After the Demon Tide erupted, Mil could clearly feel power continuously surging through him…
He changed into a fresh set of clothes, put on his mask and black robe, and ascended to the top of Seravio Fortress.
He spread his arms, and his body slowly began to float upwards…
Soon, Mil soared above Ice Lake Prison. The cold wind swept past the spires of Seravio Fortress, and his black robe flapped wildly in the biting currents, like the dark wings of a dying night owl.
Behind him were the peaks of snow-capped mountains, beneath his feet lay a vast lake, and the distant Capital City spread out on the plain like a gray tarpaulin.
The epicenter of the Demon Tide had shifted, moving slightly towards the Capital City.
Mil sneered. Even so, its range wouldn't cover the prison…
“This Ibon, he’s still useless… The rest, I’ll handle it!”
With a wave of his hand, a black-purple magic circle, emanating dark-red light, suddenly unfurled beneath his feet—
“By the name of the Demon God apopis, I hereby proclaim—
With thirty-six thousand sins as offerings…
I summon forth the ‘Hall of All Demons’ slumbering within the inner side of the world!
Surge forth, foul mud that devours the stars!
Churn forth, chaotic primordial sea that tears apart human ethics!
Millions of demon armies shall prostrate as my shadows, billions of bone-horrors shall stand as my banners!
Wherever you reach, that shall be my dominion!
The quickening of fallen divinity shall cause the thrones of gods to crumble into nourishment for demon dens…”
The sprawling snow-capped mountains behind him, at the instant the incantation sounded, shed their pallor, as if splattered with thick asphalt…
The sun was slowly obscured by twelve concentric rings embedded with cuneiform script.
The giant eye that opened in the center, however, was a hollow void, like a tunnel directly leading to the abyss.
With each rotation of the array patterns, the sky grew dimmer.
And at the epicenter of the Demon Tide, the chaotic power spewing from the earth veins became increasingly active.
Those hideous, twisted demons, as if summoned by some call, shifted from their aimless expansion to a purposeful advance…
They all turned their direction, rushing towards Ice Lake Prison like a torrent.
“Toot woo—!”
The horn of Ice Lake Prison blew, and the entire Seravio Fortress entered a state of emergency battle readiness…
The warriors of the Night Candle Legion reached their respective posts at the first moment.
“Roar—!”
The roars of countless demons echoed through the valleys, and falling avalanches stirred up plumes of white mist.
Soon, they burst out of the white mist again, rushing recklessly towards the lake…
When the setting sun cast a reddish-gold glow upon the gates of Seravio Fortress, the lake surface suddenly began to boil with unnatural whirlpools.
The Viscount’s silver-plated cane struck sparks on the observatory's stone slab…
As if receiving an order, the spiked iron grates, submerged in the lake for nearly a decade, broke through the waves.
The first one-eyed giant shattered the lakeside pine forest, its greenish-gray skin gleaming with a cold light, but it stumbled and fell into the lake, becoming a pincushion.
One shadow wolf after another leaped into the lake, swimming towards Ice Lake Prison…
The cast-iron ballistas on the city walls adjusted their direction with the turning of their winches, and heavy bolts pierced through the mist.
However, behind these demons, a black tide formed a continuous line.
…
On the other side…
Diana, wielding her holy sword, was already panting. The Royal Chief Magician before her, Volk, was now a ninth-tier Black Magician.
However, Volk had not gained the upper hand either…
Both sides had devolved into a pure war of attrition.
“Heh heh, Diana… How much longer can you last? Look at the wounds on your body!”
It was then that Diana noticed the wounds on her body were no longer healing.
But no blood flowed from them; instead, golden specks of light continuously overflowed, scattering with the wind…
“I remember teaching you that excessive use of the holy sword without corresponding strength would lead to you being assimilated by light-attribute magic, until you are completely ‘angelized,’ but then dissipate in the end due to insufficient divine rank…”
Diana gasped for breath. Not only did she have to contend with this ninth-tier magician…
The surrounding demons would also launch continuous attacks against her.
“I don’t care! Compared to being scorched by flames in hell, this is nothing!”
Diana roared, her reddened eyes brimming with tears…
She raised her holy sword again, unleashing a three-strike combo at Volk.
Volk dodged two strikes, but took the final sword blow head-on. This woman was utterly insane!
If this continued, Volk would eventually be cleaved to death.
However, Diana also couldn't afford to drag it out.
The Demon Tide erupted like a volcano. From its current scale, it would likely last five to six hours.
And the demons born or enraged by the Demon Tide would continue to spread outwards until they were all annihilated!
Not only would countless people die in this Demon Tide…
But this entire surrounding area was a plain, the most important grain-producing region of the entire empire.
The corpses of demons would pollute the land, and after this Demon Tide, a severe famine would follow.
“Hahahahaha! Diana, look… You’re not a savior, you can’t save everyone!”
Volk let out a series of maniacal laughs, then ascended into the air, creating distance.
“Alright, I don’t have time to play with you anymore. The Demon Tide has spread. If you have the ability… either kill them all with one sword, or negotiate with them, tell them not to run around, and go to your room to play with you slowly?”
“Don’t run!”
Diana shrieked, and three more streaks of sword light slashed out, narrowly missing Volk’s head.
It was then that both of them suddenly noticed the sky darkening…
They abruptly turned their heads and saw a gigantic magic circle unfurling in the distance, even obscuring the sun.
“Wait a minute! What’s going on?!”
Volk looked around in disbelief. The demons, one after another, stopped attacking Diana, turned their direction, and rushed towards the same place…
“No, the plan wasn’t like this…”
The Demon Tide was supposed to be a diversion, and the werewolf elite troops were to assault Ice Lake Prison!
Diana seized this opportunity, leaped up, stepped onto the shoulder of a demon flower, and slashed at Volk.
“Ugh ah—!”
This sword strike ultimately missed its mark, only severing one of his arms.
Volk clutched his wound, realized he couldn't stay any longer, and transformed into a black mist, disappearing without a trace.
The spread of the Demon Tide stopped… Instead, they all rushed in the same direction.
Diana landed on the back of a chimera, gasping for breath.
She could feel her life force continuously being converted into light-attribute magic power…
Lowering her head, she cursed to herself:
“Truly… serves me right!”
If not for her arrogance, ignoring the feelings of those around her, how would she have allowed Mil to embark on this path where his soul would never find rest?
Then, Diana took a deep breath and stood up.
Her eyes revealed a determination to die, and she raised her holy sword high—
“Listen—
I pray to the Lord God to bear witness, I am willing to be martyred here…
May I measure the path to hell with blood-stained feet;
May I weave a net of salvation with broken prayers.
Now, let my soul burn as a spark—
To illuminate a new dawn after the end! To bestow the final mercy upon this dying land!”
The holy sword in her hand shot a beam of light straight into the sky, accompanied by seven-colored clouds and smoke, spiraling upwards around the light pillar, as if it could tear apart all darkness…
As that sword light descended, a golden blade of light stood between heaven and earth, slashing across the vast plain directly towards Ice Lake Prison.
And Mil, casting spells high above, nearly popped his eyeballs out…
“What the hell?!”