The ominous breeze, bearing blood-stained sand, blew over the pitch-black and barren land, emitting ghastly, sycophantic laughter.

Stone spires that rose from the ground connected the firmament with the earth, beneath which grew yellow thorns and dried, stiff fungal stems, resembling the bones of a giant beast.

This was the fifth layer of the labyrinth.

The monsters living in this area were mostly helpers that Reggie Dragon had picked up from outside the labyrinth.

And legend had it that only the most ferocious beasts could take root in this desolate and savage land.

Over centuries, countless groups of adventurers, both large and small, had reached this barbaric place known as the Blood Arena.

However, those who came here did nothing more than darken the land with their blood, leaving no other trace behind...

The camp of the Crush Skull Tribe.

An ogre chef with a potbellied belly was dumping chopped chunks of flesh into a pot, where it stewed with hodgepodge blocks of plants and mushrooms.

A priest in a bone robe danced before the blazing flames, occasionally throwing the ashes of wild beasts into the bonfire and watching the flames burst and yelp chaotically.

An adventurer with limbs amputated was tied near a totem pole, his blood-stained face filled with numbness and despair.

Before long, their despair ended.

Under the direction of the ogre priest, several small goblins stepped forward, skillfully slashing the throats of the adventurers, allowing their blood to drench the coated totem pole, and then skewering their bodies on a spit as thick as an arm.

"Gob!!!"

"To our king!!!"

"Ahh ahh ahh!!!"

Accompanied by human skin drums, the goblins responsible for the blood sacrifice began a war dance to please the "Great Stomach King," chanting in their gibberish voices.

Watching their kin being roasted by the fire, the captives locked in iron cages turned pale, their lips trembling, unable to utter a word.

Bloody.

Savage.

And cruel!

This place was even more hellish than Hell itself!

Rumors had it that although the demons of Hell tormented captives, they rarely killed them as the dead could not provide the power of faith.

They even gave captives hope of being rescued by their kin to retain their sanity and not break their spirits.

However, these ogres were different.

They did not seek to please the Demon God they professed to worship but an imaginary, all-powerful "Great Stomach King—Buldada"!

It was because of this savage belief.

Like ratmen, they were known as the race closest to Chaos.

After all, once part of the ogres starved while others feasted, they would attract the attention of the "Ever-Hungry Claw".

And if they indulged too much in slaughter, filled with the desire to kill, they easily pleased the "Flame of Destruction" unwittingly, causing the totem of the Great Stomach King to gradually resemble the portrait of Calmandes.

Because of this unstable state of mind, they were neither accepted by humans on the surface nor tolerated by Hell's society.

Only when one side was at a disadvantage on the battlefield would they need them, being hired as mercenaries to join their ranks.

Honestly, if not for Reggie Dragon's sudden death, Kassen Skullcrusher had never imagined that he, as an ogre, could one day become a lord ruling a corner of Hell.

Even the fourth Demon General, Blood Blade Glak, had promised him—if he could unify the first five layers of the labyrinth, he would be acknowledged as the fifth Demon General!

The future of the labyrinth under Thunder County would no longer bow to Hell; they would defend this territory in their own way and offer their loyalty to the Demon God.

Though he had little interest in "offering loyalty to the Demon God," he was very interested in ruling the first five layers of the labyrinth.

It was for this reason that he purposely sabotaged during the peak conference and secretly negotiated with the ruler of the third layer of the labyrinth.

Sitting in his bone chair, Kassen Skullcrusher chewed on the charred leg meat while fantasizing about the taste of a Dark Night Elf's thigh.

It was said that the flesh of those pointy-eared Elves carried the fragrance of fruitwood and was deliciously tender even without seasoning—a claim of uncertain validity.

And then there were the Little Demons.

Ever since he caught a glimpse of that red-haired, red-eyed Little Demon at the peak conference, he had wanted to taste the creature.

Unfortunately, the new Demon King sent from Demon City completely disrupted his plans.

Just as he was gathering strength to annex the fourth layer of the labyrinth, he had no idea how that guy managed it, but not only did he leave the human town alive, but he also consolidated the scattered upper layers of the labyrinth into a solid force in the blink of an eye.

What made him even warier was that the new Demon King was not only adept internally but also formidable externally, preventing the infiltration of Lizardmen from the Southern Swamp and even seemingly striking an undisclosed pact with internal forces of the human kingdoms on the surface.

The Demon King's minions and human knights sat together, chatting and laughing...

Even Reggie Dragon had never managed to infiltrate the Trident Knights to such an extent!

If his confidant hadn't seen that scene with his own eyes, he would never have believed that such a thing could actually be true!

In any case—

The new Demon King from Demon City was not to be underestimated in either strength or strategy.

He even couldn't help but suspect that the guy had once visited Thunder County and quietly cultivated many years without anyone's knowledge.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.