Chapter 736: Abyssal Inferno Demon
"I'll help you!"
Everyone turned to the voice and saw a towering, muscular Barbarian player standing firm on the battlefield.
His massive axe was stained with blood, his entire body covered in shredded demon flesh. His eyes glowed faintly red, white smoke puffing from his nostrils like the chosen of the slaughter god Baal descending upon the world.
This was none other than Born Battle Maniac, the most powerful Barbarian player in all of [Erezaghe].
The six-armed Marilith sneered, "You? Even if hundreds or thousands of you pathetic mortals came, you'd all be crushed by the Abyss's might!"
A shrill screech tore through the sky.
Its six arms stretched out and waved in midair, unleashing waves of rippling black light. Nearby players had their veins burst, blood spraying as their bodies exploded apart.
A few on the front line had their helmets crushed inward, their eyeballs bursting into red mist from the sudden cranial pressure.
Even Dawei Tianlong spat blood, his veins bulging. He redirected his Qi through his body just to barely hold himself together, avoiding the same fate as his teammates.
"Die, worm." The Marilith's sinister laughter echoed across the battlefield, like a venomous hiss, sending chills down spines.
Seeing this, Born Battle Maniac didn't hesitate. He raised his head and let out a furious warcry. His muscles swelled and his eyes radiated crimson rage.
"Ahhhhhhh—"
But it didn't stop there. Born Battle Maniac pounded his chest, activating a reverse hexagram branded there that glowed with flashing red light. Hellfire burst from his eyes, nostrils, mouth—even his pores.
He was now cloaked in crimson light, his entire body seemingly engulfed in flame.
Dawei Tianlong paused, murmuring, "No way..."
Even within the thick chaos mist, the Marilith's glowing eyes narrowed. Its expression twisted with deeper hatred—it had sensed a familiar aura.
These demons knew no honor. In a flash, the Marilith slithered forward, all weapons raised, dragging abyssal black mist toward Born Battle Maniac.
"So, a hellspawn bastard!"
"BOOM—"
The air exploded. From the roaring flames, Born Battle Maniac's body swelled madly, growing even larger.
Huge, coiled horns sprouted from his head. Wide wings unfurled from his back. Bone spines jutted from joints, and a terrifying purgatory aura radiated from him, threatening to burn everything nearby.
In seconds, Born Battle Maniac transformed into one of hell's most powerful high-tier demons—the Abyssal Inferno Demon!
"Die!"
The six-armed Marilith lunged, swinging her black-glowing spear, greatsword, and massive axe at him.
As the greatsword neared, a deep black eye opened within the flames. Crimson light flared from its pupil, sending a chill through the Marilith.
Impossible!
How could she feel fear toward a mortal—even one blessed by hell?
"CLANG—"
A massive claw seized the greatsword. Sparks flew as devilish scales scraped across the blade.
The Marilith's face twisted. She slashed with her other five weapons at the flaming figure.
But Born Battle Maniac swung his axe with full force. Clanging metal rang out. All five weapons were blown away by sheer strength.
Her warhammer flew from her grip and embedded into the ground. Even the axe cracked apart, shattering into filthy shards.
Born Battle Maniac locked his gaze on the demon shadow in the black mist, breathing heavily, sulfurous smoke gushing from his nose, abyssal energy wrapping his transformed body.
Empowered by both Barbarian Rage and his Abyssal Inferno Demon form, his Strength stat reached a terrifying 26—boss-level power.
But power came with a price.
The Abyssal Inferno Demon state lasted only three minutes, had a three-day cooldown, and each use permanently drained the user's lifespan.
His time was precious.
Only by slaying the Marilith himself could he make the transformation worth it.
Without hesitation, Born Battle Maniac flapped his wings and soared through the flames, roaring, "Demon, you are the one who's going to die!"
"SWISH—"
He dove, axe wreathed in blazing light, slicing the air and aiming straight for the Marilith's head.
The Marilith twisted her body within the mist, thrusting her spear at his heart.
But midair, Born Battle Maniac switched from vertical to diagonal slash, spinning his axe in a near-perfect arc.
The hellfire-coated axe cleaved off the spear—and the entire arm holding it. Dirty blood sprayed forth.
"You damn insect!"
The Marilith shrieked, spewing sticky venom. But it missed him as he skimmed low past her.
The venom hit the ground with a hiss, burning a deep crater that belched yellow smoke.
If Born Battle Maniac had struck head-on, that poison would have hit his chest and melted away his body along with his heart.
He flapped his wings again and dove behind her, axe raised.
But the Marilith twisted, swinging her remaining five abyssal-forged weapons to block.
"Your time's nearly up, mortal. A human body can't withstand an Inferno Demon's power for long," she hissed.
"One kill is enough!" he roared. Veins bulged in his arms. His axe smashed down, hellfire blazing from its edge.
Abyssal black light and infernal flames clashed, neither yielding. The pressure knocked out nearly every mortal within a hundred meters.
Neither combatant relented, each waiting for the other's opening.
One misstep would decide life or death.
Just then, a furious voice rang out from behind the Marilith.
"Snake fiend, don't get cocky!"
Dawei Tianlong leapt, all eight fists swinging wildly midair, each one glowing brilliantly.
It wasn't Buddha's light but divine power from a [Holy Fist Technique] scroll—functionally just as effective against evil.
Sensing the "disgusting" holy aura, the Marilith whipped her head around and shrieked, "You damned mortal, how dare you?!"
Terrifying soul pressure erupted from her body, making all beings tremble.
But Dawei Tianlong withstood it with his monk resilience, calm as water, will like steel.
He roared, fists flying: "Dawei Tianlong, Earth Sovereign! Great Buddha's Mantras! Prajna of the Buddhas! Prajna Pama Hong! Flying Dragon in the Sky!"
"BANG!"
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
In an instant, countless fist-shadows bearing holy light pounded the Marilith like a storm.
Her armor shattered, blood flew, and charred fist marks appeared on her back.
She wailed, body shaking under the assault. "Mortals! I'll tear you apart! I curse you—the Abyss will devour you!"
But Dawei Tianlong didn't flinch. Like a relentless machine, he punched through the mist, even breaking her spine.
Finally, with the two top-tier players attacking from front and back, the Marilith vomited black blood. Her arms weakened.
Born Battle Maniac seized the chance, slamming his axe down and knocking all her weapons away.
His transformation had only seconds left.
This was the perfect moment to kill the Marilith!
"Die!"
Born Battle Maniac leapt a dozen meters high. His hellfire axe descended in a mighty chop, space around him fracturing from the force.
"SWISH—"
The axe cleaved flesh, split skull, shredded brain. Her entire head split in half, murky brain matter spraying out.
But it didn't stop there. Her neck split, spine severed, and her still-beating heart was halved, the cut blackened and neat.
In his full-powered strike, Born Battle Maniac sliced her entire upper body open. Black blood, thick venom, and wriggling maggots poured out.
Together, the players killed this cruel and venomous high-tier demon.
Next moment, Born Battle Maniac's body shrank rapidly, reverting to his muscular human form.
His skin flushed red, steam rising from his body like overcooked meat. He panted heavily, even struggling to breathe.
Mortals granted demonic power always paid a price.
This was the price of the Abyssal Inferno Demon form: three days of weakness so severe he couldn't even lift his axe.
But as he looked at the message [You have slain the Marilith] and the absurdly generous rewards, he grinned with satisfaction.
Combat. Fuck yeah!
Dawei Tianlong stood before the Marilith's corpse, palms together, face full of compassion. "This fiend is finally redeemed. If left unchecked, who knows how many lives it would've claimed."
Born Battle Maniac struggled to stand, rubbing his shiny bald head, slightly embarrassed. "Brother Tianlong, thanks. You helped too. I'll send you a thousand gold Nars from the reward."
Dawei Tianlong smiled, his stern face finally relaxing. He nodded slightly. "Amitabha. Well done."
Born Battle Maniac scratched his head. He didn't mind—after all, cosplay like this was common in [Erezaghe].
Not far away, a high-level Warrior named "Redblade Heavenly Venerable" in full armor wielded a three-meter-long katana, charging a deep abyssal dragon beast.
"Go, Heavenly Venerable!"
"For the glory of Katana Heroes!"
A dozen players fought off nearby low-tier demons while cheering the duel.
Redblade Heavenly Venerable shouted nonsense like "Step Slash, Diagonal Cut, See-Counter!" and slashed the beast again and again, sparks flying with each blow. He danced around its bites and claw swipes.
Then, roaring "Ascending Dragon!" he stepped on the beast's body, leapt six or seven meters, and raised his katana.
But [Erezaghe] had no invincibility frames. The dragon beast swiped a claw and sent him flying over twenty meters.
Redblade Heavenly Venerable spat blood in midair, screaming, "How?! This was my belief!"
But the abyssal dragon pounced and crushed him into meat paste beneath its massive body.
The onlookers all sighed.
"Sigh, he choked again."
"Disperse, folks. Another fail."
"That katana fool's got shrimp brain. Calling himself Heavenly Venerable?"
"He definitely uses some kind of 'Double' weapon."
"Petition to fix the physics engine. Everyone knows 'Ascending Dragon' should have invincibility frames!"
"Hey hey, you're crossing worlds here. This is [Erezaghe]!"
Since players from the Ember Empire joined the war, the battlefield grew ever more chaotic. The Avernus faction, apart from its orderly devil legions, now had the unpredictable factor of players.
In all of Blood War's long history, one thing was known: in chaotic melee battles, the demons almost always won. After all, they were children of chaos, avatars of entropy itself.
But players had flipped that script.
Even demons had never seen humans this insane.
They feared nothing. They welcomed pain. They ignored teammate deaths or even enjoyed them. Some even strapped on bombs to die dealing damage. The Abyss legions suffered massive losses.
And with Cassius' mission rallying them, Avernus' player count skyrocketed to over a million.
With more players flooding in, the war's outcome became harder and harder to predict.
Far beyond the demon tide, three massive figures cloaked in abyssal mist watched the distant players. Their deep eyes glowed with endless malice and hatred.