Under the cover of "Advanced Invisibility," Allen quietly infiltrated the battlefield.
Using the Mirror of the Abyss, he secretly stole the souls of the fallen.
William, Spencer, and the drow warlocks were not blind, let alone fools!
For safety's sake, Allen stayed as far away from them as possible, confining himself to the periphery of the battlefield.
The souls he extracted were limited to the first and second-tier troops of both sides, as their numbers made any manipulation less likely to be detected.
Furthermore, another advantage of choosing to extract the souls of low-level soldiers was that it conserved mana.
The Mirror of the Abyss, extracting souls, consumed Allen's mana.
The stronger the soul extracted, the greater the magic power consumption.
A level 1 soldier requires only 1 magic point.
A level 2 soldier requires 2 magic points.
And so on.
Unfortunately, the souls of the undead combat units have long been contaminated by negative energy and cannot be absorbed by the magic mirror.
Alan's spiritual attribute is a whopping 53!
Alan's magic power is 530!
Alan has extracted a total of 300 souls from level 1 soldiers, plus 100 souls from level 2 soldiers.
He still has 30 magic points left, and he dares not use them all, saving them for safety.
Putting away the magic mirror, Alan quietly leaves the battlefield.
Delve into the secluded mines and cast "Thousand Miles of Idle Gardens" to be transported directly back to Orlando Castle.
Next, it's time to enjoy the spoils.
Alan chanted a spell, opened the Mirror of the Abyss, and began redeeming first-level soldiers.
There are 300 spots available, 140 of which are allocated to the Magic Boys.
Including the original 10, Allen now has a total of 150 Magic Boys.
He plans to use the Magic Boys as a tactical formation, specifically to counter enemy spellcasters.
There are still 150 spots available for first-level soldiers, which can be redeemed for Suicide Demons.
The Suicide Demon's "Incineration Blast" has the same destructive power as a dynamite.
Not to mention first-tier soldiers, even second-tier and even third-tier soldiers would be either dead or crippled if hit by a bomb!
Alan planned to use this disposable consumable against the enemy's high-level troops.
Ultimate one-for-one exchange, guaranteed profit!
The Burning Legion also has two types of second-tier troops: Ape Demons and Cunning Demons.
Alan was unfamiliar with these two demons.
First, exchange one for each to test the goods.
Ape Demons, also known as "Bagulla Demons."
They resembled red-haired gorillas over three meters tall, with a muscular build that highlighted their powerful physique!
Bared fangs and a ferocious look in his eyes, he looks formidable.
Construction 22, Agility 19, Spirit 14. Three-dimensional stats: stunning!
Tusks and claws, equivalent to a level 1 enchanted weapon.
Tanar'ri demon race talents: immune to electricity, and resistant to acid, cold, fire, and poison!
Level 8 natural armor, with built-in physical damage reduction, only shatterable by cold iron.
Adept at climbing, running and jumping, he's especially adept at diving after a leap!
A leap from the sky...?
Aren knows this move all too well!
Isn't this my Behemoth's ultimate move?!
Alan likes to call the Ape Demon... a "beggar's Behemoth"!
With these stats and all-around performance, what's there to complain about?
The Ape Demon is the most perfect melee-type second-level soldier you can imagine!
Even in a one-on-one duel with a third-level soldier from another race, it wouldn't necessarily lose!
If I had to find fault with the Ape Demon, it's that it lacks those fancy magic and special moves.
It doesn't matter; just the muscles are enough!
Another second-level soldier of the Burning Legion, the Cunning Demon.
In terms of appearance, it's far inferior to the mighty and imposing Ape Demon.
The Cunning Demon looks like a demonic version of a Ghoul.
Short and stocky, with puffy skin and small eyes, a bald head and a protruding, slender figure.
Two thick, muscular arms reach past the knees, each hand sporting three claws, misshapen and sharp.
The style of the artwork suggests the Cunning Demon's melee prowess is undoubtedly inferior to the tall and powerful Ape Demon.
Constance 18, Agility 16, Spirit 15
For a second-tier soldier, these three-dimensional stats are mediocre.
The Cunning Demon, having earned a place in the Burning Legion and standing shoulder to shoulder with the Ape Demon, certainly has its own unique strengths.
Ape Demons possess armor with reduced damage, various resistances, and immunities, and the Cunning Demon also shares them.
In addition, the Cunning Demon possesses two other racial traits.
The first is "Rapid Self-Healing," similar to that of a Beastman, needless to say.
The second is the Trickster's signature ability—the Revenge Aura!
…
The Revenge Aura: With the Trickster itself as the center, it spreads out in a 10-meter radius. If the Trickster is damaged, all non-Tana'ri creatures within the aura will suffer the same amount of damage.
…
Good guys!
Alan exclaimed, "Good guys!"
With this "Revenge Aura," the Trickster's tactical status...must be higher than that of the Ape Demon!
The Ape Demon is only formidable in single combat.
Once the Trickster's "Revenge Aura" activates, he deals group damage. Who dares to attack him?
That's not only suicide, but also harming his teammates!
The Trickster can even trigger his "Revenge Aura" by self-harming!
A stab to himself effectively stabs all enemies within 10 meters.
Even more intriguing is that the Trickster possesses rapid self-healing.
Any wound heals quickly, unless it's fatal.
Enemy affected by the Revenge Aura may not have the self-healing ability.
To put it bluntly, the Trickster is effectively killing you for free!
Self-harm + rapid self-healing + aura of revenge...
Alan marveled at this shameless tactic!
The Abyss is truly a magical place.
How could such a shameless creature as the Cunning Demon evolve?!
Such a peculiar unit, while shameless to the enemy, is shameless to him...
Alan thought it made perfect sense! Absolutely perfect!
Sacrificing 100 second-level soldier souls, Allen exchanged them for 50 Ape Demons and 50 Cunning Demons.
Now, he possessed 150 Demon Children, 160 Suicide Demons, and 50 Ape Demons and 50 Cunning Demons.
The demonic mercenary army is taking shape!
While it's not yet strong enough to compete with the Underdungeon and the Deathly Graveyard, at least it has the confidence to defend its own territory.
Not long after, Allen received shocking news.
The year-long war between the dark elves and the undead has finally concluded.
Just two days ago, the Underdungeon fell to the Undead army!
Logically, even though William and the Spencer brothers had the advantage in numbers, breaching the heavily fortified Underdungeon wouldn't be easy.
Furthermore, the drow could better utilize their smaller, more elite forces in a defensive situation.
According to normal course, the Undead forces, having exhausted their cannon fodder, could only retreat in disgrace.
This scenario had occurred more than once in past wars.
However, this time was different.
The brothers William and Spencer had unexpectedly created a Skeleton Dragon!
Originally, besides the commander, the strongest units on both sides of attack and defense were level 4 soldiers.
The Skeleton Dragon, also known as the "Death Dragon," is a level 6 combat unit of the Undead!
Its combat power is equivalent to that of a late-level 5 Dragon Warlock, in its ancestral form!
When the Skeleton Dragon soared to the top of the city wall, spewing "Dragon's Breath of Decay," the balance of victory tilted towards the Undead.
Even Matron Elina, the Underdungeon's greatest warrior, couldn't stop the bone dragon from bursting into the dungeon and wreaking havoc!
They held out until the Night Queen's Temple was breached, and Elina fled in a panic with her remnants.
The two hundred or so dark elves who followed Matron Elina into her escape, including a handful of sorcerers and priestesses, were her last remaining assets.
Matron Elina refused to accept the fate of a lost dog!
She desperately needed to find another dungeon to settle in.
She could recuperate, recruit soldiers, and plan a comeback.
Opening the map, the only suitable place for garrisoning troops seemed to be Orlando Castle.
Matron Elina knew that even the Underdungeon couldn't stop the Bone Dragon, and the smaller and less well-defended Orlando Castle couldn't offer her a safe haven either.
However, in this moment of panic and low morale, she needed to point her followers in the right direction and offer them hope.
Orlando Castle was Elina's tool for stabilizing her troops' morale.
As for the castle's original owners, neither Orlando, who was sidelined, nor Alan, who held real power, were considered by Elina.
Elina felt that, despite her bad luck, she could still crush small ants like Orlando and Alan with a single finger.
Occupying their castle was a courtesy; how dare they disrespect it?
They're courting death!
The troops rode giant lizards through the mushroom forest, Orlando Castle in sight.
At that moment, a sudden commotion rose from the woods!
It seemed a large group was gathering.
Mistress Elina's expression changed slightly, and she raised her hand to signal the troops to slow down.
Following her, the agile dark elves leaped from the giant lizards' backs, swords drawn, and stood in formation.
"Mistress Elina, where are you going?"
A young man's laughter echoed from the woods.
Matron Elina looked in the direction of the voice, her eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glare on her face.
"Handsome boy, long time no see!"
"Haha! You're so shameless, pretending to be alright!"
"If I hadn't secretly spit out the poisoned wine and escaped the dungeon, I'd have been fed to the spiders!"
Alan emerged from the mushroom forest, a murderous look on his face.
Behind him followed a large group of fully armed minotaurs, ogres, and a multitude of kobold minions, just to make up the numbers.
Orlando Castle, all the visible forces, were assembled there.
Matron Elina, upon seeing the scene, understood what was happening.
"What's the matter, you're not going to give up the castle? You dare to confront me head-on?"
"Hmph! You just got defeated, beaten to a pulp by the Undead, and yet you still want to seize my territory? You're really asking for death!"
Alan sneered, hands behind his back.
Mistress Elina tilted her head and looked at him with a strange look.
"Handsome boy! I thought you were smart, but it seems I overestimated you."
"I'm unlucky, sure, but with a motley crew like you, how could you have the courage to stand up to me? You're the one asking for death!"
Alan's expression changed, as if trying to hide his inner uneasiness.
"Elina! Don't be so arrogant!"
"Let me be frank. Lords William and Spencer have already accepted me as their sworn brothers!"
"I'm holding my ground here with all the men in the castle, simply to keep you at bay and buy time."
"In half an hour at most, my two sworn brothers will arrive on bone dragons, leading an army of undead, to support us!"
"Haha! Elina, your life is hanging by a thread!"
"Wait until my two sworn brothers arrive, and we'll see how you can still act so arrogant!"
"Thank you, handsome boy, for taking the initiative to tip me off! You're so kind!"
Elina half-smiled and clapped her hands solemnly.
Allen was stunned, a look of deep regret on his face.
"Handsome, since you've said so much, why not tell me, is Orlando Castle's defenses vulnerable right now?"
"You... damn it!" Allen feigned humiliation. "Don't even think about entering the castle gates until you've stepped over my corpse!"
"Haha! There's more to entering the castle than just barging in."
Elina smiled slyly.
"Handsome, do you know how I led my personal guard out of a dungeon surrounded by an army of undead?"
Allen's face froze, and he frowned in thought.
Elina hesitated no longer, sending out a complex string of hand signals.
The dark elves surrounding her understood.
Warlocks, priests, and lightly armored assassins all rallied around the matriarch.
Armored drow warriors drew their swords and took up defensive positions.
Dark elves are generally thin, typically weighing no more than a hundred pounds.
The eighty or so dark elves gathered around Elina, all unarmored, weighing less than five tons in total.
The drow matriarch, a master of the fifth ring of "teleportation"!
Besides herself, she could also carry objects weighing no more than five tons.
"Goodbye, pretty boy!"
Elina sneered and waved at Allen, unfurling a teleportation array.
"Your castle is mine now."
"You vile temptress! Stop right there!"
Allen, enraged, led his men towards Allen, but was stopped by the drow warriors surrounding them.
In truth, he had long seen through Allen's plans through his telepathy.
Taking advantage of the situation, he deliberately had Allen take half of his trusted followers and teleport away, dispersing his forces and facilitating his subsequent operations!
A beam of teleportation light shot up into the sky.
After watching Allen and her group disappear, Allen was too lazy to pretend.
Snap!
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Atop the caps of the giant mushrooms all around, strange, hunched figures appeared.
One hundred climbing suicide demons had long been lying in ambush.
As soon as Mistress Elina left, Allen ordered the suicide demon squad to descend from the sky, swooping down on the drow warriors, who were in a tight defensive formation.
The drow warriors instinctively raised their shields to block and swung their swords to slash.
The suicide demons didn't dodge or evade, simply taking the brunt of the attack with their bodies, then exploding!
Boom, boom, boom!
A series of explosions rocked the mushroom forest.
By the time the dust settled, the forest lay in ruins.
The one hundred suicide demons had not sacrificed in vain.
Seventy percent of the remaining dark elves were killed in the explosion!
The thirty or forty survivors were injured to varying degrees.
Allen held the magic mirror and chanted a spell.
He drew the souls of the dead into the mirror, seventy-seven in total.
Seventy-seven drow warriors, varying in strength.
The weaker ones could be exchanged for Ape Demons or Cunning Demons, while the stronger ones could be exchanged for third-level soldiers of the Burning Legion—quite a bargain!
Putting away the magic mirror, Allen waved his hand, ordering a complete destruction!
The ogres and minotaurs, impatiently waiting, immediately charged forward, clubs and axes in hand.
Even the kobolds, who were in the minority, showed exceptional bravery given their overwhelming advantage.
Daggers drawn, they lunged forward, howling, to strike the fallen!
Alen activated the "Thousand Miles of Idle Garden" and teleported back to the castle.
…
Orlando Castle.
The demon mercenaries from the Abyss had long since followed Allen's orders and were stationed around the square.
The dark elves were instantly engulfed upon their arrival! Mistress Elina never dreamed that a horde of demons would emerge from this dungeon!
Before she could recover from the dizziness caused by the teleportation, the 160 demon children hiding in the corner began to steal her magic power.
Mistress Elina, including the warlocks and priests around her, were caught off guard.
Everyone was hit!
In the blink of an eye, all their magic power was drained!
"Shit! There's an ambush in the castle!"
Elina gritted her teeth, Hydra whip in hand, wishing she could go back to Allen and beat the idiot to death!
However, now she didn't even have the magic power to cast "Teleport."
She could only lead her trusted followers and fight their way out of the castle through hand-to-hand combat.
As they reached the castle gates, they heard a terrifying roar from above.
Fifty ape demons swooped down from the city walls.
Swinging their long arms, they frantically attacked the dark elves!
At the same time, the cunning demons emerged from the shadows.
With sharp nails, they clawed at their chests, leaving a bloody mess, a horrific sight.
Circles of scarlet auras of revenge unfolded beneath the feet of the cunning demons, connecting into a sea of blood.
The dark elves within the aura's radiation zone immediately felt a sharp pain in their chests, as if being torn apart.
Mistress Elina's situation was not much better.
Alan specifically left behind the flesh golem "Meat Dump" and the totem behemoth to deal with her.
If Elina still had magic power and could still cast spells, even the combined forces of the flesh golem and totem behemoth would be no match for her.
Now drained of all her magic power, she couldn't cast any spells. Facing the frenzied attacks of the Flesh Golem and Behemoth, she couldn't withstand it.
Bang!
The Behemoth slapped Elina, sending her flying.
Puff!
Mistress Elina's mouth spurted blood, but a hint of joy crossed her face.
She had deliberately taken the blow, using it to escape the encirclement.
Enduring the excruciating pain, she swung her snake whip through the air.
The demon child drained her own magic power, but he couldn't steal the magic inherent in a magic weapon.
Mistress Elina's snake whip was a magical weapon, capable of two magical transformations.
Transformed into nine living venomous snakes, they flung out their fangs to bite.
They could also transform into long, sticky strands of living silk, which could be used to restrain enemies or as a climbing tool.
At this moment, Madam Elina transformed her whip into a strand of living silk, the tip of which clung to the city wall.
With a twist of her wrist, the silk contracted, dragging her up to the top of the city wall.
Madam Elina retracted her whip and breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as she was about to leap from the city wall and escape the castle, a powerful suction suddenly attacked from behind, forcing her down the wall.
Vortex Dragon Claw!
Ellen, who had been teleported back in time, saw silver vortexes appear in her palms.
He continued to expand his gravitational field, forcibly pulling Matron Elina back.
At the same time, he thrust his left palm forward, unleashing a "Moon Shadow Bullet"!
Swish!
The bright moonlight instantly illuminated the underground castle.
In the moonlight, Matron Elina covered her face and wailed!
In the square, the dark elves still holding out felt a stinging pain in their eyes the moment they saw the Moon Shadow Bullet, momentarily unable to open their eyes.
Dark elves are naturally afraid of light.
While the Moon Shadow Bullet didn't inflict double damage to light-sensitive creatures like the fierce Sunfire Magic, it was enough to damage their fragile eyes.
Mistress Elina fell heavily to the square.
She clutched her tearful eyes with her hands and struggled to her feet.
The behemoth leaped up and pounced on Elina!
Puff!
Its sharp claws plunged downward, piercing her from back to chest, sending her sprawling into a pool of blood.
Alan sent out a mental wave, preventing the behemoth from shredding Elina's body.
He stepped forward, opened the magic mirror, and captured the drow matron's sinister spirit.
The corpse wasn't wasted; it could be transformed into a fungus beast; perhaps it would be useful in the future.