The Offensive

"Kill them! The great Lord Kostchtchie watches over us! Slaughter these mortals down to the last, and you shall become the darlings of the Abyss!" The frost shaman raised his staff high and roared, driving the freezing winds into an even wilder frenzy. "Feeble mortals!" "For Lord Kostchtchie! For the Abyss!" The tanar'ri frost giants loosed guttural war cries as well. Amidst the blizzard sweeping across the earth, these demonic giants—nearly ten meters tall—swung warhammers, spears, and massive clubs, marching in a vast host toward the Avernus coalition's defensive line. Their heavy strides made the ground tremble relentlessly. The demons from the Iron Wastes grew even more crazed, screeching in deafening, discordant voices as they surged against Avernus's defense like a mottled tidal wave. "Hold them back! Defend Avernus to the death!" *Whoosh—* The devils drew their bows and notched arrows. Countless missiles blazing with hellfire shot into the sky, while searing fireballs plummeted from aloft, blasting into the demonic swarm. Under the power of the frost shaman, however, the arrows were caught in wild gales, veering off course to land harmlessly on the ground, and even the fireballs snuffed out in an instant, crashing down as inert rocks. The devil officers looked grim, their voices urgent. "Never let them enter our lines! Stop those big bastards!" The high-ranking devils knew all too well that these frost giants were colossal and thick-skinned, packing tremendous momentum against the Legion of Hell's positions. If the giants were allowed to rampage unchecked into the lines, the infernal legion would suffer devastating losses. "Die, hellish bastards!" Roaring, a frost giant crashed into the Legion of Hell's line and swung his heavy warhammer, smashing several devil soldiers into bloody paste. Accompanied by a spine-chilling screech, several horned devil warriors swooped down, thrusting their infernal pitchforks through the tanar'ri frost giant's skull. Yet soon enough, another tanar'ri frost giant in the distance roared, "Damn little bats! I'll rip your wings to shreds!" Kicking off a small hill, he leapt more than ten meters into the air, grabbed the horned devil's bat-like wings, and brutally ripped it from the sky. The horned devil shrieked, frantically stabbing with its pitchfork to pierce its foe's eyes, but the tanar'ri frost giant pinned it beneath him, slamming it violently into the earth and grinding it into a smoking lump of mangled flesh. Standing over the horned devil's corpse, the tanar'ri frost giant howled at the sky, pounding his chest and laughing maniacally. But in the distance, the devil legion's hellfire ballista was already sighted on him. *Thwack—* With a sonic crack, a massive flaming bolt tore through the sky, puncturing the frost giant's heart and pinning his burly, muscular frame firmly to the ground. The slaughter between devils and demons was gruesome beyond measure. The two sides were ancient rivals who had waged war since time immemorial, ruthlessly employing every dirty trick in existence. Yet under the fierce assault of the frost shaman and the tanar'ri frost giants, fissures were already beginning to show in the Legion of Hell's defenses. Like sledgehammers, the colossal demonic giants battered again and again against the devils' stubborn line. The Empire's sector, however, painted an entirely different picture. The Machine Cult's Skitarii engaged the enemy on the front lines, their fierce barrage of heavy artillery plowing the ground before them over and over, while the aerospace dreadnoughts high above continuously fired elemental beams. Amidst this hail of bullets and unrelenting shellfire, the demons were like moths drawn to a flame, throwing themselves forward time and again only to be wiped out completely each time. The Wangquan and Magic Coin guilds also held their respective stretches of the defense. Wangquan formed an unyielding bulwark with thousands of greatshield-bearing paladins, keeping the demons firmly at bay. Meanwhile, over a thousand spellcasters of Magic Coin stood upon their guild's floating fortress. Waving their staves, a torrential cascade of dazzling spells poured down: fire, lightning, radiant light, boulders... Spells fell as though they cost nothing, hammering down in an endless barrage that brought unspeakable agony and devastating casualties to any demon attempting to breach the perimeter. *Hum—* Armored wyverns skimmed low across the sky, releasing rains of bombs under the command of their Redscale Conquerors. Flames soared into the heavens as demons were swallowed by explosions and reduced to ashes. The unaffiliated solo players were even more absurd. Forgoing defense entirely, they charged straight beyond the battle lines, fearlessly plunging into the demon tide to brawl with absolute resolve. "Damn it, these guild bastards are hogging everything!" "Fuck! Even if it costs me my life, I'm snatching a piece of meat from their jaws!" Well, in a certain sense, these solo players truly had charged out with "absolute resolve to die." Demons loved nothing more than chaotic brawls. They reveled in the high-stakes thrill of melee combat and savored even more their foes' terrified screams before death. This time, however, they had run into players who loved free-for-alls just as much—and whose madness surpassed their own. "Tatakai! Tatakai!" A player clad in a brown jacket and a dark green cloak wore an ecstatic expression, his hand trembling slightly around his blades. He had waited for this day for far too long. During the last war quest, the frost giants had been too few and far too short. But now, he could finally unleash his full power! The player squeezed the triggers on his blade hilts. Cables shot from his waist, anchoring straight into the frost giant's body. Gas hissed from his custom omni-directional mobility gear, launching him into the air. He soared directly behind the frost giant's nape, his green cloak flapping wildly in the wind. *Slash—* Blade arcs flashed. A fountain of blood erupted from the frost giant's nape, and the massive bulk crashed thunderously to the ground. Landing lightly atop the frost giant's corpse, the player struck a dashing pose with blades in hand, a thoroughly satisfied smile on his face. "I swear... I will wipe out every last giant!" Immediately afterward, another cable fired, and he nimbly zipped off toward yet another frost giant. Though this player stood under 1.6 meters tall, little more than an insect before ten-meter frost giants, day after day of relentless practice had honed his combat technique to perfection—particularly against giants—making him a living nightmare to the tanar'ri frost giants. Elsewhere on the battlefield, eighteen bare-chested monks coated head-to-toe in gold powder formed an array. Moving as one, their fists struck like howling gales, battering the surrounding demons without distinction. Wherever these monks passed, demonic shrieks, flying giblets, and foul-smelling blood were left in their wake. Just then, a marilith charged into their midst. Greatswords, warhammers, spears, and other weapons whirled in a flurry, instantly reducing several monks to mangled pulp in a gruesome slaughter. Looking down at the monks with deep, pitch-black reptilian eyes, she let out a raspy chuckle. "Tremble, shudder, hate with all your might, and struggle before me... Mortals, how does it feel to watch your companions die so horribly? Hahaha, but do not worry. Very soon—you will be joining them!" The marilith radiated an intense Abyssal aura, a suffocating pressure capable of choking ordinary mortals, making them foam at the mouth, or even scaring them to death. Yet the bare-chested monks showed not the slightest hint of fear, nor did their faces display much sorrow. They simply stared right at the marilith, their eyes gleaming with determination. "Brothers, be careful! This fiend possesses immense supernatural power and cannot be underestimated." "Indeed. Eldest Brother and Third Brother both fell to her hands. Her DPS is really... wait, no, I mean she's utterly ruthless." "I fear only the Abbot can slay such an evil creature. We must unite as one and buy time. Do not let her escape!" Staring at these bald mortals, the marilith was thoroughly baffled, followed immediately by soaring outrage. *They're not afraid of me!* *Where is the grief for their fallen comrades? Where is the dread in the face of death? Why haven't I tasted a single drop of those delicious emotions?!* Her face darkening, the marilith gritted her teeth. "Arrogant mortals! I will show you what kind of being you are facing!" Highly corrosive venom spewed from her maw as six arms brandished blood-stained weapons, slashing toward the monk players. Most of these players were below level ten and naturally no match for a high-ranking demon like a marilith, suffering heavy casualties under her relentless strikes. "Hold the line, everyone!" "Look, it's the Abbot!" a monk player suddenly yelled excitedly. "Abbot! This demon is terrifyingly strong—she took down eleven of our brothers in one go! Please, Venerable One, strike her down!" "Bold fiend! I could tell with one look that you aren't human!" A thunderous roar erupted from the distance. Startled, the marilith turned her head. There stood a bald monk nearly five meters tall. He was barehanded and bare-chested as well, his muscles gnarled like the twisted roots of an ancient banyan. Even more absurdly, he had eight full arms—each extraordinarily thick, with bulging sinews sculpted like chiseled granite. This was none other than the guildmaster of Shaolin Temple, the strongest monk player in Elezerg—Dawei Tianlong! Gazing at that iron-cast physique, even the marilith froze for a moment, bewildered. *Is this thing even human?* Compared to a mortal, this monk looked far more like a humanoid Abyssal fiend. That brief hesitation was all Dawei Tianlong needed. With ferocious momentum, he bellowed, "Demon, where do you think you're going?!" Dust billowed as the towering, eight-armed figure leapt into the air, descending before the marilith with unstoppable force and smashing a fist the size of an earthen pot right into her alluring, seductive face. *Boom!* Spitting a mouthful of foul blood, the marilith was sent flying backward, lodging deep into the rock wall. *What kind of strength is this?!* "Brother Tianlong is badass!" "What nonsense are you spewing? Did you forget our Shaolin Temple rules? Say 'Mighty Abbot'!" "Mighty Abbot!" "Ignorant mortal! You have angered me! You know nothing of the Abyss's mighty power!" The marilith flew into a rage, dark red flames igniting across the weapons in all six arms. Arc after arc of burning blade-light tore through the air, looking ready to rip and burn everything in its path to cinders. "Paltry tricks! How dare you flaunt them before me?!" *Bang! Bang! Bang!* Dawei Tianlong was utterly fearless. Throwing hundreds of punches in rapid succession, the fierce gusts of his strikes shattered the flaming blade-arcs into dispersals of sparks. Then, kicking off the ground with tremendous force, a gust of wind trailing in his wake, his body dissolved into a blurry afterimage once more as he lunged forward, brandishing all eight fists at the marilith. Looking up in astonishment, the marilith was greeted by a torrential downpour of fists driven by gale-force shockwaves, crashing mercilessly against her body. *Boom!* *Boom! Boom! Boom!* His face wrought with fury like a wrathful Vajra guardian, Dawei Tianlong's eight arms blurred into countless afterimages, unleashing hundreds of punches in mere breaths. Foul blood and stone chips splattered in all directions, while pulverized rock dust choked the air. "The Abbot's divine might slays demons and purges evil!" "As expected of the Abbot!" The spectating monks cheered in thrill and awe. That was the monk of their dreams—unadorned fists, a gleaming bald head, and pure, unadulterated violence! Yet right then, a frenzied shockwave burst forth with the marilith at its center, blasting Dawei Tianlong more than a dozen meters away in an instant. Dropping to one knee, Dawei Tianlong stared solemnly into the distant Abyssal fog and muttered under his breath, "The fiend isn't dead yet..." Just then, an ear-splitting screech rang out across the sky. "Mortal!" "You have truly enraged me! I will make you witness the wrath of the Abyss!" The voice was extraordinarily raspy and layered over itself like the hissing of a hundred cobras. The marilith's twisted body swelled even larger. Black spines protruded from between her scales, and dark mist shrouded her frame, surging with intense chaotic power. "Fine demon! You still have tricks like this up your sleeve? But before me, no matter how much you posture, you won't escape!" Dawei Tianlong clenched his fists and barked. "Heh heh, mortal. Before the might of the Abyss, you will soon realize your own insignificance!" The marilith swept all six arms forward at once, hurling black spears trailing dense fog. "Bring it on!" Dawei Tianlong threw a punch, only to find the spears piercing straight through the gale of his strike to break his skin. Black smoke corroded his flesh like ravenous beasts. The stray black spears plunged into the earth, their impacts hissing as they corroded small pits into the ground. "Is this... Abyssal corruption? What vicious magic!" His expression turned sharply. Gathering ki beneath his feet, he darted and weaved back and forth between the raining spears. Gritting his teeth, Dawei Tianlong stepped forward to finish off the marilith, but the dense black fog coiling around her coalesced into a thick barrier. Murky, foul raindrops fell from the sky, searing flesh wherever they touched and letting Abyssal taint seep into the bloodstream. Under these conditions, Dawei Tianlong had no choice but to burn through his ki, dodging incessantly to avoid letting the rain touch him. "Mortal, weep before the Abyss..." A mocking sneer drifted from the dark fog, chilling the blood. Mariliths were never known for relying purely on brute physical brawling; possessed of supremely arrogant and vainglorious evil souls, they preferred watching their foes perish in torment and terror. Yet right at that moment, a resonant shout boomed from the distance. "Dawei Tianlong, I've come to help you!"