Chapter 575 — Demon Gathering

The surrounding space was mostly empty. Only a lone woman and a spacecraft could be seen floating in the dark void.

Liora closed her eyes as she worked to digest the information she had just plundered from the demon’s soul.

Several moments later, she opened them again, the satisfaction in her gaze clear.

Her efforts had paid off.

As expected, compared to relying on information compiled by others, it was far more convenient to experience things firsthand—even if through a somewhat roundabout method.

"It appears that the extraterrestrial battlefield is even more dangerous than I expected. According to this demon’s memories, I’m currently at its outskirts."

"Under normal circumstances, only the ’weakest’ Rank 7 Awakeners wander here. The deeper one ventures, the more likely they are to encounter Kings, Venerables, and even more powerful beings."

The battlefield had long since been divided into different regions. The strongest experts occupied the areas where the greatest treasures could be found, keeping any outsiders away.

Weaker Awakeners had no chance of entering those places.

At best, they could search near the outskirts, praying that they were fortunate enough to find anything of value.

"Of course, even staying here isn’t safe. Just like me. I’ve only just entered the battlefield and I’ve already been targeted by a King."

As for why this Rank 8 demon had appeared here instead of remaining in the battlefield’s depths...

Liora narrowed her eyes.

A treasure! Or rather, a treasure land!

Not long ago, this demon and its companions had discovered a fragment of the ancient city.

Although they failed to obtain anything because of the city’s restrictions, they had learned enough about it to prepare for their eventual return.

Once the necessary conditions were met, they would return and enter.

And now... that time had finally come.

This was why a King had appeared on the battlefield’s outskirts.

As for attacking Liora, to it, she had merely been a convenient meal.

It had never imagined that the seemingly ordinary Rank 7 Awakener it targeted would actually be a Devil concealing her identity, much less that this casual decision would ultimately cost it its life.

Liora had little interest in dwelling on the demon’s thoughts.

What occupied her mind was everything it knew about the fragment of the ancient city.

"The ancient city only appeared recently, and no one has managed to reach its true core."

"Yet the treasures recovered from these so-called city fragments have already created hundreds of Kings and dozens of Venerables in a short period of time."

Its value did not require any further explanation.

Now that she knew such a fragment had appeared, and that it even had specific entry requirements, Liora found it difficult not to be interested.

Looking at the place where the demon had stood moments ago, she fell into thought.

Half a second later, she made her decision. With a thought, her body began to transform.

First, it expanded until it stood several kilometers tall. Then, her features twisted into those of a humanoid lizard.

Finally, dark orange scales spread across her skin while her hands and feet became enormous claws.

Within moments, the human-like Liora had turned into a towering demon.

Only her crimson eyes remained unchanged, though they now carried the primordial brutality of the demon race.

Looking down at herself, Liora nodded in satisfaction.

Overwrite had always been one of her least-used abilities, largely because she had rarely needed to disguise herself.

Although the current form was far from the Overwrite ability she had once created and had been upgraded several times through her own comprehension, it could be said that she had finally used this ability once more—or in a sense, its spiritual successor.

Liora spent a few seconds adjusting to the sudden increase in size.

Fortunately, with her powerful consciousness and perfect control over her body, adapting to this enormous form was a simple matter.

Once she was done, she wasted no more time.

She ordered Alpha to return, stored the spacecraft away, and then set off on her own.

--

The environment of Battlefield XC33XTI was extremely difficult for ordinary Awakeners to navigate. Even Venerables had to proceed with caution, unless they wanted to find themselves in unpredictable circumstances.

Fortunately, Liora was anything but ordinary.

Her strength had already surpassed that of any Rank 10 Awakener, and she could already contend with the ancestor-like figures within the various civilizations.

Combined with the memories she had plundered from the demon and the information Alpha had gathered, abandoning the spacecraft did not slow her down in the slightest.

If anything, it made her even faster.

Expertly weaving through the countless overlapping spatial planes, she followed the demon’s memories toward her destination.

It didn’t take long.

Only a few hours later, a light flickered in Liora’s eyes as she sensed several powerful auras in the distance.

As she drew closer, their owners gradually came into view.

They were all demons.

Like her current form, they were gigantic in stature, though each possessed a different appearance.

Some resembled enormous lizards. Others looked like birds or sea monsters.

A few bore close similarities to humans, further demonstrating the incredible diversity of the demon race. It was exactly because of this that they had managed to become one of the four Apex Civilizations.

Liora paid little attention to their appearances. Her focus settled on their auras.

All of them were Kings at the very least.

There were several Venerables, while a tentacled demon whose aura had reached Rank 10 could be seen standing at their very center.

Emperor—this was the title used for beings of such a level, and their status was evident.

Just as Liora was observing them, the demons happened to notice her as well.

Most of them recognized her. Or rather, they recognized the demon whose appearance she had copied.

One of them seemed particularly familiar with her.

The moment it saw her, it strode over with a grin.

"Liothar, you’re finally here. What took you so long? You’ve kept us waiting for a while."

"It’s nothing.", Liora answered coldly, imitating the original demon’s tone.

"I just happened to meet a prey on the way. I played with them for a while and got carried away."

Her words drew knowing smiles from several demons. A few licked their lips with envy in their eyes.

Just as they were about to continue the conversation, however, the tentacled demon interrupted them.

"Enough.", its eyes moved, each pair landing on a different demon.

"Now that Liothar is here, it’s time to move. We have to act quickly. We don’t know whether anyone else will discover the city fragment."

"If that happens, all our efforts will have been wasted."

Everyone, including Liora, nodded.

Then, under the tentacled demon’s lead, the group turned around and shot into the other side of the battlefield.