonic wail echoed from the Abyss Gates.
"No..." Trevichi screamed madly.
His pupils turned from red to black, and a sinister black aura enveloped his body. He himself had become like a repulsive, corrupted being. One look at him could drive someone insane, evoking an unbearable sensation as if thousands of clawed limbs were scratching inside, inflicting excruciating pain.
"Ha-ha-ha..." Trevichi let out a piercing, mad laugh. The strange cackle carried terrifying power, and the entire warehouse shook.
Kenji and his companions, fighting at that moment, froze upon hearing the laugh. The Lava Devil Dog, however, was unaffected and seized the moment to slam the mechanical armor to the ground and tear at it furiously.
Trevichi, shrouded in black mist, unleashed numerous black misty tentacles that whipped and writhed in the air.
He grabbed the Abyss Crystal, shot into the air, and prepared to flee.
Suddenly, a heavy warhammer whistled down onto his head. A dull crack sounded, brains splattered, and Trevichi's headless body crashed to the ground.