Chapter 994: Forced March! Debuff!
Andrea's joining had caught everyone by surprise.
In fact, when they saw Ling Zhan wasn't too keen on letting Andrea into the Demon-Slaying Legion—
The other generals from various kingdoms were actually hoping to have this Golden Crow woman join their own legions.
After all, if she racked up any merits, those merits would be credited to their legion.
That would naturally boost their legion's standing.
However…
Considering Andrea's top-tier strength, if anything went wrong, they likely wouldn't be able to control her.
Only someone like Ling Zhan, capable of killing Demon Sovereigns, could easily suppress and keep her in check.
Anyone else would struggle to hold her down.
While her arrival was surprising—
It didn't interfere with the broader campaign.
"All troops, move out!"
Azure Dragon Meng Zhang issued the command.
After receiving orders, the multinational Profession Alliance legions that had been celebrating for several days all buckled up and set off.
They moved northward from the Heavenly Demon Capital.
At the northern end lay the Ten Thousand Demons Fortress—
The entrance to the Ten Thousand Demons Cavern.
From this point forward, they were truly entering the territory of the Ten Thousand Demons.
Once they ventured deep into the northern demonic region, every Professional could clearly feel how much harsher the environment became.
Even high-tech magical devices couldn't fully filter out the overwhelming demonic miasma.
So the priests in each legion had to walk along the route while constantly casting purification and dispel spells.
In addition…
Mage teams targeted lakes and river depths with magic bombardments to wipe out any lurking demon beasts.
Devastating magical lightning, amplified by water element conduction, completely vaporized the monsters hidden in lakes and rivers.
Besides that—
They also encountered many packs of powerful demonized beasts along the way.
These beasts, infected by the demonic miasma for years, had become extremely ferocious and strong.
However, under the suppression of the joint Professional armies, these beasts posed no real obstacle.
Of course…
The armies also came across several ancient ruined cities.
These ruins were likely once cities of the Prairie Kingdom when the Ten Thousand Demons Continent was still above ground.
Now, they had become ghostly ruins filled with demonized undead.
These undead were strong, and it was clear they were once human. After the Prairie Kingdom fell into the earth, they were completely soaked in demonic miasma.
Their spirit bodies became corrupted in death.
The Ten Thousand Demons seemed to tolerate these spirits, letting them run rampant.
Now…
Seeing the allied forces pass by, these undead charged mindlessly.
They had lost all rationality.
To bring them peace, the allied armies deliberately slowed their march to cleanse them.
As they traveled deeper, the entire environment changed drastically.
The dark sky above turned blood-red.
It was like a giant crimson cloth stretched overhead.
Everyone could feel all their attributes dropping.
"It's here…"
"The miasma density here far exceeds previous zones—our purification gear can't keep up."
"I'm a level 160 Professional, and all my stats dropped at least 30%..."
Someone noticed the abnormality and looked grim.
A whopping 30% stat drop!
This environmental debuff was a real pain!
"It's not just stats…"
"My mental state is being suppressed. My willpower is fading. I feel gloomy and tired…"
Another person spoke up.
That triggered everyone else—
They realized most of the troops were suffering.
The once-motivated atmosphere turned oppressive.
With attributes lowered, mental states dulled, slower mana and health regen, and increased skill cooldowns—
The entire army was weighed down.
"All priests—
Cast Holy Light Purification in rotation!"
The generals gave the order.
Buzz!!
The long marching line began to glow with holy light.
Each burst of holy light temporarily restored the troops' condition.
However…
The lower one's level, the more severe the debuff.
Above level 170: 15% debuff.
Above level 180: 10% debuff.
Level 190: only 5% debuff.
Additionally—
World-class powerhouses were unaffected.
Technically, Ling Zhan was only level 180 and should be affected.
But don't forget—he carried the bloodline of the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons.
So instead of being affected, he was thriving in the miasma.
At the very least—
All his attributes increased by 30%.
If the legion knew this, their jaws would hit the floor.
While others were getting debuffed—
He was getting buffed!
"Heads up! The frontline has encountered enemy scouts!"
"Stay alert at all times!"
"Once we reach the destination, these effects will ease up greatly!"
"Everyone hang in there!"
Originally, they planned to use flying warships.
But flying so blatantly over enemy territory would just make them targets.
So they opted for a forced land march.
The pace wasn't exactly fast, but not slow either.
But they were already encountering enemy mobile squads and scouts.
More and more dark creatures like Blood Spirit Soldiers and Spectral Beasts emerged from the crimson sky.
Moreover—
The Amethyst Empire's legion was attacked by a powerful Ten Thousand Demons patrol force. After a fierce battle, they emerged victorious.
However…
The Amethyst Empire still suffered some losses.
Fighting on enemy turf was always hard.
And it was everyone's first time this deep in the demonic domain, so they weren't fully adapted.
After five whole days of this—
The vanguard finally saw a new scene emerging on the horizon.