Chapter 372: Chapter 244: True Form! Balenzuo’s Transformation

The purple, flowing light enveloping Balenzuo grew steadily weaker. It looked like the energy of his Extraordinary Item was about to run out, leaving him unable to mount an effective defense.

Balenzuo’s expression grew darker.

Just then, Fang Zhen suddenly laid his spear horizontally across his saddle. With his now-free right hand, he pulled out a Molotov Cocktail.

He fired a rapid volley from the pistol in his left hand, forcing Balenzuo to keep dodging.

Amid the drumbeat-like rhythm of his shots, Fang Zhen violently hurled the Molotov Cocktail.

The Molotov Cocktail flew with incredible speed, arcing directly over the spot where Balenzuo was dodging a bullet.

Balenzuo’s attention was fixed on the muzzle of Fang Zhen’s pistol, intent on dodging the bullets. He was completely unprepared for the Molotov Cocktail bottle above his head.

Fang Zhen tilted the muzzle of his gun upward slightly. His target was no longer Balenzuo, but the Molotov Cocktail bottle.

"BANG!"

A single shot rang out. The bullet shattered the Molotov Cocktail bottle, and the heat from the impact ignited the gasoline within. WHOOSH! A burning mixture—a concoction of sugar, polyethylene plastic pellets, and even some white phosphorus obtained through special channels—instantly flared to life. A rain of fire poured down directly onto Balenzuo.

Balenzuo was caught completely off guard. As the fiery rain from the shattered bottle descended, he had no room to escape. The highly adhesive flames clung to his hair and body, instantly igniting him and turning him into a human torch.

A harrowing scream immediately ripped through the air.

Fang Zhen snatched his spear from the saddle with his right hand, ready to press the attack.

He had added some extra ingredients to his Molotov Cocktails. This time, the addition was the extremely dangerous white phosphorus.

A business contact from his company had managed to procure it. A Molotov Cocktail mixed with white phosphorus was exceptionally dangerous.

White phosphorus is highly toxic and extremely flammable. When added to a Molotov Cocktail, it dramatically enhances its incendiary properties. The resulting flame burns at an incredibly high temperature, is difficult to extinguish, and releases large quantities of toxic smoke.

It not only inflicts more severe destruction and injury on the target but also poses a massive threat to the user and anyone nearby, potentially causing severe burns, poisoning, or even death.

Balenzuo was the first "customer" to sample this new, enhanced Molotov Cocktail.

Raging flames engulfed Balenzuo’s entire body. His long, silky hair was incinerated in an instant. Covered in inextinguishable fire, he looked like a living torch. He screamed, but there was no escaping the blaze that clung to him like a sickness in his very bones.

An ordinary person would have lost all strength within seconds, collapsing to the ground to become fuel for the fire before being swiftly burnt to a cinder.

However, Balenzuo was no ordinary person.

This man possessed a powerful, inhuman vitality.

Despite the horrific screams and the fact that he was on fire, Balenzuo somehow didn’t collapse. He continued to stagger back and forth.

Fang Zhen raised an eyebrow.

All the signs indicated that Balenzuo was no mere human. It was clear from the color of his blood, and his abilities far surpassed those of any normal person.

The fact that Balenzuo had not yet died while being immolated by these flames was a miracle in itself.

But this miracle was gradually transforming, twisting into a nightmare.

Within the flames, Balenzuo’s screams gradually subsided.

Balenzuo hadn’t died. He was still standing, but his body was undergoing a bizarre transformation.

Balenzuo’s silhouette within the fire seemed to shrink, and something strange was happening to his back. A pair of fleshy wings sprouted from his shoulder blades.

As Balenzuo assumed this new form, the flames on his body gradually receded, revealing his true appearance.

Once the flames on Balenzuo faded, he had transformed from the androgynous, handsome man he was moments ago. His body was now covered in purplish-red markings, his skin had a metallic sheen, purplish-red fleshy wings grew from his back, and sharp horns jutted from his forehead.

A flexible, purplish-red tail had also appeared behind him.

The sight of Balenzuo re-emerging from the flames in this new form stunned the many soldiers nearby.

While Fang Zhen and Balenzuo had been fighting, the Mage Corps and cavalry that charged alongside him had not been idle. They had been busy routing the soldiers of Balenzuo’s rearguard.

The morale of Balenzuo’s rearguard was already shaky. Under the assault of the cavalry and the Mage Corps, many of his soldiers had broken rank and fled in the chaos.

However, Balenzuo possessed a powerful charisma. A considerable number of soldiers, Knights, and Knight’s Squires remained loyal to him and were trying desperately to break through the line to help him fight Fang Zhen.

But now, seeing Balenzuo transform into this demonic shape, the very soldiers who had been trying to rush to his aid were stunned into silence.

"A d... demon!" It was unclear who shouted it first, but the name was out.

Instantly, a wave of panic swept through Balenzuo’s ranks.

It wasn’t just Balenzuo’s soldiers. Even among the cavalry Fang Zhen had brought, many faces showed looks of astonishment.

Some even began to tremble with fear.

Fang Zhen watched as Balenzuo revealed his true form amidst the flames, his own expression as placid and unruffled as ever.

’Looks like I guessed right.’

’Balenzuo really is a demon. A Nightmare Demon, to be precise.’

’This form before me... this is Balenzuo’s true self.’

It was Fang Zhen’s first time seeing a demon. Far from being afraid, he was actually quite interested. He sized Balenzuo up and down, even finding the leisure to offer a critique.

"You were pretty repulsive before, but I have to admit, your previous look was easier on the eyes than this."

"This current form is just plain ugly."

Hearing Fang Zhen’s words, the transformed Balenzuo snarled, his face contorting with ferocious hatred.

"Do you have any idea how much effort it takes to craft a perfect body?" Balenzuo said bitterly. "It takes me decades to establish an identity, and you... you destroyed it in the space of a few breaths!"

"Do you have any idea how badly I want to kill you right now?"

Balenzuo spat, his voice thick with hatred.

Fang Zhen remained completely unfazed. Instead, he replied in a light, teasing tone, "And what does that have to do with me?"

"You’re the one whose identity was exposed. You’re the one who’s upset. What’s it got to do with me?"

"Besides, the more flustered you get, the more amusing I find this."

"Heh... you’re just so ugly now. Uglier than any dog I’ve ever owned."

Seeing that he was completely unable to get a rise out of Fang Zhen, Balenzuo’s expression soured with frustration, and his rage intensified. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"I’ll kill you!"

"No, I’m going to capture you. I’ll twist your body and soul into something new, make you my slave, and then I will wring every last drop of value from your spirit and flesh until you’re nothing but a worthless husk!" Balenzuo roared.

As he spoke, Balenzuo clasped his hands together in what looked like the opening stance for some kind of ability.

Sensing a sliver of danger, Fang Zhen spurred his mount forward. The Red Hare Horse instantly shot off, charging ahead.

Balenzuo moved toward Fang Zhen, his clasped hands aimed squarely at the charging Red Hare Horse.

A second later, a powerful, purple blast of Magic Power shot forth from between Balenzuo’s hands.

The powerful purple blast swept forward like a beam of pure violet light.

Fang Zhen’s Red Hare Horse suddenly let out a sharp neigh and took a great leap. It soared several meters into the air, clearing a distance of seven or eight meters in a single bound, jumping clean over the purple blast.

The blast missed its intended target, but it did hit a dozen or so nearby soldiers. They were still stunned by Balenzuo’s transformation, unsure whether they should be helping him or not, and were caught completely by surprise.

In an instant, the purple energy pulverized their bones. Some of the thinner soldiers were torn in half by the sheer force. It was a gruesome sight.

His first attack having failed, Balenzuo prepared to unleash another energy blast.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Gunshots rang out once more.

Fang Zhen created some distance, firing precise shots from his Desert Viper at the transformed Balenzuo.

The pistol shots prevented Balenzuo from concentrating enough to unleash another purple energy blast.

"A Purgatory Demon has disguised itself as Duke Balenzuo! The real Duke is dead—he was replaced by a shapeshifting demon!"

"Soldiers! Do not fight for a demon! Lay down your weapons and see who your true enemy is!"

Fang Zhen didn’t stop shooting, nor did he stop shouting.

His words, infused with a forcefully hypnotic power and amplified by his own energy, thundered across the battlefield.

The soldiers in Balenzuo’s army closest to the scene looked at the winged Nightmare Demon before them and could not help but believe Fang Zhen’s words.

Seeing his decades of work destroyed in a single moment, Balenzuo let out a roar of pure, frustrated rage.

Suddenly, Balenzuo beat his wings and soared into the sky.

Fang Zhen’s gaze sharpened.

’Looks like Balenzuo is about to use his ultimate move!’