The endless influx of demons into Sancti Roman, if left unchecked, would render even the most advanced weaponry and powerful Archmages helpless against the swarming demonic hordes.
Xiao Xun had witnessed firsthand the terrifying sight of these demons blanketing the borderlands on a previous occasion, and he was determined to prevent such a scene from recurring.
Demons emerging from the portal beside him attempted to intercept him, but he slew them all with a single sword stroke.
With the sharpness of the Star of the Kings, Xiao Xun easily carved a large gap in the demonic portal.
Just then, a piercing, shrill howl erupted, followed by a barrage of arcane magic directed at Xiao Xun. It was Bossidul, launching her attack.
However, perhaps realizing that arcane magic would have little effect on Xiao Xun, Bossidul, while attacking him, focused more on using frost magic to defend and reinforce the demonic portal. Her aim was to stall for time, waiting for a Demon God to arrive and deal with Xiao Xun.
"You court death!"
Xiao Xun cleaved his sword against the ice crystals she had conjured. While he shattered the ice, he failed to destroy the portal. He instantly teleported next to her and swung his sword towards her head.
Blood bloomed like flowers underwater. Looking at Bossidul's head, Xiao Xun felt a sense of disbelief. He hadn't expected to kill the mermaid queen so easily.
After all, Bossidul's power far surpassed that of an ordinary Archmage. Before the arrival of the King of Greed, she was the absolute ruler of the boundless seas.
Xiao Xun was confident he could defeat Bossidul, but he had never imagined killing her with such a simple sword strike.
Though filled with questions, he had no time to ponder them. A large number of demons were closing in, attempting to prevent him from destroying the demonic portal.
Xiao Xun killed the demons that reached him while continuing his assault on the demonic portal.
With the sharpness of the Star of the Kings, destroying the demonic portal was not difficult. After just a few more strikes, the portal's pillars were completely severed.
The massive demonic portal began to tilt, unable to teleport any more demons from the void.
The surrounding demons, in a panic, fled into the distance to escape the collapsing demonic portal.
Ultimately, the demonic portal was swept away by the underwater currents.
The time from Xiao Xun killing Bossidul to destroying the portal was very short.
Since arriving in this world, Xiao Xun had not had a single day of peaceful happiness. He had also lost the person he loved most. He would settle this score with Nero.
Suddenly, the seabed trembled, and a pair of massive ram's horns burst forth from the ground.
Simultaneously, a surge of violent demonic energy erupted from the earth, exuding an astonishing aura. It was clear that whatever was emerging from underground was incredibly powerful.
"Is this the legendary Demon God Nero?" Xiao Xun felt both surprised and tense.
His confusion did not last long, as the threat from underground soon fully revealed itself.
It was an immensely large demon, sporting a pair of massive, curved ram's horns. Its face was a starry expanse, with a single, terrifying eye in the center that blazed like a star.
Its eye was filled with a faint green light, and its exposed skin was covered in dense inscriptions. Wild energy seeped from the gaps between these markings.
In its hand, it held a broken sword wreathed in green flames.
Though called a broken sword, due to its colossal size, it was still tens of meters long, appearing utterly monstrous.
However, Xiao Xun soon discovered that Nero's power was not as formidable as he had imagined.
"This guy's power seems less than the King of Greed's... Could this be Nero's avatar?"
"This is troublesome..." Xiao Xun's heart grew heavy.
The appearance of Nero's avatar completely reversed the favorable situation, tilting the scales towards the undead army.
The avatar of Nero, upon emerging from the ground, directly swung its sword at him.
"Die!" the avatar of Nero roared.
To Xiao Xun's surprise and dismay, the voice was not only filled with hatred but was also a shrill, feminine cry!
"Is this... Bossidul's voice!?"
Xiao Xun immediately recognized the owner of the voice, and his heart sank.
He had thought he had killed the maddened Bossidul with a single strike. Now, it seemed Bossidul had not gone mad but had been in control of everything all along—from the King of Greed's battle with the dragons, to the subsequent descent of the Demon God, and now the current stalemate.
"It seems she was prepared. She probably abandoned her mermaid queen form before I killed her, transferring her soul into this avatar of Nero." Thinking this, Xiao Xun felt a chill run down his spine.
He had ultimately underestimated Bossidul, or perhaps it was the mermaid queen's sheer cunning that had outmaneuvered everyone present.
Despite Xiao Xun's constant caution, he felt the terrifying nature of the schemers in this world when facing Bossidul.
"Fortunately, Bossidul's power is not very strong, otherwise she would have already thrown Sancti Roman into utter chaos."
However, the current situation offered him no room for further consideration.
The avatar of Nero, wielding its monstrous broken sword, was already lunging at him.
"You've truly been patient. Not long ago, you were still discussing cooperation with me and Mestor..." Xiao Xun narrowly dodged the attack.
The colossal avatar of Nero had closed the distance, standing before Xiao Xun.
"I will kill all of you!" Bossidul's voice was sharp and piercing, radiating boundless madness.
Wherever her massive broken sword passed, even space distorted, and fissures of shattered reality appeared... Her close-quarters combat prowess even surpassed that of the King of Fear!
Although Xiao Xun dodged the blow, almost simultaneously, countless chaotic spells were unleashed upon him, forcing him to use the Star of the Kings to block once more.
At the same time, the broken sword in the avatar of Nero's hand preemptively struck the spot where he had reappeared. Bossidul's mastery of magic was so profound that she could predict his exact location after he reappeared.
This filled Xiao Xun with immense frustration. Previously, he had been the one to suppress everyone with his formidable weapon and chaotic magic; now, the tables had completely turned.
However, with the situation having changed, relying on a war of attrition to win was no longer possible.
"Bossidul, if I could kill you once, I can kill you a second time!"
Just as the outcome of the battle seemed inevitable, the ground, which had already turned into scorched earth, began to tremble.
"Your struggles are futile, Sveinn. Today is your day of death! All who resist the Demon God shall perish!" Bossidul's voice, filled with hatred, rang out, laced with immense mockery.
The massive broken sword swung rapidly towards Xiao Xun, trailing overwhelming green flames that seemed capable of incinerating everything.