Second World

1944  Chapter 1944. The Strongest of the Upperworld

Several minutes after Lucifer left the main underworld portal, Xugguth was busy organizing the defense. He didn't think anyone was foolish enough to come to attack them, but he intended to form the best defensive perimeter possible. He wanted to impress Lucifer upon his Lord's return.

If he managed to do that, Lucifer might probably give him one small piece of this upperworld. He had been sulking for losing the chance to join the conquest forces. He had to stay behind for guard duty instead. There was no chance to gain merit if no one came to attack, so his chance to accomplish anything was close to zero. This also meant his chance to gain any territory in the upperworld was just a pipe dream.

He was a level 94 eternal grade. Even in the underworld, there were not many demons as strong as him. However, this was also the reason he was chosen for the guard duty. They needed one of the top demons to secure the main underworld portal.

He continued to bark orders vigorously. He did not hesitate to strike the demons he thought were slow in carrying his instructions. Aside from trying to make full use of this one chance to impress Lucifer, he was also venting his frustration.

While the hordes of demons moved following Xugguth's commands, they didn't notice a faint shadow coursing through the clouds above. This shadow circled one time before disappearing.

A level 90 rare elite high demon flying at the highest altitude caught sight of this shadow. But when he paid more attention, the shadow was gone.

"Hey, what are you dilly-dallying for?" His partner called him. "Do you want to get a lash from Lord Xugguth?"

"I think I saw something in the cloud," The high demon said.

"The only thing you see will be Lord Xugguth's fist if you still don't move."

Hearing his partner, he was about to leave. However, he felt something. He looked back into the sky. He was a rare elite but was one of those natives who could sense mana despite below mythical grade. His mana sense told him there was a great disturbance in the surrounding mana. It was as if something was sucking them upward.

"Hey! You are still not moving?" His partner called again.

He wasn't listening to his partner this time. He was concentrating on his mana sense. Something was wrong. The movement of mana in the environment was getting more rapid. Whatever was sucking the mana upward was exerting more force.

He then saw something behind the clouds above. It was faint at first. Some sort of a glow. He thought at first it was just an incidental light reflected by the clouds, but this glow was getting bigger.

By then, the high demon's partner also noticed the growing light behind the clouds.

"What in the devil's name is–"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. An explosion occurred from the clouds above. A massive beam of light burst through. The two demons were in the beam's path. They didn't have the chance to move away. Before they knew it, they were engulfed by the beam. Their last thought was wondering about what the hell was happening as their bodies vaporized.

The beam was massive. Many unsuspecting demons were in its path as it rushed downward. These demons met the same fate as the ones above. The beam headed straight toward the main underworld portal.

Xugguth, who stayed near the portal, was also in the beam's path. He had better reflexes compared to most. He also had more time to react because he was near the ground. He conjured a ki shield enshrouded in dark elements just before the beam bathed over him and crashed into the main underworld portal.

The impact resulted in a massive detonation. Light covered everything within a radius of almost one kilometer. The earth shook. The tremor could be felt from tens of kilometers away.

When the light subsided, a massive crater was on the ground with the main underworld portal at the center of this crater. The portal was still standing despite the immense explosion.

Most of the demons who were hit directly by the beam had perished. The ones hit by the explosion after the beam collided with the portal also suffered significant damage, but not as severe. One-third of the demon horde survived. They were the strongest in the horde. The weak ones had been culled by the explosion.

Xugguth received a direct hit from the beam but survived. He lost more than three-quarters of his HP, though. His Dark Ki Shield was also destroyed. He was now looking up into the sky at the perpetrator.

High up in the sky was a titanic dragon. The clouds had been blasted away by the beam, so the dragon was no longer hidden. This dragon's body was covered in feathers instead of scales. His entire body was white. He had a slightly elongated body with four thick legs. Four wings were on his back. The feathers that formed these wings were larger than the feathers on the rest of his body. They were also constantly glinting as if they produced their own light.

Instead of the usual dragon's horns, at the top of this white dragon's head were a pair of broad and majestic antlers. These antlers were larger than the dragon's head and were also gleaming like the wings' feathers. White dorsal plates ran along the dragon's back, starting from its neck to the tip of its long tail.

The white dragon floated up there as he surveyed his handiwork. He grunted with dissatisfaction.

"Hmph… As expected of a seal placed by Lucifer. I will need some time, but break it, I shall!"

He flew down after making the statement.

Xugguth eyed the incoming dragon with wariness. He remained still to use Meditate. He also commanded the nearby demons with recovery spells to heal him. He turned to the main underworld portal beside him. The yellow barrier still blanketed the portal. Above it was an HP bar. This HP bar was 99% full.

He was surprised to see the HP bar. Under normal circumstances, nothing should damage the barrier. The barrier had Lucifer's divine energy. For the barrier to receive damage meant the attack just now had exhausted the divine energy of the barrier. It was now a normal barrier, like any other barrier that could be destroyed with sufficient damage.

Even though the barrier could now receive damage, it had a shitload of HP. The HP of the barrier was one hundred million! If only using normal attacks, it would require a painfully long time to deplete the HP. One good thing was the barrier did not possess passive HP recovery. It also was not a valid target for recovery spells. So, any damage it received was permanent.

The white dragon continued to approach the portal to study it.

Xugguth finally gathered his courage. He flew up until he was between the white dragon and the main underworld portal. He asked, "Who are you? How dare you trespass on this place! Do you not know this place is under the protection of Lord Lucifer?!"

"Hrmm… Tiny demon. You are not worthy, but I will tell you my name," The white dragon uttered. "Know that you are before the great Volgroth! I am the strongest being in this world. The oldest of the true dragons and the last of the celestial dragon. The guardian of the Council of Elpo. The bringer of hope, and the proud steed of the greatest God, Hope!"

"That's… a lot of titles," Xugguth was lost for words. He had heard about God Hope and his divine faction, the Council of Hope. The members of the council, on the other hand, were more obscure. He used his Inspect and learned that Volgroth was a level 99 eternal dragon. Its claim for being the strongest of the world was probably not boastful, at least in the upperworld.

What Volgroth proclaimed was indeed the truth. While Satan was the strongest being in the underworld, Volgroth had that title for the upperworld. If the two went into battle, they should be evenly matched.

"Move aside, tiny demon, unless you wish to die," Volgroth demanded. It would take some time before he could use his ultimate move again. Without that ultimate move, it would take some time to deplete the barrier's HP, even for him.

"Don't think we will let you do as you wish!" Xugguth exclaimed. "Lord Lucifer gave us the command to protect this barrier, and we will carry out his command! Even if it means sacrificing our lives!"

"Suit yourself," Volgroth uttered. He opened his jaws, and silvery breath rushed out.

Xugguth was more prepared this time. His skin hardened, his body gigantified, and an oval dark screen materialized in front of him.

The oval screen was obliterated by Volgroth's breath attack. The Celestial Soul Breath slammed into Xugguth before crashing into the portal's barrier. The barrier received damage, and so did Xugguth, but his defensive skills buffered the HP loss.

"Everyone, attackkk…!!!" Xugguth yelled.

The demons were afraid, but they were even more afraid of Lucifer. They uttered frenzied roars to dispel their fear as they charged toward Volgroth.

"You, ants, dare to bar my way?" Volgroth's entire body glowed silver. Spiky plate armor materialized on him.

The visual effect was similar to when Eoranth used the Celestial Dragon Lifeforce. While Eoranth's skill came from his hidden innate bloodline, Volgroth's was the real deal. He was a celestial dragon. He flapped his wings, and the wind they produced blew all the incoming demons away.

"None of you will stop me from destroying that portal…!!" Volgroth proclaimed.

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