Chapter 2446: Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao
To say divine soldiers descended from the heavens would be inaccurate; “demonic soldiers” would be more fitting. Countless demons appeared within the Lord of the City’s mansion, their forms grotesque and twisted, clearly indicating they were vicious creatures.
There were small, ferocious Succubi, winged Banshees, four-armed, horned servants of Baal, imposing and burly servant demons, and Baphomets with goat-like hooves and horns, their hind legs unnaturally bent like the Mother of Evil.
These were mere cannon fodder. There were also a few rare and powerful demons, such as those standing four meters tall, hunched over with shoulders almost parallel to their heads, their hands bound by a long whip that seemed to grow from their bodies.
These demons were called Warlords, middle-tier commanders among demons. It took a significant amount of my Magic Power to summon just a few. For this rescue operation, I had summoned almost every type of demon under King of Destruction Baal.
“What’s happening? Demons! Ah!” A staff officer shouted, only to be impaled through the chest from behind by a sharp blade, dying instantly.
An incalculable number of demons materialized in the command center. Their first act was to hurl fireballs at the tactical sand table, obliterating the real-time battlefield simulation. Then, they raised their blades and began a slaughter of all living beings around them.
“How can this be?!” An officer, who had been leisurely sipping red wine moments before, was startled. He reacted swiftly, smashing his wine glass into the face of an approaching demon before grabbing the bottle and smashing it onto the head of another that lungled at him.
The demons’ appearance was so sudden that many didn’t even have time to grab their weapons before being attacked. Quite a few middle-tier commanders and staff officers, despite their personal strength, were killed directly by demons due to their delayed reactions.
However, some knights, with their extraordinary strength, wrapped their hands in Magic Power and directly punched the demons, breaking a demon’s nose with a single blow.
Soon, the responding commanders drew their Sabers and swords, engaging in fierce combat with the demons. Once they were prepared, the demons’ strength was not as intimidating. At least, one-on-one, any of them could defeat a demon.
However, I had amassed a great many demons this time, over a thousand. Dropping them all into the Lord of the City’s mansion from such a distance was only possible thanks to the locating charm on the Knight Captain. Although it was a shame for him, I decided not to inform him of this fact.
These demons rampaged through the Lord of the City’s mansion, engaging with the guards and causing widespread destruction. They couldn’t be eliminated in a short time, and their numbers were far too great for the currently depleted mansion.
“Damn it! Why are there suddenly so many demons! Charge in!” The Knight Captain shouted, leading the guards back into the mansion. He was incredibly brave, felling two to three demons with a single sword strike. But as he looked up, he saw that the demons had already started setting fires within the mansion.
Watching the Lord of the City’s mansion begin to emit smoke, I commanded all the summoned demons through my Main body: “None of you are to lay a hand on that leading knight in the Steam Armor. Furthermore, do not focus on killing; prioritize destruction.”
I then turned my gaze toward Falbedy Cemetery. The interruption of command had not yet affected the lower-ranking soldiers on the battlefield, but the middle-tier commanders on the scene had begun to sense that something was amiss.
Their communication with the command center was suddenly cut off. When they opened the backup emergency channel, they were met with sounds of shouting, roars, and shrieks. They looked towards the Lord of the City’s mansion, where smoke was now rising.
“This is bad! The command center has been attacked!” A middle-tier commander immediately realized what had happened, his expression changing drastically.
“Impossible! Although the Lord of the City’s mansion has fewer troops, its defenses are formidable. Even if it were captured, it would take time. How could it have fallen without sending us a signal for help?” another commander exclaimed in disbelief.
Most of them were officers, and in this sudden crisis, they were unsure of how to proceed. One officer inquired, “Should we go to rescue the command center?”
“Who will go? Should we recall the Imperial Guards who have already entered, or divert troops from the surrounding encirclement? And who will lead them?” another officer questioned.
They were all under the unified command of the central headquarters. With the command center now compromised, they were momentarily unsure who would assume overall command.
According to general military theory, if contact with superiors cannot be established on the battlefield, the highest-ranking officer should take command. However, in this situation, there were three colonels of the highest rank, along with Royal Knights who were not under the command of the Imperial Guards, making it unclear who to follow.
As they were hastily discussing, flames were already leaping from the Lord of the City’s mansion. In a blink of an eye, the mansion was engulfed in a raging inferno, with even a few fireballs soaring into the sky and exploding.
“This is bad! The Lord of the City’s mansion has truly fallen! We must hurry back to rescue the Masters!” The middle-tier commanders set aside their disputes and jointly ordered the closest troops to begin moving towards the Lord of the City’s mansion.
In reality, while the Lord of the City’s mansion was in peril, it was far from having fallen. I had ordered the demons to prioritize setting fires everywhere to create a large spectacle, drawing their attention and causing the commanders to make mistakes in their haste and quickly dispatch reinforcements.
The Imperial Guards, who had already advanced into Falbedy Cemetery, were currently entangled in a fierce battle with the Undead and could not be immediately withdrawn. Therefore, only the reserve forces from the encirclement could be redirected. This resulted in the withdrawal of the Imperial Guards near the Lord of the City’s mansion, creating a gap.
But it wasn’t enough. That small gap could easily be filled by mobilizing nearby soldiers. I needed to apply more pressure, so a group of demons burst out from the Lord of the City’s mansion, directly confronting the returning soldiers.
These reserve troops from the encirclement were not as elite as the Imperial Guards; they were from the regular Standing Army. Seeing a group of ferocious demons charging out, they couldn’t help but tremble.
These demons’ raw strength might not have been exceptional, but they were incredibly fierce and fearless of death. They even dared to self-destruct if they couldn’t win, effectively blocking this sizable reinforcement force halfway and even injuring many soldiers.
The reason for this was that these demons were summoned to the Human Realm. For demons, being in the Human Realm was akin to humans entering the Dream World. Even if killed, it wasn’t true death, merely a return to the void or Hell.
As the saying goes, the stubborn fear the fierce, and the fierce fear those who risk their lives. Facing these demons who valued nothing more than their mission, even these well-equipped and individually stronger armies found it difficult to prevail. After all, humans fear, but demons do not.
“Damn it! This is the demon army of King of Destruction Demon! And that is another Avatar of the Lord of Murder! He is still wreaking havoc upon the world!” One commander even recognized the source of these demons.
