"Wilted, what is the chance of us defeating those devils?" John used messages to communicate with Wilted because Satan appeared to be able to hear their voices even from great distances.
"I told you to retreat, didn't I?" Wilted replied. "We can't win this battle. Each of those devils is eternal grade, and their levels ranged from level 95 to 99."
"I assume Satan is level 99," John said.
"That's right. Please understand that he is stronger than Azzarilth. Even if our side can summon the country guardians, it won't make much difference."
The devils just stood there after Satan voiced his greeting. Satan was grinning, though. He was savoring the confusion and fear expressed by his prey's faces.
"Damn it! This is no doubt Master's doing." John said to Wilted. "So, this is his plan to buy time. We will be too busy dealing with the underworld force to go for him."
"We need to leave," Wilted repeated in the message.
Considering the situation, John concurred. He didn't like fighting against an unknown enemy. However, from Satan's announcement just now, He wasn't going to let them leave just like that.
"It's too late for that," John told Wilted. "Our only option now is to fight."
"We will lose a lot of troops… And we don't know if their armies aren't on their way here," Wilted argued.
"We will still lose a lot of troops if we retreat. Getting assaulted while retreating is the worst way to lose troops. Plus, from Jack's report about this underworld demon, they need the corrupted mana to exist in this upperworld. Is that correct?"
"That's true," Wilted confirmed.
"From your reaction when you saw that red sky, I assume that is the mark of this world's contamination by the corrupted mana?"
Wilted nodded.
"If that is so, the corrupted mana should not have reached here, or at least it is still very thin at this place. That's probably why we don't see the underworld armies. Do these six devils not require the corrupted mana?"
"All underworld demons require the corrupted mana, including the devils. However, these devils are probably strong enough to last for some time even without the corrupted mana."
"This means they are not at their full strength," John said. "This might turn out to be our golden opportunity to take down these devils when they are alone without their armies."
Wilted didn't have John's optimism. She knew full well how strong these devils were. These were beings designed to be fought by end-game players en masse, where most of the top players were above level 90. While at the moment, most top players were only a bit over level 80. Not to mention, only a small portion of players were here. No player received the main quest so no one was prepared to battle the underworld forces.
Even though they had the combined native armies with them, these armies were not at their full strength. These armies already went through multiple battles and suffered untold casualties, including some of their strongest combatants. Their current number was not the number she and her partner had envisioned for the glorious final battle between the forces of the upper world and the underworld.
Despite her pessimism, John was right about one thing. When the underworld armies were not around and the corrupted mana was still thin, this could be their best chance to face the devils. If only not all six were here, it would be possible.
While John was conversing with Wilted via messages, he also multi-tasked. He sent messages to other players and sent commands to the army via the war table.
Satan watched the troops shift their positions. Although their faces still showed wariness, their movements showed purpose. Their movements didn't indicate someone who was about to turn tail and run.
"Who is the leader of this army?" Satan asked. His voice reverberated in everyone's minds.
A voice powered by mana manipulation replied to his question.
"Our leader is still sleeping. I am in charge while he is having his nap," John spoke.
"Interesting," Satan said. "I didn't expect outworlders to have such a mastery of mana manipulation. However, your words sounded like you were jesting. Were you jesting, outworlder?"
"I spoke the truth," John returned.
"Hehe, all right," Satan chuckled. "So, where is this sleeping leader of yours? Is he inside that spider fortress you are in?"
"No, he is back in the palace. He had a little too much exercise so we let him sit this one out. By this, I mean this little trek to the countryside."
Satan grinned widely, exposing the sharp teeth inside his wide mouth. He said, "Outworlder, I'm not amused."
He suddenly shot forward. The air burst into flames as he shot past. His fiery wings left a trail of fire. The soldiers were unprepared for his sudden charge. When he flew past them, explosions followed. They were blown away while receiving fire damage. Some with faster reflexes flew up to stop his charge, but they were smacked aside by invisible force even before he arrived. No one could stop him.
Emris was at the mobile fortress. He immediately cast a spell once he saw Satan move. A huge ice wall appeared in front of the mobile fortress. Several other players and natives in the fortress' battlement also used their defensive skills and spells to protect the fortress.
Satan arrived. Flames accumulated near his hand and they formed a giant crimson hammer. This flaming hammer was brought forward with incredible speed. Sonic booms were created following his swing.
With a loud bang, the flaming hammer smashed Emris' ice wall and the other defensive skills. Those spells and skills were destroyed in one hit, and they didn't even slow the hammer. The hammer struck the mobile fortress' wall.
*WHAM!!*
Everyone inside the mobile fortress was thrown to the floor as the mobile fortress flung back hundreds of meters. The wall where Satan's hammer struck had caved in. The rune diagram shimmered helplessly as they were unable to repair the damage.
