Abyssal Chronicles

Chapter 309 - 310: The Great Retreat [2/3]

Respected as one of the three Archbishops of the church, Nick gained his position largely thanks to his family’s influence and substantial wealth.

For many within the church, his family was a formidable force. However, to the inscrutable Pope, they’re hardly noteworthy.

The Pope shows little concern for Nick’s life or death, leaving Nick uncertain if he would come to his aid in dire times.

At this moment, they’re besieged by Demon Kings and abyssal demons. Their sole hope for survival is to summon aid.

Even if the Pope dismisses their lives, he should still intervene to protect the Chosen One. Her importance to the church, and the world, is simply undeniable.

Nick contemplates,

"It’s a risk, but we’ve no other options."

With a deep breath, Nick clutches the ring in his hand, mustering the last vestiges of his holy power, in an attempt to call upon the Pope, the church’s highest authority.

Only the Pope can fight against a Demon King of Inferno’s rank.

Yet, as Nick races against time, his actions abruptly stopped. His pale blue eyes are clouded with confusion, he appears disoriented, staring blankly into the distance behind him.

To his astonishment, the fearsome abyssal demons, who were on the verge of storming from the rear and devouring all the church members, have inexplicably stopped their attack.

Nick and the rest of the church’s member watch in bafflement as the demon horde suddenly halts their charge, abruptly ending their Attack.

The demon horde, previously capable of engulfing and laying waste to the entire city, has now stalled as if ensnared by a time-freezing spell.

’Are they… retreating...?’

Nick murmurs in shock.

"What... What’s happening? Why are they retreating?"

Demons are notoriously known for their hatred of all living beings, relentlessly pursuing until all foes are annihilated. This is known to all.

However, this steadfast fact is now shattered. despite their holy aura, the demons have surprisingly terminated their charge and withdrawn.

Nick pinches his thigh forcefully, using the pain as a reality check, ensuring that this isn’t a dream.

All the knights of the church, equally stunned, shift their focus to the more Fearsome threat looming behind them – the Demon King Inferno.

Upon glancing back at her, they’re aghast to find this incredibly potent creature refraining from attack.

Instead, it spreads its sky-obscuring wings. The following moment, amidst a whirlwind of scarlet shadow energy, the Flame Demon ascends skyward to the disbelief of all.

One of the most powerful Demon Kings (Inferno), viewed as a roving calamity by humanity, is feared more than the Sword Demon. Each appearance results in endless burning ashes and the complete eradication of life. Even souls are scorched to nonexistence.

The Flame Demon’s power is undeniably fearsome. Upon its arrival, most members of the church, excluding Archbishop Nick, abandoned all hope of survival.

Their conviction was that the entire city would be transformed into an endless purgatory.

To evade being burnt alive in agonizing torment, several church member, unable to bear the psychological strain, took their own lives. They preferred this over being consumed by the blaze of Inferno.

Yet now, the Flame Demon neither attacks them nor initiates the feared inferno. Instead, it takes to the sky and departs.

’It’s heading north?!’

Suddenly, the abyssal demons launched their onslaught. Then, inexplicably, they staged a large-scale retreat. Those who survived felt as though they’d ridden a roller coaster of emotions.

One moment they were in hell, the next in heaven, and what was coming next, no one knew...

But now, it seemed, they had survived…

"The abyssal demons... they’re retreating?"

Watching the receding red demons and the countless abyssal monsters, feeling the dreadful shadow power gradually fading, everyone inside the shattered SkyDome City, whether they fought fiercely, fled in panic, or simply accepted their death, wore expressions of disbelief.

They didn’t understand why the demons and Inferno had appeared in the City or why they had suddenly retreated, but the survivors inside the City no longer had the energy to ponder these questions.

After a brief moment of deadly silence, those who were almost swallowed by despair rushed out of their mental mire, exclaiming:

"We... we... we survived?!"

The feeling of being lifted from hell to heaven-sent waves of unprecedented joy through the crowd.

Overwhelmed by the relief of surviving such a catastrophe, many people fainted from joy. The rest, released from the pressure of death, sat on the rubble and tightly hugged their surviving family members or companions.

The previous atmosphere of despair and suffocation vanished amidst the sounds of celebration.

Even the high-ranking members of the Holy Tower and the Golden City couldn’t help but fall to their knees in relief.

After all, if the abyssal demons had retreated even a bit later, they might have been buried under the siege of dozens of seventh-level abyssal Demons.

While most survivors rejoiced and started to mourn for the dead, Amon, the second prince of the Red Lotos Leaf Empire, displayed a markedly different expression.

Despite his severe injuries and massive blood loss, he still looked attentively toward the north - the direction of Inferno’s departure.

"Something doesn’t feel right..."

Recalling the scene when Inferno burst from the ground, Amon couldn’t help but frown. Many powerful beings noticed something when Inferno broke free - the golden metal fragments scattered all over the sky and the Demon Sealing Stone used for ’Restraint Formation’.

"Was Inferno imprisoned beneath the SkyDome City?"

This was Amon’s first thought when he saw this scene, considering Inferno’s roar that sounded like ’Finally seeing the daylight again’.

And he was not alone; many Powerful people had the same suspicion. They even started to doubt that the reason for the abyssal demons’ massive attack on the SkyDome City was because Xue Tianao had imprisoned Inferno under the city.

Unintentionally, many started to blame Xue Tianao. However, Amon didn’t agree.

"Did Xue Tianao Really defeat Inferno?"

After observing Xue Tianao’s behavior for a long time, Amon began to question this statement.

’Inferno’s aura when it burst from the ground was stronger than any of creature I saw until now. How did Xue Tianao not only defeat such a powerful abyssal demon but also imprison it beneath the imperial city? This seemed ridiculous.’

Capturing a creature alive is far more difficult than killing it. Thinking about the organized attack of the abyssal demons, Amon had a terrifying guess.

"The Inferno allowed itself to be imprisoned..."

’If this was true, then the statement propagated by the church over the centuries that the abyssal demons are mindless monsters acting on instinct was entirely nonsense.’

’Those creatures not only have brains, but they are also wickedly intelligent!’