God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.-Chapter 854: Hellscape (4).

In another part of the City of Zoan...

A large scale battle between a horde of enhanced evolved {Zombies} and humans was taking place.

It was so chaotic, what was left of the foundations of the city was completely destroyed.

Spells flashed through the air, saturating the world with a thick scourge of mana, boiling the very atmosphere.

A thick cloud of Devil Essence in the form of a viscous miasma floated above the battlefield. However, it was unable to shield them from the terrible crimson moonlight.

There was not an ounce of rhyme and reason to this absolute carnage.

Steel struck bone and claws pierced flesh.

The mutated living dead sank their teeth into the humans, tearing them apart and consuming them. Those unfortunate enough to remain fairly intact after dying were turned into the living dead, turning on their comrades.

The humans fought back hard, but we're unable to overcome the combined force of the relentless zombies and the powerful Devils.

Time passed...

The battle came to an end. The results were as expected.

The force consisting of a hundred humans had turned into a small hill of smoldering bodies, blood flowing like a river from all sides.

A Devil smaller than the others stood in front of this hill, a gleeful expression on its oddly human face as it twisted an arm from a body jutting out of a pile.

With a pop and a squirt, the arm was torn clean off the corpse's shoulder.

The Devil's lips parted to reveal several rows of wicked fangs.

A long tongue covered in spikes stretched out of the Devil's tongue, wrapping around the human arm, pulling it into the Devil's maw.

Following that were a series of terror inducing snaps and crunches as the Devil ate the arm whole.

"Ah... A delicate, decadent meat. Although it isn't rich in nutrients or mana, it is quite tasty. An indulgent meal, I'd say..."

Another Devil, much larger with a row of blade-like spikes on its back with two strange curved blades hanging from its hips walked over to the smaller humanoid Devil.

"Stop eating from the harvest, Balcathe." The {High Warblade Devil} said gruffly.

"Harndore, you sound like one of the old geezers. Having a snack in these conditions should be allowed, no?"

An enormous grotesque creature the size of a building lying on its side squirmed its way towards the hill of human bodies.

It was a dark, abominable evolution of the terrifying {Appendage}; a {Goremaw Scourge}.

These newly evolved horrors were far more efficient than their weaker, underdeveloped counterparts because they now were independent of the {Broodmother}, allowing them to easily operate within the bounds of the city.

The {Goremaw Scourge} stretched its body to reveal an enormous maw filled with sharp fangs and a sharp black beak.

With one motion, it moved to swallow the entire hill of human bodies and even the bodies of a few {Zombies} standing close by.

Balcathe quickly snatched a whole corpse that was only missing its legs and half its head from the pile.

A second later, the entire hill was gone, leaving only a puddle of sizzling digestive juices.

Balcathe turned to glance at Harndore who glared down at him,

"I'm not sharing."

The enormous Devil turned away.

Balcathe snickered,

"Rounding up these humans is such a hassle. They are so sneaky. It would have been a thousand times easier if they had just stayed put in their turtle shell."

Harndore's horizontal slit eyes narrowed,

"An illusion of safety is far more dangerous than engaging in battle. These humans might be weak, but the are not foolish it seems."

Balcathe snorted then licked his lips,

"What does it matter?"

He closed his eyes and stretched his hands wide, savouring the wind.

The grim moonlight was a hue highlighting his devilish features. His body was a thing of glorious might.

A form that would evolve to perfection.

"Tell me, Harndore. What do you recall from your old life?"

The {High Warblade Devil} hissed,

"The life of the dead is of no interest to me."

Balcathe chuckled, "Even if you are the dead?"

Harndore sneered,

"You think too much. No wonder you are so small and flimsy. I could crush you to death with a stomp."

Balcathe roared with laughter,

"This is why I like you, Harndore. Never a dull moment with you and your jokes."

Harndore's expression changed, his face turning dark,

"Joke?"

Balcathe waved his hand dismissively,

"Alright, enough of that. We have—"

Death.

A glimpse at death. Like a blade had been placed in his neck.

To every Devil, death was no stranger.

His eyes flashed as he looked around before his gaze finally settled on motion coming from a small patch of rubble.

Harndore's glanced there as well.

He growled,

"Humans?"

Balcathe's eyes narrowed,

'Something is wrong. I didn't sense any of them.'

The city was fairly desolate, covered with nothing but ruins and rubble. Even then, the broken buildings and houses were street he'd out quite far.

That means there was absolutely no hiding place for these humans. Even if there was, there should have been countless Hadalspawn within the shadows.

The entirety of the city was covered in a web. Nothing should have been able to escape their detection.

Still, Balcathe was not panicked.

He realized that there were about fifty humans on the other side. Far too few to cause him worry.

Standing at the head of the group was a handsome young human male dressed in a long robe the color of blood. freewёbnoνel.com

His brows were as sharp as swords and his face was as cold as ice.

His long black hair reached his back and his tail frame did nothing to hide his muscular build.

"I am called the Black Steel Viper, Nebula. Name yourselves, Devils."

Balcathe glanced at Harndore who seemed even more confused than he was.

Balcathe chuckled darkly,

"I am called Balcathe. Judging from your clothing, I would assume you are a worshiper of the crimson goddess, no?"

Nebula slowly nodded,

"Indeed I am."

His gaze shifted a little before settling on the corpse Balcathe held in his arm.

Although the corpse was badly mutilated, beyond unrecognizable, the clothes the corpse wore was still in relatively good shape.

Dark red, the color of blood, with black highlights on the cuffs, collars and hem.

A gently breeze blew, carrying the fragrances of death and carnage.

"I see. They are all dead." Nebula said calmly.

The men behind him already had their weapons drawn.

Balcathe chuckled,

"This is usually where you turn on your heels and run, isn't it?"

Compared to the fifty Nebula has behind him, there was close to a thousand Devils and Zombies behind Balcathe.

Not to mention, on an individual basis, the humans were stronger than the Zombies, but the Devils were stronger than the humans of the same tier.

And behind him, Balcathe has close to two hundred Devils.

Solely based on the statistics, the outcome had already been concluded.

Harndore drew the enormous sabers strapped to his waists.

"Enough words. Cut them down."

The sound of close to a thousand undead stomping on the ground, charging forward, would have been enough to make even the strongest warriors weak in the knees.

In the face of such a tenebrous sight, Nebula remained unchanging.

He stretched an arm up.

In an instant, the world changed.

Balcathe felt it instantly.

His lips parted into a terrifying grin,

"Harndore. This is one of the troublesome ones."

"I can tell."

A cold gleam in his eyes, Nebula remarked coldly,

"Die."

A thousand magic circles appeared in the night sky.

From each one, an enormous blade emerged each blade was surrounded with a layer of burning starlight that could incinerate all.

"Behold the judgment of God."

The blades as big as pillars began to descend.

Seeing this, Balcathe hurriedly began chanting.

As a Soul Devil, he had evolved from a {Phantasm}, into a {Luciphage Archfiend}. A devilish creature of mist and magic.

His eyes burned with raw magic power as he snapped his fingers.

An enormous magic barrier stretched across the sky, intended to block the devastating spell.

A sneer appeared on Nebula's face,

"Fool."

The swords pierced right through the barrier, cutting right through them like they were made from paper, burning the air around.

They crashed into the earth, bringing death and fire.

The living undead were torn apart and incinerated in seconds, turning into ground meat then ashes.

Balcathe frowned.

Muttering another series of incantations, another smaller barrier appeared around him, shielding himself and tej Devils behind him from the destruction.

"What the hell are you doing, Balcathe?!" Harndore roared, bubbling with rage.

Balcathe frowned,

"It's the moonlight. It eats right through defensive spells. However, if I reinforce the spell, it will hold, albeit at the cost of more mana."

Harndore roared angrily,

"Nonsense! Tear those humans apart!"

All the Devils were still alive. All two hundred of them.

They rushed forward from the sky and earth towards the humans dressed in crimson and black garbs.

Nebula declared coldly,

"Cleanse this plague."

A moment later, the world erupted...