Chapter 417: Closing in to Rank 5

"BOOOOM!"

A blast that broke apart the earth and shattered the sky occurred when the Devil Marquess's hammer connected with Ezequiel's arms.

The Supreme Neo-Demon's eyes narrowed as the hammer blew up his arms and threw him like a cannonball to the ground.

Anger filled the Devil Marquess' face as he saw the damage his attack provoked. 

There were many opportunities when he could have attacked, but it wasn't until the Demon Marquises had tired Ezequiel that he acted.

'I waited for the perfect chance and even used a forbidden spell that allowed me to unleash every ounce of energy I had in one go. How this fucking monster reacted so fast!?' 

Hundreds of thoughts crossed the devil's mind when he saw his attack fail, but there was one that prevailed above everything else.

'I need to kill him now!'

The Devil Marquess's eyes focused on where Ezequiel crashed, but although he wanted, he could not go after him immediately. That last attack generated an energy output too great for his body and provoked a backlash that harmed his inner organs and temporarily paralyzed him. 

He did his best to suppress the backlash the fastest he could. Just when he was ready to move, a titanic figure more than one million meters tall appeared behind him.

The World Strength's Incarnation intertwined his finger and waved his two hands down, like an enormous mace, toward the Devil Marquess.

'Dammit it!' The devil cursed in his mind when he felt the power in the incarnation's attack.

Usually, as a battle carries on, the fighter's power would diminish due to their injuries and energy drain. Nevertheless, regardless of Ezequiel's damage, the World Strength's Incarnation power was always the same.

The Devil Marquess waved his hammer up, charged with heavy and sharp Metal Essence.

Another blast that broke the sky occurred when the duo clashed. The World Strength's Incarnation lost his arms and most of the upper body but managed to push the Devil Marquess closer to the ground.

An odd expression appeared in the devil's face since the collision sent him closer to his target.

As he fell, the Devi Marquess saw the incarnation vanish, and fear appeared in his face when nine spears made of World Strength emerged from the ground and attacked him from every angle.

The devil did not have control over his body and lacked the martial skills to counter the nine spears in his current condition. 

His only option was to burn some of his life force, allowing him to stop his body forcefully, aggravating his internal injuries.

Blood fell from the Devil Marquess's mouth as he turned around and used his hammer to counter the spears. He could see Ezequiel's wounded body on the ground, and killing intent overflowed his heart as he moved closer.

Despite having drained his energy pool, the Devil Marquess's power was tremendous. He needed only one swing from his hammer to destroy the World Strength's spears.

He was about to destroy the seventh, but the moment his hammer touched the construction of World Strength, instead of breaking apart as the others did, he felt something counterattack.

The World Strength's spear vanished, and what appeared in front of the Devil Marquess was an armless white demon with eyes devoid of color and emotions.

What countered the devil's hammer was Ezequiel's right leg that contained every ounce of energy, Primordial Entropy Lightning, and Terminus Force left in the Supreme Neo-Demon.

'This crazy monster!' The Devil Marquess' eyes revealed the shock that filled his heart as the right leg's strength pushed his hammer away.

The Supreme Neo-Demon's attack did not stop there. He twisted his body and sent a kick to the Devil Marquess' face.

'Move, move, goddammit, move!' Panic filled the devil's eyes as he attempted to raise his arms fast enough to block the kick, but unlike in Ezequiel's case, the threat of death was not enough to push him past his limits.

The Devil Marquess' face exploded as the Supreme Neo-Demon's foot struck him, and the Primordial Entropy Lightning and Terminus Force destroyed the soul dimension and True Soul.

By channeling every bit of energy and force in a part of his body, Ezequiel enhanced its offensive might to an incredible level but left the rest of his body exposed. 

That last move was extremely dangerous. If the Devil Marquess had won the clash, Ezequiel would have been open to a direct attack, and with all of his power channeled in his right leg, the rest of his body would have exploded if a spell landed point-blank.

The Supreme Neo-Demon's eyes showed nothing after killing the Devil Marquess, and the replica of him in the ground made of elemental forces vanished.

The resolution to bet his life in a single move allowed the Supreme Neo-Demon to kill the Peak Rank 5 Devil Lord that owned Metal Essence. 

Right after killing the Devil Marquess, Ezequiel began to fall from the sky like a puppet with cut strings, and the white lightning covering his body vanished.

The two remaining Demon Counts who were running away a moment ago saw that, and killing intent appeared in their eyes as they calculated their chances.

Unfortunately for them, before they could even make a choice, a colossal hand of World Strength appeared above them. The duo attempted to run and fight back, but in the end, neither their bodies nor their souls could escape being crushed. 

That was Ezequiel's last move before his Law Avatar vanished, and he fell unconscious. 

....

Unlike the Supreme Neo-Demon, whose injuries were so severe he could not maintain consciousness, the Neo-Demons' Ancestor was in peak condition and growing stronger by the minute. 

Zatiel's cells were in a cycle of death and growth. The weak ones perished, while the strong enjoyed an ocean of life force.

The process enhanced Zatiel's body and improved his comprehension of the Law of Death and the Law of Life, both already nearing the Peak of the Initial level.

The battles between the forces of Duke Krior and the Darkness Poison Duke continued non-stop.

Luckily for the Infernal Rage Titan and the others, Eon Six did not appear again after the fight in the volcano. Zatiel, on the other hand, arrived on the battlefield once every two months, allowing his side to overwhelm the enemy and push forward.

Zatiel's power had grown constantly during this last year. His True Soul reached the Peak of the Fourth Cycle, and his True Doomsday Body neared the Peak of Rank 4 already.

The Neo-Demon opened his eyes and began to analyze his body and the Blood Duke's regeneration pool, which was almost half empty.

'If my calculations are correct, I should complete the enhancement of my body by consuming all the life force and blood energy in this pool. After that, it will be time to seal my fourth Apocalyptic Star and enter Rank 5.' Zatiel did not waste time, and the next second, he was already out of the mountain range and ready to head into the battlefield to temper his body.

Just as he was about to fly away, Zatiel's eyes narrowed, and the Rebirth Eye focused on a canyon six hundred kilometers west of his location. 

A thoughtful expression appeared for a moment in the Neo-Demon's face, and the next second, he flew in the canyon's direction.

It did not take him long to arrive, and standing above a river of poisonous blood was someone the Neo-Demon recognized immediately.