Chapter 48

“Klasuna, where are my dragon beasts?”

“Aren’t I standing right in front of you?”

“How come you’re the only one left? Where are the others?”

“Thirty more are fighting outside—want to join them?”

“Eight are still missing. Do you think I can’t count or am easily fooled?”

“A few were sold by Verna. Hahaha. I feel your aura has grown much stronger—did your true form break through to Legend?”

“Don’t try to change the subject. Tell me where my dragon beasts are, or I’ll pull out your teeth.”

“Don’t pull them! I really don’t know where they went—pulling all my teeth won’t help!”

“Then where is Verna? If you say you don’t know again, I’ll make you regret it today.”

“She… she was kidnapped by Sulede. Really, I’m not lying—I truly don’t know where they went.”

“Fine, I’ll believe you this once. Where’s the loot? Don’t tell me you got nothing.”

“I got it. I took everything valuable this time. I did the heavy lifting—I deserve half the devil’s reward!”

“I haven’t even asked you for your share of the plunder yet, and you dare ask me for money?”

“Let’s split it 20-80—you take eighty percent, the rest I’ll divide among the participants. If I give it all to them, next time they’ll only care about grabbing for themselves. If I take everything, no one will want to fight next time.”

“Alright, I’ll go along with you this time. From the reward, pick a few items besides the Abyssal Throat—just don’t take everything.”

“I want the armor set and the Hunter’s Compass. The rest are yours. Sakavi, you’ve hit the jackpot this time! One Abyssal Throat is enough for you.”

…………

“Brag, you’re in charge of the Abyss Training mission. Be careful—do not exceed the Shadow Intelligence Bureau’s exploration range of the past three years. If danger arises, abandon the Fang Legion and return yourself first—your life is more important than theirs.”

“Master, I, Brag, swear by the Bull-Headed God Moragath that I will bring your legion back intact. But I don’t understand—why now, when so many of our high-ranking officials are absent? Why go to Abyss 1137? This isn’t like your usual cautious style.”

“The Black Forest has been silent for twenty-nine years since we established our territory here. Understand this: no power allows another to rise beside it unless it has greater ambitions. Time is never on our side. We must prepare for the possibility that Verna and dozens of other high-ranking officials will never return. New combat strength must be cultivated as soon as possible.”

“I understand your concerns. The elves, always scheming behind our backs, are not to be trusted. I’ll be careful this time.”

“Good. Normally, I should personally oversee the first deployment, but our forces are severely depleted. Many factions from the Underworld have already begun moving—I can’t spare myself.”

Saying this, Sakavi prepared to open a teleportation channel to the Abyss over the swamp’s surface, first drawing a massive, irregular circle. Its outline was not smooth, but jagged with spines and spirals, like the orbit of a mad star.

Each time he completed a segment, the swamp surface instantly solidified, turning as black as charred coal, then slowly liquefied again, gradually becoming a noxious emerald sludge. This ring anchored space, preventing the channel’s energy from spiraling out of control and tearing open an irreversible rift.

Inside the outer ring, Sakavi inscribed a complex series of Abyssal glyphs. These glyphs twisted, evil, brimming with malice—not written, but seared into the water’s surface. They served as “mediators,” sending a proof to the Abyss: this passage carries no ill intent, and need not be violently rejected.

At the core of the array lay a geometric pattern of countless inverted triangles and intersecting straight lines. This zone was an energy converter, guiding the ring’s power to correctly interface with the Abyssal barrier. At the pattern’s convergence points, Sakavi marked nine seals with dragon blood—each pulsing like a heartbeat, emitting a sinister glow.

After completing the array, Sakavi aimed the ring at its center and whispered ancient Dragon tongue, each syllable carrying icy authority. The ring’s rough engravings ignited, dark green light seeping from within like magma flowing through veins. The ring grew scorching hot; the surrounding air hissed as it evaporated.

On the other side of the rift, a churning, crimson sky stretched above shattered black floating rocks. In the distance, vast, indescribable shapes moved slowly. Green lightning slashed across the Abyssal heavens, illuminating this eternal battlefield. Brag, expressionless, waved his hand and led the way into this demonic world.

As the last boar-headed warrior leapt through the rift, Sakavi retrieved the ring—the space snapped shut, the array twisting and dimming rapidly. Within moments, it dissolved into black viscous sludge, sinking into the swamp. Even though the channel had only been open for three hours, the surrounding environment had already warped significantly.

The Pantheon had a complete system for purifying land tainted by the Abyss, and such purification tools were easily bought from the Astral Black Market. Under the effect of the Seal of Order, the contamination was tightly contained within a three-mile radius. The swamp’s surface, thickened and stained the color of murky blood, rapidly cleared under the glow of the Holy Lamps.

Under Abyssal contamination, the ground no longer grew ordinary moss, but was covered in a greasy, dark-purple fungal mat that emitted a sticky sound underfoot and released a stench of rotting fruit mixed with tar. Tree trunks bore faces screaming silently; vines writhed like living serpents; fruits became pulsing, pus-filled eyeballs. Under holy light, all of it withered in agonized cries.

Meanwhile, in Abyss 1137, the fully armed Vanguard of the Fang Legion, under the command of the Bull-Headed Legion Commander Ugru, formed countless small defensive rings centered on their landing point, using enchanted tower shields and spears to clear scattered demons around the drop zone.

He ordered the vanguard not to hold any single point, but to converge gradually by company, like a moving wall of steel, slowly and steadily sweeping outward to expand the secure perimeter of the camp. Their mission was not annihilation, but pressure and driving back—to create a relatively safe operational space for the shamans inside, so they could complete defensive fortifications and a secure camp before the demon horde arrived.

Under Brag’s urging, the accompanying Geomantic Priests rapidly hammered massive Obsidian Rune Stakes deep into the earth. The stakes glowed; from below came the screams of Abyssal worms being purified; the land’s Abyssal energy was swiftly expelled.

Simultaneously, the Channeling Priests laid out vast trenches—not for drainage, but to “divert chaotic demonic energy.” Through intricate array design, they guided the endless Abyssal energy from the surroundings toward specific “energy vents” at the camp’s edge, preventing uncontrolled accumulation throughout the camp.

As the array neared completion, the first organized demonic counterattack arrived. A tide of furious demons and cowardly demons surged from all directions. This force was insufficient to attract powerful demons, but out of hatred for order, under the command of minor leaders, low-tier demons launched suicidal assaults in droves.

The boar-headed army must hold off the demons with their weapons until the fortifications were complete. When demonic pressure concentrated in one area and threatened to break the Fang Legion’s line, Ugru personally led his heavy armored bodyguard unit to launch a devastating flank countercharge.

After the foundation purification and defense were complete, the engineers efficiently assembled prefabricated walls. As the boar-headed army withdrew, the walls themselves became the frontline. Boar-headed soldiers stood atop the still-incomplete walls, fighting demons trying to climb up. The joining points of the walls erupted in the fiercest battles. Finally, when the last brick was laid, the entire legion erupted in a weary but triumphant roar—they now had a solid physical barrier.

But this was not the end—it was only the beginning. Such a massive, conspicuous structure would attract not only wandering demons, but also the attention of local demon lords. Further defensive enhancements were needed. After regrouping, the Fang Legion’s high command decided to launch a preemptive strike to completely clear the first wave of demons.

Under Ugru’s command, the First, Second, and Third Heavy Infantry Divisions of the boar-headed army marched out of the city, advancing rapidly under heavy arrow cover from the walls. Seeing they were outmatched, the demons quickly broke and fled. Brag ordered the engineers to dig trenches in front of the walls to block even more formidable demon lords from advancing.

The method of field training was to rotate units onto the walls, each under different commanders, facing varied combinations of demonic troops, practicing siege defense, counterattacks, and emergency response tactics. The legion rapidly transformed from raw recruits into battle-hardened elites through blood and fire—only an army that had survived Abyssal warfare could be called a true instrument of violence.

Yet despite protective measures, ordinary boar-headed soldiers could not resist Abyssal corruption—after five months, they must be rotated out and undergo full-body purification.