Chapter 452 — Ascension Stage Corpse

In the depths of a crystalline cave composed purely of brown ore and filled with dense demonic energy, the body of a slumbering creature could be seen lying across the ground.

It was a naked woman.

Breathtakingly beautiful, with long black hair that draped behind her bare shoulders while strands of it fell on her chest, she looked more like a Succubus than even a real Succubus like Assira.

Or at least, that was the idea when one first gazed upon her.

If they were to take a closer look, they would discover that the woman’s bare feet were connected to a giant mountain of flesh.

The flesh constantly squirmed as if it were alive, and parted periodically, emitting red gases that dissipated into the surrounding world.

Some of these gases stayed in the cave and disappeared into the horizon, while others drilled through the ceiling and went to places unknown.

This scene carried a sense of eternity, as if that was how it should have been.

It seemed that no matter how many years passed, the woman would stay there sleeping, eternal and unchanging.

And that was indeed the case—as long as no one disturbed this peace.

However, the arrival of a sudden visitor served as the catalyst to break this otherwise beautiful scene.

--

Liora had been wandering for hours.

She followed the direction of the looming aura, constantly growing closer to her target.

To her surprise, she happened to meet several insectoids while on her way.

Though they had vanished completely from the rest of the cave, they remained here, as if tasked with guarding this place.

This only served to further confirm Liora’s guess.

Thus, she didn’t take a detour but continued walking deeper in a straight line.

With the direction clear, it didn’t take her long to reach the destination.

The stalactites above and in front of her parted without her needing to do anything, creating a path towards a clearing.

The moment she stepped into this land, she came face to face with the source of the underground cave, the creator of the insectoids formed from pure demonic aura, and perhaps, even the Earth Spirit Ore mine itself.

"A Zerg Queen...", Liora whispered as she stared at the breathtakingly beautiful, slumbering woman and instantly recognized her identity.

Her appearance and characteristics alone were enough.

However, even if that wasn’t, the intense warnings coming from her bloodline, the ones that had let her know of the existence of Zerg in the first place, suddenly rioted.

Alarm bells rang within her heart.

Her bloodline urged her to run away, to flee from this place as soon as possible.

This was quite similar to when she faced the World Devourer Ancestor, as if she were facing the source of her own bloodline once again.

Of course, since she had reached the Archdevil stage, this was impossible.

"I used to believe that Devils and the Zerg were rivals simply because they both wished to invade other worlds and plunder all of their resources."

"However, it seems that I have been wrong all this time.", Liora pondered, as she struggled to raise her head and look at the Zerg Queen not far away.

"I’m afraid that the two are more connected than it seems on the surface. The powerful individuals of one race even possess a faint suppression effect on the other."

Liora’s consciousness had become extremely powerful after she awakened her World of Heart.

Despite the massive gap between her and the opponent, she could sense the exact power level of the Zerg Queen.

Peak of the Archdevil stage, equivalent to a Devil standing at the Ascension Stage.

Creation, Throne, Anchoring, Ascension.

These were the four substages of the Archdevil stage, with each advancement through these ranks being enough for a Devil to undergo a transformation.

Liora’s astonishment when she found a Zerg Queen at the Ascension Stage could be imagined.

Especially when the alarm bells rang in her heart, she indeed had the idea of fleeing.

Fortunately, she had already prepared herself mentally for discovering something surprising.

She didn’t immediately lose her composure, but forced herself to remain calm and investigate first.

It was only then that she discovered that there was no need to be alarmed.

The Zerg Queen was dead, possessing no signs of life at all.

That’s right.

The Zerg Queen, who could give birth to countless insectoids and render the Earth Elementals helpless against her influence, was actually dead.

Liora’s eyes narrowed.

Ignoring the overwhelming pressure emanating from the corpse and pressing on her shoulders, she took a step forward and approached the corpse.

She was able to withstand the pressure with relative ease at first.

However, as she got closer to her target, she had to operate her Demonforce and later even the World of Heart to form a small domain around her.

Gritting her teeth, Liora got closer and closer.

One kilometer, five hundred meters, three hundred meters...

The gap between her and the fallen Zerg Queen constantly narrowed.

Yet, just when it seemed that it was only a matter of time before the two would meet, something changed.

The lower body of the Zerg Queen, the black mountain of flesh, expanded violently.

A large gap opened on one of its sides, and a dense mist of demonic energy poured out, as if a dam had burst.

Before Liora could react, the demonic energy had merged, taking the form of a tall humanoid insect.

Looking like a mantis but with black mucus dripping out of its mouth, it appeared behind her and brandished its front limbs as if they were weapons.

They transformed into two swords whose edges shone brightly as the mantis swung them down, aiming at her head.

Its strikes were ruthless, yet ordinary.

But secretly, they integrated several concepts, enhancing its attacking power and locking Liora in place.

Its appearance was sudden.

Most importantly, the mantis’ strength far surpassed that of the insects Liora had met in the past.

At first glance, she realized that the enemy’s power had reached the Archdevil stage.

Coupled with the pressure of the Zerg Queen’s corpse and Liora having to deploy her Demonforce and World of Heart, other Archdevils would find themselves at a disadvantage immediately.

Fortunately, Liora had always been on guard, as every Devil would have been in her shoes.

The moment the mantis emerged behind her and looked about to cleave her in two, her head turned abruptly, and a third eye materialized at the center of her forehead.

A golden eye glanced indifferently at the opponent before its pupil was split into two.

The next moment, two black beams shot out. They fused together in the air and transformed into a revolving black hole that smashed onto her opponent.