Chapter 763: Gate of the Abyss

"Blood Sacrifice to the Mother Goddess!"

Theron spread his arms, and the robe on his body squirmed like a living thing before suddenly splitting open.

"Ugh! You forced me to do this!"

He let out a pained wail as insect-like hard bristles grew on his skin, and the crack on his chest expanded, forming a tiny yet massive spider-shaped pattern.

A soft yet cruel female chuckle came from the vortex behind him, especially piercing and chilling to the bone.

"By Shahanni."

"O great Holy Tree..."

Everyone present felt fear, especially the Silvermoon Elves, as if facing their natural enemy. The terror seeped into their very souls, almost driving them mad.

In an instant, evil energy surged, and one after another Abyss Gates grew from the Holy Tree, like ugly, pus-oozing, poisonous sores.

Foul-smelling, sludge-like creatures poured out from those Abyss Gates, each extending eight powerful tentacles with a blood-red eyeball embedded in their bodies.

—They were Wax-Melt Fiends, called "Brides of Lolth," who loyally served the Spider Queen across the Bottomless Abyss and other realms.

Next came Abyss Ants, Shapeshift Spiders, Demon-Hunting Spiders, Thorn Fairies, Weavers of Darkness, Deep Dragons, Drider Elves, Ettercaps, and Grell Scorpions.

Numerous ugly, twisted monsters crawled out from the Abyss Gates, forming a mottled flood that roared toward the allied army.

Catherine raised her staff, pointed at Theron in the distance, and said coldly, "Polluting the Holy Tree, opening the Abyss Gates, bringing catastrophic ruin—Theron, is this what you call ’giving everything for Serenia?’"

Theron had lost his human form. He grinned manically, letting out insect-like screeches, and kept repeating, "You forced me! You forced me! You are the real culprits!"

"Catherine, the ritual is about to begin. You will become the Mother Goddess’s most beloved sacrifice!"

"Hahaha! As long as I sacrifice you, Serenia will have a thousand—no, ten thousand years of peace! This will become a heaven on earth, the greatest kingdom in Feanso!"

"Theron, you are beyond saving—you’ve gone completely mad!" Catherine shouted angrily.

The sun set, the sky gradually darkened, and rolling black clouds appeared high above. The moon was no longer its usual silver but a blood-red color.

On the moon’s surface, a huge, hideous spider shadow faintly appeared, its scarlet eyes gleaming with a terrifying light.

Everyone present felt a vast oppressive force descend, as if a venomous gaze was fixed upon them, making their whole bodies tremble and their souls quake.

Even the Holy Tree’s radiant barrier was stained red by some strange power, gradually turning into a blood-colored membrane like a giant maw ready to swallow everyone whole.

"Divine Realm Descent."

Staring at the sky covered in black and red, a mage from the Arcane Hermitage, well-versed in divine magic, turned pale with shock and cried out:

"Damn it! The entire Royal Court of Serenia has become a blood sacrifice ritual array! This lunatic wants to sacrifice all of us to summon his evil god into the world!"

"By the Moon Goddess."

"This is insane! Quickly, stop him at all costs!"

Catherine swung her staff and shouted angrily, "We cannot lose! If that evil god succeeds, not only will Serenia be reduced to ruins, but the entire continent will face a horrific catastrophe!"

With the elven queen’s cry, beams of silver light pierced through the dark sky, descending from above. Hundreds of monsters howled in pain as their evil bodies were purified by the moonlight, turning into charred remains.

But the robed Drider Elf elders raised their staves, and black light appeared in the sky, eroding the moonlight Catherine had summoned. The two sides were locked in a stalemate.

"Go! Bring back her head! You will receive the Mother Goddess’s supreme blessing!"

Theron extended his spider-like limbs, pointing toward the distant elven queen.

In an instant, Deep Dragons, Shapeshift Spiders, Demon-Hunting Spiders, Ettercaps, and other terrifying monsters surged toward Catherine like a raging flood.

The eyes of the Demon-Hunting Spiders shot out dark rays, instantly turning several Silvermoon followers into stone statues, which were then crushed to pieces by giant-footed spiders.

There were also Phase Spiders, their bodies flickering as they used their ethereal travel to appear behind the Silvermoon Elves, piercing their chests with scythe-like, barbed legs.

These hideous monsters were like sharp awls, drilling straight into the allied army’s defensive line, charging toward Catherine.

Catherine still floated in midair, chanting ancient elven prayers to maintain the divine light, trying to break the sacrificial array and unable to move easily.

Seeing the ferocious monsters rushing in, Rhea opened a dimensional gate that crossed space, leading her most elite royal guards to arrive from nearby, blocking in front of Catherine.

"Protect Her Majesty to the death!"

"Don’t let them get one step closer to Queen Catherine! Even if it costs our lives!"

Dozens of Sword Spiders swung their blade-like claws like daggers poised to pierce a heart, rushing in at great speed.

"Holy Oath Spell."

Rhea gripped her longsword with both hands, closed her eyes, and a faint purple light flashed on her silver armor, rippling with spatial fluctuations. Her movements became faster—it was Haste.

Then she snapped her eyes open, vengeance burning in her pupils, and black feathered wings unfurled behind her as an overwhelming aura radiated from her.

She flapped her wings, soared into the air, and transformed into an Avenging Angel, diving toward the Sword Spiders—this was the most powerful form of a Vengeance Paladin!

"Die!"

With a roar, even the Sword Spiders froze in the presence of the legendary paladin’s intimidating aura.

Rhea swung her silver sword in midair, releasing a twilight-colored blade of light dozens of meters long, imbued with unparalleled divine power.

"Supreme Holy Slash!"

With the sword’s whistling strike, the Sword Spiders were cut in half, their remains scattering across the ground.

"Lowly mongrels!"

In the distance, a Drider Elf warlock snarled, raising its staff to unleash a ray of evil energy at the half-elf paladin.

But Rhea’s figure blinked and vanished, leaving only a puff of silvery-white mist behind.

The Drider Elf warlock’s many eyes scanned the area but saw no sign of the half-elf, cursing in frustration, "Damn it! Where did she go?!"

The next moment, Rhea appeared above the Drider Elf’s head, gripping her silver sword and thrusting it downward with all her strength.

"Slash!"

With a crisp sound, blood sprayed and brain matter splattered as the Drider Elf’s head was pierced from top to bottom.

Nearby, a Demon-Hunting Spider spotted the half-elf.

As apex predators of the Abyss, they locked onto the half-elf and silently closed in, surrounding her, their scarlet eyes shooting out dim rays.

Petrification Ray.

But Rhea had already sensed the Demon-Hunting Spiders with her divine perception.

She smirked coldly, turned, and drew the silver sword from the Drider Elf’s head, holding its smooth blade in the path of the petrifying beam, reflecting it back.

"Swish—"

In the distance, a Demon-Hunting Spider was petrified by its own ray, turning into a massive spider statue.

Rhea leaped forward, stabbed its head, and shattered the statue into countless fragments.

Several more Demon-Hunting Spiders opened their maws full of fangs, lunging at the half-elf from different directions.

Rhea swung her sword in a horizontal slash, forcing back the one in front, then spun and thrust backward, a faint red beam shooting from the sword’s tip.

Monster Binding Spell.

The Demon-Hunting Spider behind her was frozen in place. Rhea leapt up and struck down, the blade once again glowing with twilight light.

"Supreme Holy Slash!"

With a single stroke, the massive spider was cleaved in two, its body wreathed in a faint light that burned it, releasing black smoke.

Another Demon-Hunting Spider closed in from behind to ambush her, but Rhea spun smoothly, the sword’s arc carving a great semicircle in the air.

"Swish—"

A blade of light flew out, slicing off all eight legs of the Demon-Hunting Spider, sending it crashing to the ground.

Rhea tapped her toes on the ground, leapt high, and stabbed down again.

"Slash!"

With the sound of tearing flesh, the silver sword pierced the Demon-Hunting Spider’s head, driving deep into the ground and pinning it in place.

In the blink of an eye, three Demon-Hunting Spiders lay dead at the half-elf’s feet.

These monsters normally hunted demons in the Abyss and required a highly trained adventuring party to defeat, yet now they were slain with ease by the Vengeance Paladin.

Not far away, the Silvermoon Elf guards Rhea had brought also joined forces to kill a Demon-Hunting Spider that had tried to sneak up.

"As long as I’m here, you won’t get a single step closer to Her Majesty!" Rhea drew her silver sword, pointing it at Theron in the distance, eyes full of killing intent.

The souls of countless dead Silvermoon Elves appeared behind her, roaring and screaming, turning their dying unwillingness into Rhea’s will for vengeance.

This was the Spirit of Retribution.

She would protect her queen and avenge her slain kin, bringing villains to justice—this was Rhea’s duty as a Vengeance Paladin!

Theron spread his eight terrifying limbs and roared to the sky, "Mongrel, your struggle is useless."

"The great Mother Goddess will descend upon the world. She will weave a grand Chapter of fate, leaving you rebels without graves, doomed to failure!!"

Rhea shouted, "Your so-called Mother Goddess is nothing but a traitor who betrayed the elven pantheon!"

But Theron only grew more frenzied, thrashing his limbs and opening more Abyss Gates on the Holy Tree, summoning countless horrors.

Just then, two elven soldiers came running toward Rhea, with a spider the size of a hill chasing behind—they were facing a Giant Horror Spider.

"Lady Rhea! Lady Rhea! Please save us!"

But Rhea’s eyes hardened, and to the shock of all, she beheaded the two elven soldiers with a single strike.

"You—!"

Rhea sneered, "Trying to play such tricks before me?"

The delicate, fair heads rolled to the ground, their faces squirming with shifting flesh, revealing many eyes. Their bodies transformed into curled-up spider corpses with eight limbs.

These were Shapeshift Spiders, notorious in the Underdark for luring prey by disguising themselves as frail human girls.

Unfortunately for them, the legendary paladin’s divine sight saw through their disguise instantly.

The rest of the allied soldiers weren’t so lucky.

The Shapeshift Spiders infiltrated the allied camp, taking the forms of elves, dwarves, and humans, launching ambushes and sowing mistrust among the ranks.

Soon, the mage from the Arcane Hermitage raised his staff, casting a sphere-like field over the area.

Anti-Magic Barrier.

In an instant, the disguised Shapeshift Spiders lost their magical abilities, revealing their ugly forms and being slain by allied soldiers.

The worst fate befell those that had infiltrated the dwarven lines.

The moment they reverted to their true forms, over a dozen hammers came down with crude dwarven curses, smashing them into bloody chunks and unrecognizable pieces.

"In our presence, these minions of evil gods are nothing!" Rhea decapitated the Giant Horror Spider, then flapped her wings and raised her sword high.

"Roar—"

At that moment, several dragon-like creatures with slender, serpentine bodies and dark purple scales appeared behind Rhea, letting out hoarse growls and breathing clouds of flesh-corroding gas.

They were Deep Dragons, with sinuous necks, four limbs, and narrow wings, known by adventurers as "Dragons of the Deep," deadly predators of the Underdark.

Rhea dodged their breath in midair, ready to counterattack, when a massive golden figure descended from the sky, pouncing on the slender Deep Dragons.

"Filthy crawlers—"

The Ancient Gold Dragon roared ferociously, grabbing one Deep Dragon’s slender neck and smashing it into the ground, leaving it bloodied and scale-shattered.

The other Deep Dragons roared fiercely but dared not face the mighty gold dragon head-on, only spewing poison gas from afar.

Titus stood atop the dying Deep Dragon, half-rising as he raised his head high, opening his jaws to unleash a torrent of searing flame.

"Boom—"

A fan-shaped blaze poured forth, creating a sea of fire. The raging flames engulfed the Deep Dragons, burning them and driving them back in terror.

From within the flames emerged a winged figure—Rhea—who used her dive’s momentum to slice through a Deep Dragon’s neck, sending blood spraying.

"My thanks, Lord Titus." Rhea, holding her blood-dripping silver sword, hovered in the air with her wings and nodded to the Ancient Gold Dragon nearby.