Chapter 801

【 THE REALM OF HELL 】

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Staying in the Wasteland of Desolation made it difficult to distinguish between day and night.

So by the time the players had fully recovered and finished resting, an entire day had already passed according to the system’s timekeeping for this place.

With the one’s who had conquered the Demon Fortress, along with the players who had continuously arrived over the past two days, the total number of players inside the fortress had already surpassed one hundred thousand.

And this would become the first player army to venture deep into Hell.

Outside the Dimensional Gate, players from various guilds gathered together. They were arranged into orderly formations according to their classes, fully armed and completely prepared to enter Hell.

“Lord Mars, we are ready. We can enter Hell anytime and begin the campaign.”

The army’s commander, Ji Gang, reported to the Gold Dragon.

Although Meryer had already become the Dragon God, he was only stronger than Mars in terms of raw power. Therefore, he was only the leader of the army in name, but in reality, Meryer was nothing more than a combat force. He was also a glutton who could easily be bribed with a few meals of honey-roasted meat.

The true NPC assisting the players with their mission was still the ancient Golden Dragon Mars, who had lived for countless tens of thousands of years and had long cultivated himself into a true elder dragon.

Hearing Ji Gang’s words, the old Golden Dragon slightly nodded.

“Then let us depart. Be prepared. The demons of Hell must already know that their Dimensional Gate here has fallen and have likely prepared measures to stop us.”

Ji Gang nodded deeply in agreement.

The battle to seize the Demon Fortress had caused an enormous disturbance, and so many demons had escaped back to Hell. It was likely that the inhabitants of Hell had already learned of their actions.

The battle awaiting them next would most likely be a fierce one.

Thinking of this, Ji Gang took a deep breath, opened the voice chat on the battlefield channel, and loudly commanded:

“All player squads, listen up! Apply all available buffs to yourselves and prepare for battle!”

As soon as his words fell, brilliant rays of light blossomed throughout the player formation, creating a dazzling display of countless colors.

“Brothers! The entire army, advance! Our target—Hell!”

Ji Gang raised the sword in his hand and shouted at the top of his lungs.

After speaking, he was surrounded by the vanguard troops and entered the Dimensional Gate first, full of confidence and determination.

At the same time, several Dragons let out mighty roars, transformed into their true forms, and flew through the gate one after another.

A familiar sensation of traveling through space emerged, just like when they had entered the Wasteland of Desolation from the World of Seigües.

Ji Gang’s vision first turned completely dark before slowly becoming brighter.

Of course, calling it bright was not entirely accurate. It was merely slightly illuminated.

A pungent smell immediately assaulted them once they reached the other side.

It smelled like sulfur, mixed with the stench of rotten eggs that had been left out for god knows how many days. The overwhelming odor was so intense that players who had not disabled their sense of smell nearly passed out.

Looking around, Ji Gang discovered that they had arrived in a vast and dark area.

The sky was still covered in rolling black clouds, but compared to the clouds above the Wasteland of Desolation, they were much heavier and more oppressive. The lightning was no longer a dazzling white, but a deep and eerie purple.

The ground was also black and stretched endlessly into the distance. One could see towering mountains rising from the earth like twisted spikes, piercing high into the sky.

Blazing rivers of lava continuously flowed across the land, intertwining with one another. They became the main source of light for the entire world, reflecting the sky with a deep crimson glow…

This was the Sixth Layer of Hell, the domain of Demon Lord, Samael.

Before leaving the Wasteland of Desolation, Ji Gang had specifically studied this place and according to the records he found, this place was known as the Lava Hell because it was filled with endless rivers of molten lava.

There was a saying that lava represented wrath, meaning this entire layer was also a manifestation of the divine authority of its ruler, Demon Lord Samael the holder of the Divinity of Wrath.

What Ji Gang did not know was that because Samael’s dominion was covered in lava, he had always coveted one of Azazel’s divinities, specifically the “Earthfire.”

This was also one of the major reasons behind the deep conflict between the two Demon Lords.

Lava Hell was oppressive and scorching, like a massive steamer.

However, when Ji Gang looked into the distance, he suddenly froze.

The players who had followed him through the Gate and were already prepared for battle were equally stunned.

Even the several Mythical Dragons in the sky wore strange expressions.

The players had appeared on a hillside, and beneath the slope was a massive demon fortress.

However, the entire demon fortress was completely empty. Looking down from the hillside, it seemed as though there was not even a single demon present…

Not only that, but they were not attacked by any demons either. The entire area was eerily silent, with only faint thunder echoing through the sky.

On the ground, however, they could see many pieces of equipment abandoned by the demons. Occasionally, they could even see scattered footprints and those continued forward, stretching into the distance…

Judging from the footprints, the retreat seemed extremely chaotic and hurried.

“…Where are the demons?”

The players were completely confused.

Meanwhile, Mars gazed into the distance and his enormous eyes caught sight of several groups of figures fleeing rapidly toward the horizon, causing his expression to become even stranger.

“They… seem to have escaped.”

Ji Gang: “…”

By now, the majority of the players had crossed over the Dimensional Gate.

It was not until the vanguard troops had completely occupied and searched the empty demon fortress below the hillside that they finally confirmed one thing:

Indeed, the demons stationed in this fortress seemed to have fled at the first sign of them.

This result left the players with complicated expressions and they found it both amusing and somewhat unbelievable.

As for Mars, after pondering for a moment, his expression gradually became enlightened.

Their superior, Demon Lord Samael had been captured, and even the only other Abyssal Myths at the peak of Intermediate Divine Power besides him had fallen into the hands of Her Grace, the Goddess.

Although Her Grace had not personally descended into Hell yesterday, the nearby demons had most likely witnessed that battle.

Even a high-ranking Demon with Intermediate Divine Power had been forced to kneel. At this moment, the weaker demons naturally prioritized saving their own lives.

They hurriedly packed up their belongings and fled with their respective legions…

“So… Lord Mars, does this mean our plan to establish a foothold in this area has already been completed? How do we enter the First Layer of Hell next?”

While planting the flag on top of the fortress, Ji Gang looked at the Golden Dragon Mars standing outside the fortress. Despite being the commander, he found himself looking up at the enormous dragon, whose humanoid body was even taller than his own.

The Golden Dragon Mars raised his head and looked toward the sky. His voice slowly echoed:

“For our next task… Her Grace the Goddess will help us open the path to the First Layer of Hell.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a golden pillar of light shot into the sky, piercing through the dark clouds.

Ji Gang instinctively looked upward and saw the figure of the Goddess appear once again, descending in midair.

Immediately afterward, she gently waved her arm, and a golden, radiant stone gate appeared on the hillside, facing the Dimensional Gate.

Within the stone gate, the light twisted and reversed, becoming increasingly deep and mysterious.

The Golden Dragon Mars smiled slightly upon seeing it.

“Look, it has already begun.”

The moment his words fell, the golden stone gate erupted with even more brilliant light.

The Seven Layers of Hell consisted of seven separate realms, but in a certain sense, they were also connected as one.

Normally, the various Demon Lords could not observe the territories controlled by other Demon Lords. However, there was an exception when a Demon Lord was sealed.

Under normal circumstances, disturbances within one layer would not attract the attention of the other Demon Lords. However, when someone attempted to create a dimensional passageway through the void and directly connect a layer into another, the situation became completely different…

Just like the Gate of Reversal that was slowly unfolding at this very moment.

Sensing that familiar aura, the Demon Lords within the other layers turned their attention toward it one after another instantly.

“This aura…! It’s the Goddess of Life!”

Beelzebub suddenly stood up from Azazel’s throne, his expression changing slightly.

At the border of the First Layer of Hell, the Demon Lords Mammon and Belial were leading their armies in battle against the Einherjars of the Gods when their expressions became filled with shock.

“The Goddess of Life?”

“How did she enter Hell?”

In the Third Layer of Hell, a sinister octopus slowly emerged from the surface of a dark sea. His deep gaze looked toward the Sixth Layer of Hell, and the depths of Leviathan’s eyes were filled with fury.

“Evé… no… Yggdrasill!”

Meanwhile, in the Seventh Layer of Hell, the towering figure of Helel narrowed his eyes.

With a cold snort, he flew into the sky.

At this moment, five Demon Lords simultaneously turned their gazes toward the Fifth Layer of Hell and saw the player army outside the Dimensional Gate.

They also saw Evé floating in the sky.

They even saw the Gate of Reversal beneath her, shining with golden radiance.

They saw the golden pillar of light that pierced through the heavens.

At the same time, somewhere deep within the First Layer of Hell, light broke through the sky, and another golden pillar of light descended from above…

“Not good!”

The expressions of the three Demon Lords located in the First Layer of Hell changed drastically.

Without hesitation, they let out cold snorts, connected with their Hell Cores, and unleashed their corrupted divine power, striking toward the golden pillar of light.

At the same time, the other two Demon Lords followed closely behind, launching attacks through the void with their targets aimed directly at Evé in the Fifth Layer of Hell.

However, they were already too late.

Before the Demon Lords’ attacks could reach their target, the golden pillar of light slowly disappeared. And within the First Layer of Hell, a radiant stone gate had already appeared.

The positioning was complete.

Only then did the Demon Lords’ attacks arrive one after another.

Since the pillar of light had already vanished, the attacks from the three Demon Lords at the First Layer of Hell struck empty space.

Meanwhile, Helel and Leviathan’s attacks were blocked by Evé, who summoned the Sword of Damocles and intercepted them with a single strike.

Even for Demon Lords, using their power across different realms greatly reduced its effectiveness.

Destroying the positioning process before it succeeded was possible, but once the Gate of Reversal was completely formed, their attacks could no longer affect it.

Looking at the radiant stone gate, the Golden Dragon Mars burst into laughter.

“Let us go, Commander Ji Gang.”

After saying this to the still somewhat bewildered commander, he let out a mighty dragon roar and flew toward the Gate.

Following him were Meryer, who had already revert to his Black Dragon form, and the two Ancient Silver Dragons accompanied the two Mythical Dragons.

Only after the figures of the dragons disappeared into the Gate of Reversal did Eve’s figure slowly fade away.

It was only then that Ji Gang finally regained his senses.

His expression gradually became filled with excitement. He opened the battlefield voice channel and issued a new command:

“All players, pay attention!”

“Follow Meryer, Mars, and the others into the Stone Gate!”