For such a large-scale bandit force to exist in Infernal Realm was rare.
After all, any deity with slightly decent strength would not waste their life as a mere bandit.
Yes, robbing and killing could bring some quick gains, but the rewards from a high-level Fiend mission far exceeded what a bandit could ever loot.
Six Highgod Fiends clashed against four Highgod bandit leaders.
Their mission wasn't simply to kill the Highgod bandits.
It was to completely eradicate the entire bandit group.
The plan was clear:
focus their combined strength to kill the four Highgod bandit leaders first, while the Midgod assessment candidates would stall the large horde of Midgod bandits.
Once the four leaders were eliminated, the six Highgod Fiends could easily finish off the remaining Midgod bandits.
Meanwhile, over a hundred Midgod bandits charged straight toward the dozens of Midgod candidates.
The bandits' job was simple:
kill the Midgod candidates, then regroup to aid their three Highgod leaders against the six Fiend supervisors.
Seeing the enemy force far outnumber their own, the Midgod candidates had no choice but to grit their teeth and fight.
"Use ranged attacks first!" someone shouted.
In the skies, Midgod candidates unleashed a barrage of various attacks: massive elemental blasts, eerie soul strikes, and even rare, combined material + soul attacks, marking them as elites among Midgods.
"Just protect yourself. This battle won't be as simple as it looks," Sadius sent a calm soul transmission to Emilin.
But after just one round of long-range attacks, both sides quickly closed the gap.
The two forces collided in brutal close-quarters combat.
These candidates were not organized troops like the Prefecture soldiers or the Sovereign's army.
They had no proper coordination, so expecting a few dozen to defeat hundreds was simply a delusion.
"Everyone, just hold them off! Once the Highgod Fiends kill the enemy leaders, they'll come support us!"
Someone tried to rally morale.
On the Highgod battlefield, the six Fiend supervisors fought against the four bandit leaders.
These four were once Fiends themselves.
Judging by their strength, they were clearly Five-Star Fiends.
Both sides were evenly matched at Five-Star Fiend level, but with a six vs. four advantage, Blackcloud City's side should have had the upper hand.
Sadius glanced at the Highgod battle.
Something felt wrong.
If six Five-Star Fiends were deployed for this assessment, then the mission target shouldn't be weaker than them.
After all, passing this assessment would allow candidates to become Six-Star Fiends.
If it were too easy, wouldn't that cheapen the entire Fiend ranking?
Sure enough, just as Sadius suspected, one of the Five-Star Fiend supervisors, even while fighting two vs. one, was suddenly killed by a bandit leader.
The entire battlefield shifted dramatically.
"That bandit… he's a Six-Star Fiend!"
A Six-Star Fiend—one of the top-tier powerhouses among ordinary Fiends.
Just one step further, and they would become a titled Seven-Star Fiend.
A Six-Star Fiend's strength vastly surpassed any Five-Star:
their Law fusion was one or even two more profound mysteries ahead.
"Hmph! Blackcloud City's lapdogs aren't so great after all!"
Meanwhile, the Midgod battlefield turned into an absolute slaughter.
Two hundred Midgod bandits launched a frenzied assault on the outnumbered candidates.
Sadius' divine sword slashed down, instantly killing a Midgod bandit.
There was no time to even check if the corpse had a Fiend Badge—another enemy immediately lunged toward him.
But the bandit's material attacks couldn't scratch him, and their soul strikes were laughably weak against his defenses.
In moments, Sadius had already cut down several Midgods, collecting two Fiend Badges along the way.
"Emilin, I've got what we need. We're leaving!"
Sadius' soul voice was calm but firm.
At that moment, Emilin was surrounded by several Midgod bandits.
Even with his overwhelming strength, being besieged by many was troublesome.
Hearing Sadius' transmission, Emilin immediately activated his innate divine ability, disrupting the enemy's attacks and breaking free.
He quickly retreated.
The two regrouped, cutting down or forcing aside any bandit who dared to block their path.
Before long, they had broken out of the battle circle entirely.
"My lord," Emilin landed beside Sadius.
Sadius tossed him a Fiend Badge.
"The assessment's metallic lifeform is stationed outside the mountains. It'll take time to fly back."
"Then we go—now. At this rate, whether it's the Highgod fight or the Midgod battle, the Fiend Fortress side is doomed. They're no match for these bandits."
Emilin nodded.
The two immediately flew straight toward the edge of the mountain range, not looking back.
Perhaps others saw Sadius and Emilin fleeing, because soon more Midgod candidates began retreating as well.
This assessment's difficulty was clearly one of the harshest in recent memory.
Likely the mission planners had underestimated the enemy's true strength.
As more candidates fled, the Midgod bandits chased them relentlessly.
What should have been a standard assessment was now a complete failure.
On the Highgod battlefield, with the Six-Star Fiend bandit revealing his true power, the situation had become entirely one-sided.
"Surround them! Don't let any escape!"
The Six-Star Fiend bandit sent a cold soul transmission to his three Five-Star subordinates.
The four bandits encircled the remaining five Highgod Fiend supervisors.
With a Six-Star Fiend leading, those five could no longer flee.
"So, Blackcloud Fiend really wants to wipe us out, does he? We, the last loyal retainers of Extreme Intent Fiends, are still such a threat in his eyes?"
The Six-Star bandit sneered.
"Extreme Intent Fiends? So, you were once the subordinates of the former City Lord of Extreme Intent City!"
Indeed—over ten thousand years ago, Blackcloud City was not called Blackcloud City at all.
It was known as Extreme Intent City, ruled by the titled Seven-Star s, Extreme Intent.
Later, Blackcloud Fiend rose to power, slayed Extreme Intent Fiend,
and took over his city—Renaming it Blackcloud City. This was common knowledge in Blackcloud City.
After all, it had only been ten thousand years.
"But even so, you shouldn't have turned to banditry, plundering merchant caravans!" a Highgod Fiend shouted in anger.
"Hah! In Infernal Realm, outside the cities, there are no rules. If they're weak, they deserve to pay the price. If today I were weaker than you, I'd be the one dying under your blades. But now it's you who are weak. And in Infernal Realm… weakness itself is the original sin."
"Hmph! Weakness is the original sin, is it?"
A cold, calm voice echoed from afar.
Sadius and Emilin were still flying toward the mountain's edge—when suddenly, a new figure flew into the battlefield.
"It's… the assessment proctor from the Fiend Fortress!"
This newcomer's aura was powerful, no weaker than the Six-Star Fiend bandit leader.
"Tynoderson! You traitor! Back then, Extreme Intent Fiend treated you well. And yet, after his death, you immediately defected to Blackcloud Fiend, slaughtering countless of your former brothers!"
Tynoderson smirked coldly.
"Heh… Rexus, of course you'd stay loyal—you're Extreme Intent Fiend's younger brother. But why should I choose the same path as you? Why let Blackcloud hunt me down? Now, in Blackcloud City, I stand just one step below the Fiend Lord himself. No one dares suppress me anymore."
"Hmph! You petty traitor basking in stolen glory. Today, I'll end you!"
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