Chapter 39: Offering Loyalty
"You have already demonstrated sufficient power... there is no need for us to fight to the very end."
Floating in the void at an extremely great distance from Joshua, Goliath avoided the celestial light domain created by the warrior. Although its attacks had been repelled countless times, and it had even been injured by the mere backlash, Goliath did not display the irritable, hot-tempered, and reckless personality typical of demons. It spoke calmly: "You have found the flaws in my power, while I am unable to inflict any effective damage upon you... Even if I were to reveal all my final trump cards, the outcome would not change."
"I concede. I acknowledge your strength."
To be honest, Joshua was indeed shocked by Goliath's immediate surrender. In his view, Goliath should have transformed at least three more times, revealing its true trump cards for advancing to the Legendary Realm, before reluctantly admitting defeat—not just using this newly learned Shadow Essence power. But now, it seemed he had somewhat misunderstood the Glutton Demon King's personality.
"You really don't act like a demon at all."
Joshua did not retract his celestial domain. He rubbed his fist and responded coldly: "Running that far away shows you understand that even if you surrender, I might still continue to attack."
In fact, that was exactly what Joshua had been thinking. Goliath had provoked him first, and now, after provoking him, it intended to stop fighting? Who gave it the right to stop? Given Goliath's current power level, even if Joshua beat it half to death, it could still easily handle the scattered demon tribes in the Abyss. Even just to ensure control over the demon army of the Sixth Abyss, Joshua would not stop.
But Goliath seemed to have seen through this from the start, fleeing far away immediately. This meant that if the battle continued, it would become a prolonged chase. Their strength was not far apart; if Joshua did not use his true body and no one helped to surround and intercept, the two of them could fight for years without it being strange. For Joshua, who was pressed for time, this was a meaningless waste.
No one knew when the unknown evil god would awaken, so the Order civilization needed to act as quickly as possible.
"A demon can be a demon—it can be bloodthirsty, venomous, warlike, reckless, and treacherous. This is the nature exposed by environment, customs, and bloodline instincts."
The two black-red great scythes held in Goliath's hands had been shattered by the backlash from striking Joshua's body. They were likely weapons forged from the Abyss Lord's own bones and large amounts of precious demonic metal, among the most powerful Transcendent weapons in the world, but still slightly inferior to the warrior's armor. Now, as Goliath used part of its own flesh to fill the gaps in the weapons, the two great scythes began to gradually restore themselves.
Facing Joshua's sarcasm, Goliath replied calmly: "But a 'Demon King' is different. A Demon King must never be a demon. The king of demons cannot be like a demon, just as a qualified human ruler should abandon humanity's inherent base tendencies. Centuries of being a Demon King have long since caused me to abandon the irritable and hot-tempered nature of demons."
"Perhaps occasionally, I will reveal my instincts, but not now."
Joshua stared at Goliath from afar.
He held no goodwill toward this Demon King, who had led the Abyss invasion in his past life and essentially turned the Mycroft World into scorched earth.
Demons were a race that invaded other worlds, plundering souls and flames. They were the remnants of failed civilizations, those who had self-destructed or failed to repel invasions. At most, they were echoes and remnants left behind by long-destroyed civilizations of the distant past. They should have gradually dissipated along with the Abyss realms, becoming raw materials for new worlds.
Harsh, but far less cruel than how demons treated other races. Demon hunting was genocide-level slaughter and soul plundering. If not for the World Will itself rejecting their existence, they would, like cuckoos, kill all local creatures, usurp their nests, settle in the invaded world, and turn it into a second Abyss.
If not for the current Mycroft Civilization needing the Sixth Abyss to pacify the Abyss, it would not have been just Joshua alone who came, but at least a coalition of eight or more Legendary-level experts.
"You never had the right to refuse."
Joshua said solemnly: "If you do not agree, you will face destruction. We will not allow a threat to lurk in the shadows while we save the Star River. Goliath, if you truly are, as you claim, the Demon King, then you should understand that assisting us in suppressing the Star River and taking me to the deepest layer of the Abyss is the only choice—either obey, or die."
When the warrior said this, there was no hint of threat, but anyone who heard this information stream, spoken as if stating a fact, would perceive his unshakable resolve.
Goliath naturally understood this as well.
After a moment of silence, it slowly approached Joshua's stellar domain, entering the warrior's power radiation range—this was far from pleasant for a demon wielding Shadow Essence, but it still stepped forward step by step, even as the black carapace on its body was scorched, emitting endless black smoke.
"...I only want to know one thing, human powerhouse."
Returning to the state before the battle began, with only the distance of one world between them, the Abyss Demon King said in a low voice: "After this matter is resolved, will you continue with the plan to eradicate the Sixth Abyss?"
"In my view, demons should all die."
Joshua never lied and disdained hiding his thoughts. His four arms were crossed over his chest as he stood atop a massive deep-blue star: "However, the Mycroft World has no intention of touching a place like the Abyss. As long as we don't see you, you don't exist. Of course, this is on the condition that you cooperate this time, perfectly complete your mission, and prove that your existence is at least beneficial to the entire World Star River, rather than being purely destructive."
"I don't want to say any more, Goliath. Give me your answer."
Facing a demon, the warrior never concealed his hostility. Whether the Sixth Abyss was willing to cooperate or not, he had follow-up plans. After all, in the eyes of some, compared to the assistance that the self-destructing demons in the Abyss might provide to the unknown evil god, Demon King Goliath's power was the true great enemy to Mycroft.
"I see... I understand."
Goliath lowered its head. It did not become irritable due to Joshua's directly hostile tone—the malice contained in greetings exchanged between demons was far deeper than the hostility in Joshua's words. But the problem was not that. Knowing the attitude of the Mycroft World, the Demon King fell into deep thought, and the warrior did not urge it, waiting patiently.
But soon, in less than ten seconds, the eight-eyed, two-horned Demon King raised its head again, meeting Joshua's gaze. Deep flames burned in its eight eyes, like the final light in an Abyss fusion core that was about to cool but refused to extinguish—a gaze that no chaotic demon, knowing only slaughter, could possess.
"In that case, there is only one answer." Amid self-deprecating laughter, a somewhat hoarse voice, accompanied by surging shadow ripples, spread out. Goliath slowly straightened its spine, and the wings on its back fully spread, blotting out the sky.
Refusal?
Uncrossing his four arms from his chest and assuming a battle stance, Joshua was not surprised by the other party's choice. Whether speaking gently or harshly, it was all the same. The demon's nature was like this. The Mycroft Civilization was so clearly intending to use them as a rag, discarding them after use. Any demon with even a shred of normalcy would never agree to such a choice. Even the Demon King, after enduring for so long, would likely reveal its ferocious nature, preferring to die while taking a bite out of its enemy.
Joshua fully understood the other party's choice, so he had been prepared from the start. He watched as Goliath raised its twin scythes again, gathering that power hinting at heat death and apocalypse. He watched as Goliath summoned the Abyss Lord's aura again, gathering the torrent of shadows.
Going all out. The warrior thought this. The next strike would be Goliath's all-out attack. What was its goal? Perhaps to force him back, then lead the elite demons of the Sixth Abyss to flee.
Joshua thought a lot, making countless preparations.
But in the end, what he saw was this scene.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
With a roar from the Abyss Lord, it brought its twin scythes together and gripped them tightly. Black-red flames suddenly erupted, transforming around its body into countless swirling ring-shaped light bands. But this power was not directed at the vigilant Joshua—it was aimed at the great scythes in Goliath's own hands!
"Crack!"
Dangerous black arcs wildly flashed in the void. Countless world wreckages drifting in the Abyss void turned to ash at the slightest touch. In an instant, the black-red rings, mixed with Abyss aura, expanded countless times, dissolving and annihilating all surrounding overflowing matter, turning it into pure thermal plasma. And then—
The dark twin scythes, Goliath's weapons, were forcibly snapped by its own hands. It could be seen that after this weapon, which was almost blood-bound to Goliath itself, was broken, the Glutton Demon King's aura immediately weakened by a notch. Goliath's voice also became rough and weary, and its glowing red horns dimmed, drooping as its head lowered.
Shocked by this abnormal scene to the point of forgetting to attack, Joshua watched as Goliath, after breaking its twin scythes, raised its head again. He saw that the flames in the eyes of this legless Abyss Demon King had not only not extinguished but had even grown stronger. Yet, in such a state, it slowly bent its spine, imitating a human bow, making a gesture of salutation, even nearly prostrating itself.
"I, Demon King Goliath, will offer you my loyalty!"