Second World
chapter-1872

While the battle in Northern Palgrost had ended in defeat, the other fronts were still valiantly defending. In Southern Hydrurond, the two opposing sides were still heated in battle. Two defensive lines left before the Southern Hydrurond Front had to leave Hydrurond's territory and cross the border into Themisphere.

The defender's number here was still more than half compared to when they first engaged the underworld forces. This was due to the rune tree from the mobile fortress. The constant healing provided the troops with high survivability, especially those with high HP. This allowed them to put up fierce resistance throughout every defensive line.

The steady reinforcements from Themisphere also kept their number strong. Added by the aid from the Council of Elpo, which boasted many powerful natives, they could give the underworld forces a run for their money, even when the demon army was led by the strongest devil.

"Hah…!!" Satan gave Eoranth a slam using his hammer. The slam sent the dragon reeling to the side.

Hundreds of golden lightning streaked through the sky and struck Satan. These lightning strikes were unable to touch Satan's body, though, because runic symbols appeared all over his skin. These runic symbols formed a protective layer that stopped all attacks.

"Harharhar. We have been fighting for so long, and you are still holding back?" Satan said to Honuren, who had cast the golden lightning spell.

"… It's the same with you," Honuren returned.

"If I don't hold back, it will be all over by now. The remaining march will then be as boring as hell. Our battles at least give me something to be excited about. But I must say, this repeated clash is getting boring. Perhaps I have to force you to go all out."

Satan spit out a fire lance. The fire lance was very fast. Honuren only had the time to erect a magic shield to block the attack. He staggered from the impact. Satan already cast a spell by the time Honuren regained his balance. A giant flaming hand materialized near Honuren and attempted to grab him.

Honuren aimed his staff at the flaming hand. Lightning and light bombarded the flaming hand and kept it at bay.

While that happened, Satan charged forward. Eoranth tried chasing after Satan, but the flapping of Satan's wings generated flaming hurricanes that prevented Eoranth from getting near.

"Perhaps if I destroy that mobile fortress, you will go all out. Harhar!" Satan laughed as he flew toward the mobile fortress. The defenders tried to block his charge but were blown away by the fiery winds he generated.

A dark shadow suddenly came into Satan's path. Following the shadow was a huge black sword.

"Hm?" Satan swung his flaming hammer. It collided with the black sword. The black sword shattered.

The dark shadow recoiled from the impact. The dark shadow was Arlcard in his Dark Lord Incarnation. After the constant battles these past two months, he was now level 91. Jack tasked him with protecting the mobile fortress. Even if Satan was the one targeting the mobile fortress, he wouldn't back down.

"Not bad, vampire," Satan said.

"I'm not done, yet!" Arlcard yelled. He created a shadow clone before casting a spell. His shadow clone rushed forward to draw Satan's attention.

A streak of fire flashed across the air in front of Satan, and Arlcard's shadow clone was sent crashing to the ground. The speed of Satan's hammer swing was uncanny. Satan then stomped his foot on the shadow clone and kept it pinned there.

Arlcard was taken aback but didn't stop casting. Satan didn't move. He simply stared at Arlcard with a grin.

"Damn it!" Arlcard cursed. Satan was letting him finish his spell. The devil completely underestimated him.

"You will regret this!" Arlcard exclaimed as he completed his spell. It was an eight-rune spell.

Multiple gigantic black swords started raining down from the sky. These massive swords flew as if homing missiles, and they all went toward Satan. This was one of the new spells Arlcard gained after leveling up, Dark Lord's Judgement.

"Harharhar!" Satan laughed despite the pressure from the giant black swords. A ring of silver and dark purple covered by runic symbols appeared above him. This ring was his Soul and Chaos Ring of Defense.

The giant black swords crashed into this ring. They broke into pieces when they touched the ring. Arlcard controlled the black swords to spread out. They flew in an arc and came stabbing at Satan from every direction.

"Harhar! You think because this defensive skill is shaped like a ring, it can only defend from one side?" Satan asked with a mocking tone.

Satan's arms spread, and his protective ring enlarged. It then spun around his body at such a high speed that it became a sphere. None of the black swords that came stabbing was able to penetrate this sphere. When the last of the black swords was gone, the ring stopped. When this ring stopped Eoranth's Annihilating Soul Beam, it suffered many cracks. This time, it was still as good as new.

The ring went behind Satan. It blocked the attack from Eoranth, who came charging, as well as a soul beam fired by Honuren. Satan ignored the two and let his protective ring deal with them. His attention was on Arlcard.

Arlcard was still in shock because his powerful spell was useless against Satan. This opened him up to Satan's attack. The huge flaming hammer slammed into him. He managed to put his rapier forward to parry, but he was still sent crashing into the ground.

When Satan swung his hammer for the second time, Arlcard turned into a swarm of bats to escape.

"Harhar. Nice trick," Satan laughed. He was about to unleash Infernal Fire Breath from his mouth, but he stopped when he sensed a strong spell being cast not far away.

He turned to where the mobile fortress was and saw a human mage forming a spell formation. This human mage was Emris. The spell Emris was casting was a mega spell, and it was in the process of forming its fifth rune.

"Shit!" Emris cursed. He was hoping Satan was distracted enough by the others, but it seemed the devil's mana sense was incredibly advanced.

Satan's protective ring was still blocking Eoranth and Honuren. Out of frustration, Eoranth grabbed the ring. He was assailed by soul and chaos damage for touching the ring, even when his claws were covered by the silver fire from his Soul-infused Fist.

He roared in pain but didn't let go of the ring. His act allowed Honuren to get past the ring and cast a spell that conjured a thick lightning lasso. This lightning lasso coiled around Satan's body and prevented him from moving.

"Good!" Emris exclaimed, but he then noticed Satan's expression. Satan was grinning calmly. Just like with Arlcard, Satan was letting Emris complete his spell.

"Hmph," Emris grunted. He was offended but was also grateful for Satan's arrogance. He continued casting.

"Clear the area!" Emris shouted when his spell formation was completed.

Eoranth, Honuren, and Arlcard left the area. Honuren had to let go of the lightning lasso restricting Satan. But in reality, the lightning lasso was not needed. Satan remained there out of his own will. He could free himself anytime he wanted.

Linda and Tip had also sent commands for everyone in Satan's vicinity to vacate the area since Emris started casting his mega spell.

Emris pointed his staff at Satan. Massive orbs of fire, ice, and lighting appeared around Satan. Satan sensed the strong aura from these orbs. His grin slightly wavered. His Soul and Chaos Ring of Defense had run out of duration. He used another skill for protection. A fire shell powered by runic symbols encapsulated his body just before the three elemental orbs exploded.

Their blast covered a very wide area. Not as absurd as Satan's Soul and Chaos Chain Reaction, but still considerable. The spell didn't end with the blast. The three elemental energies of fire, ice, and lightning raged inside the blast radius, creating a powerful storm that ravaged everything.

Nobody could see Satan inside the elemental turmoil. Everything was covered by the elemental storms. They doubted anything could survive this elemental calamity.

Emris watched the elemental storms anxiously. This mega spell was the strongest spell in his possession. Its name was Tri-Elemental Cataclysm. This was also the mega spell he failed to cast when he was inside the Eldritch Beholder.

Emris had left his post to aid this place when he saw the mobile fortress in danger. Luckily, Tip had summoned the guild army earlier. He had recently activated the Oriental Guardian Beasts, so the four guild guardians were strong enough to tackle the eternal-grade demons scattered throughout the demon army.

When the elemental storms receded, they saw Satan again. He lost less than five percent HP from the mega spell. Emris felt disappointed but not surprised. If the devil could be so easily defeated, this war would have ended by now.