NOVEL WEB Chapter 236: Beast Clan Meeting
"You're still alive, that's some luck you've got," the Demon King squatted beside Archimonde, patted the terrified Archimonde, and chuckled, "Although I saved you, it doesn't mean I'll let you off."
Archimonde certainly knew what the Demon King was referring to, but if the Demon King truly intended to kill him, he wouldn't have bothered to save him.
Archimonde was quite sharp-witted and promptly said, "I'm willing to accept whatever punishment Your Majesty deems fit."
"Heh, a smart man is indeed a smart man," the Demon King looked down at Archimonde kneeling on the ground, "But I really loathe smart people, if it weren't for your usefulness, I'd have torn you into thousands of pieces long ago!"
As a top-notch manager and military master in Hell, even though Archimonde stole his woman and killed her, the Demon King could still tolerate it. After all, the grand cause was much more important than a woman, wasn't it?
Having said that, the Demon King then left directly.
A shadowy demon grinned and waved at Archimonde, "Please, Demon Lord."
Throughout the journey, Archimonde did not speak. Under the guidance of the shadowy demon, he arrived at Akanon's Soul Lake, which was now unusually bustling compared to its usual calmness.
The Soul Water boiled continuously, filled with the roaring of countless Hell Demons.
"Hey, look who's here, it's little Arch. Hahaha, looks like you're dead too."
"I always said, a trash that can only scheme will end up dead sooner or later. It's not their turn to call the shots in Hell."
"Liesuotus, Liesuotus, where's that trash? Show yourself to me now!"
A violent tremor emanated from the Soul Lake, and then Liesuotus's massive soul was tossed out of the lake, landing right in front of Archimonde.
Looking at the powerless Liesuotus and those memories sealed deep within his heart, Archimonde looked up at the Demon King above the lake with an extremely terrified expression.
Those voices belonged to the former tyrants of Hell, the earliest strong beings who entered the Abyss and mutated, possessing the most primal bloodline of Demons, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them the progenitors of Demons.
Why, why hadn't the souls of these progenitors dissipated and instead lay dormant in the Soul Lake? What terrified Archimonde wasn't these progenitor demons, but the undisturbed Demon King upon the lake.
It was known that demons didn't need to cultivate, as devouring their own kind was their means of advancement. When the progenitor demons fought and devoured each other, Hell nearly went extinct.
Back then, Archimonde was just a worthless little demon who hadn't even made the Second Transition. Fortunately, he was seen as valuable by the Demon King and was taken in to serve under him.
After a hundred years of slaughter, the Demon King had defeated all the progenitor demons and ascended the throne as the Demon King of Hell.
Everyone thought that the Demon King had devoured the progenitor demons to gain supreme, unparalleled power, but seeing the spirits of the progenitor demons today, Archimonde understood that this Demon King of Hell was an anomaly; he could cultivate! He became powerful not by devouring the progenitor demons, but through cultivation.
A demon that could cultivate? Who the hell would believe that?
Yet reality lay before him, and Archimonde had no choice but to believe it.
"Little Arch, did you betray Hedel too?" a voice of a progenitor demon soul floated beside Archimonde, with a slight sneer on its face.
"It was foolishness, and I regret it," Archimonde didn't deny and admitted his mistake.
"Then tell us, what have you done to betray Hedel, give us a good laugh."
"That…," does messing with his wife count? Archimonde muttered inwardly, yet dared not speak it aloud.
Just then, Demon King Hedel spoke, "Silence."
Faced with the oppression of the Demon King, those arrogant progenitor demons instantly fell silent.
Looking around, he declared, "From this day on, Hell will seal itself for a hundred years. After a hundred years, you will all regain your bodies and expand the territory for my Hell!"
"Hahaha, good, good!"
"It should have been like this a long time ago!"
"I've waited too damn long, really too long, I want to kill, I want to slaughter, slaughter all those who dare to rebel!"
The most ferocious was the last to speak, the founding Hell Demon, the Blood Ancestor Gudo. As he spoke, a thick blood-killing aura swept through heaven and earth.
Archimonde and Liesuotus' souls trembled in the bloody storm, nearly extinguished.
"Enough," the Demon King waved his hand to calm the Blood Ancestor's aura, and said indifferently, "I hope you fulfill your duty as you've promised."
"Yes, yes, I will, but I hope you also don't forget the promise you made to us."
"Of course."
The Ancestor Dragon had long since left without finding a trace of the shade demon, while on the side of the beast clan, after this hellish journey, the Lionheart God was quite setback. As for the Fallen Wolf God and the Yin Snake God, they had been so battered that they stayed shut in their own bedrooms all day, neither leaving their door nor taking a step outside.
The Lionheart God also hadn't figured out how to recount this experience to the other beast clan Heavenly Gods.
Originally, they had arrived in latter days with the grand ambition to dominate the world and had discovered the frailty of this world. Then they slaughtered, recklessly destroying everything their gaze fell upon, as if they had already mastered the world.
Unfortunately, the Hell Demons and the Netherworld God gave them a setback, casting them down into the dust.
After half a year of contemplation, the Lionheart God finally convened a collective meeting of the Heavenly Gods of the beast clan.
The Yin Snake God and the Fallen Wolf God also heeded the call of the Lionheart and attended the meeting.
The location was the once Imperial Palace of the beast clan.
The Fallen Wolf God, who had arrived first, was immediately surrounded by a host of Heavenly Gods.
"What exactly happened? Why won't you three say a single word after coming back from Hell? At the very least, you should give us some explanation!"
The Fallen Wolf God glanced at the others: "You'll know soon enough, there's no need to rush at this moment."
"Can't you just give us a hint? At least let us prepare ourselves mentally."
"In any case... it's not good news," the Fallen Wolf God sighed deeply, then fell silent.
Seeing no answers forthcoming, the crowd turned to approach the newly arrived Yin Snake God.
This Yin Snake God was even more resolute, emitting a ring of poisonous aura to keep others at bay.
"Have their brains gone mad?" some discontentedly murmured.
Amidst the dissatisfied voices, the Lionheart stepped into the hall, and in a moment, the surrounding noise vanished, with all eyes fixed on the Lionheart now standing at the center.
"How shall I put this," the Lionheart pondered for a moment, organizing his words: "This journey to Hell was an utter failure. Although we stopped the revival of the Hell Demon King and permanently solved the threat that Hell brought, but!"
"But I also realized my own weakness. In front of top-tier Heavenly Gods, I am like a toy that can be manipulated at will. That feeling of insignificance and helplessness, you all must have felt it. I have felt it just the same."
No one thought the Lionheart God was joking; they all felt this way in front of him. So, how formidable was the one who could make the Lionheart God feel this way?
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not trying to scare you, nor do I want to describe too much about the Hell incident. I've called you here to expose our soft underbelly—the weaknesses of our beast clan."
At this moment, one of the beast clan Heavenly Gods spoke up: "May I ask, Lord Lionheart, what is our soft underbelly?"
"Two things: first, domain! Second, realm!"
"Domain?" The beast clan Heavenly Gods looked at each other in confusion: "What is a domain?"
"In Hell, there is a Demon Lord named Liesuotus, whose domain is 'guaranteed hit,' as the name implies. If you are within the opponent's domain, you cannot evade any of his attacks."
At these words, all the Heavenly Gods gasped: "Isn't that a bit too overpowered? Impossible to dodge?"
"Yes, impossible to dodge. As long as your power is inferior to his, then you stand no chance. Besides this domain, powerful Hell Demons all possess their unique domain skills, and without my own domain, I had no power to resist in my encounters with them. We must, too, explore the power of domains, grasp it, and enhance our strength."
As the Lionheart God finished speaking, someone urged, "Then, Lord Lionheart, what about this realm you mentioned?"
"Realm is the direction of growth for a Heavenly God, and it is divided into three tiers: mortal, earth, and heaven. Everyone present today, including me, is at the mortal tier."