Above Moon Lake, a pinkish mist pervaded the air.
Amid the thick haze, Lin Lei and his companions simultaneously released their 'God Domains,' pushing back the surrounding pink fog. A single divine-level powerhouse's Domain didn't cover much ground, but with over a thousand experts unleashing theirs at once—
The area above the castle was instantly cleared of every trace of mist.
"Someone's already dead and we haven't even gotten inside," Lin Lei thought grimly. That pink mist had just spread through the area, and many people had let it touch their spiritual senses—especially those already brimming with killing intent, who went berserk on the spot.
In the blink of an eye, nearly ten mid-level gods had perished.
"That mist is no joke," Bei Bei remarked with grudging admiration. "Good thing I didn't extend my divine sense."
Dilia, however, said, "I heard the sounds of fighting, so I released my divine sense to see what was happening. Of course, the moment I heard that warning, I pulled it right back." Lin Lei turned to look at her, alarmed:
"Dilia, are you all right?"
A chill ran through him at the thought of what might have happened.
"Do I look like I'm not all right?" Dilia answered with a smile.
"I just felt a flicker of agitation and a slight impulse to kill. It was all well within my control," she explained.
Lin Lei suddenly frowned and glanced to the side, where two mid-level gods were conversing.
"Axu, we're in real trouble this time. This is poison mist refined by a high-level god who practices the Laws of Death—extremely expensive stuff. And the owner of this Moon Lake Castle uses it as casually as if it were nothing. On top of those magical arrays before… At the very least, it proves one thing: the castle owner is fabulously wealthy."
"Right, and this killing-madness mist isn't even the worst of it. Back in Black Sand Castle in the City of Wings of Death, I once saw someone selling a type that can cause your very soul to spontaneously combust and collapse just from contact with your spiritual sense. But the price was astronomical."
Nearly a thousand mid-level gods who had come for the examination buzzed with discussion. They all hovered in midair, waiting for the twenty-odd demons to make their decision.
Without the demons taking on the castle's master and the black-clad guards, nobody dared charge inside.
Everyone—including Lin Lei—understood the situation perfectly. The owner of this Moon Lake Castle had likely shown only the tiniest fraction of what he was capable of. His real trump cards hadn't been played yet. How could mid-level gods like them walk in there and throw their lives away?
On the lowest level of Moon Lake Castle, in a spacious hall.
A steward in purple robes stood to one side, while an old man with black hair and eyebrows that hung down to his chest sipped fine wine and asked calmly:
"Belom, have you scouted the situation outside?"
"My lord, the ones leading the group out there are demons." The purple-robed steward furrowed his brow. "My lord, the situation doesn't look good. It appears someone deliberately posted a quest against us at the Demon Castle." When demons got involved, anyone would be worried.
The castle's master was no exception.
"Oh?" The black-haired old man knitted his brows and pondered for a moment.
"No matter. Anyone who enters the castle—kill them all," the old man said in a low, cold voice. "All gold-clad guards—you handle the deployment. Distribute the God-Slaying Arrows and everything else. Someone deliberately targeted me? When this is over, I will investigate."
"Yes, my lord!" The purple-robed steward bowed.
Above Moon Lake Castle, the group of hovering figures—including their leader, Loisus—were equally troubled.
Loisus knew full well that with enough money and influence, one could purchase all manner of forbidden items in Black Sand Castle and turn a fortress into a deathtrap. Even he wouldn't dare charge in blindly.
"There's no other way," Loisus said, his face grim, looking at the demons around him.
The demons exchanged glances.
They had faced situations like this before. All of them knew exactly what had to be done—
Use the demon examination candidates as cannon fodder! Let them storm the castle first!
Swoosh! Swoosh!…
The twenty-odd demons shot upward almost simultaneously, positioning themselves above the large crowd of examinees. A voice rang out:
"Now that the poisonous mist has spread and the castle is impervious from the outside, we have no choice but to go in through the interior! You—roughly a thousand of you—split into ten squads and enter the castle one after another through the various windows and passageways. The demons will divide into ten small teams and follow behind you. Handle the ordinary gold-clad guards yourselves. If you encounter black-clad guards, the demons will intervene!"
The moment these words left his lips, the faces of the nearly one thousand mid-level gods hoping to take the examination changed dramatically.
"Bastards! They're using us as cannon fodder!" Lin Lei cursed inwardly.
Everyone understood instantly. But Lin Lei and the rest didn't dare resist… because they all knew just how terrifying a powerful high-level god could be.
Against a high-level god who had become one through absorbing a divine core—like Crampton—perhaps a large group of mid-level gods might join forces and bring him down.
But Loisus, a five-star demon, was an entirely different story.
To become a five-star demon meant he had undoubtedly merged Laws and profound insights. A single five-star demon could slaughter all thousand of them without breaking a sweat. And there were three five-star demons! On top of that, plenty of four-star demons as well! Resistance was simply not an option.
"You—you form one squad," a demon began assigning groups immediately.
But the mid-level gods didn't move.
"Hurry up! Or would you prefer to die right now?" a cold voice rang out. In the end, the mid-level gods exchanged helpless glances and complied.
There was no choice.
"Mid-level gods teaming up to take us on? Not a chance," Lin Lei muttered, glancing at Moon Lake Castle. "The corridors inside won't be very wide—two or three people abreast at most. Even if a hundred pour in, they'll never be able to simultaneously attack the high-level gods behind them."
With no hope of resistance, all the mid-level gods could only obey.
After all, the demons weren't trying to kill them—just sending them in first. There was still a chance to survive.
"Hey, we'll take this squad!" Crampton called out eagerly.
Typically, two or three demons would follow behind each hundred-person squad.