The red beams of the searchlights formed an impenetrable net, tightly locking onto the green figure standing on the edge of the darkness.

  Alarms instantly shredded the silence.

  *BZZZ—BZZZ—BZZZ—*

  It wasn't a crude horn blast, but an electronically synthesized sound, precisely calculated to induce maximum panic in biological organisms.

  From those towering black iron spires, countless shadows surged forth.

  These weren't the screaming beasts seen before. They wore uniform black exoskeleton armor and held charging blaster rifles. The tall individuals leading them even held energy shields emitting a plasma glow.

  This was an army.

  The Slayer did not move.

  He just quietly watched the hundreds of gun muzzles pointed at him.

  In his visor's field of view, countless red lock-on boxes were generating rapidly.

  Distance: 150 meters.

  Hostile Unit: Abyssal Elite Guard.

  Threat Level: Medium.

  Not "High."

  Not even "Very High."

  Just "Medium."

  The first blaster beam was fired.

  The Slayer's figure suddenly blurred.

  [Flash Step].

  The beam struck the ground where he had just been standing, melting a smoking crater.

  The Slayer had already appeared in front of the shield-bearing captain.

  No fancy moves.

  The Tiger Soul Chainsaw in his left hand wasn't activated; instead, he used it like a blunt instrument, smashing it directly onto the energy shield.

  *THUD!!*

  The dull impact made the surrounding air vibrate.

  Before the shield captain could react, it felt an irresistible force. Its proud energy shield didn't shatter, but its arm snapped, and its body flew backward like a cannonball, knocking down a swathe of soldiers behind it.

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  The Slayer didn't stop.

  While the soldiers were still recovering from the confusion, he switched to the Yin Yang Shotgun.

  He didn't aim.

  Because there was no need.

  *BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

  Every roar of the shotgun was accompanied by large chunks of flesh and blood flying. The enchanted buckshot easily tore through the so-called "standard-issue armor," turning those demons into shattered meat.

  The soldiers began to return fire. Dense blaster beams hit the Slayer's Demon Dragon Armor, splashing countless sparks and enveloping him in a curtain of light.

  But this only enraged him.

  Braving the dense net of firepower, the Slayer advanced step by step like a human tank.

  He grabbed an assassin-type demon attempting a sneak attack and clenched his fingers violently.

  *Splat.*

  The demon's head shattered like a watermelon.

  He casually tossed the corpse toward a machine gun emplacement, then raised his shoulder cannon.

  *Whoosh—Whoosh—Whoosh—*

  Three micro-missiles dragged trails of flame, drilling precisely into the firing port of the machine gun bunker.

  *BOOM!*

  The bunker was blown sky-high.

  ...

  Netherworld, Control Center.

  Singularity watched this one-sided slaughter without much excitement. His attention was focused more on the structural map of the fortress.

  "Strange..."

  Singularity muttered to himself while typing on the keyboard.

  "The defensive firepower of this fortress is fierce, but its layout is weird."

  He marked several points on the holographic map.

  "Usually, the gun ports of a military fortress face outward to defend against invaders."

  "But look..."

  Singularity pointed to the tallest towers.

  "These heavy energy cannons... their fields of fire don't point to the perimeter of the fortress, but... inward."

  "To be precise, they point to that huge, low-lying area behind the fortress."

  Singularity quickly pulled up a scan of that area.

  It was a massive open-pit mine.

  Countless ragged, hunched creatures were digging tirelessly there. Some had horns, some had tails, but regardless of race, they shared one commonality: they wore collars emitting a red glow around their necks.

  And on the edge of the pit, those heavy turrets looked down on them coldly.

  Once anyone tried to stop or escape, the turrets would automatically lock on.

  "This isn't a defensive fortress at all."

  Singularity's voice went cold.

  "This is a prison. Or more accurately, a detention center."

  "These elite troops are stationed here not to prevent external invasion (after all, no one has fought their way here in tens of thousands of years), but to suppress that massive slave mine in the back."

  Back to the battlefield.

  The Slayer had already pierced through the outer defense line.

  He stood before the fortress's main gate. It was a massive alloy door, two meters thick.

  He holstered his gun.

  Gripped the hilt of the Greatsword with both hands.

  The exhaust ports on his Demon Dragon Armor opened fully, red energy streams forming a pair of phantom dragon wings behind him.

  *Slash.*

  A red sword wave, tens of meters long, swept out.

  *CREAAAK————BOOM!!*

  The supposedly indestructible gate had a massive "X" cut right through it, then collapsed with a crash.

  Through the rising dust, the Slayer saw the scene behind the door.

  Not more soldiers.

  But that massive, bottomless mine pit.

  And in the pit, thousands of pairs of eyes looked up, filled with numbness and despair.

  They looked at the green figure emitting a murderous aura at the gate.

  They didn't know who he was.

  They only knew that the overseers and guards who usually stood high above were now dying like dogs at his feet.