Chapter 286 Assault on Hell’s Gate - 04
"It's not dead yet! Cut its head off!" Christopher's urgent command rang out, instructing Penthesilea to sever the demon's head. High-ranking demons possessed a vitality even more formidable than that of vampires, requiring a more decisive measure than just targeting the demonic heart.
Responding swiftly, Penthesilea leaped off the VTOL, wielding her iconic two-handed battleaxe. The demon below her roared, its claws reaching out to maim her as she descended.
However, Penthesilea's body twisted mid-air, her battleaxe tightly clenched. Instead of her leg falling victim to the malicious demon claws, it was the sharp edge of her battleaxe that met their onslaught.
Boom!!
The battleaxe unleashed a shockwave of immense power, guided by the blessings of Artemis imbued within. It tore through the demonic creatures with ruthless efficiency, both Penthesilea and her battleaxe descending forcefully onto the battlefield.
The result was a bloodied circle crafted from the torn flesh and blood of the demonic horde.
In a surge of divine energy, Penthesilea channeled the essence of her origin like it was back then in the Trojan war when fighting with Achilles, the legendary Amazonian warrior queen from myth.
Her form radiated an ethereal green glow, a manifestation of mythical power that heightened her already extraordinary speed and strength. With a battle cry that echoed through the chaotic landscape, Penthesilea unleashed the might of the Amazoness.
Wielding her iconic two-handed battleaxe, she charged headlong into the demonic horde. The mythical power coursing through her veins transformed her into an unstoppable force, slashing through the demonic ranks like a hot knife through butter. Each swing of her battleaxe cleaved through demons, leaving a trail of dismembered bodies in her wake.
The demonic horde, once a formidable sea of adversaries, now faced the wrath of a mythical queen in her full power. Penthesilea moved with a grace that defied the chaos around her, her every movement a display of divine prowess like a mad bulldozer, she plowed through the horde, creating a bloodied path toward her ultimate target.
Amidst the cacophony of battle, Penthesilea's destination was clear – Lucian, pinned to the ruins of a building by the spear she had hurled at him earlier. With unwavering determination, she fought her way through the demons that tried to obstruct her, closing in on her quarry.
Helplessly pinned to the building, Lucian yearned to escape, but the spear embedded in his demonic heart, the source of his infernal power, rendered him incapable of exerting strength beyond that of a normal human.
His mind, however, remained free to command the demonized humans and demons borrowed from Mammon to obstruct Penthesilea.
As Penthesilea, a whirlwind of death, relentlessly approached, the demonic horde intensified its resistance, attempting to obstruct her path to its master.
Despite their efforts, they could only slow her down marginally, forcing her to swing her battleaxe more to cleave through the demon ranks.
In a pivotal moment, a flurry of blessed blades rained down on the demons attempting to impede Penthesilea, obliterating them and clearing a more convenient path for her. Christopher, the source of the blessed blades, shouted encouragement.
"Go on, lass! Cut off its damn head!" he bellowed, his actions and words synchronizing as he skillfully eliminated demons attacking him from behind, as if possessing eyes in the back of his head.
Frantically, Lucian strained to pull out the spear embedded in his demonic heart as Penthesilea drew relentlessly closer, her deadly intent palpable within the span of just seven meters. Fear of impending death seized his heart, compelling him to cry out for help in a subservient manner befitting an ally.
"Mammon! No! Lord Mammon, Hell Lord of Greed! Please Help me!" Lucian's plea echoed, desperation tainting his once haughty tone.
Penthesilea, undeterred, hurled her battleaxe with unparalleled precision. The weapon cleaved through the air, severing Lucian's head from his shoulders. Even as the lifeless form of the demon lord crumpled, Penthesilea, utilizing her superhuman strength, fended off the surrounding demons with her shield and bare hand.
The battlefield, bathed in demonic blood, bore witness to the decisive end of Lucian's reign of terror.
As Lucian's life force waned, the dark spell stabilizing the hell gate grew increasingly unstable, causing the connection between the demon realm and mortal realm to flicker. The hell gate itself began to crack, a sign of its imminent collapse.
Recognizing the impending danger, demons hastily retreated from the defensive perimeters, converging on the hell gate to utilize their power and life force in a desperate attempt to stabilize it.
High-ranking demons channeled their demonic energy, while the lower-ranking ones, more numerous but expendable, resorted to killing each other, using their demonic blood and life force as offerings to sustain the weakening connection.
"They're retreating! They retreated!" A soldier in the trench shouted joyfully, embracing his comrades in relief as they had survived a brief but intense onslaught from the demonic horde.
Even the soldiers in hulking power armor, maintaining their composure, displayed subtle signs of elation and relief, indicating their shared joy at the turning of the tide.
— Tessia Royal Capital - Hell Gate —
Emerging from the flickering remnants of the hell gate, Mammon, the Hell Lord of Greed, materialized in all his grandeur. His golden armor gleamed, accentuated by the occasional dragon scale that adorned his otherwise humanoid face.
Despite his demonic features, Mammon's allure remained undiminished, an imposing figure that exuded power and dominance.
With a sweeping gaze, Mammon surveyed the chaotic scene before him. The instability of the hell gate and the moral fabric of his demons quickly subsided as his formidable presence infused the surroundings with an air of authority. The hellish connection stabilized under his influence, and the demons, once frenzied and chaotic, fell into an obedient rhythm.
Unconcerned with the fate of his fallen ally, Lucian. Mammon displayed no sentiment over the sacrifice of millions that had been made to establish the hell gate in the mortal realm. In the realm of demons, alliances were fleeting, and Mammon and Lucian were no exception.
Their collaboration had been purely transactional – Mammon needed Lucian to establish the hell connection from the mortal world side, while Lucian sought the power from Mammon's hell.
In the lexicon of hell, they were nothing more than business partners, and in Mammon's eyes, a good business partner was one who would eventually attempt to betray the other for the sake of obtaining something even more substantial.
It was a devilish dance of opportunism and self-interest, a game where loyalty was as rare as genuine kindness in the infernal realms. Mammon, now present in the mortal world, had arrived to assert his dominance and ensure that his investment in this hellish connection bore fruitful returns.
As Mammon's demonic power permeated the mortal realm, a sinister transformation unfolded in tandem with his arrival.
The once serene atmosphere twisted into a malevolent manifestation of Mammon's influence. The sky darkened, shrouded in an eerie hue that reflected the insatiable greed and avarice that defined Mammon's realm.
Across the country, survivors who had sought refuge from the demonic onslaught found themselves ensnared by the madness of greed.
The air itself seemed to pulse with an irresistible temptation, whispering promises of untold wealth and power. What began as a subtle inclination soon escalated into a frenzied madness, each survivor succumbing to the overwhelming desire to acquire, possess, and dominate.
The survivors turned on each other with reckless abandon. Greed-fueled madness manifested in their actions as they fought and clawed for even the most insignificant possessions. A scrap of cloth became a coveted treasure, and the once-precious bonds of humanity disintegrated in the face of insatiable desire.
The streets echoed with the frenetic energy of a population consumed by Mammon's influence. Friend turned against friend, neighbor against neighbor, as the very essence of greed gripped their minds and hearts.
Violence erupted on every corner, and the once-hidden survivors now became assailants in their pursuit of perceived wealth.
It was a dark and twisted reflection of Mammon's realm, a cruel testament to the corrupting nature of greed. As Mammon reveled in the chaos he had unleashed, the world outside the demonic horde's immediate reach succumbed to the insidious influence of the Hell Lord of Greed.
Recognizing the overwhelming malevolence that accompanied Mammon's influence, Christopher and the Paladins stepped forward.
With a stern resolve, they raised their blessed weapon high, invoking the divine authority granted by his faith. The atmosphere crackled with an ethereal energy as the Paladins channeled the might of the heavens.
In a swift and deliberate motion, the Paladin began a sacred incantation, the words resonating with ancient power. The air shimmered with golden light as a protective barrier, sanctified by holy energy, enveloped the defensive perimeters and the forward base camp.
The ground itself seemed to respond, blessed by the divine essence that sought to counteract Mammon's insidious influence.
The holy barrier stood as a bastion against the pervasive greed that tainted the very air. Its radiant glow repelled Mammon's corrupting touch, creating a sacred haven within its confines. The soldiers within the defensive perimeters felt a surge of renewed strength as the holy barrier shielded them from the relentless pull of Mammon's greed.
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