High Above

At this time, Nanling was already a sea of ​​smoke and fire.

Except for the Xiahui Territory, other territories and cities suffered extremely high-intensity attacks, and the methods were different.

Some territories were attacked by self-destruction convoys - a convoy that had been reviewed and theoretically harmless carried a full load of high explosives into the middle of the city and then detonated.

A black mushroom cloud rose into the sky, and the shock wave generated crushed all the bewildered people around into pieces, and the subsequent screams and cries also echoed throughout the world.

And in some villages and cities, they encountered some brand-new epidemic attacks.

The originally quiet mountain village was covered with dark blood and human bones. The human corpses on the ground were rapidly 'rotting'... No, that was not rotting, but melting.

"Help, help, is there a doctor..."

A man covered in ulcers struggled to walk out of his house, but before he could take a few steps, he vomited out large mouthfuls of black blood, and his whole body rotted on the ground like mud.

In villages close to the mountains, mud walls were knocked down, fences were swept away, a tiger and a giant bear faced off, and in the middle of them were the mutilated corpses of human beings that had been chewed on the ground.

Most of them resisted, which could be seen from the traces of crossbow arrows on the edge of the village, but facing the power of the mad monsters, a village without sublimated people was just fish.

The child, who was holding his breath, was hidden in the closet by his parents, holding back tears and covering his mouth. However, a hungry wolf gradually approached, smelling the scent, and its eyes were blood red.

No one survived.

Scenes like this appear everywhere in Nanling. Even in Nauman City, although the inner city is intact, the outer city also suffered an 'airship crash' - the stationed psyker and a second ability of the Knights. The ship resisted with all its might, but the wreckage still crashed into the harbor, destroying fifteen large and small ships.

For a time, the ground was filled with gunpowder smoke, the city was filled with blood, and fear and confusion pervaded the earth.

By recycling data and iterating on technology, Feiyandi's special combat technology has made another leap forward.

Moreover, due to the use of the new technology 'Fusion Demon', with the exception of the Silver Peak Territory, all the key urban territories in Nanling north of Indigo Mountain have suffered attacks that were even more intense than before.

Theoretically speaking, Nanling should not be so severely infiltrated. Even if there are fusion demons, not all fusion demons are fusion shadows and can fully obtain the memory of every soul they have devoured.

Not to mention, there are no souls in other territories. Even if it devours people, it cannot obtain all the information in the brain.

But let's not talk about the 'fusion demon' who just acts as a spy. Except for the Silver Peak Territory, which has the Heart of Terra to guard the virtual realm, the rest of the place is basically equivalent to being undefended... There are also many nobles in Nanling who are secretly connected to the Flying Flame Land. .

It may be that they have cooperated before, or they may have been in contact recently. They may even have briefly joined forces to deal with the rise of the Silver Peak Leader.

After all, compared to the blocked Feiyan Land far away in the western theater, local overlords like Ian are more terrifying.

If the development of the Ian Silver Peak Territory could be slowed down and given them a chance to breathe, they wouldn't mind making way for Feiyan Land.

But it's a pity.

Feiyandi's appetite has never been just for Earl Yinfeng - the entire South Ridge is their target.

But these imperial nobles who have stayed in remote frontiers for too long have long forgotten this. The road they gave up was the road where they were crushed into ashes.

Moreover... Feiyandi is not blocked in the western plains.

They had already begun their march.

The former Grand Duke Thorin's territory is now the 'Forest of Lost Souls and Mist'.

After Grand Duke Thorin mobilized the power of the entire principality to become the dead king, and escaped into the center of the earth to create the Kingdom of Hell, the original Grand Duke Thorin's domain completely turned into a world of mist.

The original cities, villages, mountains and forests are all shrouded in pale white mist... But any self-aware life that steps into it will lose consciousness and fall into a coma after a short time.

It's okay if there is no soul, as long as the person is pulled out, the person can wake up, but if there is a soul but cannot resist the invasion of the fog, then the soul will be forcibly stripped off at the moment of losing consciousness, causing serious damage to the brain.

If you enter, you will die, and you will be forced to absorb souls and minds. Therefore, the original Grand Duchy of Thorin became another forbidden area on Terra.

On the edge of the white-covered misty forest, there are blockades and fortresses set up by the empire, as well as observation points that are extremely close to the mist and specially used for guarding.

There has been no abnormality here for two years, and the imperial soldiers guarding the foggy border have become somewhat lax.

"Do we really have to stay here and look at the white fog area for half a day every day?"

A scout stared at the white mist country that seemed to be eternal, with eyes like salted fish. He complained: "And I need to write three reports every day. I would rather go to the western front and fight to the death with the Feiyandi people!"

"Just be content." His partner is a veteran in his sixties. He has experienced several armed conflicts between the Empire and the Flying Fire Land. He joked: "It's enough to write reports every day in such a peaceful place. Being able to get military pay is considered a blessing, and I believe you will never want to go to a real battlefield, where there is nothing but meat sauce and people who will be blown into meat sauce by artillery fire in the future."

"Meat sauce?"

The scout was a little shaken. He was indeed a young man who decided to join the army out of passion: "But at least it has to be a little challenging, right? We are soldiers..."

The veteran patted his partner on the shoulder: "The highest honor of a soldier is that there is no war. You have to understand that our duty is to protect our country and not to kill people."

The veteran sees things very clearly, and he perfectly understands what it means to be a soldier.

But obviously, these words containing survival wisdom will not be easily listened to by young people: "But without glory and military merit, we can't be promoted."

He couldn't stand it if he was just a sergeant like a veteran for decades.

The veteran who had already retired but was re-enlisted because of the Western Territory Emergency Sign Order didn't say much.

At least this silly boy can think about some glory, blood and passion in a safe place instead of dying in an artillery bombardment at a certain fortress. This can be considered a good thing.

not to mention……

"Our place is not that safe after all..."

The veteran squinted his eyes and looked at the pale white fog in front of him.

As a soldier who actually participated in the Terran War, even if it was just a regional conflict, he knew very well that the confrontation between the Empire and the Flying Fire Land in recent years was just a test of each other, a threat to show the fangs before the beasts actually attacked.

If it is really a full-scale war between the two countries - not a 'doomsday war' in which the fourth and fifth energy levels are fully mobilized to destroy the land of both sides indiscriminately - then at the very least, there will be more than hundreds of armored squads gathered into a dozen A large legion carried out lightning strikes on cities in the enemy's territory, destroying roads and farmland, and completely eliminating the possibility of supply and support for the enemy fortress.

But there will only be one such opportunity for a surprise attack, so before attacking, both sides must master the intelligence of all key areas of the other party. Therefore, intelligence warfare is extremely important.

The Archduke Thorin is located on the border of the West. It was the only way for the Flying Fire Land to enter the empire. Although it is basically impossible for anyone to pass through this dead land, if there is really something special about the Flying Fire Land, What about technology?

Then these 'small strongholds' that report information three times a day are living warning lights that remind this 'possibility'.

Just like underground prospectors would bring mice or canaries to warn of threats with their lives.

Veterans do not reject this kind of duty. Every soldier has his own glory, but sometimes this glory does not require fighting to achieve... It is best not to have fighting and glory. It is best for everyone to be safe and receive military pay. good.

But this beautiful wish has never been realized.

As everyone knows, no one can pass through this land because of the realm of Archduke Thorin.

But what if it’s not a human being?

Is it some kind of...demon?

Suddenly, waves of ripples appeared in the originally calm foggy area, just like the concentric patterns of raindrops on a calm lake.

Seeing this scene, the young scout was slightly startled, and then showed a surprised expression: "An accident happened!"

The veteran on the side widened his eyes and looked at the foggy area as if he had seen a ghost: "An accident happened!"

When the young scout was about to do something, the veteran grabbed his colleague's shoulder and retreated without hesitation - in the backyard of this small stronghold, there was a small shuttle, which was more like a rocket than an aircraft. The boosted escape capsule can launch people to an altitude of dozens of kilometers and then land with a parachute.

This is a means of escape that all imperial strongholds stationed in dangerous areas have, and it is also their only feasible means of escape today.

"Wait, what are you doing..."

The young soldier hadn't figured out why his senior was running so fast, and before he could see clearly what was behind the ripples, he was taken away in a daze: "We must at least see clearly what is coming. Can you go back and report?"

"idiot!"

And the veteran roared: "Is it too late to see it?"

"No matter what it is, as long as it appears, it means something is wrong!"

This is indeed the case.

Boom - buzz!

When the number of countless ripples reached a limit, accompanied by a roar and explosion, a violent explosion appeared at the edge of the originally silent foggy area.

The dark smoke and dust dispersed, the flying embers flickered with sparks in mid-air, and just at the edge of the original fog, a huge red virtual portal appeared in the real world.

Blood-red light flows out from it, like a river condensed by death, and countless strangely twisted shapes, more like alien monsters coming out of nightmares than monsters, climb out of this portal. Go out and follow the river into the human world.

right. They are monsters that come out of nightmares, the agglomeration of the evil and chaos of human nature in the virtual world, the incarnation of all bloodshed and sin.

demon.

The demons were arranged neatly on the ground in front of the portal, like an extremely efficient army. Even if an escape rocket flew away from the place not far away, they did not move at all until they received the order.

If scholars who specialize in demon research come here, they will find that the demon troops that come to the foggy area through the virtual portal are not fusion demons or serious real demons. Most of them are They are 'Lemons' who do not have psychic powers or special abilities, but only possess physical form.

But even so, it is very terrifying - the lemure demons are pure virtual realm beings, and ordinary troops have no resistance to them. Although they have no idea what method Feiyandi uses to control these demons, they seem to be enforcing orders and prohibitions. It is already a disciplined and orderly army!

[General, do you really want the Imperial escape shuttle to leave?]

Among the demons, one leader, a 'fusion demon' with an almost human appearance, is called a general by other fusion demons who are officers.

He heard the report from his subordinates, glanced at the rockets that were accelerating in the distance, and showed a cold smile: [This is our purpose... to let the Imperial people know that we are coming, and be afraid of it]

[Let them escape. It is best to record all of our next march and spread it... As long as the war continues and blood spreads on the ground, our goal will be achieved]

He raised his hand, and the evil demon army all stood at attention: [Despicable artificial demons like you, if you want to take shape, you should have gone through several years of testing and adjustment... But the kings need you to sacrifice your lives and take your blood]

[Go and kill, release your nature—improve your nature, and improve yourself! 】

[When you get enough souls and fear, enough resentment and despair, you will become a real devil]

[And the ‘Bad Demon Legion’ will become the real ‘Immortal’ Legion! 】

The Artificial Demon Project, which was extended from the Dead River Project and is "exterior and internal" with the Artificial Psyker Project, was depleted of resources by Feiyandi after research in other directions suffered setbacks for some reason, accelerating the development process. .

If the Dead River Arms had not been taken away from Awak Laboratory and there was more research data left, this path might not have developed so quickly.

But now, a different path emerges.

Countless monsters in nightmares poured out of the blood-red portal, and then rushed towards the back of the Western Plains.

On June 1, Terra 775, the Fireland Summer Offensive was launched, codenamed ‘Scorched Earth’.

On June 2, the lemure army cut off the supply lines of the western front fortress group. The local militia attempted to resist but was massacred.

On June 5, the Empire's Twenty-Third Legion and the Lemur Legion had a head-on confrontation on Morphy Avenue in the West. The two sides exchanged firepower and then retreated. However, the Empire's side had stronger forces, and subsequent legions retook the fallen territory.

But the legions that followed up the attack said that they found that the evil demon legions burned and massacred all the cities and villages along the way. Where these demons passed, they left no one alive, only a piece of scorched earth.

On June 6, the psykers of the Imperial Military were shocked to discover that pitch-black flames were burning in the Void Realm of the Western Province of the Empire - all souls, resentment, hatred and despair were condensed and brewed there, turning into pure black poisonous wine. , spreading on the land of virtual realm.

The virtual realm has been corrupted, and all source matter and spiritual energy fields have been corrupted by the dark resentment, turning into soil for amplifying the power of demons.

Vaguely, in the dark mist that has enveloped half of the Western Territory, in the flesh and blood and despair where many lives have disappeared... something weird is gestating.

Its shape is like a dragon, like a giant, as majestic as a god, and as ferocious as a demon.

This is...the virtual realm machine god. The power of the abyss fire restored by the virtual realm machine god technology is the beginning and end of all demonic technologies.

[Use blood and tears as eyes, despair as bones; resentment as flesh and blood, lamentation as breath]

Watching this scene, the fused demon general 'Death Knell' smiled and stared at the giant thing that was gradually perfecting in the depths of the virtual realm: [Our desire is the soul, our hatred is the wings - for hundreds of years, the empire has been flying against us. We will repay all the deaths inflicted by the Flame Land! 】

【So take off into the air——】

【Our Dragon of the Abyss! 】

In the deepest part of the dark mist, six scarlet eyes gradually lit up, with the light of lava and blood in them, like dim suns.

The dark wings slowly rose, covering the sky and the sun.

And in the far south.

Another sun stares in the distance.