Ch.225Chapter 225: Age of Chaos (9)

# Chapter 225: Age of Chaos (9)

On the outskirts of the Great Forest, Western Continent.

The endless waves of the Continental Alliance Army, numbering in the hundreds of thousands or even millions, stretched as far as the eye could see.

Led by the Imperial Army of the Harken Empire, the united forces of kingdoms and duchies that had recovered from civil wars marched toward the massive forest with their banners flying high.

The empire’s most powerful legions exuded iron discipline and overwhelming might, while the allied forces of each kingdom strengthened their resolve against Amhoe, their common enemy.

Though tension was evident on the soldiers’ faces, their morale—bolstered by the Emperor’s speech—and their faith in their comrades suppressed their fear.

Everyone knew this was not merely a war, but a holy crusade against evil.

At the front, a massive magitek mobile fortress housing the alliance headquarters displayed its imposing presence.

Inside the fortress’s top-level operations room, the continent’s greatest generals gathered to coordinate the final attack plan.

They intended to surround the Western Great Forest and launch an all-out assault on the city serving as Amhoe’s headquarters.

On the map, Amhoe’s base was marked by an intense magical energy signature.

This dense magical energy emanated from deep within the forest, staining the sky a dark crimson.

The ominous and evil aura, perceptible even from a distance, kept not only the soldiers but even veteran officers on high alert.

Mages operated magical detection arrays at maximum capacity, monitoring the speed of magical energy dispersion.

The influence of this magic would grow stronger once they entered the forest.

Their objective was to completely surround Amhoe’s city, annihilate their infamous forces, and prevent whatever sinister plan was unfolding there.

Victory seemed within reach, but the unsettling energy emanating from deep within the forest kept everyone on edge until the very end.

The Emperor steeled himself.

‘We have millions of troops. They cannot possibly stop us. Those Amhoe bastards. I’ll leave not even a single hair of them behind.’

This was an unprecedented continental alliance.

No force in this world could withstand such an army.

That’s how it should have been.

***

In the heart of Amhoe’s massive city, deep within the Great Forest.

At the ritual altar located at the epicenter of the ominous site where magical energy soared skyward, the demon summoning ritual was entering its final stage.

A massive magical apparatus glowed crimson-black, emitting horrific noise. At its center was a demonic summoning device—modified from the Life Water storage core stolen from Geruntia—combined with various artifacts in bizarre configurations, emanating sinister power.

Around the device, the soul energy of the poor who had been “purified” over decades was forcibly extracted, twisted, refined, and burned like crimson-black flames.

These agonizing energies flowed into the device, becoming the terrible medium to open a gateway to another world.

“Beautiful.”

“Indeed, Master.”

The Master, the General, and Amhoe’s high-ranking officials gathered around the altar to witness the ritual’s success.

Their faces showed a mixture of tension and certainty of victory.

The magical apparatus enveloping the entire city reached its peak, violently distorting space.

The laws of the physical world began to collapse, revealing the terrible truths of the other realm.

The General reported to the Master:

“Master, the vanguard of the allied forces has reached the outer defensive line of the Great Forest. Their forces number in the millions, and the time until they begin their attack is… only a few hours.”

The Master nodded.

His eyes were filled with satisfaction.

“Huhuhuh, that’s plenty of time, General. Before those ignorant humans reach the culmination of our plan… everything will be over.”

The ritual proceeded perfectly.

The results of decades of purification, artifacts gathered from across the continent, and the core component brought from Geruntia—everything was fulfilling its purpose. It was time to open the gate.

“Begin the ritual.”

At the Master’s command, the ritual commenced.

A horrific scene unfolded at the ritual altar.

Crimson-black magical energy drawn from deep underground swirled violently around the altar.

Within that magical energy were hundreds of thousands of small, distorted flames, and one could almost hear faint screams echoing.

[AAAAARRRGGHHH!!]

[Save me!!]

[KYAAAAAAAAAHHH!!]

The soul energy of those who had disappeared from the slums—these painful crystallizations were now burning as fuel for the demon summoning.

The artifacts amplified this terrible energy and concentrated it in one place, forcibly opening an ominous passage connecting reality to the other realm.

Eerie incantations resonated in low tones, further distorting space. A suffocating aura of evil converged, seeming to devour all light.

There were no anomalies.

There were no heroes.

The ritual was completed smoothly.

And finally, the demon summoning ritual was complete.

***

KWAAAAAAAAAANG—-!!!!

A tearing sound erupted above Amhoe’s massive city.

The enormous dimensional gate—the “Gate of Hell”—connecting the physical world to the other realm began to open.

The sky turned crimson-black, and within the distorted space, a massive, ominous vortex appeared.

The center of the vortex was black as an abyss, but around its edges, crimson-black magical energy and the blazing flames of hell mixed to emit a ghastly radiance.

The visual impact was beyond imagination. It seemed as if the laws of nature were screaming as they collapsed.

Seeing this, one soldier trembled and muttered:

“Is… is this the apocalypse…?”

Simultaneously, a terrible noise shook heaven and earth.

An unpleasant mechanical sound like grinding metal, screams as if tens of thousands were wailing in unison, and a massive roar that seemed capable of devouring everything erupted from beyond the Gate of Hell.

It was a powerful and evil noise that could not be blocked even by covering one’s ears.

Sensory shock followed.

The energy emanating from the Gate of Hell was contradictory—extreme cold and scorching heat felt simultaneously.

A pungent, disgusting smell assaulted the nostrils, and a pure evil aura that seemed to crush the mind by its very existence spread as if to cover the entire continent.

The Emperor, too, felt uneasy.

There was no way they could lose with these forces.

He tried to raise the morale of the command:

“Don’t be afraid! This is just the enemy’s obvious trick! This kind of magical energy is nothing against our overwhelming forces—”

However… no one was listening to the Emperor.

Before the Emperor could finish speaking.

From far away, beyond the opened “Gate of Hell,” from the abyss…

The demons finally revealed themselves.

“KYAHAAAK!!”

The first to appear were black-scaled demons with massive wings.

They passed through the gate, emanating power as terrible as their appearance.

Following them came four-legged demons with sharp claws and teeth, disgusting insect-like demons, shadow demons wielding sinister scythes, and more… demons with unimaginably terrible and bizarre forms began to pour out endlessly.

Their eyes flashed with pure destructive desire and madness, devoid of any intelligence.

The first demons to set foot on the ground immediately began destroying everything around them.

They clawed the ground with massive talons and spewed sinister magical energy or acidic liquid from their mouths.

Wherever they moved, the trees of the Great Forest withered and rotted, and the shadow of magical energy grew darker.

Their overwhelming power and cruelty seemed to surpass even Master-level powerhouses.

And the scale… from beyond the Gate of Hell, demons poured out endlessly like a massive waterfall.

Tens, hundreds, thousands… an overwhelming number of demon legions with no end in sight began to descend upon the continent.

It was truly an unbelievable demon army. A scale and power unimaginable to human armies.

News of the opening of the Gate of Hell and the demons’ descent spread instantly to surrounding areas.

Even some agents within Amhoe’s city expressed shock at the sight.

Some had not expected what they were summoning to be this terrible, powerful, and massive in scale.

But the faces of the Master, the General, and the high officials still showed only satisfaction and fanatical conviction.

They believed this was the result of their grand plan to “purify” the world and bring about the “descent.”

The allied forces marching toward Amhoe’s city on the outskirts of the Western Great Forest witnessed firsthand the opening of the Gate of Hell and the demons’ descent.

The ominous vortex tearing through the sky and the terrible demons pouring out below—the soldiers’ faces instantly changed from expectation of victory to unimaginable terror.

The enemy they now faced was no longer human.

Amhoe was merely a tool to open the gate.

Now the battle had fundamentally changed from ‘Humans vs. Amhoe’ to ‘Humans vs. Demons.’

All the continent’s forces had gathered to annihilate Amhoe, their enemy of decades, but what they now faced was a desperate fight for survival.

The demon legions had descended with the clear purpose of destroying the continent’s civilization and violating all life.

Before the endless demon legions pouring from the Gate of Hell and the terrible sight, a stark contrast unfolded between the human army—some paralyzed with fear, others desperately gripping their weapons for a final stand.

Some soldiers had already lost their will to fight and collapsed screaming, while some officers desperately issued orders trying to establish defensive lines.

Mages tried to counter the demons with every spell they knew, but they were often overwhelmed by the demons’ magical shroud and overwhelming power.

The continent’s terror and destruction had finally begun in the Western Great Forest.

Amhoe’s plan had succeeded, and the continent now faced a disaster beyond imagination.

In the face of this overwhelming sight, only the Emperor’s whisper echoed softly:

“How could humans do such a thing… Does this Master truly dream of the extinction of the human world…!”