Chapter 656: The God of Elven Revenge

Seeing Wenlisa’s expression, Donald knew that this dark elf goddess was no longer a threat. As for the escape of the demon lord Baltzu, Donald did not intervene because he sensed the immense power within that will—someone on the level of a mid-tier god, with an aura of ancient age, clearly a demon lord who had existed for countless years, possibly even an ancient demon like the Storm Lord.
Since the other party wanted to save Baltzu, it meant there was some connection between them. There was no reason for Donald to offend such a powerful ancient being over a demon who had nothing to do with him.
Moreover, even if he forced Baltzu to death, he wouldn’t gain much. Why commit such a futile and costly mistake?
From the intervention of the powerful beings from the Mysterious Abyss to Baltzu’s successful betrayal and escape, everything happened in the blink of an eye. Injured, Zareel plunged into the realm of hell, where he was instantly subdued by Astimos.
Yet this female demon lord wasn’t the kind to stubbornly persist in her ways. Realizing the situation was hopeless and that she had fallen into enemy hands, she immediately chose to submit.
“Great King of Hell! I surrender!”
Those who know when to quit are wise. Zareel didn’t want to perish here because of Baltzu’s betrayal.
Astimos didn’t trust this cunning demon easily. Instead, he used his divine power to create a contract.
“Sign this contract. You will be my first commander. If hell expands in the future, you will surely have your own domain!”
A contract floated before Zareel. After reading its contents, this strong-willed demon lord’s expression turned grim.
Astimos had essentially copied the contract Donald had given him, only altering a few terms. Its rigor and completeness left no loopholes for a demon lord like Zareel to exploit!
Though resentful, forced by circumstances, Zareel had no choice but to sign this nearly permanent and binding contract. Yet she resolved to create a more complex contract when she subjugated others in the future to avenge herself.
Unbeknownst to her, this practice of signing contracts would later become a hallmark of the demons of hell, adding a distinct hellish flavor to the multiverse.

After Zareel signed a contract with Astymos, this former demon lord of the Abyss swore to leave it and became the ruler of the Hell realm. The moment Zareel chose to abandon the Abyss, an angry roar came from its direction. The power granted to him by the Abyss as a demon lord was immediately withdrawn. Without the support of his virtual divinity, Zareel’s strength, which could have reached that of a lower god, weakened to that of a demi-god. However, since he had defected from the hostile Abyss, Hell immediately granted him new power—though not as great as what the Abyss had given—raising him to the status of a new god. What pleased Astymos the most was that this new ruler of Hell also brought tens of thousands of demons to Hell. These were Zareel’s subordinates from the Abyss realm; with the Abyss defeated and their lord having betrayed it, they had no choice but to surrender or die. Thus, most of them chose survival, including those under the other two demon lords. As a result, Hell suddenly had tens of thousands of demons, which, though still far fewer than those in the Abyss realm, was enough to delight the will of the Hell realm and Astymos, the King of Hell! “Heroes of Hell, the demons are doomed to fall! It’s time to hunt—contribute your strength to the great Hell!” Astymos loudly inspired the warriors of Hell. Both demons and reinforcements from the main world cheered, with fierce expressions as they charged at the demons ahead. “Retreat! Withdraw quickly…” By now, only the Fire Demon Lord, one remaining demon lord, and tens of thousands of demons remained on the battlefield. Seeing the situation turn grim, these demons tried to flee but were attacked by the brave forces of Hell. Aside from a few who escaped back to the Abyss, most were killed or surrendered, then transformed into demons by Hell’s power right there on the battlefield, turning to attack their former allies. Before long, the Fire Demon Lord was killed by Astymos himself, his soul becoming part of the power of the Demon-Slaying Sword, pushing this lower-tier divine artifact another step closer to becoming a mid-tier divine weapon, on the verge of breaking through its peak level. With the Abyss’s fate sealed and the avatar of the Goddess of Vengeance no longer willing to intervene, she nodded slightly at Donald before disappearing.

Since it was decided not to take action, it was better not to offend a powerful true god like the Nature Guardian. Donald watched the Goddess of Immortal Vengeance leave without feeling particularly triumphant. Compared to this dark elf goddess, the numerous and powerful demon lords of the Abyss were the greatest threat to Hell. Even though he had a formidable advantage as a mid-tier god, he could not withstand an attack from multiple true god-level beings. His only advantage was that the Abyss could not mobilize too much power at once, giving Hell a chance to grow rapidly. As long as the Hell dimension could become as powerful as a major Abyss dimension, or if Astimos could be promoted to an upper god, Hell would essentially secure its place in the multiverse! But for now, it seemed necessary to rely on external help to resist the Abyss’s counterattack. While Hell was dealing with the aftermath, the sun elf demi-god had successfully established a divine office of vengeance, and the bells in the Pantheon rang again, signaling the birth of another true god. Most of the gods focused their attention on the war between Hell and the Abyss, so they naturally learned about how the elf god Xeufras succeeded in becoming a god. “Another elf god—indeed, the elves’ heritage is unmatched by other races!” some true gods thought to themselves. It was difficult for them to cultivate even a demi-god or subordinate god, yet Ignatz had adopted a laissez-faire approach toward the elves. As a result, aside from the leader of the elf pantheon, four true gods had emerged from their pantheon—almost the strongest pantheon in the multiverse. “Congratulations, Your Majesty Xeufras!” Donald was the first to offer his congratulations. Xeufras was puzzled by this. It was precisely because of his resentment toward humans who had harmed him in the past that he harbored a desire for revenge, which ultimately led to him gaining divine powers. “Thank you, Your Majesty Donald, for your protection. Xeufras is deeply grateful!” After becoming the God of Vengeance, Xeufras let go of his obsession. The humans who had persecuted him now seemed like insignificant insects in his eyes, so he no longer felt the need for revenge. This allowed Xeufras to initially understand the true meaning of vengeance—it wasn’t just about destroying enemies out of anger and resentment. True vengeance ultimately required forgiveness and letting go of one’s enemies. Whether revenge was successful or not, choosing forgiveness meant letting go of the past and achieving peace in one’s heart.

Donald commented, “Lord Xueflas’s divine role seems a bit extreme for an elf god, but fortunately it’s not related to evil or death. It still has great potential for future development!” Donald didn’t say it outright but pointed out a possible direction for Xueflas. After Xueflas took control of the powers of the God of Revenge, combined with his elf heritage, he also gained some control over the natural realm. He could use this to develop a focus on the wrath of nature resulting from human destruction of the environment. Although the role of the God of Punishment had already been taken by Donald himself, the realm of natural retribution was still a divine position that could reach the level of a mid-tier god. Moreover, given his relationship with the elf pantheon, Donald wouldn’t suppress Xueflas; in the future, if Xueflas achieved even greater success, it wouldn’t be impossible for Donald to relinquish his powers!

At that moment, new movements were detected from the abyss. Several powerful auras appeared and began moving toward Hell. It seemed the Will of the Abyss had finally realized that a few demon lords alone couldn’t deal with this rebellious plane, so it sent many strong beings over at once. Among them was another being exuding a sense of decay and death—nothing less than the incarnation of Oscar, the King of the Undead, who had regained his strength.

Besides the King of the Undead, the most eye-catching figure was a giant with an ugly appearance and a height of a hundred feet. Those familiar with the abyss knew this was the Lord of Wrath, Kosccherch, the King of Frost Giants. After being deceived by the Fallen Monarch into believing the Lamia Queen loved him and wanted to become his queen, Kosccherch became a laughingstock in the abyss. Other demon lords, especially Grant, saw him as a foolish idiot after this incident. More importantly, Kosccherch realized his feelings for the “Lamia Queen” had taken root deep in his heart, especially since she had deceived him, which ignited the full fury of the Lord of Wrath.

Although Kosccherch, due to his ugliness, had a twisted mind and harbored hatred and anger toward everything, he wasn’t a highly intelligent demon. Yet he wouldn’t tolerate being called an idiot, so he tried every means to strengthen himself in order to defeat the Fallen Monarch and erase the contempt of the other demon lords. The Lord of Wrath, acting on assumptions, already envisioned that after defeating the Fallen Monarch, he would turn him into the form of the Lamia Queen forever, making her his true queen.

And this escape from the hellish realm is the best opportunity given by the Will of the Abyss; as long as one can complete the tasks assigned by the Abyss, their power will surely advance by a great deal.