Chapter 1941: 550 Blood River Commission_2

“At most, it could help blow away the acid fog above the swamp,” he said.

But even the current predicament seemed to pose no challenge to Sarinas.

He shouted toward the direction of the Purgatory Beast,

“Make sure no one comes from the flank.”

“I’ll catch all these little snakes!” he assured.

Right after that,

the steel war machine that had been retreating ignited flames at its rear end once again, symbolizing propulsion.

However, this time the flames were not orange-red,

but a heart-palpitating ghastly blue!

With the glowing blue flames,

one to three little devils appeared beside each steel war machine, tearing open brown Scrolls they pulled from within.

Right after that,

a group spell with an extremely wide range of effect was completed—

The Anti-gravity Flight Technique!

This was no mere Levitation Spell,

but a powerful incantation enabling the steel war machines to defy gravity for a short period and charge forward unrestrained.

“Boom!”

The massive roaring sound erupted successively.

Sarinas, stationed atop a war machine, led the charge, while other demons clad in Garcia’s Armor II rode their vehicles straight across the swamp.

The previously unwieldy machines now seemed lightweight.

Their giant wheels grazed the edges of the swamp, radiating with black water,

hardly causing any ripples!

“You shall not pass here!” the Snake Demon Leader roared.

At that moment,

The Fierce Bull Lord suddenly charged out of the swamp, colliding with the flank of Sarinas’s war machine, the huge impact force sending it flying sideways, but this scene lasted only three to four seconds before it came to a deadlock—

For a simple reason.

Sarinas jumped down from the vehicle, defying gravity with his body, powering through mid-air, and forced the huge Fierce Bull Lord to the ground!

From their sizes,

It simply did not seem like a fair match.

But Sarinas demonstrated the Legendary Devil’s terrifying strength post-steel transformation.

Before the eyes of the Snake Demon Leader, he managed to press the mighty Bull Lord into the swamp, bit by bit!

The Snake Demon Leader naturally couldn’t just watch idly by.

He personally led an entourage of guards, brandishing a Mutant Weapon resembling a mace, charging towards Sarinas.

The remaining Snake Demons dismounted from the Fierce Bulls.

They clashed with the oncoming steel war machines in a melee!

Both sides were extremely formidable in combat.

Despite the apparent indestructibility of the war machines, the Snake Demons were also remarkably tough-hided.

Being high-level demons from purgatory, who were exiled and managed to gain a foothold in the harsher lands of the Far East, they had further strengthened by the Evil Gods from other worlds.

In one-on-one combat,

a single Snake Demon could confront a steel war machine bearing several Devil Knights.

Even more so with the Fierce Bulls assisting.

If it weren’t for the overall smaller numbers of Snake Demons,

these steel devils would likely have no chance of victory.

Still,

after a period of intense skirmish and with the Anti-gravity spell’s effects wearing off, the harsh conditions of the Black Water Swamp started to take their toll.

Many war machines got bogged down.

And the ordinary demons struggled to continue fighting the Snake Demons in this environment.

The only good news was,

Sarinas’s combat strength was indeed terrifying.

He alone engaged at least one-quarter of the Snake Demon army’s firepower!

And because the Snake Demons showed remarkable unity and value for life in combat, they were reluctant to let any comrade die easily.

Consequently, in the face of Sarinas’s overwhelming personal abilities,

they often had to keep reallocating others for support.

Gradually,

the number of Snake Demons Sarinas tied up increased from one-quarter to one-third,

and the trend continued to escalate!

Seeing the battlefield situation intensifying,

both sides deployed more troops continuously—

On Purgatory’s side, Glacia sent out several Hill Giants, two squads of Air Elementals, and a swarm of liquefied mayflies for support;

The Shadow side was not to be outdone.

The previously repelled shadow creatures surged back into the swamp’s frontline.

The Monks also received Beckman’s special blessing, becoming immune to the swamp’s detrimental effects.

Moreover, with the slow advancement of the Shadow Domain,

the defenses before the Shadow Castle became even harder to penetrate!

The battle’s pace turned sluggish.

Matthew observed,

both sides’ momentum had undergone a cycle of ebb and flow.

“The Lord of Darkness truly is an old fox who’s lived countless years.”

“He obviously understands warfare far better than Glacia!”

Despite Glacia leading the assault from start to finish,

the pace of the war always remained in Beckman’s grasp.

He clearly held multiple trump cards yet showed no hurry to reveal them to the adversary.

Instead, he methodically neutralized the enemy’s fierce and fiery offense.

Every one of Glacia’s probes was effortlessly parried by Beckman.

He not only mastered the rhythm perfectly,

but he also managed to craft an inscrutable image in the minds of everyone on the battlefield.

On the other hand, as for Glacia’s side,

the morale was bound to wane with the lack of progress in the attack.

If it weren’t for the support of the Summoning Banner, Matthew suspected that the Devil Soldiers might already be deserting!

“However, to be fair, such a comparison is a bit unjust.”

“Glacia is clearly under attack pressure, while Beckman only needed to stall for time.”

“The fact that he single-handedly created the rift in the plane is an undeniable home field advantage to consider, and the move just now, coordinating with the giant black snake to create a temporary Black Water Swamp, is not something that can be replicated under normal circumstances.”

Matthew observed the battlefield with a cool head,

occasionally glancing at Glacia’s silhouette.

At this time, you must be anxious, right?

You must be planning to take action yourself, right?

Yet Glacia’s silhouette was like a wall standing atop the Purgatory Beast,

unmoved.

Instead, it was Matthew who felt a slight urgency.

After all, he too was under a certain pressure—

If Beckman was allowed to conspire with the Tong Luo Gods and open a portal to another world within purgatory, then an event like the historical Blood Meteor could potentially recur over Aindor,

only this time it would be purgatory facing the brunt of it, instead of demons.

Regardless of the standpoint,

Matthew did not wish to see that scene unfold.

Had it not been for the signal from the Kunlan Blood Book indicating that the purgatory black merchant Char was gathering information about the Shadow Core in his stead, he surely would have personally ventured into Beckman’s domain by now!

This involved countless creatures after all.

It could also be one of the higher threat level disasters in the Days of Heavenly Change within the Mirror Universe.

Therefore, what Matthew most hoped for now was to see Glacia and Beckman engage in battle quickly.

A fight that would leave both sides grievously wounded would be for the best!

However,

as the minutes and seconds trickled by,

Glacia did not move.

And Beckman, from beginning to end, hid in the shadows, not even a doppelganger appeared before the crowd!

This left Matthew exceedingly frustrated.

He had begun to contemplate whether he should activate the contingency plan.

But just then,

he suddenly felt a powerful sense of entreaty coming from his pocket—

It was the Nine Prisons Document he had obtained from Sandrine!

Matthew immersed his consciousness into the document.

In an instant,

a familiar feeling overwhelmed him.

That was…

“The Blood River Will is pleading for my help?”

Matthew looked surprised.

On the data bar.

…

“Alert: You have received ‘Guardian of the Gateway’ commissioned by the ‘Blood River Will’ via the ‘Nine Prisons Document’!

Guardian of the Gateway: Close or destroy the ceremonial field (within the Shadow Core) arranged by Beckman and the Tong Luo Gods, and prevent the imminent invasion of the Tong Luo Gods into purgatory!

Commission Rewards: 1. A considerable amount of XP (purgatory-specific)

2. The essence of evil (a complete part)

3. The title ‘Honored Devil of the Nine Hells’ (maximum purgatory reputation)

4. A chance to enter the domain sea (exclusive to purgatory)”

…

Seeing the last item,

Matthew did not hesitate to accept the commission from the Blood River Will!

“Indeed, the Blood River Will has its sights on me because it needs my help.”

“But why me?”

“The divine Entity has already summoned Glacia and Necromancer Bain; it certainly also has the power to command other Purgatory Lords to thwart Beckman’s plans!”

“Why choose me?”

Although he had already accepted the mission,

Matthew was far from careless, and instead, he delved further into these questions.

However, just then,

Glacia’s figure suddenly moved!

…