LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 235.1
Chapter 235.1. Demon Generals
One of the demon commanders, Astaroth, surveyed the surroundings and rallied his waiting subordinates.
“Listen up! We don’t know what happened, but the dungeon where we were born has fused with this fortress. No, it’s even better than before. Our strength has increased tremendously because of this!”
Astaroth shouted with a hoarse, old man’s voice, though his mind remained calm, analyzing the situation. As demons, they possessed immense power, making ordinary humans no match for them. If asked to kill 10,000 people, they could do so easily—if they were civilians.
However, if that 10,000 were a well-armed group, fighting against humans equipped with tanks, fighter jets, and recoilless rifles, killing even 100 would be a challenge. Humans were strong. While Astaroth didn’t underestimate his own power, the difference between humans and demons was obvious.
And he understood. They were nothing more than pawns, whose sole purpose was to reduce the human population. The dungeon’s will convey that clearly.
Kill humans.
Not annihilate humanity.
To the dungeon, they were merely one of many disposable weapons used to reduce humanity’s numbers.
All the demons understood this. And because Astaroth and the others weren’t so naive as to accept their fate, they had built fortresses and gathered enough forces to potentially defeat humanity. But their plan had been shattered by humanity’s attacks.
Though Astaroth and his kin were demons, they were not all-powerful. Unlike the demons of legend who could grant any wish in exchange for souls, they did not possess such omnipotence.
They had egos but were limited beings, possessing only game-like skills and stats. Here, at this point, they resigned themselves to the dungeon’s malicious orders, deciding to fight to the death as they awaited the human army.
“What in the world happened?”
As he observed the high-ranking demons lining up and positioning themselves with exuberance, Astaroth thought. Once outside the dungeon, the monsters gained some freedom. In exchange, the dungeon classified them as enemies. This was why the demons couldn’t multiply in numbers.
They could only wait for new demons to emerge from a dungeon. Despite this, after 20 years, they remained a small force. But somehow, the dungeon had fused, and the senior demons, who had always been allies with wills of their own, could now command the demons within the dungeon.
It was a shame no other demon commanders were present, but it wasn’t an issue. They had managed to assemble over ten times more high-ranking demons.
“Can’t we worry about that later?”
The Fly King Beelzebub, holding his scepter, turned his multifaceted eyes toward Astaroth. The giant Fly King, standing three meters tall, twitched his proboscis grotesquely.
“Indeed, we can crush the approaching army with this force.”
Belial, with the furry, bull-like body of a Minotaur and the head of a human, grinned while holding a blood-stained halberd. At their words, Astaroth furrowed his already wrinkled face, making it even more wrinkled as he reluctantly nodded.
“That’s true. With this force, we should be able to hold out even against the human army.”
The demon commanders, Astaroth, Beelzebub, and Belial, were all present. There was no way they would lose. If they won this first battle and Satan took control of the dungeon, they might be able to retaliate against the humans and create a world for demons.
As he contemplated their potential victory and the irony of a demon feeling hope, Astaroth surveyed the hall once more.
Numerous grand stone pillars supported the ceiling, and intricate carvings of demons adorned the stone walls, so lifelike one could mistake them for real. The room spanned a vast area, taking up 30% of the floor, enough space to station a large number of troops. In this hall alone, 3,000 high-ranking demons had gathered—a spectacular sight. With such a force, they wouldn’t lose unless an extraordinary enemy appeared. They had also established defensive lines at key points, but this was their main force.
Then he noticed something. One of the demon commanders, Agares, was missing.
“Alright. We’ll face the enemy here. …But why hasn’t Agares, who went to scout, returned yet? He should be back by now.”
The dungeon was filled with countless traps. The enemy would proceed cautiously, wary of them, so it would take some time before they arrived. Still, it was time to start preparing their strategy.
“His [Fate Disruption] is powerful. There’s no way he’d be defeated.”
“That’s true… but it still bothers me. Someone, go—wait, he’s here.”
Just as Astaroth was about to send someone to retrieve Agares, the metal door to the hall opened slightly, and a demon, dressed like a noble, slipped inside.
The demon approaching with a confident stride was Agares. The hairless demon with the head of a rat wore a scowling expression as he walked toward them.
“Agares. Did you defeat the intruder?”
Belial asked. Agares stopped in the middle of the room, bowed his head, and mumbled something under his breath, causing Belial to approach, puzzled.
Suddenly, Agares lifted his head and, turning his rat face toward the approaching Belial, spoke.
“For a demon, you’re rather straightforward.”
With a cruel smile, Agares’ body turned black and began to melt.
“Get back! That’s not Agares!”
[High Dark Explosion]
It was too late. As Astaroth shouted, the fake Agares’ body, now blackened, swelled like a balloon and exploded in a massive blast.
Pitch-black flames spread, and glittering threads, sharp as crystal, danced wildly in the air. The fake Agares had been filled with these razor-sharp threads. Barriers couldn’t be deployed in time due to some unseen interference, and the demons were slashed to pieces by the gleaming, crystalline threads as the flames consumed them.
The scene turned into a hellish nightmare. Flesh piled up in blood pools, and the stench of death filled the air.
[Core High Dark Strings]
From the slightly opened door, more threads, glowing like the crystal ones that had danced during the explosion, invaded the hall, slicing through the confused demons.
“Meow.”
“Meow.”
“Mew mew.”