Chapter 411: The Final Decisive Battle of the Blood War (1)

With a deafening crash, the Explosive Rock Bull Demon Lord slammed his Totem Pillar into the earth. A full third of the massive weapon buried itself in the ground before the cracks on its surface flared with a scorching red glow, pulsing with the magma surging within.

The White Dragon Lord sensed a surging wave of energy radiating outward from the pillar. The ground temperature skyrocketed, and deep beneath the surface, a torrent of scorching heat rapidly ascended—the precursor to a magma eruption.

"Quick! To the sky!"

The White Dragon Lord hurled a volley of ice arrows, detonating the demon's incoming fireballs midair. He stomped hard against the ground and launched himself into the sky, closely followed by the angelic healer and the orc.

The instant he left the earth, scorching magma erupted from the depths. It blasted dozens of meters into the air like a geyser before raining down upon the city's architecture. The continuous eruption soon turned the entirety of Molten Fortress into a lake of lava, with the Explosive Rock Bull Demons bobbing on its fiery surface.

The Explosive Rock Bull Demon Lord shot a regretful glance at the trio in the sky. If an enemy had been caught in the eruption, he could have tried to finish them off. Now, his only option was escape.

"Retreat!"

Taking the demons capable of surviving in the lava with him, the lord sank beneath the lake's surface. The warrior, mage, and healer trio didn't give chase. A High-Tier Legend Explosive Rock Bull Demon could escape through magma far too easily, rendering pursuit largely ineffective.

As their foes vanished, the blood-red haze in the orc's eyes gradually cleared. He stared regretfully at the bubbling surface. "He got away."

"It doesn't matter," the White Dragon Lord said, watching the lava swallow Molten Fortress. "We accomplished our objective."

The three flew back toward the main army. Just as the magma erupted, the soldiers had reached the City Wall and spotted the towering pillar of lava. Plange hurriedly ordered a retreat, sparing the troops from the fiery blast.

Now, the soldiers were slaughtering the cornered demons. Only a small fraction of demons could move through the magma; those unable to dive away for safety were reduced to the soldiers' spoils of war, in the form of corpses.

The soldiers' battle cries, demonic shrieks, and the thundering booms of magic blended together. But that was no longer the White Dragon Lord's concern. He pulled out his Communication Disc, and the half-body projection of the Allied Forces commander, Osiris Giant of Light, appeared upon it.

Despite their close personal friendship, formal occasions like this demanded that the White Dragon Lord show Osiris proper respect.

"Commander, the Third Detachment has completed its mission. The demon stronghold, Molten Fortress, has been eradicated. Requesting further instructions."

"Congratulations, Amos. Your Third Detachment is the first to report a victory. You've earned the bonus reward provided by the Alliance—one million points per person..."

The White Dragon Lord calculated the mission's payout. Eradicating Molten Fortress offered a base bounty of two million points, split evenly among him, the orc, and Plange. Adding the Alliance's one-million-point bonus and the commission from demonic kills, this single operation netted him roughly 1.8 million points.

For upgrading the Floating City, 1.8 million points was not even a drop in the bucket. Still, it brought him one step closer to his goal.

While the White Dragon Lord ran the numbers in his head, Osiris found a new mission suited for the Third Detachment.

"Thirty degrees northwest of Molten Fortress, one hundred and eighty-two kilometers away, lies another demon city..."

The White Dragon Lord put away the Communication Disc and pulled out a map of the Blood War Battlefield. Locating the new target's coordinates, he plotted their marching route, then took to the skies, looking down at the soldiers hauling away demonic corpses.

"Pick up the pace! We have a new target!"

...

The sudden, coordinated assault by the Divine Alliance, the Avengers Alliance, and the Devils caught the demons entirely off guard. Stronghold after stronghold fell across the Blade Sovereign's territory. In a mere two days, the Tripartite Allied Forces had pushed all the way to the Viper Temple.

Serving as the Blade Sovereign's headquarters, the Viper Temple had towered over the Blood War battlefield for nearly a century without ever facing an army at its gates. Now, its cruel, arrogant snake demons finally learned what it felt like.

Across the wasteland outside the majestic Viper Temple, the Tripartite Allied Forces spread out like a wall. This barrier of shields advanced step by step. Behind the shield wall, armored behemoths resembling tanks hauled Magic Crystal Cannons forward, each artillery piece trailed by the mages operating it. Behind the line of Magic Crystal Cannons stretched an army of countless races, vanishing into the horizon.

High above, an army of angels blotted out the sky, flapping their wings and casting cold glares toward the distant demon city. Above the angelic army floated the Tripartite Allied Forces' squad of High-Tier Legend powerhouses.

The White Dragon Lord was currently among this High-Tier Legend squad. Beside him were 542 High-Tier Legend comrades-in-arms hailing from different races: the Dragon Race, Orcs, humans, aquatic races, angels, Devils, and even Transcendent Beasts similar to Skyhowler. These races, once complete strangers or even bitter enemies, had now gathered together with a single purpose: to defeat their common foe—the demons.

Standing amidst this squad of powerhouses, the White Dragon Lord felt as if he were dreaming. It was all so sudden.

On the first day after the Council, the White Dragon Lord led his team on a rapid assault, taking down three demon fortresses within a single day. He had achieved the top battle record among the many squads in the Avengers Alliance, a record that ranked among the best in the entire allied forces.

The next day, just as the White Dragon Lord was preparing to attack another demon city to earn more point rewards, the Alliance suddenly transmitted a message, gathering the forces to assault the final checkpoint before the Viper Temple.

Last night, after the army captured the final checkpoint leading to the Viper Temple, the Avengers Alliance's squad of Abomination Rank powerhouses partnered with the Devils to launch a surprise attack on the Howling Abyss, where the Howling Lord resided.

At that time, many powerhouses had their attention fixed on the Viper Temple battlefield, never expecting an attack thousands of miles away at the Howling Abyss. The Howling Lord, Brash, was already the weakest of the five Abyssal Lords. Under the joint surprise attack of the powerhouses, he fell on the spot, becoming the first Abomination Rank powerhouse to fall in this Blood War.

The Howling Lord's fall completely ignited this Blood War. The Avengers Alliance's Abomination Rank powerhouses, the Devils, and the arriving Abyssal Lord reinforcements engaged in an Abomination Rank melee over the ruins of the Howling Abyss. Even stationed far away at the Viper Temple, the White Dragon Lord could clearly sense the terrifying energy fluctuations.

"Good thing the battlefield isn't here."

Beside the White Dragon Lord, a massive dragon radiating a holy glow suddenly sighed. The White Dragon Lord nodded in agreement. His new partner was named Black Sky Light. Its race was the Holy Light Dragon, also known as the Radiant Dragon—a legendary dragon species and a sorcerer-type caster whose body was composed of half flesh and half holy light energy.

Black Sky Light worshipped two deities: the Platinum Dragon God and the God of Justice and Light. Under the call of the God of Justice, it descended from the Seven-Layered Celestial Mountain to the Abyss, becoming the only other High-Tier Legendary Dragon powerhouse aside from the White Dragon Lord. As fellow dragons, the White Dragon Lord and Light of the Firmament naturally gravitated toward one another.

In truth, the White Dragon Lord had proactively initiated the friendship. Holy Light Dragons were the incarnations of holy light, and Light of the Firmament's healing abilities were even stronger than those of the angels beloved by the gods. Participating in a massive group battle like the Blood War, the White Dragon Lord felt his life was much more secure with such a powerful healer by his side. After all, he hadn't lived long enough yet, and he didn't want to die.

Aside from himself and Light of the Firmament, the White Dragon Lord had also brought in Mage Alan, Mad Axe, and Skyhowler. With two frontline Warriors, two powerful mages, and Light of the Firmament serving as a super healer, a formidable High-Tier Legend squad took shape.

Just like the White Dragon Lord's five-man squad, the others also called upon their friends to form temporary teams. After all, in a high-intensity massive melee like the Blood War battlefield, no one could guarantee they would survive. Since the battlefield was treacherous, they had to borrow the strength of their comrades to increase their chances of survival.

Even on a Blood War battlefield filled with powerhouses, the White Dragon Lord's five-man squad was an outstanding team of powerhouses. Therefore, they were naturally assigned a mission by the Allied Forces Command Center: exclusively hunting down demon powerhouses.

The Allied Forces Command Center—jointly composed of strategic masters dispatched by the Divine Alliance, the Avengers Alliance, and the Devils—did not assign missions for nothing. They would grant rewards based on everyone's performance on the battlefield. Actions beneficial to the battle, such as killing enemy demons or rescuing teammates, would all be rewarded.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Magic Crystal Cannons roared, hurling shell after shell against the Protective Shield above the Viper Temple. The Viper Temple's gates swung wide open, and the Demon Army surged out like a tide, crashing into the frontline Shield Guardians. Spears thrust through the gaps in the shields to pierce demon hearts, while Shield Guardians were sent flying meters into the air by the charging giant demons.

Flying demons flew out from within the city, a dense black mass like a swarm of bats leaving a cave. The angelic army beat their pure white wings and charged to meet them. Ominous red-black and holy white formed a clearly defined battle line in the sky. Demons and angels constantly fell from the high altitude, crashing onto the warring armies below.

In the high altitude above the angelic army, the High-Tier Legend powerhouse squad launched an attack against the demon powerhouse squad.

A Bano Flame Demon, its body wreathed in flames, cracked its fiery whip and raised its burning Decapitation Greatsword. An Eight-Armed Snake Demon, wielding eight scimitars, flickered in midair and lost its trace. A fire demon held its hands out, shaping vicious flames within its grasp. A massive, heavily armored rock demon roared at the sky and launched a counter-charge against the incoming enemies...

In the White Dragon Lord's five-man squad, Skyhowler and the orc charged at the very front, while the three casters followed behind the Warriors. The White Dragon Lord rapidly chanted spells, applying buffs to the two charging frontline Warriors. Light of the Firmament cast defensive magic on its teammates, and Mage Alan rapidly chanted, preparing a powerful offensive spell.

The five had already divided their roles. At the start of the battle, the White Dragon Lord, excelling in ice magic, was primarily responsible for crowd control. Mage Alan used the advantage of spatial magic to serve as the main attacker. Light of the Firmament, as the healer, provided defensive and buffing magic for its teammates. Though the orc was frenzied, his combat intuition was incredibly sharp, often allowing him to spot hidden enemies; he specialized in dealing with assassins. And Skyhowler, whose true form was a Moon-Howling Demon Pig, served as the team's tank.

Facing a large swarm of High-Tier Legend demons, Skyhowler dared not be careless. Mid-charge, she reverted to her true form—a giant wild boar several times larger than an adult male elephant. Her two sharp tusks thrust forward like a pair of giant lances.

The White Dragon Lord finally understood why Osiris Giant of Light called Skyhowler a "black-skinned pig." She really was a black-skinned pig, except that her thick, brownish-black fur was scattered with moon-white patterns, and her forehead bore a crescent mark. This was the Moon-Howling Demon Pig—Namagani Skyhowler.

The demon facing Skyhowler was a rock demon a full size larger than her. These hulking brutes were composed of ominous black stone, somewhat resembling earth elementals. But compared to earth elementals, which were generally mild-mannered and rarely initiated attacks on other creatures, rock demons had much more violent tempers. Any creature passing through a rock demon's territory would be treated as an invader.

Just as she was about to collide with the rock demon, Skyhowler opened her jaws and let out a roar like a clap of thunder. A sonic wave carrying a peculiar power enveloped a large area ahead of her. The demons within the zone instantly grew dizzy, and the rock demon, situated at the very center of the attack, nearly plummeted out of the sky.

Her sharp boar tusks viciously pierced the rock demon's body. The White Dragon Lord saw cracks splintering around the puncture holes. After impaling the enemy, Skyhowler threw her head back, hoisting it upward.

From behind Skyhowler, the orc leaped high. Raising his giant axe overhead, he viciously cleaved down upon the rock demon's head in midair. With a loud crash, the massive stone head was split in two.

However, the rock demon was a half-elemental demon. Its fatal weak point was not its head, but the demonized elemental core inside its body.

Though its head was not a weak point, it was still an important part of its anatomy. Taking damage to its head woke the rock demon from the sonic stun. Raising its giant stone fist high, it smashed down toward the orc.

The White Dragon Lord instantly cast a Master Tier ice shield, blocking the rock demon's fist. Skyhowler forcefully twisted the tusks pierced into the enemy's body, causing tiny fissures to crack across the rock demon's surface.

Mage Alan's eyes lit up. He had spotted the demonized elemental core radiating blood-red light inside the rock demon, and he fired off his long-prepared spatial magic.

Dimensional Slash!

The crescent-shaped Dimensional Slash arrived in the blink of an eye, piercing the demonized elemental core inside the rock demon. The giant hand reaching for Skyhowler instantly froze. Its internal elemental energy rapidly drained away. Unable to maintain its body, chunks of rock sloughed off the rock demon's surface, eventually turning into falling boulders that plummeted and struck several demons below.

Even as the five-man squad focused their fire on the rock demon, the Demon Army also marked them as targets. Scorching demonic fire and sinister evil energy hurtled toward the most conspicuous target: Skyhowler.

Light of the Firmament and the White Dragon Lord hurriedly added several defensive spells. In the White Dragon Lord's Soul Sight, an Eight-Armed Snake Demon moved silently, attempting to bypass the frontline Warriors and launch a surprise attack on the mages in the rear. Acting on instinct, the orc hiding beside Skyhowler brought his axe down into thin air.

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