Chapter 111: Devil Army (3).

Cain and Manny stood side by side as they prepared their minds and bodies to face an ocean of devils.

Cain had already made it a habit of going over his stats before the beginning of every battle, so he decided to do so before the fight began.

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Name: {Cain Lenosi}

Level: 31.

Strength: 356.

Agility: 423.

Stamina: 209/219.

Vitality: 157.

Defense: 198.

Control: 16.2.

Perception: 15.4.

HP: 15,700/15,700.

MP: 14,800/14,800.

Magic: 448.

Ki: 219.

Spirit: 189.

Resistance: Poison- 80%.

Skills: Golden Blood, Mana Blade, Lightening Edge, Blade Mastery Lvl. 2, Burst Step, Metal Creation Lvl.2, Golden Severance, Metal Manipulation, *Fear, *Bloodthirsty, Blood Regeneration, Azure Burst, Mana Heart, Seal, Hollow Judgement, Devil's eyes: Eye of Clairvoyance, Elemental Body.

Spells: Fireball, Air Whip, Dark Cloak, Blue Lightning, Blink, Golden Halo.

Titles: Champion of Ashur (locked), Sorcerer's Mind, Blessed by Mana, Pioneer.

Free attribute points: 34.

System points 19,720.

{Inventory}. {Shop}.

***

Cain noticed that his Ki stat had gone up by a decent amount due to him passively activating and using the technique when not in battle.

His stats had increased greatly over a small period of time, and he was strong in his rights. However, he doubted he had what it took to face the huge {Flame Devil}.

'No use worrying about that now...' Cain thought to himself as he rid his head of any unnecessary thoughts and focused on his main goal, which was to carve through the devil's army like butter.

Looking around him, Cain noticed the leaves of the trees in the forest had begun to turn a yellow malnourished color, which was abnormal. The forest that had just been filled with vibrant greenery a few minutes ago began to change into a sickly yellow.

'What is this?' Cain couldn't help but wonder.

{Replying to host: This is the work of the devils, spreading destruction and consuming the life of all they come in contact with}.

As Cain conversed with the system, he noticed the yellowing leaves quickly changing into the brown color of autumn, which was even more abnormal, as they had just departed from the winter season not too long ago.

'How is that possible? What did the devils do?'

{Replying to host: The devils drain life from everything they come in contact with, and this includes plant life as well. In fact, plants are a better source of the life energy and nutrients the devils so greedily desire to produce new life. What you see now is a result of absorbing all of the life energy of the mutant plants so abruptly. They are being reduced into huge lumps of coal.

Mere caricatures of what they formerly were...}

Cain watched as the leaves and trees entered the final stage of their change. The browning leaves changed once again to a deathly black, devoid of any signs of life.

In the span of a few seconds, the forest that had been full of life once had been reduced into an ocean of still black statues.

"Hey, hey... This is creepy as hell." Manny, who had witnessed the change as well couldn't help but move two steps backward and take up a defensive posture.

"These devils are a real menace, aren't they?" Cain said as he prepared himself. As soon as the trees all turned coal black, he could feel a very dark and cold aura wash over him like a tidal wave.

BANG!

Suddenly, the sea of black statues that seemed to be frozen in time shattered like a glass motif.

The coal-black trees instantly turned into black powder, falling to the ground. The forest ground was immediately covered by the black broken trees.

Looking up, Cain was greeted with a sight he was sure he would never forget for as long as he lived.

In the distance, the figure of the {Flame Devil} was still visible, and just directly beneath it, was a sea of black unlike he had ever seen before.

Devils numbering in the thousands lay spread out at the {Flame Devil's} foot. {Miasma Devils}, {Hulking Behemoths}, {Devil Fighters}, {Blade Devils}, they were all staring at Cain and Manny with rabid eyes that screamed of a crude thirst for blood.

However, despite the savagery in their eyes, they were just as organized as you would expect from a normal army.

The {Bladeless Devil Imps} and {Blade Devils} took the front lines, arranged in neat rows that didn't seem to break regardless of how rowdy they would become.

The next in line was the {Devil Fighters} and {Miasma Devils}. The {Devil Fighters} looked intimidating as they clashed their bladed forelimbs together, generating sparks, while the {Miasma Devils} produced clouds of poison that seemed to corrupt the air around them.

The last in line was the elites of the spawn devils, the {Hulking Behemoths}. There were exactly a hundred {Hulking Behemoths} lined up behind the army of devils like pillars of destruction. They had more individuality to them, their devil cores giving off different colored lights, an indication of the amount of power each and every one of them held.

And standing behind this army of malevolent devils was a devil that stood out from the crowd. Not only was it taller than the other spawn devils, its skin wasn't the same deep black color as the others. Instead, it took on a light grey hue, and looked a bit more human as opposed to the standard bloodthirsty devil look.

On its forehead rested a glowing gem that seemed capable of drawing the soul in should one gaze at it too long.

The emerald green eyes of the {Phantasma} and that of Cain met, causing instant recognition...

Cain started at the devil that had tried to worm its way into his mind, causing all the things he had locked away once upon a time to resurface. The rage he had managed to keep locked up began to resurface, but he kept it under control.

The {Phantasma} on the other hand wasn't so calm...

"Soldiers! The one that the mother wants is right over there. Anyone that kills him and brings his carcass over to Mother will be awarded the resources to evolve to the next stage!" J'orntz called out, loud enough for Manny and Cain to hear him.

ROAR!!!

What followed his words was a roar that seemed to split the heavens. The devils all clashed their claws together, slammed their tentacles, and stomped their feet on the ground, stirring up the black dirt that had formed from the destroyed trees.

"D-damn! This is pretty intense." Manny said with an awkward expression. Turning to look at Cain, he said with a weird look in his eyes,

"Do you have beef with that big guy?"

Cain continued to stare at J'orntz with a weird smile on his face, "I guess I do..."

Manny broke out into a laugh, "Interesting..."

"Hey, don't forget about us!"

A flash of light appeared beside them, revealing the enticing figure of Susan.

"Susan?! What are you doing here?" Cain exclaimed in surprise.

"What? You don't expect me to be here?" Susan replied with an eye roll as she pulled her bow from her inventory.

"That's not it..." Cain couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. He felt a bit uneasy about letting Susan fight against the incredibly dangerous devils, a feeling that hadn't been there just a few hours ago...

"Besides, we will need to work together to even stand a chance in fighting these devils," Susan said

"Right..." was all Cain could say as he calmed his beating heart.

BLITZ!

Another flash of light appeared, and Hunter arrived, leaving a trail of scorched earth behind. He stared at the devil army with a serious expression on his face.

"They seem organized."

"That's because they are an actual army, being led by an actual commander. This is going to be tough..." Cain said, but his eyes blazed with a burning fighting spirit.

One by one, the rest appeared and drew their weapons while facing the devil's army. David and Blaze who were already in the forest were the first to arrive.

"They really are a lot. They are also more threatening than the mutant beasts."

"We can still take them on! If they think they can beat us just because of their numbers, they can think again!"

"I love the enthusiasm, my good comrades! Let us charge ahead without a care for life or death!" Steve yelled as he appeared alongside the wind, floating like a feather. Together with him were Jenny, Li, Vincent, and Dan.

Altogether, they were a total of ten.

Ten against ten thousand...

To any sane person, the outcome of this battle would already be obvious, and yet, they all stood without a single sign of fear on their faces, despite the odds stacked against them.

Meanwhile, the devil army stared coldly at the puny humans gathered before them...

"Are these the forces we need to face?! Is this some kind of joke!" Jamiel, one of the stronger {Hulking Behemoths} yelled in outrage.

"Relax, Jamiel... This order was given by the mother herself. I'm sure there is a reason, which we will find out soon enough. These humans don't seem strong, but they were able to take on so many mutant beasts all at once. That can only be an attestation to their power." Falanel, a frost attribute {Hulking Behemoth} said, its eyes emitting a blue calculating chill.

"Falanel is right. Now is not the time for questions. I will be the one to bring back the human the mother desires so I can finally have the opportunity to evolve into a true devil!" One of the other {Hulking Behemoths} said in a deep guttural voice.

"Enough!" J'orntz said, instantly silencing the entire Devil army.

Raising his right hand above the gem on his forehead, he muttered a spell.

A deep green glow spread out from a magic circle that spread under him, covering the entire devil army. Once it had covered every single devil, it instantly contracted, leaving behind a thin coating of mana on every one of them.

"What was that?"

Meanwhile, Cain and the others were confused by what the devils had just done. They had seen J'orntz cast the spell, but most of them had no idea what it was.

"That was a booster spell that can elevate the power of those it is cast upon. To think this devil has enough mana capacity to cast it on every single devil here." Susan said as she tightened the hand clenching her bow.

A bright light circled her as she began chanting a spell. A second later, a magic circle appeared above her, spreading to cover the ten of them. At the center of the magic circle was a rune that looked like an inverted wing.

"Light Manipulation: Third order, Blessing of light."

Tiny motes of light seeped into all their skins before they formed a very thin, almost invincible layer of mana coating their bodies.

{You have been affected by the spell, Blessing of light...}

{For the next three hours, all magic stats have been doubled}.