Chapter 195: Attacking Sazim
When Aldrian arrived at Sazim, he instantly created his domain and quickly understood the Middle Emperor Stage devil’s intention: a sacrificial ritual. He had a rough idea of why the devils had become more ferocious and powerful this time—it was because of this. From the memories of the devils he had slain, the vast field was in fact, a sacrificial ground. Although he didn’t fully understand the mechanism, it seemed that once the victims were gathered and the ritual was activated, they would be turned to ashes. As their remains vanished, the devils could absorb the energy from the vast field.
To grant their entire invasion force this power boost, the devils sometimes even resorted to sacrificing their own kind, ensuring that all members of the force would benefit. Additionally, they had been kidnapping people from neighboring countries like the Doria and Vindas Empires for a long time. All of this demonstrated that the devils had been planning to use this ritual for quite some time.
He also discovered another new fact when he created his domain: the thick negative energy was "purified" within its boundaries. The negative energy seemed to return to a level balanced with other energies. It couldn’t be completely erased because it acted like yin and yang in relation to other energies, but it could be controlled to a certain extent.
Negative energy will always exist as part of the natural order, as all beings inherently possess characteristics such as pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. When negative energy disrupts the balance and becomes overwhelmingly stronger than other energies, it leads to a result like the devil territory—a place consumed by "death," devoid of rules or morality, where only the desires of sin are followed.
This discovery was especially useful for Aldrian, as the overwhelming negative energy irritated him and reminded him of that "creature." He couldn’t help but wonder if it was what the devils referred to as their devil god. However, he set those thoughts aside as the devils attacked him. After firing a few arrows at him, they began sending their minions instead. Pressed for time, Aldrian knew he needed to end this quickly and rescue the prisoners.
He focused intently on the devils below, heavenly lightning crackling around his body as the aura of the heavens radiated from him. Unlike his usual wide-area attacks, he couldn’t risk using them here due to the presence of many non-targets. Instead, he carefully selected the devils as his sole targets, his mind working at full speed to mark only them.
The two King Stage devils, who had been staring at Aldrian with wide eyes, began to tremble under the weight of his heavenly might. In fact, it wasn’t just them—everyone below, including those in the entire fortress, could feel the heavens power emanating from Aldrian. The force of the lightning alone was powerful enough to kill even King Stage beings instantly.
There was no more hesitation, no more doubt. The two King Stage devils knew that if they didn’t stop Aldrian’s attack, they were doomed. So, they threw their Peak Heaven-grade spears, already imbued with devil energy, at Aldrian. The power of the spears was enough to kill even a peak King Stage cultivator, and they flew directly toward Aldrian’s body. Their intent was clear—to disrupt his technique, even if they couldn’t kill him instantly.
The other devils below also reacted, launching their own elemental technique attacks from below. It was a spectacular sight, with many things happening simultaneously. As for Aldrian, while he stood within his domain, he was the ruler of this place. With a wave of his control, he created space cracks that swallowed all the incoming attacks, even those from the Emperor Stage devils.
They were shocked that Aldrian could use a space technique while simultaneously preparing his lightning technique. Using a combination of the two elements within the same technique made sense, but unleashing two different techniques with distinct elements at the same time was unheard of.
Each technique has its own flow of energy and requires precise control to be shaped successfully. While different techniques can be unleashed in quick succession, doing so at the same time is impossible. So, when they saw that Aldrian could control the space technique while simultaneously channeling lightning, they were shocked. It was like moving forward and backward at the same time—something that shouldn’t be possible!