Chapter 340: The Ascension Begins
Zhang Nu's use of the power of the Eight-Eyed Evil God was more than enough to instantly kill Tarak. However, he did not go for the kill. It would be a waste to directly eliminate such a powerful Demon King. After all, Tarak ranked around the top ten among Demon Kings. Killing him within the same faction would yield no rewards, but leaving him for Zhang Nu's own Heroes to finish off would bring immense, unparalleled rewards.
Thus, at the moment Tarak was about to be killed, he found that everything, including the flow of time, had stopped. His destroyed body began to rapidly repair itself.
"This is... the power of time!"
He realized, in utter despair, that not only could he not defeat this entity, but he couldn't even die a swift death. Zhang Nu had used the power of time to rewind his state from certain death to near-death. Tarak had never felt such hopelessness before. He never imagined that an individual could possess such overwhelming strength. It was beyond any comprehensible description.
"What on earth are you?"
Although he knew he was doomed, he at least wanted to understand what kind of entity he was up against. He activated an S-rank insight skill, hoping to glean detailed information about Zhang Nu.
[Abyssal Dragon (Eight-Eyed Evil God Transformation)] Level 6 divine unit, HP???, MP???...
Despite his Level 6 legendary titan strength and the powerful effects of his S-rank insight skill, the information Tarak could see was extremely limited. He could only discern Zhang Nu's race, state, and level.
Level 6... Divine Unit!
Tarak had never imagined that a divine unit could exist in this world. The fact that the No. 1 Demon King was a divine unit was simply unbelievable and explained why Zhang Nu was so overwhelmingly powerful.
Previously, the Dark Titan Demon King had always believed that even if he wasn't the strongest being in the world, he was certainly among the top few. He thought that only a handful of beings were qualified to challenge him. However, after facing Zhang Nu, he realized the enormous gap between himself and the true strongest being. This gap was the difference between a legendary unit and a divine unit. Such a disparity couldn't be overcome by mere numbers.
Before obtaining the essence of the Evil God, Zhang Nu, despite his immense strength and deep power, couldn't entirely disregard enemy quantity. After all, HP was finite, Zhang Nu was also limited by his extremities; he could die from exhaustion or lose combat capability when his power was depleted.
However, after collecting all eight Evil God fragments and fully grasping the essence of the Eight-Eyed Evil God, Zhang Nu could transform into an Evil God for a short period. In this Evil God form, he retained all his abilities. The most significant change was his transcendence from the limitations of ordinary beings, ascending from a legendary unit to a divine one.
No one should underestimate this leap. It was more significant than any previous rank transitions, even more than all the previous rank transitions combined.
The leap from mortal to divine was monumental. A god's life force was eternal and indestructible; there was no method in this world to truly kill a god. A god's mana was infinite, able to draw strength from the very roots of the world, making it nearly impossible to deplete a god's power through exhaustion.
Therefore, in his transformed state, Zhang Nu possessed at least two key traits. First, he had true immortality, rendering him impossible to kill. Second, his power was limitless; he could continuously unleash his strongest attacks without the concern of running out of mana.
Locked HP and MP, as if he were cheating. Mortals, no matter how powerful, even those with the legendary prowess of a supreme pope, reaching Level 7 legend, could not single-handedly challenge an entire empire. But a god could. After all, there were ancient records of Evil Gods bringing about the apocalypse.
Evil Gods, chaotic and malevolent, were still gods. Throughout history, sealing an Evil God required the combined efforts of at least five empire-level forces, mobilizing millions of elite warriors and all their strongest champions to restrain the god. With the aid of specific supreme artifacts, they could separate the god's godhood to dismantle its immortality. However, this method essentially only sealed the Evil God.
Once the fragments of the Evil God reunited, the Evil God would be instantly resurrected. Zhang Nu had fully awakened and stolen the power of an Evil God. Although he could not yet fully wield all the power of an Evil God in his current state, the power he possessed was more than sufficient to deal with a mere Demon King city.
......
Half a day later, the battle at Titan City had settled. The Titan Demon King had been sealed by Zhang Nu using the power of the Evil God and imprisoned in his divine realm.
Despite the destruction of most of the city's infrastructure, a considerable number of giants had survived. However, these surviving giants had undergone significant transformations. For instance, one dark titan was now covered in black scales with black bone spurs protruding from its body. In addition to its two normal eyes, it had three pairs of eyes arranged side by side on its chest and abdomen, totaling eight eyes.
From their appearance, they were no longer titans but classic monstrosity minions of the Evil God. Zhang Nu had used the power of the Evil God to corrupt the entire Titan City. The weaker units had mutated into completely insane, mindless Evil God monsters. Stronger beings had also been corrupted and influenced by the Evil God, undergoing irreversible physical and spiritual distortions, ultimately being transformed into minions of the Evil God.
As minions, they fell under Zhang Nu's control. These titans and giant units, already formidable, had become even more powerful after being infused with the vast power of the Evil God. Titan City was valuable to Zhang Nu, so he had corrupted these titans. He planned to take control of the city and develop it into a stronghold in the Abyss.
"That's about it. I should head back," Zhang Nu said, having accomplished his goal.
He didn't linger in the Abyssal World and activated the teleportation stone, returning to the main hall of the Darkness City.
Zhang Nu had only been gone for two days. Zhang San and Li Si reported the recent events to him. Upon learning about the conflict between Han Kexin and Ophelia with the Radiant Pope at the cathedral, Zhang Nu merely let out a cold scoff. He immediately knew who was behind it---Lucas, the former Radiant Pope.
Zhang Nu promptly utilized the power of time to predict the upcoming events. From his predictions, he saw that Lucas would soon lead a coalition army to attack the Demon King. This coalition would be extraordinarily powerful, with several immensely strong Heroes besides Lucas, and many potent trump cards.
One of these trump cards was the Radiant Church's core artifact, the "Heart of Holy Light", which possessed tremendous power and was the only thing that could pose a threat to Zhang Nu in his Evil God state. After all, only something of divine proportions could combat a divine entity.
Although none of these events had transpired yet, Zhang Nu clearly saw them in his vision. He hadn't anticipated the Radiant Church having such a powerful artifact capable of opposing an Evil God. Fortunately, he had foreseen this intelligence, otherwise, facing it unprepared could have resulted in some significant setbacks. This made it clear that although Zhang Nu had become almost invincible to all the world's Heroes, these top-tier Heroes still had some cards to play. It's always wise to be cautious.
Zhang Nu decided to proceed with his breakthrough. To prepare, he summoned Han Kexin. When Han Kexin learned of Zhang Nu's plan, she was both excited and thrilled. "You've gathered all the materials needed for the breakthrough? Does this mean you can immediately ascend to Level 7?"
Zhang Nu nodded, "Yes, I've met the conditions to reach Level 7. However, transitioning from Level 6 to Level 7 is an immense transformation. I anticipate this process will take some time."
Han Kexin asked, "How long do you think it will take?"
Zhang Nu estimated, "Around seven days. But according to my calculations and predictions, the Radiant Church's forces will arrive near the Chaos Forest in about five to six days."
Han Kexin nodded, "Go ahead and focus on your breakthrough. I'll hold them off. With the current strength of the Chaos Federation, we should be able to handle the Radiant Church."
Zhang Nu shook his head, "No, you mustn't underestimate them. The Radiant Church is not that simple!"
He then shared his visions with Han Kexin. After witnessing the scale of the Hero coalition and the demon-slaying army, Han Kexin was deeply shocked. "I didn't expect Lucas to be able to muster such a force!"
Zhang Nu said, "Even with our current power, dealing with their assembled forces will come at a significant cost..."
"So, until I return, your task is to hold the line. I will grant you the highest authority!"
Han Kexin thought for a moment and then nodded firmly. "If it's just a matter of maintaining defense, with our capabilities, it shouldn't be a problem!"
After making the necessary arrangements, Zhang Nu wasted no time and began his breakthrough. The Darkness City had an extensive reserve of souls, allowing Zhang Nu to easily gather one million soul points.
[You've activated the Level 6 Talent "Chaos Dragon God"!]
[You've activated all Level 6 talents, meeting the conditions for advancement. Congratulations on reaching the highest tier strength in this world!]
[You are about to advance to a divine-class unit!]
[You will need seven days to complete the ascension!]
Zhang Nu activated his final talent. This activation meant that Zhang Nu was on the verge of advancing from a Level 6 unit to a Level 7 unit. Moreover, by consuming the essence and godhood of the Evil God, Zhang Nu had activated the Chaos Dragon God. This breakthrough would propel him from a Level 6 legend directly to a Level 7 divine!
In other words, after this advancement, Zhang Nu would directly ascend to godhood. He would become a true Dragon God!