Nobody expected a bloody battle to break out inside the Jade Nest.

To those on the outside, the Jade Vault was expected to open three months from today, since that was when the seals would naturally lose their strength and break.

However, in less than two months after entering, the battle that would determine the fate of everyone who entered had started, and already, dead bodies had started to pile up.

Klaus and his team had engaged the four assassin teams from the Green Paradox. Killing the green-masked assassin had provoked them, so they dropped all caution and attacked.

All of them are Immortal Lords, so aside from the surprise attack that claimed the life of the green masked assassin, taking out the rest will take some effort.

Klaus knew he must put everything on the line here, or else he risked dying easily.

However, as he was surrounded by 9 assassins, a smile crossed his face, showing he wasn’t at all afraid of them.

Of course, he wasn’t about to be arrogant. In fact, all ten immortal rings he had formed were active, each working to keep him alive long enough for the formation to take shape.

Rory was locked in with one assassin who wielded a short sword, while another seemed to circle around her, waiting for an opening to attack.

Slate, Omen, and Echo had also found their targets.

Princess Evren and her teammates were also locked in, their battles sending shockwaves far and wide.

Klaus never expected the delicate princess to actually be proficient in close combat. However, watching as she wielded a sword and clashed with the assassins, he could tell she wasn’t all beauty and no substance.

Of course, winning would be hard since she isn’t a hardcore warrior. But Klaus knew she would live—at least long enough for his formation to bloom.

On the other side, the 9 demigod beasts who led their own beast army to the valley had clashed with the corrupted warriors, and their battle had already taken a dark turn.

Already, over a hundred beasts lay dead, with not even a single corrupted warrior among them.

This sight shocked Klaus greatly. The battle had only been going on for 5 minutes, but they had already killed this many. Chilling enough, the two corrupted demigods were locked in against all nine demigod beasts.

Until today, Klaus had heard from many that calamity beasts are monsters beyond measure. Today, it appears they were weaklings before these corrupted warriors.

Even if these calamity beasts aren’t those from the calamity zones, the mere fact that they are calamity beasts should count for something. However, that wasn’t the case.

They are dying, and that is very shocking.

If anything, he knew the true danger had been revealed, and they were the corrupted warriors, not the Qilin Mercenary Legion.

The Qilin Mercenary Legion already have their hands full.

Beast Goddess Beyhos was locked in against True God Eric, while Kaz was locked in with the other True God.

Beast Gods Merle and Reis were also keeping two out of the three remaining gods at bay, while unexpectedly, Crux and another demigod from Beast God Kaz’s domain held back the other god.

That unexpectedly made it so that the demigods on Klaus’s side dropped to ten. This also means they had to take on 24 demigods, which, in Klaus’s opinion, is impossible.

Unfortunately, he had no way of mitigating that just yet, so the beasts were being slaughtered rather faster than he had hoped.

However, he knew they would pull through for now. If they can hold on for a while, then he can help them.

He, on the other hand, must also handle his opponents before they handle him...

"It is rather heartbreaking to think your existence was lowered to the point you couldn’t tell you are being manipulated," Klaus said while blocking a dagger aimed at his heart.

He deflected that blow and, spinning his body around, struck with his spiked boot, landing a hit on a female assassin’s shoulder.

She was pushed back, blood oozing from the spike marks he left on her shoulder. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Another assassin slipped behind him while a second and third came from both sides, their daggers poised for a deadly attack.

Klaus smiled and moved down, landing on the ground with a heavy thud.

The impact caused metal spikes to erupt from the ground, shooting at the three assassins. One of them was caught off guard and struck. However, he managed to move sideways fast enough for the spear to land on his shoulder.

Even so, he was pushed back and injured, reducing the active attackers to 7.

"I don’t know who hired you to come after me. It is just that they failed to tell you I cannot be killed easily," Klaus retreated and swung his scythe, meeting the dagger of another assassin.

Just when he moved forward to land a punch, a shadow moved past him at a deadly speed. He only had time to lift his shoulder and pull to the left fast enough for the attack to land on his shoulder instead of his neck

<You have been poisoned with the Dantura Nightshade Toxin>

Klaus furrowed his brow, reading this message.

His body moved on its own, evading a dagger to his torso, only for another cut to land on his left leg.

<You have been poisoned with the Dantura Nightshade Toxin>

Klaus narrowed his eyes again, his expression turning darker. He counted nine assassins before him, and as far as he could tell, none of them escaped his sight, so who kept attacking and poisoning him?

He had no time to think about it since he was already targeted by five assassins, their daggers mere inches from him.

Klaus paused for a moment, the poison neutralizing as his Poison Immunity took effect. However, it wasn’t fast enough, not when, before he could escape from the five attacks, his left arm was cut again.

The same message appeared, but he couldn’t see the target.

Thankfully, he managed to evade the five attacks and even injured one of them in the process.

’Icon, how long until the poison becomes lethal,’

[Dantura Nightshade Toxin lethality Level: 22%]

’And how fast is my immunity handling it for now,’

[Not fast enough, master. However, by my calculation, you have about 30 minutes minimum and 45 minutes maximum to figure out who keeps attacking you and take them out.]

Klaus nodded.

He looked at Rory and saw she was holding on perfectly. On the other side, Slate, Omen, and Echo were also doing okay.

Princess Evren had a cut on her left arm, but other than that, she and her team were also holding on.

Seeing this, he smiled.

"Really sad to have to kill such fine warriors," his eyes turned from golden to red. At once, a powerful blood aura exploded from his body and his scythe, causing the 9 assassins fighting him to halt for a moment.

The aura around Klaus had changed, and for some reason, they felt in danger.

To make that clear, Klaus pointed his scythe forward, and from the ground, the blood spilled from the slain beasts, and some humans started moving toward it.

When the first blood entered the scythe, it hummed.

Klaus let go of the handle and retrieved a black sword.

He looked at the scythe and smiled. "Feast, buddy. By the time you awaken, I will have nine fresh immortal bloods for you to devour."

Klaus took a step forward, and his body turned to blood mist. The next second, a scream came from one of the assassins.

His left hand was severed and flew into the air, blood gushing out from the shoulder.