Not only Grimm, but the rest of the sorcerers near the Void Aperture were completely shocked by the sudden change in events.
The Void Aperture, which was opened up by Black Isotta Stigmata Sorcerer had been sealed by some unknown trick up their enemy’s sleeve. The tables had turned and the odds were now against the sorcerers’ favor…
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Seeing the equally large, million-strong force of Soul Slave soldiers whose eyes were blood-red rising up into the air, as well as the Acraepoids who were near suicidal in their attacks against the sorcerers, the seven Abyssal Summoners glanced at each other. It seemed that they had arrived at a mutual understanding on the development of events.
Originally, their plan called for a total of seventy million Abyssal Demon troops as an invasion force, but the unexpected sealing of the Void Aperture meant that the sorcerers had to make do with what they had, which was a mere fifteen million troops!
On the surface of the Acraepoid Kingdom, counting their so-called Soul Slave army alone would yield over a few million troops. That, coupled with more than ten million, highly-skilled elite Acraepoids…
Keep in mind that this place had yet been polluted by the Abyssal powers, meaning that the Abyssal Demons did not have a constant flow of energy to replenish what they had exhausted out on the battlefield.
Ten million Acraepoids, not to mention that they were the elites gathered from every corner of the Infernal Spirit World. Fighting one-on-one with these warriors was not plausible even for the Abyssal Demons!
“Seeing the turnout of events, it’s safe to say that we’ve screwed up.”
Grimm announced underneath the Mask of Truth to the small circle of sorcerers behind him. As for who this small circle of sorcerers were, they were made up of Solumn, Wicky, Millie as well as Claudia.
Similarly, the other Abyssal Summoners more or less had the same number of sorcerer partymates beside them.
“Ah, dear young master, I think it would be wise of me to take shelter for the time being.”
Sensing that the situation had changed for the worst, Little Myna screeched before it delved into the Dimensional Gap as a coward would.
“No matter how much of an optimist you are, it’s pretty hard to deny that shit has hit the fan!”
Wicky’s face suddenly turned pale the moment reality washed over him. He gritted his teeth as his two round eyes scanned the battlefield, estimating the strength of the Acraepoids’ counter-attack all while thinking of a retaliatory strategy.
Solumn, Millie and Claudia remained silent. All of them awaited further orders from Grimm with worried looks on their faces.
The original plan, as explained by Grimm, was to detach from the main attacking force of sorcerers to look for the the Infernal Spirit Scripture behind enemy lines without being detected by the enemy.
But now…
The tiny snakes on the head of Mishaa, a fellow Abyssal Summoner, hissed loudly perhaps out of frustration at the unfavorable situation. Beside her was a man and a woman, both Level-3 great sorcerers.
“Our goal now is to survive. Through camouflage or through hiding yourselves, don’t let yourselves be found by the enemy before backup arrives.”
After saying this to her fellow sorcerers, Mishaa took up the form of an Abyssal Demon and dashed into the horde of Abyssal Demons, blending into the crowd. It was every man for himself now.
Likewise, the two sorcerers that previously stood beside her vanished into the crowd in a similar fashion.
On the other side, an old sorcerer with a flowing white beard and a pair of eyes which shone in a shade of light purple elemental light announced indifferently.
“This auxiliary space isn’t too cramped. It’s sufficient for us to pull back while the others are fighting.”
Immediately after, this great sorcerer accompanied by a few of his fellow sorcerers, as well as a large number of Abyssal Demons, flew into the distance, away from the onslaught, opting to avoid open confrontation with the bloodthirsty Acraepoids.
Upon witnessing this, other three Abyssal Summoners seemed to intend to adopt this plan too. The Abyssal Demons under their command, formed into large clusters around them as a physical barrier against potential attacks before they took off in seperate directions.
Grimm looked at Wicky, Solumn, Claudia and Millie and said, “Either you all tag along with the fleeing Demon-Hunter Sorcerers, or try to conceal yourselves. We are now in an abandoned state, cut off from all support. Black Isotta will probably find a way to open up a second Void Aperture and until then, talks about our further plans will have to wait.
“What about you?”
Millie questioned.
“Me?”
Grimm’s face contorted underneath the Mask of Truth as his body jolted. Squirming tendrils covered his body while the transformation was still in process and a moment later, a green-colored Acraepoid appeared. Its hands moved with lightning speed, drawing out an Infernal Blade.
“Roar!”
The giant Abyssal Demon beneath Grimm was grazed by the Infernal Blade and bellowed out in pain but it dared not fight back, for very obvious reasons.
Without warning, Grimm drilled into the belly of this giant Abyssal Demon and out flowed the pale green color of its blood. After a brief struggle, the monster went limp and fell out of the sky toward the ground.
At the side of an old sorceress, who was a fellow Abyssal Summoner, floated six orbiting Elemental Light orbs, each representing the six elements of wind, fire, water, lightning, light and darkness. The resulting magical waves were so powerful and intense that it formed into a halo of light, rippling through the sky.
“Hmph, it seems more time is needed to trigger the artificial cataclysm within this auxiliary world…”
Suddenly, the six Elemental Light orbs which rotated around this Abyssal Summoner converged into a single entity, which emitted a blinding ray of light. A Level-2 Acraepoid then emerged as the light gradually subsided. In a flash, it reappeared in the faraway sky and started massacring the Abyssal Demons around it.
Her words heavily implied that this was not her first time triggering a cataclysm in the Infernal Spirit World.
At this point, it was unclear as to whether this war was one that was fought against the Gods, or one that was fought for one’s faith in God.
Hundreds of the civil wars that were fought in the Infernal Spirit World were ones that unfolded through the direct influence of the Dark Demon-Hunters. And amidst these wars, the large scale ones were religious wars, fought for the sake of their respective faiths.
With that said, it was hard to discern what stance the sorcerers would take to justify the upcoming war within this holy kingdom.
***
The acidic stench within the giant Abyssal Demon’s body was unbearable even for Grimm, who remained in a weightless state within its body as it plunged toward the ground.
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve… sixty eight, sixty nine, seventy, seventy-one, here it is!”
Accompanied by the sound of a dull thud, the organs within the giant Abyssal Demon burst into shreds from its collision with the ground which consequently caused a foul, sour-smelling liquid to spray in every direction.
As the monster was a Level-3 creature, even after dropping from such heights its body did not break apart into several pieces as it would for any other creature. Due to this, its carcass provided a fairly good amount of physical protection for Grimm.
Slowly.
Grimm pretended to be in a state of extreme weakness as he crawled out from the monster’s belly. Gasping for air, he peered at the sky to look at the massacre happening above him.
The millions of masterless Abyssal Demon slaves who originally stood guard around the Void Aperture now faced relentless attacks by the army of Acraepoids. The Sorcerer’s Will which relayed orders to them had now vanished. Some of them fought gallantly for their own lives while the others escaped in every direction, unable to conjure up any form of resistance against their enemy.
The open confrontation against the Acraepoids seemed to be a lost cause now.
It was imperative that Grimm adapt to this alien environment as soon as possible in order to fulfill his mission. Though, he also had to locate the whereabouts of the First Acraepoid Kingdom’s main temple!
“You’re really lucky to have survived that…”
An Acraepoid flew over to him. This Acraepoid’s eyes were full of sorrow, but it was obvious that he was desperately suppressing it all while projecting a look of excitement.
Grimm limped out from the monster’s belly and laughed bitterly as he replied, “If not for the attack of a noble which struck down this Sorcerer’s Shadow monster, I would’ve become a pile of shit somewhere on the floor tomorrow. Though the time I spent trapped inside its guts was short, parts of my skin had melted away. This monster’s truly a terrible being.”
“My name is Aeschi.”
This Acraepoid paid no attention to the grime nor the stench on Grimm’s body as he pulled him back on his feet.
“I am Linmo.”
Grimm introduced himself as such.
For some reason, Grimm could feel that this Acraepoid was undergoing some awakening process, similar to the growth process of one’s psychology and consciousness as one progressed into becoming a formal sorcerer.
After such a process, the sorcerer would generally see some unique changes in himself.
“You have fought bravely against the sorcerers, proving yourself to be the pride of the great Acraepoid race. As such, I am proud of you!”
Hm?
Grimm was somewhat unused to such language which was dumb, superficial and disobeyed rationality. This sort of spirit would lead to one being overly-impulsive, something which went against the fundamental philosophies of being a sorcerer.
“Thank you.”
Grimm faked a proud look as he wiped off the stomach acid of the monster he had just cold-bloodedly slaughtered off his face. Looking at the unstoppable victory of the Acraepoids up above, he continued in a relieved tone, “I think, what I need now is a nice long bath to calm my nerves. After all, this may very well be the start of our counter-offensive to take back the Infernal Spirit World!”
Aeschi’s eye lit up upon hearing Grimm’s speech. Finally, there was someone who shared the same ideas!
