Chapter 520: Consumption
Before the live demonstration by the Chieftain of the Madwarriors, the usually reckless Frenzied Warrior Demons finally halted their advance, lingering nervously just beyond the Minefield. These hyper-aggressive, simple-minded fiends had no fear of Death—but they cherished every chance to enter the Prime Material Plane with fierce intensity. For them, destruction and mass slaughter were the ultimate pleasures, the peak of ecstasy.
Yet they hadn’t anticipated that the sky’s thunderous booms were not constant. Their assumed sanctuary above could turn deadly in an instant.
Behind the Imperial Wall, the Artillery Army of the Empire of Ashen immediately adjusted the elevation of its cannons, locking the Frenzied Warrior Demon force into a lethal crossfire.
Boom!
Boom! Boom!
The earth trembled. Artillery fire rained down from above, spitting golden shrapnel that flared like molten stars. Dozens of Frenzied Warrior Demons collapsed instantly, torn apart by the explosive fury.
"Aaaah—damned Material Realm vermin!"
The Demons shrieked in anguish and rage, but their cries were hollow—powerless. A crushing frustration surged through them. Before them loomed the deadly Minefield. Behind them, the relentless tide of timid Demons pressed forward. Nowhere to flee.
And worse—this time, the shells falling from the sky were far more terrifying. Each fragment pulsed with a radiant golden glow—infused with holy water, imbued with divine power.
"This revolting stench—"
"Damn it, it’s holy water!"
The shrapnel, soaked in sanctified liquid, sliced through the Demons’ thick, demonic skin like blades through flesh. The resulting explosions were pure, radiant fire—devouring the hulking, grotesque bodies of the Frenzied Warriors in an instant.
"Shiiiiing—!"
Like suns blooming in midair, waves of luminous energy erupted across the battlefield, transforming the artillery barrage into something sacred, almost divine.
This ammunition—crafted through a collaboration between the Technology Department and the Empire’s elite priestess, Ingrid—was specifically designed for fiendish creatures. It was part of the "Exorcism" series, engineered to burn evil souls from the inside out.
Within just a few rounds of bombardment, the once-formidable Frenzied Warrior Demon army was decimated. Fewer than half managed to retreat back into the demonic tide.
Leo lifted his head, staring up at the dense, web-like network of firepower in the sky, then down at the mine-laden wasteland before him. His fury flared.
It had been half a day—half a day—and not a single inch of ground had been gained.
To teleport such vast numbers of Demons across the Abyss, for Jelrazaks, was no small cost. If he didn’t destroy the Empire soon, his own fate would be no better.
The Empire’s tactics—firepower saturation, minefields, relentless attrition—were effective. But they were facing the Deep Abyss Demons.
Leo could have simply used sheer numbers, overwhelming the Minefield with waves of mindless, fearless Demons. He could have broken through the line with brute force.
But he had a better plan.
Raising his whip, Leo unfurled the broad, powerful wings at his back and let out a thunderous roar that shook the very air.
"Charge!"
"Crush every enemy in your path!"
A wave of intense heat radiated outward from him, expanding in concentric rings. The aura of a high-tier Demon—terrifying, overwhelming—poured forth, making even the strongest Demons tremble in instinctive submission.
Under that primal pressure, the timid Demons advanced through the barrage, relentless as a tide. They charged forward without pause, driven by nothing but blind obedience and the will to die.
"Aaargh!"
A cacophony of screeching cries erupted from the Demon Tide—sharp, shrill, filled with pure hatred for all existence. When thousands screamed in unison, even the mightiest beings would feel their bones shudder.
But there was no enemy ahead. Only death.
Boom!
The sky was a lattice of intersecting artillery arcs. Shells detonated in midair, tearing through the demonic horde. Thousands were reduced to ash in an instant.
Yet this time, under Leo’s control, the Demons showed no fear. They ignored the explosions, the shattered corpses of kin, the blood and fire. As long as they drew breath, they pressed on—unstoppable.
One Demon, missing both arms and one leg, dragged its torso across the scorched earth with a single arm, crawling northward with grim determination—until a shard of shrapnel severed its head.
And even those who survived the artillery barrage met no better fate.
Boom!
A single Demon stepped onto the ground—then the earth beneath it erupted. The landmine detonated with violent force, hurling the creature into the air. It fell back down in pieces, a charred, lifeless husk.
As the war raged on, more and more Demons sacrificed themselves, stepping into the Minefield. Within moments, they were blown apart. Some even triggered cluster mines, dragging hundreds of their brethren into oblivion with them.
Clank… clank… clank…
The heavy, rhythmic sound of hooves and clinking armor echoed across the wasteland. Dozens of monstrous figures—resembling knights—raced through the artillery barrage, galloping across the scorched plains.
They were Iron Cavalry Demons—hulking, twisted creatures with massive horse bodies, emaciated human limbs, and pale, pustulent flesh. Their faces were gaunt, twisted with pain. Horns jutted from their foreheads like jagged blades. They wore complex, black plate armor, cracked in places, revealing coarse, stiff bristles beneath.
These were the elite cavalry of the Abyss—demons driven by an insatiable bloodlust, charging toward the enemy with unrelenting fury, leaving death in their wake.
Their commander led the charge, weaving through explosions with uncanny precision. So far, they’d ridden hundreds of meters without setting off a single mine—luck on their side.
"Charge—!"
"Kill them! Kill them all!"
The Demons swung their chain maces wildly, seeking glory in battle. But the commander hadn’t seen the trap.
"Ssssshhhh—!"
A tripwire, hidden in the grass, snapped taut. The charging Iron Cavalry Demons, moving too fast to react, stumbled and fell hard.
"Damn it!"
They rolled across the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. But their relief was short-lived.
A cold, metallic pressure gripped their lower bodies.
Boom!
The explosion tore them apart. The human torso and equine lower half were blasted into blackened fragments, scattered across the field.
Then, one after another, the surrounding mines detonated—consuming the entire squadron in fire and smoke. The wasteland was left scorched and silent, littered with charred remains.
Above, the Kwase Demons beat their wings frantically, surging toward the Imperial Wall, forming a dark, endless cloud in the sky.
To avoid the deadly web of anti-aircraft fire, they flew high—hundreds of meters above the ground—hoping to bypass the unbreakable line.
But inside the Imperial Wall, the Anti-Aircraft troops gripped the cold, four-meter-long barrels of their guns. Their eyes gleamed with anticipation as they pressed the firing triggers.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A sharper, crisper sound rang out—different from the earlier artillery barrage.
Shells streaked into the sky, trailing brilliant light. Then came the explosions—more dazzling, more precise. The arcs of fire were tighter, denser, forming a symphony of death in the heavens.
Hundreds of Kwase Demons were incinerated mid-flight. Charred, unrecognizable bodies rained from the sky.
This was not the first time such a scene had played out. For days now, every Demon that tried to storm the Empire’s defenses had met a brutal end.
Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The barrage continued without pause. The Empire poured out every last round of ammunition it had stockpiled over years.
In this state of total war, every Imperial factory worked nonstop, churning out shells around the clock. The logistical supply chain—rail transport—never stopped. Ammunition flowed ceaselessly southward, fueling the Wall’s defense.
By nightfall, the wasteland was a ruin. The earth was a graveyard of ash and craters. Hills had been leveled. Corpses piled so high they formed layered, grotesque strata—new soil, made of dead flesh.
From dawn to dusk, the Demon Army had fought for an entire day. And still—no breach.
Under the moonlight, beams of light cut through the sky, weaving a luminous net that illuminated the ground like daylight.
But this was only mutual provocation.
The Empire tested new weapons. Leo Bosk, in turn, used the cheapest, most expendable Demons—wasting the Empire’s ammunition, draining its reserves.
"You will all be destroyed."
In the darkness, surrounded by the endless horde, Leo’s face twisted with rage. His eyes burned with chaotic flames as he stared at the distant, brightly lit Imperial Wall.
For Demons transformed by Jelrazaks, hatred was their fuel.
And this former Duke of Bosk—decades of obsession, every breath filled with the desire to destroy the Empire, to kill the Red Dragon—had let that hatred grow until it consumed him. It was now a part of his bones.
Suddenly, a Kwase Demon, flight unsteady, wobbled into his line of sight.
Leo’s expression darkened. He seized the creature’s head with one hand, his massive arm straining, veins bulging. Five crimson fingers tightened around its skull.
"Aaah~!"
The Demon shrieked in agony—but dared not move. Under the weight of a superior Demon’s will, resistance was impossible.
"Pfft!"
The head exploded in a burst of blood and brain matter, splattering across the ground.
Only then did Leo’s fury ease. He licked the blood from his lips, then casually tossed the corpse aside.
Immediately, nearby Kwase Demons surged forward, devouring the remains with ravenous hunger.
To Demons, the flesh of their own kind was not only edible—it was often more desirable, more satisfying.
Leo stared at the blood-soaked chaos around him, then let out a low, mocking chuckle.
"Heh heh… Kai Xiusu. Just wait. This will be your end too."
In the darkness, hundreds of thousands of Demon eyes glowed like embers. The shrill, chaotic cawing of Spine-ears echoed across the wasteland—wild, endless, and filled with fury.
(End of Chapter)
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