Chapter 1 The Beginning

Several days later.

Night had fallen, but this hellish world would not descend into darkness because of it. After that distant, dim reddish-brown star completely set below the horizon, a layer of dark red light enveloped the obsidian plains. This faint glow came from the huge red planet in the sky, a giant planet with iron-rich red soil that constantly emitted a faint glow due to slowly decaying radioactive material. This light was enough to illuminate the entire earth even after nightfall.

Every demon plane had unforgettable and strange landscapes. The third plane had the Helm's Steam Columns, and the seventh plane had the red giant. Due to tidal locking, this broken planet once ruled by Izhaks had maintained a relative orbit with the red giant in the sky for millions of years, becoming a strange binary star system in this space. Every time night fell, the obsidian plains were directly under the illumination of the red giant, and looking up, one could see the enormous circular landmass suspended overhead. The distance was so close that one could clearly see the wood-grain-like surface structure of the red planet with the naked eye.

Several black figures were rapidly running across the obsidian plains, their speed like a swift wind. They bypassed the military camps and outposts along the way, constantly approaching the "urban area" where the Allied Forces High Command was located.

Lanina looked up at the familiar sky of her hometown: "Many outsiders have difficulty surviving in this space. The relatively high temperature during the day and the toxic substances in the air are only some of the reasons. Another reason is the influence of the red planet. Red seems to be a highly stimulating color for emotionally sensitive beings like humans and elves. Long-term exposure to a red environment can cause them to lose emotional control. In addition, the radiation from the red planet has a certain impact on their minds. Many humans and elves can adapt to the climate here, but suffer greatly when night comes. But the Allied soldiers remaining in this space should all be adapted to the environment now. We can no longer expect to see anyone going crazy under the illumination of the red planet."

Hao Ren didn't feel anything about the huge planet in the sky. He was just curious about the state of this continent when Izhaks' empire had not yet collapsed: "Was the environment here so harsh back then? I remember Izhaks had many creatures of other races under his rule. Could they adapt to this place?"

"The environment here was slightly better back then, and the environment in the cities was even better," Lanina said with a smile. "In order to allow various races to live normally in this space, we researched many environmental modification technologies, and even used a large barrier in the Red Peak area to create a forest where elves could survive. But now, it should only be scorched earth."

Hao Ren nodded and said nothing more.

Only Lanina was with him. The others had dispersed to other places to carry out their tasks. Tonight, they were going to create a little chaos in the rear of the Allied forces. According to the terrain map provided by Vivian, plus the understanding of the movement patterns of the personnel near the target in the past few days, it should not be difficult to succeed.

"Let's wait here," Hao Ren and Lanina arrived at the closest obsidian spire to the command center when the light from the red planet in the sky reached its third peak. This was a patrol blind spot. "Izhaks should already be in place. We'll act when we see movement on his side."

At the same time, at the foot of another obsidian spire, more than ten kilometers away from Hao Ren and Lanina, Izhaks was quietly looking at the huge canyon in front of him.

He was standing on the edge of his former royal city, but now the royal city was gone. All that remained was a huge canyon with no end in sight. The obsidian plains were as if someone had forcibly dug out a piece from the center, leaving behind a scorched scar, showing later generations how tragic the earth-shattering war of that year had been.

Izhaks quietly looked at the bottom of the canyon. At the bottom of that distant dark valley, one could see patches of bright golden-red light winding and flowing. It was a river network formed by lava. These lavas were once hidden deep underground, and the unprecedented grand forbidden spell of that year had exposed these underground molten rocks.

Many years ago, these lava rivers were an important source of power for the Demon King City and the Obsidian Throne. This time, they would once again serve the Demon King of this land.

"If this land still remembers its master," Izhaks sat cross-legged, muttering to himself, "then get up and help this king again."

The lava river deep in the canyon seemed to have heard the call of its former lord, and suddenly began to surge. Listening to the rumbling sound from the bottom of the valley, and feeling the slight tremors beneath him, Izhaks smiled: "Then we'll see if the blood magic that the vampires pride themselves on is that useful."

The night was still silent. The light of the red giant ended a peak and began to gradually dim. The Allied sentries stationed around the Great Canyon were preparing for the last shift change of the day. An elf warrior with pointed ears saw the comrade who was coming to relieve him in the distance, and yawned as he walked out of his sentry post. He was very lax, because he felt that there would be no danger here: this was the rear of the obsidian plains, the core of the Allied Forces. Although a year ago this was the base camp of the Mad Demon King, it was now the safest place in the entire demon space. Seraton's army was thousands of kilometers away, so he didn't think anything would happen tonight.

But in the instant he turned around, a strange rumbling sound suddenly came from behind him. The elf's sensitive ears twitched at the same time as the rumbling sound rang out, and the soldier immediately rushed back to his sentry post, looking down at the bottom of the Great Canyon: that was the direction from which the sound came.

He saw that the lava river at the bottom of the Great Canyon was surging. Those bright and never-solidifying hot liquids seemed to have a life of their own, flowing upstream along the four walls of the Great Canyon. Countless humanoid giant monsters condensed from the lava, climbing towards the surface like the ancient giants in mythology who were climbing the pillars of the world!

The elven sentry instantly broke out in a cold sweat. At this moment, he even forgot that the depth of the canyon was enough for these lava demons to fall halfway, and subconsciously pulled the alchemical device next to him for alarm, while shouting loudly: "Demon attack!!"

At the same time, a dozen alarm light clusters shot into the sky from other outposts around the canyon, and the surrounding camp boiled over in an instant!

In the command post not far from this camp, a human watchtower was still lit. This square, three-story building built of stone was the residence of the human supreme commander. In the room on the top floor of the watchtower, a middle-aged man in armor with short brown hair was frowning and staring at a dark red crystal in front of him. He was Grigory, the human commander, one of the "Seven Heroes" of the Allied Forces.

This paladin, with his high prestige and tenacious will, was one of the most experienced commanders in the Ten-Year War, and also one of the initiators of the alliance of various races who stood up to call for an alliance after the Demon King's army raged in the human world for hundreds of years. But now, this general, known for his wisdom and composure, was completely confused by the crystal in front of him. He couldn't see what other hints were hidden in this dark red pebble other than a piece of footage. He could only feel the authentic aura of a demon king from the stone—it was this aura that made the commanders of the Allied Forces believe that this was not a joke.

Just as Grigory was staring at the stone in a daze, the noise from outside suddenly made him frown.

He stood up, pushed open the door, and beckoned to his personal guard: "What's going on outside?"

The personal guard had just returned after understanding the situation. He saluted Grigory immediately upon seeing him: "General! The lava river below the Demonscar Canyon is surging, and many lava demons are climbing towards the ground."

"Just for this?" Grigory frowned in dissatisfaction, "Lava demons climb out of the lava river below every day. Haven't we already confirmed that they can't climb the cliffs of the Demonscar Canyon!"

"But General, the scale this time is very large," the personal guard hurriedly explained the information he had learned, "It is said that more than a thousand lava demons have split from the lava river! Their behavior is very similar to that of the Mad Demon King..."

"What did you say?!"

"Very similar to the lava demon army under the command of the Mad Demon King..." The personal guard took a breath. Even though the Allied Forces were the final victors of the Ten-Year War, when the words "Mad Demon King" were mentioned, these victors still couldn't help but feel a heartfelt fear. That was a shadow that had enveloped the world for hundreds of years, and it was far from being completely eliminated by a single Ten-Year War.

Grigory thought for a moment, then waved his hand to calm his personal guard: "Stay calm. Have Master Rufan come over here, and inform General Casiodina about the situation here."

The guard took the order and left. Grigory turned to look at the dark red crystal on the table, shook his head slightly, and sat back down at the table.

He didn't leave the room.