Building a City

After the magic array was poured and completed, Serlun appeared at the crater.

He stood at the edge of the magic array, his hands began to glow, and he chanted something in a low voice. Before long, the magic array also began to emit a faint light.

Then, Serlun suddenly raised his Demon Hoof and stomped on the ground. With a loud noise, the entire volcano began to tremble.

It was like a great earthquake, and the entire mountain was shaking. Many demons standing upright were shaken to the ground.

The magic array that Serlun had people pour was actually an amplifier. He used the amplifier's effect to cast an Earth-Shattering Magic, making the magic's power penetrate directly to the bottom of the volcano.

"Everyone evacuate here!" After Serlun gave the order, the demons gathered on the volcano instantly fled downwards desperately. Even though they lived in a world where they coexisted with volcanoes and lava, it didn't mean demons weren't afraid of volcanic eruptions. On the contrary, demons feared volcanic eruptions the most because they were most aware of the destructive power they possessed.

The demons summoned by Serlun earlier numbered around two hundred. Not long after these demons fled, the volcano, which had been affected by the earthquake's power, finally reached its limit, let out a deafening roar, and began to erupt.

Billowing thick smoke carrying a large amount of volcanic ash shot up from the crater. Using the power of the volcanic eruption, countless burning stones of various sizes were ejected outwards. These stones scattered in all directions, like a shower of flowers from a celestial maiden, beautiful and terrifying. Along with the eruption, high-temperature lava also flowed out from the crater. These fiery red rivers flowed down the mountainside, burning all the trees and jungles along the way. Some small animals couldn't escape in time and were buried in the lava flow.

This volcanic eruption lasted for a full two hours before it subsided. However, within a radius of ten miles around the volcano, it had all turned into scorched earth, with no vegetation. Some of the pervasive lava had begun to cool, turning into black ground, while some was still scalding, emitting a dark red glow and wisps of smoke.

Serlun looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction, laughing wildly. He was very pleased with this scorched earth territory and felt that he could start building the city.

Yes, the purpose of detonating the volcano was to create an environment suitable for demons to live in. Green mountains and clear waters were not the style of demons at all. What demons loved was this kind of place with a sulfurous smell in the air.

Under Serlun's scolding, more than two hundred low-rank demons, including Roy, began to work. They found large stones and, while the lava ground was still soft, they smoothed the ground as much as possible to serve as foundations. After the foundations were laid, they began to build the city.

Roy did not participate in the work at this time. He brought Fat Tiger and became the supervisor of these demons. With the City Building Blueprint and a whip given to him by Serlun in hand, he urged the low-rank demons to build according to the plan.

Demons were never good at construction, so Roy's job as a supervisor was not easy. He had to constantly guide the low-rank demons who were working, otherwise, they would build the walls like instant noodles, undulating.

Moreover, the demons lacked tools. All the buildings they constructed were merely piled up with stones and wood. Such buildings were originally nine times out of ten unstable and prone to collapse. However, the demons had a solution. Being adjacent to the volcano, they dispatched some people to get lava from the bottom of the volcano. After cooling slightly, they poured the liquid rock onto the stacked buildings to fill the gaps and reinforce the city walls.

As the city gradually took shape, Serlun brought new blueprints and had the demons start building their own living quarters.

To put it bluntly, they were nests. Each type of demon had its preferred type of nest. After they were built, the demons would spontaneously classify and live in them. Serlun then carved summoning magic arrays within these nests and continuously summoned their own kind of demons to this world.

For example, the Hellhound Kennel used to summon Hellhounds. In the Hellhound Kennel, Serlun would only summon Hellhounds. Each time he summoned a batch, he would sign a contract with these Hellhounds and then let them live in the kennel.

During this time, Roy had been secretly observing Serlun's actions. He noticed that the demons Serlun summoned were almost always of a few fixed types. This might be because he needed to form an army and required the same troop types, which was why he didn't summon too many miscellaneous demons. Serlun could almost always summon these demons with precision.

Roy observed for a long time before he understood that there was a trick to it. Serlun seemed to know very well what kind of things a certain type of demon liked. For example, when he summoned Little Demons, he would often add some powdered eggshells of birds or insects to the offering blood, slightly changing the smell of the blood.

Every time he used such an offering, he could summon a large number of Little Demons. These Little Demons were naturally those who had just been born and had just entered the Shallow Abyss World. Perhaps the smell of the eggshell powder in the blood reminded them of the scene of eating their own demon eggshells when they hatched. In short, these Little Demons would flock over.

Once summoned, their fate was sealed. What combat power could these Little Demons, who had just been born not long ago, possess? Serlun summoned them merely to increase the labor force and for the cannon fodder needed in future battles.

Besides summoning Little Demons, there was also a method for summoning Hellhounds: mixing the urine of Griffons into the blood. Serlun had captured some wild Griffons and raised them. When he mixed Griffon urine into the blood, the temptation for Hellhounds was absolutely top-notch!

This situation reminded Roy of his own fishing experience in his previous life, using different flavored baits for different types of fish...

When Roy responded to the summons and passed through the Abyss Gate, he smelled this bloody scent mixed with Griffon urine. He had wondered why the bloody smell was a bit strange at the time. He never expected that Serlun was actually just luring Hellhounds back then. Roy simply didn't understand this trick and thus entered by mistake... The Demon Summoning Ritual was like this. Because one could not see the summoner on the other side of the Abyss Gate, there was no way to avoid the risks. Once encountered with such a trap summoning, one could only rely on their own strength to escape.

Only demons understand demons best. Serlun, an Upper Demon, has lived for who knows how long. When he needs a certain type of demon, he has a way to summon it. The Abyss World is vast, so vast that no one can say for sure how many demons live within it. Even though Lower Demons have confused bloodlines and bizarre appearances, among so many demons, demons of the same kind can still be found in large numbers.

And without exception, all the demons he summoned were enslaved by him. To deal with the upcoming war, Serlun couldn't possibly let the summoned demons return easily. Here, Serlun is a Demon Lord, and the summoned demons are his subjects. After their path home was blocked by Serlun, the demons could only do as he pleased.

Of course, there were also those like Roy who, after being summoned, did not cooperate and resisted. However, after being beaten up, they became obedient and, after signing a contract, dutifully worked for Serlun.

Roy watched this scene, observing coldly, but felt no sympathy. In fact, he knew very well that Serlun's methods were the most fitting for demons.

Between demons, there has never been any warmth. It's either slaughter or exploitation. They rarely have a concept of their own kind. Even if High Demons value bloodlines, it's only among demons of the same rank. When a High Demon treats a Low-Rank Demon like this, enslavement and beating are just basic operations, not worth wondering about at all. Serlun summons demons to fight for him, with almost no cost and a massive profit of souls. With such a high reward ratio, let alone demons, human capitalists would flock to it.

As days passed, this Demon City gradually took shape. And at this moment, two more Upper Demons appeared and came to meet Serlun...

These two Upper Demons arrived with small demon armies, riding Nightmare Warhorses. These Nightmare Warhorses have violent temperaments, with shiny black hardened skin all over their bodies, a horn-like Demon Horn on their heads, and their four hooves burning with fierce flames. Wherever they go, they leave behind a trail of fiery footprints.

These Nightmare Warhorses are also demons, not Demonic Creatures, because they have intelligence and are a type of Middle Demon. Many Upper Demons like to enslave these Nightmare Warhorses as mounts.

The two Upper Demons were both wearing cloaks, their appearances unclear. After entering the Demon City, they went with Serlun to the Hall of Internal Affairs to talk. Roy, an Elite Demon, had been used as a deputy by Serlun during this period due to his higher intelligence. So, while the three Upper Demons were talking, Roy stood outside the door and easily overheard their conversation...