To challenge the heavens and test one's limits—perhaps this is something every being who has mastered the skill of flight would attempt.
How high the sky truly is, Olthagia did not know.
But that didn't stop him from trying.
The result was straightforward: he failed outright.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach the top. The higher he flew, the greater the pressure became, as if an invisible hand was trying to pull him back to the ground.
Using magic as his propulsion, his flight speed could even reach supersonic levels. The sheer airflow generated by his flight alone was enough to slice through flesh. Yet, after flying straight upward at his maximum speed for over ten minutes, he had already reached his limit. The regions beyond were simply unreachable for him.
Thus, he began practicing various flight techniques in the sky, and the creatures he encountered became the test subjects for his progress.
Although the creatures in the sky appeared sparser than those on the ground, their mobility was far greater. With just a glance, he could see all sorts of beings flying and darting about, making the actual density of life in the sky even higher than on the ground.
With ample targets at hand, more spells and techniques were put to use.
The skills required for aerial combat were being mastered at an astonishing speed.
When night fell once again, Olthagia, now bearing a few more scars, slowly descended onto the peak of a mountain.
From his vantage point, he looked down upon everything in the forest. His vision, enhanced after advancing to the rank of a Low-Rank Demon, allowed him to see ants hundreds of meters away. It also enabled him to observe the ecosystem of the Wailing Forest in greater detail.
By now, his strength was incomparable to when he had first arrived here. He no longer needed to worry about trivial matters. His power had placed him at the pinnacle of this place, at the very top of the food chain.
He was confident in facing anyone and determining who was stronger!
However, he was still a step away from achieving his ultimate goal in the Wailing Forest.
Whether or not he achieved this ultimate goal would determine whether he would feast or subsist on meager rations in other regions of the Abyss.
With just the strength of a Low-Rank Demon, he still couldn't feel entirely secure.
At best, he had just barely escaped the status of being mobile emergency rations.
The Abyssal Contract talent embedded within him began its first operation.
A mysterious force pulled his consciousness to a region shrouded in halos of light. Countless glows of varying intensity, like scattered sparks, moved and flickered in a chaotic, disorderly manner.
Some were strong, others weak.
These points of light represented summoning rituals being conducted by external entities attempting to summon Abyssal creatures. The intensity of the light indicated the value of the offerings provided.
This place was divided into regions based on strength, with different ranks of Abyssal creatures occupying different areas.
In the region where Olthagia found himself, although everyone was merely a mental presence and he couldn't see the specific forms of other demons, he could still roughly sense their strength.
A very small portion were stronger than him, while most were weaker.
The number of these light points was countless, with countless lights flickering on and off at every moment, like stars twinkling in the sky.
Olthagia needed to first choose one that suited him.
They were divided into two colors: white and red. The white ones represented ordinary summonings, where the summoner offered a sacrifice, and the demon was responsible for fulfilling their request. The red ones, on the other hand, indicated that a high-ranking demon, with a minimum strength of a High-Rank Demon, was using their innate ability, Demon Summoning, to summon lower-ranking demons from the outside world. This situation mostly signified that the summoner was engaged in a cross-dimensional invasion, and the conflict had escalated to an extremely intense level. Otherwise, no demon would willingly share their spoils.
Passing through the red light points generally required a certain degree of obedience to the commands of the high-ranking demon, as well as surrendering a portion of the souls one obtained.
It didn't sound very profitable!
But since things had already progressed to the point of openly waging war, it also meant that most of the preparatory conditions for the invasion had already been taken care of. All one had to do was follow the main force, fight all the way to the end, and either win everything or die on the spot—no need to overthink it!
This actually satisfied the desires of many demons.
If they didn't have the ability to start their own ventures, then working as laborers wasn't a bad option either!
So even though they had to become laborers and have their wages deducted, there were still quite a few demons who chose to enter the red light points.
However, Olthagia had no intention of becoming a laborer for the time being, so he directly skipped all the red light points and turned his attention to the white light area.
He didn't immediately target the brightest light points but instead chose one that was neither too strong nor too weak.
After spending some time selecting one, Olthagia, relying on his superior strength, pushed aside the intentions of several nearby competitors and directly entered the chosen light point.
At this moment.
Olthagia's body in the Bottomless Abyss was also drawn into it by the power of the Abyss.
In a haze of turbid light, Olthagia heard the prayers of the Abyss, as the summoner from another plane was praising the Abyss.
He knew that if he advanced just a little further, he would reach the other plane.
But he chose not to do so, instead positioning himself right in the middle of the teleportation channel.
With a single thought, the Cross-Dimensional Projection - Simulacrum, which he had specifically evolved when advancing to a Low-Rank Demon, activated.
A negligible part of Olthagia's soul was torn off, taking on the form of his true self and appearing on the other side of the summoning ritual.
[Ten seconds...]
This was the remaining time the teleportation channel created by the summoning ritual could sustain.
If he didn't reach the other world within this time, Olthagia would lose the coordinates of the other plane and be forcibly sent back to the Bottomless Abyss by the ritual's power.
In the pitch-black night, within an empty clearing.
A massive bonfire illuminated the desolate structure.
This place was once a famous prison in the kingdom, but after its relocation, it was abandoned. The long-neglected site exuded an atmosphere of deathly stillness.
The blood of beasts and humans, mixed with drugs, was used to create pigments, which were then inscribed as Magic Runes onto the ground.
Finally, countless incantations formed a Magic Circle with a hexagram inside and a circle outside, covering nearly half a football field. At the very center was a pile of dozens of human corpses, all of whom had been recently taken from the capital's death row. Each had been specially nurtured to be strong and robust.
Their cause of death was injuries to their necks, and their blood had not yet dried, indicating they had died recently.
Dozens of people clad in black robes, covering their entire bodies, stood together surrounding the Magic Circle. Led by a bald middle-aged man, they continuously chanted incantations.
Not far away, a large group of onlookers had gathered. Their numbers approached two hundred, standing tall and riding high-quality warhorses of noble lineage. They wore meticulously maintained full-body light armor and carried expensive knightly swords at their waists. Whether in attire or demeanor, they were clearly an elite knightly force.
"Your Highness, I think these cultists have completely lost their minds. Regarding the war, it would be better to seek help from the Duchy of Litt," Baron Duke.Abbott whispered to the Crown Prince beside him as he watched the summoning ritual in the distance, where the cultists were chanting incomprehensible incantations.
Hearing his trusted confidant's words, Jem.Woz looked at the still inactive Magic Circle and felt a hint of hesitation. However, after a moment of deliberation, he shook his head. Just as Baron Duke.Abbott lowered his head in disappointment, Prince Jem said, "Give them twenty more minutes. If there's still no result, we'll eliminate them all and report to the Church that we've eradicated a group of cultists, including the Evil Sorcerer Sartre, who they've been hunting."
Hearing Jem.Woz's words, Duke felt reassured. As both a noble and a knight, he had no fondness for these cultists who engaged in such mysticism. The only reason he tolerated their blasphemous ritual in his presence was out of respect for his liege. Deep down, he had long wanted to behead them.
Now, with Jem.Woz's words, Duke, who had never believed that Sartre could summon some powerful Demonic Creature from another world to turn the tide of the war, began to subtly prepare himself. He would wait for the time to come, then lead the knightly force on horseback to slaughter the cultists in the distance.
In the distance, Sartre seemed to sense the intense malice behind him, and cold sweat involuntarily broke out on his forehead.
'Damn it, how could it fail!'
Over a decade ago, when he was just an ordinary commoner, he had found a magical tome next to a corpse in an abandoned cave in his hometown. The book dated back at least several hundred years, to the time of the Church's great purge. It contained various forbidden knowledge that the Church had sealed away—knowledge that was either powerful or bizarre, like the deadliest poison, which had captivated him and consumed his every waking moment.
Though he had already missed the optimal period for practicing magic, his exceptional talent, combined with perseverance and determination, allowed him to devote countless hours to studying the tome's contents. Eventually, he became a powerful Evil Sorcerer.
Although he had later left some traces that were not fully erased, leading the Church to catch some clues and place him on their wanted list, his strength had allowed him to live freely and comfortably.
Not long ago, news spread of the war between the Principality of Mardon and the Principality of Yarl, and the battles were extremely fierce.
He brought along the cult he had established over the years, intending to scavenge some corpses for his research.
However, things took an unexpected turn when he accidentally encountered the crown prince of the Principality of Mardon. Sartre was surprised to learn that the prince was attempting to use some mysterious methods to reverse the declining fortunes of the Principality of Mardon. This revelation opened up a whole new world of possibilities for him!
Mysterious methods?
Isn't that my specialty?
Means to reverse a losing situation?
Now that you mention it, there are indeed such methods in the magical tomes. However, the casting procedures are extremely complicated and require many rare and precious materials, some of which he hadn't been able to gather even after years of preparation.
'Why not take this opportunity to have them help me collect the materials, then cast the spell to reverse their fortunes, and finally change my identity to become a noble?'
Once this thought occurred to him, it became impossible to suppress!