"What… what is this? A gate?!"
A few of the faster-advancing Hayes soldiers had been reveling in slaughtering small demons.
Suddenly, massive gates blocked their path…
To be honest, against the fully armed Hayes army, enhanced with alchemical equipment and mana technology, these newly born small demons had almost no chance to resist.
Moreover, before the Hayes soldiers advanced, they usually cleared the field with death bombs, erasing the small demons' numerical advantage.
Thus, the soldiers trampled over the corpses of the demons, grinning wickedly, and arrogantly advanced toward the edge of the black land.
Along the way, they mercilessly slaughtered any small demon in sight, taking pleasure in the screams of the dying—second only to smashing open demon cocoons.
It was understandable. Even the dark Hayes clan found the small demons' hideous forms disgusting, something beyond comprehension.
They had never imagined a creature so utterly repulsive.
But their luck ended here.
The spatial gates from the Endless Abyss had arrived!
The true demon forces had assembled on the other side of the Abyss, eagerly anticipating the taste of souls from another world.
"Hiss? Is this… architecture of these little freaks?"
One Hayes soldier pointed at the spatial gate, asking his companions.
"Not sure, but…"
Another soldier, upon observing the twisted structure, frowned.
"Looks like it. See the shape? Pretty sure these little freaks built it."
The gates were grotesque, made from rotting flesh, corrupted corpses, and a jumble of bones and fallen creations—likely haphazardly stacked by the small demons.
At the top of the gate, symbols resembling numbers were crudely carved in blood.
A more impatient Hayes soldier drew his mana grenade launcher and aimed at the gate.
"Why bother thinking?" he spat.
"Blow it to pieces. This disgusting, twisted thing shouldn't exist in this world."
Since stepping onto the black land, many soldiers had felt emotional fluctuations—a rare thing, given the mandatory weekly drug treatments to suppress their emotions.
Still, most ignored it, thinking it stemmed from the unsettling battlefield environment.
After all, the black land itself induced discomfort; extended exposure could push emotions to extremes.
Boom!
The grenade hit the gate.
As the smoke cleared, everyone widened their eyes in disbelief.
The mana grenade, capable of easily killing an eighth-stage being, had not even scratched the grotesque structure.
"What… what's happening?"
The soldier looked at his companions, all equally puzzled.
This was no joke. These spatial gates from the Endless Abyss were true constructs of reality.
Not even mana grenades—or even mythic beings—could touch them without interfering with spatial rules.
Only a god-level entity like Chu Hao could manipulate such gates.
"Fire again! Something feels off…"
Some soldiers, attuned or with strong sixth senses, began firing again.
They sensed low, disgusting sounds emerging from behind the gates—growing louder by the second.
Unease spread.
Just as they prepared their second volley, a small demon suddenly crawled out of a gate!
As if on cue, all the gates began pouring forth small demons.
Seeing them, the Hayes soldiers laughed.
"Hahaha, it's just these guys!"
"Thought the big one was coming! Hahaha!"
They aimed their weapons at the small demons, reducing them to shredded meat.
The ground in front of the gates soon piled high with demon blood and flesh.
But while the soldiers laughed and slaughtered, a true monster stepped through a gate.
Immediately, the soldiers trembled, some unable to hold their weapons.
Not for anything else, but because this "creature" was the very embodiment of terror:
Black-purple skin, grotesque twisted face, a tumor-covered body, and thousands of malevolent eyes.
It was as if everyone's deepest nightmare had come to life.
"Ah~ Sweet, blood-and-flesh scent, the taste of a new world is truly exquisite…"
A colossal demon, calling itself Evil-Eye and awakening several true names, calmly stepped through the gate.
Unexpectedly, it did not attack, only inhaling the air of the world, savoring it.
Behind Evil-Eye, the gates continued to disgorge grotesque demons.
Every new creature made the soldiers tremble further.
They had never imagined life could take such a twisted form…
Corruption and evil were their essence, chaos and tyranny flowed in their veins, death and fear were their eternal pursuit.
Some Hayes soldiers realized:
"Oh my god… this is legendary peak—or beyond! Nearly demigod level!"
"Open fire! Stop them!"
A commander, first noticing Evil-Eye's life force, screamed.
"Request death bombs! Target coordinates, 500 meters ahead of our position, now!"
Before the monsters fully emerged, dozens of death bombs with poisonous green smoke exploded in front of them.
Instantly, the battlefield before the gates filled with yellow-green toxic fog.
"Dead?"
The commander trembled, looking toward the distance.
But the next moment, the most despairing sight appeared.
A worm-covered tongue suddenly swept through the smoke, brushing against his mask.
Sticky saliva made him almost scream.
Then, hundreds of eyes, each with distinct malice, fixed on the terrified Hayes commander.
"(Demonic language) You… seeking me, little darling~?"
Evil-Eye's massive hands grasped the commander's shoulders.
It inhaled the deadly chemical smoke, shook its head, and purred:
"I love… the welcome gift you brought!"
"They remind me of my homeland, a land forever shrouded in toxic swamps!"
"Now, it's time for my return gift!"
It opened its mouth…
---
At the edge of the black land, within mere minutes, several Hayes legions were completely annihilated.
No one survived.
To be precise, not a single soul escaped the demons' grasp.
The report of this total massacre reached the Hayes commander as an unvarnished truth.