After the night raid operation suffered a miserable failure.
The Divine Sword Heroes initiated an internal investigation to uncover the rat within their ranks.
Upon catching the wind of it.
Su Yan quickly fled.
The information and resume she submitted when joining the elite group reserves of the Divine Sword were mostly fabricated, and due to time constraints, her preparations were also quite crude.
If the submitted resume was not closely inspected and scrutinized.
The falsifications were not noticeable.
But once suspected and thoroughly investigated.
Many of its flaws and inconsistencies would be inevitably brought to light.
It was vital to not be so careless with espionage operations in the future. Su Yan was determined to learn from her mistakes and make sure to prepare more identities beforehand to prevent similar situations from occurring again.
Su Yan initially wanted to just escape the Bloody Fortress, but after the news of the failed raid returned, the fortress immediately imposed a curfew and went into a full lockdown.
It was impossible for even Su Yan to escape.
To temporarily hide within the fortress, she could only rely on her ability to continuously alter her identity and appearance while blending in with the crowd, waiting for an opportunity to retreat.
However.
After only being hidden for a few hours.
She was discovered and her location pinpointed.
Just as Zhang Nu remarked, the Divine Sword Heroes Guild had numerous powerful individuals, and among them, there must be some who were skilled in tracking and investigating. Once her identity was exposed, her situation became critical.
To avoid being encircled, she backed herself into a corner.
Just then.
A figure appeared and approached her.
It was a human, donned in a knight's armor, a jeweled longsword was mounted on his waist, exuding a chilling and deadly aura.
Upon seeing his face.
Su Yan's heart sank as if being dunked into freezing water.
The figure was none other than the deputy head himself, He Tianzong.
He Tianzong was very aware that even if the mole was caught, it would be of no avail to the disastrous failure.
But he urgently needed this scapegoat to pacify the situation and cover up part of the responsibility for the failure of this operation, so as to reconsolidate the morale of the army.
"You're a follower of the Dragon Demon King?"
He Tianzong drew out the longsword on his waist, "For a Hero to submit to a Demon King and willingly become his dog? Have you no shame?"
A menacing and oppressive chill filled the air.
Su Yan could feel it.
The immense power of this man.
He was a Level 4 Hero, and not the miserable sorts who forcibly broke through the level. His power had reached the peak of a lord, even infinitely close to that of an overlord.
Su Yan, on the other hand, was only a Level 2.
Though her strength was comparable to a powerful lord ranked.
But the level gap between them was too massive, there was absolutely no chance of prevailing.
Since the situation had come to this.
There was no point in trying to weasel her way out of this.
She might as well put on a fearless facade, "So what? Isn't your Divine Sword mingling with Demon Kings as well? At least I was right to work under the one that is more powerful!"
He Tianzong revealed a cold smirk, "Very well, it seems that you have prepared yourself to die. In that case, I shall oblige your wish."
Su Yan hurriedly exclaimed, "Wait!"
He Tianzong scoffed, "Oh, are you scared now?"
Su Yan panicked as her eyes rapidly wandered around, "If you kill me, it won't end well for you. Boss will definitely avenge me. He only needs to lift a finger, or even just a glance to kill you!"
He Tianzong began to gather his Qi and a cold mist began to permeate throughout the area, causing the ground within a dozen meters to rapidly freeze.
Su Yan quickly continued, "If you are to stop right now, I might be able to recommend you to join our rank. It is much more promising than just staying in the Divine Sword Heroes Guild."
"This is the most ludicrous joke I've ever heard!"
He Tianzong felt disdainful at this assertion. Defecting to a Demon King? No matter how powerful or influential a Demon King is, what could they achieve?
Before the might of the empire.
All Demon Kings were nothing but insects!
He Tianzong already had an imperial background, why would he need to defect to a mere Demon King? Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous!
"I know you're trying to stall for time, but it's meaningless. You don't stand a chance against me."
Negotiations had failed.
"Shadow Bats!"
Su Yan immediately unleashed her skill.
She turned into five black bats and instantly darted away in different directions. This was the talent skill she obtained after killing the Bat Demon King.
Although the skill had no combat power.
It was especially ideal for escaping.
As long as any of the five bats escaped, the user could return to their original form.
"Trifling tricks!"
He Tianzong swung his longsword, the cold current converged around him, enveloping the surrounding space, causing the bats to freeze and fall.
One of them turned back into Su Yan.
[You've received an attack from "Frost Battle Qi"! HP -50. Movement speed reduced by 50%!]
Shu Yan was shivering from the cold.
This man's battle Qi was really powerful.
Su Yan had no hope of escaping. She stomped her feet, shattering the ice. Suddenly, her originally petite stature grew to a height of two meters, transforming herself into a towering golem.
Rock Golem Form!
With a powerful punch, Su Yan hammered towards He Tianzong.
However, before the punch could even reach He Tianzong.
The surrounding chilling and freezing battle Qi surged forth and swarmed towards Su Yan, enveloping the entire arm and encasing it in a thick layer of ice, which ultimately stopped the punch right before He Tianzong.
"Futile resistance!"
He lightly tapped the ice with the hilt of his sword.
The massive arm of the rock golem shattered into pieces along with the ice.
Su Yan was overwhelmed by despair. The two were two levels apart and the gap between their strength was just too great!
There was no way she could win against such an opponent!
If He Tianzong was not trying to capture her alive, he could have taken her life with ease just now.
"You will pay for what you've done!", he declared as he brandished his longsword.
"Frost-Sealing Blade!"
He thrust forward with a stab.
This stab would not kill Su Yan, but it would seal and completely encase her in a prison of ice, allowing He Tianzong to later interrogate this rat in front of the army.
He planned to pin the blame on Su Yan and her information leaking for the operation's failure.
With this method, he could steer the fear and frustration of the army into anger. Then, by executing her in front of the masses, he could quell the unrest among his men.
And yet.
All of a sudden.
The attack he built up and the frigid Qi around them vanished.
He Tianzong was appalled and horrified to find a towering figure appearing abruptly before him.
This huge figure was three meters tall, with dark golden scales and a pair of massive dragon wings. With just two fingers, the figure caught the blade of the sword as if it was just a falling tree leaf.
"Boss! It's really you! How did you get here?"
Su Yan exclaimed in surprise.
He Tianzong froze in terror, "Dragon Demon King?"
The Demon King revealed a menacing smile, "This is our first time meeting, deputy head of the Divine Sword Heroes Guild, you're a little weaker than I thought."
That statement was a bit of a gut-wrenching put down.
However, Zhang Nu did only use two fingers to unleash the Abyssal Devouring skill, and effortlessly caught He Tianzong's strike with just his bare hands.
Which proved that this statement was not mere empty words.
And the sight of it.
Was enough to evoke fear in this Level 4 Hero.
"Shit!"
"But how?"
"How did you get in here!"
He Tianzong immediately disengaged and backed off, "Forget it, it doesn't matter. I was getting concerned on how to deal with you. But now that you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, don't even think about leaving!"
He threatened, readying to summon his subordinates.
No matter how immensely powerful the Dragon Demon King was.
He could not possibly take on the forces of the entire Bloody Fortress by himself, right?
Not only were there several tens of thousands of troops stationed in this fortress, there were also numerous Heroes and powerhouses dispatched by the empire, among which were other Level 4 Heroes.
If they all struck altogether.
Forget a mere Level 4 Dragon Demon King.
Even a Level 5 overlord would be obliterated.
He Tianzong did not even have time to signal for reinforcement when he suddenly witnessed a peculiar sight. A slit appeared in between the Demon King's eyebrows and from within, a scarlet red and sinister eye emerged.
[You've been corroded by the Evil God's aura. HP -19. All stats reduced by 1 point!]
[You've been corroded by the Evil God's aura. HP -18. All stats reduced by 1 point!]
[You've been corroded by the Evil God's aura. HP -21. All stats reduced by 1 point!]
[...]
Just by getting stared at.
His HP was rapidly declining.
The stats were also afflicted with a temporary decrease.
He Tianzong had never encountered anything as bizarre as this, but something even more unimaginable and incomprehensible occurred next!
A surge of intangible energy.
Instantly engulfed his entire being.
[You've received an attack from "Death Stare". HP -9999!]
Su Yan could not comprehend what had just happened.
She saw the Boss take a glance at the Hero, who then let out a terrible cry, followed by his body exploding and disintegrating into dust in the thin air.
"What's going on?"
"What in the world is this?"
The Boss actually killed the Hero with just a glance!
Su Yan previously thought that the phrase "if looks could kill" was just an exaggerated metaphor!
But the Demon King demonstrated to her himself just moments ago, that not only could his gaze kill, but it could decimate someone so thoroughly that not even a single trace of him was left.
This was just too absurd!
He Tianzong was not just some nobody either.
He was the deputy head of the Divine Sword Heroes Guild. But, if an existence like him could not even withstand a single gaze from the Demon King, how monstrously terrifying had the Demon King's strength become now?
[You've slain a Level 4 Hero. Hero's Soul +1! Skill stone+1!]
Zhang Nu was taken aback by the frightening power of the Death Stare and even more so by its consumption.
Just by activating it once.
It was seemingly a casual and effortless move.
But in reality, it depleted almost half of his total MP.
The Eye of Death was also suffering from a sizzling pain and could not be used again temporarily.
This skill was tremendously powerful, with its near instantaneous execution, the attack was nigh impossible to dodge. Death Stare was indeed a fearsome skill.
Unfortunately, its consumption was also staggering.
There was also a relatively long skill wind up and wind down.
If the opponent was taken out with a single attack, that would have been fine. But if Zhang Nu missed, or the opponent survived, it would have exposed him to great vulnerability.
This skill was obviously meant to be kept as a trump card.
It should only be used during critical moments.
Zhang Nu found that he did not have enough mastery over the Eye of Death.
But with enhanced strength and continuous practice.
He would eventually be able to control the eye with ease in the future.
Or even develop new skills from it.
Su Yan canceled her rock golem form, "Boss, how come you're here?"
Zhang Nu uttered, "Of course I'm here to siege the fortress. I just happened to find you to be cornered here, and you can't even win against a small fry like him, you're still too weak."
Su Yan was this close from ripping her own hair out.
Did he really just say that? Was that even something someone with a heart would say?
What the hell did he mean by "can't even win against a small fry like him"?
He Tianzong was no small fry at all. If Su Yan even had half of his strength, she could walk among the Heroes with her head held high.
So it turned out.
The reason why Zhang Nu appeared here was because he wanted to replicate the method he used during the attack on Giantree City.
Zhang Nu first used his Abyssal Devouring to erode the Bloody Fortress's defense and create a breach.
He had originally planned to bring the draconian priests into the very heart of the fortress and allow the priests to activate the teleportation fields to summon the draconian legion.
However, he quickly discovered.
This approach would not be feasible in the Bloody Fortress.
The Bloody Fortress was equipped with a spatial interference formation.
This kind of magical formation was very common in large cities in the civilized world.
Almost all full fledged cities imposed airspace flight ban and spatial magic ban, mainly to guard against unknown invaders. For this reason, human mages had researched and invented spatial interference formation.
When a city was set up with a spatial interference formation.
All spatial teleportation magic would be rendered unusable.
This was a vital security mechanism in all major cities.
Bloody Fortress was a city secretly established by the Thunder Empire. Naturally, they possessed this kind of magical formation technology, and had of course deployed such a defense mechanism in advance. Therefore, attempting to use spatial teleportation to set up an ambush assault from the inside was no longer possible.
Nevertheless.
It did not matter.
Li Si, along with the other priests, had activated their teleportation fields in the woods nearby. By now, Zhang San and the draconian legion should have finished teleporting.
Although the ambush approach was no longer viable.
The Bloody Fortress was not constructed for long.
Its city defense system was not well established.
Given the strength of Zhang San and the draconian legion, even if they launched a head on assault on the Bloody Fortress to take it down, it would not be a difficult task for them.
With the fortress's current defense, it had no hope in stopping them.