Its movements were shockingly fast. Brand had no time to pull back his Sword before his Longsword was caught in that grip. The Abyss Lord’s claws were like they were cast from metal; the Fine Steel Longsword he used to conceal his identity scraped across the Demon’s talons with a teeth-aching tremor, sparks flying in all directions.

Brand’s offensive stalled for an instant, and he felt both hands holding the Sword go slightly numb. This monster’s Strength exceeded his by at least a hundred points. Fortunately, his Basic Strength had already broken past two hundred at this moment, otherwise that one clash alone would’ve been enough to send him flying. He couldn’t help taking a deep breath, but the scorching heat rolling toward him almost set his lungs on fire—though he clearly knew this sensation wasn’t real, Brand still couldn’t help holding his breath.

This monster could be called the toughest enemy he had encountered since Andesa. Eagle Djal was far stronger than this damned Beast, but during their duel he had in fact exploited a loophole; strictly speaking, if De Jia’er had gone all out from the very start, it would’ve been hard for him to win without using the Travel Mage System. However, Demons from beneath the River of Sulfur aren’t Humans who’ve learned the nobles’ etiquette of a Swordsman. They are born for battle; once they enter status, they only ever go at two hundred percent of their Strength.

Right now Brand felt like even his eyebrows were about to catch fire. That thought flashed through his mind, but his body didn’t slow in the slightest. His left hand abandoned the Sword without hesitation and swept upward to parry aside the Abyss Lord’s claws, while he lunged forward with a bow step and drove his right fist straight in. "Frenzy of the Fool! Get the hell out of here—" Brand roared, unleashing everything he had. His right hand seemed to pierce through a fracture in Space and slam directly onto the monster’s chest. With a muffled crack like tearing silk, the gigantic Demon only had time to lift its massive, ugly head before the expression on its face froze at that instant, and with a thunderous boom it turned into a streak of red and was blasted backward.

"Ah!" Hu Que, Furlo, and Medphis, who had never seen Brand use his Frenzy Talent, all let out involuntary cries of alarm. Ronin’s face went pale. He had of course recognized what that monster was, and had thought they were doomed this time. He never imagined that the monster would actually be sent flying by a single punch from this young man who was only at Golden Upper.

So which one of them was the real monster here?

But Brand himself wasn’t feeling great either. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. The Demon race truly lived up to being the most tenacious Monsters of all; the Abyss Lord came with its own thorns-like damage reflection, and he hadn’t had time to deal with that. As a result, that one punch had left him badly injured as well. His status bar dropped straight below the warning line into yellow; he’d lost over 300 Life, more than half of his total Life. And that was even after his Constitution had been boosted by activating the Frenzy Talent.

"Lord, your hands!" Medphis suddenly covered his mouth. Both of Brand’s hands, the parts that had touched the Abyss Lord, were now wreathed in blazing Hell Flames, looking as if he were wearing gloves of Fire. If it had been an Ordinary person, their hand bones would have long since been burned to ash. But Brand’s Magic Resistance was frighteningly high; those Flames clinging to his hands only made him feel a bit hot. Brand flicked his hands, and the fire retreated at once like a gust of wind.

At this, Knight Captain Ronin’s gaze toward Brand grew even more reverent and fearful. This was absolutely a monster. He had originally planted his foot on his own Sword, ready to seize the moment the other side got distracted to break out and escape with the Count. Though he was a Knight, his Loyalty to the Count was always his first priority. But seeing Brand make his move just now, Ronin couldn’t help letting out a sigh and abandoning that unrealistic plan.

He looked toward the corridor. The Demon that had been so terrifying just moments ago had been punched flying by Brand, smashed through the back wall, and buried beneath it; even the Flames on its body had grown much weaker. After a short while, smoke suddenly billowed out from under the rubble, then sparks rose up, forming a Hexagram Array above the manor’s ruins. It quickly dimmed and then turned into a pile of charred remains.

The Demon had actually died from that one punch.

Brand, however, didn’t find it all that strange. The power of his full-force punch had basically reached the active Element stage of Elemental Manifestation, and he had hit the Abyss Lord’s weak point dead on. On top of that, the thing wasn’t a BOSS. Getting one-punched to death was perfectly normal. The Demon had simply been too careless—most likely it assumed Humans wouldn’t dare fight it in close quarters, and ended up letting Brand, whose Magic Resistance was as freakish as a Monster’s, take a massive advantage.

Brand stared at the pile of ashes, caught his breath, and turned back to say to Furlo, "Demons can’t be easily killed outside the River of Sulfur. After they take lethal damage, they undergo Transformation into another form and are Teleported back to Scorching Hell. But the Teleportation Array won’t take any items they’re carrying. Go see what spoils of war it dropped?"

"Why is it me again?" Furlo couldn’t help asking.

"Because your hand is lucky."

Furlo glared at him in bafflement.

But Brand didn’t care. He turned his gaze back to Ronin instead. The moment the explosion on the second floor rang out, this guy’s expression had changed, and combined with the reaction of the Knights outside, the people of Yan Castle clearly knew something about this Demon. Brand absolutely did not believe the Holy Temple would have a high-ranking Demon appear out of nowhere in a core area under their control in Erune. He fixed his eyes on the man, his expression growing serious:

"I trust there isn’t a Space tunnel in this manor leading straight to Scorching Hell, Sir Knight. I think you ought to know something, don’t you?"

Contrary to his expectations, Ronin, whose attitude had softened earlier, suddenly turned extraordinarily stubborn this time. He pressed his lips together and shook his head without saying a word. And just then, a string of light, gentle footsteps suddenly sounded—Brand turned his head, because he heard the footsteps coming from the half-burned, tottering staircase.

"I’m sorry, sir, I summoned that Demon by accident..."

A weak voice answered.

...

(PS: I’ve been suffering chest tightness, shortness of breath, and palpitations for a week now. Got checked and they said it’s a respiratory infection and myocardial ischemia; after two days of IV drips there’s still no improvement. Thinking that it’s the first day of May, I still forced myself to write a Chapter. It feels awful...) (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote recommendation ticket and Monthly Ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)