System's POV

Chapter 1429: Flames and Immortal’s Rage [Part 2]

The corner of Thirteen’s twitched as he looked behind him.

Camazotz, Kamrusepa, Paimon, and Zapar, as well as the rest of Thirteen’s monster army who were usually stationed inside the Domain of the Apocalypse, were all seated and munching on popcorn.

All their eyes were glued to the projection as if they were watching a movie, and some were even casually sipping some soda while they were at it.

Thirteen glanced at Metatron, who was also enjoying the shot. Sensing Thirteen’s gaze, the God of the Apocalypse offered the teenage boy some popcorn.

The System of Cannon Fodders understood that right now, he could do nothing but watch the battle unfold. So, he decided to accept Metatron’s offer and joined the others. He might as well watch the battle between the Celestials and Fiends.

"Damn you, Forneus!" Zaphiel roared in anger. "What’s your problem?!"

"You’re my problem, you bastard!" Forneus roared back. "How dare you hurt Wormwood?! I’ll kill you!"

"I have no intention of killing him! He simply refused to give me the key! I only planned to cripple him so he couldn’t resist being captured!"

"I don’t care! Today, one of us is going to die, and it’s not going to be me!’

The two clashed repeatedly in the heavens. To Zaphiel’s surprise, the Immortal Fiend seemed stronger since the last time they fought each other.

In the previous fights he had with Forneus, he had always overpowered the Sea Serpent after a minute or two. But now, both of them seemed evenly matched. No matter what tricks Zaphiel used to get an advantage, the Immortal Fiend overcame it through brute force!

The reason why Forneus hibernated for hundreds of years was to recover from the battle he had waged against Zaphiel and the other Celestials.

Knowing his recovery would take some time, he decided to play it smart. He looked for the biggest dragon vein located under the ocean. Although it took him months to find the place he was looking for, the effort was worth it.

Not only did the Dragon Vein help him recover a little faster, it also increased his strength by a small margin.

After sleeping on that Dragon Vein for hundreds of years, the strength Forneus possessed drastically increased.

He was once the weakest among the Fiends and Celestials. But now, he had caught up to the top dogs of their Hierarchy.

With Forneus dealing with Zaphiel, Wormwood could finally take a breather. He immediately planted his roots deep underground, sucking up all the nourishment around him.

In truth, the Plague Bearer didn’t wish to do this. Not only would it dry out the pitiful remaining nutrients from the land, it would also corrupt it.

He was certain that after this battle, this battlefield would turn into a land of disease and pestilence that would fester for hundreds of years.

After absorbing the nutrients in the ground, Wormwood’s body size increased until he towered over two-hundred meters tall.

Countless vines erupted from the land and rose to the heavens. Instead of helping Mammon in his fight against the two Celestials, Wormwood targeted Zaphiel’s Army with a vengeance.

The Plague Bearer unleashed a poisonous spray toward the sky, creating a yellow fog that spread far and wide.

The main advantage of Zaphiel’s Army was their ability to fly. But even they couldn’t fly high enough to avoid the poisonous fog that quickly approached their formation.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

"It hurts!"

"Heeeeeeeeelp!"

The moment the poisonous fog made contact with their skin, boils immediately popped up on its surface. The gas also entered their lungs and wreaked havoc in their internal organs.

Dozens of the winged angels crashed to their death as the plague that Wormwood had kept for the past hundreds of years infected more of them.

The Plague Bearer understood that the best way to hurt Zaphiel was to decimate the army he painstakingly amassed over centuries instead of fighting him directly.

"Retreat!" the Commander of Zaphiel’s army shouted. "Retreat and save yourselves!"

Unfortunately for them, the Celestial who controlled the Army of Heaven had pissed Wormwood. So much that it summoned countless veins that spanned for miles. These vines rose to the sky and unleashed toxic fumes, killing more of Zaphiel’s people.

Suddenly, countless flaming spears pierced through the poisonous fog, igniting it and making it explode.

The sound of explosions boomed in the heavens, similar to the sound of countless thunderclaps.

The poisonous mist that blanketed the battlefield turned into a raging inferno.

Golden flames devoured the yellow fog, and for a brief moment, the sky itself seemed to split apart as waves of fire rolled outward in every direction.

Zaphiel’s army screeched as many of them were vaporized by the aftermath of this collision between two powers.

But the move saved more of them, allowing them to escape Wormwood’s killing zone.

Since his initial targets were lost, the gigantic tree roared and shifted his attention to Belial and Parzuph.

Wormwood’s vines shot out to slap the two Celestials, but the damage they received was minimal because they were able to block it in time.

"Let’s fall back," Belial said. "We can’t beat Wormwood with his roots deep underground. Only Zaphiel can defeat him with his flames."

"Damn it!" Parzuph growled. "He’s just fighting Forneus. Can’t he even beat that stupid lizard immediately?"

Mammon was also surprised by this development. He thought Zaphiel would overpower Forneus after a minute or two. But they had been fighting for some time, yet the Immortal Fiend didn’t seem to be on the losing end.

From the start, Belial and Parzuph only joined the battle because Zaphiel promised that he would be the one to personally deal with Wormwood. The only thing they needed to do was block Mammon from helping the Plague Bearer.

But since Forneus and Dantanian arrived, the tide of battle was flipped, and now, they were at a disadvantage.

Although Dantanian was a pacifist by nature, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t fight.

With Wormwood in its Battle Form and Forneus fighting on par with Zaphiel, the two other Celestials deemed they no longer had any reason to continue fighting.

Mammon was still there, and while he wasn’t actively attacking them, they were certain that they also pissed off the Fiend of Greed.

"You’ll regret this!" Zaphiel glared at Forneus before flying away.

"No." Forneus sneered. "It is YOU who will regret this!"

The Immortal Fiend wished to pursue the fleeing Celestial, but he wasn’t stupid. Since Belial and Parzuph had also pulled out, following them would put him at a disadvantage.

What mattered now was that Wormwood was fine. Now that he knew that his close friend had acquired the Key of Sloth, it was only a matter of time before Zaphiel returned to take it back by force.

Forneus glared in the direction where the Celestials fled one more time before flying back to where his friend was rooted.

Wormwood spread out the palm of his gigantic hand, allowing Forneus to land on it.

"You’re still as reckless as ever," Forneus said while he faced his friend that he hadn’t met for hundreds of years. "Good thing you’re smart enough to ask me for help."

The Corrupted Treant chuckled as if he was proud of itself for asking the help of his friend. Truth be told, Wormwood was surprised that the Immortal Fiend arrived in time to help him.

If Dantanian hadn’t been around, even if Forneus rushed to the Plague Bearer’s side, the journey would’ve taken days, weeks even.

By then, the battle had already ended, and Wormwood’s Fate would depend on whether Zaphiel would show him mercy or not.