Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Chapter 501 Slaughter

Black Stone River.

A wide river runs across the scorched plain. The water is dark red and extremely hot, with steam constantly rising from the river surface and spreading to both banks.

Across the river lies the territory of the Fire King, where solidified lava covers the ground, red cracks spread between the rocks, thick smoke rises from the distant mountain ridges, and the air is thick with the smell of sulfur.

The army of bone demons lined up on the south bank of the Blackstone River, a vast expanse of 100,000 demons stretching as far as the eye could see.

The white bone demon formation was at the rear, with the cannon fodder of various warlords in front, the ranks stacked upon each other, like a colorful tide.

On the opposite bank, the vanguard of the Flame King had already pressed forward, with countless fire demons covering the wasteland, their numbers no less than those of the bone demons.

Their skin is mostly the color of dark red magma, with cracks on their bodies constantly spewing fire, and the curved horns on their heads glowing a dark red in the twilight.

The two armies faced each other across the Black Stone River, the atmosphere tense and frozen. Many low- and mid-level demons even tried to flee, but were killed one by one by the overseers behind them.

Ian stood in the middle to rear of the group, mingling with the surrounding miners, his senses reaching the farthest point.

The Black Stone River is about three or four miles wide. The river flows slowly, but the temperature is extremely high. Ordinary low-level demons would be burned if they waded across it.

They are not afraid of high-level demons, but they are sitting ducks when crossing the river.

Neither side made a move, and after a quarter of an hour of silence, a long horn sounded from the opposite bank.

The Flame Vanguard moved first, and the Flame Demon phalanx in front began to cross the river.

They are not afraid of boiling water; on the contrary, they thrive in the river. The dark red river water is heated to boiling by their body heat, and steam rises into the sky.

The Bone Demon's ranged attack units fired first.

Bone spears and flying stones shot out from the rear of the formation, over the heads of the white bone demons in the front row, and crashed into the river.

As more and more Balrogs were struck and sank into the river, more Balrogs surged forward, stepping over the corpses of their companions.

"kill!"

It let out a sharp, piercing roar.

The cannon fodder phalanx of the Bone Demon army moved forward to engage in battle, and the White Bone Demon phalanx followed suit.

Ian stood still, watching his team being swept forward by the formation behind them.

The miners, armed with pickaxes, were jostled and pushed about, many of them trampled to the ground.

No one noticed them. In this battlefield of hundreds of thousands of demons, who would care about a few cannon fodder wielding pickaxes?

A chaotic battle erupted in the middle of the Black Stone River.

The Bone Demon's bone armor offered good resistance to fire, but the Flame Demon had the advantage in strength and speed. The two collided on the river, instantly turning into a meat grinder.

The river water turned blood red, severed limbs and broken armor floated on the surface, and the stench of burnt flesh mingled with the steam.

Ian flickered, activated his Shadow Concealment talent, broke away from the main force, and disappeared into the smoke and chaos.

At this moment, the battle on the Blackstone River was extremely chaotic, with demons fighting everywhere, making it impossible to distinguish friend from foe.

Instead of joining the battle head-on, Ian moved upstream along the riverbank, avoiding the core area of ​​the main battlefield.

He wouldn't bother with those low- to mid-level demons fighting each other on the river unless they came right in front of him; they offered too little evolution points and weren't worth the time.

He was looking for a wounded high-ranking demon.

There weren't many high-level demons on the battlefield; the Bone Demons had about three hundred, and the Flame Demons had about the same number.

These are the true core of his fighting force, and also his best prey.

He quickly identified a target.

A gigantic Balrog warlord stood on the opposite bank directing the crossing, accompanied by only two medium-sized Balrog guards.

It had a deep wound on its left arm, with dark red blood seeping from the crack; it had been hit by a bone spear while crossing the river.

Ian's eyes lit up, and he made a wide circle, sneaking in from the flank.

In stealth mode, his presence is completely concealed, making him virtually impossible to detect on the chaotic battlefield.

Both sides of the riverbank were teeming with fleeing low- to mid-level demons, surrounded by agonizing howls and churning waters, enough to conceal his whereabouts.

He approached within twenty paces.

The Balrog was roaring and issuing orders towards the river, completely unaware of the shadow behind him.

Ian extended his right hand, and the Chaos Flame condensed into a silver-gray line of fire at his fingertips. He pressed his palm against the back of the Balrog's neck, and the line of fire pierced straight into him.

The Flame Demon Overseer's body stiffened abruptly.

Silver-gray flames burst from inside the wound and spread rapidly along the spine.

Its roaring sound got stuck in its throat, turning into a muffled hiss. The red light in its eyes flashed violently twice before quickly dimming.

In less than three breaths, the Flame Demon Overlord collapsed to the ground.

The two guards behind him didn't react until the warlord fell to the ground. Just as they turned around, the Chaos Fire struck again.

The two mid-level fire demons didn't even have time to scream before they were burned to ashes by the flames.

At the corner of my eye, the panel flickered.

[Defeat High-Ranking Balrog Overseer, Abyss Energy +120]

[Defeat 2 Medium-level Fire Demons, Abyss Energy +80]

[Evolution Level: 200/20000]

[Talent Extraction: Fire Demon Carapace (Beginner)]

The Flame Demon Shell increases fire resistance, but it's a talent that's almost irrelevant to him.

Ian didn't linger; he reactivated Shadow Cloak and disappeared into the smoke once more.

The second prey was on the river.

A skeletal warlord was besieged by three fire demons, its bone armor covered in burn marks from the flames.

Its right leg was broken, and it knelt in the river on one knee, holding the bone blade in front of it in a final act of resistance.

Although the Bone Demon Overseer was one of their own, on the battlefield, a demon who died was a good demon.

Ian dived beneath the surface, gathering chaotic fire, and pressed a palm against the back of the skeletal demon overlord.

The Bone Demon Overlord's body shuddered violently, and the dark red demonic patterns on his bone armor suddenly dimmed.

Before the three fire demons attacking it could figure out what was happening, the warlord collapsed.

Ian didn't get entangled with the three fire demons. He flipped back to the water's surface and reactivated his Shadow Cloak.

The three Balrogs stood frozen in place, looking at each other and then at the warlord's corpse on the ground, completely unaware of who had delivered the final blow.

The panel flickered again.

[Slaying a High-Ranking Bone Demon Overlord grants +100 Abyss Energy]

[Evolution Level: 320/20000]

[Talent Extraction: Bone Hardening (Beginner)]

The hardened bone armor layered on top of the super-strong scale armor further enhances the defense, which is quite good.

Next, Ian was in his element on the battlefield, taking down the third, fourth, and fifth...

He didn't engage in direct combat, but instead hovered on the periphery of the melee, specifically targeting the demon overseers who were besieged and severely wounded.

His attacks were extremely precise, always launching them from blind spots, with the chaotic fire directly penetrating the opponent's vital points.

The battle was resolved within three breaths, and then they vanished without a trace.

The battlefield was filled with roars and screams, and no one noticed that a Balor Demon was silently reaping the spoils of war.

As the sun began to set, the battle along the Blackstone River had been going on for a full day.

The river was covered with corpses, and the water was as thick as blood porridge.

The Flame Vanguard failed to cross the river and was forced to retreat, but both sides lost a large number of wounded soldiers on the battlefield.

Ian gave chase, and the wounded who had fallen behind were easy prey. They were slow-moving, weak, and had almost no ability to resist.

One, two, three — the Chaos Flame kills instantly upon contact.

The data on the panel kept changing, and the evolution level steadily increased.

As darkness fell, Ian stopped on a high ground, overlooking the battlefield.

The Bone Demon army regrouped, and the Flame King's vanguard retreated behind the ridge on the north bank.

Campfires flickered in the distance, and the two camps faced each other across the river.

Ian looked down, and a faint silver pattern appeared on the scales on his palm. The temperature of the Chaos Flame was noticeably higher than before.

[Abyss Projection Status]

[Race: Balor Fire Demon (High-level)]

[Evolution Level: 6340/20000]

[Core Talents: Chaos Transformation (Enhanced), Chaos Fire (Enhanced), Fire Affinity (Top Tier)]

[Talents: Shadow Clone (Enhanced), Mighty Force (Enhanced) ————]

After just one day of killing, the evolution level reached over 6,300.

Killing more than twenty high-level demons is nothing compared to the sheer number of demons on the battlefield of 100,000.

No one cared how many warlords had died; demons fell on the battlefield every day.

Ian was even more excited, knowing that this was just the beginning.

The Battle of Blackstone was just the beginning. The real battle was yet to come.

He glanced in the direction of the Bone Demon camp, where tents were glowing red in the distance.

The Bone Demon didn't make a formal move today, and the Flame King didn't show up either, only directing from behind the scenes.

Ian withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards his team's camp.

His team lost more than eighty miners, most of whom were scalded to death or trampled to death while crossing the river. Drucker and Mog were both alive, and the Scorpion Demon patrol lost only three members, so they were not wiped out.

Nilos wasn't there; otherwise, she would have been heartbroken to see this loss figure.

Ian found a clean rock at the edge of the camp, sat down, closed his eyes, and began to refine the newly acquired energy within his body.

The battle was far from over, with sounds of fighting and screams echoing from afar.

Ian seemed not to hear, only hoping that these good days would continue forever.