Kaelan walked out of Moonflow City.
Now that he had become a true Demon General, he wanted to test his strength.
After leaving the city’s suppression array, he spread his wings and took to the sky.
The wind rushed past his feathers as he flew above the forests surrounding Moonflow City.
Beyond them lay the mountain ranges stretching toward the Dead Bone Mountains.
Kaelan had no intention of attacking demons.
Doing so would bring unnecessary trouble.
More importantly, demons were sentient beings.
He had no desire to kill people simply because he could.
If sufficient benefits existed, he could slaughter an entire city without hesitation.
But without reason, he saw no point in creating enemies.
That was why he had chosen the Dead Bone Mountains.
The mountains were filled with fierce beasts.
Unlike demons, they possessed little intelligence.
Most acted purely on instinct.
According to the information he had gathered within Moonflow City, the Dead Bone Mountains had once been one of the major battlefields during the fall of the Night Dynasty.
Countless soldiers and demons had perished there.
Over the centuries, their bones had accumulated into mountains.
Thus, the region became known as the Dead Bone Mountains.
As Kaelan flew, his Spiritual Perception remained spread across the surrounding sky.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.
Three presences followed him.
All three were Demon Generals.
All three were eagle demons.
A cold smile appeared beneath his beak.
“Looks like I won’t need to visit the Dead Bone Mountains after all.”
He abruptly stopped.
His wings spread wide.
The air beneath him rippled as he turned and faced his pursuers.
Several hundred meters behind him, the three eagle demons immediately halted.
Rowan blinked.
“Brothers, it looks like he discovered us.”
Acer’s expression turned serious.
“I’ll take the front.”
He pointed toward Kaelan.
“You two cut off his escape routes.”
The brothers moved immediately.
One climbed higher into the sky.
The second descended beneath Kaelan.
Acer accelerated directly toward him.
The broadsword hanging across his back flashed.
With a metallic ring, it left its sheath.
The blade gleamed beneath the sunlight.
The eagle demon shot forward like an arrow.
Kaelan remained motionless.
His black feathers fluttered gently in the wind.
His mind instantly divided.
One thought became two.
Two became four.
Four independent streams of consciousness began working simultaneously.
This was a habit he had developed during his two thousand years drifting through the Void Ocean.
The endless journey had been unbearably monotonous.
To pass the time, he often played chess against himself within his Soul Space.
At first, it had merely been a distraction.
Then one day, his mind had unexpectedly split into two independent streams of thought.
Over centuries of practice, those two streams became four.
Now he could perform four separate mental tasks simultaneously.
Four minds.
Four calculations.
Four spell constructions.
Dark violet Demon Energy surged around him.
Four Energy Bullets formed at once.
Acer’s eyes widened.
“What—”
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Four deafening explosions echoed through the sky.
Four streaks of violet light shot toward him.
Acer’s instincts screamed.
Without hesitation, he abandoned his attack.
Demon Energy erupted from his body.
A defensive field formed around him.
The shield barely finished forming before the first bullet arrived.
Bang!
The energy field shattered instantly.
The second bullet struck.
Acer felt as though a charging Scale Elephant had slammed into his chest.
The third bullet pierced through the remnants of his defence.
The fourth exploded against his body.
Agony erupted throughout him.
Blood sprayed from his beak.
The broadsword flew from his grasp.
Then his body spiralled downward through the sky.
Far below, the forests rushed toward him.
Kaelan watched calmly.
For a moment, he considered firing another Energy Bullet.
Then a cry rang out.
“Brother!”
The eagle demon below immediately shot upward.
Abandoning his position, he raced toward the falling Acer.
His wings beat frantically as he attempted to catch him before he crashed into the mountains.
Kaelan ignored him.
Instead, he slowly raised his head.
A new threat approached.
The eagle demon above had already launched his attack.
Sunlight reflected from the longsword in his hands.
Brilliant white light gathered along the blade.
The energy became increasingly concentrated.
Until the sword resembled a beam of sunlight.
Then the eagle demon descended.
His body became a streak of silver light.
The shining sword pointed directly at Kaelan.
The attack tore through the sky like a descending meteor.
Kaelan remained perfectly calm.
His Spirit locked onto the incoming opponent.
The shadow beneath his body stirred.
Darkness flowed across his feathers.
The battle had only just begun.
Kaelan folded his wings and dived toward the mountains below.
Behind him, the eagle demon wielding the radiant longsword accelerated in pursuit.
The distance between them rapidly closed.
Kaelan remained calm.
Demon Energy surged beneath both wings.
The Energy Propulsion Spell activated.
Streams of violet energy erupted downward like twin jets.
The force accelerated him forward.
At first, he deliberately limited the spell’s output.
His speed increased steadily rather than explosively.
The eagle demon saw this and immediately increased his own speed.
In his eyes, Kaelan was attempting to flee.
As long as he remained close enough, Kaelan would have no opportunity to cast another powerful spell.
The distance continued shrinking.
One hundred meters.
Fifty meters.
Thirty meters.
The snow-covered mountain rushed toward them.
The ground grew closer and closer.
Twenty meters.
Ten meters.
Five meters.
The eagle demon’s eyes flashed.
He was preparing to strike.
Then Kaelan suddenly moved.
The energy propulsion beneath his wings ceased.
Yet the compressed energy did not dissipate.
Instead, it remained gathered beneath his wings.
Kaelan tilted his body.
His left wing dipped.
His right wing rose.
Less than ten meters above the snowy slope, he executed a sharp turn.
At that exact moment, the stored energy detonated.
Boom!
The propulsion spell erupted at full power.
Kaelan shot upward like a violet comet.
The burst of acceleration far exceeded his previous speed.
He streaked directly past the eagle demon.
The sudden manoeuvre caught the eagle completely off guard.
His attention remained fixed on Kaelan’s body.
He instinctively followed the crow’s trajectory.
Only when he began turning did he notice something was wrong.
Too late.
The shadow beneath Kaelan twisted.
Darkness stretched outward.
The shadow transformed into a long vine.
Like a living serpent, it shot toward the eagle demon.
The shadow vine wrapped around his leg.
Then it tightened.
Kaelan jerked downward.
The eagle demon instantly lost his balance.
His half-completed turn collapsed.
Instead of rising into the sky, he was violently dragged toward the mountain.
“No!”
Boom!
His body smashed into the snowy slope.
Snow exploded in every direction.
The eagle tumbled downward uncontrollably.
Rocks shattered.
Trees snapped.
Then the entire mountainside began moving.
A low rumble echoed through the valley.
The snow collapsed.
An avalanche erupted.
Thousands of tons of snow thundered down the mountain.
Within moments, the eagle demon disappeared beneath the white torrent.
Kaelan hovered silently above the mountain.
His Spiritual Perception swept across the avalanche.
Yet he could no longer detect the eagle’s body.
Only endless snow.
Then a shout echoed through the mountains.
“Brother!”
The second eagle demon immediately dived toward the avalanche.
Twin swords appeared in his hands.
Flames erupted from their blades.
One slash.
Two slashes.
Three slashes.
Fire blades shot into the snow.
Large sections instantly melted into steam.
At the same time, Acer climbed back into the air.
Blood covered much of his body.
The wounds caused by the Energy Bullets had already closed.
Yet Kaelan could clearly sense the instability within his aura.
The eagle remained heavily injured.
Acer spread his wings.
Powerful winds erupted around him.
The blizzard created by the avalanche was blasted away.
Together, the two brothers frantically searched for their buried sibling.
Kaelan watched calmly.
Then Demon Energy gathered before his beak.
Dark violet light condensed.
The Energy Missile Spell began forming.
The fluctuation immediately attracted the attention of both eagle demons.
Their expressions changed.
Neither had forgotten the destructive power of that spell.
“Find him faster!” Acer roared.
The two brothers increased their output.
Flames surged.
Winds howled.
Snow exploded apart.
Meanwhile, the missile slowly formed.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Kaelan frowned slightly.
This was precisely why he disliked the spell.
Its power was excellent.
Its casting speed was terrible.
Ten seconds was far too long during a real battle.
A powerful opponent would never patiently wait.
By the time the missile fully formed, nearly ten seconds had passed.
The enormous projectile floated before Kaelan.
Its surface gleamed with dark violet light.
Dense energy fluctuations spread throughout the sky.
Then Kaelan fired.
Boom!
The missile descended toward the mountainside.
At that exact moment—
Boom!
The buried eagle burst out of the snow.
His feathers were covered in ice.
His face was pale.
Yet he was alive.
The three brothers immediately saw the incoming missile.
None of them had time to dodge.
Instead, they attacked.
The longsword shone with brilliant white light.
Twin swords unleashed blazing fire.
Powerful winds condensed into razor-sharp blades.
Three attacks struck the missile simultaneously.
BOOM!
The sky exploded.
Fire.
Wind.
Light.
And Demon Energy collided together.
The resulting explosion illuminated the entire mountain range.
Shockwaves swept across the snowy peaks.
Avalanches erupted on distant mountains.
Snowstorms filled the sky.
A moment later, three figures burst through the explosion.
The eagle brothers charged directly toward Kaelan.
Their eyes burned with fury.
They no longer underestimated him.
Kaelan looked at the incoming trio.
Then he quietly shook his head.
“Fun and games are over.”
The brief battle had already given him the answer he wanted.
Against a single Demon General, he possessed overwhelming superiority.
Against three experienced Demon Generals working together, victory would be difficult.
The reason he had dominated the battle so far was simple.
Surprise.
The brothers had not known his abilities.
Now they did.
The next exchange would not be so easy.
Kaelan no longer hesitated.
His Spirit erupted.
Boom!
An invisible pressure descended upon the battlefield.
The charging eagle brothers froze.
Their eyes widened.
Their bodies locked in place.
Fear appeared first.
Then terror.
The pressure crushing down upon them far exceeded anything a Demon General should possess.
It resembled the pressure of a Demon Lord.
The pressure of a superior lifeform.
The three brothers suddenly felt as though death itself had wrapped its claws around their throats.
High above the mountains, silence fell.
Kaelan remained motionless.
Then he turned his gaze northward.
A large metallic-feathered crow was flying toward the battlefield at high speed.
Kaelan immediately recognised him.
Francis.
Upon the metallic crow’s back rode Denver.
The Silver Fox elder was clearly rushing toward the disturbance created by the battle.
Kaelan looked back toward the frozen eagle brothers.
His Spirit surged once more.
The invisible pressure crashed directly into their minds.