Chapter 728: War in the Inferno

Outside the Bronze Fortress, the Abyssal legions had already covered both the skies and the earth. Everywhere, piles of demon corpses emitted black smoke.

Vrocks, chasmes, and other winged demons gathered in the sky, blocking Avernus’ blood-red heavens. On the ground, minotaurs, berserkers, and demon giants charged recklessly, swarming forward in a mad rush against the hellish legions’ defenses.

The devils continued their fierce resistance. Heavily armored chain devil warriors held the front lines. With ripples of the Weave, a solid forcefield wall emerged across the defense line, smashing demons’ heads bloody as they collided.

Horned devils and spined devils wielding tridents soared into the air, fighting to the death and knocking winged demons from the skies.

Robed devil warlocks floated in the air, chanting ancient and wicked incantations. Countless streaks of hellfire rained down upon the advancing demons, erupting with black smoke and screams.

Just then, a distant, deep horn resounded. A cold gale swept across the land. The devils’ red-hot weapons and armor hissed as they cooled, even gaining a layer of frost.

"These hellish mongrels are worthless! Crush them—for the great Wrathful Lord Kostchtchie!"

The earth shook. Terrified devils looked to the horizon, where several colossal abyssal behemoths growled. Riding atop them were frost giants, brandishing spears and hammers and bellowing madly.

The lead frost giant wore pitch-black heavy armor and wielded a massive warhammer. His body was covered in glowing cracks, and twisted spikes jutted from his elbows and knees—clear signs of deep Abyssal corruption.

He wore a black eyepatch. A hideous scar marred his face, and the remaining right eye glowed with dark green flame.

This frost giant leader trampled dozens of lesser demons beneath his drake mount, roaring in fury, "Out of my way! You useless filth! You’ve failed to breach the devils’ line for so long, now the mighty Kremron has to act personally!"

This so-called "mighty Kremron" was a trusted lieutenant of Kostchtchie. After the fall of the giant pantheon, he followed the Wrathful Lord into the Abyss and had fought across countless layers, earning a fearsome reputation.

The lesser demons piled outside the forcefield wall panicked. Under the pressure of his higher rank and fear of death, they quickly cleared a wide path.

"Hellish scum, you exist only to cower before Lord Kostchtchie’s armies and die!"

Kremron raised his warhammer and charged forward. Just before smashing into the defensive line, he swung the hammer with all his might at the forcefield wall.

The space cracked. The hammer unleashed bitter cold winds and a roar of chaos.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion sent hundreds of demons and devils flying. The forcefield wall shattered into countless glittering shards.

A devil officer snarled, voice hoarse with fury: "Stop that damn frost giant now!"

"Don’t let those Abyssal bastards break our lines!"

Kremron’s hammer crushed several charging devils into paste. The cold wind swept in, freezing their bodies into shards of ice that flew skyward.

The abyssal beast beneath him rammed into the ranks, instantly flattening over a dozen chain devils.

A dozen frost giant cavalry followed close behind, swinging hammers and spears. Dust billowed, and the cold wind on the plains grew sharper.

They were like a spiked iron hammer, smashing deep into the hellish forces and tearing a massive hole in the once-tight defense.

Kremron smashed a devil officer’s head like a bursting waterskin. Blood sprayed everywhere. Bathed in it, he laughed wildly: "The mighty Kremron will crush everything! All of Hell shall belong to the frost giants and Lord Kostchtchie!"

"Awooo!"

With the forcefield wall shattered, the demons surged forward like floodwaters, charging madly into the lines and clashing with the devils.

The devils on the outer defenses were completely overwhelmed. Demons tore and bit into their flesh, shredding the front ranks within seconds.

The demons outnumbered the devils more than twenty to one. Each was a rabid beast, bloodthirsty and unrelenting.

In such chaotic melee, no matter how organized or tactical the devils were, they could only watch themselves be devoured by the horde.

"We can’t hold them back!"

"Lord Uliel, the demons are almost upon us!"

The commander of this defense line, Pit Fiend Uliel, looked at the tide of demons and gritted his teeth. "The 21st and 22nd Legions are lost. Let them buy us time for retreat."

"Yes, my lord."

Though the two legions weren’t Uliel’s personal forces, they were strong units, and losing them pained him.

Yet the Pit Fiend moved quickly, abandoning subordinates without hesitation. He gathered his elite and withdrew to the next defensive line.

The devils left behind were torn to shreds by the demons. Not a single intact corpse remained—a necessary sacrifice for maximum benefit.

Kremron raised his warhammer, swung it through the air, and laughed loudly: "See? They’re afraid! These cowardly hellspawn can’t stop us! Lord Kostchtchie will conquer Avernus! This land will be a paradise for demons!"

"Glory to the Abyss!"

"Praise Lord Kostchtchie!"

The demons had fully overrun the outer defenses, roaring hoarsely in chaotic triumph.

In moments, tens of thousands of devils were slaughtered—only blood, scraps, and shattered remains were left.

Such were demons: chaotic beings, born to kill and destroy. Compared to life, they were living catastrophes.

The second line of Hell’s defenses was a river of molten lava. Geysers of magma erupted skyward, with lethal toxic smoke hovering above. On the banks stood a heavily armed devil army, flanked by large siege weapons.

Swarms of lesser demons flapped their wings like dark clouds, trying to fly over the river, only to be stopped by the lava and smoke. Their twisted bodies ignited and plummeted into the magma, releasing foul black smoke.

Stronger demons roared and pushed forward with bulging muscles, trying to force a breakthrough. But gravity spells struck, swatting them from the air like flies into the lava.

The devils raised their hellish crossbows and aimed at the sky. Flaming bolts rained down in dense volleys, piercing airborne demons.

Within minutes, thousands of demons perished. The air filled with foul black smoke, polluting the battlefield and making the air reek.

Thankfully, both Hell and the Abyss were already vile. For Baator, this was routine. In the Material Plane, such pollution would render land barren for decades.

"For the Lord of the Nine Hells!"

"Hold them back! Don’t let those Abyssal bastards reach the Bronze Fortress! Remember, Lord Bael is watching you!

Any who distinguish themselves in battle may rise in rank! But cowards and deserters will only find death! The Nine Hells will abandon such worms!"

The devil officer roared, brandishing his longsword as he issued a death command.

To make an example, he grabbed a fleeing imp engineer from within the fortress and lifted it before the troops.

"M-my lord! I didn’t know anything! I was ordered by superiors to report to the fortress!" the imp wailed in agony.

It knew that admitting guilt now would be fatal.

The officer didn’t care about motives or facts—only about making an example.

"Still denying it? Because of deserters like you, those Abyssal bastards have become this arrogant!" he snarled.

"I-I didn’t—" The imp couldn’t defend itself.

The officer didn’t waste another word. With a single swing, he decapitated the imp. Blood sprayed from its neck.

Holding the imp’s lifeless head high, he roared, "See this? This is a deserter’s fate! Lord Bael doesn’t need the useless! The Nine Hells don’t need weaklings!

Want to become a high-ranking devil like me? Then go out and kill demons! You too can rise above!"

"For the Nine Hells!"

"Long live Lord Bael!"

Devils raised their weapons and shouted. Their expressions looked fervent—though who knew how much of that was feigned.

"Look at that. Devils can only maintain morale through such pathetic means. They’re truly fragile."

"With Lord Kostchtchie’s alliance with two other Abyssal Lords, Hell is doomed. If the Nine Hells fall, someone of your stature might even earn a Lordship."

"Hahahaha! Avernus would suit me just fine!" Kremron burst out laughing at his subordinate’s flattery.

Demons continued charging the devil lines, falling from the skies or leaping into the lava without fear of death, their bodies sizzling.

If their corpses didn’t return to the Abyss, the lava moat would have been filled long ago.

"Enough. This boring game ends now." Kremron stood, grinning menacingly. He roared, "Bael! Pathetic devil duke! If you don’t come out, I’ll slaughter all your men!"

He stepped forward, disdainfully eyeing the lava moat.

"Hmph, this little thing... you think it can stop me?"

Gripping his hammer with both hands, he raised it overhead. Runes on the weapon flared, glowing ghostly blue.

An intense chill erupted. A howling storm of hail and snow surrounded the massive frost giant, forming a terrifying cold vortex.

But unlike normal snow, these hailstones and snowflakes were murky green, as if soaked in foul slime.

These frost giants had followed Kostchtchie for millennia. Their power was a mix of frost runes and Abyssal chaos.

Muscles bulging, Kremron swung his hammer down.

"Boom!"

The earth quaked. The hammer created a deep crater, and chaos-tinged frost spread rapidly, freezing the ground.

The once-boiling lava moat froze solid. Hundreds of front-line devils were flash-frozen into statues.

With faint cracking sounds, fine fissures spread across them. They shattered into countless frozen chunks.

These devils were the bravest, most loyal. But they didn’t earn promotion—only became the first to die.

The other frost giants followed suit, freezing the lava river to create bridges for the demons.

A devil officer shouted, "Careful! These frost giants have strange powers—frost magic!"

The Hell legions responded quickly. Devil warlocks appeared and raised bone staffs, chanting incantations to heat the air and distort the atmosphere.

But it was too late. Black lava bridges had formed across the river. Demons rushed across them, flooding toward the devil army.

The Hell legions struggled, desperately defending the bridges. Countless demons fell into lava, sending fiery splashes across the battlefield.

But the first defense had fallen. The second wouldn’t last much longer—the demon horde seemed endless, filling even the distant horizon.

"Stop struggling! The Bronze Fortress will fall! Bael—no, even the Lord of the Nine Hells can’t save you!" Kremron shouted.

The storm around the frost giant still howled as he rode his abyssal beast across the lava and into the heart of the devil formation, rampaging wildly.

Just then, a thunderous dragon roar echoed across the battlefield.

"ROOOOAR—"

The roar carried a vast, indescribable power that shook all of Avernus—frost giants included.