Second World

1945  Chapter 1945. The Valley of Ukher-mur

In the sky above Hydrurond, Lucifer was tussling with Pride. The Devil God was laughing as he exchanged punches with Pride. They were like two common brawlers scuffling in a bar fight. Despite the simplicity of the battle, each of the impacts from their punches sent shockwaves that caused tremors to the land below.

Lucifer was enjoying every moment of the brawl. His laughter became louder with each punch until he abruptly stopped. A powerful blast erupted from him when that happened. Pride was shoved away from him.

Lucifer turned to the West. His expression was solemn. "So, you were not lying when you said you were lying in wait for me. Which God is there who tries to break my seal? Courage? Joy?"

"The six here are the remaining Gods of the upperworld," Pride answered. "The one who we sent to destroy your portal is Volgroth."

"Volgroth…? Hope's pet?" Lucifer muttered. No ordinary being of this world could undo his seal. But if it was Volgroth, it was possible.

"Hmph!" Lucifer harrumphed. He was about to warp away to rush back to the main underworld portal when the area around him suddenly became heavier.

He looked up and saw Greed, Wrath, and Fear projecting their energies onto him. Because of the turbulent energies they produced, he couldn't warp. His movements were restricted.

"You are not leaving this place! Not until the main underworld portal is destroyed!" Pride exclaimed. He returned with a brighter glow shrouding his armored body.

Pride requested Serenity and Love to increase their energy output. The two Goddesses were holding back because they worried they might hurt Pride. Pride assured them not to. They couldn't hold back if they were to have a chance against Lucifer.

While the energies from the good Gods were suitable for buffing effects because they came from positive feelings, the energies from the bad Gods were more suitable for debuffing effects. That's why Greed, Wrath, and Fear didn't channel their energies into Pride. Instead, they combined their power to create an inhibiting environment around Lucifer, causing him difficulties in fighting back.

"Good coordination," Lucifer praised. His expression wasn't as cheery as before.

Lucifer blocked a punch from Pride. He staggered back from the punch. Pride was stronger than before, while he was weaker.

"You insolent Gods! I will make you all suffer for this!"

A colorful aura exploded from Lucifer's body. The restricting energies from the three bad Gods struggled to oppose this aura. Lucifer's punch left a rainbow trail as it struck Pride's chest. The impact caused a dent in Pride's armor, but Pride refused to back away. The light on him glowed brighter.

"I will take as many punishments as needed!" Pride exclaimed, "But I swear on my pride, you shall not leave!!!"

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A few hours before the three devils met their demise, John was standing atop a cliff overseeing a steep valley. He and the retreating army from the Hydrurond Northern Front had arrived in this place several hours ago. This valley was the coordinates he had given Janus. The name of the valley was Ukher-mur.

The demon army was not yet in sight. They didn't pursue the retreating army as vigorously as John expected, which was good. This allowed John to make more preparations before the demons arrived.

The troops were busy setting up following his instructions. John also sent scouts to monitor how close the demon army was. They left a clear trail, so it was not difficult for the underworld forces to chase them.

He received a message from Megan, who was with the scout team.

"We have spotted the underworld forces. Their main force is following our trail. It should be around one hour before they enter the valley. However, some splintered forces spread out to tread other paths."

John had expected this. He did not worry. The valley they were in was very long and had only one entrance and exit from the ground. Its surroundings were blocked by steep mountains. It would take strong fliers to freely move about this terrain. Even the underworld forces had a limited number of such fliers. Those splintered forces would find it difficult to provide support to their main force once the battle started.

John stepped away from the cliff. He turned to a host of prepared troops behind him. These troops consisted of the strongest members among the league factions. John didn't worry about getting seen from the outside. A copy of Janus had cast an illusion spell that masked the place where they were. People from the outside would only see a tall cliff wall.

"Get ready to move in an hour," John told them.

Ragorth was at the head of the group. He nodded. They were ready for this war to end. It had been a long two months. If they could take out Beelzebub as John intended, this war would be one step closer to ending.

John went around one more time to make sure everything was in place. Finally, he received the warning message.

"They are here."

The demons marched through the valleys. The valley was not exactly narrow, but it still appeared small to accommodate all the demons. Before long, the whole valley was filled with demons. The procession continued without an end in sight.

From their hiding place, the defenders watched demon bats and other demon fliers fly past. Janus' illusion made them invisible to these fliers, but they stayed away from the edge in case a demon with mana sense flew past nearby.

"We have a problem," John received a message from one of the members of Inquisition. This member was an archmage and had the Invisibility spell. John placed several players who possessed this spell outside serving as his eyes. "Many large demonic spiders crawl along the cliffs. If they continue, they will arrive at where you are hiding."

If that happened, the demonic spiders would fall right into the illusion. They would then be found out.

John sighed. "It's impossible to think of every situation." He turned to True Janus and said, "We might need to move up our timetable. Tell the main army to turn back and start engaging the demons."

"Already? I haven't seen Beelzebub yet," Janus said. He also placed his copies outside and used invisibility as a cover.

"Most of the army he leads should have entered this valley. It is not the most ideal situation, but it is still workable. All of you start engaging once our main army makes contact with the enemies. Try your best to move to the valley's entrance and block that entrance."

He walked toward one corner, which had a drawing of a circle. The circle was a rune diagram.

"Luckily, I have prepared this. All players! Come with me using this field teleportation diagram. Trinity, you stay close to me!"

He activated the rune diagram and disappeared. Jet, Trinity, and the others followed suit, including the top players from different guilds who had assembled there.

John reappeared at the top of a cliff not far from the valley's entrance. He ventured forward while staying low. He soon reached the cliff overseeing the entrance. As he expected, the underworld force had mostly entered the valley. He could see their rear moving away. However, a considerable number of demons stayed outside. Beelzebub was among that group.

'Careful bastard,' John cursed in his mind.

Jet, Giant Steve, Fierce Flame, Purple Mist, and Trinity Dawn crawled to where he was. The others who had teleported stayed behind and waited for instructions.

"What now?" Jet sent a message in the party chat.

"The operation has already commenced. We can't alter it anymore. We will take him on like this," John answered.

"Many demons are protecting him. They look strong," Steve said.

"Don't worry. I will call for reinforcement," John said.

He moved away before casting Call Monster Horde. After that, he sent a message to Telebinge, another member of Inquisition. "Hey. Is that beast in its lair?"

"Yes. Why again did you ask me to shadow this monster when we have a war to fight?" Telebinge asked.

"Because I want to make sure that thing is in the range when I cast my spell. Okay, you can leave now and come to join the war you are so eager to fight."

John ended the communication and cast Summon Apex Monster.

The layout of Ukher-mur Valley was one reason John chose this location for the decisive battle, but another reason was the abundance of strong monsters in the vicinity. The first two spells of Monster Overlord heavily depended on location. If he was in a region where the average monsters were weak, his spells would underperform.

In this place, he was sure he could get a formidable horde of monsters using the Call Monster Horde. It was more so for Summon Apex Monster. He knew about the existence of one powerful monster in the Khan region. His guild members had an unfortunate encounter with this monster when they roamed this place. They ended up getting wiped out. After that, Everlasting Heavenly Legends marked the area near the monster's lair as a restricted zone, at least until most of their members reached level 90.

John was glad those poor members had the unfortunate encounter. They gained valuable intel in exchange for losing their levels.