Chapter 695: The Bronze Fortress of Avernus
Deep within the heart of Avernus’s Master Bronze Fortress, space warped and distorted. A flicker of light burst forth—four Players and two Devils materialized out of thin air.
Their hearts pounded wildly, breaths ragged, faces alight with the giddy euphoria of survival. Yet for the lower-tier demons Yuril and Dick, the shock was overwhelming. How? How had they escaped the very grasp of a Deep Hell Forgemaster—Zaril’s most feared subordinate, a being capable of conquering an entire miniature material plane on his own!
Night Wolf clutched his chest, though as a Vampire, he didn’t need to breathe. Still, he exhaled in that instinctive, dramatic gasp: “Whew… boss, that was close.”
Lucky Emperor stared at the horizon, where a towering column of flame and dust roared into the sky, the air trembling with violent spatial turbulence. “No kidding… these madmen from the Mechanical Divinity really went all out. That power… it nearly devoured us whole!”
Langli BaiTiao, however, was tense. “War Fury Brother… did you get the experience prompt?”
Tian Sheng Zhan Kuang remained in a frenzied state, his body flushed crimson, steam rising from his skin, yet his mind still sharp. “No… no way… that home—he’s still alive!”
“What?!”
All eyes snapped upward. There, through the thick veil of dust, the Deep Hell Forgemaster surged into the air, his tattered, broken wings flaring wide. His form was a wreck—burned, torn, monstrous. But in his eyes burned a fury so intense it could melt steel. He spun, roaring into the void:
“MORTAL! YOU SEEK DEATH!”
The sheer oppressive aura of the Forgemaster crashed over the nearby Devils like a tidal wave. Yuril froze, terror flooding his face. “No… he… he found us!”
“Dead! We’re dead! Let me out! Let me out!” The tiny Devil in the cage screamed, clawing at the bars.
But Langli BaiTiao remained still, cloak pulled tight. He whispered, “No… not yet. It’s not over. The treasure I stole from the Mechanical Divinity… it’s not this simple.”
“Commander!”
“Who dares invade the Bronze Fortress? Who is this insolent home!”
Dozens of Devil soldiers—steel forks in hand, armor gleaming—rose into the air, their bat-like wings flaring wide. They surged toward Valerius’s molten lava castles.
But then, the edge of space collapsed.
All color vanished from the universe. Only black remained. At the epicenter of the explosion, a deep, hungry vortex tore open, sucking everything into its maw. Sculptures, shattered stone, broken bodies—every fragment was torn apart, dragged toward the abyss with brutal force.
The lead Devil soldiers were crushed like crumpled tin foil, their Hell Iron armor splintering into fragments under the overwhelming gravity.
Valerius flailed wildly, desperate to escape, but it was no use—like a beast bound by countless root-like chains. “No—!”
“I am the Great Deep Hell Forgemaster! I am Zaril’s loyal servant! You cannot kill me!”
His scream was swallowed by the howl of torn space. His massive form was shredded into raw particles, consumed by the storm.
Watching the cataclysmic collapse of the world, Tian Sheng Zhan Kuang exhaled in awe. “He’s really gone. My character sheet just pinged.”
> [You have slain the Deep Hell Forgemaster – Valerius (Challenge Rating: 16).]
> [Reward: 150,000 Experience Points (XP)]
Langli BaiTiao clapped his hands in glee. “Holy hell! This is a Hellish Legion Commander! Fifteen thousand XP, twenty-five thousand gold coins—we’re rich!”
Night Wolf, however, remained still. His gaze was fixed on the sky, brows furrowed with dread. “What… what is that?”
The heavens groaned under unbearable strain. Clouds were ripped open by crimson fissures—like a god’s gut split wide, spilling a waterfall of boiling lava.
“Look up!” Dick’s voice cracked with fear.
The red liquid didn’t fall. Instead, it erupted into frenzied Hellfire, coalescing into a colossal phantom image.
A fallen Angel.
Her wings were black as void, her eyes burning with eternal rage. Sulfur and ash swirled around her, and her face—streaming with blood-tears—was twisted into a mask of madness and distortion.
She raised her right hand. From the cracks in the earth, chains of fire erupted, snaking across the sky, sealing off every path. A chorus of agonized wails rose as her soul power began to mend the torn fabric of reality.
> [Lord of Avernus – Zaril (Challenge Rating: ???)]
Langli BaiTiao stared upward, his eyes wide with dawning horror. For a moment, he stood frozen, breathless.
“…We might have just gone too far.”
Tian Sheng Zhan Kuang, trembling, whispered, “So this is the final boss of Avernus… to face her in battle… that would be a merciful end.”
Lucky Emperor sighed. “We’re done for. If only my Opening Boxes had this kind of luck.”
Dick and Yuril were already on their knees, shaking uncontrollably, their very souls trembling under the instinct of Hell. “Lord of the Nine Hells… it’s really… Zaril-sama…”
Even the other Devils within the fortress were paralyzed with terror and reverence.
Langli BaiTiao muttered under his breath: “Do you think… she hasn’t found us yet?”
“Kneel.”
Zaril’s voice exploded inside their skulls—no sound, just pure psychic command.
Under the aura of Hell Law, the two Devils dropped instantly, submission absolute. No thought of rebellion. To such low-tier demons, even seeing a Hell Lord was an honor beyond imagining.
On the Players’ character sheets, new data flooded in—so dense, so overwhelming, their brows broke into cold sweat.
> [You are affected by profane words. Willpower Save Roll required. Failure results in control.]
> [Lord of Avernus – Zaril is attempting to probe your spiritual soul and memories.]
> [WARNING: Under Hell Law influence, you will be bound to Baator Hell. Risk of permanent effect: Fallen Covenant.]
The Players’ faces paled. If they were trapped in Hell forever, all their efforts would be meaningless.
“Run!”
Langli BaiTiao didn’t hesitate. He whipped off his cloak and bolted—dragging the cage with him, the tiny Devil still screaming inside.
Lucky Emperor and Night Wolf followed instantly. Even Tian Sheng Zhan Kuang, still in his berserk state, roared and shattered through the city wall, finally learning how to escape.
“Die—!”
But then—countless chains of Hellfire rose from the ground. A giant hand of flame stretched across the sky, immense and terrifying, closing in with crushing majesty.
They were seconds from being caught.
Langli BaiTiao screamed into the wind: “Lord, help me!”
At that moment, the hexagram runes etched into their chests flared to life. A surge of intense soul energy enveloped them. Flashes of flame erupted—then, in an instant, they dissolved into a regiment of ash, scattered by the wind.
High above, Zaril’s phantom form watched the drifting ashes. Her brow twitched. In her burning eyes, a tide of vile hatred surged.
“It’s Bair. That disgraceful traitor. If I weren’t in the middle of my Preparation Ritual, he’d be screaming in agony right now.”
Her voice turned even darker. “No… not just him. And the Emperor of the Ashen Flame. That damned Red Dragon!”
With a thunderous slam of her black wings, she swung her longsword—its edge blazing with Hellfire—cutting a wound across the blood-red sky, hundreds of meters long. The strike shattered a hidden golden vertical pupil hovering in the air.
“…They found us.”
A deep, resonant voice echoed from nowhere.
Zaril pointed her sword at the sky, roaring:
“Red Dragon! This is a naked provocation! This is AVERNUS! Do you wish to declare war on the entire Nine Hells—on the mighty Asmodeus himself?”
A voice, calm and cold, answered from the heavens.
“Can you truly represent all of the Nine Hells, Zaril? I think the others would be very pleased to see Avernus fall once more.”
A new fire bloomed in the sky. It coalesced into a massive, dignified dragon’s head—golden vertical pupils, deep and ancient, radiating a faint, regal aura.
The sheer intimidation sent tremors through the Hellish dragons below. They trembled, snarling, their bodies shaking with fear.
“You touch the Material Plane. You conspire with the Thrace Kingdom. That makes you my enemy. My enemy. The enemy of the Ashen Empire!”
“Red Dragon… one day, your so-called empire will fall into Hell. Your people will scream in Hellfire. Your domain will become our soul pasture. Your blood will fuel the Blood War!”
A mocking laugh echoed through the sky.
“Then let us watch and wait… Who will fall first—me, or you?”
The dragon’s head dissolved into a shower of falling embers, vanishing into the clouds.
Meanwhile, a dozen Deep Hell Forgemasters—each a towering, winged horror—flew from every corner of the Bronze Fortress, their auras so terrifying that even lower-tier demons would faint at the sight.
They knelt, bowed, or stood silent—obedient, loyal, like hounds before their master.
Alix stepped forward, voice low. “My Lord… I failed to guard the fortress. The vermin slipped through.”
Zaril’s voice was ice. “Strengthen the defenses. This is a once-in-a-millennium chance. No rats in the ditch shall ruin my plan.”
She stared into the endless scorched wasteland, her eyes alight with madness and obsession.
“Once the mortals of the Material Plane are all consumed as fuel… my armies will plunge into the Bottomless Abyss. The Blood War ends. And Thrace… will be mine.”
The City of Dawn… was only the beginning.
Before her, her body exploded into a vast, sky-obscuring mass of Hellfire.
Only then did the truth reveal itself—this was but an avatar. The true Zaril still dwelled at the fortress’s heart, scheming to drag the City of Dawn, the Thrace Region… even the entire Feanso Continent—into Hell.
Empire of Ashen. Dragonblood Mountain.
Kai Xiusu watched the scene through the Heaven’s Judgment Dragon Eye, his expression darkening. “Bair’s intel was correct. Zaril is a true war maniac.”
He exhaled slowly, the air thick with sulfur-scented smoke. “The other Hell Lords avoid attrition in the Blood War. They focus on scheming, on plundering souls. But Zaril… she throws every last soldier into the battlefield. She defies all, even sacrifices mortal souls as fuel. She’s insane.”
He recalled his earlier conversation with Bair.
Centuries ago, Bair had secretly united several Hell Lords to overthrow Zaril—locking her away in the Bronze Fortress, torturing her daily. But Avernus, as the first layer of the Nine Hells, stood on the frontline of the Blood War. The constant demon threats made Bair’s passive strategy intolerable to Asmodeus.
So, under the Lord of the Nine Hells’ command, Zaril was restored as Avernus’s master—given command of the Devil legions, to slaughter demons and reign supreme.
Kai Xiusu rose slowly, spreading his vast wings. His gaze hardened.
Lanpu’s image appeared before him. “Master… should we continue sending Stellarfallers into Hell? The teleportation cost is high. Half of them die upon landing.”
Kai Xiusu’s voice was steel.
“Continue. Not only continue—double the scale. Summon more Players. Infiltrate the Bronze Fortress completely.”
His tone left no room for debate.
“We cannot let Zaril complete her ritual. The Empire cannot lose the City of Dawn. It cannot lose Thrace.”
In truth, Langli BaiTiao’s reckless actions in Avernus had been orchestrated by Kai Xiusu all along.
The miniature spatial collapse bomb—capable of destroying a Deep Pit Forgemaster—was forged by Kai Xiusu after he destroyed a small material half-plane. He used the fragments as raw material, ordering the Mechanical Divinity to build it.
Langli BaiTiao “stealing” the bomb? That was a direct order from Kai Xiusu—meant to spark chaos in Hell.
Now, the bomb had detonated inside the fortress, destabilizing the anti-magic field. Rifts in space formed—small and large—allowing Players to teleport directly into the inner ring.
Lanpu picked up pen and paper. “When do we formally declare war on the Thrace Kingdom?”
Kai Xiusu paused, exhaled a plume of sulfur-scented white smoke, then answered without hesitation:
“Seven days. Begin mobilization. The true war is coming.”
“Yes, Master.” Lanpu’s voice trembled with excitement. For them, this was no mere conflict—it was war against the once-mighty Holy Faedran Empire.
This could be a war of true balance.
(End of Chapter)
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