Chapter Eighty: Bronze Fortress! [Seeking Recommendation Votes]
Avernus.
The first layer of the Hell of Bartok is a scorched wasteland filled with rubble, where mountains and sloping hills break the monotony of the landscape. Countless armored demon legions eternally guard this place, always gathering for assaults in the bl**d War across planes. A bl**d-red glow hangs in the air, and fireballs sometimes soar through the sky, crashing down to create horrific explosions. A river filled with bl**d flows through Avernus, ultimately merging into the main artery of the River of Underworld, with no one knowing where this bl**d comes from, although demons claim it could be the bl**d of all past victims of Avernus.
The core structure of this plane is the Bronze Fortress, a rugged, sturdy, and rigid city covering over thirty square miles and known for its twelve concentric circular walls, each lined with war machines. This city of demons is filled with pitiful souls, lesser demons, and countless low-level demons ready to head to the bl**d War at any moment. In the past, to counteract massive demon assaults, Avernus was the frontline, with defensive fortifications constantly being built within the Bronze Fortress. Those working souls, lesser demons, and little demons continuously expand this city.
Near the Bronze Fortress lies the Skull Pillar, a gigantic target made of skulls symbolizing the evil spoils acquired in the bl**d War.
Most of these spoils are distorted, demonic skulls that vary in size from extremely small to as large as houses. This terrifying skull pillar rises over a mile high, filled with the skulls of countless powerful demons, all trophies from the bl**d War.
The lord of the first layer of the Hell of Bartok is Bael.
A legendary powerhouse who rose from the weakest demons, in the center of the Bronze Fortress stands Bael (a powerful Hell Alchemist who controls Avernus)’s private fortress.
In addition to being the lord of the first layer of the Hell of Bartok, Bael is also a general in the bl**d War, although he is not one of the Eight Demon Generals. Bael betrayed the former first lord, Zariel, for his current position. According to rumors from his subordinates, Bael still keeps Zariel imprisoned deep within the Bronze Fortress, allowing him to absorb her hellish power, gradually transforming her into another soul shell while enhancing his own abilities. Although Bael rose quickly, he has very few connections with other demon lords, seeming to be less friendly with most except Asmothiels.
The original lord of the first layer of Bartok was Tiamat, the five-headed dragon queen, the god of evildoers.
However, later Tiamat seized a demiplane and attached it within the gaps of a lower plane, so from that point on, she has distanced herself from the faction of the Hell of Bartok.
Following Tiamat was Zariel, and now it is the rising Bael. A part of the realm of the evil dragon god touches the Hell of Bartok, housing an entrance to her divine kingdom, though this dragon deity has been very low-key for thousands of years; low-key deities often live a long time.
Of course, it is also possible she has unknowingly fallen into slumber.
Dragon gods are the rarest, and even when active, they tend to wander the Astral Realm; their slumber may last for hundreds of years.
In general, very few gods challenge dragon gods because there is hardly any conflict of interest, and even a dragon god with weak divine power can battle other deities with medium divine power across two tiers, as these dragon deities are incredibly strong in their foundational abilities.
………………
Today’s Avernus is not peaceful.
Because when the first layer of the Bottomless Abyss was recaptured, the crazed demons had already prepared to counterattack the Hell of Bartok.
If it were in the past, this would not have been an easy feat.
Because a River of Underworld obstructs between the two planes, and spatial teleportation requires time, which provides enough time for the demons to react. But everything is different now because Soren is the Lord of d*ath; he is the deity who governs the underworld within the multiverse. With his approval, demons can cross the River of Underworld in half a day’s time.
This time!
Demons have finally felt what it’s like to have someone backing them.
The ferryman of the River of Underworld not only did not charge them exorbitant fees but also quickly organized tens of thousands of demonic vanguard troops from Ygoroth across the River of Underworld.
Then.
The first layer of the Hell of Bartok, Avernus, was instantly met with the frenzied counterattack of the demons.
In the multiverse, no one would doubt the bloodthirstiness and belligerence of demons. Feeling the presence of a great deity behind them, the demons erupted with the attribute of [High Morale], swiftly capturing three defensive fortresses on the river’s edge, quickly fortifying them and establishing a stable interplanar bridge.
Avernus is a prosperous land.
In this layer, there are countless demon factories producing a vast amount of steel and weapons, while a large army is stationed here.
At this moment.
On the edge of the River of Underworld, a demon goblin sorcerer is excitedly directing other demons, shouting, “Fools! Be careful! Hurry up and move this over here!”
“Slow down!”
“If you break it, I’ll skin you alive!”
“Take it all away.”
“Get everything to the Molten Iron Lake! Hurry up! Hurry up!”
The production capacity of demons is completely unmatched by ordinary demons. They took three defensive fortresses in Avernus, occupying five warehouses filled with thousands of pieces of equipment. At the same time, two factories were constructed nearby, which the demons immediately shipped back under the sorcerer’s instructions.
This is a frontline position.
Although they have counterattacked into the Hell of Bartok, no one knows what the outcomes of the subsequent battles will be; the demons are largely motivated by a desire for revenge.
Thus, all these factories must be moved back.
The demons’ cunning has allowed them to hoard a vast amount of wealth, and their war resources are among the best in the multiverse. After obtaining these materials, the demons quickly armed over ten thousand soldiers and pushed their battlefield straight to the vicinity of the Bronze Fortress.
Here, the demons faced the first heavy blow in their assault.
After suffering over a hundred thousand casualties, not only did they fail to breach the Bronze Fortress, but they were also pushed back several dozen miles, losing a batch of medium and high-level demons.
At this moment, the demons realized that the devils remained such formidable foes.
The main force has yet to arrive, so the demonic vanguard can only defend and wait for the large batches of reinforcements from the rear to arrive.
Meanwhile.
At the position where the Bottomless Abyss connects with the underworld, the Balroth Fire Demon Lord Soren’s figure also appeared here. He slowly entered the entrance to the underworld, then flew towards the City of d*ath.
There, his main body, Soren, awaits his arrival.
After such a long separation, the demon avatar will finally merge back with the main body!
………………
