The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 259 The Territory of the Fire Demon Ratu, [Molten Iron Lake]

Thus, during their march, this mighty demon army expanded considerably.

With the addition of a large number of weaker demons, the entire demon army has reached three to four thousand in number.

From afar, it stands out conspicuously in the vast and desolate wilderness.

“Your Majesty El-Erian, I have a question.”

After casually tossing out a [Force Field Ball] and killing a "refused to submit" berserker, Gutt approached and asked:
"I have a feeling that the demon army we encountered when we were resisting the invasion of the abyss in the material plane was stronger in both fighting spirit and strength."

"On the contrary, now that we have truly stepped into the bottomless abyss, the demons we encounter are mostly a rabble."

What Gutt said was a common feeling among the expeditionary force.

We prepared for this expedition to the Abyss for so long. But in the end, once we actually stepped into the Abyss, the enemy was much weaker.

Summoning their courage and with a death-defying resolve to expand the empire's territory, they left the protective "umbrella" of their homeland, only to discover...

There's no rain outside at all!

“What’s so strange about that? Isn’t this perfectly normal?” Balor Ratu chimed in, explaining.

"Over the past year, many powerful demons near the dimensional rift have crossed the abyss rift and traveled to the material plane."

"Those still lingering near this abyss rift are probably mostly a rabble."

El-Erian added:
"Moreover, this is a bottomless abyss, and demons who die here will truly die."

"Naturally, it's impossible to fight desperately without fear of death like in the material plane. Our fighting spirit will definitely be much lower."

"This has made things much easier for us."

Ratu the Fire Demon laughed, and then said:
"As long as we don't directly clash with the great demon who rules this level of the sky—the Wind Demon King Pazuzu—with the current strength of the Eldoron Legion, almost nothing in this Abyss Plain can stop us!"

Pazuzu, the Wind Demon King, is that...

Just as Guter was about to say something, he saw the Flame Demon Latu looking excitedly ahead:

"We've arrived. This is my territory on the first level of the abyss!"

Looking in the direction Latour pointed, below the hillside lay a vast expanse of open land, where countless demons lingered and roamed.

In this vast land, there lies a series of steaming, crimson-red molten iron lakes.

Beside the largest lake of fire, there is a giant fortress made of steel.

This is the territory of Balor Ratul in the [Plains of Ten Thousand Abyss]—

The 【Iron Lake】area and the surrounding vast wilderness and rocky mountains!
What appeared to be a series of molten iron lakes, large and small, with water displaying various colors ranging from white to reddish-brown, continuously radiating rolling waves of heat outwards.

"Are those fiery red or incandescent white lakes... lava?"

"It looks very hot. Without magical protection, it would be difficult to get close!"

"As expected of the bottomless abyss, there are no such open-air lava lakes on the mainland that can continuously emit heat."

Seeing the crowd buzzing with discussion, Balor Ratu proudly introduced:
"No, the water in the [Iron Lava Lake] is not magma, but molten steel."

"You should have seen many abandoned steel fortresses along the way."

"These steel fortresses were all built by ancient demons (Obiris demons). The raw materials used came from the almost inexhaustible molten iron lake in this region!"

"And now, this lake of molten iron and fire is part of my territory!"

So that's how it is. In the current era, the Iron Lake region is located within the territory of the Balrog Lord Ratul...

That's right, Balrog is immune to fire and high temperatures, making it ideal for ruling this lake...

The lesser demon lords on this level and the demon legions that attacked this place don't seem to have fully realized the strategic value of this natural abyssal lake... Ratul, that fire demon lord, is truly lucky...

El-Erian's heart skipped a beat.

As far as Elion knew, thousands of years after his birth in his previous life, the Iron Lake region was the most fiercely contested place in the entire first layer of the abyss, the "Plains of Ten Thousand Abysses".

This series of steaming natural furnaces provides the vast majority of weapons and all steel fortresses on this level with steel of a quality far exceeding that of the material plane. Many powerful magical weapons can only be forged here.

In several of the smaller molten iron lakes, various precious magical metals were discovered—such as the rare [Abyssal Blood Steel].

This supernatural metal, a mixture of demon blood and chaotic abyssal magic, can be used to craft incredibly sharp swords and has a natural affinity for enchantments related to [chaos] and [killing].

Therefore, in the future, whether it is various demon lords and lesser lords, adventurers going to the abyss, or hellish demons attacking the abyss, they will all try to seize control of this molten iron lake region.

However, at present, there are no signs of conflict surrounding the Iron Lake area.

It seems we arrived early enough that the value of this natural furnace may not have been fully discovered yet…

Elion gathered his thoughts and commanded Latour:

"Latour, now return to your territory and tell the demons there that their lord has returned."

"This area of ​​the Iron Lake will now be brought under the control of Eldoron."

“As you wish, Master.” Latu nodded, transforming into a crimson meteor of fire, shooting straight down the hillside and flying above the various lakes of fire.
"I, Ratu, the Lord of the Balrogs, your lord, have returned!"

The demons in this area all raised their heads, looking at the Balor Flame Demon Ratu in the sky, their expressions bewildered.

Among these demons, the most powerful was a six-armed serpent demon—a powerful demon species with near-legendary combat abilities, possessing the upper body of a human, the lower body of a serpent, and six sword-wielding arms.

This is a relatively rare male six-armed snake demon.

Upon seeing the Balrog Ratu in the sky, he exclaimed in surprise:

"Lord Latour, you're still alive?"

"You've returned from your expedition to the Material Plane?"

Balor Ratu immediately recognized the six-armed serpent demon as his capable lieutenant in his territory, who had managed the land for him when he led his army on an expedition to the material plane.

"Hadris, now that you see your lord has returned, why don't you quickly bring your men to welcome me back?"

Latour floated in the air, flapping his enormous bat wings, and spoke to those below with an air of superiority.

At the moment of returning to his territory, he seemed to have regained his former glory and become the arrogant and domineering Flame Demon Lord again!

"No, Lord Ratu, the situation has changed."

You'd better leave here right away!

What? This is my territory!

Balor Ratu frowned, and the flames on his body burned even more fiercely, making crackling sounds.

At this moment, Latour, who was familiar with the law of the jungle in the abyss, had already guessed the reason.

"Intruders! Attack!"

"The intruder is the former Lesser Lord who disappeared in the Material Plane, Balor Ratu."

"Capture Balrog Ratu and offer him to our new lord!"

The deep, guttural cries of the abyss echoed above the molten iron lakes, some white and some crimson.

(End of this chapter)