Sovereign Union Army Camp.

The night deepened, and the sky appeared darkest. At midnight, thick clouds concealed the twin moons, preventing their ethereal glow from bathing the battlefield.

Flaming torches illuminated several points in the central army camp. Strangely enough, security had been tightened, and the patrols had increased. The same was true for the eastern and western camps.

The reason for this wasn’t because of the Dark King’s sudden arrival.

No. The reason was far more ominous.

Adam was the first to feel it.

And then, every Mana Core Magus in the Union’s army camp felt it. Goosebumps covered their arms, and they felt a chill creep down their spine.

When the portal beneath Aranal connected to the one in the Second Layer of Hell, a subtle aura spread through every corner of Europa. It was vile, evil, and utterly terrifying.

The Cult of Bones had finally summoned the devils!

Inside the command tent, all the Mana Core Magi of the Union had gathered. Everyone had grim looks on their faces. Some expertly masked the nervousness flickering in their eyes, while others did not bother hiding it.

This was an extraterrestrial invasion on their home world, the likes of which had never been seen before.

"What’s going to happen now?" A Union Magus asked with unmasked apprehension.

"How many of these... devils are we talking about?" said another. "What are their powers? How many Mana Core-level devils are we dealing with?"

"But before all that." A Mana Core Magus gritted his teeth, sweat trickling down his brow. "Some of you clearly seem to be aware of the existence of devils. Why weren’t we told?"

Operation Constantine was known to only a few Magi. The reason for that was obvious.

Shaw Jidu turned to the Union Magi who had just spoken and glared. "Is this really the time to be pointing fingers?"

These Union Magi, powerful kings and leaders who sat at the Sovereign Council, could not gather the courage to speak to the Dark King. His halo was too great, too hallowed for the likes of them to even strike up a conversation with him.

They had all heard about his legendary exploits, not just behind enemy lines over the past two years, but also every other feat that he had achieved since embarking on the path of a Magus. These Magi wouldn’t even dare to cast a displeased look at him, let alone talk to him in such an impolite manner.

Instead, they chose another target — Shaw Jidu. They knew that he was a Councilor of the Twilight Brotherhood. The Sovereign Union had secretly worked with the Brotherhood for years. As such, the leaders of both factions knew one another.

"We’re talking about a foreign species here!" A Union Magus blurted out. "Not from a different kingdom or a continent. But from a different world!"

The reaction was warranted. Although these Magi, who stood at the arcane peak of Tron, knew about the existence of higher worlds in the Greater Universe, they had never expected Magi from those worlds to attack them. Such a thing was completely beyond their wildest dreams.

As they were arguing among one another, Adam stood silently with his hands resting on the table. He glanced at the map of the surrounding regions with a light frown on his face. But his attention wasn’t on the map at all.

Instead, he was scouring through the memories of the experts that he had absorbed in the past.

He was trying to comb through information regarding the Nine Hells of Inferno.

In the Greater Universe, many powerful factions sent their talented Magi to Hell.

Many believed that this Plane of Existence was where souls, who had committed atrocities, were sent after they died. It was rumored to be the ’afterlife’ for the truly wicked.

However, Hell could also be visited by Magi voluntarily.

Adventurers visited Hell in search of glory and riches or to carry out dangerous missions that others would not dare accept. Powerful factions sent their young prodigies to gain real combat experience.

It was widely believed that the First Layer of Hell was one of the best places for a Magus to sharpen their skills.

After all, the Eternal War raged on the First Layer!

And many factions of the Greater Universe sent their Magi to fight in that war. On the side of the devils.

As for why such powerful and influential factions of the universe would willingly send their Magi to fight alongside beings as evil and ruthless as devils...

That was a story for another time.

There were many kinds of devils that inhabited the Nine Hells. As such, it was difficult for Adam to exactly pinpoint the types of devils that had been summoned to earth.

And even then, the memories that he had absorbed were fragmented in nature — they always were. So he could only glean bits and pieces of valuable information.

He returned from his inner sanctum of memories, his tenebrous eyes gleaming with a sharp light.

"...You should have told us about their existence!" One of the Union Magi argued in the background. "That way, we could have prepared better!"

"He’s right!" said another in agreement. "We should have been able to—"

Right at that moment, the Dark King raised a hand and softly muttered:

"Quiet."

The Magi that been arguing instantly fell silent. None of them thought it was impolite of him to speak so condescendingly to Magi who were centuries older than him.

The Dark King was the strongest among them. Who were they to tell him how to speak?

Adam retrieved several parchments and quills from his storage artifact. With a simple hand seal, the items hovered in the air. The quills magically began jotting down words on the parchments.

At the same time, he scanned the faces of all the Mana Core Magi in the tent, and said in a solemn voice, "This is some of the information that I know about the devils of Hell. Read them thoroughly. Then spread the knowledge to the rest of the army."

No one asked him how he came to know about such things. They were just grateful to learn about the enemies they’d be fighting. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Meanwhile, the Dark King began thinking about various countermeasures based on what he knew about the devils. In times like these, he was once again reminded of how grateful he was to have the Lotus.

He had always seen the boost to his soul from the White Lotus as secondary.

What he truly valued above all else had always been...

Information.