Chapter 575: Obey or Die
Water and fire elite zombies continued to absorb Golander and Cecrops’ energies. Their divine bodies, divine souls, and divine energies were being assimilated with the two elite zombies thought the process.
After a long while, water and fire elite zombies finally emerged from Golander and Cecrops’ bodies. Their enormous elemental energies had all been transferred to water and fire elite zombies, with their bodies now turned into mortal flesh without any vitality or a trace of life!
Han Shuo knew that water and fire elite zombies would require a long period of time to completely digest the energies they absorbed from Golander and Cecrops. It was just as crucial that they were not disturbed during that process. Sensing how chaotic the energies inside water and fire elite zombies were, Han Shuo thought for a moment, gave some instructions, and performed incantations to deliver the five elite zombies back to the Netherworld one by one.
Of the five Abyssal Great Demon Kings, four had been slaughtered by Han Shuo. Now, in the whole of Abyss realm, there was no longer any being that could threaten Han Shuo.
“Take good care of fire and water elite zombies. Let them digest those energies quietly,” Han Shuo turned to Little Skeleton and instructed after the five elite zombies left.
“Don’t worry, father. I know what I ought to do,” Little Skeleton replied.
With the crisis now resolved, there was no need for Little Skeleton to stay behind. After a flash of light, Little Skeleton vanished before Han Shuo’s eyes.
Following Little Skeleton’s departure, Han Shuo’s avatar of death and destruction transformed back into the skeletal staff and the Demonslayer Edge before concealing themselves within Han Shuo’s body.
All those chaotic energies that had erupted from the shattered boundaries faded away and vanished. With the Domains of Divinity all gone, Han Shuo immediately sensed the presences of those Demons around him upon expanding his consciousness. After thinking for a moment, Han Shuo yelled, “All the Demons in the area, come to me!”
Before the two factions of Demon Kings clashed, there were over forty Demons in total. However, only thirty or so survived the chaotic bombardment of the meteor shower and Spatial Edges that came from the triggered boundaries around them.
The four Demon Kings originally thought that their opponent would be each other and therefore had ordered their Demons to get far out of the way. After all, these Demons would be dead without a doubt if they were to remain in their Domains of Divinity. Besides, at that point in time, as the Demon Kings counted on them to serve as cannon fodders for opening up new paths, they let the Demons evacuate.
After Han Shuo summoned them, the thirty-something Demons around him gathered towards him. It didn’t take long before all the remaining Demons under the four former Demon Kings had arrived beside Han Shuo.
“Mis.. Mister Han Shuo, what happened?” Bord and Zinia, who survived yet another round of calamity, hastily questioned as soon as they arrived and saw the desolate environment around them.
Han Shuo scanned the crowd gathered around him with his bright eyes. He could see the puzzlement and astonishment written across their faces. “What’s going on? Why has the Baptismal Radiance that Lord Golander bestowed upon me disappeared?” an astounded Demon on Golander’s side impatiently questioned Han Shuo.
When those words were spoken, everyone’s puzzled gazes gathered on Han Shuo.
The Baptismal Radiance was a type of master and slave contract that a lowgod could apply on their disciples. This kind of branding would allow the god to receive an unending stream of the power of faith from their believers. Their disciples could even apply this brand to weaker commoners on behalf of their master, allowing their masters to obtain the power of faith from commoners.
Every lowgod could deploy an altar for Baptismal Radiance ceremony using their divine energy and divine soul. Once it was sprinkled over those whose happily opened up their souls, a contract would immediately take shape in their souls. Those who accepted the contract would, from that point onwards, become a believer of that god. They would enshrine and worship that god, offering their selfless power of faith.
Faith wasn’t something material. It didn’t cost much to those people to offer their faith. The very same thing, however, when offered to a god, would be extremely useful for advancing their divine energy and Domain of Divinity.
Generally, the Baptismal Radiance inside those believers who had accepted the contract, would forever remain in their bodies unless they converted to another faith to worship another god. Of course, if the god they believed in were to die, the Baptismal Radiance in them would naturally vanish as well.
Once one accepted the blessing of Baptismal Radiance, no matter how many material planes away they were from the god they believe in, their Baptismal Radiance would not fade!
Therefore when the Baptismal Radiance vanished from the souls of these Demons who consecrated the four Demon Kings as their gods, with them converting their faith to another god out of the question, there was only one possible explanation left – the gods they believed in were all dead!
Perhaps the Demon Kings of the Abyss were too mighty and ferocious in their minds, or maybe their faith was deep-rooted, or possibly because they had entrusted their spirits for too long, although they knew that this was extremely likely to be the case, they did not think in that direction. Instead, they looked at Han Shuo, bewildered and awaiting his answer.
Looking at these people who could be considered as characters of great power and influence in the Abyss realm, Han Shuo truly felt pitiful for these people. These beings had dedicated their entire existences for the four Demon Kings. And yet, all that they got in return was being valued as mere cannon fodders. Moreover, under the deliberate acts of the Demon Kings, they would never ever have the chance of becoming real gods!
After giving the crowd a glance with his cold eyes, Han Shuo callously said, “I believe that each and every one of you must have sensed the Baptismal Radiance inside you had extinguished. It is with great sadness to inform you that all four of your Demon Kings are dead.”
A great ruckus surged through the crowd of Demons at once. Although they weren’t completely convinced, their faces nevertheless turned pale upon hearing Han Shuo’s words. Their hearts were crammed with despair and shock. Their eyes were filled with disbelief.
“How could this be? How could this be? How could Lord Golander be dead?”
“Impossible, you be have mistaken. Our Lord will not die. He will not!”
“The Lord is dead. What should we do?”
“We are done for. We are all done for.”
All kinds of noises came from those Demons. The news of the death of their four Demon Kings had shocked them all. Accustomed to act at their master’s bid, these demons were completely at a loss for a moment. Their minds and emotions were jumbled in a hideous mess. Their hearts were in a chaos that could seemingly never be calmed.
“How did my Lord die?” that Demon under Golander suddenly glowered at Han Shuo and shouted.
“I killed him!” Han Shuo said callously.
“How did my Lord die?” a Demon under Leviathan yelled.
“I killed him too!” Han Shuo again answered.
When Bord and Zinia opened their mouths to say something, Han Shuo waved his hand, looked around, and proudly announced, “No need for more questions. I killed all four of them!”
Upon hearing those words, all the Demons shut their mouths. The scene momentarily sank into an dreadful silence. Each and every one of them stared at Han Shuo in disbelief and absolutely couldn’t accept the fact.
“Impossible! Just you? You can’t even kill one. How could you say you’ve killed all four Lords all of a sudden?” one of the Demons cried.
Two streaks of light flew out from Han Shuo’s body and rapidly appeared beside him. His two avatars transformed into two additional Han Shuos. The lowgod aura in the energy of death and destruction was abruptly released. Han Shuo’s three pairs of cold eyes scanned another round through the crowd. Afterwards, that avatar of death started to arrange an altar before the crowd.
“Your four Demon Kings wanted to get rid of me and joined hands in assaulting me. Naturally, I wouldn’t let them have their way. In the end, they are all dead, while I have survived,“ Han Shuo explained in neither a hurry nor slow manner. When he saw that the crowd was still stunned and unconvinced, he again started to talk, “Such are the facts. It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not, because facts won’t change with your beliefs! Right now, the Baptismal Radiance inside your souls has vanished. The populace previously under the rule of the four Demon Kings have all lost their faiths. Hehe, the Abyss realm shall not see a day without a ruler. I shall reluctantly volunteer myself to act as your new god!”
“No! You are not worthy! I will not accept! Never!” that Demon under Golander was extremely resentful towards Han Shuo and immediately rejected him.
Han Shuo’s avatar of death, who was in the middle of deploying an altar, pointed at the Demon from a distance away. The energy of death densely covered the Demon’s body in the blink of an eye. In the next instance, every bone in his body began to protrude and finally pierce through his flesh. And with one swoop of attack, his soul was annihilated in no time. He was cleanly and effortlessly killed.
“What a noisy one. Since you would not offer me your power of faith, your existence is no longer required,” Han Shuo said indifferently. After that, the avatar deploying an altar coldly continued, “I will be completing the deployment of my altar very soon. By then I will activate my Baptismal Radiance. You either obey, or you die. Choose wisely.”
In the Abyss realm, the one with the biggest fist had the most efficacious words. Han Shuo knew this rule well. Skipping any rubbish talk, he directly made known his absolute though overbearing power.
“We are willing,” just as Han Shuo had expected, Bord and Zinia who Han Shuo had looked after throughout the journey, after a short moment of hesitation, became the first to accept Han Shuo as their Lord.