Chapter 555 - 539: Crystal Crown

Chapter 555: Chapter 539: Crystal Crown

In the third layer of Purgatory, the Realm of Lust, the air was thick with a sickeningly sweet fragrance. Decadent music echoed through a lavish pink palace.

Greedy Monarch Mammon tossed the final Storage Pouch, packed with one million Soul Coins, in front of the third layer’s Lord, Lustful Monarch Asmodeus.

"The debt is cleared." Mammon crossed his dozens of arms over his chest, his tone carrying an unconcealable trace of smugness.

Asmodeus was a breathtakingly beautiful Demon with a flawless humanoid form, capable of stirring the desires of any soul with a mere glance. He elegantly opened the bag, allowing the pure light of the souls to reflect upon his face, revealing an expression of utter infatuation.

"What a perfect work of art," he softly praised. "Mammon, where did you get your hands on these treasures? They’re even purer than the souls of infants."

"Trade secret." Mammon had no intention of revealing his upstream supplier. "Cut the crap. That brainless idiot Baal can’t wait to see blood."

Meanwhile, on Purgatory’s fifth layer, the Wailing Wilderness.

Slaughterer Baal shoved a final handful of Soul Coins into his mouth like jellybeans. His berserk aura exploded outward, nearly tearing apart the dark yellow sky around him.

Three Dawn Star Level Demon Monarchs had completed their final mustering in their respective Planes.

Mammon, Baal, and Asmodeus.

Greed, Wrath, and Lust.

Three Lords from entirely different layers of Purgatory were now bound together by an invisible chain called "profit."

In his palace of greed, Mammon took out a Crystal Waymark provided by Allen, engraved with precise spacetime parameters.

"Coordinates: Plane Z-019."

His voice echoed simultaneously in the minds of the other two Demon Monarchs through their soul link. In the next second, the three Dawn Star Level Demon Lords simultaneously consumed half a million Soul Coins.

They bypassed sacrifices and summons, skipping all tedious rituals to forcibly open a cross-realm passage.

This was the power of pay-to-win!

In Resource Realm Z-019, Crystal Crown, the sky was as clear as a flawless sapphire.

Below, an endless mountain range of blue crystals refracted soft halos of light. Hundreds of Floating Islands dotted the sea of clouds like green emeralds. On these islands, various rare Magic Plants swayed in the wind.

Ten million mortals and apprentices lived on this land, providing the blood, sweat, and labor needed to fund a Morning Star Wizard’s opulent lifestyle. This was Kaspar Murphy’s private kingdom, the result of hundreds of years of his management and accumulation.

However, this tranquility was permanently shattered in this very moment.

BOOM!!

Three sickly green rifts, resembling scars upon the world, appeared on the land without warning. A thick stench of sulfur spread outward like a bursting dam.

Deafening roars pierced the heavens. Over a dozen massive Abyssal Demon Dragons were the first to squeeze their hideous heads through the rifts, spewing dragon breath upon this lush new world.

Following closely behind was an endless flood of Demons.

The Frenzy Demon Legion, boasting bulging muscles and wielding giant axes, poured out from the first rift. Voluptuous Succubi with long tails trailing behind them, alongside Fear Demon Kings hidden in the shadows, howled as they surged from the second rift. A massive horde of Hellhounds and Inferior Demons clustered around Flame Demons armed with Flaming Whips, marching forth from the third rift.

The Demon Legions of these three factions, totaling over three million strong, converged on the same battlefield!

The Defense Array in the northern part of the Plane couldn’t even fully activate before it was melted by the dragon breath of the dozen-plus Abyssal Demon Dragons in the very first wave. The magnificent land, composed of massive amounts of blue crystals, was trampled under the iron hooves of the Demons.

Slaughter, devouring, and destruction.

The true nature of Purgatory was fully laid bare in this moment.

At the center of the Plane, in the Observatory Room at the top of the White Crystal Wizard Tower.

Kaspar Murphy, who had just stepped out of his laboratory, was holding a glass of mead brewed from Star Flowers. He was comfortably looking down at his prosperous and orderly kingdom when he suddenly felt the entire Plane tremble violently.

He snapped his head up and immediately spotted the three spatial rifts. His Dawn Star Level perception instantly blanketed the entirety of Crystal Crown. What terrified him most of all was that three vast, majestic, and terrifying wills—none inferior to his own—had descended upon his world simultaneously!

CRACK!

The crystal goblet in his hand shattered. The crimson mead flowed through his fingers like blood.

"Enemy attack!!"

There was no longer a trace of peace or satisfaction on Kaspar’s face. He had lived for nearly a thousand years and had never imagined that his own lair would be invaded by Demons!

His voice echoed throughout the entire Wizard Tower. "Initiate the highest defense protocol! Activate all combat constructs immediately!"

HUMM—

Hundreds of Floating Islands simultaneously lit up with dazzling defense Runes. They linked together, forming a circular barrier that covered nearly half the continent. Countless thick beams of energy shot out from beneath the islands, blasting into the Demon swarm and instantly vaporizing thousands of Low-tier Demons.

But it was entirely futile.

The Demon army’s numbers were simply too great. Braving the artillery fire, they breached the northern defense line and frantically pushed toward the inland core zone at a visible pace. All the factories, plantations, and breeding farms along their path were subjected to bloodbaths and destroyed.

"Damn it!"

Kaspar’s figure instantly appeared high in the sky outside the Wizard Tower. As he looked at the three Demon Monarchs radiating the aura of Law, his heart plummeted into an icy abyss.

If it were only one, he was confident he could slay it by relying on his home-field advantage. If it were two, he could barely hold on and drag the fight out until they retreated. But three... this was an absolute death trap!

With no time to think, Kaspar—as an orthodox Witchcraft School Wizard—raised his hands high, frantically squeezing every drop of Magic Power from his body.

"Source of All Laws, Starfall!"

Above the Sky Vault, Magic Power converged. Massive meteorites were shaped out of thin air and, trailing long tails of flame, smashed down fiercely upon the densest clusters of Demons.

Suddenly, a giant axe burning with the fiery flames of Hell directly cleaved through space, viciously smashing against his Wizard shield!

BOOM!

Kaspar let out a muffled groan. The shield flickered violently, and he was blasted back thousands of meters like a kite with a snapped string. The Wizard Robe on his left shoulder was reduced to flying ash.

After just one clash, he knew he couldn’t engage those brutes in close combat. He retreated to the Wizard Tower in a sorry state and activated its strongest defenses.

Looking outside the shield at the slowly approaching figures of the three Demon Monarchs, and at the fertile land being ravaged, burned, and devoured, Kaspar’s eyes filled with bloodshot fury.

That was his life’s work! His lifeline, bringing him an income of over two billion Low-Level Magic Stones every year!

He thought, "Should I flee? I can run, but if I do, my foundation will be completely destroyed. What will I rely on to maintain my Dawn Star Level expenses and research in the future? Fight? With what? A fight to the death with three Demon Monarchs of the same level?"

Humiliation, anger, unwillingness... a myriad of emotions churned in his chest. Ultimately, only cold reality remained. Gritting his teeth, he immediately initiated an emergency cross-Plane communication.

"In the name of Association member Kaspar Murphy, I hereby request military reinforcement from the Plane Exploration and Development Association!"

There was no such thing as a free lunch in the Wizarding World.

The deployment fee for Dawn Star Level military assistance was five billion Low-Level Magic Stones. This was equivalent to two and a half years of pure profit from his Plane! Kaspar’s heart was bleeding, but he had no choice. He had to pay this life-saving fee.

The distress signal pierced through the Plane’s barrier, transforming into a streak of light that shot into the depths of the endless void.

Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Association headquarters building, inside the Anomaly Threat Response Department.

Minister Hercules was bored out of his mind, wiping down an Alien Energy Weapon from his collection. An emergency mission notification suddenly popped up on the terminal in front of him.

[Emergency Mission: Resource Realm Z-019 has suffered a Purgatory invasion.] 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

[Mission Nature: Demon Invasion.]

[Requester: Kaspar Murphy.]

[Threat Level: (Three Lords of Purgatory). Assistance from two Dawn Star Level Wizards required.]

The light in Hercules’s Rune Eye flickered as he casually forwarded the mission details. The other end of the light screen connected to the Deputy Minister’s office.

"Allen, we’ve got work," Hercules said. "Three Dawn Star Level Demons have invaded the private Plane of one of our ’colleagues.’"

He paused, a hint of teasing in his tone. "Are you interested in making some extra cash? It’s a five-billion contract."

On the other side of the light screen, Allen was sitting behind a massive black wooden desk, slowly lifting a cup of hot tea. He gently blew on the steam rising from the rim, the mission briefing on the light screen reflecting in his eyes. A flawless smile curled the corners of his lips.

"Always happy to serve the Association."