Here is the English translation for Chapter 140, formatted with clear syntax, polished grammar, and an engaging narrative style tailored for Western fantasy readers, maintaining proper character consistency (including Barsha as a female squad leader):

140. Shura Awakens!

Denta's dark energy continued to condense, escalating in volume and density—a phenomenon clearly visible through Gayatri's specialized eyes. High above, Aji matched the dark general's surge, continuously drawing in environmental mana to saturate his vessel without the slightest fear of internal overload.

To anyone watching, both combatants were absolute monsters!

Realizing the aerial duel was far beyond ordinary intervention, Gayatri resolved to assist the regular military task force on the ground, where dark operatives were still fighting in overwhelming numbers.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Arion and Sanjo successfully eliminated Junta. Coordinating their strikes, the two young warriors generated a roaring vortex of kinetic energy. Arion launched a high-speed spear thrust, forcing Junta to deploy a dense dark barrier to brace against the impact. Taking advantage of the dark general's frozen stance, Sanjo flanked him with dual sai, executing a rapid flurry that shredded Junta's defense. Arion seized the split-second opening, channeling his total internal core into a devastating thrust that impaled Junta through the chest.

CRACK!

Junta's mutated vessel shattered into fragments, dissolving into nonexistence like dissipating dark mist.

In another sector, Drisin struggled to hold his ground against the relentless assault of Nagada and Alicia. Wielding a heavy broadsword, the dark lieutenant was systematically pushed back as Nagada manipulated a hovering ring of energy blades. The continuous barrage of sword projections forced Drisin into a permanent defensive guard.

Above Drisin's head, Alicia manifested a dense storm cloud, raining down continuous streaks of celestial lightning onto his position. The two young operatives showed no signs of exhaustion; their internal cores regenerated mana as rapidly as they expended it, fueled by their refined 8th-circle cultivation.

Driven into a corner, Drisin detonated his dark core, encapsulating his frame in a dense, protective dark shroud. Mutating into a massive demonic beast, he unleashed a desperate shockwave to clear the field. Alicia offered no respite; channeling her spellsword parameters to their absolute limit, she unleashed a massive arc of sword energy.

Drisin raised his broadsword to block the strike, but the sheer kinetic force shattered his steel into splinters. Forcing his scale-covered arms upward, he attempted to absorb the residual blast with raw dark magic. Spotting the opening from behind, Nagada closed the distance at maximum velocity, driving his blade straight through Drisin's back. Nagada executed a rapid succession of thrusts, systematically dismantling the lieutenant's mutated vessel.

"HAAAAA!"

Nagada's high-speed barrage eroded Drisin's physical structure until nothing remained. With Drisin's fall, Denta's elite lieutenants were completely wiped out. On the forest floor below, joint task forces were systematically purging the remaining dark operatives. The eyes of every surviving warrior turned toward the heavens, where Aji and Denta—one of the legendary Five Gates—were engaged in an apocalyptic duel.

"Heir to the Three Legends?! What a farce!" Denta's thunderous roar echoed across the sky as his vessel expanded with fresh dark aura. "You are far weaker than those three old fools! You don't possess a fraction of their peak strength—stop boasting about inheriting their legacy!"

Infused with a fragment of the Blood Supreme, Denta's vessel continuously harvested residual life force from every martial artist slaughtered inside the forest over the past few days. The more energy he drew from the fragment, the denser his dark aura became, multiplying his combat parameters with every passing second.

Thrusting his right palm forward, Denta manifested a hovering, pitch-black magical array. Thousands of overlapping dark energy spheres materialized, descending upon Aji like a catastrophic meteor shower.

Aji remained perfectly composed, eyeing the endless barrage with calm, unbothered eyes. Rotating his right foot to plant his stance in mid-air, he compressed his internal core.

"Ghost Speed!"

In the microscopic fraction of a second before the first dark meteors struck his frame, Aji's physical form blurred into an Afterimage, vanishing from sight. Renting the air where he had stood a millisecond prior, Denta's bombardment detonated in a continuous chain reaction.

Tracking Aji's high-speed trajectory, Denta redirected his palm, unleashing a continuous carpet-bombing assault across the sky. He intended to test the limits of Aji's stamina, eager to see who would exhaust their internal reserves first.

Not a single dark meteor touched Aji's flesh. Moving with fluid grace, Aji deflected stray blasts with his wooden staff, sending them veering off to the left and right while evading the main stream. The stray energy beams pierced through the canopy, detonating across the forest floor below.

Massive explosions gouged deep trenches into the earth, setting ancient trees ablaze. Down on the ground, regular military units and dark operatives alike were forced to suspend their combat to dodge the rain of explosive shockwaves. The battlefield transformed from a organized clash of troops into a desperate scramble to survive the collateral damage generated by the two grandmasters above.

Alicia sprinted toward Gayatri, deploying a dense aura barrier over their heads. When a stray dark meteor veered directly toward them, Alicia channeled her full parameters to deflect the blast, sending the energy projectile crashing into a nearby ridge where it detonated like a high-yield bomb.

The explosive yield of a single stray beam rivaled a siege weapon, yet Aji was casually weaving through thousands of them—any one of which could level a city block.

"Should we step in to assist Aji?" Alicia asked anxiously, keeping her barrier raised.

"I cannot say," Gayatri replied, her eyes locked on the aerial clash. "If we intervene without absolute precision, we might become an obstacle rather than an asset. Let us hold position and observe, Alicia." Gayatri could sense that Denta's current energy output had crossed into a realm that few individual cultivators could face head-on.

Empowered by the Demon Lord's Blood Supreme fragment, Denta had harvested vast quantities of life force, using the purified nourishment to continuously recharge his dark core.

His dark aura flared with unchecked intensity. Yet Gayatri wondered: Can a mortal vessel truly contain such unbridled power indefinitely? Did the Blood Supreme fragment possess the capability to filter raw human aura so perfectly that it converted directly into stable dark magic without causing internal collapse?

The aerial battle grew increasingly fierce. Aji continued to dodge Denta's high-density bombardment effortlessly, occasionally parrying heavy strikes with his wooden staff.

As the Sky Squad members consolidated their ranks around Gayatri and Alicia, Commander Yarko materialized in the sky, surging toward the center of the clash to reinforce Aji.

As Denta's bombardment intensified, Commander Yarko deployed a massive defensive wall of magic-infused sword energy, intercepting a volley of dark meteors.

"Wouldn't it be wiser to take this fight to the ground, Warrior Aji?!" Yarko called out, his teeth gritted as he strained to hold his barrier against the continuous detonations. Even as a veteran master, Yarko found himself heavily pressured by the sheer volume of dark magic wielded by one of the Five Gates.

Denta's fearsome reputation was well-earned; the kinetic shockwaves were steadily driving Yarko backward through the air.

"Let us descend!" Aji agreed smoothly.

As Yarko's barrier fractured under the onslaught, the two grandmasters dived toward the forest floor. Denta's relentless dark energy beams curved through the air, trailing their descent and obliterating everything along their path.

A ten-kilometer radius of ancient woodland was completely erased, transformed into a scorched, cratered wasteland littered with smoking debris. Halting his bombardment, Denta hovered mid-air, gazing down with contempt as Aji and Commander Yarko touched down on the ruined earth. Assembled behind them were the surviving military units and the Sky Squad.

Descending slowly from the sky, Denta planted his boots onto the scorched soil, his dark core humming as he prepared for the final phase of the battle.

Meanwhile, inside a subterranean sanctuary deep beneath the continent...

A dark-robed woman knelt in silent reverence, awaiting the command of her sovereign, Lord Demon Shura.

Slowly, the Demon Lord rose from his cross-legged stance. As he stood, atmospheric dark magic surged toward his vessel, forming a roaring vortex around his frame. The kneeling woman was Nesia—the intelligence commander among the Five Gates—who had been guarding her master's secluded chamber. She knew her lord was finally waking from his two-decade slumber.

His recovery was complete. The grand campaign to subjugate the world was about to begin. To draw the righteous alliance into a localized trap, Nesia had leaked false intelligence regarding the Moon Flower, coercing every major academy to assemble inside the Tulisma Forest.

The remaining Five Gates had been dispatched to execute the trapped cultivators and harvest their residual life force. Infused with fragments of the Blood Supreme, the dark generals had been empowered to act as unstoppable vanguard commanders, laying the groundwork for Shura's global conquest.

Lord Demon Shura turned slowly, his dark cloak trimmed with crimson runes rustling in the gloom. He took a measured step forward with his right boot. The mere impact of his footstep sent a seismic tremor rippling through the stone walls of the cavern.

"Bwahahaha! The hour has arrived!" Shura's voice boomed through the chamber. "Nesia! Mobilize our legions and transmit the signal—the total annihilation of human civilization begins today!"

The thunderous voice shattered the silence of the sanctuary. The sheer density of Shura's presence sent a violent tremor through Nesia's core, filling her with absolute awe. She bowed her head lower against the cold stone floor.

"By your command, My Lord!" Nesia responded, though a hesitation lingered in her mind. "My Lord... regarding my three comrades currently engaging the enemy in the Tulisma Forest—shall I transmit a signal ordering their withdrawal?"

Nesia asked because Denta, Samoa, and Zagar were actively eliminating the cultivators trapped within her artificial lure. In truth, Nesia doubted whether the Moon Flower was even real; she had crafted the intelligence report as a pure counter-intelligence ploy to construct a slaughterhouse.

"You understand so little, Nesia," Shura sneered, a dark smile touching his lips. "Your three comrades are currently waging a glorious war, shattering the forest floor. The Moon Flower is no mere myth—it manifests only when a massive, high-density concentration of elemental energy saturates a single geographic location!"

Nesia gasped in shock. The Moon Flower requires a high-yield energy collision to bloom?!

"Is the celestial artifact truly real, My Lord?!"

Shura laughed softly. "Indeed, Nesia! That is precisely why I dispatched your comrades to unleash total devastation upon that forest. The more violent the clash, the more aura is spilled into the earth—forcing the Moon Flower to bloom! Bwahahaha!"

Nesia stood frozen as the realization struck her. The revelation was horrifying: whether her three fellow Gatekeepers won or fell in battle, they were merely sacrificial catalysts deployed to force the manifestation of the celestial artifact. The Demon Lord cared nothing for their survival—only for the birth of the Moon Flower.

"You need not harbor concern for their fates, Nesia," Shura added carelessly. "I have preserved their biological essence. Should their physical vessels be destroyed, I can resurrect them at will!"

Nesia's eyes widened in absolute disbelief. "This humble servant does not understand, My Lord... how is such a miracle possible?"

"Observe!" Shura commanded, lifting both palms.

Dark magic erupted from his hands, condensing into two glowing spheres of dark energy. As the light faded, two distinct figures stepped out from the shadows, standing silently before the Demon Lord.

"Look upon them, Nesia! Raise your head!"

Nesia lifted her gaze slowly. Sensing the familiar aura signatures radiating from the two figures, her breath hitched as she recognized their faces. Her mind reeled in absolute shock.

My Lord possesses the power to reconstruct fallen warriors... resurrecting them from death through dark magic?!

"Indeed, Nesia!" Shura roared, his voice echoing through the subterranean vault. "The absolute essence of dark magic and the Blood Supreme have achieved total synthesis within my vessel! I command life and death itself! Bwahahaha!"

Shura's sinister laughter echoed off the stone walls. Before him stood the two reconstructed figures, standing perfectly still, awaiting their master's order. Nesia pressed her forehead against the stone floor, completely overwhelmed by her sovereign's godlike authority.

"Long live Lord Demon Shura! Hail the Supreme Ruler of the World!"