Ashen Dragon-Chapter 568 - 29 Consumption

Moreover, the shells falling from the sky this time were even more terrifying, each shard releasing a golden glow—that was ammunition quenched in Holy Water, containing the power of Radiance.

“This vile stench—”

“Damn, it’s Holy Water!”

The shards soaked in Holy Water easily tore through the Berserker Demons’ armored-like skin, holy explosions enveloping their brawny, grotesque demonic bodies.

“Swoosh—”

Sun-like glares burst forth in the sky, making the barrage seem almost holy.

This batch of ammunition was a collaboration between the Department of Technology and Ingrid, a specially hired Priest of the Empire, created specifically to target fiendish creatures, known as the “Exorcism” series of ammunition.

But after several rounds of bombardment, the fierce Berserker Demon Legion had suffered heavy losses, with fewer than half the demons retreating back into the Magic Tide.

Leo Boske raised his head to look at the dense curtain of fire in the sky, then lowered his gaze to the minefield riddled with danger below, and his fury boiled over.

Half a day had passed, and he hadn’t been able to advance the frontline even a bit!

To know that transporting such a large number of demons was a significant drain for The Abyss, for Gelrazak—if he couldn’t quickly demolish the Empire…

His own fate would be anything but good.

The Ashen Empire’s tactics of covering fire and blocking mines were indeed effective, but their opponents were abyssal demons!

He could break through the minefield by sheer numbers of Coward Demons, eventually breaching the Empire’s defenses.

With that thought, Leo Boske raised his whip, unfurled his broad, powerful wings, and roared to the lower demons.

“Charge!”

“Crush the enemy ahead!”

Waves of intense heat rippled dramatically around Leo, the terrifying pressure of the High-Ranking Demon completely unleashed, making all the lesser demons shiver.

Under this instinct to submit, Coward Demons marched through the intense artillery fire. Like a tireless tide, they continually surged towards the minefield.

“Ow—”

Piercing, cacophonous screams emanated from the demon tide, filled with animosity towards all things; the chorus of hate-filled shrieks made even mighty creatures tremble.

But sadly, there were no enemies in front of them; the only welcome for these demons was a barrage of explosions.

“Boom!”

Arcs of artillery fire crisscrossed high above, creating a dense web of firepower, and more shells exploded amidst the horde, instantly turning thousands of Coward Demons into dust.

But this time, under Leo’s command, these Coward Demons became even more indifferent to death.

They ignored the explosions nearby, the maimed bodies of their kin, continuing their unending march forward for as long as they drew breath.

There was even a Coward Demon whose right arm and both legs had been shredded by shell fragments.

It could be seen dragging its torso with its sole remaining arm, slowly moving across the scorched earth, still struggling to head north—until a flying shard severed its head.

And even for those Coward Demons that managed to break through the artillery blockade, their fate was no better, and perhaps even more miserable.

“Boom!”

The moment a Coward Demon stepped onto that land, a mine below it exploded violently, causing dirt to spray into the air.

The intense explosion sent the Coward Demon flying several meters high before crashing back to the ground, leaving behind only a charred and mangled carcass.

As the war progressed, more and more Coward Demons risked death to step into the minefield, and before long, they were blown to pieces by the mines. Some demons even triggered cluster bombs, taking hundreds of surrounding Coward Demons to the grave with them.

“Clang, clang, clang…”

Dull sounds of hooves, friction from metal armor, rose as one demon after another, shaped like knights, galloped across the wasteland through the firewall.

These monsters possessed sturdy equine bodies, with diseased human-like arms and faces.

Their flesh was sickly pale on their upper bodies, oozing with painful pus. Thick horns protruded from their foreheads.

They wore a set of complicated, pitch-black full-body armor, with short, stiff fur poking out through the armor’s gaps.

—These were the Iron Cavalry Demons, the demon heavy cavalry, driven by an uncontrollable lust for slaughter and fury, often racing across the wilderness to bring death to all living beings they encountered.

The leader of the Iron Cavalry Demons led many of his kind through the battlefield, dodging explosion after explosion.

They were lucky, having charged for hundreds of meters without setting off a mine.

“Charge—”

“Kill, kill them!”

The Iron Cavalry Demons swung their flails wildly, trying to demonstrate their might on the battlefield—however, the leader failed to notice the imminent danger.

“Whoosh—”

Tripwires hidden in the weeds suddenly rose up, and the Iron Cavalry Demons, charging at high speed, didn’t notice in time and tripped, falling to the ground.

“Damn it!”

It rolled several times on the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

But then, the Iron Cavalry Demon felt a cold metal sensation beneath its torso and its expression changed instantly.

“Boom!”

With a thunderous explosion, the Iron Cavalry Demon was blown in half on the spot, its upper human half and lower horse half both charred and flung in opposite directions.

Then, the surrounding mines detonated in succession, and those Iron Cavalry Demons following behind were also obliterated in the flames, leaving nothing but scorched earth.

“Roar—”

The Kwase Demons flapped their wings high in the sky, striving desperately to fly toward the Imperial’s Wall, forming clouds of dark Magic Tide in the heavens.

To avoid the crisscrossing gunfire in the sky, they ascended to hundreds of meters, attempting to surmount this impenetrable defense by flying over it.

But inside the Imperial’s Wall, the anti-aircraft soldiers caressed the two cold, nearly four-meter-long barrels of the flak cannons and pressed the firing mechanism with eager smiles.

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”

A different, sharper series of noises rang out from the previous artillery fire.

One after another, the shells trailing bright plumes of fire shot into the sky, followed by even more splendid explosions.

These arcs of fire were much denser than the earlier heavy artillery, composing a symphony of death in the sky.

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In an instant, countless Kwase Demons were engulfed by the firelight, their blackened, unrecognizable bodies plummeting from the sky.

And on this day, such scenes had occurred countless times; demons trying to breach the Empire’s defenses invariably met with tragic ends.

“Boom!”

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The concentrated artillery fire continued relentlessly, the Empire’s stockpiled ammunition over years pouring out upon the demons.

In this state of national mobilization, nearly all of the Empire’s factories were producing ammunition around the clock. These supplies were continuously transported by train to the south, providing strong logistical support for the Imperial’s Wall.

By the time the sun set and the sky darkened, the wasteland had become a picture of devastation, the ground riddled with scorched earth and craters.

In the most heavily bombarded areas, hills had been flattened, and demon bodies covered the ground, even piling up in layers to form a new “soil.”

From day to night, under the relentless bombardment of the Empire, the Demon Legion took an entire day but still could not break through the Empire’s defenses.

In the darkness, beams of light crossed the sky, weaving a dense network that lit the ground as if it were daylight.

—But this was merely a probing by both sides, the Empire testing the power of their weapons, while Leo Boske used the cheapest demons to deplete the Empire’s artillery shells.

“You shall be destroyed…”

In the dark night, surrounded by a throng of demons, Leo’s face twisted as he stared at the brightly lit Imperial’s Wall in the distance, chaos flickering in his eyes.

For demons transformed by Gelrazax, hatred was the source of their strength.

And this former Duke Boske had been consumed with the thought of destroying the Empire and killing the Red Dragon for over a decade.

Even now, this hatred had reached its peak, etching itself deep into his bones.

Suddenly, a Kwase Demon flying unsteadily broke into his view, flapping its wings erratically.

Leo frowned in displeasure and casually seized the head of this Kwase Demon, veins bulging on his hefty arm as his five crimson fingers gradually applied force.

“Ow~”

The Kwase Demon let out a painful wail, but due to the suppression of an Upper Demon, it didn’t dare to struggle.

“Bang!”

The Imp’s head burst open suddenly, thick brain matter and dark purple blood splattered everywhere.

Only then did the anger on Leo’s face slightly ease. He licked the blood from the corner of his mouth and casually tossed away the remains of the Kwase Demon.

The nearby Kwase Demons swarmed eagerly to devour the corpse completely.

For demons, the flesh and blood of their own kind were just as delectable, and in some ways, even more alluring.

Leo looked down at this bloody, chaotic scene, a gruesome smile suddenly spreading across his face, and he chuckled softly.

“Heh heh heh…

Cassius, wait and see, this will be your fate too.”

In the black night, the eyes of hundreds of thousands of demons glinted eerily, their loud, chaotic howls echoing across the wasteland.