The Innkeeper

Chapter 1560  Ravenous maw of Hell

The first thing Lex noticed was the red, hazy sky filled with clouds of black dust. To see where the red light was coming from was impossible, its source blocked off by the clouds, and yet it spread across the entire land, painting everything in a ruby hue.

The second thing Lex noticed were the abominations. Just as the sky was covered in dust, the ground was covered by disgusting abominations, the stuff of nightmares and malevolent thoughts, come to life. No two had the exact same body structure, with some of them being made out of bones, while others were made of rocks and dirt.

In some random areas they had their guts exposed, pulsing with thick red blood which had a heavy stench even without spilling from their bodies. In other areas they had random limbs, either claws or wings, or even scythe-like extensions, all for the purpose of slaughter.

The locusts, for such a massive swarm within Abaddon could be nothing else, had no souls - at least, as far as Lex could tell. Instead, the only thing that filled their living bodies was an unquenchable thirst for the very souls that they lacked.

A glance was all Lex needed to see that their existence was outside of the norms of the universe. After all, within the universe, every living thing had a soul. Even the A.I. developed souls when they crossed the threshold for being lifeless code into something that was truly alive.

But these things, which very much seemed like they were alive, lacked souls. Lex could, then, only conclude that instead of actual living things, they were semi-organic machines with a very prominent and specific directive.

Yet the barbaric hunger evident within their eyes, at least for the ones that had eyes, made them appear like they were a twisted obscenity.

In a split second, Lex took in the situation all around him, and discovered that they seemed to be within a canyon of some sort. A black, toxic river of sludge seemed to flow in a great torrent, snaking through the canyon base forming natural barriers against the locusts who, despite being formidable in their own right, avoided the black river.

In one of the bends created by the river, Lex saw an army entrenched in a temporary fortress created through a deployable formation. There were a few thousand immortal soldiers holding out against the tide of locusts that had surrounded them entirely, yet how long they could maintain such a situation was anybody's guess.

There was a lethargy in their actions, as if fatigue had a hold on them that it would not give up. Their energy was waning, their sharpness dulled, and the speed drastically slowed down. In fact, it was quite clear that not only were they exhausted, they were wounded as well. If it weren't for the formation protecting them, they may have already perished.

Lex looked from afar and judged that the army was being led by a Magma Lion, but even his flames seemed to be waning. The army needed immediate help, which is probably why the timing for his quest had been so urgent.

The party from the Midnight Inn, too, did not have much time left to react, for the locusts had already noticed their arrival, and similar swarms were already rushing towards them.

"Z, do you want to take the lead on this?" Lex asked as he scrutinized the locusts. Each one of them was at the very peak of the Earth immortal realm, wielding strange powers the likes of which Lex had never felt before. Any single one of them would have been a formidable foe, let alone a nearly infinite army of them. Yet, Lex was entirely relaxed.

If there was one thing Lex had absolute confidence in, it was in his defense, and his ability to defend.

"Shouldn't Leonidus be taking the lead? Or Luthor?" Z asked hesitantly, looking at the two men standing beside them.

"They can handle it, of course. But this is a great learning opportunity for you. It's good to get some decent, real world experience."

Fenrir, who had accompanied the group, barked, as if agreeing with what Lex said.

"Okay, I guess I can try to take care of things. What do we have to do?"

"I'll take us to them," Lex said, pointing towards the mercenary army, ignoring the sweeping tide of monsters between them. "Once there, I'll deploy the Castle tavern. From there, all you need to do is protect the tavern, and keep any locust from coming inside. How simple is that?"

The army of locusts was almost upon them, yet none of the group seemed to acknowledge their presence, or even prepare to face them. This close, the acrid stench of their blood permeated through their bodies and swept over the group from the Midnight Inn, trying to poison them.

"I suppose that sounds simple enough," said Z.

"Good," said Lex. "Let's go."

Lex spread his energy over the entire group, and suddenly they teleported away just seconds before the swarm of locusts reached them.

They reappeared within the protective formation of the mercenary army, ignoring the barrier that was keeping the army alive as if it did not exist at all, startling the mercenary soldiers. Many of them, out of sheer instinct, attacked the group, yet Lex only had to raise his hand forward and all the attacks stopped, as if the very space around them had frozen.

"Welcome, guests of the Reaving Dread mercenary group," Lex said out loud, his voice calm yet pleasant, as if they were not within an infernal abyss. "We are from the Midnight Inn, where guests come to rest and relax from across the universe. Yet when certain guests cannot make it to the Inn, we bring the Midnight tavern to them. It is our utmost pleasure to host you in our humble abode."

Lex flung out a snowglobe which immediately broke as soon as it touched the ground, exploding into a massive, sprawling castle with boundary walls a hundred feet high. The dazzling sight of a castle made from dragonscales stunned the exhausted mercenaries, and it almost seemed like it stunned the locusts too.

But no, that was just the suppressive effect of the castle which would be warm and welcoming to its guests, and like ravenous maws of hell to those who would dare to challenge the strength of its walls.