Conditions of Inheritance
Dong Xiu directed two guards to bury a demon in a pit dug underground, while the Furious Demon General watched curiously from the side.
“Are you going to bury it alive?” the Furious Demon General said with a hint of regret, “What a pity, there’s not much to see. It’s not as good as the disembowelment, the cauldron torture, and the slow slicing you told me about before. Don’t you have any better ideas, or at least something similar?”
Adjusting his glasses that were about to slip down, Dong Xiu’s face flushed with excitement, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm, “It’s not a burial alive; just leave its head exposed!” He didn’t answer immediately but first instructed the guards, then turned to the Furious Demon General and said, “Don’t be anxious; this is much more interesting than those!”
Hearing this, the Furious Demon General didn’t mind the lack of respect and was instead filled with a glimmer of anticipation, leaning in eagerly to watch what Dong Xiu would do next.
The Furious Demon General had a volatile temper, often resembling a bomb that could explode at any moment, making him extremely difficult to please. He was also notoriously sadistic, recognized as the most brutal of the demon generals, enjoying the torture and slaughter of captured prisoners. Even among demons, his reputation was not great, but he had a group of equally sadistic demon guards under him, employing ruthless methods devoid of humanity, causing other demons to keep their distance. Thus, he was considered a formidable contender for the position of Demon King in a different sense.
Dong Xiu was quite pleased with this.
Initially, he felt a bit apprehensive about how to interact with this fierce and cruel demon general. However, fortunately, they shared similar temperaments. Any ancient torture methods he casually mentioned could spark the other’s curiosity and excitement, making him forget his anger. Moreover, he could use the Furious Demon General’s hands to put into practice the punishments he had only read about in books.
Those ancient, long-lost tortures coming back to life before his eyes made Dong Xiu utterly captivated!
The two hit it off, growing increasingly harmonious in their interactions.
“Get a knife and make a cross incision on its head,” Dong Xiu instructed, “Remember to cut through the scalp and apply some force.”
The guards complied, and the demon being cruelly treated let out a heart-wrenching scream that sent chills down everyone’s spine. However, none of those present wanted to silence it; enjoying the terrified screams of their prey was part of their pleasure.
“Bring the stuff over,” Dong Xiu said.
Two guards quickly went to the side and worked together to lift a wooden barrel filled to the brim with liquid, which shimmered with a silvery metallic sheen as it swayed. This was mercury, also known as quicksilver.
Dong Xiu pointed at the bloody incision, “Pour the mercury into the opening. Once the mercury spreads throughout its body, it will separate its skin from the flesh. At that time, you can extract the insides and obtain a complete skin.”
“Awesome! Awesome!” The Furious Demon General clapped his hands like a child, “This idea is brilliant!”
“Hurry, hurry, pour it in!” He could hardly wait to get that complete skin, urging the guards to act immediately. The guards dared not delay, lifting the barrel and directly pouring the contents onto the victim’s scalp.
The screams were almost deafening, then grew weaker and weaker…
Until silence returned.
Dong Xiu didn’t wait for the end; he glanced at the nearly dying victim, then looked at the Furious Demon General, who was watching intently and completely oblivious to his surroundings. The lenses of his glasses flashed with a sharp light as he quietly exited the torture chamber.
With his hands in his pockets, he strolled leisurely through the corridor. On either side of the corridor stood a guard in armor, and upon seeing this recently favored human who had suddenly become a prominent figure in front of the Demon General, their attitude shifted to one of respect and warmth, all bowing and calling him “My Lord.”
Dong Xiu maintained a proper smile, nodding slightly at them. The responding guards were taken aback, perhaps having never encountered such a courteous superior, and for a moment, they were stunned.
Dong Xiu did not stop his steps, silently reaping the closeness and admiration of these subordinates, his eyes behind the glasses obscuring his emotions.
“Elvin.”
Passing through the corridor, he arrived at the private garden of the Furious Demon General, where two guards stood. One was of a higher rank, with ornate patterns engraved on his armor, reprimanding a lower-ranking guard. Upon seeing Dong Xiu, he called out to the higher-ranking guard.
Elvin looked up and, upon recognizing Dong Xiu, stopped his scolding and waved the bloodied little guard away.
Recently, this individual had garnered much favor in front of the Demon General, and even as the highest-ranking chief guard, Elvin could not afford to be careless. Moreover, Dong Xiu knew how to play the game, providing many benefits to those below him, including Elvin, so he was willing to give him face.
“Dong, it’s you! Weren’t you with the Demon General in the torture chamber?” Elvin greeted.
“It’s almost over; I came out to get some fresh air.” Dong Xiu utilized his social skills honed through networking, seemingly engaging in casual small talk with Elvin while inadvertently elevating him to great heights.
Elvin was flattered and, after a few exchanges, was almost ready to throw an arm around Dong Xiu’s shoulder and call him brother.
These demons were quite straightforward; compared to cunning humans, they could be considered simple. Dong Xiu wondered if this was due to the game’s setting; after all, artificial intelligence could never match human intelligence.
“I’m honored to follow the Demon General,” Dong Xiu said, “In my view, among these Demon Generals, none can compare to our Lord’s charisma.”
“Right, right, right!” Elvin immediately agreed happily, “Our Lord’s charisma is unmatched; those softies can’t even compare! And our Furious Legion, one soldier is worth three generals from other legions!”
Dong Xiu put on a proud expression, then feigned confusion, “Our Lord is so formidable; I just can’t understand why, with the old Demon King dead, our Lord shouldn’t naturally become the new Demon King. Why is there still competition with other Demon Generals?”
Elvin sighed, “It’s unavoidable. Although our people are strong, we are indeed a bit outnumbered. Take the Jealous Demon General, for instance; although his team is filled with weaklings, they have five times our numbers and love to use a swarm tactic to wear us down. Then there’s the gluttonous Demon General with that shameless legion, using human bombs; each one is as heavy as a cannonball, and when they sit down, they can crush several meat pies, causing heavy losses for the Furious Legion, leaving us in a temporary stalemate.”
Dong Xiu casually asked, “But I heard that the Demon King’s power can be transferred? Didn’t our Lord receive the inheritance?”
Elvin was completely unaware that Dong Xiu was fishing for information, as this matter was known by almost everyone in the castle. Thus, he casually dropped a bombshell on Dong Xiu: “It can be transferred, but you must personally kill the previous Demon King and consume his heart to inherit his powers; both are essential.”
“But unfortunately, the previous old Demon King was incredibly powerful, and no Demon General could kill him alone. No one was willing to team up with others, so they could only wait for him to grow old and weaken before daring to act. In the end, several Demon Generals all thought the same thing, and instead of deciding who would kill the old Demon King, they ended up fighting among themselves. That battle was chaotic, darkening the skies and blocking out the sun, lasting two years. By the time they were ready to determine the victor, the old Demon King had already died of natural causes, and even his corpse was affected, reduced to ashes. Where could they find the heart?” Elvin spoke of this matter with lingering regret. “Because of this, the old Demon King’s powers were not inherited, leaving the position of new Demon King vacant and the Demon Generals embroiled in chaos.”
Dong Xiu hadn’t had time to digest such a massive amount of information. Upon hearing that there was no inheritance, he immediately asked, “Then doesn’t that mean the power of the Demon King has completely disappeared? Even if there is a new Demon King, they won’t be able to reach that level?”
Elvin nodded helplessly, “That’s right; it has indeed been lost.”
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over Dong Xiu’s head, leaving him stunned.
The golden finger… just like that, it was gone?
Since it was gone, why was the card still written? Were they just toying with them like monkeys?
His expression involuntarily twitched, and Dong Xiu’s face gradually turned grim. He put his hand in his pocket, intending to immediately tear up that damned card that had mocked him, even though the card didn’t contain that content. He still couldn’t help but vent his anger.
However, just as he was about to explode, Elvin’s words pulled his rationality back.
Elvin said, “Although the old Demon King’s powers have been lost, the Demon Generals themselves are still incredibly powerful. Given time, they will eventually reach the level of the old Demon King. It’s just that currently, the differences among them are not significant, making it difficult to determine the top.”
Dong Xiu calmed down and thought about it; it made sense. This game was so intricately designed and filled with traps that he even suspected its purpose was to eliminate all players within. Now that the golden finger had appeared for the first time, if it were too overpowered, it would be abnormal. Strict control would align with the usual style.
In that case, it wouldn’t be considered the disappearance of the golden finger, because after all, a Demon General is still a Demon General. Even without those magical abilities, just in terms of physical quality, they didn’t belong to the human category. If he could inherit even a fraction of that, his chances of survival would greatly increase!
Dong Xiu’s mind raced, quickly understanding the pros and cons, and soon relaxed his expression, not allowing Elvin to see any issues. He continued to casually inquire, “So how long will this stalemate last?”
“Not long,” Elvin told him, “Due to the continuous wars, all five legions have suffered heavy losses. Eventually, the five Demon Generals were forced to negotiate and decided to hold a large-scale competition, with the results determining the final candidate for the position of Demon King. Recently, all the major Demon Generals have been trying to recruit talent; didn’t you come for that?”
I see. Dong Xiu remained composed, “That’s right; I want to serve our Lord. I’ve been having so much fun with the Demon General lately that I lost track of time. By the way, when does the competition start?”
Because the Furious Demon General often lost track of time while having too much fun in the torture chamber, causing delays in many matters, Elvin was already used to it and didn’t suspect anything. He said, “You were the last person recruited by our Lord; the testing period is two weeks. The competition will officially start in two weeks. You all will also have to participate and fight for the glory of our Lords, so the selection is particularly strict. Speaking of which, you were recognized by our Lord early without waiting until the last day; that hasn’t happened in years.”
“So how long until the official competition?”
“Three days.”
