Abyssal Chronicles

Chapter 531 - 532: Chaos[1/2]

The ground shook and the wind screamed. As most people ran out of the academy in panic, a big group of soldiers in armor marched in the opposite direction. They were headed toward Starlight Plaza, weapons ready and magic charged. They were from the Imperial Expeditionary Force near the academy.

When they heard the warning about an Abyssal Demon, General Korod and his team rushed over, fully geared up. They wanted to help kill the demon. But when they found out it was the legendary Sword Demon, they were scared. Even so, they kept going. They thought helping the three powerful fighters there was the best way to stop the disaster.

If they couldn’t stop the Sword Demon here, with this Demon King’s crazed nature, it would undoubtedly bring calamity into Anvika, causing untold suffering and loss of life. For the safety of the citizens, Korod decided to risk life and limb to assist in resisting the Sword Demon.

"Stop, General Korod!"

Just as he was galloping on his war horse, spear in hand and quickly charging toward Starlight Plaza, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in Korod’s ears. At the forefront of his troops, a disheveled but dignified man, supported by a knight, was laboriously walking towards him.

"Prince Amon?!"

Seeing the man, covered in dust but still full of dignity, Korod couldn’t help but exclaim. He quickly halted his army and jumped down from his horse, rushing worriedly to Amon’s side.

"Your Highness, are you okay?"

"I’m fine. Just got hit by some falling rocks and broke my leg. No big deal," said Amon.

Amon said nonchalantly. After glancing at the soldiers behind Korod who were ready for battle, Amon immediately fixed a stern gaze at Korod and said unequivocally,

"General, pull back your troops now!"

"Pull back?!"

Korod couldn’t believe his ears.

"Your Highness, Sword Demon is rampaging there! Why are you asking us to retreat?! We are fully armed, all attack magic and heavy artillery are ready. We can assist the Grand Sorcer in encircling and eliminating the Sword Demon! Just like what happened in the northern border of the Snow Night Empire thirty-one years ago!"

"Thirty-one years ago, huh..."

Hearing that, Prince Amon looked serious and a bit sad. He knew a lot of secrets, including what really happened 31 years ago with Sword Demon in Snow Night Empire. Sword Demon actually wasn’t beaten by the good guys led by Luo Kefei; it just left on its own. The story people heard was a feel-good lie.

Not just that event thirty years ago—every time Sword Demon appeared, it either accomplished its goals by destroying everything, or it mysteriously retreated after causing partial destruction. This Demon King had never been defeated.

For centuries, humanity had been researching ways to deal with various terrifying Demon Kings. Over the years, they had devised numerous tactics against different types of Demon Kings, like Nightmares and Snow Devourer, even Inferno. However, until now, no effective tactics have been developed against Sword Demon. Its destructive power might not be as terrifying as an Inferno, but its defense, or rather its ability to dodge, was hair-raisingly high. The armor enveloping Sword Demon, made of Shadow Power, could distort any attack.

Slashes, magic, and artillery would be twisted by a strange force just before hitting Sword Demon, making it impossible to land a blow. Regardless of how many times they tried, human and elves and even the dragons couldn’t break through this defense, while Sword Demon harvested human lives as if slicing through vegetables.

If even Level 8 couldn’t hurt this scary demon, what could regular troops hope to achieve?

Sighing, Amon gave Korod a stern look.

"There’s no time for a detailed explanation, General Korod. All you need to know is that your troops won’t be of any help; they’ll just get in the way or even become fodder for Sword Demon. If so many soldiers get infected by Shadow energy, the situation will worsen."

While saying this, Amon pointed at the fleeing civilians around them.

Your troops should be helping them get to safety, not fighting."

"…"

Faced with Amon’s instruction, Korod felt both puzzled and unwilling. However, in the end, he chose to obey the prince and respectfully lowered his head.

"As you wish, Your Highness."

"Also, do you have a communication magic stone? I lost my spatial ring during the chaos."

"Communication magic stone? Yes, we have one."

"Give it to me. I need to contact Mother."

----

Meanwhile, back in the main city of Anvika...

As the Abyssal Demon invasion alarm rang out, accompanied by a horrifying purple light shooting into the sky, the tranquility of the capital was shattered instantly. A ’virus’ called fear began to spread wildly among the crowd. Everyone looked nervously at the rising purple light.

People had been confident about their country and dismissive of Abyssal Demons. They believed that even if the demons attacked, the strong city guards and the bottomless strength of the Level 8 Cultivator would surely eliminate these monsters. However, after news of the attack on the academy reached the public, their confidence in the empire’s capital city dwindled, and their fear of Abyssal Demons grew day by day.

Finally, upon learning that the demon attacking the academy was a Demon King entity—worse yet, the even more terrifying infamous Sword Demon—people’s hearts were completely consumed by fear. The capital fell into chaos, with everyone trying to evacuate, fearful that the tragedy of the academy would be reenacted in Anvika.

---

Elsewhere,

Standing atop the palace walls, under the protection of several guards armed with swords, a beautiful woman looked with mixed emotions at the chaos below.

This woman had stunning black hair, skin as smooth as jade, eyebrows like willows, and eyes like water. She exuded a mature beauty and a unique charm. Wearing a phoenix crown and a light silk dress embroidered with the royal family’s emblem, she was the epitome of elegance. The silk dress flowed down to her feet, edged in gold threads made from precious soul gold.

This noble woman was none other than the Empress of Red Leaf Empire, Seraphina, the biological mother of Princes Amon and others.

After briefly observing the chaotic crowd, Seraphina cast her eyes toward the academy, where a purple light beam shot into the sky. Even from this distance, she could feel the terrifying energy emanating from it. She couldn’t help but clutch her chest and murmur,

"That is... the aura of Sword Demon..."

Her face showed clear signs of worry and stress.

Although she was the empress, Seraphina was, after all, also a mother. Thinking about her two sons being at the academy, she felt normally anxious. After several failed attempts to locate the princes, her tension reached an unprecedented level.

However,

At that moment, another guard, surrounded by a halo of white energy, leapt onto the high wall and respectfully knelt behind Seraphina:

"Your Majesty, Prince Eldric has been found by the rescue team. Also, Prince Amon wishes to obtain the token to mobilize the heavy artillery units."

"What?!!"

Upon hearing these words, Seraphina paused for a moment before her eyes lit up with joy.

’Eldric? Amon?’’

’Thank goodness, both of them are safe!’

She felt an immediate surge of elation. However, in order to maintain her royal demeanor, Seraphina didn’t show her emotions. Instead, she took a deep breath and put on a serious, impassive expression.

"Amon? He wants the token?"

"Yes," the sword-bearing guard confirmed. "The second prince seems to want to mobilize the weapon developed in collaboration with Red Moon Tower."

"Oh?"

At this revelation, hesitation appeared on Seraphina’s beautiful face.

"That weapon? He’s talking about the one that was jointly developed with Red Moon Tower, isn’t he?"

"Yes, it’s the one specifically designed to combat Sword Demon and developed alongside the Red Moon Tower."

"Isn’t that still in its experimental phase? I heard it’s unstable; will it work?"

"Given that Sword Demon has already appeared at the academy, whether it will work or not, we have to try."

"Alright, fine..."

Seraphina said yes, but she felt uneasy for some reason.

However, before she could fully ponder the origin of this uneasy feeling, the next words from the guard caught her off guard:

"Also, Your Majesty, the second prince hopes that you can persuade the great ancestor to leave the ’Dragon Seal Palace’ to assist the Grand Sorcer in dealing with Sword Demon..."

This new information left Seraphina momentarily stunned. The great ancestor’s involvement was an entirely different matter and one that came with its own set of complexities. The weight of the situation seemed to be growing by the minute.