From Outcast to Overlord The Unyielding Heir (Leander Ashcroft) novel Chapter 487

Roar!

The instant the Blood Demon clenched his hand, the world around them twisted violently. Heaven and earth drained of color, collapsing into a domain of pure crimson that swallowed Leander whole.

As the Blood Demon’s wild laughter echoed outward, scarlet energy sealed the space in every direction, like an entire world shaped between his fingers.

"Half-King?"

Trapped in the blood-soaked realm, Leander didn’t move. He didn’t even blink. Didn’t even blink. He simply murmured the words softly, almost as though he was absent-minded.

"Yes," the Blood Demon said proudly. "A Half-King." He lifted his chin, voice dripping superiority.

"The Transcendent Realm suppresses the world through transcendent power. Your inner strength becomes innate vitality. At the peak of Infernal Crown Transcendent, to step further, your inner vitality must be compressed, refined, elevated, until it transforms into something purer, which is Primordial Energy."

"Reach that threshold, and you earn the title of King Phase."

A bead of blood-light danced at his fingertip as he lifted his hand.

"The conversion from innate vitality to Primordial Energy is no simple feat. Usually, for someone of the Infernal Crown Transcendent to transform, three successive refinements are required. These are called the King’s Triple Turn."

"Those undergoing this process stand far beyond all ordinary Infernal Crown Transcendents. The gap is staggering. This stage is what the ancient Martial Practitioners called ‘Half-King.’

"And I currently stand at the first turn of the King’s Triple Turn. A single-turn Half-King.

"In my eyes, every Infernal Crown Transcendent is a mere insect. Even a horde of peak Transcendents would die beneath my hand. That is why I am so certain of crushing you."

The blood orb on his fingertips burst, exploding into a drifting mist, thickening the realm into a heavy sea of scarlet.

"Although I’m just a Half-King," he said coldly, "my power is beyond your imagination. With a flick of my finger, I lock heaven and earth. With a thought, I decide life and death.

"Jeff Ashcroft, savor your final moments inside my blood coffin!"

From the outside, the viscous wall of blood closed fully, sealing Leander within a massive crimson coffin.

Below Swallow Hill, nighttime walkers paused, gazing at the sky where a streak of scarlet cut across the darkness. They marveled at the sight, unaware it was forged by the hand of a single man.

Two sharp currents sliced through the night. Christopher Gardner and Jimmy Wilder arrived in a mere second.

The moment they saw the blood-colored domain and the man hovering beside it, their expressions hardened.

"Second on the Assassin Leaderboard, a Heaven-tier killer of the Netherweb… Is that the Blood Demon?" Their voices overlapped.

When they’d learned the Netherweb had moved against Leander, they expected a top-tier killer to strike, but not so soon. And certainly not the Blood Demon himself.

"Astria’s Shadow Division?" The Blood Demon’s gaze lifted lazily, disinterest etched deeply on his face.

With his power, even if the two of them fought together, they wouldn’t last a heartbeat.

"You came here to save Jeff Ashcroft?" His voice curled with mockery.

Inside the blood coffin, the blood energy would soon unravel into countless threads, devouring vitality, stripping flesh, draining blood, until only a withered skeleton remained. "Is General Ashcroft inside?" Christopher and Jimmy’s faces darkened.

Jimmy roared in anger. "Blood Demon! You dare trespass into Astria and attempt to kill our Wyvern Blade General? Do you think Astria stands empty?"

The Blood Demon chuckled. "Just the two of you?"

"Even if he knows I’m in Highcliffe, would he dare strike?

"If he does, it means the Martial Practitioners of Astria openly defies the King Phase Accord. That is a price even he cannot afford.

"Trying to frighten me with the King? Ridiculous. Jeff Ashcroft’s life belongs to me."

Christopher and Jimmy’s faces shifted again, but no words came. The Blood Demon was right.

More than a century ago, during the War of the King Phase, the great powers had forged the King Phase Accord, a covenant no King Phase had dared violate since. And the Shadow Division King, one of the original signatories, would never be the first to cross that line.

If he truly took action now, the Eastern King Phase would be the one to break the pact. The Westeria King Phase would descend in unison. The world would plunge back into chaos.

That was a weight even the Shadow Division King could not carry.

As the blood coffin shrank, tightening around its prey, panic crept across both their faces. Leander Ashcroft was Astria’s greatest treasure, its national pillar. They couldn’t bear to watch him be devoured alive by the Bloor Demon. Yet, before a Half-King’s sealed domain, they were utterly powerless.

Just then, a strange tremor pulsed from within the blood coffin. All three snapped their heads toward it. On the surface of the crimson coffin, a pale, long-fingered hand pushed outward, then drew sharply to the side.

Rip!

The blood coffin tore open midair, fracturing like shattering glass, dissolving piece by piece.

Through the collapsing shards, Leander stepped out, black hair whipping in the rising wind, eyes calm and absolute. His voice rang across the mountaintop, cold, and unshaken.

"So this is a Half-King? That’s it?"