Chapter 17: The Great Demon Lord

The demon’s laughter pierced directly into his mind, and the aura of death spread incessantly.

Han Xing clenched his teeth, struggling to control the floating island to escape.

Before him, the massive white bone horn trembled slightly. The demon sneered coldly, “Hmph, there are still humble humans here. Fine, I shall take you as the first blood sacrifice upon my arrival!”

Han Xing’s face changed drastically upon hearing this. The white bone horn shook violently—the demon was about to descend!

Just when he thought death was inevitable, the shaking of the white bone horn suddenly ceased.

Han Xing was stunned. The scene was eerily silent, like the calm before a storm, oppressively tense.

He assumed the demon was preparing something and braced himself to confront it head-on.

But after several seconds of waiting, the terrifying presence remained motionless.

“Hm?”

Han Xing sensed something was amiss.

He lifted his eyes to the towering horn, which soared at least twenty meters into the sky, and began to estimate the size of the dreadful being beneath it.

By his calculations, the demon’s height alone exceeded a hundred meters.

Compared to its colossal body, the summoning array on the ground, spanning just four square meters, seemed utterly inadequate.

It was as if a human’s arm had reached into a narrow water pipe and foolishly tried to come out the other side.

At that moment, a strange thought suddenly crossed Han Xing’s mind.

“Could it be… this guy is stuck?”

Han Xing instinctively voiced his suspicion.

The once motionless demon horn trembled slightly at his words.

The demon sneered coldly, “Hmph, insignificant human, how could you possibly comprehend the greatness of a demon lord?”

Hearing this response, Han Xing was convinced: the demon was indeed trapped...

The deathly premonition that had hung over him vanished instantly.

Han Xing twitched the corners of his mouth, then suddenly burst into joyous laughter.

“Ha! Hahaha! This is too funny!”

“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a demon getting stuck in a summoning array—hilarious, hahaha!”

Han Xing laughed uproariously, bending forward and backward. “You’re truly a disgrace to the demon race...”

“Human! Shut your mouth! Or I will crush you like an insect!” the demon lord roared angrily.

But Han Xing was already certain the demon couldn’t get free, and he laughed even more recklessly.

“I told you, such shame, such shame! Hahaha!”

---

Han Xing stood with his hands on his hips, mocking as he laughed loudly.

“Damn it!” The demon lord seemed rattled by his laughter, anger flashing in his eyes. “Human, don’t let me catch you, or I will imprison your soul deep in the abyss for ten thousand years of torment!”

Han Xing suddenly stopped laughing.

He wasn’t intimidated by the threat; instead, he glared and retorted, “You shameless creature, you dare threaten me?”

“You’re called Julius, right? Just wait! I’m going to record this and tell everyone that the mighty demon lord got stuck in a summoning array!”

“By the way, I’m going to tell the elves too!” Han Xing threatened.

Every survivor’s system interface came equipped with recording and photo functions, and Han Xing had indeed started recording when the demon appeared.

“Don’t tell the elves! Those lowly beings don’t deserve to see their lord,” the demon lord said hastily, panic rising in his voice.

“Do you think I won’t tell them? I will!” Han Xing replied firmly.

“You...” The demon lord was visibly furious at the human before him, but after a moment, he sighed and said, “Fine, human, you win.”

“State your conditions.”

Han Xing was stunned but quickly understood the implication.

This guy wanted to bribe him into silence?

Damn it, was Han Xing that kind of person?

Fuming, he declared righteously, “I’m telling you, don’t think you can buy me off!”

“Unless you give me blueprints! A large number of artifact equipment blueprints!”

“...”

The demon lord was momentarily taken aback. After a moment, he asked, “Are you talking about those so-called artifacts made by the dwarves?”

Han Xing looked puzzled. Not well-versed in this world’s background, he replied, “I guess… maybe?”

The demon lord sneered disdainfully. “Those toys crafted by dwarves are insignificant compared to our abyssal demon weapons. Besides, the greatest strength of our demon race lies in our own bodies—we disdain using such things. So you won’t find the blueprints you want with me.”

“No blueprints?” Han Xing pressed, “Then why even negotiate?”

“I’m leaving. I’ll spread the recording among the elves.”

He turned and prepared to leave.

In truth, Han Xing didn’t want to tangle further with this terrifying being.

Given the demon’s power, it could easily kill him thousands of times over with just a fraction of its strength.

Sensing Han Xing’s aura receding, the demon lord grew anxious. “Human, come back! You may tell others whatever you want, but first help me dismantle the summoning ritual!”

Han Xing ignored him completely.

---

At that moment, the demon lord finally said, “Human, if you help me dismantle the summoning ritual, I will give you a drop of demon blood!”

Han Xing continued to ignore him.

He had no idea what demon blood was.

The demon lord became even more agitated. “I also have a greatsword I used myself, and just now, I found a strange beast egg in the extradimensional space—I can give you that too!”

Han Xing finally stopped in his tracks. When he turned around, a system prompt appeared before him.

[You have triggered an additional side quest: The Demon Lord’s Request.]

[Quest Description: The demon lord is trapped in an extradimensional space and cannot invade your world. Only by dismantling the summoning ritual can he return to the abyss. The noble Julius now bows his head, begging you to free him.]

[Quest Rewards: Choose one from ‘Demon Blood,’ ‘Demon Lord’s Greatsword,’ or ‘Unknown Strange Beast Egg.’]

[Note: This quest is not issued by the system. Survivors, please carefully verify the quest information.]

“Really triggered a quest?”

Han Xing’s eyes flickered. He had always been suspicious of the monster, thinking the demon was trying to lure him in.

Now he realized this demon lord was truly stuck.

The situation was awkward—the demon couldn’t come into Han Xing’s world, nor could he return to his abyssal domain.

Han Xing also saw the attributes of the three quest rewards.

[Demon Blood: The heart’s blood of a high-level demon. Fusion grants demon lineage, bestowing immense demonic power. All attributes increase tenfold, upgrade attributes triple, and automatically changes your class to a hidden profession: Demon Hunter.]

[Demon Lord’s Greatsword (Red): Abyssal weapon, Epic quality, Attack power 10,784~15,462, All attributes +3333. Special effects—Royalty (creatures of lower rank than a high-level demon cannot harm you), Judgment (as a high-level demon, you have supreme authority, dealing triple damage to lower-ranked creatures), Demon Flame (attacks inflict a 10-second burning effect), among others.]

[Level requirement: 60.]

[Unknown Strange Beast Egg: Attributes unknown, species unknown, but capable of interdimensional travel and appears to possess some void abilities.]

“Whoa...”

Seeing the quest rewards, Han Xing gasped sharply.

Not for any other reason, but because each of these three items was outrageously powerful.

The Demon Blood seemed to be an item tied to a hidden profession, allowing instant transformation into a mighty Demon Hunter.

The Demon Lord’s Greatsword needed no explanation—it was the demon’s own weapon, with terrifying attributes.

As for the unknown strange beast egg, the system’s explanation was vague, but anything favored by the demon lord was undoubtedly extraordinary.

At that moment, Han Xing looked at the towering horn and finally felt tempted!