Volume 32: The King of Hell
Chapter 632: Occupying Layer 422 of the Abyss
On the Reaper, Donald nodded at Amps.
“It’s good you know. There’s no need to say it aloud. Your first task is to take control of Layer 422 before other beings do. I’ll remind you how to do it when the time comes!”
With that, the master and his servant left the main hall and gathered all the survivors from the fleet. Earlier, during the banquet, Donald had acted in fury, eliminating almost all the most evil cannibalistic members. What remained were only some ordinary crew members and slaves who didn’t meet the required qualifications.
With a few exceptions, these people mostly hovered between being abyssal creatures and beings from the main world, not fully corrupted by chaos and evil. So Donald decided to give them a chance.
When all the survivors timidly came before Donald, this incarnation of a true god declared, “Unos is dead. Now I control this fleet. Those who committed grave sins have been eliminated. Most of you are forced runaway slaves, so I decide to give you a chance!”
With a wave of his hand, amidst a burst of divine light, everyone disappeared.
Only a dozen empty ships and Donald and Amps remained in the entire fleet.
“It’s time for us to land!”
Since a banquet was to be held, Unos hadn’t ordered the fleet to venture deep into the stormy abyssal seas but instead stayed near the coast of Layer 422, which facilitated Donald’s next plan.
Leaving these ships stranded in shallow waters, Donald and Amps headed straight for the wolves’ lair.
On the vastest expanse of land on Layer 422, groups of wild wolves, vultures that fed on carrion, and numerous fierce beasts gathered on this seemingly endless light gray flat plain, known as the Desolate Prairie.
Following the chaotic nature typical of abyssal creatures, these carnivorous beasts arrogantly hunted other inhabitants of the prairie, even those serving Yenogu.
Under such brutal law of the jungle, only the creatures best adapted to this place could survive.
Here. The wild grasses, with edges as sharp as daggers, are stubborn and difficult to deal with; they grow into vast expanses of vegetation that constantly cover the entire plain. Thorny wanderers and dodder are two very common plants here—the former being a native of the Abyss, while the latter is a mutated variant brought from the main world of Yenogu, adapted to this environment through the laws of the Abyss.
The few pools formed by rain are often filled with diseases and toxins, making it extremely difficult for mortals to find clean water here.
The environment is so harsh that the creatures in the Desolate Great Plains can only obtain food to survive by killing each other. This constant killing is also the favorite behavior of the Abyssal Will, as it provides nourishment for its growth. Thus, the Abyssal Will encourages evil and chaotic acts such as killing and scheming, and those who engage in such actions often receive rewards from the endless Abyss!
Compared to the Desolate Great Plains, the Soot Forest, where the followers of Yenogu and other dangerous predators live, has a much richer variety of species.
There are usable plant resources here, though most are poisonous. However, a very small number of plants with non-toxic or mildly toxic fruits and roots can sustain those mortals who struggle to live here!
Yenogu’s Howling Fortress stands within this dangerous forest.
Without Yenogu, the god of werewolves, there is basically no one in this 422nd plane who can rival Donald and his companions!
So, Donald and his group headed straight for Yenogu’s lair without much concealment. Yet, the lord of the 422nd plane did not appear even when they reached the foot of the Howling Fortress.
There are several possible explanations for this. The most likely is that Yenogu is occupied with other matters, imprisoned by some powerful being, or has already perished.
“It’s up to you now!”
Donald said to Amps, pointing at the fortress of twisted architecture in an abstract style.
Unlike him, who was concerned about the erosion by the Abyssal Will, Amps, a native Abyssal demon sorcerer, had no such restrictions. Killing in the Abyssal plane only brought him the power of the Abyss, with little attention paid to him. Clearly, the Abyssal Will was much more interested in the corruption of outsiders than in the normal evolution of Abyssal demons!
Amps nodded excitedly, revealing his massive semi-divine form as an Abyssal demon sorcerer, and shattered the fortress’s gates with a single punch.
The followers of the Wolfman King, who had long gathered atop the fortress, panicked upon seeing the appearance of the demi-god demon. Among them, aside from Yenogu’s priests, there were only Wolfman slave traders and overseers of fallen human slaves. As Yenogu’s most loyal servants, the Wolfmen were limited by their innate abilities; even the strongest among them were only at the peak of legendary status. Moreover, since Yenogu trusted no other races besides the Wolfmen, those far more powerful beings—whether the demi-god demons who later pledged allegiance to him or the demi-immortal creatures sent by the King of Ghouls to be controlled by him—were all assigned to other places. As a result, the Howling Fortress, the core of this plane, lacked strong protective forces. How could it possibly resist a powerful demi-god demon, let alone one from the Abyssal Demon Forging?
According to Yenogu’s plan, with him stationed there, no danger was expected. If a crisis arose that even the Wolfman King couldn’t handle, summoning other demi-god servants would still not be enough to stop such a formidable enemy. Thus, Amps, with his immense strength and status as an Abyssal Demon Forger, easily captured the Howling Fortress. Those Yenogu servants who resisted were effortlessly dealt with by the demi-god demons, while the rest, realizing resistance was futile, chose to submit.
Amps, who was familiar with the Abyssal environment and the minds of demons, knew full well that these opportunists were not truly loyal. Once their original master, the Wolfman King, returned, they would be the first to turn against him. But he didn’t care about that—as long as he could maintain control over this plane, at least these subordinates wouldn’t dare plot rebellion.
Loyalty was rare in the Abyss; even if all disloyal subordinates were killed and replaced, the situation would remain the same!
A demon lord’s residence was a crucial place, akin to the core of a true god’s realm—it served as the heart of the demon lord’s control over the plane’s power. No matter whether the demons built it as a castle, palace, or fortress based on their preferences, its essence remained unchanged.
To defeat a demon lord, one had to either cause their true god to fall outside or personally attack their castle, breaking through the powerful defenses granted by the Abyssal plane to slay them—only then could one claim the title of plane master.
After Donald captured the Howling Fortress, the first thing he needed to do was communicate with the core of this plane to take control of Layer 422 and become its lord.
As a demi-god demon—and moreover a powerful and elite breed of abyssal demon favored by the will of the abyss—Amphus easily obtained permission from the core of the plane. When Amphus stepped out of the fortress hall once again, he saw that his size had grown even larger, and his aura had become even more formidable. An invisible force emanated from him, forming a black cloud around him, with every move radiating intense abyssal power.
“Did it work?”
“Yes, my master!”
Already at the peak of demi-god power, and with the enhancement from the 422nd layer’s plane as well as the virtual divinity bestowed by the abyss upon the demon lord, Amphus soared to the level of a lower god, even surpassing his predecessor, the Wolf King, in strength. Of course, this was also because Amphus’s innate talent as an abyssal demon far exceeded that of Yenogu.
Upon hearing the affirmative reply, Donald nodded and said, “So that means Yenogu is likely already trapped in Oscar’s scheme. We need to speed things up!”
While other beings tried to communicate with the abyss to take control of this plane, they failed to provoke any resistance from the original master. Now, they could be certain that the Wolf King Yenogu had fallen.
“Master, if we do this, we’ll likely face pursuit from all abyssal creatures!” Amphus felt uneasy at the thought of Donald’s astonishing plan.
“Why worry? Everything is within my plan. All you need to do is follow my orders!”
Despite his unease, Amphus trusted his master deeply, so he suppressed those thoughts and began to fully take control of the 422nd layer.
Meanwhile, in the White Kingdom of the 421st layer, deep within the Ghoul Castle, “Wolf King Yenogu” opened his eyes. An angry spiritual will erupted from his soul, roaring, “Who dares seize the 422nd layer? I’ll tear out his internal organs and leave his soul inside his body to wither and become a mummy!”
Hearing the roar, the King of Ghouls, Dorison, hurriedly rushed to the secret chamber.
“Dorison, a small worm has communicated with the core of the 422nd layer and has become the new lord of that layer. I haven’t fully absorbed Yenogu’s power yet, so I need you to send someone to eliminate that worm and reclaim that layer!”
The King of Ghouls bowed and replied, “Yes, my master. I’ll immediately order my demi-god subordinates lurking in the Howling Peaks to take action!”
At this moment, the will of Oscar, which had taken control of and transformed Yenogu’s body, sank back into the depths of consciousness to continue absorbing the power of the King of Werewolves. With that, he bowed and stepped back, turning to leave. As the three demi-immortal creatures located in the Screaming Peaks showed signs of activity, Amps, the new lord of the 422nd layer of the Abyss, sensed it. In the hall of the Howling Fortress, Amps said to Donald, “Master! There’s movement on Dorison’s side!” Donald replied calmly, “Don’t rush to act. It will be much easier if we wait until they arrive! Your most important task now is to take control of as many of the core rules of this realm as possible on your own, rather than relying on the gifts of the Abyssal Will!” As they spoke, they could already sense three powerful divine auras rushing toward the Howling Fortress. The three mighty demi-immortal creatures were a demi-lich, a vampire lord, and a massive, rotting flying tyrant.