socalfunplaces Page 167
Page 167
Neither the silent thinkers nor the boisterous chanters would tell the voters that this power was given to them by Casalos.
With the blessing of the two bronze dragons, the army of Deepwater Territory has undergone another transformation. The already well-trained professional troops are now even more formidable, each reaching the peak of their potential.
Their eyes burned with an unwavering belief in victory, their bodies brimmed with inexhaustible strength, and the weapons in their hands gleamed with magical light. Fear, exhaustion, hesitation—all negative emotions were banished, replaced by an iron will and a burning fighting spirit.
"For the deep waters!"
"For the Dragon Lord!"
"For victory!"
A deafening roar echoed through the heavens as a torrent of steel surged toward Hellgate Fortress with overwhelming force. The constructs' footsteps shook the earth, the light of dragon breath illuminated the sky, and the brilliance of magic shone like countless stars.
26. The Beginning of the Chaos
Above Hellgate Fortress, the stench of gunpowder and sulfur mingled into a suffocating, poisonous fog. Casalos's elemental wings hovered beneath the blasphemous barrier, which had been torn open with a massive gaping hole, like a colorful blade suspended in the sky.
The demon army, which had been plowed up by Casaloz five times, had long since lost its already poor formation and was now scattered like ants in a whirlwind, running wildly through the ruins.
The army of Deepwater Territory surged in like an iron torrent, the deafening roar of their tracked golems leaving deep imprints on the ground with every meter they advanced, cracking the earth. The kobolds of the Dragonvein wielded their dragon-striking lances, unleashing streaks of scorching fire upon the rout of the demons. The half-dragon warriors wielded their enchanted greatswords, switching between sword and gun modes, slicing through the struggling lower demons like wheat being harvested, or reducing mid-range demons to a bloody mist.
"This is nothing short of a massacre." Lyra Silverhand hovered in mid-air, looking at the one-sided battle below, her tone complex.
"What mercy is there to demons?" Kelben Black Staff replied coldly, the gem at the tip of his staff gleaming with a dangerous light. "They should never have existed in the Prime Material Plane."
Just as the Deepwater Territory army was preparing to completely crush this demon legion, three distinct yet equally terrifying roars suddenly echoed from the depths of Hellgate Fortress.
The first sound was like the combined wails of a million souls, each syllable seemingly tearing at the listener's sanity. It was the ancient voice of the demons of Obiris, a madness older than the abyss itself echoing within it.
The second cry was sharp yet elegant, like countless blades rubbing against metal, carrying a twisted rhythm. The six-armed serpent demon's unique hiss contained an extreme hatred for order.
The third roar was pure violence, a thunderous sound like a volcanic eruption that ignited the surrounding air. The roar of the Infernal Blood Demon made the earth tremble.
Three figures soared into the sky from the depths of the fortress.
The first to appear was a colossal demon, its enormous, deformed head taking up two-thirds of its body, its pale, bony surface crawling with moving runes. Each rune was a crystallization of the knowledge of spellcasters it had devoured, twisting and writhing on its skull. A ghostly green flame of soul burned in its enormous eye sockets, and anyone who gazed upon it felt their memories being ripped away.
Following closely behind was the six-armed serpent demon, each of her six arms wielding a different magical weapon—a scimitar, a straight sword, a battle axe, a spear, a chain mace, and a dagger—each radiating a magical aura of a different attribute. Her serpentine lower body swayed gracefully, its scales like polished obsidian reflecting the firelight of the battlefield.
The last to appear was the Infernal Blood Demon, the largest of all, its muscles like those cast from molten lava, and each breath spewing forth scorching sparks from its nostrils. Its skin constantly cracked and healed, revealing the churning magma and blood beneath. When its enormous bat wings unfolded, the blood vessels on the wing membranes were clearly visible, like a living map.
"Tsk tsk," the arcane light on the Razor Spikes flickered, "These don't look like ordinary stuff. You've really gotten yourself into a bad situation this time."
Casalos continued to circle, its indigo vertical pupils fixed on the three abyss lords, its dragon beak involuntarily cracking.
"Three Abyss Lords belonging to different demonic species didn't fight each other?" Iron Dragon's voice was filled with disbelief. "Obiris, Tanaris, and an even purer and more ancient demon... this combination simply violates the principle of peaceful coexistence among Abyss demons."
In the Abyss, the hatred between different kinds of demons even surpasses their loathing for beings from other planes. The Obiris demons are the oldest rulers of the Abyss, existing for countless eons before the rise of the Tanari demons. The Tanari demons became the new masters of the Abyss by overthrowing the Obiris's rule. As for the demons whose very species names have been lost, they are said to be the purest natives born under the chaotic laws of the Abyss, refusing to submit to the rule of any one faction.
The fact that these three demons can coexist peacefully can only be explained by one thing—it's a conspiracy by the gods. Well, this just confirms Casalos's speculation once again.
The appearance of the Abyss Lords immediately changed the course of the battle.
Under some kind of restraining force, the fleeing demons suddenly stopped, their madness replaced by a deeper fear. They began to regroup, their movements still chaotic, but at least they had a direction.
The female, six-armed serpent lord of the abyss hovered in the air, her six weapons gleaming deadly in the sunlight. Her voice was like the hiss of a venomous snake: "Foolish mortals, do you think you can easily conquer the armies of the abyss?"
The Blood Demon of Purgatory was even more direct, swinging its battering ram-like fist and smashing it into the nearest steel golem.
boom!
The collision of metal and flesh produced physical effects defying common sense. The two-hundred-ton war machine was shattered by a single punch, its flying debris carving deep furrows into the ground. Even more terrifying, the wreckage, now embedded in the ground and finally brought to a stop, began to emit eerie red steam, its metal corroding at a visible rate.
"Be careful! Their attacks have a corrosive effect from the power of the abyss!" Elasdra immediately warned, his staff emitting a silver glow as protective barriers were erected around the Deepwater army.
But at that moment, Cyric, who had been frantically slaughtering low-level demons, suddenly stopped.
The elderly lost dragon slowly turned its head, and its eyes, which should have been devoid of reason, suddenly blazed with an unprecedented hunger. It stared intently at the three abyss lords who had just appeared, like a ravenous beast spotting its most delicious prey.
"roar--"
A dragon's roar, filled with the aura of death, resounded through the sky. Cyric abandoned his slaughter of the lower demons, his massive body transforming into a shadow that flickered in and out of existence, as he lunged straight at the nearest giant demon.
"Damn it!" Casalos cursed inwardly. The feedback from the Pseudo-Laplace's Demon, as it continued to calculate based on the collected information, had given an even worse possibility.
Although these three abyss lords lost their godlike power after leaving the abyss, their essence still far surpasses that of ordinary demons. For Cyric, who needs to devour "nutrients" to maintain and enhance himself, they are practically walking divine supplements—this guy has been elevated to a pseudo-god with zero divine power by something.
Even a god with zero divine status is still a god, and is fundamentally different from mortals!
Without the slightest hesitation, the Iron Dragon's chaotic, amorphous form instantly transformed into a streak of light, piercing between Cyric and the Giant Skull Demon, executing a series of swift movements: wing slash, claw strike, tail sweep, and bite.
The enormous dragon wings, tail, claws, and head, all composed of elements, were covered in a greyish-white light, emanating a divine aura from the dragon god Chronips. Space itself seemed to crack under this power, as if being sliced by invisible blades.
Cyrek's charge was abruptly interrupted by a four-hit combo of shattering blows. It roared in fury, and the aura of death surged toward Casalos like a tidal wave. But the iron dragon, like an eel in water, used a barrel roll to break free from the straight-on grab, and seized the opportunity to unleash a burst of instantaneous breath at Cyrek's side, coating it with a scorching flame that was both disgusting and deadly.
boom!
Losing his balance in the searing pain, Cyric veered off course and missed the best opportunity to pounce on the giant skull demon.
"What are you doing?!" Storm Silverhand exploded in fury upon witnessing this, his long silver hair flying wildly. "That dragon is indeed in league with the Abyss Lord!"
Without a second thought, she charged toward Casalos with her sword, silver flames burning fiercely on the blade, determined to teach this "evil" iron dragon a lesson.
"That's enough, Sydney!"
Elminster's voice boomed like thunder, the old mage unusually enraged. With a wave of his hand, several magical chains appeared out of thin air, firmly binding the storm of impulse in place.
"Let me go! You senile old fool!" Storm roared, struggling. "Didn't you see? That damned iron dragon is protecting the Abyss Lord!"
"We have to help those damned abyss lords now!" Ilminster's words stunned everyone.
The ancient sage's expression was more solemn than ever before, and even his white beard trembled slightly. Just moments before, as he approached the massive portal to Hellgate, which led directly to the abyss, he received a magical message that only he could hear.
That was the voice of his mentor, one of the most powerful beings in Faerûn, Mystra's most favored chosen one, the chief high elf mage of Mystron, the moon elf Serinshi. "Mei ne ne ne, you're in the air, you're in the forest, you're not here..."
"You little rascal, things are worse than you think." Shirinshi's voice rang directly in his mind, filled with an anxiety Ilminster had never felt before. "I'm trying to close the portal on this side of the abyss, but…"
"The godlike power of the three Abyss Lords is flowing into the Material Plane in a bizarre way, preventing this portal from being closed. And on your side, something is frantically drawing upon this power. If my senses are not mistaken..."
The moon elf's voice paused, as if confirming some terrible fact.
"That's a lost dragon attempting to ignite a divine flame! It's using the Abyss Lord's godlike power as nourishment for its ascension to godhood! Elminster, you must stop it, at all costs!"
"I don't know what happened in the Material Plane, I don't know why there's a lost dragon with divine power in the Material Plane, and I don't know why three Abyss Lords with godlike power were delivered to its mouth. All I know is that if it successfully devours even one Abyss Lord, it will immediately cross the threshold of demigodhood. And if it devours all three Abyss Lords..."
Shirinshi's voice became more serious than ever before: "A new Death Dragon God will be born, a Death Dragon God who flies freely through the Prime Material Plane, filled with malice towards the entire world! At that time, not only Faerûn, but the entire planet Toril will be plunged into eternal silence!"
Elminster, however, had no time to explain these things to the others. He could only maintain control of the storm while shouting, "Listen up, everyone! We absolutely cannot let that lost dragon devour any of the Abyss Lords! This is a matter of life and death for the entire world!"
"What?" Elasdra was the first to react; the High Lady of Silvermoon City immediately understood the gravity of the situation. "You mean that lost dragon..."
"It is attempting to become a god," Elminster stated succinctly, "and those three abyss lords are the cornerstones of its divinity."
The news exploded like a thunderbolt in everyone's hearts. Godhood—a height countless beings dreamed of but could never reach, the source of countless calamities for Faerûn. And now, a crazed, lost dragon was achieving this goal by devouring abyssal lords.
"Damn it." Rake cursed, immediately changing the target of his spell. The spell, originally intended to strike the Abyss Lord, was redirected, transforming into chains of binding energy that entangled Cyric.
But things unfolded in a far more chaotic way than anyone had imagined.
The three Abyss Lords clearly wouldn't appreciate the group's "good intentions." In their eyes, these insects from the Prime Material Plane were nothing more than another group of foolish beings attempting to challenge the Abyss's authority.
The giant skull demon was the first to attack. Its enormous head suddenly split open, revealing countless tentacles inside. Each tentacle ended in a small mouth filled with sharp teeth, and they chanted blasphemous incantations madly.
A magical annihilation zone, tens of meters in diameter, instantly unfolded, covering most of the battlefield. Within this area, all magic became extremely unstable.
While casting the spell, Toothshaker suddenly felt its magic being sucked away by something, and the spell model it had painstakingly constructed instantly collapsed. Worse still, the collapsed magic did not dissipate, but was absorbed by the giant skull demon and became part of its body.
"Damn Obiris!" The Archmage Fang Dragon had no choice but to immediately cut off his magic supply, retreating in a sorry state, preparing to attempt a close-quarters attack.
The six-armed serpent demon set her sights on Casaloz. In her eyes, this elemental dragon, shrouded in the aura of fate that the Tanaris loathed, was the greatest threat. What made her even more eager was that this elemental dragon had just single-handedly burned nearly half of the demon army, and its magical power was in a state of dormancy, making it difficult to draw upon, and it was at its weakest.
As the Serpent Demon swung her arm, six abyssal weapons appeared in the north of Casalos, following the precise teleportation she casually cast. Each strike touched the dragon's elemental shell at the most accurate moment, every movement flawless.
However, as if foreseeing all of this, Casalos transformed into lightning and leaped onto Cyrek's back before the six-armed serpent's weapon could truly touch him. While dodging the six-armed serpent's attacks and guarding against Cyrek's counterattack, it delivered another three fiery blows to the Death Hunter.
Although the lost dragon had gone mad, its fighting instincts were even more terrifying. It constantly sought opportunities to bypass Casalos and pounce on the three "delicious" abyss lords.
The Blood Demon's approach was the simplest and most brutal: it charged directly into the Deepwater Territory's army. Each punch could flatten a steel golem, and each stomp could shatter large swathes of ground. Even more terrifying was the blood mist swirling around it, seeping into the bodies of demons within a 500-foot radius, making them even more ferocious and bloodthirsty. The previously scattered demon army even began to counterattack.
27. A complete mess
The clash of steel against flesh echoed like an apocalyptic elegy above Hellgate Fortress. The legions of Deepwater Territory faced a brutal reality—when the enemy transformed into a Deep Lord possessing near-divine power, all advantages became utterly futile.
A tracked steel golem attempted to smash Crimson Calamity's knee with its enchanted warhammer, a tactic that had proven effective against Balrogs, but only earned it a disdainful sneer. The Infernal Blood Demon didn't even lower its head; a casual kick shattered the two-hundred-ton war machine into twisted scrap metal. Molten blood seeped from the cracks in its skin, melting even the adamantite armor in its wake.
"Maintain formation! Alternate fire!" the half-dragon commander roared, trying to maintain order in his troops. The dragon-vein kobolds skillfully wielded their dragon strikers, unleashing a torrential downpour of scorching energy projectiles. However, these attacks, powerful enough to tear apart a six-armed serpent demon, were like raindrops falling on rocks, having no effect other than creating a few sparks on the Infernal Blood Demon.
The young cobalt dragon Azukmizes launched a surprise attack from the side, force fields rippling across its blue scales. Its dragon breath—a force field impact capable of distorting space—slammed head-on into the Crimson Calamity, yet only managed to make the abyss lord sway slightly. The nickel dragon Lanmuloyk roared as it pounced from the other side, its sharp claws leaving shallow marks on the abyss lord's skin before being burned by its molten blood.
The dragons circled high in the sky, their war songs transforming into tangible sonic attacks, attempting to disrupt the abyss lord's senses. But faced with an absolute disparity in power, even the most exquisite sound magic proved powerless.
The Thinker's quadruple aura still enveloped the battlefield, keeping every Deepsea warrior at their peak. The Tidecaller's war song never ceased, the magical amplification making attacks that could barely penetrate demon resistance even more lethal. But before the Abyss Lord's absolute power, these enhancements were merely turning ants into slightly stronger ants.
"Damn it!" a starcraft construct pilot gritted his teeth, his starcraft fighter barely maintaining its balance amidst the fiery shockwaves unleashed by Crimson Calamity. "This monster's power is simply beyond our capabilities!"
Indeed. The difference between a Pit Lord and an ordinary demon is like the difference between a dragon and a lizard. Worse still, Hellgate, as the Pit Lord's bridgehead in the Prime Material Plane, is itself filled with a dense abyssal aura. Under this "home advantage," the three Pit Lords receive an additional boost to their power, while the beings of the Prime Material Plane must constantly resist that evil force that corrodes their souls.
The professional training, iron will, and overwhelming equipment superiority of the Deepwater Territory army are all advantages. However, all these advantages vanish in the face of the vast difference in individual power. A single Abyss Lord can reverse the tide—the scale of the Dragon Territory is ultimately limited, and the productivity of the Deepwater Territory has not yet been fully unleashed. Those war machines that rely on the crystallization of the collective power of society and can reverse the power of individuals still need time to find the fertile ground to emerge.
Considering the existence of the "restraining force," this timeframe may exceed the dragon's life cycle. Putting aside other factors, things like the Miser Core are currently forbidden to manufacture. Even though the positions of Goddess of Magic are currently held by Isis and Midnight.
God is merely the one who performs divine duties.
"roar--"
Casalos let out a deep, majestic dragon roar—an unquestionable command. The Deepwater Territory's army reacted immediately—not by retreating, but by maneuvering to the flanks. The construct legions split into two torrents, bypassing the Abyss Lords' battle zone, and continued their encirclement and annihilation of the other demonic armies.
The well-trained Deepwater army reacted immediately. The construct legions began an orderly retreat, and the Dragonvein Warlocks deployed short-range teleportation arrays to prioritize the evacuation of the wounded. The half-dragon warriors formed a rearguard line, using concentrated firepower to temporarily suppress the restless demon horde. The altazines swept low overhead, clearing demon gathering points with their breath. The dragons adjusted the frequency of their war songs, no longer attempting to influence the Abyss Lord, but instead focusing their buffs on the clearing forces.
The army split to both sides like a tidal wave, a maneuver executed so perfectly that it maintained astonishing discipline even amidst the chaos of the battlefield. This is the difference between a professional army and a rabble—they do not crumble in fear, but rather transform fear into more precise execution.
The Crimson Calamity noticed its prey's escape, and a chaotic light flickered in its eyes, which burned with hellfire. The infernal blood demon raised its battering ram-like fist, preparing to smash the fleeing "insects" to pieces. The power of the abyss coalesced around it, the air distorted by the intense heat, and even the rubble on the ground began to melt.
But just then, a colorful stream of light descended from the sky.
Casalos reacted even faster than the Abyss Lord, abandoning its entanglement with Cyrek and the Queen of the Thousand Blades, its massive elemental body crashing towards Crimson Calamity like a meteor. The chaotic elemental forces compressed and spun during its rapid descent, forming a high-density vortex of chaotic elements.
boom!
The collision happened in the blink of an eye, and the entire battlefield trembled.
Casalos's four elemental bodies collided head-on with Crimson Calamity's lava fist. The resulting shockwave blew everything within a hundred meters away, sending debris and storms swirling around. The crater at the point of impact rapidly expanded, and cracks spread outwards like a spider web.
"An interesting crawler." For the first time, Crimson Calamity looked directly at Casalos. The misplaced word order in the Abyss language, translated directly into Common, roared like a volcanic eruption. "Challenge, you dare to face the Abyss Lord head-on. You are the first."
Casalos did not respond; the charge was merely a feint. Its attention was entirely focused on guiding the four higher elements merged with itself to construct a complex magical structure. Under the control of the four elemental lords, the four fundamental elements began to flow according to mysterious laws—the fury of fire was tempered by the suppleness of water, and the solidity of earth was activated by the agility of the wind. This was not a simulation of the application of the magic network in regulating the elemental forces of the inner realm to construct the material world.
Seven-colored light enveloped Casaloz and gathered at the tips of every elemental wing of the Abyss Lord, transforming into a seven-colored sphere of light that fell toward the Abyss Lord.
"Me, bound?" The Blood Demon of Purgatory laughed maniacally. "You, with your elemental tricks? How laughable!"
It swung its fist at the seven-colored orb of light, preparing to shatter it with pure violence. But the orb suddenly expanded the moment it touched it, transforming into a giant rainbow bubble that completely enveloped the Crimson Calamity.
This is an independent elemental space. Within this space, the four basic elements circulate at high speed according to the rules set by Casalos, forming a near-perfect dynamic balance.
The Crimson Calamity angrily swung its fists, its power—enough to shatter a mountain under normal circumstances—like a baby's fist hitting cotton, all its force absorbed and dispersed by the supple elemental structure. What infuriated it even more was that each attack only made the cage more secure.
"How long can this hold it?" A voice rang out in the mind connection.
"Thirty seconds at most," Casalos answered truthfully, taking a deep breath at the same time.
call--
Crimson flames, crackling with electricity, surged forth like a tide, piercing through the elemental cage as if nothing were there, covering the abyss lord's massive body, and hanging the blazing flames that ignored all resistances and immunity, burning its very essence upon it.
For the first time, the Crimson Calamity let out a painful roar. As a blood demon of purgatory, it should have been immune to all fire damage, but the bizarre nature of the flames was beyond its comprehension. The dim, almost invisible flames spread across its body, greedily devouring the life essence of the abyss lord—if they could even be considered a form of life.
Immediately afterward, Casalos changed direction, his massive body transforming into pure lightning in an instant. With an unreasonable magical trajectory, he traversed the barriers of time and space, appearing on another battlefield—the three-way battleground between Cyric, the Thousand Blade Queen, and the Lord of Curses.
Having just escaped Casalos's clutches, Cyric's attention was now completely focused on the "delicious" abyss lord before him. This lost dragon was currently in an extremely strange state; the aura of death emanated from it as if it were a tangible substance, forming an ever-expanding domain of death. Any creature that stepped into this domain would feel its life force rapidly draining away.
However, for the Abyss Lords who also wield the power of blasphemy, this level of death corruption is not fatal.
Cyric vanished suddenly, reappearing behind the Thousand Blade Queen. His massive maw, filled with sharp teeth, opened, ready to bite off his prey's head. But the Six-Armed Serpent Demon, befitting her status as one of the most skilled melee-oriented Tanaris demons in the Abyss, reacted with godlike combat instincts the instant Cyric appeared, instantly appearing a hundred meters away. Cyric's teeth only managed to bite into a wisp of Abyssal mist.
But the Lost Dragon was undeterred. It switched to Shadowstep, its entire body merging into the shadows, like a black light chasing its prey. An invisible shockwave of psionic energy spread from the shadows, and all creatures affected felt a deep, bone-chilling exhaustion. This fundamental weakening of life caused the Thousand Blade Queen's movements to slow noticeably for a moment, and that momentary opening was fatal.
An even more terrifying mental attack followed. Cyric's consciousness, corrupted by the River Styx, slammed into the six-armed serpent demon's mental defenses like a battering ram. Even a will at the level of an Abyss Lord couldn't help but experience a brief moment of disorientation when faced with such a mental attack. (The last two lines appear to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated text.)
The third spell effect stacked on top. This was an extremely vicious curse, capable of amplifying all the pain the target suffered. Combined with the other negative effects previously inflicted by Cyric, the Thousand Blades Queen experienced for the first time what it meant to "live a life worse than death."
The key is that all of Cyric's attacks deliberately avoided vital points. It needed live prey, only then could it draw upon the abyss's essence—the godlike power bestowed upon the abyss—through the living "channel" of the Abyss Lord. This cruel hunting method reveals that the Lost Dragon's desire for godhood had reached a pathological level.
"Damn mad dragon!" The Thousand Blade Queen finally erupted.