Chapter 66: Occupy the Blood Pool!
The area south of the Weeping Wind Moss Prairie is mostly barren mountainous land. Such land is not highly regarded even by demons, who prefer the plains. The Gurenba Arena is built in the flatter part of the mountains, as there is a nearby mine that the Demon Goblins have gradually taken advantage of to strengthen themselves. However, all of this now belongs to Soren, and the only real threat to him is the slumbering Abyss Dragon. If left undisturbed, it should remain asleep for some time, as it is well known that dragons can slumber for years.
This Abyss Dragon has been asleep for nearly two years so far.
If not for Soren’s appearance, it might have continued to sleep until the Saint’s Cataclysm ended; perhaps this is the dragon’s fortune.
The duration of the Saint’s Cataclysm is relatively short for dragons, allowing many to inadvertently avoid this most turbulent period in the multiverse while they slept.
The barren mountains do have their advantages.
Although there aren’t frequent spawns of the Abyss Worms and Coward Demons like in the plains, these mountains are rich in minerals with visible open copper and iron mines. This is highly enticing for Evil Spirits, as they can mine the ores directly and forge weapons to sell to other Evil Spirits.
This time, the Demon Lord Covenant nominally allocated one-third of the Land of Forgotten to Soren.
However, in reality, to control this land, Soren must also conquer the other powerful beings residing there.
The Werewolf army has temporarily retreated.
Yenogu is not an ignorant brute; upon learning that the Demon Lords of the Bottomless Abyss’s third layer have united, he will surely gather enough forces before launching another attack. Relying solely on Werewolves would result in heavy casualties; while Yenogu is brutal and ruthless to other races, he is merciful to Werewolves and is certain to gather the armies of the Ghoul Kings as expendable troops.
This gives other Demon Lords a buffer of time.
The Material Plane’s core is focused on constructing the Divine Kingdom. Fortunately, the third wave of impact did not reach the Overseas Islands, giving Soren ample time to develop.
………………
Soren has chosen to conquer the first target: the Abyss Blood Pool.
To the south of the Weeping Wind Moss Prairie lies a significant location, a deep Abyss Blood Pool nestled among the mountains.
This pool is a continuous source of troops, labor, consumables, and cannon fodder. For any Demon Lord, occupying the Abyss Blood Pool is a crucial part of their plans, representing endless regenerative resources without the need to constantly gather wandering Coward Demons in the wilderness.
However!
Occupying the Abyss Blood Pool is not easy.
As mentioned earlier, there exists a creature known as the Mother of Worms, a massive entity with nearly demigod-level abilities, tasked with protecting the Abyss Blood Pool through direct confrontation with dragons.
Soren approaches with a grand procession of Demon Hunters.
Due to the Abyss Blood Pool, the land here is dark red. Before getting close, one can already see many wandering Coward Demons. They are a timid lot, afraid to roam and level up in the wilderness of the Bottomless Abyss, preferring to hang around the Abyss Blood Pool, waiting for careless worms to emerge, which they then pounce upon to devour completely.
The Mother of Worms does not allow other demons to approach the Blood Pool, but she does not stop foolish Abyss Worms that venture out of her protective range.
When Soren arrives, he sees a group of Coward Demons feasting on the few worms that ventured out, and without hesitation, he recruits these timid creatures. The Gurenba Arena is preparing to mine, and he needs a large number of demon laborers for the task.
Coward Demons are very weak.
But in terms of demons, they are quite strong for humans, with some possessing more strength than an adult male.
Zzzz.
Soren’s arrival instantly raises the Mother of Worms’ alertness. With a dull sound, the thickly clustered Abyss Worms scatter, and the Mother of Worms moves her massive body to appear before Soren.
Boom!
Soren gestures for the other high-level demons to step back and then takes a step forward, activating his fiery body, enveloped in roaring flames. This terrifying fire causes the Mother of Worms to retreat a step.
“I!”
“Am the embodiment of power!”
Soren spreads his wide demon wings behind him, a fiery whip over ten meters long materializes, and his colossal beheading sword, aflame with intense fire, hovers above as he flies into the air, overlooking the Mother of Worms below, unabashedly displaying his power as a Demon Lord and shouting, “This is my territory!”
“All demons must obey my command!”
Flames surge.
With a flick of his hand, a massive fireball descends, directly exploding next to the Mother of Worms and creating a giant crater, roaring, “Vile worm!”
“From today onwards, I am your master!”
“I will take over this Abyss Blood Pool to continuously provide troops for my demon army!”
“You must submit to me!”
“Otherwise! You shall choose death!”
——[Intimidation]!
As a Demon Lord, Soren can avoid some battles, as intimidation is often enough to resolve most enemies.
The Mother of Worms trembles slightly.
Facing the imposing Soren, she feels a hint of fear, and after a long pause, she lowers her head.
Then, a line of data appears before Soren:
“Intimidation Success!”
“You have successfully subdued the Mother of Worms [Legendary Creature]! … You have gained control of this Abyss Blood Pool! … From now on, the Mother of Worms will not allow any demons except those loyal to you to take worms from the Abyss Blood Pool! …”
“You have successfully occupied the [Abyss Blood Pool]! …”
………………
The submission of the Mother of Worms unexpectedly brings the Abyss Blood Pool under Soren’s control.
He slowly descends from the sky, retracting the raging flames on his body, and walks near the Blood Pool.
Before him lies a mass of worms.
These are the basic forms of demons; all demons can evolve from Abyss Worms. They embody the wealth of the Bottomless Abyss, collecting and reincarnating scattered souls. Having an Abyss Blood Pool for a Demon Lord is equivalent to possessing a treasure trove, from which they can continuously reap wealth and followers.
Of course, the prerequisite is that you can defeat the Mother of Worms.
“Come here.”
“Immediately send troops to garrison this place!”
Soren quickly retreats from the Abyss Blood Pool, as his oppressive aura causes all nearby worms to shrink in trembling, imprinting the terrifying presence of a Demon Lord deep into their souls.
Soren looks down at everything and commands, “From now on.”
“I want you to guarantee that a batch of demons is born here every day; I need a large force to strengthen my army!”
………………
Occupying the Abyss Blood Pool is only the beginning.
Soren still faces many challenges in conquering this land, with the next being a rather repulsive creature in the Bottomless Abyss.
——“Bodash!”
This is a kind of terrible undead creature that wanders in the Bottomless Abyss, filled with hatred for all living beings. Bodash will attack all demons and are rarely enslaved by Demon Lords, unless that Demon Lord is also an undead creature. Within Soren’s territory, there exists a group of Bodash.
They pose a serious threat to Soren’s wealth.
Many demons birthed in the wilderness, which could have been recruited by Soren to work in the mines, have been killed by these Bodash.
Dealing with them is not easy.
Soren gathers nearly thirty thousand demon troops and also dispatches some Fire Demons he has created. Soren is heading down the path of the Balroth Fire Demon Lord, having selected excellent souls during this time, and has cultivated about six Fire Demons who could potentially advance to high-level Flame Demons with the right evolution plan.
It will be a brutal battle!
Even Soren personally joins the fray, but when he finally eliminates the Bodash, his demon army has also suffered nearly ten thousand casualties.
However, everything is worth it.
As long as the Bodash are eliminated, all demons in the surrounding wilderness can be recruited by Soren; this amount of army can be recovered with time. Soren is clearing his territory, needing to eliminate many creatures, such as Demon Spiders, twisted mortals, various undead, and wandering devils.
Because in the uppermost layers of the Bottomless Abyss, the traces of devils may also appear.
A vast territory means more reincarnation opportunities, and while continuously consuming demon troops, Soren’s forces also gained a batch of newly advanced mid-grade demons due to the battles.
Meanwhile, during the conquest of these territories, Soren’s demon army is also growing larger. After eliminating the third batch of undead, Soren has recruited an army of over two hundred thousand demons, though the vast majority are low-level demon cannon fodder.
At the same time.
Dozens of kilometers north of the Gurenba Arena, a deep abyss mine led by Ygoroth and manned by Demon Goblins has begun operations.
Thousands of low-level demons have been sent to work in the mine, constantly transporting various ores out, some of which are sent to the weapons factories set up by the Evil Spirits, while the refined ores are sent to the lord’s residence.
No one knows where these metals go.
They only know that since the mine began operations, a batch of metals has been sent to the lord’s residence daily, but there has never been any sight of finished metal products being transported out.
No one dares to ask further.
The demons also do not care much about where these metals went; they only care that their power has grown greater, the number of demons they can control has increased, and their lord has become stronger. They are focused on how to continue climbing higher.
Mining operations commence.
Large quantities of metal are forged into weapons, and nearly half of the output is sent to a place called Modo City.
………………
(PS: Hmm. Working hard to resume daily updates.) (To be continued ~^~)
