Bidirectional Loopholes in the Trap

After the three Upper Demons finished their discussion, Serlun and Riska left the hall and immediately began gathering their armies for departure.

Large numbers of Low-Rank Demons streamed out of their nests and assembled together. Led by Serlun and Riska, they poured out of Demon City. Once outside, the army quickly split into two forces: one was the force Riska had brought earlier, while the other was the force Serlun had summoned himself.

Riska's force had been formed by incorporating Ignatius's original troops, so its numbers and strength were evenly matched with Serlun's. The two armies would advance along separate routes, with largely identical missions: eliminate Aveli Elf scouting parties along the way, destroy every human village and elf settlement they encountered, and cut off the Aveli Elves' supply routes as much as possible.

Splitting into two armies had another advantage: it could divide the attention of the Aveli Elves' main force. After all, both Serlun's and Riska's armies consisted mainly of Low-Rank Demons. Though numerous, their actual combat strength was not particularly high, whereas the Aveli Elves' main force had the support of the Gold Dragon Clan and was surely formidable.

When the final battle came, the two would regroup and await Ignatius, who had stayed behind to manage Demon City and would arrive with the High Demon army.

Naturally, Roy followed Serlun's army and advanced alongside Serlun.

The most numerous troops in this army were the Little Demon Army, numbering at least five hundred. As cannon fodder, these Little Demons naturally marched at the very front of the formation. At a glance, they formed a dense mass, with Little Demons of every shape and color among them.

The second most numerous were a type of Lower Demon called Geg. These demons were quite interesting. Though individuals varied, most of them looked rather like monkeys. They were named for their constant cries of "Geg, Geg." Among Lower Demons, they were one of the few kinds capable of launching ranged fire attacks. Yet they did not use fire through magic. Instead, they possessed a special organ that secreted a flammable liquid as saliva. When Gegs spat their saliva into their palms and flung it out, it rubbed against the air and ultimately turned into an explosive burst of flame.

This attack method made them highly valued within the army. Their explosive flames were like grenades, a nightmare for large numbers of weak enemies. Of course, the drawback was equally obvious: they could also injure their own allies.

The third type of demon force was the Hell Hound Army, with only around one hundred and fifty hounds. These Hell Hounds differed greatly from Fat Tiger. Ordinary Hell Hounds could not breathe Elemental Breath like Fat Tiger; their method of attack was simple—they bit people with their powerful fangs! These Hell Hounds were all rather large, their fur and muscles looking especially sturdy. Whether in pouncing force or bite strength, they were first-rate.

Fat Tiger naturally looked very strange among this pack of Hell Hounds. Not only could it breathe Elemental Breath, but it also had Demon Wings and was already capable of brief flight. Roy had worried that Serlun would notice Fat Tiger's unusual traits, but unexpectedly, Serlun did not care at all. He merely made Fat Tiger the leader of the Hell Hound force and had it lead the other Hell Hounds.

In Serlun's view, no matter how unusual Fat Tiger was, it was still only a Hell Hound. Over countless years in the Abyss World, Hell Hounds had at most reached the peak of the intermediate rank. They were not worth Serlun's attention.

Fat Tiger became the boss of the Hell Hound Army, while Roy remained Serlun's adjutant. Lower Demons generally were not very intelligent. Even marching was a complete mess to them; they only knew how to follow along. Thus, one of Roy's duties was to assist Serlun in training these Lower Demons during the march, at the very least teaching them to maintain formation.

The task was both difficult and simple. It was difficult because Roy himself did not know what formations a Demon Army should use. It was simple because whenever he saw the formation become a mess during the march, he only needed to charge in and slap the stragglers back into line. It was truly simple and brutal.

With Roy around, Serlun naturally had much less to worry about. This was one of the reasons he had insisted on keeping Roy.

Besides the disorderly demons, this army also had quite a few special items: several enormous ballistae and siege engines. Ballistae were commonly known as bolt throwers, while siege engines were catapults. Serlun intended to use them to attack cities. Dozens of Hell Hounds were harnessed with ropes to pull them along with the army. It was precisely because these devices slowed them down that Serlun's army did not travel particularly fast.

After spending more than a month in this world, Roy had gradually learned some information. The Demon Army's current location was in the border region west of the Erathia Kingdom, and their objective was to march eastward, invade Erathia, and destroy the capital of the Erathia Kingdom. At this moment, not only was the Demon Army of Hell on the move, but so were the forces of the necromancer Sandro and the armies of Nigon Dungeon. These three factions were now allies in a joint army.

Although Roy knew this was the world of Heroes of Might and Magic, he knew little about its history and background, so he had no idea which campaign he had become involved in. But that did not matter. He only needed to know that the Demon Army's enemies were the Alliance of humans and elves.

After the army had marched for three days and traveled several hundred li from Demon City, the scouts sent ahead finally returned to report that elves had been spotted ahead. Only then did they finally see signs of habitation.

Upon hearing the report, Serlun wasted no words and immediately led the troops in pursuit.

It seemed to be an elf village in the midst of migration. Perhaps they had heard about the Volcanic Eruption and the appearance of Demon City, and knew that this continent was about to face a demon invasion. That was why the entire village had begun relocating to avoid the Demon Army. But now, they had been caught.

These migrating elves did not have the habit of sending out scouts. When Serlun's Demon Army appeared behind them, the elves immediately descended into chaos. Their elderly and children were hurriedly escorted away, while a group of strong young villagers remained behind to cover their retreat.

Among these young people were sturdy Mine Dwarves and slender Wood Elves skilled with bows. Clearly, their choice had been a mistake. These few dozen people could not possibly stop Serlun's Demon Army. They would not be able to hold out for long, and once they died, the fleeing elderly and children would be caught as well.

Demons had never known mercy, and Serlun was no exception. Seeing these elves and dwarves daring to remain and resist the Demon Army, Serlun became furious. He roared out an order for the Little Demons to charge.

The Little Demons were well accustomed to slaughter. Screeching wildly, they charged in a disorderly mass toward the elves and dwarves. But what greeted them were the arrows fired first by the Wood Elves!

Several Little Demons at the front were pierced straight through by arrows. From his position in the rear, Roy could clearly see that the pierced Little Demons had been killed outright. At the moment of death, they let out shrill screams as black mist from the Abyss Gate suddenly enveloped their bodies. Their bodies then turned to ash, leaving behind only Soul Light Orbs that were dragged back into the Abyss World through the Abyss Gate!

This was the first time Roy had seen demons die in another world. Such a sight could never be seen in the Abyss World. There, when demons were killed, they were simply killed. But here, because of the Ouroboros Mark, the moment they were killed, they were effectively banished. Their souls would be dragged back to the Abyss World, and their bodies would be reshaped, though their injuries would remain.

Although they were pulled back, there was also a high chance that their souls would suffer severe damage. A loss of strength was a minor matter; they might even lose their memories. More importantly, if another ill-intentioned demon happened to be nearby when they returned, they could very well be killed again immediately, their souls seized by another demon.

Thus, unless absolutely necessary, demons were unwilling to be killed and banished back...

Though the Wood Elves' archery was sharp, their numbers were simply too small. During the Little Demons' charge, they only had time to fire two or three volleys, and the number of Little Demons they could kill was quite limited.

Once the Little Demons closed in, the Mine Dwarves holding hammers took on the duty of protecting the elf archers. These armed dwarves possessed immense strength, and in their brutal clashes with the Little Demons, they could often kill their opponents first.

But they could not hold out for long either. There were simply too many Little Demons. Before long, the dwarves and Wood Elves were surrounded from all sides, then beaten to death by the Little Demons...

The battle ended quickly. When it came time to clean up the battlefield, the Little Demons had been banished from this world upon death, so they left no souls behind. But the souls of the dwarves and Wood Elves certainly appeared. The Little Demons collected them, and though every one of them stared greedily at the souls, none dared pocket them. They obediently handed them over to Serlun.

Serlun was very satisfied upon receiving the several dozen souls. Though there had been too few enemies this time for him to enjoy the thrill of battle himself, gaining souls was enough.

After picking through them, Serlun gave Roy several of the smallest souls, then devoured all the rest. To Serlun, these several dozen souls were nothing more than a small snack...

Holding those pitifully tiny souls, Roy knew this was the so-called share Serlun had given him. At the same time, he understood the first trap hidden in the contract Serlun had signed: Serlun had indeed promised to give him one-tenth of the souls after victory, but he had not specified the quality of that tenth. He calculated it purely by quantity.

Though it was a trap, Roy was not surprised in the slightest. Even human laws in his previous life, filled with countless lengthy provisions, could still contain loopholes, let alone a demon contract. The contract was only the size of a sheet of parchment—how detailed could its wording possibly be? In fact, Roy had already thought of the second trap Serlun had set. Serlun could participate in battle himself and continuously devour the souls of slain enemies while fighting. The contract stated one-tenth of the gains after victory, so any souls Serlun devoured before the battle ended would not count among the spoils of victory. Serlun would not be violating the terms of the contract at all...

Though Roy knew Serlun was playing his little tricks, he was not annoyed at all. He understood clearly that if Serlun could exploit the contract's loopholes, then so could he. In other words, as long as Roy also took part in battle, he could devour souls on the battlefield as well. He could even use the system's soul storage function to collect all the souls from the battlefield. As long as the battle had not ended, those souls would not count as spoils of war!

After all, the loopholes and traps in a Demon Contract could sometimes work both ways...

There will only be one update today. I am completely exhausted. I did not fall asleep until one in the morning last night, then got up after five, so I only rested for three or four hours. I was busy all day with work as well, and now my eyelids are drooping and my head feels a little dizzy. So there will only be one chapter today, though it is not a short one.