The ferocity and brutality of a demon, combined with a portion of human rationality, formed the soul of Olthagia.
Although his rationality had been tainted by the instincts of a demon, it also allowed him to retain a cunning akin to that of a devil amidst his ferocity. This made his approach different from most demons, who let their muscles dictate their actions. Instead, Olthagia's mind dictated his muscles.
However, this didn't mean he would shy away from anything. After all, the nature of a demon ensured that he would never back down. Every demon had to kill hundreds of their own kind just to emerge from the Banks of the River Styx. The timid, the weak, and the insufficiently cruel had long been eliminated, becoming nourishment for other demons. Trash had no chance of ever leaving the Banks of the River Styx from the very beginning.
For Olthagia, if the potential benefits were great enough, he could calmly accept the gamble of risking his life. After all, even ordinary humans could be struck by a car while out buying groceries.
Living itself meant bearing risks.
If even ordinary people faced such risks, it went without saying that Olthagia, who lived in the Bottomless Abyss—a place where life was free and death was random—would see risk as an inevitable factor.
But this didn't mean he would rush to gamble his life without even seeing the potential rewards. Either the temptation had to be so overwhelming that it made him forget the dangers, or he would wait until he had some degree of certainty.
Once he had that certainty, he would naturally take the risk.
——
As Olthagia wandered through the forest, he was no little girl picking mushrooms, but he was certainly a diligent and hardworking Lesser Demon.
Whenever he encountered anything—whether it was passing by, hiding, playing dead, healthy, crippled, big, or small—as long as it wasn't already dead, he would "liberate" it thoroughly, leaving no regrets behind. This was his way of fulfilling his basic duties as a good demon, freeing them from the troubles of the mortal world.
Olthagia's gaze sharpened, and he came to a halt.
Despite the numerous obstacles in his path, he sensed a lifeform actively approaching him. Judging by the intensity of its energy, it was roughly on par with him, meaning that under normal circumstances, there wouldn't be an absolute gap in strength between them.
However, Olthagia was essentially a "cheat player." Thanks to the abilities granted by his system, his actual combat power was at least a notch above that of demons of similar caliber.
Olthagia also understood the consequences of being too arrogant in the Bottomless Abyss. After gauging the opponent's approximate strength, he didn't underestimate them. Instead, he cautiously adjusted his mana, knowing that just as he had Energy Vision, the other party might have energy suppression abilities.
The Abyss was full of freaks. Who knew if there was a mutated demon out there who could crush him with one hand even at the same level?
Secretly gathering power within his body, his tail flicked lightly from side to side as he waited for the other party to approach.
He didn't have to wait long. As if sensing that Olthagia had already detected its movements, the creature, which had been approaching at a steady pace, gradually increased its speed.
Whoosh!
Crack!!
With the sound of something cutting through the air at high speed, the waist of a towering Demonized Plant dozens of meters in front of Olthagia exploded, sending splinters and sap flying in all directions.
A wooden spear, approximately one point four meters in length, shot out with an unstoppable sharpness, aiming directly at Olthagia's chest with lightning speed, intending to pin him to the ground in one swift move.
Facing such an attack, he did not attempt to block it directly but instead shifted his body to evade.
Blocking it would not only be a pointless waste of energy but also risk the possibility of poison being applied to the spear.
Clop, clop, clop...
Amidst the sound resembling the footsteps of a warhorse, the figure of the attacker emerged from the gray dust and fine mud rain raised by the fallen Demonized Plant, its trunk snapped in half.
The creature stood about the same height as Olthagia, with a reindeer-like head bearing the face of a middle-aged man. Its eyes were filled with a thirst for slaughter, saliva continuously dripping from its mouth, and its antlers were adorned with various eyeballs, some still bleeding, indicating they were freshly harvested.
Its upper body resembled that of a human, with two arms, while its lower body was akin to a warhorse. It carried several spears on its back, and its entire body was covered in powerful muscles, leaving no doubt about its strength.
Sniffing the scent emanating from the creature, Olthagia found it somewhat familiar. After recalling some information from his inherited memories, a bloodthirsty smile appeared on his face. He stared directly into the creature's observing gaze and spoke in a hoarse demonic tongue.
"A mutated Demonized Creature trying to become a half-demon? It seems you not only possess higher intelligence but have also awakened some special inherited memories. I never thought I'd encounter such a rare specimen..."
This was the first time Olthagia had spoken to another creature. Since his birth, none of the beings he had encountered were capable of communication. Even though the Lesser Demons possessed intelligence, their wild instincts dominated, making them more like beasts than intelligent beings, rendering them worthless for conversation.
But this unknown Demonized Creature was different.
Although its eyes were filled with the same bloodlust as other creatures, there was a spark of intelligence in them. The aura of a Transformation Ritual emanating from its body also indicated that it possessed considerable intelligence, as only such a being could utilize such a thing.
"A mutated demon?"
Hearing Olthagia's words, the creature was momentarily stunned, not expecting to encounter a Lesser Demon capable of communication. Normally, only demons of the Low-Rank Demon level would engage in conversation, as it was only after advancing to Low-Rank Demon that a demon's intelligence would reach the level of a normal human, allowing them to suppress their wild instincts and move beyond the realm of primitive beasts.
However, this discovery also brought him some joy, as he could clearly sense through the power of his Transformation Ritual that Olthagia's bloodline was unusually potent, even purer than that of a Low-Rank Demon.
It must be due to the mutation, making him an excellent sacrificial prey!
Noticing the faint malice emanating from the creature, Olthagia's smile widened even more. Just as he was a prime target in the creature's eyes, in Olthagia's view, this Demonized Creature was also a rare and excellent specimen.
The [Transformation Ritual] on his body was a type of magical ritual. In a place like the Wailing Forest, where there was no way to obtain external legacies, it could only have originated from his own bloodline memory.
Once activated, it could transform the user's bloodline.
With his powerful soul force, Olthagia could clearly sense that it contained many essences of demonic power and purified bloodline.
These were carefully stored by the other party to transform their own bloodline, aiming to evolve into a hybrid half-demon and elevate their rank to that of a [Low-Rank Demon]. For Olthagia, this was undoubtedly a mobile treasure trove!
Ordinary demons might be interested in the stored essence blood, wanting to integrate it into their own bodies to purify their bloodline. But for Olthagia, it was different. He had no interest in merging those low-level bloodlines into himself, as it would only contaminate his own bloodline, offering no benefit whatsoever.
His bloodline, strengthened by the system, had long surpassed that of demons of the same level.
Therefore, for Olthagia, the correct approach was to kill the other party, convert their flesh, soul, and the bloodline and power essences stored in the [Transformation Ritual] into Evolution Points.
With the other party's accumulated resources, the converted Evolution Points would be at least several times that of an ordinary [Lesser Demon]. This was a good deal!
At this moment, both sides felt they had encountered good fortune.
As for the idea of showing mercy because both were intelligent beings?
That was simply impossible. What they most desired now was to drain every drop of blood from the other and devour every fragment of their soul. Peaceful coexistence while eyeing each other was something that could only happen in dreams within the Bottomless Abyss.
After exchanging smiles to feign friendliness, the other party struck first.
The muscles in his hand bulged, veins seemingly about to burst, and the hard wooden spear was gripped so tightly that a shallow handprint was left.
When the spear was thrown, Olthagia even heard the sonic boom created as the object broke the sound barrier.
Not to be outdone, Olthagia immediately fired three Flame Arrows, each nearly a meter long.
Boom! Boom!!
In less than the blink of an eye, they collided mid-air. In a clash of titans, two of the Flame Arrows were directly detonated, exploding like bombs and incinerating the spear, creating a rain of fire that covered an area of over ten meters in the air.
The third Flame Arrow, however, continued its flight unimpeded, heading straight for the target's head!
Faced with Olthagia's triple Flame Arrow attack, the other party was greatly alarmed. He had never encountered a demon capable of firing three Flame Arrows in an instant; at most, it was one after another in rapid succession.
With the Flame Arrow already upon him, he had no choice but to retract the spear he had raised and was about to throw.
He knew it was impossible to dodge at this distance, so he enveloped his entire body in magical energy, tightly gripped the shaft of the spear, and thrust it with all his might toward the Flame Arrow.
At the moment of contact, he felt the Flame Arrow attempting to penetrate his magical energy. This was the inherent property of the Flame Arrow spell—[Penetration]. Unlike the Fireball, which explodes upon impact, the Flame Arrow penetrates a certain distance after hitting the target before detonating, creating an armor-piercing effect.
Knowing this [property] of the Flame Arrow, the opponent, in order to avoid greater damage, had no choice but to forcefully release a burst of magical energy to prematurely detonate the Flame Arrow, attempting to endure the ensuing explosion.
However, it turned out he had underestimated the situation. With a massive explosion, he felt an immense force surge from the other end of the spear, causing it to violently shake. Even as he gripped it tightly, the weapon nearly slipped from his hands.
Being less educated, he didn't understand that this was due to resonance caused by the intense shaking of the spear on the other end. If he had held it a bit higher, the impact could have been significantly reduced.
And before he could recover from the explosion...
His vision went dark, and a sudden, excruciating pain erupted in his brain, as if his very mind were being torn apart. Blood uncontrollably flowed from his eyes, mouth, nostrils, and ears.