"I need the six of you to refrain from making a single move on those eight phantom souls regardless of what happens next. If my life is endangered, I have the capability to protect myself without alarming the phantom souls." Ace unsheathed his sword and instructed, spirit energy cloaked around his body as a safety measure.
Ace was also ready to release his slaughter law if needed, but hopefully, the Astral energy he has cultivated would be enough to deal with the upcoming scenarios.
"Young boy, you may be talented and even if you have the strength to contend against Martial Kings as a Martial Lord, there's no way you can just take out one of the phantom souls without garnering the attention of the others." The Turtle Demon Lord advised with the intention of providing its assistance.
But when its eyes met Ace's gaze, the Turtle Demon Lord averted its gaze instantaneously. Why am I unable to face this youth directly until now? Just how many secrets does he hold from us? In the end, the Turtle Demon Lord dropped this notion of his.
When the others saw the old man sighing, they knew that their strength and capabilities were worth nothing to Ace.
Maybe he only needs us to expand his cultivation force in the future considering that it's a tall ordeal to gain the assistance of demon beasts against humans. Their hearts turned cold at this moment, to think that they were foolish enough to put their trust in Ace.
But what they didn't know was that Ace had a different mindset from what they expected. The only reason Ace wanted them to stay behind, was to keep them safe from any harm. It was a selfish decision he was making, but this was the great path of life he was facing.
Everyone's decisions he makes would never be perfect, the best he could do was make the wisest decision with the least consequences.
"Turtle Demon Lord, I appreciate your assistance up until now. Thank you for helping me to gather the other Demon Lords and revealing their hideouts to me. It may sound selfish all of you, but the only reason I even promised to unseal all of you was for a hidden purpose, which I have to conceal." Ace gave his heartfelt gratitude before stepping into the ominous fog, leaving the Demon Lords to stare at his vanishing back figure.
The Demon Lords remained silent for a few minutes until a deafening thunder in the sky captured their attention. The crackling thunder in the sky was soon accompanied by ominous clouds that were raging upon every life in this dimension.
Sharp blades of rain descended onto the ground, puncturing the trees and grounds, merciless and relentless the rain was as blood soaked the ground in a matter of seconds.
The cultivators trapped in this dimension were able to take cover quickly enough by retreating into the fortress, but not everyone was lucky enough to back off quickly, as the first blade of rain slowed them down before swallowing them whole until only their skeletons were left behind.
The blades of rain had a corrosive element to it, which resulted in countless carcasses littering the ground. Trees were removed straight from their roots, the once lush greenery replaced by the barren ground.
The brimming wildlife and vegetation were erased from existence, the evidence of their historical past embraced and returned to nature.
"Things aren't looking good, we need to take cover right now!" The Silver Talon Demon Lord made the decision without consulting the others as it gathered its demonic energy to form a portal.
"We need to leave right away." The Golden Talon Demon Lord agreed with his brother as he created a gust that swept everyone into the portal before they could change their minds while he flew towards the sky.
"Brother!"
"Golden!"
"Idiot!"
The Demon Lords understood the intentions of the Golden Talon Demon Lord, but what else could they do but behold this spectacle before being sucked into the portal, towards the only location that was probably safe in this dimension.
"Finally I can reveal my true strength…" The Golden Talon Demon Lord mumbled as he brandished his talons.
"You should know that your strength is far from enough to defeat me." The angelic voice from the heavens contrasted with the chaos it was causing as an elegant beauty made an appearance from between the clouds.
The beauty was wrapped in a black robe fabricated from a material unknown to the Golden Talon Demon Lord, but he could sense the ominous energy sealed within the robe.
The facial features of the woman were hidden behind the veil created by demonic energy, but from just her figure and demeanor alone, one could deduce that she was a peerless beauty.
Her wavy violet hair swayed with the arising storm as she gripped onto a crescent shaped sword that was almost two meters long. Carved onto the side of the sword were ancient characters that felt vaguely familiar and unknown to the Golden Talon Demon Lord.
The Golden Talon Demon Lord felt uneasy in the presence of this ominous energy, but he still advanced towards the woman.
"Yue, must you really do this?" The Golden Talon Demon Lord begged with tears glistening in his eyes, but when he saw the cold expression on the face of the woman he once loved, he understood that there was no turning back for them.
"Golden, you were the one who made this decision behind the back of the other Demon Lords." The woman, by the name of Yue, declared as she gathered the chaotic energy of mixed elements around her into the crescent sword.
"You know why I need that strength unlike the others, yet you have never given me the opportunity to explain myself. Yue, please, give me just a moment to explain everything to you."
*Swoosh*
What replied the Golden Talon Demon Lord was a merciless sword wave that he only reacted to at the last moment, but the force of it still sent him crashing into the ground, causing a large crater that only expanded outwards as the ground began to split.
"You'll never receive my forgiveness!"
In the meantime, Ace located the location of the first phantom, but he held onto his unsheathed sword and restrained himself from exposing himself.
The moment he stepped into the deeper areas of the fog, he realised that the eight phantoms had positioned themselves in a cryptic manner. While seven of the phantoms formed a circle around the asleep Demon Lord, the eighth phantom actually remained above the seventh Demon Lord, with the demeanor of a leader, it commanded the others.
The bloodshot eyes of this phantom revealed rage, hatred and most importantly, insanity. The other phantoms remained passive with their eyes filled with fear and despair despite the immense strength each of them possessed.
Without a doubt, this eight phantom was corrupted for unknown reasons and it was most likely the reason for the fall of this seventh Demon Lord.
If Ace wanted to awaken the Seventh Demon Lord, he would have to deal with this phantom first.
This was the prerequisite to completing the mission given to him by the system, it was also at this moment that Ace understood why the system neglected the mission function, which was opened up since the early stages of his cultivation.
This was because the system wasn't able to issue him any mission during the early stages of his cultivation, as his cultivation base was too low at that point of time and even the easiest mission would possibly cost his life.
"Still, how am I supposed to deal with the last phantom?" Ace mumbled to himself, only to notice the phantom nearest to him responding through its minor movement.
"I can help."