Chapter 417: Forcing Out The Fire Demon King's True Form

A burst of green light erupted like a supernova—dazzling and violent.

Skill: Poison Starburst.

Lin Moyu's finishing move began with this Poison Starburst.

At level 48 and amplified by his talent, Poison Starburst dealt 24,000 damage per second. With Enhance Troops boosting it by 500%, the attack now struck with a 144,000 damage per second.

While this damage might not seem like much to the Fire Demon King, Lin Moyu was more interested in another aspect of the skill.

When poisoned, the target's recovery ability was suppressed—an inherent trait of poison-type skills.

The Fire Demon King’s recovery was monstrous. If left unchecked, it could completely undermine Lin Moyu’s finishing move.

The first step was to shut down its recovery ability.

By this time, the corpses were already in position, descending from above.

The Fire Demon King sneered, “A poison-type skill? Pathetic! That weak attack won’t even scratch me!”

But Lin Moyu wasn’t done.

The fresh corpses detonated in rapid succession, drowning out the Fire Demon King’s voice.

This time, the Skeletal Great Mage and Skeletal Marksmen went all out.

In an instant, the Fire Demon King’s defenses were shattered.

Then the Fire Demon King’s agonized scream echoed through the sky.

The Skeletal Berserk Warriors charged like bolts of lightning. With stacked buffs pushing their agility close to 800,000, they became blurs of motion.

In the blink of an eye, the Skeletal Berserk Warriors were already upon the Fire Demon King.

Axes gleaming crimson, they activated their skill—

[Berserk Blast (level 1): deals 500% of the user's strength as damage to the target. Cooldown: 10 minutes.]

With a strength attribute of 800,000, amplified sixfold, the Skeletal Berserk Warriors swung their axes with a crushing 4.8 million points of raw force.

The Fire Demon King's defenses were shredded like paper, black blood and searing flames bursting into the air.

Its agonized screams rose a pitch higher.

The Skeletal Berserk Warriors were Lin Moyu’s true finishing move—far deadlier than Elemental Explosion of the Skeletal Great Mages or the precision shots of the Skeletal Marksmen.

Corpse Explosion, Elemental Explosion, sure-hit arrows, and Berserk Blast—four devastating attacks converged, mauling the Fire Demon King in an instant.

Writhing in pain, the Fire Demon King tried to flee. It roared, “Lin Moyu, you dare deceive me?!”

Only now did it realize—Lin Moyu had been playing weak all along.

Playing the pig to prey on the tiger.

But it was too late.

As it attempted to take flight, it found its tentacles restrained—the Lich Generals clung tightly, refusing to let go.

Not just them—the Skeletal Berserk Warriors had jammed their bony hands deep into its wounds, anchoring themselves inside its flesh.

The Fire Demon King thrashed wildly, unleashing a raging inferno that engulfed the Lich Generals and Skeletal Berserk Warriors alike.

Even so, its monstrous strength allowed it to lift off—dragging the undead troops with it.

And then—a flicker of fire ignited in Lin Moyu’s palm.

Skill: Soul Blaze.

With a 500% damage bonus, the searing flame crashed down.

Another scream tore through the sky as the Fire Demon King plummeted, nearly blacking out from pain.

The agony was unbearable, the torment beyond comprehension—it shattered the Fire Demon King's thoughts, momentarily leaving its mind a blank void.

When it finally came to, it shrieked in horror: “What kind of skill is this?! Why does it hurt so much?!”

Its voice trembled—with fear.

For the first time, the Fire Demon King regretted coming for Lin Moyu.

This wasn’t a human. This was basically a monster in human skin.

How could someone under level 50 do this to a Demon King?

It feared it might actually die here.

But Lin Moyu didn’t let up.

He had 30 seconds to finish the job—10 had already passed.

The Fire Demon King was grievously wounded, but not dead yet—and Lin Moyu knew that wasn’t good enough.

The Demon King thrashed in desperation.

Its body sprouted more eyes. Then, those eyes narrowed, flattening like slits.

Suddenly, beams of light swept out like sharp swords.

Skill: Death Slice!

It looked like Death Ray, but it wasn’t. Where Death Ray was explosive and forceful, Death Slice was thin, fast, and razor-sharp—built to cut, not blast.

The slicing beams struck the Skeletal Berserk Warriors, cleaving them clean in half. They fell instantly—killed on the spot.

Lin Moyu’s Comprehensive Link talent was rendered useless once again.

Next, the beams hit the Lich Generals.

Their high physique kept them from being sliced through, but the impact sent them flying.

Lin Moyu’s eyes narrowed.

Why had his talent failed again? It worked against Death Ray—so why not Death Slice?

Was this the Demon King’s talent at play? Or was there another factor? There was no time to analyze.

“Die!” With a furious roar, the Fire Demon King sent beams of Death Slice sweeping toward Lin Moyu himself.

Having witnessed what happened to the Skeletal Berserk Warriors, Lin Moyu didn’t dare take them head-on.

If his other talent failed too, that would be the end.

Lin Moyu retreated swiftly, while fresh Skeletal Berserk Warriors—fearless, relentless—rushed in to take his place.

He had come too far to stop now.

Less than 20 seconds remained. If the Fire Demon King wasn’t slain within that window, Lin Moyu would die instead.

There was no turning back—only forward. Advance, or perish. Retreat meant certain death.

And Lin Moyu believed one thing: the Fire Demon King's skill had a limit.

If Death Slice could be used endlessly, why hadn't it used it from the start?

Under the relentless sweep of Death Slice, waves of Skeletal Berserk Warriors were cut into pieces—felled on the spot.

But for every fallen Skeletal Berserk Warrior, more charged in from behind.

The Fire Demon King couldn't kill them fast enough.

They lunged forward, axes swinging—their strongest attack unleashed—before clinging to the Fire Demon King, locking it down.

The Fire Demon King howled in rage, unleashing Death Slice again and again.

Still, they kept coming.

Lin Moyu even deployed the reserve Skeletal Berserk Warriors from the summon space.

Meanwhile, the Skeletal Great Mages and Skeletal Marksmen fanned out, continuing their assault while staying alert for new skills.

In just five or six seconds, the Fire Demon King unleashed over ten thousand Death Slice beams—fired from hundreds of secondary eyes and two main eyes.

Over 3,000 Skeletal Berserk Warriors were annihilated.

But in return, the Fire Demon King bled heavily.

Its massive spherical body had collapsed inward, like a deflating balloon. The flames that covered it now flickered—fading, dying.

Lin Moyu didn't let up. He pressed the assault, relentless as ever.

Fresh corpses arrived—new weapons in his hands.

Thunderous explosions echoed across the battlefield once again.

And then, with only 10 seconds left on Enhance Troops, a deafening blast shook the air.

The Fire Demon King exploded.

The resulting flames surged across the entirety of Plateau No. 3.

Abyssal Fire rained down from the sky, engulfing the dungeon in a fiery storm.

But instead of relaxing, Lin Moyu grew even more alert.

There was no system notification. The Fire Demon King wasn’t dead.

Through the blazing inferno, he saw it—

A small figure emerged from the flames: a scrawny, child-sized Demon, barely a meter tall.

Once, the Fire Demon King had been a massive sphere over five meters wide. Now, it was a runt.

Instinctively, Lin Moyu cast Detection.

[Gnome Fire Demon (Demon King rank)]

[Level: 90]

Lin Moyu’s eyes narrowed.

So this… was the Fire Demon King's true form—a Gnome Fire Demon.

Among Abyssal Demons, Gnome Fire Demons sat at the very bottom, just barely above mindless demonic creatures.

In the brutal hierarchy of the Abyss, where strength ruled all, weakness was a death sentence.

Yet this one had reached the rank of Demon King.

It must’ve stumbled upon an unbelievable opportunity.

Despite its fearsome status, at its core, it was still a low-tier creature—and that truth was dangerous.

If word ever got out, stronger Demon Kings would hunt it down and force it to reveal the opportunity it had obtained.

After all, whatever had enabled a Gnome Fire Demon to ascend to the rank of Demon King must be something extraordinary.

“I’ll fight you with everything I have!” The Fire Demon King roared, then lunged at Lin Moyu like a bolt of lightning.