Even as we defended the Hel Dungeon from the front, the Moran Dungeon held strong against their own enemies. As expected, Mystic Demonic Divine had dispatched a large contingent to assault the gates of the Moran Dungeon, but the defenses there were more than enough to hold them off.
However, such were their numbers that they were embroiled in a stalemate for the time being, unable to send any reinforcements to help the crisis at the Hel Dungeon.
And crisis it was, for the fourth wave was nothing like we had ever seen.
"So he's finally leading the demonic troops in person."
I couldn't help but shake my head somberly when I caught sight of the imposing figure of Mystic Demonic Divine. As expected, he possessed an intimidating figure, almost four meters in height and was all muscle. His red flesh pulsed with black tattoos, and his aura was so dense it actually seemed solid as it wreathed his bulk. In one hand, he wielded a sickle or a scythe, which he swept to cut away laser beams and mana projectiles. I had fired an arrow at him, but he simply swatted it away with contemptuous ease.
He reminded me of a Bloodthirster, or perhaps even a Daemon Primarch. One who was an elemental force of fury, immortal and wholly destructive. There was nothing we mortals could do against him, and even the specialized Daemon Hunters in the form of a highly secretive chapter full of psykers were unable to banish him.
Cough. Wrong universe. I mean, he appeared to be an elemental force of nature, demonic wrath condensed into a human form. The only thing he was missing were wings, or he would remind me of a demonic red angel. No, a grim reaper, holding his scythe like that and sporting ominous black tattoos that reminded me of an endless void.
I knew that to send my Pumpkin Wraiths against him were to be suicide. They would be no match for him. Hell, I doubted my Elder Tree Revenant could fight against him. They might both be Earth ranked, but he was on a completely different level. It wasn't just the matter of peak versus advanced or the amount of qi or whatever, but his combat experience was greater than that of any of my summoned spirit beasts. Experience, skills, wits…all of these added up.
"Damn it!" Angus growled in frustration when Mystic Demonic Divine slashed away a well-aimed laser blast from his battery. "If we could just shoot him down!"
"No point aiming at him. Clear out the demons around him. Reduce as many of the enemy as possible so that when they eventually breach the wall, there won't be as many soldiers to support their invasion."
"You think they'll breach the walls of our fortress?" Angus asked, glancing at me angrily.
"Yeah. It's inevitable. I don't think all of the artillery, barriers and spirit arrays will be able to stop Mystic Demonic Divine."
I was right. The fourth wave was the largest and most likely the last one. Having ascertained the gaps in our defenses and exploited blind spots in our lanes of fire, Mystic Demonic Divine himself took to the field, leading the charge. He continued to swing his scythes in long, sweeping blows, destroying the spells and projectiles that were blasted from Sylvie and Silvia's spirit arrays, and the dwarves' guns and cannons.
Even so, he wasn't a god. His presence alone wasn't going to guarantee victory for the Mystic Demon Sect. Only the area around him was safe, but the fourth wave was decimated by the immense firepower that the dwarves brought to bear, their cannons and rifles bombarding the demons and cutting them in mass numbers. This was it. The dwarves were bad at close combat, so the moment the demonic cultivators and their monstrous allies got in close and dragged them into melee, it would be a one-sided slaughter.
Einhard must have realized this, for he had close combat shock troops geared up for this. Phalanxes of shield bearers stood in front of the gates, their axes and hammers raised in anticipation. They might not be able to win against the demonic cultivators who specialized in close combat, but they would buy enough time and stall the enemy so that their riflemen brethren wouldn't be routed.
"Big bro," Jun Hai called out. "It's probably time."
"Yeah." I nodded, realizing how close Mystic Demonic Divine was. They had crossed through the no-man's land, albeit at a colossal cost of lives, but still a significant number of demonic cultivators had reached the walls, crashing against the barriers. The great host passed through the barriers that were meant to stop high speed projectiles and spells, slamming against the walls and crawling at the reinforced metal. Great beasts slashed with claws, gouging out layers of paint and leaving rent scars on the surface. The more humanoid demonic cultivators swung with their axes, blades, spears and other variety of weapons, relentlessly cutting apart the walls with repeated blows.
There didn't appear to be any order or coordination, just berserk strikes that chipped away at the walls. Normally, this wouldn't be a concern, as the dwarven riflemen from the above towers and ramparts continued to pour down a rain of lasers or spells that drained the wielders of their mana as they sought to supply their gradually overheating rifles with ammunition. More of the demonic cultivators were scythed down, holes burned into their heads and chests from the disciplined, precise volleys of dwarven riflemen.
But so great was the host that each foe slain was only a drop in an unending sea. The tide of madmen and crazed killers continued to hurl themselves at the slowly crumbling walls, determined to batter their way in and drag the defenders down, gorging in their blood, sucking their qi or essence, and strengthening their demonic cultivation through sacrifice and death.
The one worry that I had finally materialized, for Mystic Demonic Divine himself reached the gates. With a roar, he smashed it open with a single sweep of his scythe. The reinforced material, built to withstand a direct barrage from a Titan's cannons…cough, I mean a Titan Golem's flaming fists, began to buckle and caved in.
Within a few blows, Mystic Demonic Divine carved the gates open, cutting it apart with his enchanted scythe, as if he was peeling back skin from a mandarin orange.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Angus bellowed at the impossible sight, his eyes widening. The fire from the dwarves faltered as they saw their supposedly impregnable fortress breached in less than a minute by a being with a spirit scythe.
"As expected of an Ultimate Evil," I muttered, and then I yelled at the stunned dwarves. "Keep firing! It's not over yet! Leave Mystic Demonic Divine to me! You guys take care of the enemies! You don't want your home to fall, right?!"
"You heard him!" Angus shouted, snapping out of his stupor. "This is our home, and yet our guest is the one fighting the hardest! Go!"
"Brace!" Einhard ordered his shock troops, and they raised their shields, marching forward to meet the tide of blood-crazed host of demonic cultivators that flung themselves into the Hel Dungeon, eager to rush inside now that their lord ad opened the gates for them. Mystic Demonic Divine himself turned to face the dwarven troops, his scythe swinging toward them. Given that he had just split the gate open in a few blows, I was under no illusion that those shields would be able to withstand a single hit from him.
Fortunately, before his scythe could cleave through the first line of the dwarves, an azure arrow surged toward him. Mystic Demonic Divine turned and cut the arrow down before turning to glare at me. He cocked his head to the side, studying me.
"You," he began. I wondered if he knew I was the one who killed his sister, Murderous Crow, but most likely, he didn't. It was not like anyone knew about that. And I certainly didn't brag about it. Mystic Demonic Divine, however, appeared more amused. "You are not a dwarf. A hired mercenary, perhaps?"
"Not really. Just a friend."
"A friend, huh?" Mystic Demonic Divine snorted. "Then you can die alongside your 'friends.'"
My reply was another arrow. As he cut down my second arrow, my Titan Golem materialized behind him and swung both flaming fists down. To my utter shock, Mystic Demonic Divine simply raised his free hand and stopped the volcanic punches, demonic aura coursing through his body and forming a pseudo-barrier.
Xiao Huo and Xiao Huo Long fired flamethrowers from the flanks while he was still stopping my Titan Golem's punches, but he swept his scythe around and sliced the flames apart. Embers rained down his body, but didn't even scorch his red flesh. If anything, he appeared more amused by our efforts than anything.
"Not bad," he said. "You almost caught me off guard…"
He never got to finish his sentence. Nine golden beams slammed into him, just as my Titan Golem lumbered away. The latter had to rely on his incredible defense to endure the secondary shockwaves of the explosion, but Mystic Demonic Divine was hurled away, his body smoldering.
He dug his scythe onto the ground and skidded to a stop, grunting in pain. As he righted himself, he glanced up just in time to see Hei Ba pounce on him, the Abyssal Hydra's nine heads striking in tandem. He beheaded one of the nine heads in a single blow, but then vanished under the writhing, serpentine heads that bit and gnashed and attempted to tear him into pieces so that they could devour him. While they continued thrashing about, the head that was cut off began to regenerate swiftly before it returned to the fight.
There was another blast of demonic qi and Mystic Demonic Divine managed to cut off three heads with a couple of lethal strokes from his scythe. Even so, Hei Ba continued to pound him with his remaining jaws and claws, dark pulses battering his beleaguered form.
While my summoned spirit beasts fought, I was vaguely aware of the situation. There was a young looking lady with similar tattoos on her face, but she was fighting against Myria. My fiancée was using her water whip sword against the lady, who calmly fought back with what looked like black and white beads.
"Oh? Wei Qi?" Myria looked around when the lady set up a spirit array that took the form of a Wei Qi chessboard. "I've heard of the game, but I've never played it before."
"Allow me to teach you," the lady responded. Her voice was surprisingly gentle, and there was no killing intent. Unlike most of the crazed, bloodthirsty demonic cultivators around us, she appeared to have preserved her sanity. She bowed her head respectfully. "I am Mystic Tian Yuan. Personally, I do not like indulging in this…madness, but my uncle has requested a favor from me, and so I am obligated to answer."
Her uncle was none other than Mystic Demonic Divine.
"I am Myria Poseidon, and as a form of respect, I will go all out against you."
"I expect nothing less."
As both ladies clashed, other battles continued to rage. Sylvie and Silvia were manipulating the spirit arrays and sending spirit swords, fireballs, lightning and other elemental projectiles against the tide of demonic cultivators, supported by my aquatic armada of Little Anglers, Lantern Fishes, Lantern Sharks and my Lantern Whale. I had also sent my Guardian Golems, Twig Turtles, Grove Turtles, Terra Tortoises, Phantom Stumps, Ghost Pumpkins, Tree Revenants, Pumpkin Wraiths and Elder Tree Revenant in support of the dwarves who were now embroiled in desperate melee and forced to shoot pointblank into the demonic cultivators chopping them up. Already, the death toll seemed high, and I could see a few shields on the ground, their bearers having fallen after being hacked apart.
Jun Hai was leading my Mud Fishes, Marsh Striders and Swamp Stompers with his own Swamp Lord, as well as his own summoned spirit beasts like his Violent Salamander and Steel Tri-horn. He was assisting Einhard and his surviving shock troops in driving away a large detachment of berserk demonic cultivators who were pressing them hard at the broken gate, attempting to limit the number of enemies pouring in even now.
Fortunately, I could see something happening beyond. The were-beasts had chosen to strike now, and the rearguard of the enemy was in disarray. As long as we could hold the line here, the were-beasts would be able to crush the enemy between us.
Unfortunately, that meant defeating Mystic Demonic Divine, which wasn't an easy task to accomplish. As if to prove my point, the subdued body of Hei Ba was sent hurtling, his massive form demolishing a tower as he crashed into it, sending shocked dwarves toppling into the debris and being buried underneath. With only one head left, the beleaguered figure of Hei Ba slowly vanished back into the Abyssal Cavern in my dungeon.
"That was a good warmup," Mystic Demonic Divine remarked as he stepped forward, pressing one hand against his neck and massaging it. He turned toward my Titan Golem, Xiao Huo and Xiao Huo Long before smirking. "So who's next?"