Chapter 354: Chapter 354: Demon of Terror and Cruelty
Notifications kept popping up before his eyes—
[You have successfully plundered activity contributions; activity contribution increased by three hundred]
[You have successfully…]
...
It's back; it's all back! The feeling of grinding "demons" with [Fission] had returned!
Wait…
When Sterl used the power of [Fission] to smash the enemies of the Hell faction back then, he hadn't experienced this rapid contribution gain!
In just a few seconds, he had already amassed nearly ten thousand contributions.
Unfortunately, in those few seconds, the surrounding "people" had been completely drained.
Without hesitation, Sterl continued.
This time, however, his performance was updated; he didn't rush into other areas of the camp. Instead, he listened and waited for a moment, and when he charged onto the frontlines, he found that the players of the Succubus Queen faction had been completely annihilated.
All around were charred remnants and scattered corpses, resembling a hellish battlefield.
There were even a few humanoid beings, their features delicate, whether male or female was unclear, being roughly subdued by several burly men.
These humanoid figures seemed to have been incapacitated, unable to move at all.
Meanwhile, players from the Lord of Evil Spirits faction were all wielding [Stone of Absorption], the shimmering rainbow lights a clear sign of contributions being drained.
They collected contributions while eyeing each other warily, and some were even silently gathering skills, preparing to turn on their allies! After all, having one less competitor meant a greater share of the spoils.
But...
The players from Swallowing Heaven were hesitant, worried that they might become targets for retribution, so they barely managed to hold back. Fortunately, someone came to relieve their anxiety.
A figure suddenly appeared.
Instantly, everyone's expression turned to one of terror.
"Mephistopheles! What is he doing here?"
"Quick, retreat!"
"No way?? What about the others on the other battlefields? Aren't they going to stop him?"
...
This group was thrown into disarray.
And Sterl snapped his fingers.
The surging elemental storm erupted once more!
Sterl's decision to wait until the players from the Lord of Evil Spirits faction began to siphon contributions before making his move stemmed from a sudden realization: absorbing contributions wasn't the same as killing or looting items. It wouldn't just yield a portion; when he siphoned, he drained them completely!
So, even if the players from the Lord of Evil Spirits faction managed to take some contributions first, it didn't matter. After he turned the tables on them, he could just reclaim the contributions, right?
Thus, seeing the deaths of many allies, he feigned an expression of anger.
"You dare!"
Then, beams of light flared from his hands.
Another [Mana Storm] unleashed!
This time, it was coupled with Shattered Void.
With the triple perfect Law enhancement, the power of Shattered Void was overwhelming. Sterl had yet to find an opportunity to unleash his full strength, but the greater control allowed him to release the solidification effect of the first half of Shattered Void on its own.
Immediately, countless players under the Lord of Evil Spirits were frozen in place.
Then, as the storm swept through, they were reduced to nothing but skeletal remains, and eventually, even those bones were refined and dissolved.
Sterl continued to activate the effects of [Stone of Absorption] amidst the energy storm.
The chaotic surge of four elemental Laws made it difficult even for the divine-level demons to perceive what was happening inside.
Of course, Sterl felt that the Succubus Queen probably wouldn't sense anything at all…
No need to worry!
Who would expect that Sterl was siphoning contributions?
To the casual observer, it simply looked like Mephistopheles had cast his skills and was leisurely moving toward the next battlefield, which was completely reasonable.
In the second wave of harvesting, Sterl managed to acquire a whopping twenty thousand activity contributions.
...
Next came the third battlefield, which was now in the core area of the camp.
Sterl didn't deliberately dawdle on his way there.
He knew that the fighting here wouldn't end anytime soon.
Sure enough, the central area of the camp was now in utter chaos. What had previously been numerous structures was now completely demolished, with turbulent energy generated from shattered spatial artifacts swirling everywhere.
From a distance, Sterl could see nearly a thousand players and demons engaged in fierce combat.
However, their forms appeared to be in a chaotic and distorted state, with the spatial turbulence and debris making everyone look extremely unreal.
Sterl recognized several familiar faces, including Flanda and a few other Supremes, who were resisting the onslaught of enemies.
Among the most striking figures from the Lord of Evil Spirits faction was a massive creature, roughly three meters tall, covered in bizarre scales, resembling a demonic god.
Sterl used [Star Insight] to scan it and discovered that this giant demon, while also being a Supreme, had attributes significantly higher than the others.
It possessed several platinum abilities, and even… a flawed Iridescent-Level skill!
Sterl momentarily held his breath.
However, that Iridescent-Level skill didn't interact with divine authority or Divine Power; it was more akin to Sterl's [Solidification Method], simply boasting a performance superior to platinum skills.
After that…
Sterl was unable to detect the specific details of this demon's Iridescent-Level ability.
After all, this Supreme had exceptionally high base attributes, placing limitations on Star Insight's scanning capabilities.
Nonetheless, Sterl managed to identify the race of this Supreme—
[Demon of Terror and Cruelty]!
Sterl had once seen the top-tier race known as the [Demon of Terror and Cruelty] when he created his Swallowing Heaven alt account!
This race inherently possessed higher attribute bonuses compared to typical player races and came with an A-class profession, allowing for effortless growth.
The race would automatically gain skills based on their level, starting from white, transitioning to green… all the way up to demigod, where they would automatically acquire platinum skills!
Moreover, reaching the demigod stage would trigger their racial talents, with at least A-class, and for the majority, S-class.
The potential of the Demon of Terror and Cruelty far surpassed that of other demon races, and they enjoyed an exceptionally long lifespan, allowing them more time for cultivation than units from other races.
They could also use this time to gradually gather various items to enhance their attributes and refine their skill proficiency.
Therefore…
Sterl suddenly realized that this giant demon he encountered was likely the first formidable general who had ascended to Supreme under the Lord of Evil Spirits after a millennium!
Although Sterl didn't examine the proficiency of its various skills, they were undoubtedly terrifyingly high!
And at this moment, the battlefield…
Was easily controlled by this Demon of Terror and Cruelty.
For the Supremes under the Succubus Queen, despite being ambushed at first, they maintained an impressive level of discipline.
They quickly rallied their forces and prepared a counterattack.
Moreover, based on the differences in abilities among the player demons, they organized themselves into front and back lines.
While not as professional as in the main world, they had at least stabilized their position.
The forces of the two divine-level demons were roughly equal, with the Supreme combatants on the field facing a three-to-four matchup, as Lord of Evil Spirits was still short one member.
There were also some Supremes who did not belong to either divine-level demon, lurking on the outskirts of the battlefield, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
When Sterl first sensed the situation from a distance, the Supremes under the Succubus Queen had gained a considerable advantage in the central area of the camp.
Beyond Flanda, the other three Supremes were in humanoid form, wielding a set of interconnected pink threads to transfer power among themselves. Their positions in battle even conformed to the principles of formation.
Sterl could see crimson bats swirling in the air, while dark purple energy orbs morphed into beast-like forms, tearing through their foes…
Meanwhile, the forces of Lord of Evil Spirits, facing a numerical disadvantage, found their platinum skills easily countered, suffering defeat after defeat. Many of the bats even plunged into their protective energy, prompting the three Supremes to emit cries of anguish as their energy began to wane.
However, everything changed when the Demon of Terror and Cruelty arrived!
Sterl had only heard of the hidden Supremes in the Hall of Valor and how powerful they were—completely on a different level from ordinary Supremes.
Now, he was finally witnessing it with his own eyes!
The Demon of Terror and Cruelty didn't even unleash its Iridescent-Level ability; it merely activated a Platinum Skill. Instantly, it expanded again, transforming into a giant towering a hundred meters high.
Then it slammed down! Brilliant platinum light radiated from it.
At that moment, Sterl could see the third platinum glow erupting from the demon's chest!
The chest of the Demon of Terror and Cruelty rapidly opened, revealing a hollow cavity that began to siphon surrounding energy, ultimately forming an orange-yellow core.
The core pulsated with flickering light, unstable and seemingly on the verge of exploding.
The energy gathered in this core was swiftly channeled into the previously released platinum ability of the Demon of Terror and Cruelty.
It appeared complex, but it all unfolded within mere moments.
Most of the Supremes under the Succubus Queen were still in the aftermath of their own skill activations.
As Sterl watched, he couldn't help but marvel…
Was this the result of a millennium of proficiency?
He had previously detected the three platinum skills.
The enlarged form was called [Heaven-supporting], which could be mastered with just one chaotic skill.
The skill that generated the energy core was known as [Sun Devourer], also requiring a single chaotic skill.
However, the ground-smashing move, [Earth-shaking], required two chaotic memories to use.
They all seemed rather lackluster.
Yet…
While the intrinsic power of the Platinum Skills wasn't high, the Demon of Terror and Cruelty executed them with such perfection that their combined might skyrocketed!
This was far more skillful than Sterl using [Flowing Water Thousand Cuts] to unleash Shattered Void! That was merely a stronger blade, enhancing Shattered Void but failing to achieve a qualitative transformation.
In contrast, the three skills of the Demon of Terror and Cruelty complemented each other flawlessly. Sterl even doubted whether these were the three abilities the demon had meticulously selected; each skill seamlessly triggered the next, providing incredible enhancements with each subsequent ability!