Chapter 589 — Confrontation

The Battle Fury Hammer, the weapon Liora had obtained within the Heavenly Armor Pavilion, appeared above the Zerg Queen as she smashed it downward.

Although Liora did not use her full strength and merely exerted the power of a slightly stronger King, the Battle Fury Hammer greatly amplified her every movement, including her attacks.

Judging from its aura alone, this strike had already reached the Venerable level, and it was by no means weak at that stage.

Even other Venerables would have to be careful.

Even without their armies, Zerg Queens were certainly not weak. On the contrary, they were terrifyingly powerful.

However, that strength mostly lay in their soul abilities.

Compared to ordinary beings of the same level—and especially compared to the Zerg Servants—their physical bodies were extremely fragile.

Once an enemy managed to close the distance and appear near them, the chances of a Zerg Queen perishing rose dramatically.

The Zerg Queen targeted by Liora understood this very well.

Thus, she immediately tried to retreat and evade the descending hammer, while controlling her servants to block her way.

Unfortunately, she soon discovered that she couldn’t.

Her body refused to obey her commands, leaving her unable to do anything besides watching helplessly as the colossal hammer crashed upon her.

Her fate seemed sealed.

Yet just as death appeared inevitable, another wave of soul power descended along the plaza.

This one was even stronger than the pressure she had released moments earlier.

As a result, the hammer halted midair.

Although the pause lasted for only a second, it was more than enough for the Zerg Queen to escape its range.

Liora did not pursue her.

Her lizard-like pupils became cloudy as her body froze in place.

Just as it seemed that this would become permanent, a shout echoed directly within her mind.

"Liothar, wake up!", a hoarse, authoritative voice said.

It was only at that time that Liora seemed to have awakened from the previous shock.

She "instinctively" staggered several steps backward before raising her head in apparent shock.

Immediately, two opposing groups entered her sight.

One consisted of her demon companions.

Not only were Elaouthr and the demon she had just rescued present, but every other demon who had entered the city fragment with them had gathered as well.

The tentacled Emperor stood at the very front of the team, his countless tentacles swaying eerily through the air as his spherical body floated a few centimeters above the ground.

Opposite them stood a massive army of Zerg.

The overwhelming majority of its members were Zerg Servants, numbering in the thousands and including both Kings and Venerables.

Yet these insectoids were not the army’s true leaders.

Instead, three Zerg Queens stood at the forefront—including the one Liora had nearly killed moments earlier.

Each represented a different level of power.

One was a King, one was a Venerable, while the last one towered above them, being an Emperor.

"Liothar, come here.", Elaouthr’s message rang in Liora’s ears.

After a brief moment of hesitation, she retreated, joining the other demons.

Meanwhile, the confrontation between the two sides continued.

"Erissa, how did you enter this place?"

"Have you planted a spy among my men?", the tentacled Emperor questioned, his voice cold as he looked toward the blonde woman leading the Zerg.

Judging from his tone alone, it was obvious the two knew each other well.

The reason was equally obvious.

The opponent was an Emperor as well.

Kings and Venerables might be relatively common throughout the extraterrestrial battlefield, and each individual was therefore not well-known.

Emperors, however, were this place’s true rulers.

Anyone with sufficient status knew their names, abilities, and basic information. Their legends had long been engraved into history, both as a means to praise them and to warn their descendants about them.

Faced with the accusation, Erissa merely chuckled.

After confirming through her mental power that the injured King-level Zerg Queen had escaped unharmed, she smiled faintly.

"Arnstrong, why shouldn’t I be here? Do you think your demon race controls the entire extraterrestrial battlefield? Aren’t my Zerg worthy of fighting back?"

She laughed softly.

"As for obtaining a few tokens to bypass the barrier... is it really that difficult?"

Her words immediately denied Arnstrong’s accusation that she had planted spies within his forces.

However, the demon Emperor remained unconvinced.

Zerg Queens were famous not only for their soul abilities, but even more so for their terrifying enslavement techniques.

If Erissa had secretly enslaved one of his subordinates, turning them into an obedient puppet, even an Emperor like himself might never notice.

Just as Arnstrong’s suspicious gaze swept across his own subordinates and the worries in his eyes became increasingly obvious, Erissa spoke again:

"There is no need to be so cautious. We’re both here for the inheritance. Fighting will benefit neither of us."

"I propose that both our teams enter together and compete according to our respective abilities."

As though predicting Arnstrong’s next words, the Zerg Queen calmly dropped another piece of information.

"You may not know this, but your Cosmos Emperor is currently fighting our Heaven Patriarch."

"It is said the two have been seen near the outskirts of the extraterrestrial battlefield."

"If they happen to discover this city fragment and try to enter..."

Erissa left the sentence unfinished. She didn’t need to continue, guessing that the demon before her understood.

Indeed. The slight change in Arnstrong’s expression revealed that he understood perfectly.

Seeing his reaction, Liora instinctively searched through Liothar’s memories, hoping to make sense out of the situation.

Soon, the two names surfaced.

Cosmos Emperor. An ancient demon who had reached Rank 10 millions of years ago and had become well-known long before most civilizations had even been born.

His strength and experience far surpassed that of the tentacled Emperor before her.

If the two fought, the outcome would likely be decided within only a few exchanges and would result in Arnstrong’s death.

Compared to the Cosmos Emperor, whom Liothar knew relatively well, the Heaven Emperor was far more mysterious.

Still, scattered pieces of information quickly emerged in her mind.

"The Heaven Emperor is also famous, perhaps even more than the Cosmos Emperor. Not only because of his strength, but also because of his identity."

"Though a member of the Zerg, he isn’t a Zerg Queen. But rather, a Zerg Servant!"

Liora recalled the rumors.