Chapter 692: Three-Sided Battle

Matthews, one of the three great lords of the Abyss, defected—a catastrophic event that dealt a severe blow to the Endless Abyss, both in terms of its prestige and actual strength. Thus, neither the Will of the Abyss nor its many powerful beings could tolerate such a situation.

Especially, most of these powerful beings were deeply conflicted: they were reluctant to give up the power granted by the Will of the Abyss, yet they longed for freedom. Choosing to defect was an extremely difficult decision. Naturally, they didn’t want Matthews to escape the Abyss’s constraints so easily!

“Matthews! Stop! Return! The great Will of the Abyss won’t punish you too harshly!”

The voice of King of Degradation Grant came from afar.

Grant’s Triple Kingdoms were located on the 45th, 46th, and 47th layers of the Abyss. Although the distances between Abyssal planes couldn’t be measured using ordinary numerical scales, it was undeniably true that these Triple Kingdoms were closer to the lower layers of the Abyss than the Destruction Lord’s base on the 88th layer, the Saltwater Swamp Plane.

That’s why Grant was able to be the first Abyssal being to catch up with the former Lord of Perdition after discovering Matthews’ actions.

Of course, there were other demon lords whose planes were even closer to those of the King of Degradation and Matthews. Yet, due to the Lord of Perdition’s enduring influence—and since Matthews was no longer the lower-tier god Astimos—no demon lord dared to confront him head-on. Even after losing the Abyss’s favor and having his power reduced from that of a higher god, none dared to interfere directly; they merely followed from afar, waiting to decide whether to act.

That’s why the King of Degradation became the first to catch up with Matthews.

“Grant! Do you want to stop me? Then be prepared to pay a heavy price…”

Matthews’ deep voice echoed through the void, causing the demon lords behind him to tremble.

In the past, the Lord of Perdition’s reputation as a killer was enough to make even the top-tier Abyssal lords flee at the mere mention of his name. Many demon lords who had witnessed his might and survived still felt fear even now.

The King of Degradation followed behind the Kingdom of Perdition without acting immediately. As cunning as he was, he wouldn’t risk offending a once-equal powerful being without absolute certainty.

“I know you’re tired of staying in the Abyss, but have you ever thought about leaving here and losing its protection? Your former enemies will be overjoyed!”
Hearing Grant’s seemingly well-intentioned advice, Matthews’ voice rang out again.
“With one of the three great powers gone, it should suit your interests for me to leave the Abyss. We lords are merely pawns and expendables for the Abyss to gain power—things to be discarded after use. With the example of the ancient demons before us, I refuse to become a puppet of the Abyss. So my decision is made. If you try to buy time so that Oustasius can catch up, it means war between us!”
The fallen monarch, whose intentions had been exposed by Matthews, showed no sign of embarrassment.
Deep down, he still preferred to let Matthews go, as it would give him the chance to seize Matthews’ share of power. Degradation and corruption were two closely related realms.
Perhaps then his own power could surpass Oustasius, allowing him to become the true master of the Abyss, the king of demons!
But since the will of the Abyss was constantly watching the situation here, and the realm had angered it, causing it to lose its favor, Grant still had to put on a show.
However, he soon stopped hesitating about striking down Matthews.
For from behind the Abyss came a long, furious roar.
Hearing this angry roar, the handsome face of the fallen monarch Grant twisted into a sinister smile.
Instead of continuing the pursuit, he gracefully stepped aside to watch what would happen next.
As the roar grew louder, a dark beam shot forth from the depths of the Abyss like a meteor, quickly catching up to the Rising Realm that was ascending.
Although the Rising Realm had already reached the third layer of the Abyss and was on the verge of breaking through its boundaries to achieve true freedom, faced with the attack of the Destroyer King Oustasius, Matthews had no choice but to step forward to fight.
Otherwise, even though the Rising Realm possessed powerful rules and a sturdy structure unmatched by any mid-tier divine realm, it couldn’t withstand Oustasius’ repeated frenzied attacks.
Once part of its divine realm was broken and dragged back into the Abyss, unable to escape, the other demon lords would swarm in like sharks drawn to blood, devouring it along with its divine realm.
So Matthews wisely chose to stay and fight, allowing the Rising Realm to continue ascending on its own.
“Matthews… die…”

Driven and influenced by the Laws of Chaos and the Will of the Abyss, Oustasius, who had rushed over in his true form, was clearly in a frenzied state of combat, utterly lost in madness. Along the way, all demons fled, fearing being casually destroyed by this destroyer-king in his most dangerous state! That would truly be an unwarranted disaster! As one of the former three giants, or rather, as a former ruler of the ancient pantheon and a half-step godly avatar, the Fallen King Mathius faced Oustasius’ insane onslaught with a solemn expression, but showed no sign of fear. He waved his hand, releasing a dim glow, and immediately activated his Fallen Domain. Although he couldn’t confront Oustasius’ destructive power head-on, the attacks of the destroyer-king were like iron rods thrown into a pool—powerful, but unable to break through the opponent’s domain in an instant. After all, though his power level had declined, the domains he controlled remained largely unaffected. This strategy of using softness to counter strength effectively suppressed Oustasius’ fierce attacks. The mad destroyer-king, unable to think rationally, grew even more insane, his power erupting like fireworks as he sought to destroy everything in his path. With this massive attack, Oustasius not only targeted Mathius but also affected Grant, who was the closest by. This once-elegant, noble-looking fallen king couldn’t help but curse, realizing that even after taking some distance, he was still hit by Oustasius’ madness. He released his own power to counter the destructive attacks. Though the mad destroyer-king mostly relied on this single tactic, his overwhelming destructive power was enough to destroy his enemies—true to the saying, “Strength conquers skill; one trick can rule them all.” This move from the fallen king immediately caught the destroyer-king’s attention, leading to a second attack. Grant, unable to retreat in time, became one of the main targets, thus reducing some of the pressure on Mathius. The fallen king, helpless, could only continue to curse Oustasius in his heart as he joined this three-way chaos. At that moment, the Fallen King was fighting against two abyssal giants, so he couldn’t control his Fallen Kingdom, allowing it to drift upward slowly—a pace far slower than before.

And those demon lords dared not interfere in the battle between the three great abyssal giants, especially Osthadius, the Destroyer Monarch—a madman who never distinguished between friend and foe in battle, aiming only to destroy everything. So, upon seeing the Fallen Kingdom slowly emerging from the abyss, they came up with an idea. After all, the Fallen Monarch was one of the three great abyssal giants among the higher gods, the most powerful demon deity in the multiverse. His divine realm must contain countless treasures waiting to be discovered, so they swam over like piranhas, attempting to enter this divine realm known as the Fallen Kingdom. Yet before these demon lords could succeed in breaking through the realm’s barrier, they saw an endless expanse of dark green flames suddenly appear outside the Fallen Kingdom. Though the flames were not fierce, the few demon lords touched by them let out agonized screams, as if being slaughtered. Within the flames stood a figure 25 feet tall, seemingly appearing out of thin air. This was the main reason why the Fallen Monarch could leave his kingdom confident to deal with the two other abyssal demon lords—because he knew his helper, who had helped him reach this deal, would appear. To be recognized by the true god himself and entrusted with a rebirth plan, this newly promoted mid-tier god must possess great strengths. When Donald made the deal with the Fallen Monarch, he also confidently assured him that he could ensure the smooth and safe rise of the divine realm… As the deity, resembling a dark elf, recited mysterious and strange syllables, a powerful force imbued with destruction and apocalyptic aura erupted from his fingertips. One unfortunate demon lord touched by the dark green flames was struck head-on, and instantly a destructive storm erupted from within his body, like a volcanic eruption or earthquake. His entire being, including his soul, turned into a burst of fireworks and vanished into the void. Killing a demon lord at the lower god level with just one strike instantly intimidated all the other demon lords who intended to harm the Fallen Kingdom! “It’s the Nature Guardian!” Many demon lords recognized this deity who stood in their way—it was the heavenly true god who had been creating miracles and striking down the abyssal beings recently. “What’s there to fear? There’s only one of him. With so many of us lords, are we really afraid he’ll devour us?” “Exactly…” The group of demon lords urged their companions to attack, but none dared to take action.

Clearly, though the reputation of this nature guardian wasn’t as great as that of the three abyssal giants, it was still enough to make them hesitate to act rashly. After all, with that unfortunate lord as an example, no one could be sure that the opponent could only use that attack once, so no demon lord wanted to be the first to take a hit!