The intense and bizarre mes coiled around the Archduke of Blood like maggots, continuously burrowing into his body and evaporating into streams of magnificent golden mist.


    Immediately—


    Wherever the mist spread, the parched earth began to regain its vitality. The bodily tissues of a divine being were a tremendous boon for the mundane world!


    "You... dare!"


    In the instant the Archduke of Blood was ambushed, the Origin of Chaos he had gatheredpletely copsed!


    However...


    After sessfullynding their surprise attack, the two divine-level demons did not feel the satisfaction they had imagined; instead, they were left slightly bewildered. They could hardly believe they had seeded so easily!


    How could the Archduke of Blood be so na?ve after his resurrection? Did he really think that the two of them were allies and that he didn''t need to be on guard?


    This scene inexplicably struck the two demons as—absurd!


    At the moment their attacksnded, they almost believed that the Archduke of Blood had some passive ability that allowed him to absorb the strength of others to be stronger.


    But the reality was...


    This divine-level demon, who had grown to such a formidable level after countless schemes and betrayals, had really made a foolish error??


    Suddenly, both divine-level demons disyed extreme regret, mainly because the previous attack had been a bit too harsh, utilizing their specialized Iridescent-Level abilities.


    They had anticipated that the Archduke of Blood would have foreseen their attack and easily dodged it. However, after avoiding their powerful strike, resisting the main world''s deities'' attacks would be no easy feat, likely resulting in significant injuries and slightly tipping the bnce of power.


    But now...


    The Archduke of Blood had been heavily wounded at the first encounter, potentially allowing the main world to gain an advantage, which would, in turn, be detrimental to the two divine-level demons. They still wanted to y those three deities to seize their power.


    This...


    Wasn''t right!


    What happened next was self-evident.


    The three main world deities, who were about to interrupt their attack, also disyed expressions of "as expected," along with a hint of surprise.


    Indeed, two kinds of emotions.


    The first was because the main world deities knew the nature of demons; with the Archduke of Blood''s overwhelming power, how could the other two divine-level demons feel secure? Internal conflict was bound to arise!


    The second was that they hadn''t anticipated the Archduke of Blood would be so severely injured—what else was there to say?


    Take advantage of his illness and im his life!


    The light of eternal night swiftly enveloped the Archduke of Blood, transforming into a scroll-like creation that firmly encircled him. Ultimately, the Archduke of Blood''s entire form was rendered as a bizarre, cartoonish demon figure against the backdrop of the night sky.


    Despite struggling vigorously, his efforts only made the cartoon representation shift from a simple drawing to a hyper-realistic image, creating aically absurd sight.


    At the same time, this demon astonishingly began to age at an elerated rate, causing not only a dramatic decline in his attributes but also a significant reduction in his life force and the limits of his vitality.


    This was the scene after Marlon unleashed his full power!


    Divine power!


    It was an exceedingly terrifying force in the lower realm! The Archduke of Blood, who possessed the Origin of Chaos, could not disregard an opponent of the same caliber.


    Next, countless beams of light, reflecting off myriad mirrors, rapidly dazzled as space fractured and matter vanished.


    Including the scroll painted with the night sky, the Archduke of Blood could not escape this annihtion. He was swiftly torn apart!


    One could only see the cartoonish demon figure shredding into pieces, while the half that had managed to escape took on a realistic appearance, now covered in wounds and gravely injured.


    At that moment, thest ray of iridescent light flickered to life. However, this time it faced the other two divine-level demons, who, afterpleting their ambush, proactively moved to defend against further attacks.


    The final strike aimed at the Archduke of Blood was unexpectedly called off.


    At this point...


    The battle on both sides officially concluded, and the Archduke of Blood quickly broke free from the scroll without further interference, revealing a very disheveled appearance.


    His lightning armor had been forced to dissipate, and his body was covered in wounds, exposing his hollow chest. It was an exceptionally bizarre sight: after his resurrection, the Archduke of Blood seemed to have lost his heart!


    He red fiercely at the five divine beings present, then transformed into a streak of blood light, causing the other five divine-level entities to suddenly lose any trace of the Archduke of Blood.


    In the sky, the storm clouds that had been swirling around finally began to dissipate slowly.


    Yet, the five deities remained on high alert.


    After all, the Archduke of Blood might not have fled; if he were to use his perfect ability to conceal himself for a surprise attack, the unfortunate target would face dire consequences.


    High above, an eerie atmosphere settled as the five deities stood still, waiting.


    After several tens of seconds passed, they finally realized that the Archduke of Blood had indeed departed.


    ...


    As the sh officially came to an end, the demigods and Supremes in the fortress below finally reacted.


    "This... We actually held him off."


    "Divine Lord! We pushed back!"


    "Indeed, the demons will ultimately be defeated!"


    "Long live the Divine Lord!"


    ...


    Most people felt a sense of relief after the cmity and offered their praises to the three deities in the sky.


    However, they all knew that the figures from the upper realms had already fled during the previous encounter. If it weren''t for the two demons from Hellunching a surprise attack, the Archduke of Blood might have taken down all three of the main world deities with ease.


    At the same time, some individuals were discussing the situation.


    "Did you see that? The two lords from the upper realms just ran away! Just how much wealth must the upper realms possess?"


    "No wonder the deities from various factions are scrambling to leave Alpha 8."


    Others focused on different aspects of the situation.


    Yet, they revealed a fact: just how prosperous must the upper realms be for its denizens to look down upon everything in the lower realm?


    ...


    The remaining five divine-level entities above showed no reaction to the musings of the ants below. They exchanged nces and then departed in their own directions.


    For divine-level demons, the deities of the main world were always moving treasures.


    Likewise, while the inhabitants of the main world couldn''t directly absorb the power of a in divine-level demon, they could still receive rewards from the [Transcendence] system, which were also quite substantial.


    The two sides were naturally in a death struggle, but they had momentarily joined forces to prevent the Archduke of Blood from crushing everything.


    Now, although they returned to their own domains and prepared their ns, both sides had exposed significant intelligence through this battle.


    The thoughts of the deities and the demons were the same; they hoped to leverage this information to deliver a decisive blow!


    Then...


    With a whoosh!


    The two divine-level demons swiftly retreated to a distance, raising their hands to open two spatial rifts, through which arge number of demons and Hell yers emerged.


    This scene resembled a cascade of stars falling from the heavens, showcasing the sheer number of Hell yers and demons that appeared.


    No wonder the two divine-level demons had been deliberately ughtering the demons and Hell yers of thisyer; the forces now appearing were considered their direct subordinates.


    When the three deities returned to the Blood Red Fortress and sensed the turbulence of the spatial rifts outside, they immediately unfurled a scroll. Golden light streamed through the rifts, surging directly into the main world.


    They were also gathering their forces!


    Although they hadn''t mobilized as early as the divine-level demons, many powerful individuals had already gathered in the Principality of Florence, eager to venture into Hell and seize opportunities.


    Moreover, at this moment, the yers from the main world in the fortress still had a slight advantage in strength, sufficient to hold out until reinforcements arrived.


    Thus, a war that seemed to be winding down was reignited with renewed intensity.


    ...


    Meanwhile, Sterl quietly withdrew to the edge of the battlefield.


    He didn''t rush to return to his main ount; instead, he blended in with the Swallowing Heaven yers.


    Sterl''s n was to use his new main ount identity as a reinforcement from the main world, while he yed around with his secondary ount in the meantime...


    However...


    Divine-level entities had already entered the fray.


    Sterl decided to observe from the sidelines for a day.


    He discovered that the battlefield was no longer the free-for-all it had been before.


    Previously, the deities had no desire to intervene in the conflict. They looked down upon the rewards and benefits from the activities, and now, both sides had turned their forces into chips and pawns in the game of the gods.


    On the first day of the renewed battle, as the armies shed, divine strikes asionally rained down. Those targeted were often some of the better-performing Supreme demigods.


    These unfortunate souls met swift ends. Only a few managed to struggle briefly, exhausting all their escape tools before being crushed by the interested deities with another strike.


    One word: terrifying!


    Sterl''s only thought was to keep a low profile.


    By the way, on this day, he also allocated points to obtain an Emergency Escape Device for unforeseen circumstances.


    ...


    "Mephistopheles, my friend, you''re lucky to have encountered me."


    "The battlefield is so chaotic right now that very few are willing to help others."


    "I don''t need much from you, just eight hundred!"


    A rotund troll with green skin and a seemingly simple demeanor, yet shrewd eyes, said with a smile.


    Sterl''s secondary ount was mingling behind this troll, among a group of people chained together.


    These individuals were all severely injured but not dead, found by this troll on the battlefield. To be saved, they simply had to sign a contract agreeing to pay a substantialpensation upon returning to the camp.


    Typically, those who reached the status of demigod or legendary figures had enough resources not to default on such debts.


    Of course, if they failed to pay the ransom, they would remain bound by the chains.


    Despite the utter chaos in Hell, the process of signing contracts was simr to that in [Transcendence]; under the Swallowing Heaven system, no one dared to vite them.


    Sterl promptly paid the 800 purple gold coins.


    This high-level currency was used universally in both Swallowing Heaven and [Transcendence].


    The cost for the troll was minimal; he merely had to move the individuals and use some of the most basic healing potions. His demigod abilities specialized in stealth, and he cleaned up the battlefield after the fighting had ended, so it was not dangerous for him at all.