Chapter 371: The Blood War Fully Erupts

Hoarse and cold, sounding from the depths of its heart like a phantom, the voice pierced the Blade Sovereign's soul. The Blade Sovereign, which had been gathering energy to unleash an ultimate move, instantly froze. To its horror, it discovered it could no longer move.

Without warning, a translucent tentacle had coiled around the Eight-Armed Snake Demon's body. Two ominous energies—one dark blue, the other dark red—intertwined along its length.

Touch of Fear!

A translucent wolf silhouette emerged behind the Blade Sovereign. The same ominous dark blue and dark red energies wove across its form. The blue resembled a wrongfully slain phantom, and the red looked like coagulated blood. The wolf's eyes radiated a sickly green, venomous light.

Ghostwolf!

The White Dragon Lord instantly recognized the wolf silhouette's race. Ghostwolves were an unconventional type of undead creature. Very few ever formed naturally, as animals generally did not harbor intense enough emotions when they died.

If a wolf had an owner or companion it could not bear to part with and died bearing extreme emotions, it might transform into a ghostwolf. Bound by its lingering attachments, an undead ghostwolf would never harm its master; instead, it would continue to guard them just as loyally as it had in life.

If a ghostwolf's master was an orc shaman, the creature could even merge with its master through a shamanic secret art, becoming a formidable source of power.

Naturally, the White Dragon Lord recalled Engru Ghostwolf's aged face.

The ghostwolf raised a paw and thrust its hook-like claws toward the Eight-Armed Snake Demon. Leaving no physical wound, the claws, wreathed in those ominous blue and red energies, simply plunged into its body.

Through the White Dragon Lord's Soul Sight, a terrifying wolf claw could be seen bursting from the belly of the Eight-Armed Snake Demon's soul.

The Eight-Armed Snake Demon's body went limp. With its host vessel dead, the Blade Sovereign's clone could no longer hide. It abruptly shot into the sky from the corpse.

"Trying to run?!"

A milky-white soul net enveloped the Blade Sovereign's clone. The ghostwolf dragged it back, pinning the crumpled net beneath its paw as it leaned its translucent snout closer.

"N..."

Before the plea could fully leave its mouth, the ghostwolf swallowed the Blade Sovereign's clone in a single bite. It stuck out a translucent dark blue tongue to lick its lips, then raised its head to look toward the White Dragon Lord. As a phantom entity, the ghostwolf also possessed Soul Sight.

The White Dragon Lord dispelled the Vein-Freezing Midwinter spell. The freezing mist vanished, revealing the massive White Tower.

"Lord Engru?"

The White Dragon Lord called out tentatively, and the ghostwolf nodded.

"You have quite the nerve, Amos! To actually provoke the Blade Sovereign! Aren't you afraid its true body will descend and crush you?!"

"I am, but I'm no coward who takes a beating without daring to strike back."

The ghostwolf hosting Engru Ghostwolf looked the White Dragon Lord up and down. Seemingly satisfied with the answer, its silhouette vanished once more.

The White Dragon Lord thought for a moment before steering the White Tower toward Riverrun.

Without the aid of the four Legendary Demons, it was impossible for the Demon Army to breach Riverrun while Sular Grey Dove stood guard. Just in case, however, the White Dragon Lord decided to take a look.

By the time the White Dragon Lord arrived at Riverrun, the blood moon had completely set.

From the sky, the White Dragon Lord gazed down at the earth. Corpses littered the ground around Riverrun's city walls, and the city's iconic rushing waters were dyed red with blood. The demons were being hunted down by Riverrun's army, their routed forces scattering in all directions.

"It seems they don't need any help."

The White Dragon Lord steered the White Tower over to greet Sular Grey Dove before turning back toward Blackrock Fortress.

...

The next morning, three suns illuminated the abyssal lands. The walls of Blackrock Fortress were packed with people, but they were not defending the city; instead, they stood upon the ramparts, gazing toward the fortress's rear.

Clouds of dust rolled in the distance behind Blackrock Fortress. If one pressed an ear to the ground, they could even hear the thundering hooves of ten thousand galloping horses.

"They're here! They're here!"

In the distance, a line of riders on fine steeds charged out of the billowing dust, entering the sight of the crowd on the walls. Hooves pounded the earth; lances stood as thick as a forest.

The knights at the very front bore various flags. There was the blue hexagram flag representing the Otag World, the purple crystal flag representing Emdas... and, of course, the Sky City Banner representing Nordhill.

From the control room at the top of the White Tower, the White Dragon Lord and the Gold Dragon watched the great army surging toward Blackrock Fortress. More and more forces continued to emerge from the dust.

"This scale... there are at least a million of them. It seems the Alliance is taking things seriously this time."

The White Dragon Lord calculated inwardly. He and his companions had destroyed three demonic fortresses, meaning three major gaps had opened in the demons' defensive line. Assuming the armies arriving at Blackrock Fortress, Riverrun, and Trident Keep were equal in number, the Alliance had deployed three million cavalry for the surprise attack alone. And this was only the first wave...

Even accustomed to monumental events as he was, the White Dragon Lord couldn't help but marvel at the scale of warfare on the Blood War Battlefield.

Amassing the armies of dozens of Alliance member planes had resulted in this scale. On other battlefields that gathered forces from thousands of planes, the number of simultaneous combatants would be an incalculable, astronomical figure.

The Gold Dragon couldn't help but sigh in awe.

"The Blood War Battlefield bleeds the demons, but it also bleeds the entire multiverse. That saying truly isn't wrong."

As the cavalry gradually closed in, pebbles on the ground of Blackrock Fortress began to bounce. The White Dragon Lord ordered the gates opened and all the various foods stored in the warehouses brought out.

This cavalry group was the vanguard of the assault and would not stay in Blackrock Fortress for long. After a brief resupply and rest, they would follow the gap in the defensive line opened by the White Dragon Lord and charge deep into the demons' heartland. The total war between the Alliance and the demons had finally begun!

The commanders of this cavalry were three High-Tier Legend knights. After a brief conversation, the White Dragon Lord got strictly down to business and handed over the supplies.

Upon receiving the provisions, the cavalry regiment didn't even enter Blackrock Fortress. They simply set up fires to cook outside the walls. Once both riders and warhorses were fed, the knight army spurred their mounts toward the Demon Territory, leaving billowing dust in their wake.

Armies continually made their final resupply stops at Blackrock Fortress before stepping into the demons' territory, just as fresh supplies continually flowed into the fortress.

With everything coming and going, the varied resources within Blackrock Fortress actually increased, as it was the foremost supply point on the frontlines.

That evening, three guests arrived at Blackrock Fortress: the Cat-Woman, Hajir Kuten; the Priest of Justice, Priest Sinod; and the leader of the Northland Witches' Council, Lilith.

With the onset of full-scale war, the strategic value of frontline cities like Blackrock Fortress became increasingly critical. Their original defensive forces were no longer sufficient to guarantee safety. The Alliance drafted personnel from various planes to garrison the fortresses alongside their original city lords.

Following the principle of prioritizing teams from the same plane, the Cat-Woman and the other two had come to Blackrock Fortress.

The White Dragon Lord welcomed this. There was strength in numbers, and their arrival vastly enhanced Blackrock Fortress's defenses, providing much greater security for everyone there, the White Dragon Lord included.

After a brief reunion, the five threw themselves into their work. Though they did not need to participate in the actual fighting, the White Dragon Lord and the others' tasks were not in the least bit easier than those of the combatants.

With the total war underway, major adventuring parties from the Star Realm and elsewhere reacted like sharks smelling blood. They flocked to the Blood War Battlefield, seeking a slice of the pie in this grand feast.

Situated at the forefront of the battle lines, Blackrock Fortress served as the adventurers' resupply station before they stepped onto the battlefield, and their cozy haven upon returning. It remained in a constant state of overpopulation.

The quality of adventurers hailing from across the multiverse was uneven. Those defying laws with martial force were by no means a minority. Thefts, robberies, and frauds occurred constantly, and every day people came to the Central Castle to file complaints.

The order of Blackrock Fortress faced severe challenges. The execution platform at the city gates never saw an idle moment.

Thanks to investigations by gnolls coordinated with magic, the perpetrators nearly all received their due punishments. Even if some managed to escape, they would be jointly wanted by the Alliance and the Divine Factions, leaving them no place to hide on the Blood War Battlefield.

After a period of this "great sweep," Blackrock Fortress finally returned to its proper track, and the White Dragon Lord and the others could relax somewhat.

At night, the White Dragon Lord and the other four High-Tier Legends gathered in the White Tower to review the battle reports sent back from the front lines.

Over the past month, nearly a hundred million personnel had been deployed in the Alliance's sector of the battlefield alone. The demons were in constant retreat, losing over a dozen cities.

"The demon city Sindila self-destructed. An army of three hundred thousand was reduced to ashes alongside a million demons."

"Hmm... if this continues, we're going to turn into the deep rear here."

Seeing the news that the army had taken yet another city, the Gold Dragon couldn't help but sigh. The White Dragon Lord continued reading down the report. Suddenly, seeing an explosive piece of news, he read it aloud.

"The Devils have joined the war! The newly appointed King of the Devilkin, August Lansmoth, has led a Devil army to capture the demon city of Kasnamp."

The Divine Factions had been the first to launch an attack, and the Alliance closely followed. The Devils, as one of the three major factions on the Blood War Battlefield, had remained on the sidelines until now, finally unable to hold back any longer.

The Devils entering the fray meant that every faction on the Blood War Battlefield had been swept into the fighting. The battlefield had reached its most brutal hour, where rivers of blood were no longer just a figure of speech.

The White Dragon Lord and the others didn't know whether it was their fortune or misfortune to have accepted a mission garrisoning a border fortress at such a time, perfectly avoiding the frontline clashes.

"Wait! August Lansmoth?! Isn't that the Holy Sanctuary's traitor?!"

All eyes converged on Priest Sinod. Only then did the White Dragon Lord notice that the priest had his fists tightly clenched.

The fallen one—August Lansmoth!

He had originally been the most outstanding paladin in the history of Nordhill's Holy Sanctuary. He had stepped into the High-Tier Legend rank at the age of fifty, becoming the dream lover of countless maidens and the idol of innumerable youths.

However, at the age of two hundred and fifty, August Lansmoth, then a Peak High-Tier Legend, fell to corruption.

When the news first broke, most people in Nordhill assumed it was a rumor, right up until August Lansmoth appeared and slaughtered several cities, finally shattering his own myth.

Everyone in Nordhill had believed that August Lansmoth was corrupted by the Demon Church. That was until the battle to defend Sky City, where he betrayed the Demon Church and absconded with the Flesh Giant, the fruit of their many years of plotting.

Soon after, news arrived from the Blood War Battlefield that the Devils had used the Flesh Giant to breach a demon fortress. Only then did the public realize that the mastermind behind August Lansmoth's fall had been the Devils.

And now, he had even become the newly appointed King of the Devilkin. This title was the highest honor bestowed upon a fallen one by the Lord of Hell, and it came with a strict prerequisite—one's strength had to reach the Abomination Rank.

"Sigh."

Priest Sinod let out a sigh.

"To think that in less than sixty years, August has stepped into the Abomination Rank."

With August entering the ranks of Abomination-level powerhouses, it was likely impossible for Nordhill's Holy Sanctuary to wipe away this disgrace on its own. The White Dragon Lord looked toward Priest Sinod.

"Sir Sinod, justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent. Naturally, someone will take care of him."

"Well said! Justice will never be absent! The God of Justice will certainly punish him!"

Priest Sinod calmed his agitated emotions. Having composed himself, he once again joined the discussion of the situation.

"Lady Lilith, Lady Hajir, you two are both old sen—"

Before the sentence was finished, three scratch marks appeared on the Gold Dragon's face. The Cat-Woman sinisterly brandished her sharp claws.

"Who are you calling an 'old' senior?!"

The Cat-Woman heavily emphasized the word 'old'.

Seeing the Gold Dragon's scales turning red as it stifled its reaction, the White Dragon Lord and Priest Sinod held back their laughter. Lilith, however, having come from the same era as the Cat-Woman, had no such scruples and laughed aloud.

"Hajir, after all these years, you still haven't changed..."

After a bout of laughter and joking, Lilith answered the Gold Dragon's earlier question.

"The demons might be defeated, but they will never be wiped out. At least, not in this day and age."

Pointing a finger toward the ceiling, Lilith continued, "I cannot say much about the reasons why, but I can talk about the processes and outcomes of the three Blood Wars I have experienced."

The White Dragon Lord was mildly astonished; he hadn't expected Lilith to have lived through three Blood Wars.

"The first Blood War was five thousand eight hundred years ago. At that time, I was just a minor mage who had newly entered the Master rank, and the Northland Witches' Council was still an insignificant little organization. I followed my teacher to the Blood War Battlefield as an adventurer. Because of my lowly status, I didn't know much about that Blood War. All I knew was that the demons took the initiative to attack, resulting in a crushing defeat for the Alliance, and the Divine Factions lost quite a bit of territory as well. In the end, several deities had to personally descend to beat the demons back."

"The second was three thousand five hundred years ago. I did not participate in the war this time, but by then I was already a councilwoman, so I knew the details of the battle much more intimately. This time, it was the Devils who actively provoked the flames of war. At the beginning of the campaign, just like now, the demons were forced into a steady retreat—right until the abyssal lords could no longer endure it and personally entered the fray, pushing the front lines back once again."

"The Abomination-level powerhouses from both sides fought until the skies went dark and the earth was turned upside down. They elevated the land around the battlefield by over twenty meters. The original Blackrock Fortress was destroyed in that very battle."