Chapter 648: Participating in the Blood Battle
A large teleportation matrix, fifty feet in diameter, was set up at the location designated by the three major forces in Fallen Towerlin. Humans dressed in various styles lined up excitedly, with another group stepping onto the matrix. After the personnel in charge placed the crystals that supplied energy to the matrix, a flash of light appeared, and everyone on it vanished.
Such a large interdimensional teleportation matrix was quite costly for Donald, but since Astimos, a mid-tier god, provided support at the destination and even maintained the spatial barrier of the Hell dimension to keep this passage open, the consumption was significantly reduced.
Donald’s idea for Astimos was this: since the number of people from Hell was at a severe disadvantage, why not recruit some fighters from other dimensions to join the battle?
Most dimensions, including the main world, held little goodwill toward the Abyss and were often hostile toward it, so it should be easy to recruit many helpers. Moreover, killing demons would grant power enhancements from Hell, which would likely attract even more people.
Fallen Towerlin, the gathering place of the evil factions in the main world, was undoubtedly the best location for recruitment.
Besides the three leading forces, the area was filled with numerous bandits, swindlers, ruffians, thief gangs, and fugitives on the run—essentially a paradise for scoundrels and villains. Even if some good people were forced to hide here, their numbers would likely be small.
Donald mainly recruited members of evil or dark factions because those in neutral or good factions, after receiving Hell’s gifts, would find it difficult to resist the corruption of evil wills, leading to a shift in allegiance. Donald didn’t want too many beings from the main world to fall into the realm of evil. Additionally, participating in the blood battle in Hell carried great risks, so the evil factions were the most suitable candidates.
When the first group of mortals arrived in Hell, they were greeted by Hell’s demonic instructors—a legendary great demon.
This legendary warrior was a Horned Demon commander who had innate talent for leading troops since he was still a demon. Thus, he was appointed by the King of Hell as the commander-in-chief of human mercenaries. Ten gold and hundreds of silver were also sent as supervisors to prevent these humans from panicking under the attack of demons.
“Is this Hell? It’s much better than the environment described in legends.”
A seemingly honest-looking human youth murmured. After the chaotic attribute was stripped away from the hellish realm, only the forces of evil remained, and the environment changed to resemble the barren lands of the main world. At most, there were more volcanic landscapes, resulting in an abundance of fire elements. Ordinary humans could adapt there for a long time as long as they didn’t end up in volcanic areas. As lower-class residents ofFallen Tallinn, many were like this youth—persecuted or dragged into trouble by others, forcing them to flee to the chaotic lands in search of a livelihood. Yet they lacked strength and tactics; even inFallen Tallinn, they could only suffer under the oppression of those evil residents. So when the three major forces announced their campaign to fight in other realms, many lower-class residents joined in hopes of finding a better path. Living in theFallen Towerlin area was already extremely difficult and dangerous. Rather than living in numbness, they thought it better to risk it in other realms, where they might become powerful enough to rival nobles. Even some hooligans dared to take a chance—good luck might even lift them to greatness! After gathering the first group of 3,000 mortals, the legendary Horned Demon Commander began his first speech. “Mortals of the main world, I am your commander here in hell. During this time, everyone must obey my orders. Those who don’t will become food!” How could these mortals, whose highest strength was only at the Golden rank, resist the might of a legendary great demon? With those words, the noisy crowd fell silent instantly. The Horned Demon Commander nodded in satisfaction at the quiet scene. “Among you, there may be some mortals with decent strength, but that’s nothing compared to our hell’s finest demon legions. The rest are nothing but flesh bags with no fighting ability. So if you want to survive on the battlefield, you must strictly follow my commands. I will lead you to return alive as the strongest among mortals!” “As a reward from the great King of Hell for your support, every warrior who participates will receive the blessing of hellish power, enabling you to kill those disgusting demons more effectively!”
As soon as the Horned Demon Commander finished speaking, all the mortals found a faint red glow appearing on their bodies. At the same time, they felt an increase in both energy and strength—what used to require lifting only a few dozen pounds now seemed easy even with a hundred pounds.
Receiving such benefits before the battle even began greatly boosted the morale of these human reinforcements.
The Horned Demon Commander watched these mortals with faces filled with excitement, feeling not a trace of pity.
When the time for battle arrived, the army of demons transferred from the rear to the front lines had already assembled, ready to launch their second major assault.
The first wave to charge were still the low-level demons, mostly minor demons, serving as cannon fodder.
Even in the Infinite Abyss of multiple dimensions, high-level demons were a tiny minority at the top of the hierarchy, far fewer compared to the countless low-level demons.
Faced with the demons’ constant attacks as cannon fodder, the devils in Hell did not send in the human reinforcements right away.
Although their plan was for most of these mortals to serve as fodder, only the strong among them—those who were professionals—would have a chance to kill demons and gain advancement. Of course, a few unarmed mortals might be lucky enough to kill one or two demons and thus embark on the path to becoming professionals, but such chances were undoubtedly extremely slim.
To increase these odds and implement the policies of the great King of Hell, Astimos, the legendary Horned Demon Commander ordered his demon supervisors to capture three thousand low-level demons alive on the battlefield first. This way, after the mortals killed them, they could receive feedback from Hell’s power, greatly increasing the survival rate of the reinforcements.
“These weapons, soaked in the blood of demons, are prepared especially for you. By killing these demons before you, you can earn rewards from the great King of Hell and gain powers beyond those of ordinary mortals. The more demons you kill, the greater the rewards—there’s even a chance to become an immortal demi-god!”
The devils’ words were full of temptation. The allure of becoming strong was immense for those humble, lowly residents of the fallen Talin. Many humans gritted their teeth, took the weapons given to them, and silently slashed at the necks of the ferocious, defenseless demons in front of them.
With a series of splashing sounds, the blood of the demons sprayed everywhere, covering many people’s heads and faces.
“I’ve gained power! I’ve gained power…”
But these mortals didn’t bother to wipe themselves off, for as they killed the demons, they felt a surge of heat flowing into their bodies from some unknown source, instantly boosting their strength to such an extent that they seemed capable of killing a dragon with a single punch. Of course, these were just illusions created by ordinary mortals who had never experienced the power of strong warriors suddenly gaining strength; in reality, most of them only acquired strength equivalent to that of advanced black-iron warriors. Moreover, having strength alone didn’t equate to actual combat prowess—without any training, they were nothing but showpieces with power but no idea how to use it. With the first group of people who had slain demons seemingly reaping great benefits, the others followed suit, picking up weapons and killing the demons before them. Even those few human professionals who already had some strength joined in slaying the demons, and when they felt that surge of power, many of them wore surprised smiles. Especially those professionals who had been stuck at their rank for years saw a slight loosening of the bottleneck that had held them back. Though it was only a tiny improvement, it gave them great hope. These were merely the lowest-level demons; if they could slay bronze demons or stronger ones of silver rank or above, could they break through their limits instantly, advance in rank, and kill more demons? If that were true, then the great devil’s claim about attaining the power of an immortal demi-god wasn’t just empty talk! With this inexplicable confidence and hope, this group of three thousand mortals charged into battle. “Kill them!…” Under the pressure of the powerful demon overseers, the three thousand mortals achieved significant results. One mortal who had killed a small demon with his own strength cried out in joy, “I can kill demons now…” Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, he was cut in half by a demon’s massive claws due to his excessive excitement. But soon, another human professional, already a strong warrior, killed this lower-tier demon and gained a substantial boost in strength. After three minutes of fighting, one-third of the three thousand mortals were lost, mostly due to their excitement from killing a demon for the first time; few actually died from being directly attacked by the demons.
And those who remain are humans who can adapt well to the battlefield. They act cautiously; although they may get injured in the chaotic battlefield, as long as they manage to kill their enemies, their injuries recover quickly thanks to the influence of hellish powers. Over time, ordinary people with no initial experience transform completely, adapting to the battlefield environment and learning how to kill enemies swiftly while minimizing their own casualties.