At an unknown place, there is a giant castle under a red sky, the same as the sky in the devil territory. The atmosphere is truly like that inside the devil territory—ominous and suffocating—and it could drive anyone who steps into this place insane with the thickness of its negative energy.

Inside the castle, there is a vast hall where a throne stands, and on it sits a handsome middle-aged man with two fangs on his lips.

He rests his hand on his cheek with his eyes closed as if sleeping peacefully. Although he seems relaxed and releases no aura, he is one of the most feared existences in the First Heaven.

The Vampire King, one of the overlords who lead the devils of the southern side of the First Heaven, Virusius van Reinfer.

His long black hair is neatly combed to the back. His pale skin makes him look as if blood is lacking beneath it. His handsome face could captivate many of the opposite sex. He continues to exude a special charm even though his eyes remain closed and he does nothing.

Although he appears motionless at this moment, his mind is fixed on what he saw in the Soul Hall last night. Usually, before his troops march to war, they pour their energy into an artifact called the Soul Lamp. The function of the Soul Lamp is to give a sign of whether the energy owner is still alive or not.

This place is where the soul signs of the troops he sent as reinforcements to the central star cluster in the Arbion Galaxy are kept. When he received the report that more than a million life signs had suddenly gone out, he instantly came to check.

He was shocked by the sight of more than a million Soul Lamps that had gone dark, signaling that those troops were already dead. His men who observed the Soul Lamps reported that they went out rapidly, and within less than a minute, almost all of them were extinguished.

It was truly astonishing. He looked at his son's Soul Lamp, which still shone. He frowned at it, for his son's guardian was already dead, yet his son remained alive.

Since last night, there has not been much change, and he keeps thinking about what really happened with his son's troops that he sent there.

His mind drifts back to the time not long ago when there was a sudden visit from "above," saying that the plan had changed and their god would not descend. This left him confused. There was also no news from the apostle regarding this, leaving him without guidance.

He could not tell his son immediately because of the distance, and when they were in the wormhole, communication could not connect. Even if he sent a message, there would still be a delay for some time.

Still, he believed there would be no problem despite the change in plan. With such a massive and powerful army, some of them even from the higher heavens, they should have been difficult to defeat.

But the sight in the Soul Hall showed that his son's troops had encountered something capable of almost wiping them out in such a short time. This is the thought that still weighs heavily in his mind.

However, while he is still thinking about this matter, he suddenly opens his eyes, quickly releases his aura, and grabs his head.

"Argh!" he shouted in pain as his aura flared, startling the devils around the castle with their king's sudden outburst.

The royal guards outside the hall instantly rushed in, only to see their king clutching his head in agony. They were astonished, but they quickly gathered around him.

"Your Majesty, what happened? Who is attacking you?!" one of the guards asked while the others checked the surroundings.

Virisius gritted his teeth, not answering the guard's question right away. He had almost been caught off guard by a sudden karmic attack.

The moment he sensed it, he immediately raised his karmic defense. Just before that, his spiritual sense manifestation in Rulleus had been triggered, allowing him to perceive what his manifestation perceived. And what he saw made his fury erupt.

His son was dead.

And that arrogant young man who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth dared to mock him.

What shocked him even more was that his manifestation had been crushed, and he had nearly been caught by the powerful karmic attack. If not for his defense, his soul would have suffered severe injury, which would have truly given him a disastrous day.

Luckily, he managed to defend against the attack, but his soul was still shaken and affected by the karmic strike, and he could still feel the lingering pain deep within.

'That bastard… how dare he… HOW DARE HE CHALLENGE ME?!'

As the guards continued to wait for an answer, they were stunned to receive only a furious growl and a blazing glare from Virisius. They did not understand what had happened, but their shock grew as their king's aura surged stronger and stronger before he finally roared.

"I declare Code Devils Judgment! We will go to war! I will lead the army myself!"

His voice boomed with rage, echoing across the vast land. The devils who heard it were struck with disbelief at such a sudden and terrifying announcement. What in the world had happened?

The Code Devils Judgment was a command that summoned nearly the entire force of the Vampire King and his influence to march under his banner. It was a decree that could only be issued by the King himself.

Throughout history, there were only rare occasions when this judgment was invoked. The last time had been three million years ago, when the devils sought to radically expand their territory across the First Heaven. At that time, the king of that generation personally led the army, conquering lands and stars in the name of the Devil God.

That war devastated countless regions in the First Heaven, and though the devils triumphed in most places, they paid a heavy price. Many troops perished, and the king himself nearly lost his life.

Now, for the Vampire King to declare the Code Devils Judgment, this would be the first time since that era. Without asking questions, all the devils who heard it immediately moved according to the standard procedures set for such a command. Moreover, seeing their king's fury, none dared to speak.

If the Vampire King was enraged, then the only thing to do was to remain silent and obey. If he wanted to go to war, they would prepare to depart for another great conflict, one that might bring destruction on the same scale as the war three million years ago.

-------------------------------

Back in the dungeon of Aldrian's palace, Xarz felt a chill run through him when Aldrian turned his head toward him. He did not dare to look directly into his eyes and quickly lowered his gaze. He tried to keep his body under control, to stop it from trembling in front of Aldrian.

He ignored the blood and remnants of brain matter still staining his face, focusing only on calming his body and mind. Aldrian was truly insane, daring to do anything without hesitation—even challenging the Vampire King to his face. Xarz knew he could not afford to go against such a madman.

Then he heard Aldrian's footsteps drawing closer until a shadow loomed beside him. His heartbeat quickened as he awaited his judgment. If Aldrian truly wanted him dead, then he could only fight desperately to survive. Even though he knew he stood no chance, he would not simply stay still and let his life be taken.

He had come this far and was still alive, and he would do anything to keep it that way.

Aldrian did not say anything at first. He leaned against the table in front of Xarz. After a few moments of silence, heavy and tense for Xarz, Aldrian finally spoke.

"I have to at least commend you for not being a coward after all this time, and for thinking of every way to survive. At least in this aspect, you are better than this headless corpse." He glanced at the headless body of Rulleus.

"Luckily for you, you still have some use to me, although I truly feel disgust toward the devils." Aldrian then straightened his posture.

"You had better show me a more useful side of yourself in the future. Because when I decide you are useless, you will be dead, and there will be nothing you can do." He said this before walking out of the room.

After sealing the room, Aldrian's footsteps grew fainter and fainter until Xarz could no longer hear them. Yet Xarz still did not move, even after more than a minute. Sweat was already soaking his entire body, and after a few moments he finally let out a heavy breath of relief.

He had truly thought he would die just now!

He then looked at the headless corpse and couldn't help but shudder. That could have been his fate just now, and he thought himself truly lucky.

At least for now, he could prolong his life for a while. He did not know what would happen to him in the future, but he knew that he had to stay on Aldrian's side from this point on. He needed to keep himself useful so that Aldrian would not kill him.

He also knew that in this situation, the Vampire King would see him as a traitor, and his fate would be worse than death if he ever fell into the king's hands. The only thing he could do was make sure he never ended up in the Vampire King's grasp.

'But the future will be truly chaotic once they meet face to face,' Xarz thought as he imagined the day when Aldrian would confront the Vampire King.