Chapter 120: The Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator!
Ryan was heavily injured.
Essentially, his injuries were equivalent to being brutally tortured to d*ath. Soren originally thought that the Noble Council would at most just capture him and, considering Soren’s divinity, would not make things too difficult for Ryan. That’s why Soren ordered his army to restrain themselves to avoid excessive casualties, but the current situation was that the Noble Council did not regard him as a deity at all. Such treatment of Ryan was equivalent to slapping Soren’s face multiple times.
This was a serious blow to Soren’s prestige in the eyes of his half-elf believers. The core of Soren’s divinity was the “Half-Elves.” Ryan, as his messenger, was tortured like this in the half-elf city. What would the followers think upon seeing this? As the God of Half-Elves, Soren could not even command respect from the nobles within the half-elf race—this was a blatant affront to the deity’s dignity!
Therefore, these people must pay the price.
“Lift the ban!”
Soren’s expression was very cold as he slowly issued the command: “Occupy this city! Those who dare to resist will be killed without mercy!”
Bloody conflicts were now unavoidable!
As an evil faction deity, Soren needed to maintain fear in his enemies. If even the half-elf race did not understand the need to respect him, how could his enemies possibly fear Soren?
In an instant, Soren’s orders reached the ears of all the officers, and the next moment fierce fighting erupted on the main road of Leaffall City. Giants clad in heavy armor wielded massive battle axes, charging recklessly; even the elite guard squad of Modo dared not approach them, only two iron golems provided cover beside them. On the other side, Scarface was also leading a group into the fray. The battle had just begun when several half-elf teams immediately joined them.
These were all former members of Ryan’s organization. The discontent with the upper nobility had erupted due to the war’s failures, and the middle class and lower civilians already hated those nobles immensely.
“A spellcaster is approaching!”
The warning from the Fallen Witch came, and her figure rose into the air. In an instant, several points of spell light appeared, and she raised her hand to strike down an invisible flying spellcaster with a ‘Greater Dispel Magic’. The power of the Legendary Witch was clear at that moment, as those poor souls lost their flight spell and fell straight from hundreds of meters up. Those lucky enough to temporarily cast a levitation spell survived, while the unlucky ones were smashed into a pulp.
——“Bigby’s Grasping Hand!”
——“Greater Meteor Swarm!”
——“Abidarch’s Withering!”
The spells from the Fallen Witch fell like a storm, directly striking the enemy’s spellcasters who could not even lift their heads. The Legendary Witch’s dispel magic save was too high; their protective spells were as fragile as paper.
Meanwhile, Soren’s figure also appeared in mid-air; the army of Leaffall City was not a threat at all. He opened his eyes of divinity and instantly spotted a figure emitting a strange bl**d-red light from the crowd.
It was a rather old noble!
Clad in an exquisitely luxurious silk robe, he carried an evil aura that ordinary people could not perceive, a demonic presence from the Hell of Bartok.
Sure enough!
There was a devil stirring trouble behind it all.
——“Saint’s Form!”
The radiance of divinity glowed around Soren, making him appear as a figure emanating holy light. Activating the Saint’s Form consumes Divine Power; it does not augment his strength but allows Soren to cast any level of divine spells. This form was the highest attainable state for all deities currently, as long as the Divine Power was not depleted, a deity could use all divine spells indefinitely.
——“Spatial Lock (8th-level Divine Spell) [Divine Power Conversion]! ”
As Soren raised his palm, an invisible energy field enveloped the space in front of him. It sealed all teleportation spells; no enemy could teleport, blink, or move between planes any longer.
——“Edict: Intimidation! (7th-level Divine Spell) [Divine Power Conversion]! ”
Accompanied by divine radiance, Soren pointed forward, and in an instant, a group of half-elf nobles stood there frozen, the only exception being the one with the strange bl**d-red light.
——“Solar Flare! (8th-level Divine Spell) [Divine Power Conversion]! ”
A terrifying brilliance appeared as Soren personally cast this spell in his Saint form, instantly creating a sun that rose above Leaffall City. His Divine Power rapidly drained, and many enemies were struck blind by the bright light. Given Soren’s casting level, very few enemies present managed to succeed on their saving throws. Simultaneously, as the solar flare illuminated the enemies, some began to undergo bizarre transformations.
The most noticeable was a stunning female half-elf noble who initially stood at a distance. As she was enveloped by Soren’s ‘Solar Flare’, her fair skin suddenly started to scorch. She let out a horrific scream of panic, and her skin gradually turned a dark blue, her pupils morphed into a strange green, and sharp claws grew from her fingers. In the end, even razor-sharp fangs emerged, and after struggling for a moment on the ground, she was burned into a bizarre black char.
“Vampire!”
A cry of alarm came from the Druid in the distance. They attempted to quell the conflict between the Noble Council and the God of Half-Elves, but it seemed they had no way to intervene.
Howls of pain erupted, and beneath the radiance of the solar flare, several lurking undead creatures were instantly revealed.
A seemingly handsome half-elf noble suddenly began to shed skin; bloody patches of scalp fell away, and then his handsome face melted with bl**d and flesh. The skin on his arms ruptured, revealing grotesquely dark red muscles; his figure gradually hunched, and finally, his size began to expand, bursting forth from his clothes, transforming into a massive, ghastly ghoul.
“Ah!!!”
Sharp, terrified screams rang out, not only in the noble crowd but also among the half-elf army, as some suddenly transformed into undead forms.
Unmistakably!
All these people turned into ghouls.
The aura of darkness spread.
As Soren’s primary target, the noble at the center of the crowd also underwent a strange transformation beneath the solar flare. His entire being suddenly began to swell; then, exposed were his crimson skin, sharp black horns emerged, and then even more shocking changes occurred. His body twisted significantly, elongating, with only his upper half resembling human; his lower half transformed into an enormous snake tail. At this moment, that half-elf noble had already morphed into a massive serpent, with a muscular torso, a large humanoid head, sharp teeth, and two imposing fangs.
“Prince of Devils – Mammon!”
Soren’s expression was cold as he slowly said, “So it was you causing trouble here!”
At that moment, everything became clear.
The culprit behind the horrifying conspiracy lurking in Leaffall City had revealed himself; the monster before him was not a serpent demon from the Bottomless Abyss, but the Prince of Devils – Mammon from the Hell of Bartok!
And on the other side, the ghouls should likely be the servants of the King of Ghouls – Doreisen.
“d*mn new god! …”
As a toxic black smoke spread, a large number of half-elf nobles near the Prince of Devils – Mammon suddenly dropped dead. Their souls, gradually corroded, severed from their bodies, let out anguished screams as they struggled and were drawn into the body of the Prince of Devils before them. The Saint’s Cataclysm had not fully erupted yet, and the Prince of Devils was not a true manifestation in the material plane but had instead corrupted a noble half-elf from within and transformed his body into his vessel.
It was a method similar to how deities create avatars!
The ruler of the third layer of the Hell of Bartok.
Prince of Devils – Mammon!
An ambitious conspirator, the embodiment of selfishness, greed, and corruption! His palace rested within the sinking city of Minaros in the third layer of the Hell of Bartok, said to resemble a magnificent tomb. In the past, Mammon’s true form was that of a bloated Hell Alchemist, but during the “Great Reckoning,” this Prince of Devils was punished by the Lord of Hell – Asmothiels, resulting in his current appearance.
Because of betrayal, this Prince of Devils found himself in an awkward situation within the Hell of Bartok.
Other devil lords were reluctant to trust him, while the Lord of Hell – Asmothiels, although retaining his lord status, had also dealt him significant punishment and warnings.
A black mist spread!
The figure of the Prince of Devils – Mammon twisted, accompanied by flames as he attempted to escape through the fire.
“Still want to flee?!”
A trace of cold murderous intent flicked in Soren’s eyes as his figure vanished in an instant. The next moment, divine radiance appeared, and he lowly commanded, “Stay!”
This was the material plane.
Once a devil lord enters the material plane, they face restrictions similar to those of deities; the planar power granted by the Hell of Bartok could not be brought with them. The embodiment of a Prince of Devils held power comparable to that of a deity’s avatar. Now that Soren had descended in his true form, his chances against a Prince of Devils’ avatar exceeded seventy percent.
How could he allow the behind-the-scenes manipulator to escape like this!
Moreover.
The Princes of Devils of Bartok were notoriously high on divinity value, often possessing more divinity than many similarly powerful demon lords. The Prince of Devils’ avatar before him was essentially inheriting a part of his soul; killing him was nearly equivalent to eliminating a deity avatar for Soren, yielding potentially tremendous rewards!
……………… (To be continued ~^~)
