Initial Battle

Boom!

A sudden eruption of flames in the distance drew the sentries' attention.

But the next moment, most of them shifted their focus to the increasingly numerous beastly roars.

This bizarre Shallow Hell often saw eruptions of subterranean fire without warning. Once touched, ordinary people could easily suffer widespread burns. Most of the time, though, there were warning signs, and one only had to avoid the cracks. The flames were not particularly powerful, so the threat was limited.

But only those who truly knew what they were doing understood the danger that might lurk within.

"Watch out! There's something inside those flames!"

The shout of one examinee made Lu PingAn give him a brief look.

Lu PingAn's Life Perception told him that there was not merely something in the flames—there were many things. Large numbers of lower-level demons were climbing up along with the surging subterranean fire.

The Abyss was called the "Abyss" because it usually had a layered, floor-like structure, with each level possessing relatively stable demon populations and environments.

Some had even written books on "Abyssal Ecology," recording the common types of demons and ecosystems from the shallow layers to the deep ones.

But such things were actually rather unreliable. Due to the presence of guardians, the shallow layers near the human-side exit naturally had few demons.

Now that the demons had noticed the guardians' departure, and the shallow layers contained abundant "food," they naturally adjusted their ecological niches and traveled through channels filled with subterranean fire to reach the surface-level shallows.

Boom!

The explosions were accompanied by blooming fireballs.

"Hee hee, humans..."

They were short, dark figures with tiny wings—Bat Demons.

They moved in groups of three or five. Some hurled fireballs, while others used defensive abilities on their "companions."

Flaming shields appeared around the demons. Traits