Chapter 20: Cannon Fodder
Above Moonfall Lake, a pinkish mist spread thickly.
Within this dense fog, Linley and his group instinctively released their divine domains, pushing the pink mist away. The range of a single god-level expert's divine domain wasn't large, but with over a thousand experts activating them simultaneously, a vast area above the castle was instantly cleared of all mist.
"People are dying before we even enter the castle," Linley muttered inwardly. As the pink mist had spread, many had their spiritual energy tainted by the poisonous fog. Those with particularly strong killing intent had gone berserk instantly.
In that brief moment, nearly ten intermediate gods had died.
"This mist is truly formidable," Bebe praised. "Good thing I didn't release my divine sense earlier."
Dylia spoke up, "I heard the sounds of battle and released my divine sense to see what was happening. Of course, the moment I heard that warning, I withdrew it immediately." Linley turned to look at Dylia. "Dylia, are you alright?" A wave of fear washed over him.
"Do I look like something's wrong?" Dylia smiled.
"I only felt a slight irritation, a faint urge to kill. It was still within my control," Dylia explained.
Linley frowned and turned his head, looking to the side where two intermediate gods were talking. "Aksu, we're in trouble this time. The poison mist concocted by a master of the Death Rules, an upper god—that stuff is incredibly expensive. The master of Moonfall Lake Castle uses it so casually. And that magic formation earlier... at the very least, it shows the castle master is extremely wealthy."
"Yes. This mist that stirs the killing heart isn't even the worst. I saw someone selling a poison at the Black Sand Castle in Diyi City—just touching it with your spiritual energy could cause your soul to spontaneously combust and collapse. But the price was astronomical."
The nearly thousand intermediate gods taking the assessment were murmuring among themselves. They all hovered in midair, waiting for the twenty-plus demons to make a decision.
If the demons didn't deal with the castle master and the Black-Robed Guards, they wouldn't dare charge in.
Everyone, including Linley, understood now. The master of Moonfall Lake Castle had likely only shown a fraction of his power so far. His real trump cards hadn't been revealed yet. How could Linley and the other intermediate gods rush in to die?
In the spacious hall on the ground floor of Moonfall Lake Castle.
A butler in purple robes stood to one side, while a black-haired elder with eyebrows drooping down to his chest savored some wine, speaking calmly, "Belom, have you assessed the situation outside?"
"Sir, the ones leading the charge are a group of demons," the purple-robed butler said, frowning. "Sir, things seem a bit unfavorable. It's likely someone deliberately issued an attack mission against us at the Demon Castle." Having demons involved was trouble for anyone.
The castle master felt the same.
"Hmm?" The black-haired elder furrowed his brows, pondering for a moment.
"Regardless, anyone who enters the castle dies," the black-haired elder said in a low voice. "Arrange all the Gold-Robed Guards. Distribute the God-Slaying Arrows and everything else. Someone is deliberately targeting me? Once this is over, I will investigate."
"Yes, sir!" The purple-robed butler bowed.
Above Moonfall Castle, the hovering group, led by Loyus and the others, was also troubled.
Loyus knew well that with enough wealth and power, one could purchase many forbidden items at the Black Sand Castle, turning a fortress into a death trap. Even he wouldn't dare barge in recklessly.
"There's no other way," Loyus said grimly, looking at the surrounding demons.
The demons exchanged glances.
This wasn't a situation they hadn't faced before. They all knew what to do now—
Make those taking the demon assessment act as cannon fodder! Send them in to storm the castle first!
"Swoosh!" "Swoosh!" ...
More than twenty demons shot upward almost simultaneously, hovering above Linley's large group. A voice rang out: "The poison mist is thick, and this castle is impenetrable. We have no choice but to enter the interior! Now, you nearly a thousand people will split into ten teams. Enter the castle one by one through the windows and passages. We demons will split into ten small teams and follow behind you. You handle the ordinary Gold-Robed Guards. If you encounter Black-Robed Guards, we demons will step in!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of the nearly thousand intermediate gods hoping to take the assessment changed.
"Bastards, they want us to be cannon fodder!" Linley cursed inwardly.
Everyone understood instantly. But Linley and the others dared not resist... because they all knew how terrifying powerful upper gods could be.
Perhaps an upper god like Crompton, who had refined a godhead, could be overwhelmed by a group of intermediate gods working together.
But someone like Loyus, a Five-Star Demon, was different.
Becoming a Five-Star Demon meant he had fused laws and profound mysteries. A Five-Star Demon could slaughter a thousand of them without difficulty. Not to mention there were three Five-Star Demons! And a bunch of Four-Star Demons as well. They had no way to resist.
"You people, form one team," a demon immediately began assigning groups.
But the intermediate gods didn't respond.
"Hurry up. Or do you want to die right now?" A cold voice rang out. Finally, the intermediate gods exchanged glances and could only comply.
There was no choice!
"Even if the intermediate gods joined forces, it would be impossible," Linley thought, glancing at Moonfall Lake Castle. "The corridors inside won't be wide—at most two or three people can walk side by side. A hundred people going in couldn't attack the upper gods behind them all at once."
With no hope of resistance, all the intermediate gods could only obey.
After all, the demons weren't trying to kill them—just send them in first. They still had a chance to survive.
"Hey, we're in charge of this team," Crompton called out.
Usually, two or three demons would follow behind each hundred-person team.
"Haha, Crompton, you bastard," someone laughed. They all knew Crompton had chosen to oversee this team because of Linley's group. Linley, Bebe, and Dylia were in this team.
The castle's main gate was tightly shut, impossible to force open.
The ten hundred-person teams had to enter one by one through the upper windows. Linley and his group mingled with the crowd, slipping through a window into a room, then carefully began moving along the corridor, searching for enemies.
"This pink mist fills the entire castle. We can't see anything ahead. One wrong move and we're done for," Linley thought, holding Dylia's hand cautiously. He and Bebe walked near the front of the line.
Linley didn't dare fall behind. Behind them were Crompton and the others.
There was no mist around Linley because all the intermediate gods had activated their divine domains, clearing the pink fog from their immediate vicinity. But ahead of the group, beyond the divine domains' range, the endless pink mist stretched on.
Everyone moved slowly and carefully.
"Boss, how do you think they made that poison mist stuff?" Bebe asked Linley via divine sense, since there was no mist around them to interfere. "It directly affects the soul. I heard someone say there's even worse stuff that can make your soul spontaneously combust."
"Who knows? Back in the Yulan continent, I fell for that Grand Warlock's trick. And at the Violet Thorn Castle, you saw those God-Slaying Arrows. They're so deadly because they're coated with poison," Linley replied via divine sense. "I've also heard that many even more terrifying things are only sold at the Black Sand Castle."
Bebe snorted. "I wonder what else is in this castle."
"Linley, I keep getting a bad feeling," Dylia said via divine sense. "Be careful. Don't be reckless. There are many attacks in the Infernal Realm we've never seen before. Have you ever encountered poison mist that stirs the soul's killing intent? Stay alert."
Seeing Dylia's concerned gaze, a warm current surged through Linley's heart.
"Move it up front! You're going too slow!" Crompton's roar came from behind.
The intermediate gods in Linley's group felt resentful, but no one dared speak up. The castle had several floors. Linley's group searched the entire corridor on the top floor without finding anyone. Then they descended the stairs to the second floor. This floor was noticeably larger than the first and had a much more complex layout.
"So eerie!" All the intermediate gods felt oppressed.
No matter where they went, a vast amount of pink mist filled the space ahead of them. It made Linley and the others feel like the path ahead was always unknown. Staying constantly on edge was exhausting.
"Whoosh—"
Suddenly, the sound of wind cutting through the air rang out.
"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!" ...
Before Linley could react, an arrow shot through the gaps between the people ahead and reached him in an instant. It was too fast for him to dodge.
"Thud!" The arrow struck Linley's earth-yellow robe.
This robe, combined with the two profound mysteries to form a pulsating armor, stopped the arrow from piercing through.
But ahead of Linley, over twenty people had fallen to the ground, their bodies pierced by arrows. They had no life left in them. As they died, the pink mist from farther away surged in to fill the gap.
"All dead?" Linley was stunned for a moment.
There had been over thirty people ahead of Linley. Most of them were dead.
In truth, the arrows had come in a dense volley from the end of the corridor. Almost every intermediate god hit had died, except for two. One was Linley, and another had been hit but managed to withstand it—clearly having strong soul defense.
"Whoosh!"
Several surviving intermediate gods ahead of Linley immediately used their spatial rings to collect the bodies. After all, the corpses held godheads and spatial rings, which contained vast wealth.
"Boss, you were too slow," Bebe said. Linley was momentarily stunned as all the bodies were snatched up. Bebe, quick to react, had grabbed two.
"Linley, are you alright?" Dylia looked at him anxiously.
"What could happen to the boss?" Bebe chuckled. "The boss's soul defense and body defense are both very strong." In truth, Bebe was worried about Linley too, but since their souls were linked, Bebe could tell if Linley was in trouble.
"Fall back, fall back!" Some intermediate gods ahead shouted.
Crompton roared from behind: "Keep moving! What are you afraid of? Keep moving!!!"
The intermediate gods at the front felt furious inside, cursing: "It's not you dying, so of course you're not scared!"
But those daring enough to take the demon assessment had courage. They wouldn't retreat just because of this. Still, they became even more cautious.
"Dylia, stay behind me," Linley said. After the sudden volley of arrows, Linley had ended up near the front of the group. Only a few people were ahead of him now. And after that danger, everyone was moving even slower.
Crompton strolled casually at the back, sneering inwardly: "So you didn't die this time. But next time, it'll be your turn." Crompton was eagerly waiting to see Linley die.
"Keep moving." Ten warriors in golden robes moved silently through a hidden passage inside the castle. On their fingers were moon-shaped spatial rings.
"Heh, they lost a batch and still keep coming. Bold fellows. At the next checkpoint, we'll hit them again and take out a few dozen more."
"Killing like this is so easy."
"Normally, can we use God-Slaying Arrows so freely? This stuff is expensive."
The Gold-Robed Guards quickly reached the next checkpoint.
Linley's group continued cautiously forward, unaware that soon, another batch of them would meet their end.