Lulian, entrance to the abyss.

As time passed, the atmosphere became more and more solemn.

People gathered in the valley, gazing at the flat ground that should have been the entrance to the abyss, but now flourishing with vegetation, whispering or pacing anxiously.

Tens of thousands of elite Lulian soldiers have surrounded the valley. And more troops are still on their way.

A few prayer hours ago, the royal family had already given the order. The border army currently assembled in the border cities of Longmen and Atlanta was transferred to Lulian and brought four knights to Lulian under the command of Adolf, and the Tomahawk Knights, who had been stationed on the northern border of Lulian, had also set off as soon as possible.

Their vanguard will arrive in sixteen prayer hours.

At the same time, the provinces of Saxony and Sinasir, which borders Lulian, also sent troops. The province of Saxony sent a force of 30,000 cavalry and 4,000 knights. Sinasili, for its part, sent forty-two large ships carrying 13,000 soldiers.

These troops, like the Lulian Army under Adolf, were originally prepared to go north to join the Imperial Alliance against the Demons. Some are even ready to go. But he didn't expect to receive an order temporarily, so he could only turn south.

And more importantly, everyone heard that His Excellency Abraham had left the Magic Mountain and personally led eleven Sanctuary powerhouses and dozens of high-level knights and magicians to rush here on the Sky Demon Ship.

The news made people excited and shocked. You know, this is a force that has not been used in the most critical moments of the war with the Firet Empire. And this time, the empire did not hesitate to take it out.

Towns within a radius of tens of kilometers from the entrance to the abyss, both east, west, north, south, and north, have been evacuated. In the sky, patrolling griffin knights and messengers passing by from time to time. On the ground, the procession of civilians carrying luggage and driving ox carts to help the old and the young stretches for dozens of miles.

Arguably. The entire Saint-Soran Empire was running like a machine. The speed of response to the crisis was even greater than when Lulian was invaded by the Philip Empire.

"How?"

In the tent outside the valley, Adolf, dressed in military uniform, looked away from the map on the table and cast it on Fano who walked in, and asked anxiously.

"The evacuation is almost complete. Fano, who looked tired, took a sip of water and said. "The transfer of troops is also nearing completion. Both the first and second lines of defense are ready for now. The third line of defense is being built, and the members are more complex and have more problems......"

"I don't care about this," Adolf interrupted Fano, pointing to the red line on the map centered on the entrance to the abyss, and asked, "How long will our first line of defense last?"

"If reinforcements don't arrive in time, we'll only be able to hold out for no more than five prayer hours," Fano said. Any more, and our casualties will increase exponentially. ”

"Five hours of prayer......" Adolf munched on the bitter words. He said, "You should all understand what it means if we can't drive the Abyss Demon back in the first place. ”

Fano was silent, and the dozens of generals gathered in the tent, the noble lords and representatives of the major forces were silent.

Of course, you understand what that means.

Although there are now five lines of defense planned around the entrance to the abyss on the map, three have been arranged. But. In addition to the innermost first line of defense, everyone even subconsciously ignored the second line of defense.

Because they all know. The only line of defense that can actually deal with demons is the first line of defense. Once the demons break through this line of defense, the situation is already out of control. The second line of defense, the third line of defense, is nothing more than two large red circles on the map.

It's not so much to stop the Abyss Demon as to be at ease with yourself. It doesn't work at all.

It's like holding water in a paper cup. Thin paper. Maybe hold a small glass of water. But a big basin of water, a big tank of water, and a thin sheet of paper to make a container, the consequences can be imagined.

The demon that gushes out is water.

If you can't stop them in the first line of defense. Well, the second line of defense will be ten times more difficult to intercept them than the first. And the third line of defense is a hundredfold or even a thousandfold. As for the fourth and fifth articles, they are actually just plans.

Not to mention that with Lulian's current strength, it is impossible to build it up, and even if the force is sufficient, the only role of its existence is only to serve as a reserve for the front line of defense.

And it is not easy to intercept the demon army in the first line of defense.

Due to the terrain, the first line of defense can accommodate only 3,000 troops. Even with the support of the second line of defense, the total investment is unlikely to exceed 10,000 people.

No matter how much it is, not only will the frequent mobilization be prone to chaos and create a chance for the demon to break through, but the combat effectiveness of the replenished troops will not be enough to maintain the defensive strength of the first line of defense.

After all, those who can resist demons need at least fair-level knights. And 10,000 just knights is the number of long knights of a full twenty knights. This is already the limit that the Lulian Army and the major forces have tried their best to piece together.

And that's it, thanks to a victory in the fjord, which completely drove the Firean army out of the southern part of the empire. And the invasion of the demons has made Lulian a large rear, attracting major forces in the southeast, northwest and northwest of the empire. Otherwise, if you go back a few months, Adolf will not be able to gather such an army, even if he smashes the pot and sells iron.

As for the knights and ordinary soldiers of lower rank, they could not play a role in such a war.

Although Adolf was in a ruin, he was able to mobilize more than 300,000 troops. However, such an army will not only be unable to resist the demons, but will also become a source of motivation for more demons to break through the abyss. Filling with human lives is like using oil to extinguish fire, which is the most stupid tactic.

This is also the reason why everyone is not hopeful about the several lines of defense in the back.

Now, everyone's only hope is for the early arrival of reinforcements. Only by concentrating a large number of strong men on the first line of defense and building this red circle into an iron bucket array that can make the demons hit their heads and bleed, can there be any hope of victory.

If you add the nearest Tomahawk Knights, if the eleven Sanctuary powerhouses led by Abraham can arrive before the demons break through, then, the strength of the first line of defense. It can be increased tenfold and more!

But......

"The abyss has been closed for more than forty-eight prayer hours," Adolf said in a heavy voice, "If we look at the time of the catastrophe ten thousand years ago, there will be a maximum of ten prayer hours, and we will face the attack of the abyss demons. And our latest reinforcements. but it will take sixteen prayers to reach ......"

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

At this time, Adolf suddenly remembered Roy.

He didn't know what happened to Roy in the abyss. Whether he has been buried in the cloud storm, or has he become a part of the flesh and blood of those demons who broke through the abyss blockade.

Adolf was just a little distressed.

In just a few months, he almost watched this black-haired boy grow from a somewhat childish teenager to a young man with some traces of knives and axes on his face. He is the lucky star of the Loulian family and the hero of all Lurians.

Under the city of Medin, the castle ball, the rebellion of the city of Munny. Battle of the Fjords, kill Fred...... Scenes flashed through Adolf's mind.

After a long time, he opened his eyes and looked around: "Everyone, get ready." It's going to be a bloody battle with no way out!"

............

Where is this?

When the red light cluster was shattered, the mercenaries only felt that it was dark in front of them, and when they regained their sight, they found that they had come to an unknown gray world.

The original team was broken up, and they appeared in different places in twos and threes. Some people were seen by the creek. Some are found on the lawn, some in the woods. There are also people in rooms, hallways, and fountains.

It seems to be a huge garden.

It is said to be huge, not only because of its vast area, but also because the buildings, roads, sculptures and even plants and trees here are particularly huge. As you walk, you feel as if you've been shrunk. From an adult to a two- or three-year-old child.

The sky was gray and tinged with a palpitating red. The line of sight is less than thirty meters away. And everything in sight seemed so dilapidated.

Many of the buildings have collapsed and are littered with ruins. The vegetation all around it also died. The dry trunks of the trees and the dead leaves and vines that turn to slag when stepped on give the place a lifeless and eerie atmosphere.

And before the mercenaries could recover from their happiness that they were still alive, it was a disaster. And it came silently.

One by one, demons swooped out from the ruins, from the fountains covered with black mud, from the woods, from the corners of the corridors. An attack was launched against them.

............

"How can there be demons here?" In the corridor of a dilapidated building, three mercenaries fled as they resisted the swarming demons.

One of the mercenaries running at the end cut down a fifth-level demon, and suddenly, he noticed several swift black shadows flying towards him.

Compared to the fifth-level demons around them, these black shadows had faster speed and stronger aura.

"Sixth-level demons! Damn! There are so many sixth-level demons!"

The mercenary was stunned for a while, screaming wildly, desperately urging the battle ring, and the long sword in his hand danced into an impenetrable ball of light, protecting his body.

Listening to a few rapid muffled bangs, the figure of the black shadow rushing forward was stunned, and the mercenary was also shocked and flew out. He slammed into the wall and violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

The mercenaries did not pause in the slightest. Despite his injuries, he struggled to his feet, staggering to try to keep up with his fleeing companions.

He knew very well that with his strength of Glory Samsung, he might still be sure of winning against one or two sixth-level demons, but if he faced four or five at the same time, he would only have to die. Besides, he had already seen that there were more Rank 6 demons coming towards him behind him.

The mercenaries frantically waved their weapons and fled to the corner of the hallway. However, as soon as they turned, they all stopped, and a dead gray of despair appeared on their faces.

What appeared in front of them was a dense group of demons. At a glance, the corridors that were twenty meters wide and nearly forty meters high were already crowded with demons. Not only was there not a single crack in the ground, but even the air was full of demons crawling on the walls or hanging upside down from the dome.

They surged and pounced on themselves with the distinctive and palpitating "click" sound of the Abyssal Demon. The entire view seemed to be enveloped by a huge black cloth.

What makes people desperate is that the vast majority of these demons are sixth-level demons. It's like someone has concentrated all the sixth-level demons of the third layer of the abyss here. And behind these sixth-level demons, there are dozens of seventh-level demons and a dozen eighth-level demons.

If the three mercenaries had a glimmer of fantasy of escaping from the siege before, then now, all they had left was despair.

The demon pounced.

The three of them were frantically slashing and resisting. The range of their battle ring is getting smaller and smaller, and the wounds on their bodies are getting more and more. Finally, as the last drop of source power was exhausted, their bodies were drowned in the swarming demons.

When the last scream fell silent, the demons suddenly separated a passage.

A strange demon like a leather ball walked over under the escort of several eighth-level demons.

Burst.

The ball demon stretched out a long, sharp mouthpiece and stabbed into the body of a dead mercenary.

Crimson blood sucked into the demon's body along its mouthparts, and its body became larger and redder. The mercenary's corpse shrank at a rate visible to the naked eye

(To be continued......)