Chapter 223: Beginning of the Demon Invasion 1
A day had passed since the meeting had taken place. Things were slowly ramping up as chaos spread throughout the Pocket Dimension. Large armies of demons and demonic cultivators ran rampant as they attacked the inhabitants. Although the locals put up a good fight, the numbers and betrayals were overwhelming. Some groups openly sided with the demons for self interest or survival. Their reasons were known only to themselves.
In a certain area a giant army of demons, demonic beasts, demonic cultivators, and allied natives surrounded a misty mountain. Signs of battle and destruction were everywhere, but the mountain itself showed little damage. Scaling it seemed impossible. It looked unnatural.
At the head of the demon alliance stood fifteen stern figures.
"Prepare the void breaking curse talismans and get into formation. Use the exploding demonic energy synchronization technique." A tall, humanlike demonic cultivator ordered.
The army obeyed and began their setup. A grizzled man with two sharp lower canine teeth sneered up at the mountain peak and barked in the natives' tongue.
"Your time has come, old bastard. Your subordinate sects have all been eradicated. Give up and join the demon alliance."
Silence held for a beat, then a voice answered with growing fury. "Pathetic. So you would sell out your own for ambition. How ironic."
"I do not want to hear that from you bastards who lord over lands like kings. Your time has come. Surrender or face annihilation!" the grizzled man growled. Among the native ranks expressions of guilt, shame, arrogance, and indifference flickered as they listened.
"Tch. We will not let you have your way so easily," the voice from atop the mountain shot back.
"Then prepare to meet your demise. You heard them, Lords." The grizzled man turned and urged the other leaders forward.
Grim expressions confirmed their haste. The preparations accelerated.
At the mountain summit a palace complex sat amid layered structures. From that vantage an army of experts watched the swelling host below. Some of these locals bore two long lower canine teeth, others had four long but slightly shorter canines compared to others. At a glance most looked human, but the differences were there.
The crowd below could not see through the mist. Four experts stood before the defenders. Three wore tense, near despairing expressions. The fourth, a man, shouted in fury.
"Damnit. Why has it come to this? What lording around? Yes, we had subordinate factions, but we are not responsible for what they do and we even have little interaction with them," he snapped in irritation.
A woman in silk sighed. "It is inevitable. We remain one of the strongest powers here. We do not know the status of the other top powerhouses, except that the Shruman clan suffered from internal collapse after the demons arrived."
"Hah. Our numbers are fewer, but our quality is superior thanks to our clan legacy," another man retorted, frantic.
The last of the four balled his fists as his teeth chattered while he watched the incoming bombardments.
Then an elderly voice, faint as a whisper, spoke.
"Worry not. The time will arrive for our Blue Mountain Star clan's mission to be fulfilled."
Everyone present shuddered. They bowed in respect. Only the four leaders kept their stance, returning a formal bow.
"We greet the Patriarch," they intoned.
"Hold as much as you can. All of this was predestined," the old voice added, then faded.
The gathered forces steeled themselves. Tremors and huge explosions rocked the mountain as impact after impact struck. Faces hardened. Killing intent flared.
"Bombard them until they are ash. Follow the Patriarch's will." The lead man unleashed Mortal Lord level pressure and killing intent.
The army roared back in unison. "We will follow the Clan Leader's orders."
The three other experts alongside him nodded as Mortal Lord presence surged across the mountain, preparing the defenders for the cataclysm to come.
Three days passed, and as one could imagine, the entire area was in shambles with death and decay spreading across the ruined land. Demon alliance corpses littered the grounds and around the mountain. The once durable misty mountain was greatly damaged from the bottom half reaching into its upper ridges. The entire region looked unstable as tiny distortions flickered through the air every few seconds.
"Hahahaha! There's no use fighting this hard! No matter how many of us you kill, our armies are too large and too powerful for you to escape alive! You'll all fall!" the grizzled man yelled from halfway up the mountain, eyes bloodshot and grin twisted.
The Blue Mountain Star clan was truly in dire straits. Their experts were scattered, many wounded or dead. Even with their powerful mist formations and counterattacks, things were only growing worse. Their defensive advantage was crumbling fast.
Bloody roars echoed through the battlefield as demonic Ki and dark magic rained down. Violent demonic energy surged, warping the air further until the distortions began to merge. A portion of the demon alliance leaders, now nineteen in total, started to notice the abnormality and pulled back slightly, wary and confused.
Then, a crushing pressure fell over the entire region.
Everything froze.
The air shattered as the distortions erupted into massive cracks that split both sky and land. A deafening rumble rolled through the mountains, and then in a blinding flash a streak of light cut across the horizon, slamming straight into the mountain's summit.
Those at the top were thrown into panic.
"Wh-what was that?!" a Mortal Lord shouted, his voice trembling with fear.
All throughout the battlefield, chaos erupted. The demon alliance halted as weaker warriors fell unconscious, their souls overwhelmed by the pressure. Even the stronger ones trembled, unsure whether to fight or flee.
"What the hell was that?!" a demon leader bellowed, his face pale.
The grizzled expert clenched his weapon, uncertain and shaken.
Then, the calm, ancient voice of the Patriarch resounded once again across the mountain.
"As foretold… our mission has been completed. Be calm, and make preparations."
The voice carried a weight that silenced even terror itself. Though still confused, the Blue Mountain Star clan obeyed. Deep within the mountain, a sealed chamber stirred to life.
At its center was a vast room lined with ancient treasures, glowing formations, and hundreds of divine tools. Seated within it was an elder figure of a man with two long golden-blue lower canines. His robes gleamed with yellow, blue, and white patterns. Even seated, his aura was that of a mighty expert.
Before him, the air shimmered as a blue, ghostly figure stood before him, silent and still.
The elder immediately bowed deeply.
"I greet thee, Old Vice Sect Master," he said reverently, his voice echoing through the chamber.
Silence followed. The translucent entity remained motionless, its face unreadable, its eyes like frozen stars.