Chapter 292: A Threat from Within

The immense spiritual force receded like a tide. Wu Qingsong finally had enough focus to take stock of his surroundings. However, most of his attention remained on guarding against another attack from the Flame Demon Lord.

Nina’s silver moonlight had dimmed slightly. Using Silver Moonlight’s power at full force twice had consumed a significant amount of her energy, though she still seemed able to maintain the state for a while longer.

Wu Qingsong carefully checked the protective barrier around her and found that it had long since vanished. The Flame Demon Lord must have also attacked her with spiritual power earlier, but she seemed unaffected.

“Maybe it’s the effect of Silver Moonlight? I didn’t feel anything,” Nina said. “What should we do now?”

Wu Qingsong could no longer feel any connection to his undead forces. Trapped here and fully engaged with the Flame Demon Lord, his forces had undoubtedly been wiped out by the insectoids.

“Give me a minute,” Wu Qingsong replied.

Even if his enemies were merely insectoids, he still did not want to become a dark Demon Lord. But if that was the only way to force the Flame Demon Lord into compromise, he would take that path without hesitation.

The two sides were not evenly matched. In a direct confrontation, even with Nina by his side, they were no match for the Flame Demon Lord.

But the principle of “fearlessness comes from having nothing to lose” was undoubtedly true in this world.

With Wu Qingsong’s current abilities and unique body, if he disregarded everyone else, almost no one could threaten him. Not even the elves. If he ignored the Silver Moon Wolf Clan and the people of Orgrimmar under his protection, the Elven Empire would not be so terrifying. It was precisely because of these attachments that he had to continue hiding his full strength while seeking more powerful ways to grow.

The same applied to the Flame Demon Lord.

While individual insectoids may have been meaningless to it, as the master of this abyss, it could not simply stand by and watch its minions be slaughtered and turned into undead. If that happened, it would be nothing more than a monster isolated in an underground cavern—no longer a ruler or a figure of power.

The life of any single insectoid might not matter, but their collective existence was indispensable to the Flame Demon Lord’s identity as an Abyssal Lord.

On the surface, Wu Qingsong had to carefully guard his precious porcelain, lest it be smashed. Here, however, the Flame Demon Lord was the one safeguarding the porcelain.

Wu Qingsong might not be able to threaten its life, but he could certainly disgust it, forcing the Flame Demon Lord into a compromise.

The sound of digging and scraping outside the cave abruptly stopped, but the Flame Demon Lord did not respond to Wu Qingsong’s threats.

“Let’s get out of here,” Wu Qingsong said.

They weren’t familiar with the surrounding terrain, but with such a vast underground space, it would be impossible for anyone to lose their way. They moved carefully along the smaller tunnels that ringed the area. Before long, they encountered the beetle warriors sent by the Flame Demon Lord to capture them. However, Wu Qingsong had now freed himself from the Flame Demon Lord’s spiritual assault. He immediately attacked them using the newly absorbed soul fragments, gaining fresh undead subordinates.

Nina was finally able to return to a normal state and rest. Wu Qingsong kept physical contact with her in case of any sudden developments.

“These guys are strong,” Wu Qingsong said after defeating the second wave of pursuers. 

Once he felt they had distanced themselves enough from the underground plain, he ordered his undead to stand guard while he and Nina sat to rest and investigate their situation. 

“Nina, what do you think about their state earlier?”

In that fiery state resembling the Flame Demon Lord, the beetle warriors’ agility and strength increased dramatically. The flames on their bodies also inflicted intense heat damage. In their normal state, the beetle warriors were no match for Nina. However, in that empowered state, they could fight evenly against her, and without Silver Moonlight’s protection, Nina could not withstand the burning damage.

“Maybe it’s their potential?” Nina said. “The beetle warriors look very similar to the Flame Demon Lord. Could they come from the same species?”

“Maybe,” Wu Qingsong nodded.

It wasn’t hard to imagine. The Flame Demon Lord had far more limbs than the beetle warriors and was monstrously larger, but this could be explained as individual mutation.

What intrigued him was whether the beetle warriors had activated their potential autonomously or if the Flame Demon Lord had cast some ability to trigger their state remotely.

If it were the latter, and the Flame Demon Lord could empower others without physical contact, then wouldn’t it be possible for him to learn or understand this mechanism? Could he one day awaken the beastgirls’ potential without physical contact?

“We’ll stay here for a while,” Wu Qingsong said.

Even if it was just to uncover the principles behind this mechanism, they had to stay.

Another battle erupted in the tunnels. The third wave of pursuers had arrived. Their numbers were overwhelming. Wu Qingsong had to throw the soul fragments he had just gathered into the fight to hold them back.

“You said earlier that the Flame Demon Lord marked your soul?”

“Damn it!” Wu Qingsong immediately realized the problem.

No wonder the Flame Demon Lord was not afraid of his threats. It might not be able to chase him into these narrow tunnels, but it could still track him and continuously send forces to hunt them down.

If Wu Qingsong had been a typical necromancer, such a tactic would have exhausted him into submission. However, he was far from ordinary. Back when he faced the Sentalus army, he had already endured days and nights without rest, relentlessly gathering soul fragments, raising undead, and commanding them in battle. Repeating the same feat now would not be a problem.

Moreover, back then, he had been concerned about the survival of the Silver Moon Wolf Clan, which had limited his tactics. Now, as a pure destroyer, his methods were completely unrestricted.

Let’s see who could outlast the other—who could bear the greater loss.

Wu Qingsong began to lead his forces further away from the underground plain while continuously using soul fragments to eliminate pursuing insectoids, raising them as more undead soldiers.

Several hours later, he had amassed nearly three hundred undead beetle warriors. At last, the Flame Demon Lord seemed to realize its mistake and recalled the pursuing troops.

But to Wu Qingsong, it made no difference. As an immortal, building an undead army from nothing was merely a matter of time and effort. Since the Flame Demon Lord had failed to finish him off, it would now have to pay the price.

“Let’s figure out the surrounding terrain, map the tunnels, and then we’ll see how much pressure the Flame Demon Lord can handle.”