Free Web NovelChapter 2695: Chapter 1822: Initiation
After entering the second phase, the entire battlefield plunged into a full-scale conflict of soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals. More and more Demons transformed into Corpse Variants, clashing violently with the Demon Army. However, these Corpse Variants fear neither the stench of plague nor the assault of magic, and are utterly unresponsive to the mind-bending melodies.
As for those fools chanting "Blood sacrifice for the Blood God, skull offerings for the Skull Throne", they hardly made any impact. They might take down some Corpse Variants, but soon more would surge forward, eliminating these Blood Suckers and other brutal Demons, warmly welcoming them into the Corpse Variant family.
Moreover, with Felin and Lixiana sweeping the battlefield with their all-out attacks, it was nearly impossible for the Demons to escape unscathed.
Although the Demons tried leveraging their filthy power from the Subspace Evil God, even those Great Demons blessed by the Evil God found it hard to exert their strength here.
There are two reasons for this.
Firstly, the Reality Stabilizing Anchor is no pushover; any Evil God Great Demon entering its range will have their combat power significantly weakened. The plagues and magic they excel in cannot sustain for long as they would in the ordinary real world since while these Great Demons twist reality with their power, the Reality Stabilizing Anchors under Duanmu Huai relentlessly stabilize the Hume Index at a real-world level, maximizing the dampening of subspace spiritual energy reactions.
Secondly, they were also met with enemies they had to deal with.
Lorena and Mianmu Zuoniao were in a fierce battle against a blood-red brute wielding a Battle Axe. Both sides relied purely on their physical strength to fight. Lorena with her battle-hardened fists, while Mianmu Zuoniao used speed and ferocity to bind the Great Demon before them. The clash of swords and the roars of Demons resounded, forming the main theme of the battlefield.
Naruse Mio and Greiya were teaming up against a monster as plump as Maitreya Buddha, with a gaping mouth on its belly. It sat on a giant sedan chair carried by a horde of chattering Plague Mites, wearing a twisted and hideous grin. Its rotting arms raised high, the foul hurricane laced with plague was completely shattered by Greiya’s roaring Dragon Roar. The toxic downpour was also drawn by gravity, flying skyward, condensing and compressing until it vanished at the edge of space.
Frieren, Alice Phil, and Medea were battling a Two-Headed Bird with blue feathers. Surges of magic light continuously flashed across the battlefield, transforming it into a disco floor like a KTV, with brilliant, dazzling explosions and light effects.
However, neither side was finding it easy. The Soul Card’s magic could differentiate friend from foe, but the Reality Stabilizing Anchor could not. This resulted in the magic wielded by both the Two-Headed Bird and Frieren being vastly different from their memories, with many spells that could once rend the earth now only managing to open a crack on alloy decking, driving the spellcasters on both sides to the brink.
Of course, overall, due to the continuous reinforcement of the Corpse Variant army, the situation still leaned in favor of Frieren.
On another front, Ogis and Gavi faced the leader of the Pink Legion—a Great Demon with a goat’s head, a hideously ugly body, and four arms, known as Obsessive Sin. It swung the curved swords in its four arms, entangled with the two Puppets. The language and aura it once used to beguile minds had no effect on Puppets like Ogis and Gavi, particularly as it was constantly disrupted by noise attacks from afar whenever it attempted heart-to-heart talks.
"Are you truly willing to fight for him like this?"
Wielding its weapon, the Great Demon attempted to manipulate the Puppet sisters opposing it with its seductive words.
"You are not humans, but Puppets. Sooner or later, he will abandon you. At that time, what will you have left?"
With the Demon’s voice laden with sorrow, its words painted a grim picture as if they had already come to pass. That towering figure abandoned them, leaving the two Puppets to be covered in dust in a corner, wrapped in cobwebs, discarded as trash. The melancholy, sorrow, and despair it spoke of transformed into piercing words sharper than the blades in its hands, striking at the enemies before it.
"Think about it........."
However, before it could finish, a loud singing voice abruptly erupted, sweeping across the battlefield. Even the Great Demon halted instantly. Similar to how a psychologist would be interrupted by lively square dance music outside while conducting therapy for a patient, the volume was so high that any intoxicating words it had were rendered ineffective. All that remained was......
"......your fate........."
"You are my little, little apple......"
"......your pain........."
"No matter how much I love you, it’s never enough......"
"......your future......"
"Your rosy cheeks warm my heart......"
"......your pain......"
"Igniting the fire of my life, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire......"
"...Your fire, fire, fire... Damn it!"
The Great Demon angrily raised its head, and the sad and desolate atmosphere it had created just moments ago vanished instantly. It glared at Lixiana, who was singing loudly above the battlefield, wishing it could rush up and tear her to pieces. Her singing, carrying waves of destruction, completely shattered the sorrowful atmosphere the Great Demon had painstakingly built, preventing it from feeling even a trace of pleasure. It was as if some powerful force had erased its emotions entirely, making it unable to experience the obsessive feelings that once penetrated its bones and soul.
It’s always like this!
Before it could say much, that woman’s singing would completely nullify its strength. Moreover, her voice was like a heavy hammer, repeatedly striking its head along with the song. And it seemed... the power was getting stronger?
"Boom-----!"
Another warship couldn’t withstand the pressure and exploded completely. Watching the blinking lights disappear on the screen, Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow. Although the situation on his side was indeed deadlocked, those warships were no longer of much use at this moment. They had made significant efforts to launch attacks against the Demons, yet even so, once the Demons tore open the deck and entered the warship’s interior, self-destruction was the only way out.
But none of this mattered.
Only one thing was important.
"How much longer?"
"Progress is at 78%."
Maria’s report was calm and steady, which was understandable. After all, assembling an Ether Synchronous Engine wasn’t like assembling LEGO bricks—even if it were LEGO bricks, no amount of haste would build them correctly. To ensure this thing could be completed on time and used properly after he pressed the start button, Duanmu Huai had nothing else to do but occasionally inquire about the progress.
Currently, Duanmu Huai was staring intently into the depths of the dark Subspace ahead. While others might not feel it, Duanmu Huai had an intuition that the gods of Subspace were watching him from within. It seemed understandable to him; if you saw your enemy fiddling with something completely unfamiliar at your door, you would be nervously wary.
Not to mention he guarded this thing so tightly.
The battle continued, with hundreds of warships destroyed, but fortunately, the Demon remnants formed a Blood Moon to fill the gap. However, Aikute had no authority to command these Blood Moons—actually, Duanmu Huai was unsure what to do with them, so it was just whatever they wanted to devour.
Compared to the warships, Duanmu Huai deemed that a Pac-Man made of flesh balls, chasing and chomping Demons in the universe, posed a greater threat.
Indeed, when the Blood Moon ascended and began devouring the surrounding Demon Army with its tentacles and mouths, it showed a more astonishing deterrence than mere Light Spears and Macro Cannons. It felt like a whale in the ocean swallowing a school of fish. Even those Demons, initially fearless, started fleeing like a fish school pursued by a whale, evidently having no intention of being eaten by such a bizarre thing.
But this wasn’t Duanmu Huai’s concern; at least it wasn’t his problem.
"Progress is at 96%."
Maria’s voice carried a hint of tension, and Duanmu Huai also grew more tense. Although, upon reflection, those Evil Gods had no idea when this assembly would be completed. But those who knew would always feel nervous because, in movies and games, the final stages always encounter a lot of trouble.
Even in the game, the final moments of the Demon’s assault would leave players distressed. Yet, reality seemed different from games. At least for now, those Demons maintained their assault but hadn’t shown any insane, all-cost attack mode.
Sometimes, reality without artistic embellishment can be quite good.
Duanmu Huai silently clenched his fist. If Mary wrote a novel, she’d likely make the final moments thrilling and perilous, leaving readers on edge. Reading such novels might be exciting for a reader, but as someone involved, Duanmu Huai didn’t want to experience that kind of peril.
"Progress is 100%; assembly complete, Great Judge."
Maria’s voice came through, and Duanmu Huai almost immediately exhaled, feeling his tense muscles relax significantly. But he quickly tensed again, stood up, and walked to the command platform. Maria also timely approached, handing the activation switch to Duanmu Huai.
"Inform everyone, enter the Third Rank."
Duanmu Huai spoke as he pressed the button.
