Chapter 314: Purifying Demons
Hundreds of greenish-brown vines, as thick as a human arm and covered with sharp thorns, burst through the ground. They grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, reaching lengths of dozens of feet, each one looking ferocious as if they were man-eating monsters.
“Who are these people—?”
Duke Siren asked in surprise.
Duri explained beside him, “That’s right. They are all warriors from the elf race. Donald’s territory is the only human-held land in our northern region where elf tribes exist. It is said to be an ancient druid tribe that has been lost for a long time—this is probably why he became an honorary member of the Elf Council! I’ve heard that some elves from the south will also migrate here soon!”
“He truly is a genius—beyond the reach of ordinary people!”
Hearing this, Duke Siren could only sigh in admiration. Although he lived in the north and had little contact with the elves, he was aware of their formidable strength. The status of an honorary member of the Elf Council carried far more weight than that of any hereditary prince or lifetime noble in a kingdom.
After casting their spells, the natural druids stepped back. Soon after, Donald also unleashed his innate spell, Plant Growth. A pale green glow covered an area of a thousand meters, nourishing the Thorny Demon Vines and the Ancient Guardians Tree-people, causing them to undergo further changes.
In just a few breaths, the Thorny Demon Vines grew to 300 feet tall. Like eager hunters, they writhed and twisted, ready to pounce on the approaching demons.
Compared to the Thorny Demon Vines, which were vine-like plants, the Ancient Guardians changed less, but their transformation was still astonishing. These giant trees, already massive, grew another one-third in size. Their thick branches nearly covered the entire city wall. With such barriers in place, it would be difficult for demons to attack, not to mention that the Ancient Guardians were not just passive targets for defense.
When the frontmost demons reached within a thousand meters of the fortress, the 100-foot-tall tree-people moved. They raised their arms, formed from thick branches, and threw huge stones, each three feet across, at the enemies trying to get close.
They were like mobile artillery. Although they lacked roots in the soil, which slowed their attack speed slightly, the stones thrown by the Ancient Guardians, composed of earth elements and natural energy, had an attack power comparable to—or even greater than—that of human siege engines!
And with the replenishment of natural energy and earth elements, these ancient guardians function like tireless warriors, hurling boulders every five seconds or so—far more convenient and efficient than trebuchets that require manual operation! Of course, this is only possible because Donald possesses divine natural powers, allowing him to cast natural spells that enhance these plant warriors. Otherwise, ordinary ancient guardians would merely be level 2 units, with attack powers ranging only from mid-black iron to early bronze, and their range would not reach even a thousand meters—far less formidable than they are now. Despite the barrage of attacks from thirty giant tree men, it only caused some disruption to the advancing demon army, not delaying them for long. After losing thousands of demons, the first wave of close-combat demons led by force demons appeared less than a hundred meters below the fortress. “Perfect timing!” Donald exclaimed. Without waiting for the fortress defenders to attack, he unleashed his innate natural spell, Lightning Storm—a group attack on par with a level 7 silver spell. The violent storm of lightning, like fiery trees and silver snakes, enveloped the thousands of force demons packed within hundreds of feet, carrying immense force. With a deafening crackling sound, 80% of the demons trapped became charcoals, while those on the periphery of the lightning storm turned into steamed meat cans, emitting white smoke and filled with deathly expressions. Without any sign of life, a strange smell akin to roasted meat drifted to the top of the walls. “Ugh—” Some of the defenders with sharp eyes could hardly hold back their nausea. Seeing demons turned to charcoals might bring satisfaction, but as battle-hardened soldiers accustomed to bloody scenes, this method of completely steaming the victims still made them feel sick. Although they were abyssal demons, this group resembled humans, naturally triggering disgust in the defenders’ minds. Feeling a green stream flow into both body and soul, Donald’s divine bloodline grew slightly stronger once again. By using spells powered by natural energy to eliminate these invaders from the main world, he received another response from the will of nature.
Seeing this, Donald simply unleashed all the aggressive natural spells he possessed in turn. Alone, he held back the initial assault of the demons, eliminating at least twenty thousand of them. The thorny vines that couldn’t attack the demons could only snatch the corpses of the dead demons and pile them at their feet. Their extensive root systems quickly digested the bodies of thousands of demons, after which the thorny vines grew stronger and larger. The ones that acquired the most corpses and grew the longest reached nearly five hundred feet in length, allowing them to entangle the demons attacking from the front and pull them back under the fortress walls. The sharp thorns several inches long pierced deep into the demons’ bodies. The demons screamed and struggled to break free from the vines, but their efforts were futile as they couldn’t muster any strength. Eventually, their life force was drained, leaving them as dried corpses that fell beneath the vines, serving as fertilizer for the roots. In just one minute, a force demon, far larger than a human, perished under the thorny vines. No wonder there was a “demon” in their name. Although the humans were pleased with these methods against the demons, they still felt fear toward these terrifying plants. Even Donald was surprised. He had seen such thorny vines in Star Town before, but they weren’t as ferocious then—they were more gentle. Could it be that his own authority, stemming from his control over the will of natural wrath, had enhanced their aggressiveness? What surprised him even more was that the thorny vines that had eliminated the demons and purified their corpses received a return from the will of nature: one-third was absorbed by their own bodies, one-third was returned to the twenty natural druids who summoned them, and another one-third went into his own body. Although the amount of natural energy returned to him through the thorny vines was small, it was exceptionally gentle. Donald looked sadly at the roots of the thorny vines below the fortress. “Could it be because they purified the corpses of demons with abyssal essence?” Before he could think further, another long, angry roar came from the direction of the approaching demon army. The demon forces behind pressed forward again, seemingly endless.
No one was surprised by this suddenly erupting, massive demonic plague. After all, demons are chaotic and evil creatures that defy logic, so anything they do is possible. Donald never expected this demonic plague to be related to him at all! Seeing the demons attacking again and with his magic power nearly depleted, Donald didn’t plan to retreat and rest. Instead of leaving the battlefield to others, he took out a simple spear that emitted a holy green light, exuding an unusual harmony and elegance. Holding the spear in his hand, he pointed downward, and a green light arrow shot out from its tip. Upon reaching the top of the demons, it exploded with a loud noise, creating a rain of light that covered hundreds of demons. The demons caught in this green light rain all let out agonized screams. As if countless sprouts emerged from their flesh, they were quickly decomposed by the green light, eventually turning into pools of oily black-brown soil that appeared extremely fertile. This was a technique Donald had developed after initially mastering some aspects of Natural Fury. He named it “Natural Decomposition,” which could break down anything harmful to the natural environment of the main world into nutrients needed by the earth and plants. Although the Will of Natural Fury destroyed those who destroyed or opposed nature with forceful means, it was still a force of nature, so many of its techniques were relatively “gentle.” Though most of the rewards from the Will of Natural Fury were taken by Natural Fury, this authority over the laws of Natural Fury was also one of his own powers—more was always better! It should be noted that in this demonic plague that erupted in Siren, the estimated number of demons was as high as millions, and so far, only about one-tenth of them had been eliminated. With Donald as an seemingly tireless new force, the human defenders’ situation improved significantly. Although waves of demons continued to pour in from behind, their speed was no longer as fierce as before. Many realized that these demons intended to exhaust the human forces through their large numbers of low- and mid-level demons, before allowing higher-level demons to deal a final blow to Dragon Tooth Fortress and advance into the human world. But they were forced to resist with all their might, falling for their trap.
The demon commanders do this because lower-level demons are the most numerous pawns and consumables in the Abyss; their numbers seem endless, and they can constantly have souls taken from the Main World and the Netherworld to regenerate more demons in the Abyss. This is also an advantage of the lower realms.
In contrast, the gods of the upper realms must rely on the Netherworld to guide the souls of believers from the Main World back to their divine realms, which results in the population of the heavens being far smaller than that of the Abyss. However, relatively speaking, the souls that can reach the heavens are the elite, much stronger than ordinary demons, which somewhat balances the advantages between the two sides.
Although the Infinite Abyss is vast in scale and extremely powerful, arguably the strongest force in the entire multiverse, it faces the most restrictions from the universe. Moreover, it is at odds with three opposing forces: the heavens, the Main Material World, and the Netherworld, which also belongs to the lower realms. Thus, the highly aggressive Abyssal planes can only maintain their strength by invading other worlds to plunder souls, in hopes of one day turning the entire universe into an Abyssal world.