Trial space.
On the barren land, there lies a huge steel fortress.
The mottled dark red rust looks like dried blood.
"Bloody Hand Fortress", the devil's base camp, has now been submerged under a larger shadow.
The shadow came from a dark warship thousands of meters above the sky.
To be precise, it's more like a floating island.
It is over two hundred meters in diameter, covered with heavy armor, and has raised edges, making it look like a giant hexagram.
Each raised corner corresponds to a group of turrets, providing all-round anti-aircraft fire without blind spots.
A large group of vultures and succubi are frantically besieging the warship.
However, facing the infernal fireballs continuously fired from the turrets, the demons' charge was tantamount to suicide.
The moment it was bombarded by the fireball, it was evaporated by the high temperature.
At the same time, the hatch on the belly of the battleship opened.
Huge conical bombs were thrown down from the sky.
With a sharp whistling sound, it hit the dome of the fortress.
The steel dome reinforced with protective magic became as fragile as cardboard when hit by a heavy bomb infused with "dissociation".
Under the green light released at the moment of the explosion, the iron wall decomposed into dust, opening up a huge cavity.
The facilities inside the fortress were subsequently exposed.
After three rounds of bombing, the fortress dome was riddled with holes.
The demons inside the fortress realized that if they continued to hide, they would only die, so they rushed out and joined the siege of the Purgatory Aircraft Carrier.
Compared to the devil, the biggest advantage of the demons is numbers.
Faced with the demons that were attacking like a swarm of insects, the Purgatory aircraft carrier's anti-aircraft artillery was gradually unable to cope.
The anti-aircraft barrage was finally broken, and the ferocious vultures pounced on the turret and destroyed it crazily.
The Purgatory cannons misfired one after another.
At this time, the Purgatory aircraft carrier opened a row of portholes, and a large group of demons flew out.
The largest number of them are the thorny demons covered with barbs.
The second is a succubus holding a longbow, looking like a fallen angel.
There are also higher-level bone demons that look like giant insect skeletons with chain saw-like tails.
The leader of all these devil air forces is an ice demon.
This sixth-level devil looked like a half-human, half-locust ice sculpture, with pale compound eyes flashing a cold luster.
In his hand he held a silver spear, emitting a hint of coldness.
Any demon that approaches her will be attacked by the extremely cold spiritual energy, and frost will condense all over their bodies, and their speed will slow down.
The ice demon waved his spear casually, and a freezing snowstorm fell from the sky.
The demons were frozen and tumbled down.
Behind the Ice Demon, there is a special guard following.
It looks like a succubus, but it is not wearing armor, but a leather uniform similar to a tights. There are many metal tubular objects surrounding its body, like living guns!
This strange weapon system flies around like a flock of birds.
Lock onto the demons and collectively spray them with pitch-black hellfire.
After a round of shooting, the demon that was hit was burned to death.
…
An inconspicuous corner on the outskirts of the battlefield.
Caroline cast a spell to create a "shelter hut" that was isolated from external objects, knelt in the middle of the carpet, and held up the crystal ball in both hands.
Alan, Julie, Felin, and Tona sat around the Spider Queen, watching the melee in the air through the crystal ball.
"What kind of weapon is that? It looks so flexible!"
Tao Na stared at the flamethrower controlled by the witches, her eyes full of curiosity.
"'Hellfire Floating Cannon' is a special weapon for 'Hell Angels'." Allen explained.
"What is a 'Hell Angel'?" Julie was also puzzled. "We have been dealing with demons a lot these days, but this is the first time we have seen such a weapon."
"It's a kind of exoskeleton construct developed by the devils. It's complicated to explain in detail."
Alan briefly introduced the functions of "Prison Angel", and everyone was amazed.
"Alan, you are not an infernal wizard, so how do you know the devils' secret weapons?" Caroline gave him a puzzled look.
"I have a good relationship with Sonia from the Human-Devil Cult, and I have obtained a lot of information about the Devil's military from her."
Alan pointed to the scrying crystal ball.
"Look, Auntie, the Ice Demon Captain on the Devil's side has thirteen witches equipped with 'Hell Angels' around him. The captain is my friend Sonia."
"In fact, Sonia joined the devil's side for two purposes."
"The first is to obtain an advanced license, and the second is to develop a 'Prison Angel' system to enhance my own combat effectiveness."
"It now appears that at least the second goal has been achieved."
Caroline and others looked in the direction of his finger.
Sure enough, I saw a black-winged witch flying in the air. It must be Sonia's succubus-like atavism form.
There are surprisingly many "Hellfire Floating Cannons" surrounding her!
It is estimated that there are no less than forty of them, which is twice as many as an ordinary witch!
It is not difficult to imagine that the more floating cannons that can be remotely controlled at the same time, the stronger the mental power must be.
"Sister Sonia's cultivation has reached the fifth stage, but the upper limit of the bloodline of the Lust Demon is only at this level. If you want to go further, you may have to advance to a higher level of demon."
Tao Na and Sonia had a good personal relationship and often exchanged letters.
Alan nodded and continued the topic she raised:
"Sonia plans to advance to a high-level lust demon, or a pleasure demon, but it's not easy. First, she has to hunt demons on the battlefield, accumulate enough merits, and get a promotion permit. Then, she has to collect the souls of celestial creatures and refine them into soul jades. With the permit, she can advance to a high-level lust demon."
"That's the downside of Devil Advancement!" Caroline said with a wry smile, "Without the boss's permission, it's useless no matter how strong you are!"
Allen nodded and said softly, "Kycilia, the captain of the Purgatory Aircraft Carrier, is Sonia's boss. In order to get the license, Sonia had to serve as the captain of the guard for this eccentric ice demon."
Sonia, the captain of the guard, performed her duties conscientiously.
Under her leadership, the Witch Guards built a solid line of defense.
With the powerful firepower of the Hellfire Floating Cannon, they repelled the Demon Special Forces that attempted to approach the Ice Demon and carry out a decapitation operation.
The Ice Demon was under the protection of the Witch Guard and cast spells calmly.
"Ice Wall", "Ice Storm", "Frost Nova", "Ice Sphere"...
There is also the most terrifying 7th-level "Law Word" spell, which can cause devastating damage to chaotic creatures within forty meters by simply reciting a spell.
There is no difference in the degree of evil between demons and devils.
However, the devil belongs to the camp of order and is immune to the "Word of Law".
The demons are a completely chaotic camp.
The golden words that spewed out of the Ice Demon's mouth symbolize the law of order to some extent.
Any demon below level 4 will die if they hear it!
Fourth- and fifth-level demons will also suffer from at least one negative condition such as paralysis, slowness, and deafness.
In a close combat battlefield, a moment of distraction would lead to concentrated fire from floating artillery and complete annihilation.
Seeing the demon army that was frantically besieging the Purgatory Aircraft Carrier being repelled, Feilin wiped his cold sweat and felt deeply enlightened.
"Compared to today's exciting battle, the conflicts we experienced in the past were just minor ones."
"Originally, I wanted to take advantage of the chaos between the demons and devils to beat up a few drowning dogs and make some money. Now it seems that it is safer to stay here and watch the show."
“That’s right!” Julie was also deeply shocked by the bloody melee in front of her. “If I were placed in a conflict zone, like Sonia’s position, I probably wouldn’t last five minutes and would be kicked back to Origin City!”
Caroline smiled faintly. She finally had the chance to show her experience to the young man.
"In fact, in real bloody wars, battles of this scale are commonplace, with at least tens of thousands of them breaking out every day."
"Even the Origin City does not have the ability to perfectly simulate the main battle between demons and devils."
"Otherwise, what you will see is not just a Purgatory Aircraft Carrier, but a group of warships covering the sky like a flock of birds."
"The demons will not have just one steel fortress, but tens of thousands of fortresses built along both sides of the Styx. Each one is larger than the Blood Hand Fortress you saw."
"The commanders of both sides must be at least ninth-rank demons, such as the Balor Flame Demon and the Hell Refiner. The Ice Demon and the like are only fit to be minor leaders."
"Ms. Caroline, have you been to the lower planes and personally experienced the bloody battles between demons and devils?" Tao Na asked curiously.
"Uh, I didn't participate..." The Spider Queen's cheeks flushed slightly, "I only read about the bloody battle in a book."
Tao Na said "Oh" meaningfully.
The atmosphere became a little awkward.
Julie quickly winked at Taona and changed the subject.
"From the current situation, the devil has the upper hand."
"The demons suffered so many casualties and launched such a crazy offensive, but they still couldn't shoot down the Infernal Aircraft Carrier. I really can't figure out how we are going to complete this perverted mission!"
Tao Na scratched her head, hesitating whether to change to a hunting target that was easier to deal with.
The Purgatory Aircraft Carrier is only a sixth-order construct, but when the carrier-borne troops are included, the challenge level far exceeds the sixth order.
She couldn't figure out how to destroy this giant battleship full of devil's army and obtain the construct core.
At this moment, slight ripples of magical power appeared in the air.
A ball of communication light flashing with the succubus emblem quietly emerged from beside Alan.
Alan held the ball of light, read the letter, and seemed to understand something.
"Aunt Caroline, switch the detection perspective to the interior of the Bloody Hand Fortress. The fun is about to begin."
"There is a barrier inside the fortress to prevent reconnaissance magic from the outside. Otherwise, I would not have been able to detect it. The demons have already seen through the opponent's details clearly."
Caroline looked troubled.
"Auntie, I know there is an anti-detection barrier inside the fortress, but it doesn't matter. We have an informant inside who carries a positioning magic device. You just need to lock your detection perspective on her and you can see everything around her."
Allen smiled slightly, and then revealed:
"My informant has a high status among the demons and is qualified to participate in the highest level of confidential information. He just wrote to inform me that the offensive launched by the demons before was just a feint. The real fun is yet to come."
Caroline's face changed slightly, and she quickly followed his instructions and switched the detection perspective.
The scene in the crystal ball became dim and blurry.
This is a normal phenomenon where the detection magic is blocked by the barrier.
Things get weird next.
The dim picture suddenly became clear again.
It shows a bird's-eye view, and the picture is all scarlet!
The space inside the fortress seemed to be folded and looked even more open than the outside!
Occupying most of the picture space is a pool of water that is bubbling and appears to be boiling.
The liquid in the pool is bright red and thick, like plasma!
Even through the crystal ball, everyone could feel the extremely evil magic emanating from the blood pool.
That is the "Pool of Chaos Blood", a unique landscape formed by the water of the River Styx gathering in the bottomless abyss and absorbing the original magic power of the abyss.
It is said that anyone who comes into contact with the blood pool will immediately lose their memory.
Demons can evolve and even be reborn in pools of blood.
Through the crystal ball, everyone saw densely packed black stone pillars rising from the blood pool.
At the top of each stone pillar, there is a demon sitting, and they seem to be jointly performing some kind of sacrificial ceremony.
The demon leader in the center looks like a giant bull-headed beast covered with black hair, and its twisted horns are covered with fine blood-red threads.
"Is that... the Bull Demon?"
Julie guessed in a low voice.
Alan nodded slightly, his eyes serious.
"The third-ranked lord of Blood Hand Fortress, Bull Demon General Cassius, is said to be no less powerful than the early seventh rank!"
"As for the two lords before Cassius, you won't find them in the fortress. They each have a demon army, and they are attacking the Holy White Tower and Iron Fist Fortress."
"The wars that are breaking out on the other two battlefields are even more intense than what we are seeing right now."
Caroline stroked the crystal ball with both hands and, based on the detection perspective, reversely located the three demons who were participating in the blood pool sacrifice.
The leading demon had a human body, goat horns, and a thin build.
On the stone pillars on the left and right sides sat the red-haired giant ape and the gorgeous bat-winged witch.
The Spider Queen soon realized something was wrong.
The sixty-six demons who are qualified to participate in the blood pool sacrifice are almost all high-level demons, and their strength is at least late fifth level!
The high priest Cassius is a powerful seventh-order bull demon!
However, the Brezu demon with goat horns and a human body was just okay. He could be considered a gatekeeper for high-level demons.
The ape demon and the succubus were only mid-level demons, their cultivation was at most the early fifth level, how did these two get in? !
There is only one explanation for this anomaly.
The three demons are actually atavistic abyss warlocks, whose strength far exceeds that of the demons corresponding to their respective bloodlines.
"Which one of the Brezu Demon, Succubus and Ape Demon is your informant?" Caroline asked Allen.
"Burke, Herent and Bagula, these three Abyss Blood Warlocks from the Demons family, are all my informants."
Alan explained calmly.
"The one who sent me the letter just now and provided us with the detection location was the succubus Helente."
Caroline gave him a deep look with a strange expression on her face: "Boy, you have informants on both the devil and the demon side. No wonder you are so calm and at ease!"
"In fact, Alan also has informants in the Holy White Tower and the Outer Sanctuary. I don't need to tell you who they are, right?" Feilin said with a smile.
Caroline frowned and thought about it carefully. It was true.
Feilin, Julie and Taona are all trial-takers affiliated with the "Holy White Tower".
Needless to say, Alan's teachers and friends from the Silver Moon Monastery also joined the Holy White Tower.
As for the "Heterodox Sanctuary"...
Good god! The informant turned out to be me!
Caroline finally realized that she was also part of Alan's pervasive network of connections.
"You kid! You're famous for having a wide circle of friends, right? No wonder you're so well-informed and know everything!"
"Auntie, you are too kind. I don't deserve it." Allen smiled modestly. "Thanks to my friends for their kindness, I am just giving you some face."
“By the way, are these high-level demons gathering together to perform some evil ritual?” Julie asked.
"It was a joint spellcasting ritual. The magic power of all participants was gathered into the host, the Bull Demon General Cassius. It can't be considered evil."
"Through the ritual, Cassius's magic power is greatly enhanced, and he can stack more metamagic skills, allowing the spells he casts to have a longer range and a larger scope. This is what is known as 'strategic spellcasting'."
As Alan was explaining, the Bull Demon General had already begun casting spells.
A circle of golden halo rose from his hand and instantly soared into the sky.
In a flash, the golden halo flew thousands of meters into the sky.
It touched the belly of the Purgatory Aircraft Carrier, was blocked by the anti-magic barrier, and stirred up circles of magical ripples.
The Purgatory Aircraft Carrier's anti-magic barrier is almost immune to all spells or supernatural attacks that do not exceed the sixth level.
Faced with this inconspicuous golden halo, it only resisted for less than two seconds before being pierced!
Tao Na and others held their breath, expecting to see the huge explosion caused by the magic bombardment of the warship, when a strange scene appeared.
The huge warship that was hovering proudly above the "Bloody Hand Fortress" trembled slightly and then disappeared out of thin air!
Gone… ?
The entire battleship, along with thousands of shipboard devils, just disappeared without a trace!
Taona and Griffin, brother and sister, looked at each other in bewilderment.
Caroline was well-informed after all.
After a little thought, he turned to Alan and asked, "Labyrinth magic?"
Alan nodded slightly.
The 8th-level magic of the Transfiguration School, "Labyrinth Magic", can forcibly exile a designated target to a different dimension.
In that mysterious space that even the caster himself cannot determine, there are endless mazes.
The subject trapped in the maze can either use his brain to try to find a way out.
Or you can only wait there until ten minutes later, when you will automatically exit the maze and return to your original position.
It's not surprising that Niu Mo is good at "labyrinth magic".
But under normal circumstances, even with the 8th ring of "labyrinth magic", it is impossible to teleport a Purgatory aircraft carrier and all the crew members on board to an alien maze thousands of miles away.
The reason why the Bull Demon General Cassius was able to do this was inseparable from the assistance of the group of high-level demons around him.
It took sixty-six high-level demons, including Cassius, to perform a super-magic ritual to accomplish this feat.
But is that the end?
"In ten minutes, the Infernal Carrier will still appear above the fortress intact. What's the point of the demons doing this?"
Tao Na asked puzzledly.
"Buy time and set up a trap."
Caroline had understood.
Through the crystal ball, it is not difficult to find that the demons are still racing against time to cast spells together to transfer magic power to General Cassius.
Complex magic arrays were completed with the cooperation of the demons and engraved in the air.
"The green magic circle is an 8th-ring 'Dimension Lock', which seals all teleportation capabilities within the range."
"The golden magic circle is a 5th-level 'gravity well'. The gravity coefficient within the range increases by 32 times. Please note that this is a field magic that is not affected by the anti-magic barrier!"
"All of these arrays are enhanced strategic versions, and their coverage is enough to encompass the entire Purgatory Aircraft Carrier."
Alan relayed the information revealed by Herent to his companions.
"It is conceivable that when the Purgatory Aircraft Carrier finally escapes from the maze and returns to its original position, the devils on the battleship will find that they have fallen into a death trap that is a hundred times more terrifying than the maze in the alien world."
"The warship's teleportation function is sealed by the 'Dimension Lock'. It cannot withstand the pull of the supergravity field and will fall straight down."
"The passengers on the battleship still have a chance to escape from the cabin, but the huge and bulky battleship itself will inevitably be dragged into the blood pool and become the spoils of the demons."
"With the loss of the Infernal Aircraft Carrier, the demons no longer have the capital to launch a strong attack. The next thing they need to consider is how to escape from the demons' pursuit."
"This is General Cassius' battle plan."
After hearing what he said, Caroline breathed a sigh of relief, with anticipation gleaming in her eyes.
"It seems that demons are not just crazy and reckless, they also use their brains occasionally. So how should the demons deal with it?"
"Alan! Have you told Sister Sonia about the devil's evil plan?" Tao Na asked anxiously, "Is it too late for her to escape now?"
"I don't need to worry about it. Helen has already reminded her."
"Helen... is she very familiar with Sister Sonia?"
"It's okay. They are half-sisters."
Alan did not elaborate on the complicated relationship between Helen and Sonia, as it was not something that could be explained in a few words.
"Since Sonia knew the devil's conspiracy, why didn't she tell her boss and take precautions in advance?" asked Feilin.
"In fact, she reported it in advance and was appreciated by the Ice Demon Captain, who specially arranged her to be his captain of the guard."
Alan smiled oddly.
"When it comes to playing tricks, the devil is an expert."
"The Ice Demon knew the fate that the Purgatory Aircraft Carrier would encounter, but she did not make it public. She only secretly instructed Sonya and other trusted generals to install a special magic bomb in the battleship's ammunition depot."
"Activate this bomb. After six seconds, the entire battleship will explode."
“A strong fortress is often easier to break from the inside.”
"If the battleship explodes inside the Bloody Hand Fortress, the destructive force released instantly will be enough to raze the fortress to the ground."
"Sacrificing a battleship in exchange for destroying the enemy's lair, the devils think this exchange is worthwhile."
Everyone, including Caroline, felt their scalp tingling!
Only the devil could use such a vicious tactic.
"If we do this, won't the demons on the battleship also suffer heavy casualties?" Julie was still a little incredulous. "Especially the demons who stayed behind to detonate the bombs. Won't they be buried with the battleship?"
"You mean Sonia?" Allen smiled. "She is a trial participant who is not afraid of death. She volunteered to carry out this life-threatening mission. The reward she received was a promotion permit issued by the Ice Demon."
"Evils are very realistic. If you don't work hard for your boss, why would he help you get promoted?"
"I hate the devil!" Tao Na's face was full of resentment. "If the devil's conspiracy succeeds, the Purgatory Aircraft Carrier will be blown to pieces, not to mention the construct core. Wouldn't my trip be in vain?"
"That's right. The devil's plan is not in our interest, so I plan to change the plot a little bit."
"How do I change it?"
"Just think about it. After the battleship was restored, it was pulled by the supergravity field and accelerated its fall in the air."
"During this process, if a lateral external force is applied to it, it is possible to force the warship to deviate from the predetermined straight-fall trajectory and fly out of the control range of the hypergravity field."
"Even though it will eventually fall to the ground, at least a relatively intact wreckage will remain. This way, we can obtain the construction core from the wreckage of the battleship."
"To achieve this goal, two prerequisites must be met first."
Alan continued his analysis.
"First, we need to greet Sonia and tell her not to rush to detonate the bomb."
"In addition, the external force applied to the warship must be large enough to change the falling trajectory of this 10,000-ton ship."
"The question is, what kind of force can push a warship with such huge inertia, even if it is only slightly offset?"
Caroline adjusted the frame of her glasses and frowned slightly.
"Even if a full-grown dragon, flying at full speed, crashed into the falling Infernal Aircraft Carrier without regard for its own safety, it would not be able to shake the latter in the slightest."
"Alan, I can't think how to do this."
Alan smiled.
"Auntie, don't worry, I have calculated it over and over again. This matter is actually not as difficult as you think."
"Indeed, the dragon was powerless to push away the out-of-control Infernal Carrier."
"But there are creatures in this world that are more powerful than dragons..."
"You mean... Behemoth?" Caroline guessed.
Alan shook his head slightly.
"Behemoths are stronger than dragons, but they are not strong enough."
"Auntie, have you heard of the Golden Titan ?"
Caroline was silent for a long time, then sighed with mixed emotions.
"Auntie, I'm afraid I'm still too young and inexperienced. I still have a lot to learn from you."