Chapter 79: Counterattack! [Second Update]
March 15, 2017
Author: Author (诸生浮屠)
In the Bottomless Abyss, on the first layer of the Ten Thousand Abyss Plains.
As the demon army continued to advance, the front lines edged closer to the chaotic void.
This layer has the following characteristics:
Normal Gravity: The very top layer of the Bottomless Abyss, the Ten Thousand Abyss Plains, and many other layers exhibit normal gravity traits, but certain layers of the Bottomless Abyss may encompass various divergent gravity characteristics.
Normal Time: The passage of time in the Bottomless Abyss is the same as that in the Material Plane. However, rumors state that one layer has time flowing in reverse and relative decay. Although reverse flow is strange, a visitor might even experience rejuvenation or become nothingness.
Infinite Space: The layers of the Bottomless Abyss are eternally infinite, though its known realms are finite.
Divine Form: A being must be as powerful as at least a lesser deity to alter the Bottomless Abyss. Weaker beings will find it indistinguishable from the normal Material Plane (mutable form trait), as this plane can be altered by spells and physical effects.
Mixed Element and Energy Traits: This trait varies dramatically between layers. Overall, no single element or energy can maintain dominance in the Bottomless Abyss, although certain specific layers may display a dominant element or energy, or even a mixture of two or more traits.
Mild Chaotic Tendencies and Mild Evil Tendencies: Lawful characters suffer a -2 penalty on all charisma-based checks within the Bottomless Abyss, and good characters suffer the same penalty. Lawful Good characters face a -4 penalty on all charisma-based checks.
The Bottomless Abyss itself is endless.
However, the known layers have finite sizes, with some layers being unreachable and requiring special means to access.
In the Bottomless Abyss, all layers are planar spaces of varying sizes, with slight differences in gravity. The laws of these layers may change, and their sizes may alter over time. The Ten Thousand Abyss Plains was originally smaller than it is now; the demons, upon claiming this land, merged it with a piece of a half-plane from the Astral Realm, extending a platform linking to the arena of carnage.
These areas near the chaotic void can be difficult even for lesser deities to resist the forces of temporal and spatial turmoil.
In the vicinity of this land, the outer gravity has already vanished.
Many giant rocks are visibly floating in the void, some only a few centimeters, while others may be several dozen kilometers. Temporal and spatial turmoil intermittently erupts in this area, causing some materials to perish and giving birth to peculiar crystals.
These are the Annihilation Material.
The demons’ final bastion here is close to the chaotic void, on a landmass of about one hundred square kilometers connecting to the edge of the Ten Thousand Abyss Plains.
This is the bridgehead for the demons attacking the Ten Thousand Abyss Plains and a transit station connecting to the Hell of Bartok.
Due to the change in the Power of Laws, this place has been transformed by the demons; a massive fortress with walls over ten meters high is now in sight, originally garrisoned by over one hundred thousand demons, though the number has now been halved, as most of the main forces are in the Material Plane.
At this moment.
The vast and seemingly endless abyssal army has reached here.
More than three million demons rolling out create a sea of heads; the attack began last night, countless demon cannon fodder were sent onto the battlefield, not seeking to exhaust enemy numbers but merely to slightly reduce the demons’ stamina and spells.
This is a fierce siege battle.
There is almost no strategy to speak of, and the demons cannot propose a feasible tactical guideline.
Since last night, waves of assaults have erupted here, with over a hundred thousand demons joining the battle each time. After about an hour of offensive, the second wave of demons immediately follows, and now it is the seventeenth wave of attack. In this horrific slaughterhouse of flesh, hundreds of thousands of demons have died, but the number of demons is gradually decreasing, for they face far too many enemies.
The demons’ assault is relentless.
In this layer’s breach, continuous reinforcements arrive, and as demons die, some quickly advance in ranking.
The demons’ defensive line resembles a solid rock.
But no matter how solid the rock, it can only withstand a limited amount of attacks. Now, this rock has developed cracks; after the demons have suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties, the fortress’s defense line has become perilously fragile.
“Begin the full attack!”
Soren has been watching this merciless war of attrition, with unblinking eyes sending hundreds of thousands of demons as cannon fodder. When the demons’ defense line finally shows cracks, the real main forces begin to act.
A troop of around a thousand Six-armed Serpent Demons.
Three hundred Eye Demons are slowly advancing.
Over five hundred Balroth Demons have taken to the air, starting to assault the enemy’s defense line from the side.
More than a hundred Flame Demons are poised and ready.
Over twenty Balroth Fire Demons are behind Soren, ready to teleport support to the battlefield at any moment.
Tempt, Judge Soul Demons, Assassins, and thousands of high-level demons are waiting for their opportunity. Under Soren’s leadership, they have learned to obey orders to some extent, knowing at least to attack only upon receiving commands.
The final battle breaks out!
Thousands of mid-level and high-level demons are thrown into combat, some appearing as a mountain of flesh on the ground, while others unfurl wings and take to the skies, casting dark shadows. These terrifying demons rushed crazily towards the enemy, tearing the demons’ defense line into holes.
“Let the volcano take the stage.”
With a resounding dragon roar, a robust elder Abyss Dragon appeared, accompanied by three adult Abyss Dragons. They yielded to Soren’s power and were forcibly summoned to the battlefield of the Blood War.
Terrifying dragon breath enveloped the sky above the Iron Fortress.
As powerful dragonkind, even demons and other infernal beings cannot ignore the might of dragons; the Abyss Dragon left awful scars on the demons’ defense line, instantly becoming the final trump card to break the line.
“Charge!”
Once the demons’ prideful defense line is shattered, the battle is basically over.
In such circumstances, each demon faces over ten times the number of opposing demons, and even if they are strong in combat power, it is impossible for them to simultaneously defeat several enemies of equal rank.
Thousands of demons charged into the fortress.
Behind them, countless demons madly surged in, as if they were locusts battering the demons’ remaining defenses. Although hundreds and thousands of demons are still dying every second, at this moment, no one cares, for they are close to victory.
The madness of the demons is incomprehensible; they are so frenzied that they even attack their own!
But this madness also represents a terrifying desire to fight. Demons care little for casualties; as long as they see the hope of victory, they become berserk warriors.
The battle is about to conclude.
The last fortress of the demons in the Ten Thousand Abyss Plains is on the brink of being sacrificed, and they will be completely driven from the Bottomless Abyss. However, at this moment, Soren feels no joy; he quietly observes everything, then divine radiance emanates from his body, and he disappears among the demon army, while other Lesser Demon Lords take over command.
Soren has one crucial task to complete.
That is to merge his main body with his Demon Avatar. The Demon Avatar cannot withstand the Lord of Hell – Asmothiels. To counterattack the Hell of Bartok, his main body must face the pressure of the Lord of Hell directly.
It is time to unify.
The divinity and divine essence of the Demon Avatar will merge with the main body. He will no longer exist as an independent entity but will transform into an avatar form of Soren.
The Saint’s Cataclysm is nearing its end.
This upheaval has decreased the population of the Material Plane by nearly eighty percent, and now it is time to bring this disaster to a close.
