"Mighty unknown magical beast, if you submit to me, I will grant you a status second only to my own, allowing you to do as you please without fear," the Balrog offered to Matatabi, attempting to recruit it.
Matatabi, having long been itching for a fight, responded to the Balrog's overtures with a merciless gaze and no spoken words.
Opening its maw wide, countless specks of light drifted towards it, and a black sphere of concentrated energy slowly began to form.
The Balrog understood this as a response delivered through action. Enraged by such disrespect, it raised its serrated long blade and roared, "As a price for provoking me, your corpse will forever stand beside my castle."
Accompanying the Balrog's roar, the demon army surged forward, nearly pushing Li Xi's demon legion along with them. At this moment, Li Xi's demon legion's defeat was sealed, and victory was only possible with a miracle.
Even more terrifying, the ten Pit Lords standing behind the Balrog were no longer mere ceremonial guards but had moved onto the battlefield from behind the Balrog. They carved paths through the enemy like slicing through melons and vegetables, leaving behind a death road paved with corpses, heading towards Li Xi and his allies.
With these ten Pit Lords joining the fray, Li Xi's demon legion's collapse was like an unstoppable avalanche. Li Xi's demons were reverting to the Balrog's allegiance.
Just then, the black sphere completed its energy convergence. Matatabi stepped forward and swallowed it. Its stomach swelled, and in the next second, a beam of yellow light shot straight towards the Balrog.
Before the Tailed Beast Bomb's attack could reach the Balrog, the demon army engaged in combat along its path was vaporized, creating a vacuum corridor. Anything in the path of the Tailed Beast Bomb's energy attack was annihilated.
The Balrog watched the Tailed Beast Bomb's energy wave charging towards it, showing no intention of dodging. It shifted its body, its bones creaking, and stomped its feet firmly into the ground. It roared ferociously, its aura surging. The silkworm in Li Xi's heart trembled even more violently, sensing the plane's terror.
The Balrog swung its long blade, drawing its hand across the blade, and a layer of lava spread across its entire surface.
Taking a deep breath, energy tides rolled around him. At this moment, he was not just a simple brute. A faint energy also coalesced in front of his body, forming a not-insignificant energy barrier. He was no pitifully thin-blooded vampire; demons of the Balrog's caliber had no weaknesses. Their defense was as strong as a dragon's, their melee combat could make giants weep, and their innate spells were more skillfully wielded than those of spellcasters.
Facing the incoming Tailed Beast Bomb energy column, he slashed horizontally with his blade. A shrill sound echoed, and the intense heat of the blade made the surrounding air shimmer.
The Tailed Beast Bomb's energy wave arrived.
The blade arrived.
"Boom."
A small mushroom cloud rose from the explosion.
The Full Moon Plains, already ravaged by multiple high-power attacks, could no longer withstand it. Layers of earth several meters to tens of meters thick were blown upwards, creating countless ravines. The uneven gullies, like shards of broken glass, transformed the once life-sustaining plains into a desolate environment of death and flames.
The dust kicked up by the blast swept outwards like a sandstorm, obscuring the sky and plunging the already dim red plane into a world of low light. As the explosion site was very close to the battlefield, countless demons were crushed by the fierce winds and the earthquake-like movement of the ground.
"Hahahaha."
Before the dust had even settled, the Balrog's maniacal laughter erupted from within, its voice resonant and showing no signs of injury.
"Unknown magical beast, your strength is recognized by me. Rest assured, I will preserve you as a specimen and display you forever in my castle."
Unfortunately, the Balrog's confident and arrogant laughter had not yet faded when a second black energy sphere, traversing the distance, smashed into the dust.
"Boom."
Another mushroom cloud rose. The recently blown-up ground layers on the Full Moon Plains were pulverized. The very stones at the center of the explosion vaporized without a trace. The newly formed hills, gullies, and uneven volcanic peaks vanished, turning from a changed landscape into a desert, as if their brief existence had fulfilled its purpose.
The demon army once again suffered calamitous damage. Apart from the higher-ranking demons who stood out like pillars, the remaining lower-ranking demons cowered on the ground, praying that such an attack would not fall upon them. As for the pitifully few enemies remaining, they could wait; there was no rush. It wouldn't be too late to fight after their masters decided the outcome.
However, before the aftershocks of the attack even arrived, they were buried by successive layers of sand carried by the wind.
Such frequent explosions naturally did not just affect the Full Moon Plains. Wave after wave of explosive shockwaves propagated throughout the entire small plane.
The shockwaves, like successive waves on the ocean, transmitted the explosive energy to every corner of the plane. Everything on the ground, affected by the shockwaves, vibrated incessantly. Due to the immense power of the shockwaves, small stones shattered after a few bounces. The vegetation rooted in the ground was ejected from the earth, its internal veins completely shattered into several segments.
As for the creatures living on and beneath the surface, several shockwaves passed over them, turning their entire bodies into pulp, beyond any hope of recovery.
The dark clouds in the sky, which had previously been illuminated by the red moon, were instantly dispersed like autumn leaves swept by the wind, turning into vapor and merging with the air. Not a single dark cloud could be found in the sky.
What was once a relatively ordinary abyssal environment, this small plane now had ninety-nine percent of its sparse vegetation pulverized. The native life forms Li Xi had encountered upon teleportation had long since returned to the embrace of death, becoming mere historical memories. The small plane had finally transformed into a desolate world for survival.
Black sand filled the sky, and fierce winds raged, with sand particles like a torrential storm attacking all life. It was as if the plane's retaliatory consciousness was expressing its anger towards the perpetrators of destruction. If you dared to open your mouth to breathe, the next second, your respiratory tract would be filled with black sand.
"Roar."
A roar of pain emanated from the black sand. Even with the howling wind, the sound of pain could not be masked. Clearly, the Balrog, caught off guard by the Tailed Beast Bomb, was injured.
As for the origin of this second Tailed Beast Bomb?
Other demons and insectoid soldiers could not see clearly, but the evil god's silkworm, one with Li Xi, saw it all. Its notoriously deceitful host had somehow transformed into a large turtle with three tails.
Its size was several times larger than the strange, blue-flamed cat beside it.
"You... you... you... what exactly are you?" the evil god's silkworm stammered in shock. You claim to be human, and it's understandable that you can transform into a Balrog due to your Pit Lord bloodline.
But what was going on with you transforming from a Balrog into a large turtle? Do you also have the bloodline of a large turtle?
That's a bit far-fetched, isn't it?
"I never said I only had one Tailed Beast within me. I can summon a total of nine such Tailed Beasts." Li Xi, as if having lived as a pauper his entire life and suddenly becoming wealthy, was showing off his assets to friends and family.
"Tailed Beasts?" the evil god's silkworm had never heard of such a thing.
"Yes, the Three-Tails Isobu I've transformed into, and the Two-Tails Matatabi beside me, are both. There are also the One-Tail, and Four-Tails to Nine-Tails, totaling nine. Their strengths are all roughly similar." The more nonchalantly Li Xi spoke, the more terrifying it became.
"G-g-g-go and kick his ass." The evil god's silkworm, moments ago terrified, went completely mad, shouting that it would charge out and fight him one-on-one. Nine such peculiar Tailed Beasts, capable of using forbidden curses as regular attacks, could easily handle the little Balrog that had bullied them for so long.
The evil god's silkworm's excitement turned its golden body red, a sign of boiling blood. Its mind raced, and at that moment, the evil god's silkworm had already planned. It would abandon its little broken home for the Balrog to be buried in. It would conquer the twenty-fifth layer of the abyss on the opposite side. With nine such powerful Tailed Beasts supporting it, its back would be made of steel, incredibly hard, and it naturally had to find a better territory.
Of course, it didn't know that Li Xi's mention of nine Tailed Beasts was for the future, not the present. Currently, he only had the Two-Tails and Three-Tails.
"Boom."
Another Tailed Beast Bomb was spat out from Matatabi's mouth.
A small mushroom cloud rose, followed by earth-shattering explosions. The sandstorm, like knives, repeatedly scoured all life.
The demon army completely ceased all movement, too afraid to act. However, most of the demons were still buried under sand dunes of unknown depth. Even the ten Pit Lords huddled together seeking safety. Such intense attacks were beyond their capacity to endure.
The environment was so harsh that there was no hope of recovery. The plane's pained groans echoed repeatedly, but amidst all the sounds, there was no mention of the Balrog being injured.
Li Xi, listening intently, suddenly understood. One of Isobu's eyes displayed a six-petaled pattern. Li Xi was using the Sharingan through Isobu's body.
No matter how thick the sandstorm was, it could not obstruct Li Xi's vision. Demons carrying red energy entered his sight. The Sharingan lacked the perceptive ability of the Byakugan, but it could see energy fluctuations. The most numerous and weakest in energy were the Imps, layered several times on the ground. Slightly stronger were the Snake People, Succubi, and then the Horned Demons.
There were also the ten Pit Lords, whose energy was so dense it was about to overflow. However, the strongest one was nowhere to be seen.
Isobu raised its head. A figure descending at high speed from the sky was precisely the Balrog Li Xi was looking for.
At some unknown point, the Balrog had flown into the sky, its hands raised with its long blade. Its chest carapace bore clear cracks, and a trickle of dark blood flowed from its lips. The Balrog's eyes blazed with rage. Seeing the large turtle that the Pit Lord had transformed into looking at it, it unleashed its energy limits. Intense energy tides obscured the storm around its body, leaving only itself as a lone king, like a star hanging in the sky. It roared, "Die."
It had to be enraged, it had to be angry. The first Tailed Beast Bomb had been endured with sheer force and no damage. Based on this strength alone, a Tailed Beast Bomb of forbidden curse level had failed to harm him. As the ruler of this abyssal plane, the Balrog was indeed capable.
But just as it was congratulating itself, the second Tailed Beast Bomb hit it silently. At this moment, it was unprepared, or rather, all its strength had been expended on the first Tailed Beast Bomb.
Being able to withstand a Tailed Beast Bomb without injury was not something done casually; it required full effort.
As a result, the second one, caught by surprise, struck its chest.
Fortunately, there was a pre-established energy shield in front of it. As the Tailed Beast Bomb tore through the shield, the Balrog, using its remaining strength, managed to block with its long blade.
As a result, most of the power was blocked by the long blade, while a small portion of the overflowing energy shattered the chest carapace and injured its internal organs.
This was not the Balrog's fault, but rather, no one would expect such a powerful attack to be consecutive. To the native powerhouses, this was preposterous. What native's trump card could be used repeatedly?
But Li Xi was an outsider.
And Tailed Beasts were beings without reason.
When the Balrog survived the second Tailed Beast Bomb without critical injury, but sensed a third one coming, it understood how disadvantageous the battle situation was. It used the thick sandstorm to obscure its vision and flew into the sky.
Facing the Balrog's downward attack, Isobu arched its back, its three tails tucked against its belly. Its body spun rapidly like a high-speed gear.
"Kagefuri" (Shadow Dance)
Its body rolled away.
Matatabi leaped lightly, covering a thousand meters.
By the time the Balrog split the ground with a heavy sword strike, both Tailed Beasts had already dodged.
"Whoosh."
As soon as the Balrog landed, the rapidly spinning Isobu attacked, its back covered in sharp, blade-like protrusions. While easily shattering the ground, it also aimed to cleave the Balrog in two like the ground.
However, demons that evolved to the Balrog's level possessed combat experience far richer than Li Xi's.
"@￥%%#￥%#￥%."
Complex demonic incantations flowed from its lips.
In front of the fully transformed Isobu, small volcanoes erupted one after another.
These small volcanoes possessed only one percent of the power of a normal volcanic eruption. The flames and lava they spewed reached only a hundred meters high. While their individual power seemed insignificant, dozens of small volcanoes erupting across Isobu's path were terrifying indeed.
Isobu, the great turtle of the sea, was very resistant to fire. Seeing the ground ahead erupting with small volcanoes, it continued to bypass the volcanic cluster and charge towards the Balrog. This gave the Balrog a chance to breathe.
"Boom."
Matatabi, watching from a distance, unleashed another weakened Tailed Beast Bomb. Though its power was less than sixty percent, it was still not something the injured Balrog could face carelessly.