The Broken Range stretched vast and desolate, a black dragon across the gray wasteland. It seemed to have thrust its arched back up from hell, breaking through the earth to become mountains that divided the Divine Realm from the Demon Realm and kept gods and demons apart. It had also left both realms with an enduring, mysterious legend of what lay "on the other side"—a legend that lured them into war by unspoken agreement every so often. After millions of years, even the people of the two realms had lost count of those wars. Yet no one had ever crossed the Broken Range.
This time, however, the Demon Realm was confident it could tip the black balance. Alaparis, a Devil King whose territory lay at the westernmost edge of the Demon Realm's prized Blood-Washed Plains Belt, had deciphered an ancient demonic site within his domain. He opened a passage to the Void Abyss and summoned the terrifyingly powerful Phantom Demon Attendants. In their first small test, they gravely wounded Barent, the dragon warrior sent by the Divine Realm to scout them. Barent returned without even seeing what had hurt him.
When the news reached the Demon Realm's highest ranks, its 109 Devil Kings and thirty Great Devil Kings were beside themselves with excitement. They jointly urged the Devil Master to send troops to the Broken Range at once.
The Devil Master had long wanted war. He immediately ordered 1.35 million troops to march on the thirty-six God-Devil Fortresses in the Broken Range. Once the army had assembled, it would launch a fierce assault and break through in a single stroke.
Phantom Demon Attendants were creatures somewhere between magic beasts and demons, found only in the Demon Realm's cursed Void Abyss. Their fighting strength was astonishing, but most frightening of all