Chapter 360: The Matter of a Sword |
While the slime army and demons were still facing off, the orcs had already collided with that black-red tide.
Like a tidal wave, demons surged down from the city walls, horned demons charging at the front, followed by swarms of imps.
Little demons circled and shrieked in the sky, the Inferno Legion marched at the rear, their scorching body temperatures melting the frozen ground beneath their feet, leaving behind a trail of steaming footprints.
War horns sounded simultaneously from three sides, and the orc legion began to advance.
"Charge! Tear them apart!"
The two tides crashed together. The horned demons' greatswords hacked onto the orc warriors' shields and were blocked. Imps tried to squeeze through the gaps in the shields.
"Get lost!"
Orc warriors stepped out from behind their shields, swinging warhammers and scimitars, harvesting the imps around them, blood splattering all over the ground.
Just then, Inferno Lord Galma had arrived at the forefront of the demonic tide.
Even these orcs were no different.
"Tsk, overestimating yourselves."
His size was twice that of a normal inferno demon. When he walked to the front line, the shadow of his body enveloped several orcs ahead.
He raised his molten rock great hammer. The hammerhead began to glow, turning from gray-black to bright red.
The surrounding air distorted from the high temperature.
The hammer descended.
With a thunderous "Boom!", flames spread hundreds of meters with the hammer strike, incinerating the surrounding orcs who had closed in, including demons, into ash.
A large gap appeared in the orc defensive line.
No demons mourned their lost comrades. They howled excitedly, charging into the orc positions to kill.
"Tsk..."
Galma let out a mocking laugh. He even felt that orcs were just like this.
He slowly stepped forward, forcing the orc defensive line to retreat continuously, then raised the molten rock great hammer in his hand again.
"Perish!"
"Thud!"
But just as it fell halfway, he felt a resistance transmitted from the great hammer all the way to his robust body, and it simply couldn't descend any further.
He looked down. Unbeknownst to him, Karl had already appeared before him, raising his left hand, catching the hammerhead barehanded.
His fingers sank into the hammerhead, semi-molten magma squeezed out from between his fingers, dripping onto the ground.
It actually couldn't cause him any harm at all.
Galma's eyes widened.
Before he could react, the orc before him actually forcefully pushed the great hammer aside, lifted his head, his calm gaze meeting Galma's directly, and then threw a punch.
"Bang!"
No fancy magic, just the most primitive brute force.
With just one punch, it blasted open Galma's magma body. He staggered backward, one hand covering the hole in his chest, magma still constantly seeping from between his fingers.
When he looked up at Karl, his gaze held nothing but shock.
On the battlefield, the other three demon generals—Plague Apostle Zelgan, Shadow Demon Corax, and Demon Sorcerer Vesalius—all noticed this terrifying orc commander.
They locked their targets onto him.
Karl just cracked his neck, grinning. "Come on, all of you."
...
Eastern battlefield.
The grand war had also begun.
"Charge!"
Amidst Ark's roar, countless Iron Cavalry demons launched a rebellious charge against the Demon Legion.
They tore apart their former comrades with sharp lances, ravaging the demon positions beyond recognition.
Then even more demons would surge up.
In the surging demonic tide, only one spot was empty. A succubus walked over gracefully. Seeing Ark, she couldn't help but lick her lips.
"Oh my, I never thought Lord Ark would betray Casaric. What a pity to be your enemy."
This was precisely Selena, one of the seven great demon generals, most skilled in charm magic. Often, even before the battle began, she could toy with her opponents.
Ark didn't answer. His iron hooves scraped the ground, and he charged at his former colleague.
Selena dodged, continuing to charm. "You know the price of betrayal."
"Your soul will be extracted, nailed to the banner of the Burning Legion, for every passing demon to see. If you regret it, surrender now. Perhaps I can still plead for mercy from Casaric on your behalf."
"Die!"
Ark completely ignored her words. There was only one thought in his mind.
What soul do I have? Get lost!
Fight! Awesome!
His hind hooves slammed against the ground, his entire body crushing forward like a moving iron wall, launching another charge at Selena.
On another side, Lide also made his move. His rapier pierced the throat of the horned demon before him, pulling out a stream of black blood when withdrawn.
Several harpies shrieked, wanting to dive down and tear this knight apart.
But they couldn't even see the sword in his hand clearly before directly exploding into puffs of blood mist.
Until a shadow slid out from the demon crowd.
Shadow Demon Corax.
He had noticed this powerful knight, so he emerged from the shadows behind Lide, gripping a dagger, attempting to deliver a fatal blow.
However, Lide, who seemed unable to react in time, suddenly drew a second sword.
With a "Clang!" sound, Corax was forced back.
But when he saw how Lide had struck, his expression changed strangely.
Only because this knight hadn't turned around at all, still facing away from him.
Then who struck...
His gaze fell on Lide's shadow.
His shadow's posture was completely different from his main body. The blade of the rapier in its hand was black, so black it didn't reflect light, like a piece of cut-off shadow.
Lide sliced open the massive body of a demon before him with one sword stroke, then slowly turned around to face Corax.
The silver thin rapier and the shadow blade were held side-by-side in his hands, one bright, one dark, appearing unusual.
Corax's gaze sharpened. He swiftly darted forward, testing again.
Lide's rapier moved.
The silver sword tip tapped on the dagger, the shadow sword followed closely, piercing through Corax's shadow cloak.
Corax let out a hiss.
Lide didn't stop.
The two swords, one bright, one dark, stabbed alternately. The silver sword parried, the shadow sword pierced, actually exchanging blows back and forth with this demon general.
Southern battlefield, Galvin watched this scene with a thoughtful expression, then withdrew his gaze.
He looked at the gel figure on Peachy's back, placing his right fist against his breastplate.
"Your Majesty, the demon legions on the east, west, and north sides have been completely pinned down by the orcs. The main demon force on the southern city wall is leaving the city. It's time."
Chen Yu snapped back from his interesting observation, raising one gel hand.
Then swung it down.
"Charge."
Galvin drew his longsword.
"Magical Creature Legion—"
His voice spread through the Gel Network across the legion's formation.
"Follow me into battle!"
Thud!
The ground shook once.
Fardoern took its first step.
The silver oak pulled its roots from the frozen ground, bringing up large chunks of soil and snow, then set them down.
Thud, thud, thud.
Fardoern began to advance.
Behind it, the entire Treant Warhost simultaneously stepped forward.
Over a thousand Arcane Ancient Tree warriors walked out from the formation. Their heights ranged from eight to fifteen meters. Their marching pace wasn't fast, but each step covered a great distance.
They stepped over the heads of the Slime Legion, crossed the front line of the formation, and met the surging demonic tide.
Demons roared, pouncing towards the Treant Warhost.
Fardoern halted.
"Demons, evil."
Its canopy began to sway, branches and leaves trembling continuously, the magic leaves on them lighting up one after another.
Water Arrow Technique, Rock Pile Technique, Spirit Rain Technique, Metal Edge Sword... Various Dao arts triggered, raining down headlong onto the charging demons below.
Then its branches drooped, sweeping away a large swath of demons.
Other treant warriors also triggered their Dao arts, blocking the way on the slime positions.
The demonic tide crashed against the wooden wall formed by the treants, like black-red waves hitting a reef.
Horned demons' greatswords hacked onto the tree bark, just cutting shallow marks before the magic leaves glowed, and the bark healed at a visible rate.
Hellhounds tried to bite the treants' roots, only to be kicked flying by the treants.
The demons' charge came to an abrupt halt upon encountering the Treant Warhost.
However, what they didn't know was that behind them, even more legions were eyeing them covetously.
Their eyes were so excited it didn't seem like they were looking at demons.
Since the ground couldn't be breached, harpies and little demons flew over the heads of the Treant Warhost, diving towards the Slime Legion in the rear.
"Jiejiejie!" Little demons shrieked, wanting to tear apart those slimes on the ground.
"Whoosh..."
Suddenly, a gale swept across the sky, a blizzard blowing them away.
At the legion position, Sekashi withdrew her staff, nodding at Semiaya beside her.
Semiaya understood, raising her spear, the spear tip pointing at the sky.
"Dragon Cavalry Regiment, follow us into battle."
Semiaya's voice wasn't loud, but every lizardfolk heard it.
Snow eagles spread their wings. Sekashi and Semiaya crouched low. The snow eagles began to flap their wings.
First flap, snow on the frozen ground was blown up.
Second flap, the snow eagles' feet left the ground.
By the third flap, they were already diving ten meters into the air.
Behind them, hundreds of Dragon Beast Poison Wasps followed, taking off. The sound of their wings flapping merged into a low, deep hum, like a distant waterfall.
They darted out at high speed under the lizardfolk's control.
Mid-air, Semiaya leaped down from the eagle's back.
Her spear pierced a harpy's wing. She stepped on its back, using the force to jump towards another harpy. Her spear swept horizontally, knocking the second harpy down from the sky.
Then Sekashi, riding the snow eagle, caught her.
Sekashi continued to raise her staff.
[Ice Wall Technique]
Frost gushed from the staff head, converging into a whole ice wall, smashing down all the harpies diving down.
The harpies behind hurriedly gained altitude, planning to fly over the ice wall.
However, Beet was already waiting for them.
The Poison-stinger Wasp legion dove down from the clouds.
Their size was only one-tenth to one-twentieth of a harpy's, but their numbers were hundreds to thousands of times greater. Beet flew at the front, its wings vibrating so fast they were a blur, emitting a sharp hum.
The Poison-stinger Wasp swarm behind it simultaneously activated vampire clan magic.
A Blood Domain expanded. Dark red blood orbs condensed among the swarm, connecting into a sheet.
Then Beet extended its limbs, performing water control magic, actually gathering all the Poison-stinger Wasps' blood magic together.
Then shot it out like high-speed ice spikes.
They struck the harpies, corroding and piercing through their wings and bodies.
The harpies tried to stabilize themselves, but the holes in their wings grew larger and larger, completely unable to support their bodies. They shrieked as they fell from the sky.
At this moment, the Slime Artillery Regiment was already prepared.
Over a hundred Goblin Rippers were lined up in a row behind the formation.
Behind each cannon crouched three slime artillerymen: one responsible for aiming, one for loading, and one for activating runes.
The slime artilleryman responsible for aiming squinted its little eyes, aiming the cannon mouth at the densest area of demons.
"Loading complete!"
The slime artilleryman responsible for loading hopped once, raising its hand in a serious salute.
"Blast them to pieces!"
The slime artilleryman responsible for activating runes shouted excitedly, pressing its gel hand onto the runes.
Arcane energy flowed from its body, injecting into the runes. The runes began to glow, changing from pale blue to bright blue, then to blinding white light.
The cannon body vibrated.
A beam of light shot from the cannon mouth, dragging a straight trajectory through the air, smashing into the demon crowd, instantly blasting several demons flying.
The first shell landed, the second followed closely, then the third, fourth, fifth...
The artillery regiment's volley lit up scattered spots across the battlefield.
Explosions of light burst one after another. Horned demons' severed limbs, imps' heads, hellhounds' tails... body fragments flew everywhere.
A high-level inferno demon stood at the rear of the demonic tide, watching the slaughter ahead.
He immediately realized this legion was not right.
Why did he feel this legion was far more terrifying than the orcs?
He had seen the orcs' fighting style.
Barbaric, wild.
Crushing opponents with strength and rage, but that was at least a comprehensible fighting style.
Strength against strength, blood against blood.
This legion before him was different.
The Treant Warhost held the front line, like a self-repairing wooden wall, blocking all demons trying to charge over.
The Dragon Cavalry and Poison-stinger Wasps controlled the air. Harpies and little demons simply couldn't fly past.
They were actually being harvested by a slime legion.
This high-level inferno demon's gaze fell on those treants.
He began to advance.
The inferno demon's body squeezed a path through the demon crowd, his body temperature roasting the imps beside him until they screamed.
He roared, charging towards the Treant Warhost.
The burning flame magic caught them off guard. Several treants turned to ash in the magma, opening a gap for the Demon Legion.
"Charge! Damn it, charge for me!"
This high-level inferno demon roared, leading demons to charge inside.
Then he suddenly heard a dull metallic humming sound.
He just turned his head.
A golden arrow pierced through his chest, exiting from his back.
The arrow shaft, carrying flames and magma, flew out from the other side of his body, embedding into the frozen ground not far away. The originally flowing magma completely extinguished.
This inferno demon gradually solidified into obsidian, then his body was crushed by the surging demons.
In the distance, Nolan slowly exhaled, putting away his bow.
The inferno demon was dead, but more demons squeezed out from the gap in the treant defense line, like water, squeezing in more and more.
At the front of the position, Alice drew her longsword.
Today, she wore a silver breastplate, a layer of chainmail over her surcoat. Her long hair was tied into a high ponytail, revealing her slender neck.
"Protectorate Legion—"
Her voice was clear and bright.
"Follow me into the charge!"
Raven followed her, spurring his horse forward.
Behind them, the knights of the Protectorate Legion simultaneously launched their charge. Hooves shattered the frozen ground. Lances were leveled, their tips forming a silver line in the morning light.
The knights crashed into the demon crowd pouring in from the gap. Lances mercilessly tore through these demons. Splattering blood dyed the silver lances crimson.
Raven leaped into the demon crowd, thrusting his sword into the ground.
[Frost Invasion]
Frost power flowed from the sword tip into the frozen ground. The ground began to freeze with the sword as the center, spreading outward.
Frost traces touched a demon's foot, immediately crawling up its leg, freezing the entire leg into an ice pillar. Demons struggled to pull their legs out, but were firmly nailed to the ground by the ice pillars, then turned into twisted ice sculptures of various shapes.
Raven pulled his sword from the ground.
The frozen demons simultaneously shattered, turning into a ground full of ice shards and black flesh fragments.
The knights reached the gap, building a cavalry wall.
Warhorses stood shoulder to shoulder. Knights' shields connected. Lances thrust out from the gaps. Demons crashed against the cavalry wall, were pierced by lances, kicked flying by warhorses, knocked back by shields.
But the demons' numbers were too great.
Some demons still squeezed through the gaps in the cavalry wall.
A horned demon grabbed a knight's leg, dragging him off his horse. The moment the knight landed, he smashed his shield into the horned demon's face, but the horned demon didn't care. He raised his greatsword, preparing to bring it down.
Before the greatsword could fall, the horned demon's wrist broke.
Big Brother Slime rolled over from beside the horned demon's leg, his small short sword stained with black demon blood.
"Charge ya!!!"
"Cut you, cut you!"
Slime Knights riding beetles joined the battlefield, weaving between horse bellies and beneath demons, hacking wildly at these demons' ankles.
These short slime knights, often mockingly called "ankle destroyers" by human knights, played a crucial role at this moment, greatly alleviating the pressure on the Protectorate Legion.
"Mmm!"
Big Brother Slime leaped, directly smashing into the very center of the gap, turning several demons into blood mist.
Then he emitted a low hum.
[Gravity Control]
The mana runes on his golden gel trembled. With him as the center, the ground within twenty meters suddenly sank.
All demons standing within this range felt their bodies suddenly become dozens of times heavier. Horned demons' knees bent, kneeling down. Imps were directly pressed flat onto the ground, exploding into puffs of blood mist.
Big Brother Slime, relying on his slime power alone, held the gap. No demon could pass through the gravity field to enter.
However, the Demon Legion's fearless offensive was indeed formidable. With the help of demon sorcerers behind them, they soon blasted open three more gaps in the tree wall.
Demons roared as they surged in, forcing the knights back.
Several knights were even grabbed by harpies, about to be torn apart.
But the legion had long been prepared.
Holy chanting rose from the rear of the formation.
Lya walked out, raising both hands high.
"O God, please have mercy on these defenders of order."
[Holy Light]
[Greater Healing]
Milky white holy light emanated from her body, enveloping the entire knight order.
Demons touched by the light let out painful roars. Their skin festered and smoked under the holy light. Several imps that got too close directly combusted, turning to ash within the holy light.
The knights touched by the light were completely different.
The wounds torn by demons on their bodies were rapidly healing. Torn muscles reconnected. Broken skin regrew. Shattered bones rejoined.
A knight whose chest had been clawed by a horned demon, leaving three deep wounds visible to the bone, looked down at his injuries in disbelief.
The wounds closed at a visible rate within the holy light. New skin grew over them, leaving only faint pink scars.
He was stunned.
Then he gripped his lance, kicked his horse's flank, charging towards the area with the most demons.
And he wasn't the only one.
The knight order's morale soared greatly.
"Tear apart these filthy demons!"
"Get back to the Abyss!"
"This is our homeland!"
On the rear battlefield, Balak roared, grabbing a Dragon Beast Poison Wasp and stuffing it into his mouth, chewing it up. Only after eating and drinking his fill did his attention return to the front line.
But even with his low intelligence, he sensed something was wrong.
The number of demons around him was rapidly decreasing.
The battlefield ahead was like a bottomless abyss, constantly swallowing demons, then tossing demon corpses everywhere.
Hmm, wait... corpses?
Delicious!
His original train of thought was interrupted, completely controlled by his big stomach bag. Uncontrollably, he drooled.
He pushed aside the demons around him, taking heavy strides forward to the front line.
Because his legs were short, he wobbled as he walked. Dozens of mouths on his belly opened and closed with each step. But his speed wasn't slow. In a few steps, he reached the very front of the demonic tide.
Before he could cross the gap to devour those delicious corpses, a huge whistling sound suddenly came from the sky.
Balak looked up.
He saw demons in the sky exploding into blood mist one after another. A huge golden arrow shot towards him.
His body was too bloated. He couldn't dodge.
The golden arrow pierced through his big belly. Acidic fluid sprayed from the wound, flowing all over the ground.
Balak let out a pained howl. Dozens of mouths opened simultaneously, roaring at the sky.
He reached out, grabbed the golden arrow in his belly, forcefully pulled it out and threw it away, then began grabbing demons around him.
Whether live demons or demon corpses, whatever he grabbed, he stuffed into the mouths on his body.
He ate.
He ate nonstop.
The wound on his belly began to heal. New flesh buds grew from the wound edges, weaving into new muscle and skin.
Within seconds, the hole blasted by the golden arrow disappeared. The mouths on his belly opened again, smacking their lips.
Nolan frowned, preparing to raise his bow for another shot.
But Chen Yu stopped him.
"Don't shoot anymore, what a waste of gold."
"Better let me do it."
Chen Yu hopped, jumping down from Peachy's back, then rode his sword in flight, swiftly charging towards Balak.
Balak saw Chen Yu flying over.
First stunned, then happily grinning.
He could sense this Slime King was delicious.
The kind of deliciousness that made every one of his mouths, every barb, every drop of digestive fluid tremble.
The last time he had this feeling was when he ate another gluttonous demon in the deep abyss.
The aura of gluttony.
This slime had the aura of gluttony on him.
Balak trembled with excitement. Dozens of mouths on his belly drooled simultaneously. Acidic fluid dripped onto the ground, burning small pits.
He spread his thick, short legs, running towards Chen Yu. Each step made the ground shake.
Come on.
Quick, come into my mouth.
He excitedly opened his arms, about to engage in an evenly matched big eater duel with this Slime King.
Come on, come on...
That delicious slime got closer and closer, closer and closer... so close he could almost smell that intoxicating sweetness.
Subconsciously, he opened all his mouths. Dozens of purple tongues stretched out, licking the air.
As if about to bite into this gel.
Then he felt his body wasn't quite obeying.
Huh?
Why was his head drooping down?
His vision began to fall. He had never seen his neck from this angle. The mouths on his neck were still moving, still drooling.
Then his eyes went completely dark.
But in the eyes of all demons on the battlefield, the scene they saw was completely different.
They only saw the sword under that slime's feet turn into a flying light so fast it was a blur, passing through General Balak.
Then General Balak became two halves.
Split neatly from his ugly, fat head, sliding down from the upper body. Black blood gushed from the cross-section. Acidic fluid sprayed all over the ground.
Balak was dead.
Cut in half by a slime from dozens of meters away.
The surrounding demons immediately fell silent.
Then they could no longer contain their fear, turning and fleeing.
Chen Yu paid no attention to these fleeing demons, just hopped over to Balak's corpse.
He looked up.
The corpse was like a small mountain, bigger than he had seen from afar. Black blood was still gushing from the cross-section, pooling into a puddle on the ground. Acidic fluid burned through the frozen soil, revealing the black earth beneath.
Chen Yu contracted his gel, sucking hard.
[Devour Digestion]
A black hole appeared in his gel belly, pulling the mountain-like corpse into the vortex.
In the blink of an eye, Balak completely disappeared. Only a puddle of black blood remained on the ground.
Chen Yu burped.
A brand-new talent was imprinted in his magic organ.
[Gluttony Lv.6]
Can strengthen the body by devouring flesh and blood, and can help the body recover quickly by eating when injured.
Somewhat similar to Devour Digestion, but the effect is poorer. Should be able to assist in improving the effect of Devour Digestion.
Chen Yu shook his gel.
Not bad, passable.
He turned around, hopping and bouncing back.
On the battlefield, the Demon Legion had begun to rout.
The Treant Warhost continued to advance forward. The Dragon Cavalry pursued fleeing demons from the air.
Beneath the southern city wall, demon corpses covered the ground.
This change quickly caught the orcs' attention.
Karl had just twisted off Galma's head.
He looked up and saw the Demon Legion routing, the Slime Legion's banners moving towards the southern city wall.
Karl was slightly surprised inwardly.
The Slime Legion's advance speed was much faster than he had anticipated.