Round Fifteen: Trojan Horse

The demon army emerged from the fortress and clashed with the devils. The Metal Man led the charge at the forefront—tearing apart one enemy after another. His chest cavity could no longer hold a whole heart, yet he kept forcing in newly extracted hearts, which were crushed into flesh within the cavity, entangled with pipelines, and blending together.

Stephanie used her last teleportation spell to return to a room in the middle of the steel fortress—where she had agreed to meet the old witch. Just passing through a corner of the battlefield had completely dissuaded her from the foolish idea of testing how much her skills had improved by joining the bloody fight. From the window, the battle below raged fiercely; it was hard to distinguish between the living and the dead. Now, she truly felt she would never adapt to this place.

“Is everything done?” He didn’t want to hear that voice again.
“I did what I promised. Whatever you plan to do, finish it quickly and let me leave this hellhole.” No matter how grim the view outside the window, Stephanie thought it was better not to look back compared to the face behind her.
“Giggle, the plan is flawless… After everything is over, I’ll miss you… Also, I’ve left your remaining payment in your room, along with a personal gift… It’s best to taste it before bed so you can have sweet dreams.”
“Stop acting fake. If something goes wrong, don’t drag me in.” With that, Stephanie turned her back and walked out of the room. Outside, the relentless fighting continued.

He never even glanced at the old witch, who had transformed into a pale blue elf.
“Heh, how could I bear to? You’re still useful…” Her pale blue tongue greedily licked a soul-infused jewelry. Her curves, no less alluring than those of a succubus, writhed, appearing translucent under the light filtering through the window.

This time, the devils’ attack came fast and left just as quickly—
Though the battle was filled with phenomena beyond military strategy, this instance was truly unusual.
The Metal Man discarded the head of a Tornamag, finding it strange. It was indeed a Tornamag, but something seemed off. It should have been a tough opponent, yet its head was torn off in just a few moves. Even its tail strikes, usually as powerful as his own chain blades, seemed weak today… But the Baho beside him didn’t seem to notice. He led his troops, using their blazing red eyes to weaken the enemies, trying to turn more of them into puppets under his control or simply tearing them apart with their giant claws. Behind them, layers of demons charged forward under the torrent of fire unleashed by the devils, like an avalanche.

In such a situation, even if you had extraordinary skills, you had to go with the flow—there were no superheroes in a bloody battle.
“Chase!” The Balo Infernal Demon flapped its massive fire wings, its whip creating thunderous explosions in the air. Its blazing flames made them look like suns scurrying across the sky.
Groups of demons poured out of the steel fortress and into the battlefield.

The plan of Balor the Flame Demon Commander was to take advantage of the demons’ large-scale attack on the fortress and send in all his elite forces to drive these stinking demon hybrids back to their homeland, destroy their outposts on the Abyssal Plains, and get rid of this annoying thorn. Why the demons were launching a large-scale attack on the fortress and what the fortress’s defenses were like were not on Balor’s mind. After all, there were plenty of such fortresses and battles on the Abyssal Plains—just fight. As long as there was more suffering and destruction, why worry about unnecessary things?

Stephanie summoned back the succubus and imposed many restraints on her.

Stephanie’s fears, excitement, worries, and other emotions all turned into blazing passion under the succubus’s temptation. After it was all over, he was even somewhat dazed, thinking he was lying in the bedroom of his mage tower.

The succubus, limp as if boneless, lay beside him, giggling, and even reached out to tease him gently…

But Stephanie was too exhausted, so exhausted that it seemed his soul had been drained. He didn’t even want to touch the irresistibly charming succubus beside him. Yet he finally remembered he still had one last task to complete. Once that was done, he could comfortably return home through the portal opened by the demons—provided they kept their word, if they had made a deal with him.

Stephanie forgot that this was just his assumption.

“If you dare tempt me again, I’ll turn you into a larva! From now on, you’ll follow me and not leave my side!”

Stephanie put on his robe, his legs still weak. He had to chew on three or four larvae before feeling his strength return, which made him angry at the succubus once again.

“Very well… Mr. Stephanie…” The succubus lazily got up and followed Stephanie down to the lower levels of the fortress.

The metal man broke through the ice walls and fire walls created by the demons. These two extreme forces formed cages that divided the front lines into sections, trying to slow down the advance of the demon army. But the demons were now unstoppable. A few of the strongest warriors—Balor the Flame Demon, the Six-Armed Serpent Demon, the Soul Judger, and the metal man—led their demon armies, tearing through the demons’ defenses like sharp knives, forcing them to retreat further and further from their usual battlefields.

Such one-sided battles were rare—unless it was a major campaign led by a demon general or demon lord in person.

The metal man would occasionally throw a ball of burning flesh that exploded upon hitting the enemy. This was because his body was packed so full—countless gear components spun rapidly, grinding against each other, while various pipelines and mechanisms moved to absorb fresh innards from hellish creatures, all burning in the raging flames…

The metal man’s interior had become an iron hell.

The massive body of the devil trembled uncontrollably, its blood-red scales flaring open and shaking unnaturally. Filthy blood seeped from every part of its body. The devil opened its mouth wide, trying to fight back, but the flames that usually erupted from it now turned into blood mixed with fragments of internal organs. Its limbs and wings began to twitch involuntarily before finally exploding into nothingness.

This was the fourth one.

“Huh…” The strongest Balor Flame Demon commander ended his focused spellcasting, feeling it was enough. He had already used his once-daily Internal Explosion technique to kill four powerful demons in a row, pushing himself to his limit. Countless lesser demons had died at the hands of the Beheading Sword and the Nine-Headed Fire Whip. This record satisfied him greatly. Meanwhile, the Burning Explosion unleashed by another Balor Flame Demon as it lay dying under siege made him wary. In a bloody battle, even mighty Balor demons weren’t invincible… Though he appreciated the spectacular sight of everything around being blown apart, it wasn’t worth it if it meant sacrificing himself.

He flapped his wings and soared into the sky. The Balor Flame Demon commander circled satisfactorily over the battlefield for a while, watching the demons retreat in disarray. At the forefront of the line was a storm of flesh and flame—Balor knew it was the work of that metal man. Quite a decent cannon fodder. Balor admired it for a moment, even becoming somewhat fascinated by the metal man’s killing storm… Perhaps he should send him to a larger battlefield?

The other Balor Flame Demons also took to the air, ready to withdraw to camp. With victory secured, they decided to let the lesser creatures handle the rest. After all, elites like them shouldn’t have to do everything themselves, right?

Their bodies, shrouded in flames and thick smoke, flickered briefly—that was the precursor to entering teleportation mode. They would then disappear and reappear soon in the huge, scorching private bedrooms of the Steel Fortress, precisely and without being hindered by space or distance. But this time, something clearly went wrong, as they only flickered and remained in the air.

The Balor Flame Demons were momentarily puzzled, but then the commander roared—

Through telepathy, the commander’s orders were quickly transmitted throughout the entire demon army. The demons retreated at full speed toward the fortress.

Sure enough, they had been lured away.

The metal man followed the demons as they retreated, acting as a rear guard to prevent the demons from chasing after them.

The entire Steel Fortress emitted a green glow—not the sickly green of mold, nor the vibrant green of leaves, but a gem-like, brilliant, and solid emerald green.

The demons who could teleport tried again—but it still didn’t work. That emerald glow seemed like an indestructible barrier, sealing the entire Steel Fortress into a closed area. Even advanced dispelling magic only created ripples on its surface.

“Attack!” the demons roared.