"A forbidden spell?" Chu Lian showed no reaction whatsoever as she watched the stars rapidly plummet from the sky.
She knew that it was extremely easy for any powerhouse above Heaven Rank to destroy a city. The reason their previous battles had always seemed to lack destructive power was simply because they had directed all their damage toward their opponents, which was why the effects on their surroundings had been so minor.
But if they were allowed to truly cut loose, it would be like unleashing a nuclear bomb. Once the accumulated energy erupted, it definitely would not be something that could be easily resisted.
Back in Miami, she had encountered a dragon that had fallen from Heaven Rank and acted without the slightest restraint. Slaughtering an entire city had been effortless for it, so effortless that even after the United States deployed so much military force, they had still been unable to deal with it.
And this Devil Archduke was even stronger than that dragon. If the energy he unleashed fell upon Sucheng, the city would be wiped off the map tonight.
She could not stop an attack like this, nor did she need to. It was neither something she was capable of doing nor a responsibility she could bear right now.
"Hahaha! In my current state, killing all of you might be somewhat difficult, but destroying this fragile city is simplicity itself." The Devil Archduke had never cared about any life other than his own. To him, destroying a city was just destroying a city. It did not matter how many people died.
Besides, doing this would create trouble for Chu Lian and the others. Would they save the city, or wouldn't they? He very much wanted to see the girls struggling over that choice. It would surely be amusing. Hahaha.
"That's right. Maybe I can't save them, but it'll also be very difficult for you to accomplish that." As Chu Lian spoke, a circular emerald-green magic formation suddenly appeared in the sky.
The formation rapidly expanded until it covered the entire sky above Sucheng, blocking the path of every falling star like a shield fearlessly placed before the muzzle of a gun.
By the time the Devil Archduke cast his forbidden spell, Sucheng had already descended into chaos. Countless people stared at the night sky in shock, terror, or despair.
It resembled a meteor shower, yet was far more conspicuous. Meteors appeared one after another in the sky, each boulder dozens of meters across and blazing with crimson flames, shining dazzlingly within everyone's field of vision.
The scorching heat turned the somewhat cool night sweltering and awakened every living creature.
They stared at the stars rapidly falling from several thousand meters above, and all strength to move seemed to leave their bodies. Even those who wanted to use this chance to flee could no longer do so.
Because everywhere they looked was covered by those massive rocks. Escaping the city was virtually impossible.
It was an apocalyptic sight, and the second time ordinary humans had experienced the terror of supernatural power so vividly.
This was absolutely not a disaster humanity could resist. Only those who were likewise inhuman could stand against it.
They prayed and hoped, but more than anything, they were crushed beneath fear until only despair remained.
The bustling city that never slept seemed to lose every sound at that moment. Only countless beating hearts remained, sounding their final notes in anticipation of their own end.
Then came a voice that seemed to rise directly from the depths of their hearts, a demon's whisper. They could not understand the language, yet somehow knew that the words meant "Falling Stars," making them realize that this calamity had been deliberately unleashed by someone.
As they silently waited for death, a magic formation suddenly spread across the sky. Like divine protection bestowed by a god, it caught the first meteor just as it was about to fall.
Rumble... The deafening explosions continued without end, yet not a single meteor truly reached the ground. Every last one was stopped by the emerald-green formation.
They had survived a catastrophe, but more than that, they had witnessed a miracle. So their city truly had a Guardian protecting it.
Even this apocalyptic scene, one that had appeared in countless movies and television shows, could not harm them.
"Guardian deity..." An elderly man of faith slowly knelt down and began worshiping the sky with utmost reverence.
At first, his family and neighbors did not understand what he was doing. But when they saw that no matter how terrifying the meteors were, they could not break through the formation, they finally understood. One after another, they knelt as well, some with tears streaming down their faces and others trembling with excitement as they kowtowed.
In modern-day Huaxia, kowtowing had already become an extremely solemn form of etiquette. Usually, people would only kowtow at weddings or during the birthday celebrations of revered elders.
Yet now, they prostrated themselves because of the appearance of this miracle. Perhaps it was because, in a world where immortals and gods had vanished for so long that everyone had forgotten them, witnessing something like this reappear was simply far too shocking...
"You still have someone else?" The Devil Archduke stared blankly at the scene in the sky before turning toward Chu Lian and asking somewhat hesitantly.
He had actually suspected this possibility long ago. But because he had never detected anyone, he had gradually dismissed the thought.
Yet his opponents had chosen the exact moment when he was at his most triumphant to reveal this, leaving him at a complete loss for words.
After all, if he had cast a forbidden spell using only his current strength, it obviously would not have possessed such enormous power. At most, it could have covered half of Sucheng.
This forbidden spell had been prepared while he was still at his peak. He had only kept it until now because Eve and Yaya's attacks had been too relentless, leaving him no opportunity to release it.
Yet even an attack like this had been effortlessly blocked by the enemy. A faint sense of foreboding rose in his heart. Perhaps they had not schemed against him because they were foolish or because they lacked sufficient strength, but because...
They were simply too powerful. They were so confident that they could send out all these comparatively weak girls without any of them dying.
Were they actually treating him as a training dummy?
Just how powerful did someone have to be to possess such confidence? He looked at the formation in the sky. One of the strongest attacks he could unleash at the peak of Heaven Rank had been stopped with such ease.
Perhaps it was a Transcendence Realm powerhouse who had stepped onto the supreme path, a divine nemesis capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with gods, an opponent he could never defeat...
"I surrender!" His thoughts moved quickly, so quickly that he reached his conclusion before Chu Lian could even wave her hand and order everyone to attack.
Every weapon stopped a little more than a meter in front of him. Chu Lian stared at him as though she had seen a ghost, completely unable to understand what he was doing.
"I said, I surrender!" By this point, he had even stopped referring to himself with his pretentious royal "we" and simply used "I." Apparently, he understood the situation well enough to know there was no longer any need to keep up the act.
"..." Silence. Even Lia, the Thunder Empress behind Chu Chu, was covering her lips and giggling. Seeing their empress like this, the lightning spirits around her began laughing as well.
Once they started, everyone else lost control too...
Yaya stared at the enemy with an aggrieved expression. She had fought him for so long and had even thought he was an exceptionally formidable opponent. Yet in the end, he turned out to be so spineless that he surrendered the moment he felt like it. Had he even considered how hard she had worked just now?
"Why?" Chu Lian looked at him, unsure what she was even supposed to say. This really was an utterly unacceptable development. In the end, the Devil Archduke had surrendered before they had even begun fighting him in earnest...
"I don't want to die, and I don't want to waste this avatar." The Devil Archduke did not conceal anything and directly revealed the truth.
"That's it? You're sure you'll die?" Chu Lian was speechless. Was he really that convinced he would lose?
Hearing her question, the Devil Archduke did not answer. Instead, he pointed toward the sky and calmly asked, "Do you think I can win?"
With him putting it that way, Chu Lian had nothing to say. Indeed, they would win no matter what. That outcome was inevitable. But shouldn't there at least be a process?
She had even gone all the way back to Origin Land specifically to trade for that bottle of dragon blood, obtaining the Nice Staff that completely countered magic-based classes in preparation for dealing with him. Yet after all that, there had been nothing but foreplay and no climax. It was seriously unbearable.
Still, she could not simply ignore his question. Chu Lian did not deceive him and shook her head. "Impossible."
"Exactly. When you humans face enemies you cannot defeat, most of you surrender. Other creatures also choose surrender in order to preserve their lives. When the situation turns against them, they don't want to die. It's a choice almost every living creature makes. You didn't seriously think I wouldn't surrender just because I'm a devil, did you?" The energy surging throughout the Devil Archduke's body completely subsided. He was clearly demonstrating his friendliness.
"What you're saying makes sense, but it still feels weird somehow." Chu Lian had traveled through other worlds before, so of course she understood his reasoning. Understanding was one thing, though. She still had trouble comprehending the thought process of devils. Was her own brain simply failing to keep up?
"It feels weird because it is." Behind her, Li Mingxue's figure slowly appeared out of thin air. Looking at the towering devil before her, she spoke softly.
"Mom, why are you here?" Li Mingxue's appearance made the Devil Archduke tremble from head to toe in fright. This person's aura was terrifyingly powerful, almost comparable to those ten Lords of Hell.
That only made him feel even more fortunate about his decision. If he had waited a little longer and the fighting had resumed, things probably would not have ended so easily. Still, why did this person seem somewhat familiar?
"I came to see an old acquaintance." Li Mingxue's floating figure descended to the ground. She walked up to the Devil Archduke, tilted her head, and said, "Lilith, how much longer do you plan to maintain that disguise? Do you need me to help you?"
The moment Li Mingxue called him "Lilith," Chu Lian and the others were dumbfounded. This big, stupid-looking brute standing before them was named Lilith?
What she said afterward drew even more attention. A disguise? Could it be that this was not his true form?
"Who are you?" Li Mingxue's words made the Devil Archduke's entire body stiffen. He still did not dare confirm who this person was.
"Such an impertinent little maid, speaking to her master like that. You know you deserve punishment, don't you?" Li Mingxue shook her head with a sigh. Her memory really was far too poor.
A long leather whip appeared in her hand. She swung it hard against the ground with a sharp crack, making the Devil Archduke's body jerk. He had clearly been frightened.
"You are... You are..." The first words still came out in his rough, deep male voice, but the latter abruptly changed into the sweet, seductive voice of a young woman.
Purple radiance flashed. The Devil Archduke's body dissolved into light, and that light transformed into purple butterflies that fluttered outward...