Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Bai E, once again entering the cave alone, moved with light steps and chose a descending path without looking back.

While rescuing the members of the other two squads, Bai E had already discovered that the honeycomb-like passages here had almost no dead ends, each path leading eventually to the ultimate core location—

The absolute heart of this nest.

Is bearing all the pain of one's comrades worthwhile?

Of course, it is.

Bai E repeatedly felt the various fears emanating from different comrades, as well as the truths those fears revealed—the fear of that demon!

The master of fear incarnate, the embodiment of fear itself, also suffered the torment of fear itself!

It feared human defiance, it feared its true intentions being seen through.

It tried to corrupt Bai E's will by exploiting the mental worlds of all his comrades, then let them awaken to instinctively persuade him to leave with his people.

It feared direct confrontation!

It feared revealing its own vulnerability!

The demon that played with fear was itself a plaything of fear!

A demon... that only played tricks with illusions.

Without any concrete evidence, Bai E trusted his own judgment.

...

Upon crossing a certain boundary, everything suddenly became clear.

The cavernous hollow expanded greatly before his eyes, the wide underground space seemingly endless in the darkness ahead.

It was unclear whether this was the natural work of spirits or the artificial expansion by the refugees who came here.

At this moment, a sea of bowed heads prostrated on the ground, worshiping their "deity" in a certain direction.

The refugees weren't dead...

Of course, they weren't dead.

How could the souls of the deceased provide the intense emotions that the demon required?

Instead, this "deity" needed to protect its poor "children" for its own sustenance.

No traps? Because there was no need for traps.

It needed ignorant beings to step in to provide sustenance for itself, or the wild beasts that strayed into the cave to sustain these impoverished refugees.

In the dark hollow of the cave, only a high throne of bones stood quietly.

The shadows in the dark carved out a circular arc, and as Bai E stepped into the expanse of this cavern, the symmetrical shadows suddenly unfurled.

Like bat wings, the black shadows blocked out the light, and a pair of demon wings thunderously spread open!

[??? (Demon) (Chaos) (???): ???]

The demon itself!

Not a chosen believer, but... the actual demon itself!

As if waiting for Bai E's arrival, there was movement in the darkness only when he appeared.

The nearest refugee was involuntarily lifted into the air, the man seized by an unknown force screamed in despair, "Ah! Ah! Don't! Please, don't! Save me!"

His limbs flailed wildly without control, as if he knew his fate that was to come.

Hearing the man's anguished cries for help, the cluster of bowed refugees lowered their heads even further, their bodies trembling like a sieve.

The refugee pulled by the invisible force eventually drifted slowly before the demon, and a muscular arm powerfully grasped his throat.

And so, even the scream turned into a choked, whining struggle.

"Hiss~"

Reddish misty vapor connected from the refugee's head to the open mouth of the demon, the ultimate fear of death of the dying being the "delicacy" It most appreciated.

Hearing their kin's painful cries before death, the fear emanating from the surviving refugees palpably intensified.

Of course, Bai E couldn't see the energy derived from emotions, but he could clearly feel the fear invading his body grow even more fierce.

Similarly, the terrifying presence radiating from the horrific demon seemed even more daunting for a moment.

The fear provided by all sentient beings was his greatest source of power.

So... you want to make me feel fear?

No!

Bai E, long accustomed to such an environment, would not succumb to such an obvious emotion. On the contrary... he thought the demon was bluffing.

The real great demons dwelt in higher-dimensional spaces, controlling the fates of countless beings.

Even for them, manifesting in the material world was an extremely difficult task.

Although they were humanity's nominal enemies, their essence... was no different from true deities.

The demon before him, enslaving a mere group of miserable refugees, seemed just a little... pitiable.

Perhaps this demon was born from the initial fear and panic these refugees felt towards the unknown future and environment when they first arrived here.

With a flick of the body, Bai E drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

To confront fear itself, one couldn't just look and walk away.

Emotions stem from within; people can deceive friends, deceive enemies, but they can't deceive themselves, nor can they deceive demons.

Some might speculate on the mastermind behind the scenes and be content to retreat, thereby unaffected from then on;

Some people took one distant look at the demon's true form and, after confirming their suspicions, perhaps could then retreat;

While others needed to challenge that demon to prove their bravery, regardless of whether they could injure or defeat it...

Sometimes, a simpler mind might lead to an easier life.

But Bai E couldn't do any of that.

Born proud, why speak of retreat?

Not only did he wish to strike, but he also arrogantly sought to find a way to completely vanquish this demon!

To win was not the ultimate goal, the desire to win was.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The bowstring made a grating "creeking" sound under stress, and after a slight readying of his aim, he took the wind's assistance to its limit.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow tore through the air, swift as lightning!

And yet, such a speedy attack seemed to the demon as if it were in slow motion.

Watching the arrow come straight at it through the air, the demon even opened its arms early in preparation to embrace... the attack.

"Hum~"

The steel arrowhead collided with the demon's blood-red muscular surface with barely any indication of kinetic resistance before helplessly falling to the ground.

Ineffective!

The hideous demon sneered in Bai E's direction, and the image that should have been too far to see clearly somehow lit up directly in Bai E's pupils.

Across the surging crowd of hundreds of refugees, the demon raised its claw and made a grabbing motion, and Bai E suddenly felt himself uncontrollably flying rapidly towards the demon.

While seemingly struggling frantically, Bai E's left hand calmly clenched the dagger hidden behind him, which had been coated with... Exorcism Essential Oil.

However, Bai E's situation clearly differed from that of the refugee just now; his heart devoid of any fear and intent on counterattacking, the demon could not extract from him any of the nourishment it craved.

Without heart-wrenching screams of despair emanating from deep within, how could the common refugees deepen their fear and worship of the demon?

Intelligent beings are mostly emotional creatures; however, emotions have a shelf life, and time is the enemy of all things.

Nothing will stay sunk in the same kind of fear for long; accustomed to despair, they will gradually adapt.

Only by constantly applying new stimuli, making them feel fear directly and intensity from all angles, will the emotion of "fear" they provide be both greater in quantity and "tastier."

A self-important fool wishing to challenge me?

There are such beings among humans; the six so-called "human warriors" who came earlier had tried to do the same, yet now they've become the ones who crawl at my feet with the deepest fear.

Bai E's body gently landed about ten meters in front of the demon, and the closer distance allowed for a clearer view of the demon's entire appearance.

Even under the pallid green vision of night-vision goggles, the red muscles shimmered with their innate luster, mysterious lines akin to runes sketching fascinating patterns on its body, the grey-black bat-like demon wings lay quietly folded, its face ferocious and fangs bared.

Such a familiar feeling, it seemed demons should look just like this.

No...

Bai E suddenly realized.

This wasn't the demon's real appearance... or rather, demons don't have a true appearance.

What living beings see of demons is merely a projection of their own imagination.

Demon... demon...

Through Bai E's eyes, "seeing" the presumptuous human's imagination of it, the Lord of Fear's lips curled into a cruel, wicked smile.

It craved fear, submission... mere slaughter could not satisfy its desires. The more resolute the human warriors like the one before it, the more intense the emotions they would emit when they fell!

Glancing sideways, warriors who had received the signal, their bodies trembling, looked back with sincere advice to their comrades from the same homeland.

"It's no use..." muttered the warrior still in the standard combat uniform of the military camp, one of the reconnaissance soldiers who had previously gone missing. His voice shook with endless fear, "It's no use, the True God will eventually rule the world, the entire world will submit to the Lord's will!"

All things must end, only fear is eternal.

"Bullshit!" Bai E sneered coldly, nocking an arrow and drawing the bowstring.

The Lord of Fear stood high on its throne, as if waiting for the futile struggles of mortals.

"Hum~"

"Hum~"

The arrows Bai E fired could pierce metal and split stones, yet to the Lord of Fear, they were like annoying mosquitoes that made a buzzing sound but never dared to get too close.

The attacks were completely ineffective, not even a hint of the expected resistance.

"It's no use..." another warrior trembled as he lifted his head, "The Lord is the one True God of this world..."

Bai E's brow furrowed slightly, but he made no sound.

With his limited knowledge, he believed that demons that manifested in the real world could be combatted.

Only Exorcism Essential Oil could cause true harm to them, but that did not mean ordinary resistance would have no effect—

Strength could repel, and flames could burn... Even without Exorcism Essential Oil, a sufficiently powerful warrior could ensure they weren't consumed by a demon.

The Exorcism Essential Oil was just the simplest means to force them back into higher dimensions.

At this moment, it shouldn't be like this...

The attacks shouldn't be ineffective; even the top-tier Four Great Demon Gods manifesting in the world shouldn't be able to completely ignore all attacks.

Bai E's gaze inadvertently swept around before settling on himself.

Quietly contemplating, he looked inward with a focused expression.

It was... "faith."