Faith Power could be provided not only through devout belief. Extreme fear and hatred were also forms of faith.
The Cave Spiders of Weave Shadow Nest feared the Demon Lord's might and praised the Demon Lord's boundless generosity.
They first had to imagine a concrete concept in their minds before they could pour their faith, called praise, into it and bring that fictional power ever closer to reality.
Meanwhile, the Earth Dragon Clan, humiliated beyond measure, hated the Demon Lord to the bone.
They constantly envisioned the Demon Lord's evil in their subconscious and poured their faith, called hatred, into it.
While this gave them a common enemy to hate, it also allowed their enemy to take a share of the faith that should have been offered to the Dragon God.
An evil god was still a god.
Myths about evil gods were, naturally, still myths.
The weak Demon Lord had originally been unworthy of becoming the Dragon God's enemy, but their faith, as unyielding as steel, made such a possibility possible.
Even if that possibility was infinitesimal, like a feather falling upon a giant.
The omnipresent Wishing Machine responded indiscriminately to the desires in people's hearts.
And that was probably the most terrifying and unreasonable part of this world.
Deep within the first floor of the maze, an elderly priest and young Temple Warriors were leading a vast army forward.
They clearly had not realized how loud the resonance created by marching in unison through a cramped maze could be.
The earthshaking commotion inevitably alarmed the humans living on the surface.
Especially since the latter had also just gone through a major battle and were now like startled birds.
Sneaking around a corner in the maze.
The seasoned adventurer skillfully cast a Wind Magic Insight Technique, trying to observe the movements of the Lizardmen army.
However, standing before him happened to be Mo Er La Ge, the Earth Dragon Clan's First High Priest.
Proficient in Dragon Language Spells, he had already reached Steel-level. He excelled at applying various status effects and countering all kinds of elemental magic! "Vermin!"
Mo Er La Ge chanted in the dragon tongue and glared into the air, amber pupils seeming to shoot out a golden beam that shattered the Black Iron-level spell in an instant.
"Arghhh!!!"
The scout who had cast the Insight Technique was caught completely off guard. The blood vessels in the whites of his eyes burst, blood seeping out as he clutched his eyes in agony and dropped to his knees.
Seeing their companion's miserable state, the adventurers' expressions immediately changed.
"Shuer!"
"Damn it... Dragon Language Magic! It must be those lizards!"
Though they had failed to gather detailed information about that force, one thing was beyond doubt.
That was the Demon Lord's army! There was no mistake! "Retreat!!"
A battle between armies was the Regular Army's job. They were only adventurers, and not even locals, so naturally they had no interest in taking on such thankless work.
Carrying their injured companion, the group quickly ran toward the Silver Pine Town Militia's position.
At that moment, Officer Adlai was directing the militia to set up cheval de frise and barricades in the maze's corridors.
Meanwhile, militia members who had once worked as miners were hiding explosives inside the wooden crates being used as roadblocks.
Seeing the adventurers running back from ahead, Officer Adlai immediately shouted.
"What's going on up ahead?"
The adventurer carrying the wounded man immediately yelled.
"It's the Demon Lord's army! They're coming!"
The moment he heard the words "Demon Lord," Officer Adlai's palms filled with sweat, and he nearly lost his grip on his sword.
But when he remembered that this was only the vanguard, with something even bigger behind it, he still gathered every ounce of courage he had and held the line.
"Form ranks! Prepare for battle!"
The militia still arranging the barricades immediately dropped the half-finished cheval de frise and rushed back into formation as quickly as they could.
Just then, the Lizardmen scouts had followed the wounded adventurers all the way to the front line.
When they saw the neatly formed line infantry, the Lizardmen scouts were instantly stunned.
Hearing the commotion ahead, they had assumed it was the Demon Lord's army. They never expected the ones coming to answer the call for aid to be surface humans!
There was no time to hesitate!
The moment he spotted them, the human transcendents standing in formation spotted him as well.
"Enemy attack!"
The leader of the first row drew his saber and gave the order without hesitation!
"Fire!"
Bang bang bang!!
Roaring flames erupted in an instant, blasting smoke and tongues of fire down the maze ahead! Several Lizardmen scouts who charged into the corridor were immediately ripped apart, riddled with concentrated lead shot, and fell to the ground without even being able to scream.
Beautiful!
Seeing the Demon Lord's servants in such a miserable state, Officer Adlai, who had been somewhat uneasy, immediately regained his confidence.
He clenched his fists, wringing the sweat from his palms, raised his saber, and roared.
"First row, fall back!"
"Second row, ready!"
The militia in the first row immediately turned around and withdrew to the rear, while the second row advanced with their rifles shouldered.
Their training was fairly solid.
Though they could not compare to the Regular Army, living atop such a massive powder keg meant no one dared slack off during ordinary training.
Just as Officer Adlai nervously waited for the next wave of attacks, Mo Er La Ge, the Earth Dragon Clan's high priest, was left dumbfounded by the concentrated gunfire.
It was not just Mo Er La Ge.
Ze Like, the Temple Warrior following beside him, also wore a grave expression.
"Are those Grand Duke Campbell's men?"
As one of the former Demon Lord's countless minions, he had naturally heard of Grand Duke Campbell's fame.
It was said that the human wielding a lance descended upon the battlefield like a god, obliterating Reggie Dragon and his personal guard with a single strike, leaving not even scraps behind!
Though the ones standing here were merely that human's servants, those fellows wielding fire sticks were clearly not to be underestimated! "Most likely." Mo Er La Ge frowned deeply, a trace of wariness surfacing in his amber eyes.
Why was a human army here?
And—
Why now of all times?!
Even if Mo Er La Ge racked his brains, he could not understand that those humans had not come for him at all. They had merely collided head-on because he had gathered a huge army during the sensitive period when undead had appeared in the maze.
However, even if both sides vaguely guessed this might be a misunderstanding, there was no stopping now that things had reached this point.
Officer Adlai, hoping to earn merit and be transferred away quickly, could not admit it was a misunderstanding. Nor could he negotiate with the Demon Lord's Minions, much less turn his back on monsters.
Mo Er La Ge could not stop either. Repaying blood with blood was both their faith and their culture.
If anyone was to blame, it was these humans for being blind enough to stand in the way of their revenge.
Two trains rushing toward each other collided spectacularly within the narrow maze.
Neither side would yield.
And neither had any reason to yield!
After confirming the scouts' casualties, Mo Er La Ge chanted a spell in the dragon tongue, granting the vanguard Reflective Scale Armor before ordering them to charge.
"Go, my children! The Dragon God will grant you indestructible bodies!"
Fifty Lizardmen wielding twin blades quickened their pace and surged forward. Running at top speed while drawing their bows, they used nimble movements and a rapid barrage of arrows for cover, crossing the obstacle-strewn ground and charging the human soldiers' position with lightning speed! "Fire!"
Officer Adlai decisively gave the command, and a burst of gunfire rang out at once.
Explosive flashes erupted again, carrying a deafening rain of bullets toward the running Lizardmen hunters.
But this time was different from before.
Though many Lizardmen still collapsed in pain after being shot, even more of them forcibly endured those fatal wounds!
"It's a Lizardmen priest!"
"Foul witchcraft!"
Officer Adlai cursed and immediately reached for the pendant on his chest with his right hand, activating Wind Barrier.
Almost at the same instant, arrows poured down upon them like a storm, and within only a few breaths, the front row of militia had fallen in droves.
The priests sent by the town church to provide support immediately cast Holy Light Spells to heal them. However, just as the gentle light shone over the militia's position, the charging Lizardmen had already reached them! Swift scimitars and sharp teeth immediately stirred up a bloody storm among the militia.
However—
These militia were not pushovers either.
Even facing the hulking, monstrous Lizardmen, they did not turn and flee. Instead, they swiftly fixed bayonets, stood shoulder to shoulder with their neighbors to form a human wall, and engaged the vanguard Lizardmen in a bloody melee.
"Don't use Holy Light! Dispel their foul magic first!" Seeing the priests still casting Holy Light Spells, Sheriff A De Lai roared, nearly cursing outright.
The elderly priests did not argue with him. They calmly changed their incantations and used sacred light to dispel the greasy gleam of scales clinging to the Lizardmen's skin.
With Reflective Scale Armor dispelled, the scimitar-wielding Lizardmen warriors immediately fell into a disadvantage.
Especially those who had pushed too deeply into the formation. They were stabbed into bloody holes on the spot by a flurry of blades.
But at that moment, the second wave of the Lizardmen army had already reached the battlefield.
Seeing the vast military formation, Officer Adlai knew the main force had arrived. He decisively brought down his saber, sending in the adventurer assault team to finish them off while covering the wounded militia's retreat.
At the same time, a new firing formation had completed its preparations in the rear.
Watching the adventurers all withdraw, Officer Adlai gave the attack order once more.
"Fire!"
Explosive flashes and smoke once again filled the entire corridor. The flood of flesh and blood crashed together amid roaring cries and swiftly devolved into close-quarters slaughter.
The Earth Dragon Clan's high priest chanted incantations in the dragon tongue as bloodthirsty Lizardmen launched wave after wave of charges.
The militia, bathed in holy light, fought back with bayonets in hand while taking turns firing under their officer's command, suppressing the Lizardmen hunters in the rear as they drew their bows.
The slaughter had officially begun. Severed limbs and heads flew through the air!
Both sides had transcendents, and both had blessings bestowed by Gods! The bloody spectacle not only shocked the adventurers present, but also the three skeletons riding spiders nearby.
Thousand Miles wore a tense expression, unconsciously clenching the fist resting on the spider's head.
Though she had played plenty of bloody games, this game's realism still made her wonder... Was this really okay? Wouldn't it corrupt children?
They probably wouldn't give activation codes to children... right?
Hundred Miles, meanwhile, shouted excitedly about how awesome and insane it was, looking like someone with rather limited vocabulary.
Long Xing Wan Li, standing between the two, had bright eyes, Soul Fire called ambition burning within them.
As expected, he had not been wrong—
This was exactly the game he had been searching for all this time!
That feeling of standing tall with blade in hand, commanding thousands of troops, of brothers coming to fight... he had not experienced it in far, far too long!
Long Xing Bai Li looked at him.
"Boss, how long do you think they'll keep fighting?"
Long Xing Wan Li shook his head.
"Don't know."
Long Xing Qian Li said, "Are we just waiting here?"
Long Xing Wan Li said nothing. Instead, he turned and looked toward the pitch-black corridor behind them.
Two Skeleton Soldiers were approaching from that direction. They were Hu Wan and One Leaf Knows Autumn.
A faint smile curved his lips.
"Let's hear what our strategist has to say first."
One Leaf Knows Autumn: "...?"