A Temporary Respite

"What a spectacle."

Wang Bert and Adam narrowed their eyes at the same time. There were roughly a hundred Demon Gods above them, most of them ordinary Demon Gods. There were four Ancient Gods in total—Eye Demon Shuma, the Great Demon God Chthon, Serpent God Seth, and Astros.

The first three Ancient Gods were old acquaintances and needed no introduction. As for Astros, she was a female Ancient God who could manipulate black holes and gravity. Her strength was formidable.

The Super Heroes wore grave expressions. Anyone could tell that this was no ordinary situation. Gorr the God Butcher gripped the Necrosword tightly, his face brimming with killing intent. So many Demon Gods. He wanted to kill them all.

"The Demon God Alliance."

Adam asked, "If I’m not mistaken, your target is the souls of the Main Universe?"

"That’s right."

Chthon did not deny it. He said, "The bug plague will wipe out half the life in the universe. That means an enormous number of souls will appear. Such an opportunity comes only once in a billion years. Of course we won’t miss it. Forget half—even one-tenth would be enough to stuff us full."

"That’s right."

The Demon Gods nodded one after another. Without profits this immense, why would they have united? "Hey, Satan, what are you doing standing with the humans? Isn’t devouring the Main Universe’s souls Hell’s favorite thing to do?"

Astros, who had a pair of bat wings and wore a very revealing outfit, could not help cursing, "You used to be the vanguard."

"You said it yourself. That was before."

Adam said, "Hell is now a friendly Earth unit. It won’t harm Earth, much less the universe."

"A friendly Earth unit?"

Both the Demon Gods and the Super Heroes were speechless. Tony even snarked, "Why does this feel like a wolf making friends with sheep? Also, who certified this friendly unit?"

"Satan, think this through. Hell is different from Earth. Earth is protected by the Defense Net, so we can’t descend there."

Chthon said coldly, "But we can go to Hell whenever we want. Can you stop us and over a hundred Demon Gods? Even if you somehow can, if you keep acting against Hell’s interests, will Hell’s Will continue to favor you?"

"Come if you have the guts. We’ll see whether I can stop you. As for Hell’s Will, you needn’t worry about it. We’re on very good terms."

Adam sneered. Any other Satan would definitely have been threatened, because once Hell’s Will stopped favoring them, they would lose everything. They would not merely cease to be Satan; they would not even qualify to be a Demon King.

But Adam was different from those Satans. Hell’s Will did not dare stop favoring him.

"Then there’s nothing more to say."

Chthon said, "Hell will soon have a new master."

Adam said disdainfully, "You think I’m afraid of you? By the way, with such a large-scale descent into the Main Universe, aren’t you afraid the Creator Gods and the Living Tribunal will lose their tempers?"

"Maintaining Universe Balance is the righteous cause. The Creator Gods will not lose their tempers with us."

Chthon looked toward a certain spot in the void and said, "As for that newly promoted Creator God, he has no time to bother with us. Galactus is not easy to deal with."

Adam curled his lip in annoyance. Everything had happened at once—if Blood God had not been tied down, these Demon Gods would never dare act so arrogantly.

"Great Demon God Chthon, Eye Demon Shuma, Serpent God Seth, you promised not to come to the Main Universe."

Strange shouted. If these Demon Gods joined the bug clan’s camp, the universe would be in danger.

As long as there were enough souls, even Earth’s Defense Net could not prevent the Demon Gods from descending. Mephisto and Eye Demon had both descended before.

"That was merely a verbal promise. We never signed an Ancient God contract."

Chthon glanced at Strange and said, "Before such immense benefits, a verbal promise cannot bind us."

Serpent God Seth scoffed. "We’re not idiots like that inflexible Crimson God."

"You dare insult me?"

Crimson God had been watching this side all along. Hearing that, he flew into a rage. A red beam descended from the sky and landed on Jessica, causing her aura to surge. More importantly, she would be able to borrow Crimson God’s power at any time from now on.

That was Crimson God—an utterly willful Ancient God. Also, among all Ancient Gods, his promises were the most trustworthy. As the saying went, a man’s word was his bond.

All the Demon Gods turned to stare at Serpent God Seth. Your mouth is way too foul. Seth was somewhat embarrassed and angry. He changed the subject. "Satan, release Knull now. You cannot stop so many Demon Gods."

"That’s right, Satan. Release me now."

Knull laughed triumphantly. "My fellow Demon Gods, I can decide to give the souls to you. From now on, let us cooperate properly and destroy Earth, along with those overconfident Super Heroes."

"Very good."

The Demon Gods nodded in satisfaction. The reason they wanted to save Knull was to find a Middleman. With Knull’s help, all those souls would be theirs.

"Threatening me? With my temper, if I don’t show you some color, you’ll really think I’m easy to bully."

Adam flew into a rage and directly climbed out from the depths of the Space Vortex. Everyone stared in stunned disbelief. He could climb out of it? Eye Demon’s eyes nearly fell out as he asked Doctor Doom, "Are you kidding me? This Space Vortex is two-way? Aren’t you at Kamar-Taj afraid Satan will lead hundreds of millions of demons into the Main Universe?"

Exile-type spatial spells were generally one-way. Once demons tried to cross over, Earth’s Defense Net would activate and block them outside.

"Two-way?"

Tony and the others were also stunned. Tony hurriedly asked Doctor Doom, "Doctor Doom, is this Satan reliable?"

"More reliable than you."

Doctor Doom snorted. Adam was Wang Bert’s avatar. If he was not reliable, who was? Gorr shouted, "We cannot let Satan enter the Main Universe. He is more dangerous than the bug clan."

"Sorry, I’m already in."

Adam grabbed the Lucifer Greatsword within the Space Vortex and swept it through the air, destroying the black giant sword. Then, he yanked hard on the chain, pulling Knull rapidly toward him.

Knull cried out in alarm, "Save me!"

"Stop him."

Chthon’s human face transformed into a skull and charged at Adam amid rolling demonic flames. Astros snorted, and her human face transformed into a streak of Black Light that shot toward Adam.

Ivan’s expression changed drastically when he saw the Black Light—it was a black hole, an extremely terrifying black hole.

At the same time, Serpent God Seth’s snake face transformed into a green beam that coiled toward Knull, while Eye Demon Shuma controlled his tentacles to follow close behind.

As for the ordinary Demon Gods, they silently watched the show. It was not that they did not want to act; they simply could not. With their strength, they could not transmit power through the Defense Net unless worshippers prayed to them.

"You think you can stop me?"

Adam smiled disdainfully and slashed at the skull. The skull suddenly exploded, scattering endless demonic fire that burned the Space Vortex, trying to drive Adam out of the Main Universe.

Seeing this, Adam slapped the void with his left hand. The Space Vortex shook, and all the demonic fire was teleported to Hell.

At that moment, Astros’s Black Light arrived. Adam glared at it, and the Black Light changed direction, blasting toward Seth and Eye Demon’s magic.

Chaos Concept.

The next second, Astros’s Black Light exploded and transformed into a black hole, swallowing all of Seth and Eye Demon’s magic. Adam raised his hand to seize Knull, preparing to take him back to Hell.

Just then, Knull’s head abruptly detached from his neck and transformed into a streak of Black Light, escaping the Space Vortex. Chthon had made a feint in the east while attacking in the west, using Black Magic to take Knull’s head away.

After the head flew away, Knull’s Soul Stone lit up and rapidly expanded. He was clearly trying to perish together with Adam. Adam hurriedly used Hell Power to suppress Knull’s soul.

"My soul."

Knull looked heartbroken. An Ancient God’s concept was attached to its soul. Losing most of his soul meant losing most of his concept.

In other words, Knull would fall from an Ancient God to the peak of godhood.

"Leave quickly, or you won’t even keep that head."

Chthon’s voice rang in Knull’s mind. Knull gritted his teeth and, with the Ancient Gods’ help, crossed the void and fled the planet.

"Don’t let him escape."

Everyone hurriedly attacked to intercept him. Eye Demon Shuma snorted, and his eyes transformed into dense beams of energy that howled down from above, blasting everyone away.

"Satan, and Super Heroes, we will meet again soon."

Chthon snorted and led the Demon Gods away at once. The sky suddenly brightened again, but everyone’s hearts were filled with gloom.

This was trouble.

"Why are you all pulling such long faces?"

Adam emerged from the Space Vortex carrying most of Knull’s soul and said, "Someone who didn’t know better would think you lost."

Tony sighed. "We did lose. Knull isn’t dead."

"Though Knull isn’t dead, his strength has fallen from Ancient God to the peak of godhood. He is no longer much of a threat."

Adam said, "That means your objective has been successfully achieved. Honestly, it is remarkable that you reduced a mighty Ancient God to this state. From this day onward, all the heavens will sing of your strength."

Strange hesitated before asking, "But those Demon Gods…"

"Even without Knull, those Demon Gods would still have their eyes on the Main Universe. It would merely be a bit more troublesome."

Adam shook his head. "From the start of the bug plague, from the moment Blood God was restrained by Galactus, the Demon Gods’ descent was inevitable. You don’t need to blame yourselves."

"We’re simply worried about what comes next for the universe."

Steve said with a bitter smile, "The bug clan plus the Demon Gods—the alliance may not be able to stop them."

"What’s there to fear?"

Adam said arrogantly, "The hundreds of millions of demons in Hell stand ready to fight for the Main Universe at any time. Hell will be the Main Universe’s most steadfast ally."

"Really?"

Everyone’s eyes lit up. If Hell truly stood fully with the Main Universe, this war could still be fought.

The question was, could Hell be trusted? After all, the so-called friendly unit Hell had once been the one most covetous of the Main Universe.

Adam said, "Of course it’s true. Don’t overthink it. The fact that I didn’t immediately chop you all to death means we’re on the same side."

"Chop us to death? Damn it, you actually entered the Main Universe?"

Everyone froze, then recoiled in alarm.

"If I wanted to chop you up, I would have done it already."

Adam irritably raised Knull’s soul in his hand and asked, "Enough nonsense. You take half this soul, and I take half. Any objections?"

"What do we need this soul for?"

Tony looked disgusted. "We’re not demons that devour souls."

"You bumpkin, this is an Ancient God soul that possesses concepts. It can be forged into a concept artifact."

Adam said contemptuously, "Concepts are worth more than anything in the universe. If you don’t want it, I’ll take it all."

Everyone’s eyes lit up. "A concept artifact? Like the Spear of God?"

"Only Tony said he didn’t want it. We didn’t. Give us half the soul."

Doctor Doom said. Tony glared at Doctor Doom and shouted, "When did I say I didn’t want it?"

"Just now. Everyone heard you."

Doctor Doom said coldly. Everyone nodded and said, "That’s right. We all heard it."

"You bastards."

Tony gritted his teeth in anger. Adam burst into laughter. "Tony Stark, you really are as irritating as the legends say. Enough of that—Knull’s soul contains the Fusion Concept and the Devouring Concept. Which one do you want?"

"We’ll discuss it."

Doctor Doom said. Tony snorted. "What good is taking it? Can any of you forge concept artifacts?"

"We can’t, but Master can. Also, please stop interrupting us. This has nothing to do with you."

Jessica said impatiently. Tony wanted to slap himself. Why had his mouth been so quick? An artifact had vanished just like that.

At that moment, Bald Wang Bert stepped forward and said, "Half the Fusion Concept and half the Devouring Concept. I’ll help Steve forge a shield."

"A shield?"

Everyone was stunned. Wang Bert nodded and said, "Yes, a shield. It will function similarly to the Necrosword. Steve, I want you to become Cosmic Captain and lead the Super Heroes to defeat the bug clan."

"Cosmic Captain?"

Steve was taken aback, then shook his head repeatedly. "Bert, that won’t do. I can’t monopolize everyone’s spoils. Besides, I’ve actually wanted to retire for a while. I’ve fought enough wars."

"Though I’m very annoyed with you, you can’t retire now. Both S.W.O.R.D. and the Super Heroes need you."

Tony said, "I agree to forge the new shield."

"As if you have any say in the matter."

Ivan mocked, then added, "Still, I agree too."

"I agree too!"

The others chimed in one after another, including Carol. Steve might not have been the strongest, but he had always been everyone’s spiritual leader—they had grown up watching his films.

Only Steve could hold the position of Captain.

Gorr was somewhat surprised. He said, "So many people support you. You must be a very good person."

"Thank you, everyone."

Steve smiled bitterly, then said firmly, "I won’t let you down."

"Since you’re all being so generous, I can’t be stingy either. I’ll give you my share too."

Adam tossed Knull’s soul to Wang Bert and said, "I’m returning to Hell. When you need me, open the Hell Gate. I will lead Hell into battle."

With that, Adam briskly departed the Main Universe through the Space Vortex. Strange let out a huge sigh of relief. In truth, he had been guarding against Adam the entire time, afraid that this Hell Lord would suddenly attack them.