Beyond the Apocalypse

Chapter 1103: Descending into the abyss

The rise of a Lord was a monumental achievement for any force, and after the domination of the Fourth Layer, it was not just one—but two—new Lords who ascended within the Six Sun Alliance.

One of them was an old friend of Vlad, a great warrior of the Graecia Empire who had long stood as a beacon of strength and honor in the Land of the Three Calamities.

It was none other than Marshal Maximo.

He had always been extraordinarily talented, and the Laws he cultivated were exceptionally powerful. With the vast new resources available to the Alliance and the immense Origin Power harvested from Hell, he was finally able to break the shackles of the Legendary Ranks and step into the Lord Tier.

The nature of his Laws was extremely aggressive and destructive. Because of this, despite having only recently advanced, Maximo was already capable of clashing directly with powerful Devil Lords who had lived and fought for thousands of years.

The second breakthrough came from a far more unexpected source.

Surprisingly, it was also a Marshal.

The one who rose was none other than the military leader of the Xaos Kingdom—Great Marshal Anglius.

Unlike Maximo, Anglius had never been a cultivation genius. At the beginning of his journey, his talent had been merely average, barely enough to allow him to reach the Sage Rank. Even after his talent evolved through the opportunities provided by the Alliance, personal cultivation was never the core of his strength.

Anglius had always been a leader of men.

His true power came from commanding armies, coordinating large-scale battles, and using the strength of his forces to overcome enemies far stronger than himself.

Yet, it was precisely that mentality that allowed him to rise.

Great Marshal Anglius always led from the front.

In every campaign, he stood at the head of his battalions, personally clashing against Demons, Devils, and the monstrous Vorometallicaes. Every collision left him gravely wounded. Time and time again, his body was pushed to the brink of collapse.

But every time he returned stronger.

His physique grew tougher. His endurance deepened. His limits continued to rise.

Even during the conquest of Hell, Anglius remained at the forefront, leading the Legends directly against the hordes of Devils. More than once, death’s scythe had hovered at his throat.

Yet he never stepped back.

That relentless determination eventually allowed him to shatter the limits of the Legendary Ranks.

His body had become the core of his power. After his breakthrough, his physical presence alone radiated immense force, and from a distance his figure resembled a golden mountain moving across the battlefield.

The Six Sun Alliance did not attempt to hide the news of their rising power. On the contrary, they made sure that the entire universe became aware of the emergence of their new Lords.

However, after their overwhelming success in the Fourth Layer of Hell, the only thing the universe received from the Alliance was silence.

Months passed.

No new campaigns were launched.

No armies advanced.

No further layers were attacked.

The Devil Lords of the Fifth Layer lived in constant terror, expecting at any moment to see the forces of the Six Sun Alliance descend upon them. Some had already begun fleeing, abandoning their territories despite direct orders from the High Lords of the Ninth Layer.

After all, Baal and Beelzebub had already proven incapable of stopping the Alliance.

If even Paragons could not protect them, what reason did they have to remain loyal?

And yet, nothing happened.

For reasons no one understood, the Six Sun Alliance—now stronger than ever—had suddenly gone quiet.

This mystery did not only concern the forces of Hell. Powerhouses across the entire universe found the situation strange. It was extremely unusual for such a massive force, one known for its relentless expansion and genocidal campaigns, to suddenly halt all movement.

But eventually, the truth was revealed.

And when it was, the entire universe was shaken.

None were more shocked than the Demons of the Abyss.

Without warning, the True Depravita of Wrath, accompanied by the Faerathia Emperor, the Dvergar King, and the Obsidian Dragon King, appeared in the First Layer of the Abyss.

With them came seventy-five percent of the main army of the Six Sun Alliance.

Only then did the universe fully understand the ambition—and the madness—of the Alliance.

They had not only conquered four of the nine layers of Hell.

They had marched directly into the Abyss.

By the time the Demon Lords realized what was happening, the slaughter had already begun.

The forces of the Six Sun Alliance rampaged across the layers, killing every Demon they encountered and advancing with terrifying speed.

Unlike Hell, which had only nine massive layers, the Abyss contained hundreds—six hundred and sixty-six in total. However, each individual layer was far smaller, and it was relatively easy for Legends and even Sages to travel between them.

Less than twenty-four hours after the invasion began, the Alliance army had already crossed nineteen layers.

Billions of Demons had died in their path.

Most of those killed were weak creatures whose only value lay in their bodies. These were collected and used as nourishment for Overlord’s larvae, which would later serve as raw material for the creation of Thiamatos units.

When it came to Legendary-level Demons, however, the Alliance was far more careful.

Instead of killing them outright, they were defeated and restrained. Special Demon Soul Extraction Runes were then used to pull their souls from their bodies and seal them into prepared vessels.

Those who underwent this process became Demon Soul Masters.

And souls were not the only resource being harvested.

The Alliance was also aggressively collecting powerful Demonic bloodlines. With each layer they conquered and each horde they harvested, the overall strength of the Six Sun Alliance continued to grow.

Deep within the lowest reaches of the Abyss, ancient and terrifying entities turned their attention toward the invading army.

Their eyes burned with killing intent and savage brutality.

Yet when they sensed the presence of the True Depravita of Wrath, caution began to rise.

That caution only deepened when they realized something else.

They could not detect the presence of the White Death.

There was a possibility that the White Death had remained behind in Hell, guarding the conquered territories.

But there was also another possibility.

That his absence was deliberate.

That he was hiding.

Waiting.

That made the powerhouses of Abyss hesitant.

After all, the Paragons of Hell had already fallen victim to such a strategy.

If the Paragons of the Abyss were careless... they might be next.