Balnazzar's Proposal

Linia Abbendis (Commander of the Scarlet Crusade): "Holy Light, I beseech your help, grant me strength, and let me and my Warrior no longer fear evil and darkness!" -- Holy Spirit's Protection!

This is the level 60 lord skill of the Scarlet Crusade Lord. In an instant, hundreds of Holy Light descended from the sky, landing on every Scarlet Crusade and coating them with a layer of golden light.

This Holy Spirit's Protection is an extremely powerful buff, increasing armor, spell resistance, strength, and providing temporary resistance to negative status effects.

It can be said that it instantly boosted the combat power of the Dawn Knights by a significant margin. Although it is not as powerful as a strategic-level ultimate move like the Rain of Chaos of Gate of Hell, it is not weak either.

Upon seeing this, the Dawn Knights immediately divided the work, with teams following Abbendis's instructions: some went to besiege the Hell, some to deal with the demons, and some to attack the portal.

However, some people didn't move; those people were Herod, who had been just observing, and the NPC Blood Elite.

"Kill!"

With a roar, Herod charged out, feeling utterly betrayed. The great Warrior he had always revered as a god was actually a demon in disguise. How many wrongdoings had he committed in the past? Only victory or death could wash away his shame. So either the Dreadlord would die, or he, Herod, would perish.

With a death wish, Herod charged forward bravely, and the blood-red elite NPCs hurriedly followed.

The battle instantly intensified.

Despite being surrounded and attacked, Balnazzar remained calm.

Rain of Fire! He raised his hand, and the remaining part of the fire cloud in the sky began to turn into a torrential rain of fire, scattering clusters of flames that scorched the armor and skin. Even the Holy Light could not withstand it for long.

But the crimson elites did not retreat; they attacked frantically, falling one by one in the flames, with only Herod still holding on.

Balnazzar (Dreadlord): "Your fragile lives are utterly worthless. Pain and torment, futile struggles are meaningless. Give up, give up those lives that bring you endless suffering."

"Shut up, you demon!" Herod roared, and suddenly spun like a top, Whirlwind!

The axe blade cleaved through the Dreadlord's thigh, and green blood splattered.

The Dreadlord let out a miserable scream.

"Get lost, you ant!" He kicked him away and then stomped on him.

(A perfect opportunity!) Abbendis then sneaked up behind the Dreadlord. Seeing that the other party did not react, he suddenly charged, then leaped into the air, bringing his two-handed greatsword down on the head.

If this sword had landed, it might have triggered Execute. However, the Dreadlord seemed to have anticipated this, and with a sudden turn, he unleashed Felflame Strike that sent Abbendis flying.

Abbendis did two somersaults in the air but landed steadily on the ground.

(Not only is his magic powerful, but his reaction is also very fast! This is a bit tricky!) She suddenly noticed a sword lying next to her feet, the Grand Crusader's Sword. This sword was the one that Dathrohan had lost during his battle with Azathoth. Since he had transformed into Dreadlord, he obviously didn't intend to use the sword anymore, which benefited her.

She picked up the sword, but found it difficult to hold.

Two-handed weapons must be wielded with both hands, except for— Titan's Grip!

Abbendis directly added a previously saved talent point to this skill (the skill prompts for humanoid creatures are different from those for elemental creatures; like adventurers, they have a talent system).

The Titan's Grip allows one to wield two-handed weapons with one hand. Holding a greatsword in each hand, she grasped the hilt, wielding the Grand Crusader's Sword in her left hand and the Scarlet Commander's Sword in her right, and rose to her feet like a female war goddess.

"Come on, demon, the battle isn't over yet!" With a roar, Abbendis leaped into the air once more, but—

Bang! He was sent flying again.

The gap was too huge! Abbendis leaned on her sword, half-kneeling on the ground, unwilling but forced to admit the truth. Six skeleton-level creatures fighting three skeleton-level creatures felt like a complete annihilation. And it wasn't just a difference in their stats; demons, being higher-level creatures, were inherently much stronger than humans of the same level. Add to that the difference in the boss's rank, and it was simply impossible for her to win. All these factors combined made her no match for the Dreadlord.

At this point, she had already lost half of her health, while the Fear Demon had only lost a little over two million health points, whereas he had over ten million health points.

She glanced at her subordinates again. The Gate of Hell had been destroyed, but the number of demons was simply too great. The Dawn Knights were evenly matched with such a massive demon army, and they were unable to spare any effort to provide support.

And a casual area-of-effect attack from Balnazzar can often...

Balnazzar (Dreadlord): "Insects, now you understand that in the face of absolute power, numbers are meaningless! Now, it's time to end this farce. You are indeed tenacious, but I am quite pleased to see if your minions are as tenacious as you."

As he spoke, a ball of red flame energy condensed in his hand.

Demon's Wrath!

With a wave of his hands, red flames suddenly spread outwards from him, engulfing the demons and knights in battle. However, the flames seemed to have no effect on the demons, while the knights' health plummeted, and several who were barely alive died instantly.

"Azathoth, we made a promise."

"If you beg me, perhaps I'll help you." Xiao Yu looked at Abbendis, who was pleading for help, and said calmly. He wasn't so saintly as to be tricked for no reason. He was supposed to be the one to deal with the Dreadlord, but the deal was suddenly changed. If he didn't hold a grudge, he would be too easy to talk to.

Of course, he wouldn't take the opportunity to demand an exorbitant price, but he would still collect some interest. All of their battles and conversations were being recorded. As long as Abbendis made the request and the video was posted online, it would mean that Scarlet Glory would be completely overshadowed by Azathoth.

Linia Abbendis (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "Lord Azathoth, please help us!"

Abbendis was quite straightforward; she knew she had completely messed up today. To preserve her strength, she had no choice but to admit defeat, since she was simply outmatched in power.

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "As you wish, Azathoth is merciful. Now, accept the great power I bestow upon you!" Fire Zealot Enhancement! A burst of fiery power suddenly enveloped a blood Paladin who was already low on health and on the verge of death.

In an instant, Flame Ward, immunity to fire damage, Fire Will, Fire Fireblade, and Flame Footprints —five buffs were all applied to the Crimson Paladin. Then, Xiao Yu applied one of these buffs to each of the other Dawn Knights.

The buff that grants immunity to fire damage is extremely important, as it means these characters are completely immune to the flames from demon fire and Hell.

This was the first time Xiao Yu had used this skill, and it was undeniably powerful. Of course, this skill only prevented the Dawn Knights from dying; to defeat the Dreadlord and his demonic minions, something else was needed.

The Dreadlord now wore a solemn expression.

Balnazzar (Dreadlord): "Elemental Lords, we have no need to be enemies. I can sense a unique power emanating from you. You do not belong to this world. In this respect, we are in the same boat. We don't need to fight to the death. On the contrary, we can cooperate. You want the Scarlet Crusade? Here you go. We can cooperate to conquer and rule this world together."

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "A very good suggestion. However, one ruler is enough for this world, and that person will definitely not be you. I, Azathoth, need no allies. I only need those who are loyal to me or those who are trampled under my feet. Now you only have two choices: submit to me, or—die!"