Chapter 115: Moths to a Flame (Part 2)
Above the gray sky, a terrifying aura writhed restlessly.
Amidst the panicked gazes of everyone present, a thick, black Dead Smoke surged from the depths of the ice crystals, splitting into numerous swirling vapors that coiled like massive serpents. They burst forth like a fiery flower, distorting under the rolling black clouds before swiftly regrouping around the demon enveloped in Ice Mist, forming a gigantic black fogball.
“That’s…!”
“What…?”
“It’s the Abyss…”
“It’s the Dead Smoke of the Abyss—!!”
On the burned wasteland, the knights riding their beasts widened their eyes in shock. Before they could wait for the next command from the formations, a mutation suddenly occurred. Without warning, the explosions overhead stopped abruptly, and the flying Holy Lance was instantly swallowed by the dissipating black mist, rapidly disintegrating into golden dust and vanishing.
The suddenly condensed black fog dispersed the Ice Mist, wrapping the demon’s petite figure in an instant, letting out a dangerous and hair-raising shriek.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
As more and more smoky serpents gathered, the density of the fog increased, and its size rapidly grew, transforming almost into a solid form within a blink. A black fluid poured out from beneath the smoky mass, cascading down with a shocking “hiss,” plummeting from the sky!
It was a sight akin to disaster, reflected in the widened pupils of everyone around.
“Back! Retreat—!!”
The lead knight reacted first, his face paling and lips trembling as he howled skyward, turning his beast’s head around. The golden wave made a sharp turn and began to quickly flee from the burnt ground beneath the demon, with two more teams following right after.
“Go! Move it—”
The warriors shouted, turning their beasts around following the lead knight. The sound of iron hooves resounded increasingly heavy and panicked, mixed with the terrified whinnies of the horned horses, as they quickly scattered in three completely different directions.
“Get out of here!!”
Amidst the chaotic crowd, someone cried out loudly, while others glowed in golden light. A thin Sin Barrier gradually formed at the tail of the retreating group, but the speed of the black fluid descending was overwhelming. Before the miracle could manifest, it crashed heavily onto the scorched land, sending up massive waves of mud that instantly shattered and submerged the incompletely formed Sin Barrier, followed by the knights.
“Ugh…”
“Ahhhhh—!!”
The towering waves of Abyss splashed first upon the last wave of knights who were retreating more slowly, instantly melting through their protective golden light barrier. The devouring fluid poured down, splattering against their golden armor and helmets, accompanied by the nauseating sound of corrosion. Countless warriors screamed as they fell from their beasts, the horned horses rearing in pain.
Behind them, an even bigger black wave surged forward, the viscous fluid rapidly spreading from the scorched ground, burying those who had fallen along with the horned horses. Countless white light wisps rose one after another from behind the three streams of golden flow, merging into that black fogball.
Meanwhile, in the distant battle formation, the attack of the Holy Lance had come to a halt.
Bishop Aresta, Captain of Knights Hopes, swords and shields in hand, along with the Faith Organization, all stood there as if struck dumb, staring at the bizarre and terrifying scene in the distance, pale with shock. Even the old cleric who had risen in rage covered his chest with one hand, coughing lightly as his anger turned into fear. His murky eyes turned bright red as he whispered, “The Abyss… it’s actually the Abyss…”
His mutter transformed into a hoarse roar, “Sin Barrier! Quickly, unleash the Sin Barrier!! That is the Chaotic Power—!!”
“Raise the flag!!”
Suddenly, the old man heard the Young Bishop shouting from not far away, “Order an attack! Don’t let the knights in front retreat too far! Keep pressing on! Use all means to attack! Distract her! Draw her attention! Faith Organization, block the Abyss Mud from spreading here, and I’ll personally set up the Chain of Divine Lock!”
“Your, Your Holiness…”
Captain Hopes was taken aback by the order; his face turned ashen, “But that’s Abyss Mud… you want them to d*e…”
“Follow the orders!”
Aresta remained unmoved, his tone firm: “This time, failure is not an option! I need you to raise your blades and uphold the honor and courage of the knights!”
“But courage doesn’t mean foolishly sacrificing yourselves…”
“This isn’t a senseless sacrifice! It’s a war of attrition! I need you to buy me time! Sacrifice is inevitable when facing demons! But there are enough knights, and there is only one demon. She will tire out eventually! We must capture her with attrition tactics! We cannot retreat! Raise the flag—”
Captain Hopes looked even graver.
He hesitated for less than two seconds, grinding his teeth as if making a resolute decision. Just as he was about to turn around, the ground beneath him suddenly shook.
“Look over there…”
“That way…”
In the distance, on the scorched earth where sparks were dancing, the black Abyss Mud flowed frantically from beneath the massive smoky ball in the gray sky. The mud had already spread nearly a hundred meters across the ground and continued to expand, unstoppable. The retreating three teams became utterly disordered, countless people fell down screaming, and more azure-white wisps of light rose into the sky. In the next moment, someone spotted a bizarre, human-like dark arm reaching out from the swirling mud.
“What is that…?”
“I-I don’t know…”
Before the knights could see clearly, a second arm emerged from the Abyss Mud, followed by a third, a fourth… a fifth, an eighth…
Countless creepy hands emerged from the spreading mire, soon followed by their heads and bodies, wrapped in black mud. They somewhat resembled humans but lacked facial features—no noses, ears, or mouths—only two large, ghostly white eyes, like those of demons from hell. Once they crawled out of the mire, they distorted their forms, staggering yet scurrying rapidly with hair-raising speed towards the fleeing knights.
Then came the even more dense and desperate screams.
Those strange demons were actually faster than the horned horses, pouring out like a tide. The light of miracles was thrown among them, detonating amidst the black mud, but it did nothing. The breeding demons charged like a swarm, biting onto the tails of the retreating knights within a blink!
The wave of bl**d surged for just an instant before being wholly submerged by the endless black.
Bishop Aresta, standing at the forefront of the formation, was completely in a daze.
He opened his mouth but could not utter a single word.
“Sin! Barrier!!!”
In the direction of the Faith Organization, the old cleric didn’t even care to mount his horned horse. He hobbled forward, shouting hoarsely to all clerics, “Onastasi! The deities will bless us—”
Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz—
An unprecedented miracle light suddenly trembled at the back of the formation, a myriad of lights bursting forth from the clerics, swirling towards the army, forming a giant towering Sin Barrier wall before the frontline knights, connecting with the barrier that had coalesced overhead, enveloping all those on the desolate land.
Aresta stared wide-eyed, realizing there was no need to issue any further commands. The charging knights had been nearly devoured by the Abyss Mud demons within just a few breaths. In the distant view, only a scattered few dozen remained desperately struggling to escape, while they too would soon be swallowed by the encroaching Chaotic Power behind them, becoming the demon’s meal, dying here without dignity.
That all happened in the blink of an eye.
The terrifying Abyss Mud had now spread to within fifty meters in front.
And the demons from the Abyss also began to surge toward the larger clusters of fleeing people.
