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‘The Dark Eight can’t simply want to kill some demons…’ Having retreated to the eleventh city wall, Leylin’s eyes flashed as he saw the encirclement gradually taking shape. ‘If we just rely on the walls to kill the enemy, then the stronger demons will still manage to flee in the end. Just killing a group of dretches, who can be generated every day without fail, will not harm the enemy whatsoever…
‘Baalzephon is most likely targeting the demon corps’ greater demons, such as mariliths, balors, or even flame balors.’ Although the demon army had strength in numbers, that was dwindling. As they fell deeper into the trap, the greater demons followed them in as well.
……
“Get ready! We need to teach those wild dogs of the abyss a lesson they’ll never forget!” Eight strong pit fiends congregated at the highest point of the battlefield. They were even more powerful than the rest of their kin. These were the Dark Eight, Asmodeus’ confidantes. They controlled the elites of the devils’ army, and were the generals in charge of the Blood War.
If they could suppress the demons with all their might, pushing them back into the Plain of Infinite Portals, they could obtain the favour of Baator’s World Origin Force as well as praise from Asmodeus.
A vague rumour had stirred up the Dark Eight recently, and they’d begun to build up their merits. After all, the prize was the throne of an Archdevil!
Pit fiends stood near the peak of devil society. If they coveted anything at all, it was to overthrow the reigning Archdevil of their Hell and take their throne. The Archdevil of Dis had disappeared, and Asmodeus himself had changed a little recently. They finally saw an opportunity to fulfill their desires.
“I’ll need your help!” A member of the Dark Eight arrived in the vicinity of Tiamat’s cavern.
“Of course. I only need you to honour your promise after everything is done.” A tremendous voice boomed from the depths of the cavern, accompanied by a formidable draconic aura. Loud roars of male dragons could be heard from within as well.
“Not a problem. We have already signed a contract, after all. The reputation of the devils is well-known throughout the multiverse!” The pit fiend smiled as it left.
……
“Get moving!” Leylin sensed that the atmosphere had changed, and a great wave of commands were being transmitted. The devils carried the orders out perfectly.
The devils purposefully pretended to lose, and the eleventh wall of the Bronze Citadel was breached. The tenth wall soon followed, then the ninth, all the way until the 6th wall near the core district. Seeing that they could capture the Bronze Citadel itself, many of the demons went completely berserk. This was an unprecedented feat in their history.
The entirety of the citadel had become a big lure. It thinned the demons out, forming a trap for them to fall into to.
“Now!” The eight pit fiends appeared at the forefront of the battlefield, their thunderous voices reverberating throughout the Bronze Citadel.
*Roar!* A teleportation spell flashed brightly, and the enormous figure of a chromatic dragon descended upon the land. The demons who did not dodge in time were squished to pulp. This was the former master of the Bronze Citadel, Chromatic Dragon Tiamat!
“Remember your promises!” Tiamat roared into the sky, her enormous body directly blocking the gap in the city wall. Her draconic aura erupted, almost tangible in the atmosphere.
*Roar!* Over a hundred feet of lightning, acid, corrosive gas, frost, and flame spewed out in bursts from the five dragon heads. Tiamat seemed to transform into a fortress with massive firepower, sweeping the demons in a single strike.
“Draconic spell— Summon Companion!” A teleportation spell flashed by Tiamat’s side. Five smaller dragons appeared, swiping at the demons all around her with their enormous claws.They sometimes used their deadly teeth to attack, the grinding noises horrifying as blood mixed with pus and scales trickled down from the sides of their mouths.
‘Oh! Tiamat is doing her best? It looks like the Dark Eight have found something that can move her heart.’ Leylin only glanced at the scene outside, and soon turned his whole attention to the battlefield directly in front of him.
The network originating from Baator’s origin force quickly got to work. It seemed like the Dark Eight no longer cared to save their energy, instead going all out in their attack. Elite troops that hadn’t been seen before now appeared to fill the gaps in the walls, wearing exquisite armour and wielding epic weapons.
Tiamat and the five smaller evil dragons were the most important pieces of the formation, and these devils sought to fill in the gaps surrounding them. The Bronze Citadel had encircled most of the demons, including the more powerful ones.
[Beep! Host has obtained a mission from Baalzephon of the Dark Eight! Content: ‘Hand over authority to your vice commander, activate all your elites and bring them to kill the greater demons!’]
“As expected. Hanalin, I leave this to you. The remaining captains, follow me!” Leylin roared and leapt down from one of the city walls, radiating his Devil Aura. The commanders of the different sections had now left their regions in fervour, searching for demons to kill.
“Charge! Kill them all!” At this point in the battle, the powerful demons were affected by the chaos around them. They had no intention to retreat whatsoever, the language of the deep abyss reverberating around the area.
‘I’m just here to play. I’m not a true devil, so I don’t have to work as hard.’ Leylin understood his position clearly, and did not choose to go towards the balors. Those were the prey of the pit fiends. Instead of the balors, who had good bloodlines and great potential to advance, he chose to fight a marilith instead.
However, what the other devils saw was Leylin choosing a marilith that was larger than the rest. Each of her six arms wielded epic weapons, and she had near legendary might.
“Wretched devil, die!” A natural enmity triggered within her upon seeing Leylin, and the marilith came charging at him. Her six scaly arms brandished a sword each, causing a powerful gale to descend. She had the power of three assassins packed into one, and the torrential wave attacks seemed about to grind Leylin into fine pieces.
‘So weak. But her weapon itself isn’t bad, this level of swordplay is equivalent to grandmasters of the prime material plane.’ Leylin shook his head inwardly. On the surface however he let out a large roar, shooting out a dark whip that collided against his enemy’s weapon. The collision energy rippled out into the void.
‘This swordplay isn’t that bad. She should have the Weapon Proficiency and Multiweapon Fighting feats…’ Leylin discovered his enemy’s trump card in the first contact, even without using the A.I. Chip.
“Very well, I’ll play with you.” A mysterious force extended from Leylin’s fingertips, forming many small circles in midair. The whip was amplified by these circles, spinning like a hurricane as it sucked the marilith in.
*Crack!* Weapons broke and bones shattered within the hurricane, and a fine crimson mist sprayed out. By the time Leylin retrieved his whip, there was but a pulp of flesh on the ground alongside many small pieces of broken equipment. The marilith had already disappeared.
“Not even mildly interesting. Just a tiny bit of force and she’s dead…” Leylin sighed. He was at the level of a sage with melee weapons, and a mere marilith without even legendary strength was no match for him.
“Perhaps I can try challenging a higher difficulty. The balors seemed to be fine specimens and guinea pigs…” Leylin surveyed the battlefield.
Because of the devils’ counterattack, the demon army had suffered severe casualties, losing more than half its troops. The greater demons being targeted had caused even more confusion in their ranks, but perhaps they never obeyed rules in the first place.
As for the demons who were already crazed from the killing, they did not mind their safety as they dashed towards the high walls of the Bronze Citadel, finally dying under the siege weaponry of the walls.
At the centre of the battlefield were numerous flames. Explosions resounded in the area, with each fight isolated. The destructive force here was so great that even the demons avoided it at all cost. With Leylin’s vision, he could make out through the flames that several massive devils and demons were fighting within.
“One of the pit fiends of the Dark Eight just used a powerful stealth spell and teleportation. The flame balor is hurt, and now they’re wrapping up…” The flame balors who’d been surrounded wielded weapons like executioner swords and fiery whips. Each of them had left a deep impression to Leylin.
‘They are indeed the elites of the deep abyss. Compared to the pit fiends, they have a unique type of wild and domineering aura. However, their chaotic evil alignment impedes them from using every ounce of their strength perfectly…’
The flame balors were the prey of the Dark Eight, so Leylin would not interfere. He passed the centre of the battlefield, landing his sights on a regular balor.
As a pre-evolution of the flame balors, regular balors lacked that primordial chaos and the power to while flames. However, they still managed to pique Leylin’s interest.