Five kilometers from the portal coordinates.

  A fully armed "Elite Patrol Squad" was marching across the scorched wasteland of the Abyss.

  The composition of this unit was ridiculously opulent:

  Leading the pack were two Marauders—five-meter-tall elite warriors wielding Argent axes and energy shields. In the hierarchy of the Abyss, they were special forces, possessing high combat intelligence and terrifying reaction speeds.

  Flanking them were a dozen heavy-assault Hell Knights.

  Bringing up the rear were several Revenants, their shoulder-mounted cannons scanning for targets.

  They had been ordered to investigate the spatial anomaly at the portal site.

  "Probably just another pathfinder from some random dimension who got lost," one Marauder grunted in low Abyssal, his tone dripping with contempt. "The last group of cultivators didn't even last three minutes before my wolves ate them."

  The other Marauder sneered, "I just hope the meat quality is better this time."

  Suddenly.

  A cloud of dust kicked up on the horizon.

  It wasn't the frantic, zig-zagging dust trail of someone fleeing in terror.

  It was a single green dot, moving towards them at high velocity.

  The Marauder narrowed its glowing red eyes.

  The dot grew larger.

  It was a man.

  A human encased in bulky,墨-green heavy armor, carrying a double-barreled shotgun that was still smoking.

  He didn't dodge. He didn't stealth. He didn't even decelerate.

  He was coming straight at them, like a green artillery shell, charging head-on into the elite forces of the Abyss.

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  "A human?"

  The Marauder paused for a split second.

  "Death wish!"

  It raised its red Argent energy shield and summoned a spectral wolf, letting out a roar of command.

  "All units! Tear him apart!"

  The demon army erupted with a deafening roar, surging forward like a red tide to drown the solitary figure.

  In their eyes, this was a meal delivery.

  This is the classic information asymmetry.

  This is fatal arrogance.

  Facing an enemy force several times his size—and heavily armed—the Slayer didn't stop. Instead, he accelerated.

  Distance: 100 meters.

  The Slayer raised his left arm.

  Shoulder Launcher: Fire.

  An Ice Bomb arced through the air, landing with pinpoint precision in the center of the demon pack.

  Hiss—!

  The cryo-blast detonated. A dozen Hell Knights charging at the front were instantly flash-frozen into statues.

  Distance: 50 meters.

  The Slayer switched weapons—[Heavy Cannon].

  Mod engaged: [Micro Missiles].

  Thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip!

  A dense barrage of missiles covered the Revenants in the backline. Explosions chained together, sending limbs flying.

  Distance: 10 meters.

  The Slayer holstered the gun and drew the Crucible Blade.

  Using the momentum of his sprint, he leaped high into the air.

  The lead Marauder raised its shield to block.

  But against the Slayer's raw power, the shield was like wet paper.

  Hum—CRACK!

  The red energy blade sliced straight through the energy shield, continued through the Marauder's helmet, and didn't stop until it reached the chest.

  Instant Kill.

  The Slayer landed. He didn't even look back at the collapsing corpse.

  He spun, the Crucible blade sweeping horizontally.

  Zzzzt!

  The frozen Hell Knights around him were shattered like glass.

  The second Marauder was stunned.

  It stared at the field of corpses. It stared at the green demon who had dismantled half its squad in a single breath.

  A primal, ancient fear—encoded deep within the demon genome—suddenly flashed through its mind. The legend whispered in the darkest pits of Hell.

  "That... That is the Doom Slayer?!"

  It wanted to run. It wanted to scream an alarm.

  But the Slayer had already turned around.

  The barrels of the Super Shotgun were pressed against its forehead.

  Looking into the black abyss of those barrels, the Marauder felt true despair for the first time.

  It tried to beg.

  BANG!

  Gunshot.

  The world went silent.

  The Slayer stepped over the headless corpse of the Marauder. He bent down, picked up a dropped Argent energy cell, and shoved it into his ammo pouch.

  He looked into the distance.

  There, more demons were gathering.

  Good.

  Underestimation vs. Crushing.

  The demons thought they were the hunters.

  But in the Slayer's eyes, they were just mobile loot boxes.

  The encounter lasted less than a minute.

  The Slayer reloaded. He continued his march.

  His silhouette, distorted by the heat waves of the Scorched Earth, looked incredibly massive.

  "Next Chapter: Cross-Plane Communication. Singularity finally connects the signal, and his first words are: Remember to turn on the livestream!"