Chapter 496: The Depravity of Demons is Far Beyond Your Imagination
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 496: The Depravity of Demons is Far Beyond Your Imagination
As the news spread that the joint exam was continuing, many expressed their confusion. For most, this was the first time they had ever seen such a spectacle. There was an absurd sense of a staged performance suddenly colliding with the real thing, yet they had no choice but to face these terrifying creatures head-on.
Little Demons fell from the sky like a torrential tide. The first wave to plummet to their deaths became a cushion of gore, using their own broken bodies to forge a safe landing zone for the demons that followed.
As the lowest and most wretched species of the Abyss, the status of Little Demons was abysmal. They were low-level creatures that were virtually impossible to drive to extinction. The flesh and blood left behind by their deaths could be reorganized through simple rituals into egg-sheaths for Lesser Demons. It could be said that the bottom-tier demons utilized their wretched flesh to the absolute limit, simultaneously pushing the limits of what a normal person could perceive as sane.
The reason the Abyssal Demons were pouring such a massive quantity of low-level demons into the Main World was twofold. On one hand, the establishment of an Abyssal Demon Transcendent Academy required a sufficient foundation of flesh—after all, different races had vastly different definitions of "construction materials." On the other hand, the expenditure and death of these Little Demons didn't cost them a single pang of regret.
Of course, the Abyssal Demons had originally hoped to use these Little Demons to harvest the flesh of the Main World's natives. As indigenous inhabitants, the integration of Main Worlders' flesh would make the blood-nests constructed by the Abyssal Demons more compatible with the world itself.
As for what negative impact this might have on the eventually established Transcendent Academy?
Would the Abyssal Demons care about that?
Would the students they actively recruited care?
The world was inherently unequal. Under the temptation of the transcendent, there would always be those who harbored delusions of luck. If the number of "enrolled students" wasn't enough, they could simply follow the Witch Academy's example and kidnap people.
With their own strength, how could they possibly be stifled by such trivialities?
They were, after all, a Transcendent Race. In terms of status, they considered themselves equal to the Three Top Academies—at least, that was their own perspective.
As for why the original Transcendent Academies of the Main World had anticipated the Abyssal Demons would act this way, it wasn't so much a prediction as it was a safeguard.
The current situation of the Main World was somewhat precarious. The mere existence of transcendent lifeforms placed immense pressure on the world; even the total number of transcendent individuals across all academies was maintained at a relatively balanced level.
If the Abyssal Demons wanted to settle in the Main World, then until the Main World expanded outward, the other academies would need to reduce their total number of Transcendent Mentors.
Therefore, the "headcount" allowed for the Abyssal Demons to enter the Main World was actually fixed.
Why use the False World Space Great Witchcraft to intercept these Little Demons? Naturally, it was to prevent a massive influx of external creatures from causing additional impact on the fragile Main World. Once intercepted by this Great Witchcraft, they would be converted into nutrients to feed back into the Main World in another form.
And why were there so many Transcendent Mentors standing guard here?
Naturally, it was because the number of transcendents allowed for the Abyssal Demons was strictly limited. For every extra one that came, they would cut one down. It was... a bit of a "welcome gift" from the seniors to the "newcomers" moving in.
If they didn't follow the agreement from the start, the Witch Academy wouldn't mind taking the lead in teaching the Abyssal Demons what it meant to follow the rules.
After all, facing the Abyssal Demons—who had previously been groveling and begging for permission to enter the Main World, only to act tough and arrogant the moment they succeeded—anyone would want to give them a punch. They were truly overstepping their bounds.
"Abyssal Demon" was just a name that sounded intimidating. Witches knew better than anyone that they were merely bullies who preyed on the weak. If they were truly terrifying, their attitude toward the Main World would have been forceful, and they would have fought their way in like the Witch race did, rather than resorting to such disgusting tactics.
* * *
Inside the False World.
By now, many candidates had begun to make contact with the scattered demons. This demon tide naturally consisted of more than just Little Demons; there were also the Lesser Demons hatched from their flesh, parasitic Abyssal Worms, and elemental masters like Flame Demons and Ice Rift Demons.
Their individual strength was mediocre. Now, suppressed by the Great Weakening Spell, they felt their power significantly diminished. Combined with the effects of the Bad Luck Curse, many candidates found it quite easy to kill them.
However, the sheer number of demons was overwhelming. Furthermore, if the demon flesh wasn't completely eradicated, it would transform into egg-sheaths to hatch more Lesser Demons and other horrors.
This process could hardly be called the procreation of life; it was the reshaping of flesh.
In the end, these reshaped monsters were almost unrecognizable as any specific branch of demon. Their bloated bodies resembled wriggling balls of meat, yet they still hungered to devour every candidate in sight.
"Quick... use Evocative Magic to violently destroy this flesh! Otherwise, if these things gestate into Flesh Bombs, we might all be caught in the blast!" Tan Han shouted urgently.
At this moment, she had no time to worry about the gore splattered everywhere. As the strongest combatant present, she had naturally become the main force against these monsters.
The so-called "Flesh Bombs" referred to what happened when certain special demons died. If their low-quality flesh couldn't reform into an egg-sheath, it would spoil and turn into a bomb. Once stretched to its limit, it would explode with terrifying force and highly corrosive splatter.
Tan Han had suffered from this not long ago. Fortunately, she had many tricks up her sleeve, but healing herself had still drained a massive amount of her mana reserves.
By now, the resources they had previously acquired—recovery potions and mana-storing alchemy items—were all being put to use.
"Watch out!"
On such a chaotic battlefield, any mistake could lead to irreparable loss, or even the loss of life.
"...Thank you."
Facing such desperate rescue, the words "don't worry about me" that were on the tip of Tan Han's tongue were swallowed back down.
She knew exactly why the other girl was risking everything to save her. As long as she, the core pillar of the team, remained standing, the group wouldn't fall apart.
"It's fine... run, quick!"
Xiao You covered Tan Han without hesitation, clearing the demons behind them with several spells.
Tan Han was somewhat surprised by the sheer number of spellbooks Xiao You possessed, but clearly, now was not the time to dwell on such trivialities.
"Take this..." Tan Han pulled out a mana storage jar.
This was an alchemy item that stored mana in advance, allowing for a near-instant refill. Such an item was a resource even more precious than recovery potions.
After witnessing Xiao You's combat power, Tan Han realized that keeping this item on herself would no longer maximize its utility.
Initially, everyone felt this resource should go to Tan Han because she was the primary damage dealer and consumed the most mana.
Xiao You dazed for a split second as she took the mana reserve, but she reacted quickly.
She didn't hesitate any longer. With her mana instantly replenished, she extravagantly cast a high-consumption spell, summoning a Flame Lord wreathed in terrifying fire.
The horrific flames bought everyone a moment to breathe, and they finally managed to lead the group away from the pursuing demons.
"Quick! Over there! There's a resource point! We'll take shelter there first!" Tan Han shouted.
But as she glanced back at the Flame Lord that had bought them time, she felt a momentary lapse of focus.
The next moment, she said nothing, working with Xiao You to bring up the rear and cover the group's entry into the resource point.
The Flame Lord tore through the pursuing demons with overwhelming force.
Even their flesh was scorched to cinders within the Flame Lord's domain of fire, emitting a foul, nauseating stench.
Finally, Tan Han dragged her exhausted body into the resource point, leaning on Xiao You for support.
Throughout this battle, they had initially dominated the demons. But as their resources dwindled, they were gradually ground down until their advantage vanished.
They hadn't expected the flesh to be able to hatch Lesser Demons a second time, nor had they expected the flesh to eventually explode and corrode...
Every single unexpected factor was frantically negating the advantages they had gained early on... until now... their confidence was nearly shattered.
"I'm sorry... this was... my mistake..." Tan Han said, her voice strained.
Xiao You slumped onto the ground, staring blankly at the empty mana jar in her hand.
"Sister Tan Han... don't take all the responsibility on yourself..."
"Yeah... those monsters were just... just too... disgusting..."
The others quickly began to offer comfort. In this confrontation, Tan Han had provided the most firepower, taken the most damage, and protected the most people. She had tested the horrors of those demons for them.
They had no right to complain.
But they had to admit, these demons were simply too revolting. Their individual strength wasn't great—the explosion of a single Fireball Spell could take out a small cluster of the weaker ones.
Yet, it was these very creatures that had ground them down to this state.
For a moment, a heavy, oppressive atmosphere settled over the small sanctuary of the resource point.
They couldn't believe it. Were these demons truly at the level the academy said they could handle?
Tan Han instinctively looked at the illusory figure floating before her eyes—the Knowledge Shadow.
After getting used to it over this period, she had begun to adapt to the assistance provided by this "Xiao Han" from her subconscious. Although the figure looked like Xiao Han, she understood that these were all her own decisions.
Just then, the illusory figure in Tan Han's eyes overlapped with a figure that suddenly appeared, causing the dazed Tan Han to nearly miss it.
"Hmm... sorry, I don't come here often, so I only left a teleportation mark at this resource point. Looking at your 'survivor' expressions... you haven't had your confidence crushed by those disgusting demons, have you?"
I looked at everyone, my relaxed tone clashing sharply with the atmosphere of the room.
"Sister Xiao Han? Is it really you?"
"Sister Xiao Han... are those demons really something we can beat?"
"It's too disgusting... I almost want to drop out of the exam..."
Clearly, these girls barely had the energy left to complain. Some who had been holding back their emotions burst into tears at that moment. Perhaps they felt that my arrival meant the place was finally safe; otherwise, their suppressed emotions wouldn't have vented so suddenly upon relaxing.
"If you want to cry, go ahead. Just let it all out. But don't talk about dropping out for now. I don't want to ruin the mood, but I should remind you that the live stream is still going. The senior sisters from the academy are silently cheering for you in places you can't see. You've done great to make it this far. They've seen everything you've been through, and they'll understand whatever choice you make. So, you only need to be responsible to yourselves. Not letting yourselves have regrets is what's most important..."
I paused, letting them process my words, before continuing. "So... is anyone still dropping out?"
I scanned the group, but in the end, no one actually chose to quit. Even the girl who had been crying just a moment ago began to secretly wipe away her tears.
"Alright~ looks like no one. Since that's settled, it's time for the next phase. It's... resource distribution time~" I said with a smile, pulling out a storage card and unloading the supplies.
Among the supplies were food and water. The water sources at the resource points here had been contaminated by the Voodoo and curses of the Wizard Academy and were unusable, so I had specifically brought food and water to replenish them.
Of course... the resources this time weren't just food and water. The highlights were the subsequent items: powerful one-time-use alchemy items, recovery potions, healing potions, and most importantly, mana jars. Resources were earned through one's own efforts, and these special resources required by each academy were exchanged using the resource quotas they had secured.
It could be said that for this supply run, I had practically stripped the supply center bare.
The girls were shocked as they looked at the mountain of resources.
"Sister Xiao Han? Did... did the academy specifically sponsor all of this?"
"Hmm... no," I shook my head.
"It's the same as usual, but I've brought almost the entire total resource pool for the joint exam here. I still have to leave half to send to a few other locations. Don't thank me; thank your own persistence. Being able to hold out until now was your own hard work. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to secure so many resources for you."
"What do you mean?"
"It means you've outlasted the other academies~ You're quite lucky. The Tower Lords from the Wizard Academy aren't really competing for resources. The Afuhemi Forest Elves are busy with rescue operations. And as for the Preaching Angels of the Holy Angels... I made a small move, and their entire team violated the rules and has been expelled from the exam grounds~ So, enjoy these resources at your leisure. Keep it up~ I'm rooting for you."
After taking out most of the resources, I toyed with a mana jar containing a thousand points of mana and spoke to them with a beaming smile.
"Oh~ I almost forgot. I checked for you, and killing Abyssal Demons doesn't count toward your score this time. However... if you clear out those demons, the academy will give a reward to everyone who participated. Hmm... as for me personally, I might give you a little something too. Use whatever means you like—even if you have to blow up a volcano, just make sure those demons are completely eradicated." I spoke as I walked, finally coming to a stop as I finished my piece.
Finally, I leaned down and placed the mana jar in front of one of the girls, then my figure vanished instantly from their sight.
Only Xiao You stared blankly at the thousand-point mana storage jar before her... a thousand points... just enough to cast one... Over-Consumption Spellbook.