Chapter 78 [Spirit of Fear] Second Update
2015-08-17
Author: Floating Tower of All Beings
Clang clang!
Thud.
A trickle of blood flowed from Soren’s naked chest, the blood seeming to invigorate the raging flames surrounding him, as if pouring oil on fire.
A hint of horror crossed the Bone Demon’s face, a wound left on its abdomen.
Despite having obvious advantages in various aspects, it surprisingly lost in combat skills to its opponent, suffering more serious injuries. The demon in front of it seemed to have been a remarkable person in life, capable of inheriting such powerful combat skills; perhaps it had been a near-legendary professionist while alive.
This made it even more imperative to eliminate it now.
When mortals die and their souls fall into the Bottomless Abyss, they may inherit some memories and combat skills; for instance, a high-level warrior who falls can awaken part of their memories when using their most skilled weapon or certain combat skills from their past life, recovering some of the combat instincts accumulated while alive.
To the Bone Demon, Soren undoubtedly appeared to be such an entity; this type of demon grows too easily.
If they don’t take him down now, he might become a legendary level Fire Demon in the future!
The Demon Legion was already at a numerical disadvantage. If too many demons like Soren emerged, their assault on the Bottomless Abyss would surely be hindered. The devils could not allow a potential enemy to grow stronger. It had to kill Soren before it got out of hand, even preparing to gamble with its own life. If successful, perhaps the enemy’s soul would grant it new powerful strength!
Clang clang.
The Flame Whip cut through the air, and both Soren and the Bone Demon were fighting for their lives, ready for a hard clash to take down their opponent.
Both were suffering worsening injuries, and the balance of victory and defeat seemed even.
Woooo!
A desolate horn sounded. As Soren and the Bone Demon battled fiercely, the main force of the Demon Legion finally moved. A high-level Succubus flew into the sky, while armored Six-armed Serpent Demons swooped down brandishing six long swords, with the Soul Reaper’s shadow providing cover on either side. Tempt demons, appearing like giants, advanced toward the central battlefield. But what was most striking were the appearances of seven or eight Balroth Fire Demons that emerged amidst the raging flames of the battlefield.
One of the Balroth Fire Demons was particularly eye-catching. It did not wield a Flame Whip or a Decapitating Sword, but a colossal scythe of the God of Death!
The dark blade burned with fierce flames, though not red, but a strange black flame.
A flame that seemed it could scorch souls!
Pffft.
Accompanied by a splash of blood, this Balroth Fire Demon instantly bisected a Bone Demon.
Hahahaha!
A piercing, maniacal laughter erupted as this Balroth Fire Demon rampaged through the Demon Legion, using its natural teleportation ability to evade enemy strikes, continually slaughtering elite demons in its path. This was a Balroth Fire Demon with a biological level over 25, possibly even stronger than the one Soren had confronted before, and what was most frightening was the weapon it held, which emanated an aura from the Underworld, seeming almost like the waters of the River of Underworld, making demons and devils alike wary to approach.
The Material Plane connected to the Shadow Plane. The Shadow Plane neared the Spirit World, and the Spirit World was closest to the realm of Death, the Underworld.
That was the domain of the God of Death.
The waters of the River of Underworld flowing through the Bottomless Abyss and the Hell of Bartok came from the Underworld; the God of Death was responsible for maintaining the operation of the multiverse. Sometimes the Ferryman of the Underworld would decide where a soul should go.
To the realm of the gods or the evil Abyssal Hell.
The scythe that the Balroth Fire Demon wielded was a fearsome weapon imbued with the power of death from the Underworld. Such a weapon could even threaten some weaker deities!
No one dared to face its attacks head-on; even high-level demons avoided that terrifying scythe of death.
At that moment, the Balroth Fire Demon resembled Soren wielding the Holy Avenger, crushing a unit of the Demon Legion with overwhelming superiority.
The real battle had begun!
The outcome of this Abyssal Blood War was to be decided by these high-level demons. They were the backbone of the Bottomless Abyss!
………………
Blood flowed.
Soren was heavily injured, but fortunately, he was on the fringes of the battlefield, as all attention in the bloodshed shifted to the center; the Balroth Fire Demon’s breakthrough had inflicted severe losses on the Demon Legion. The Six-armed Serpent Demons coming closer became slaughtering machines, while the Soul Reapers provided cover, and the imposing weight of the Tempt demons at 5000 pounds was astonishing!
When the true main force of demons appeared, the devils’ battles were far from easy.
Boom boom boom!
The muffled sound of war drums resonated as armored Abyssal Minotaurs joined the fray, some huge meatballs appearing from the battlefield’s flank.
They floated in mid-air, firing deadly beams!
—— Eye Demons!!!
The battlefield of the Abyssal Blood War erupted in chaos. What had the devils done this time?
Why had even the Eye Demon Matron, ruler of the Eye Demon race and the Demon Lord of the sixth layer of the Bottomless Abyss, the “All-Seeing Abyss,” dispatched troops to join the bloodshed, when she had rarely cared about past blood wars?
Something serious must have occurred!
Even the mentally disordered demons understood that when a Demon Lord who seldom intervened in the Abyssal Blood War suddenly dispatched troops to the battlefield, something truly terrifying must have happened.
Even the schemes of the devils felt threatened enough to force the Eye Demon Matron to join the battle—this clearly indicated a grave situation for the Bottomless Abyss.
Countless beams shot forth!
The Eye Demon army all appeared from the teleportation array, leading with a terrifying “Elder Eye”; in addition, there were numerous Eye Demons, Gauss Eye Demons, Abyssal Eyes, and even glimpses of Eye Demon Observers!
The fighting intensified.
Facing such a situation, the Demon Legion remained motionless outside the city gates, as if the ironclad discipline had seeped deep into their souls.
The initial forces deployed from the Demon Legion suffered severe losses, prompting the elite of the Demon Legion to spring into action.
Horned demons, Ice Demons, Lust Demons, Fallen Angels, Bartok Hell Demons!…
High-level devils employed their teleportation capabilities to support the battlefield, firmly halting the Demon Legion’s offensive. The casualties among the Demon Legion continued to rise. This war of attrition was extremely unfavorable to them, but they showed no signs of retreat, as if some plot were brewing.
………………
Thud!
Soren’s injuries grew more severe, but the Bone Demon in front of him was not faring any better.
Confronted with the enemy’s frenzied combat style, a hint of fear finally appeared in the Bone Demon’s eyes, as it sensed that if this continued, the enemy might take them both down!
That was not a favorable outcome.
As a devil, it was not as reckless as demons, and it believed that if it were possible, the enemy in front of it would indeed perish along with it.
Thus, it wavered.
It wanted to temporarily retreat to the rear to heal its wounds; it was unwilling to accept mutual destruction with a Fire Demon.
But!
Just as it prepared to use its innate teleportation ability to retreat, a turning point occurred. The severely injured Fire Demon in front of it erupted with an unforeseen burst of strength, rushing forward once more. It suddenly swung the Flame Whip to ensnare it, and then brandished its longsword toward its head.
The battle ended.
Soren panted heavily, blood spilling from his mouth.
The flames on him dimmed, seemingly exhausted of strength, but just as he killed the Bone Demon before him, a minute amount of invisible soul power surged into his body, reigniting intense flames around him.
A line of data appeared before his eyes:
“Killed Bone Demon!…”
“Extracting target soul power!…”
“You have gained 108 points of soul power!… You successfully absorbed the target’s soul energy!… Your [Fire Demon] form has received partial enhancement!…”
“Biological level increased!… Your current biological level is 15!…”
“Form advanced!… You have advanced to the [Elite Fire Demon] form!… Automatically comprehended new ability [Bind]!… Spell-like ability [Fireball Spell] has been enhanced!… Current usage is three times per day!… [Dominate Demon] ability has been enhanced!… [Summon Demon] ability has been enhanced!…”
“Unknown mutation!…”
“Your soul energy has undergone an unknown mutation!… Certain abilities have experienced fusion mutation!…”
“Unknown power triggered!…”
“You have undergone fusion mutation!… Unknown mutation!… Body’s soul power infused!… You have comprehended a new ability [Spirit of Fear]!…”
………………
Accompanied by the sounds of crackling explosions, Soren’s body underwent further transformations.
The demon horn became thicker and more powerful, and the demon wings seemed to grow larger. His physique gradually shifted toward that of a large Fire Demon, and more and more demonic tattoos appeared on his body. The area engulfed in flames expanded further, and all his attributes received a comprehensive boost, as if his vitality had become even more remarkable.
Of course!
The most obvious change was that an invisible energy emerged around Soren’s body.
The power of fear.
The “Spirit of Fear” that the Bone Demon possessed seemed to have been fused into his own innate abilities for some reason.
“Spirit of Fear [Innate Ability]: Any enemy within a 5-meter radius of you must make a forced will saving throw. If they fail the saving throw, the enemy will be affected as if by the fear spell, with the spell level equivalent to your biological level (current level is 15). This ability cannot be enhanced through conventional means!”
The Spirit of Fear.
Even Soren was quite surprised that he had automatically comprehended the ability of [Spirit of Fear], which appeared to be stronger than the Bone Demon’s version.
Incredible!
It seemed that he could gain even more pronounced power boosts during this blood war.
……………… (To be continued ~^~)
