This assassin is upright

Chapter 418 The Thirty-Three Levels of the Netherworld
"Om-"

With a deep hum, a boundless true demon, 100,000 meters tall, quietly appeared in a brand new world.

Only after confirming that there were no other enemies lying in ambush did this true demon quietly split apart, eventually transforming into a powerful demon army of ten thousand people.

Yu Zhun, who was in the lead, looked down at the earth beneath his feet and then slowly descended, his eyes filled with a deep sense of surprise, as well as a strong sense of vicissitude.

"Finally... we've arrived here."

He looked around and then sighed in an incredibly complex tone.

"The thirty-third level of the Netherworld."

Nearly twenty years have passed since the complete Heavenly Demon Battle Formation was assembled, the Killing Gods were expanded into the Myriad Demons, and the Eleventh Level was reached.

Seizing treasures and increasing strength became the main theme after that.

Over the past twenty years, the God of Slaughter has left nothing but desolation wherever they have gone, and each of the more than twenty layers of the Netherworld they have traversed has left behind a fearsome reputation.

With the overwhelming pressure from the Heavenly Demon Battle Formation, which far surpasses that of the Demon Descent Battle Formation, they can almost crush ordinary demons. Even if the opponent possesses many treasures, they can only end up as treasure-delivering servants.

The only ones capable of confronting the God of Slaughter are the other demons who control the Heavenly Demon Battle Formation, and the number of such demons is far lower than Yu Zhun's estimate.

The moment Yu Zhun gained control of the complete Heavenly Demon Pearl, he received information that the Heavenly Demon Pearl he obtained was the 96th Heavenly Demon Pearl since the birth of the Netherworld.

I originally thought that I would encounter many powerful demons who also mastered the Heavenly Demon Battle Formation during my journey deep into the Netherworld, and that I would destroy them to obtain the Heavenly Demon Pearls from them to enhance the strength of the God of Slaughter, and even eventually reach the ten Heavenly Demon Pearls, with the ten Heavenly Demons combining to form the ultimate form of the Myriad Demons.

However, in these twenty years, Yu Zhun has only ever encountered one demon troop that controls the Heavenly Demon Battle Formation, named the Fallen Blood Heavenly Demon Troops.

The opponent was located on the thirty-second level of the Netherworld they had just left. In order to deal with the opponent, Yu Zhun used all his means, even self-destructing thousands of treasures comparable to the Eight Treasures of the past, and finally managed to completely destroy them with great difficulty.

The Godslayers finally obtained the second Heavenly Demon Pearl and, after completing the necessary adjustments and upgrading their equipment, entered the thirty-third level of the Netherworld.

This is also the last visible layer of the Netherworld.

The moment Yu Zhun sighed, four figures appeared behind him.

It was none other than Helmod, Luwen, Udir, and Yuzhu, who had traveled with them all the way. At this moment, their expressions were exactly the same, filled with unprecedented relief and joy.

"Yu Zhun, can you feel it?" Yu Zhu couldn't help but ask.

“Of course.” Yu Zhun nodded with a smile. “So many years have passed, I’ve almost forgotten where I came from.”

The moment Yu Zhun entered the thirty-third level of the Netherworld, a thought appeared in his mind—a message.

The message was simple: to inform Yu Zhun how to clear the 5A-level dungeon [Netherworld Land] by obtaining 10 Heavenly Demon Orbs and transforming his demon horde into their strongest form.

Once they achieve this goal, they can go home.

An unexpected intrusion has led to the conclusion of a decades-long, arduous conquest.

“When we annihilated the Blood Demon Clan, we obtained clues from them,” Yu Zhun said slowly. “The vast majority of the demons who control the Heavenly Demon Battle Formation have already entered the thirty-third level.”

"That's why we've never encountered it."

“We are now on the thirty-third floor.” Yu Zhun took a deep breath. “We are still 8 Heavenly Demon Pearls away from clearing the level.”

"These will be tough battles!"

“Indeed.” Helmod nodded solemnly. “We’ve analyzed this before: when multiple demons with Heavenly Demon Orbs appear on one floor, it’s easy for them to swallow each other up.”

"In other words, if there really are many demons controlling the Heavenly Demon Battle Formation on the thirty-third level of the Netherworld, then it is impossible for each demon to only have one Heavenly Demon Pearl."

"Given our current situation, if we encounter an opponent with only one Heavenly Demon Pearl, the situation will be somewhat better. We now have two Heavenly Demon Pearls, and the overall strength of our combined battle formation is greater than that of the opponent."

"But what if we encounter demons with two or more Heavenly Demon Orbs..."

"The risk will increase significantly."

The Netherworld is a place of selection at every level; none of the demons who manage to survive all the way to the last level are easy to deal with.

"The most urgent task is to find out the situation on this floor first," Yu Zhun said softly, and dozens of figures from the Killing Gods Sect instantly sprang into action.

They had a well-thought-out plan and preparation for what they needed to do to enter the new level, and the first step was to find out the situation clearly.

Soon, the scouts brought back accurate information.

Upon receiving the news, a solemn light flashed deep in Yu Zhun's eyes.

"On the thirty-third floor, there are four of the most powerful demons, namely the 'Three Greats and One Small', collectively known as the 'Four Demon Kings'?"

“The saying ‘three big and one small’ is quite interesting.” Yu Zhu, who was standing to the side, looked thoughtful upon hearing this. “It is obvious that among these four top forces, one is generally recognized as weaker than the other three.”

"But even under these circumstances, the other party was still able to be grouped with the other three and referred to as one of the 'Four Demon Kings'."

"This shows that even the weakest one possesses strength surpassing that of ordinary demons."

“Not bad.” Yu Zhun nodded, but a hint of seriousness appeared in his eyes. “I hope it’s not the worst possible outcome.”

"What was the result?" Helmod couldn't help but ask.

"As we walked along, we only encountered two Heavenly Demon Pearls before the thirty-third floor, including our own one."

"Therefore, the owners of 94 Heavenly Demon Pearls have entered the thirty-third level of the Netherworld." Yu Zhun paused for a moment.

Do you think there are 94 Heavenly Demon Pearls on this floor?

“Of course…” Helmod opened his mouth, wanting to say that was the only way, but then he fell silent when he thought of the situation he had just learned.

“What Yu Zhu said just now is basically correct,” Yu Zhun said calmly. “Being called the ‘Four Demon Kings’ and recognized as the top demons in the Netherworld, where powerful beings abound, must mean that they have undisputed absolute strength that surpasses all other demons.”

“We previously speculated that if we could gather ten Heavenly Demons and have them reunite in the Demon Battle Formation to summon an even more powerful True Demon, then this True Demon might undergo a qualitative change.”

"Therefore, after obtaining ten Heavenly Demon Pearls, one's strength will increase dramatically."

"This surge is in line with the idea of ​​being above other demons."

"Of the 'Four Demon Kings,' at least the 'Three Greats' have already collected ten Heavenly Demon Pearls, and the 'Small One' is also very close, with at least eight or more Heavenly Demon Pearls."

"This is the first guess that fits the current conditions."

"If that's the case, then the 'Four Demon Kings' alone occupy nearly forty Heavenly Demon Orbs, with the remaining fifty-odd scattered in various places." "Among them, there should be some relatively weak Heavenly Demon Orb holders who can become our targets, allowing us to pass the level smoothly."

“But besides that, there is another situation, which is also the worst situation.” A deep light flashed in Yu Zhun’s eyes.

"The 'three large and one small' group has only seven Heavenly Demon Pearls in total."

“There are two of each of the ‘three major’ types, and only one of the ‘small’ types.”

"And none of the other demons here possess the Heavenly Demon Pearl."

"That's why those who possess the Heavenly Demon Pearl are superior to everyone else."

"How is this possible?!" Lu Wen couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Wasn't it said that there were 94 Heavenly Demon Pearls on the thirty-third level of the Netherworld?"

"So according to your logic, there are only 7 on the 33rd floor?"

"Where did the remaining 87 Heavenly Demon Pearls go?"

"I'm asking you," Yu Zhun glanced at Lu Wen and said in a deep voice, "What is our current strength?"

“Eighth-stage Divine Transformation!” Lu Wen said matter-of-factly, then paused for a moment, as if he had thought of something.

“We had already obtained information from others before.” Yu Zhun paused for a moment, “Besides the thirty-three levels, there is a hidden level in the Netherworld, and the hidden level corresponds to the ninth level of divine transformation.”

"The Netherworld is likely a selection ground where the Netherworld chooses its subordinates. Only those who have undergone layers of trials, reached the final hidden layer, and are willing to pledge allegiance to the Netherworld can transform their false third-tier strength into real third-tier strength."

"So, do you still think there are 94 Heavenly Demon Pearls here?"

"I'm afraid it won't even be half."

"If we follow our first hypothesis, then the total number of Heavenly Demon Orbs possessed by the 'Four Demon Kings' is rather excessive."

“There can’t be only 7.” Lu Wen was still puzzled. “Couldn’t the ‘Big Three’ have three or even more?”

"Of course it's possible, but the possibility is very small." Yu Zhun shook his head slightly. "If you think there are 'three big ones and one small one,' why is it that the 'small one' has been able to exist without being destroyed by the 'three big ones'?"

“This…” Lu Wen was stunned for a moment, “What trump cards or treasures does it have that allow it to contend with the ‘Big Three’?”

“If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be ‘small’.” Helmod shook his head helplessly. “There’s only one reason why the three beasts won’t eat the meat next to them: they’re not sharing the spoils.”

“This ‘small one’ must have a very small number of Heavenly Demon Pearls, so that they cannot be divided among the three demons at the same time. Therefore, the ‘three’ are in a standoff with each other and do not want any one of them to swallow it and become stronger.”

“So ‘Little One’ most likely only has one Heavenly Demon Pearl, or at most two.” Helmod paused.

"However, the former is more likely."

"If there are two Heavenly Demon Pearls, then the two sides of the 'Big Three' may join forces to deal with and counterbalance the third party, and then divide up the 'Small One'."

"The fact that this situation has stabilized means that 'One Small' most likely only has one Heavenly Demon Pearl left."

“That only means that ‘Small One’ might only have one Heavenly Demon Pearl,” Udyr couldn’t help but ask. “What about ‘Big Three’?”

"Would you allow yourself to be mentioned alongside an ant?" Yu Zhun chuckled. "The fact that the 'Three Greats' allowed other demons to refer to themselves and the 'One Lesser' as the 'Four Demon Kings' shows that they acknowledge that they are stronger than the 'One Lesser' and believe that the gap between them is not that large."

"Moreover, the fewer Heavenly Demon Pearls one possesses, the greater the benefit of obtaining a single Heavenly Demon Pearl. The fact that the 'Big Three' are so wary of each other, allowing the 'Small One' to survive to this day, shows that a single Heavenly Demon Pearl is enough to significantly alter their strength and disrupt the existing balance."

"Therefore, they most likely only have two."

“Of course, it’s not entirely impossible that the ‘Three Greats’ possess three or more Heavenly Demon Pearls; we’re just speculating for now.” Yu Zhun paused, his eyes darkening slightly. “But there’s one more thing that can corroborate my speculation.”

"Because we need eight Heavenly Demon Pearls to clear the level."

Upon hearing this, the others fell silent.

“Let’s break out of the mold of the thirty-third level,” Yu Zhun said softly. “At this point, we no longer need to look at the instance itself.”

"The real question is why we are here."

"Initially, we only entered the 4A dungeon, [Nightmare of the Underworld]."

At this point, Yu Zhun looked at the other four people and said, "I, Yu Zhu, and Hermod have all entered the deepest part of the Abyss of the Underworld and faced the avatars of the Underworld. We were probably marked at that time."

“Lu Wen was my classmate. Although he didn’t make it to the bottom, he did reach the last teleportation array and teamed up with us for a long time. He must have been secretly watched by Youming because of this.”

"The same applies to Udyr."

“Our team has been targeted by Youming for a long time. They probably think we have great potential, so they want to poach us.”

"Therefore, our [Nightmare of the Underworld] dungeon will eventually be transformed into the 5A dungeon [Nightmare Land]."

"As we entered, the master of the Divine Demon Palace noticed this and appeared to confront the Netherworld, but..."

"He did not take us away."

"The two sides reached a certain agreement and decided to determine how the agreement should be implemented based on the results of our strategy."

"If we fail to conquer it, this disguised entrance to the [Netherworld] will continue to exist, allowing talented players within the God and Demon Palace to leave the palace through the [Netherworld] instance."

"As for ourselves, our fate is to be wiped out, and even the world behind us will be wiped out along with us."

"And our strategy succeeded. The Netherworld will become a brand new testing ground for the God and Demon Palace, and we will receive a reward from the master of the God and Demon Palace."

"And the requirements for completing the game should have been set at that time as well." Yu Zhun sighed slightly as he said this.

"If I'm not mistaken, the total number of Heavenly Demon Pearls in the first thirty-three levels at that time should have exceeded ten."

"But times have changed. This is, after all, the territory of the Netherworld. If He shamelessly tries to cheat and move the demons with the Heavenly Demon Pearl to the hidden layer, who can do anything about it?"

"In this way, if we want to clear the level, we have to enter the hidden layer instead of the thirty-third layer."

“And the hidden layer…” Yu Zhun’s eyes flashed with a sharp light, “that is the truly hidden place in the Netherworld.”

"At the same time, that place is likely outside the perception range of the master of the God and Demon Palace, and cannot be reached in a short time."

"In other words, anything can happen there."

"As for how to verify it..." Yu Zhun sighed, "Just find out if any top demons have left in the past few decades."

(End of this chapter)