Silver Moon, March, Third Year.
Hours after Jones left Dragon’s Peak, Jeremy descended again.
As decided by Richie, he firmly refused the suggestions from Heaven without any room for compromise.
Thus, twenty-four hours later, twelve Angel Armies descended. Along with them, eleven Demon Armies also arrived.
This was the first time since over ten thousand years ago, when angels and demons withdrew from the Keltos Continent according to the armistice agreement, that such a large-scale military force was once again deployed on Keltos.
The undead northern expedition war, starting with the death of Lich King Gray, eventually evolved into the largest military confrontation in history, involving almost all the formidable forces you can think of: angels, demons, liches, and the Dragon Clan.
According to Richie’s initial plan, the demons should help him hold off the Angel Army while he was supposed to lead the undead to continue digging up Dragon’s Peak as quickly as possible. In this way, regardless of the final outcome of the war, the Black Dragon Clan would be destined to disappear from this world.
However, things did not go as he expected. Latest content published on novel⟡fire.net
The demons indeed set up a line of defense ahead of him but were not actively engaged in combat. The Angel Army flanked, and the Black Dragon Clan directly dismantled the Array, successfully evacuating Dragon’s Peak with the Angel Army’s support.
After months of siege, the undead only managed to claim a land filled with burned corpses.
Aside from the direct intervention of the Holy Light, several other reasons contributed to this outcome. For instance, the demons were not as proactively engaging in combat as they promised, and the Gold Dragons didn’t provide immediate support.
The alliance between demons, Gold Dragons, and the undead was incredibly fragile, even more so than the alliance between Angels and the Black Dragon Clan.
Regarding this, Richie was immensely angry, but what could he do besides being angry?
Under the enormous pressure from the Angel Army, he had already been bound to the demons’ war chariot. After missing the opportunity for peace talks with the Black Dragons, he wouldn’t have any chance to get off.
To fight against Heaven, he needed support from Hell. Ironically, the support from Hell seemed barely satisfactory to him.
*Being at the top of the food chain as immortal races, angels and demons cherished their lives more and refused any risky strategies. After each side laid their pawns on the table, what remained was only a standoff, just like their countless past wars,* *testing who would make a mistake first.*
*If no one made a mistake, then the real war would never happen, and no one would win. The parties could only continue their standoff in the icy wilderness, potentially forever.*
To break the deadlock, Richie had to command the undead to act as the vanguard. But this was obviously impossible. *If he truly did so, the Holy Light and Demon Lords might laugh in their dreams.*
Meanwhile, while the forces Richie could command were all tied down in the northern mountains, stuck in a seemingly endless standoff, many seemingly insignificant but actually profound changes were happening on the Keltos Continent.
In the rear, various forces were emerging like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. The old courts supported by Heaven and the evil faith backed by demons.
No, far more than that. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be described as "spring rain bamboo shoots." Among the factions reported to Richie, thirteen were controlled by Heaven, and sixteen by Hell.
These forces rapidly rose, competing and collaborating with each other, devouring the power vacuum left by the White Bone Holy Light Court, overturning the lords allied with it one by one or forcing them to change allegiance.
Fields were abandoned, cities were ignited, and war filled nearly every corner.
The chaos on the Keltos Continent exceeded any known periods, causing suffering comparable to purgatory.
*The tremendous pressure weighed on Richie, the young Lich King, driving him to anger and madness.*
Probably to prevent Richie from collapsing and doing something extreme, Heaven and Hell unanimously bypassed Salted Fish Port, or more precisely, bypassed Shelley and the Gruglu family.
No one wanted to touch this taboo in Richie’s heart.
Meanwhile, Giant Snake City became the paradise second only to Salted Fish Port in people’s hearts, and after some time, it even far surpassed Salted Fish Port.
Gaining partial support from the liches undoubtedly allowed Hydra Jones to soar.
Jones purchased more territories, accepting refugees from various places while utilizing the liches’ advantage in magic to establish his own commercial network spanning the entire continent.
Almost inevitably, his actions greatly attracted the attention of the Bloodline Elder Council. New opportunities awaited him.
"So, how strong exactly are Heaven and Hell? I mean, how many Holy Lights, how many Angel Armies, how many Demon Lords, how many Demon Armies precisely?" Gray asked the Observer while sitting on the repaired lawn in the Dimensional Space.
The wind gently blew past, lifting the Observer’s sleeves and flattening the wild grass.
The Observer took a sip from his teacup and then softly said,"There are over three thousand Holy Lights."