“This will be a dull battle,” said a demon with glistening, blood-red skin on his bare chest.
Apart from the skulls hanging at his waist, he wore nothing else. This was Duke Dharman.
“Once we crush those things, more will pop out. Hehe,” added Duke Proferia, an Archlich dressed in luxurious robes.
An undead army he had personally created lay dormant within the Bluestone Fortress.
“There won’t even be a need for Duke Uruatan to step in.”
“…”
The amorphous demon merely squirmed without responding. Chaos Demons had no fixed appearance. Some had the head of a bull and a human body, some resembled sea anemones, and others looked like whales drifting through the Dimensional Sea.
The amorphous types were the rarest and most special among them.
Even for a demon, a physical body was essential. A body was like a ship carrying a soul; a soul without a body was like a rudderless lump. It couldn’t interact properly with the world on its own and was destined to either wander aimlessly or remain tethered to something.
Spirits were like that. They could not exist independently and were bound to the earth, trees, or a contractor. Transcendent Beasts, which were half-spiritual, were relatively more free.
Amorphous Chaos Demons were similar. They were beings who had sacrificed their souls solely for the sake of chaos, giving up their physical bodies and even forgetting their original greed.
To Duke Uruatan, chaos meant using the Bluestone Fortress to attack dimensions and worlds. To that end, he had discarded his physical form and merged into the fortress.
While he couldn’t leave the Bluestone Fortress, he had become one with it and could use it as if it were his own body. However, he didn’t control everything in that massive fortress alone. If he tried, his soul would be torn to pieces, unable to withstand the strain.
Amorphous Chaos Demons similar to him, though weaker, were stationed throughout the fortress. Duke Uruatan oversaw them and made the final decisions on the Bluestone Fortress’s course or the targets for the Devil Cannon. In a way, he was like the control system of a Dimension Ship.
“You haven’t forgotten that the two humans are yours and the Elf belongs to me, right?” Duke Proferia asked.
“Of course. If those things have any brains, they’ll split up to attack us like that,” Duke Dharman said with a cruel smile, drawing a Sawblade Sword from among the skulls.
The gaps between the jagged teeth, which looked like a shark’s, were as clean and sharp as if the sword were brand new. The Sawblade Sword was also a living Magic Beast, so it required no maintenance.
“I heard they have a Gate Stone. They won’t suddenly appear close by, will they?”
“Why? Are you afraid?”
“No! It’s just that I’ll be able to crush their skulls sooner if they do.”
“It’s impossible. Not even an Archduke could penetrate the Bluestone Fortress’s Gate-jamming Magic.”
“Then I should head out first!”
“Wait. If you go alone, you’ll be picked off one by one.”
“That would only benefit you.”
Duke Proferia neither confirmed nor denied it. As Dharman said, it would be a gain since he could keep all the spoils for himself.
“Prepare the assault ships!”
Duke Dharman’s subordinates brought a unique Dimension Ship close to the Bluestone Fortress. It was a ship specialized for closing in on enemies—the type most favored by the Demons of Ruin. All Hell Cannons had been removed to increase armor thickness and the output of the Mana Engine to maximize speed.
As Duke Dharman was about to leap, a sudden gravitational force grabbed him. It was Duke Uruatan’s doing.
“Wait.”
“What is it? You’d better have a reason I can accept, Duke,” Dharman said, as he tended to look down on demons who had discarded their physical bodies.
“A Gate is about to open.”
“Then I’ll just ride the Dimension Ship and smash it!”
Duke Dharman assumed the Gate would open at a significant distance from the Bluestone Fortress. Penetrating the Gate-jamming Magic of a moving Bluestone Fortress was something even a Dragon Lord would find difficult.
“There’s no need. It’s right above us.”
“What?”
Duke Dharman and Duke Proferia looked up. Space flickered, and a Gate opened.
“How…?”
Duke Proferia was bewildered, while Duke Dharman was delighted. Duke Uruatan silently reinforced the upper Shield.
Vwoooooom!
As a 10-kilometer-long Hive Class Apocalid suddenly appeared, Mana was violently pushed away, creating a Mana Storm. The assault ships Duke Dharman intended to board swayed and collided with one another.
Following it, a Super Titan, Titans, and Light Titans were summoned. Kuongi and the Super Titan turned and fired their Breath at the location of the Demon Dukes. Numerous pillars of light fell, clashing against the Shield. On top of that, the Titans poured down fire from their Mana Cannons.
The Bluestone Fortress did not stay still. It fired Hell Cannons and rotated the barrels of its Devil Cannons. However, because the Apocalid was positioned vertically above the Bluestone Fortress, they couldn’t get a proper firing angle.
Chaos Demons emerged and fired Chaos Magic. The Shields of the Super Titan and Titans flickered as they were struck. The quiet space where the demons had been waiting for battle instantly transformed into a battlefield filled with deafening noise.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
“It’s a fight!”
“Kill them all!”
The Demons of Ruin charged on their assault ships. Thanks to their thick armor, they didn’t lose their sailing capability even when Kaitin Spikes embedded into them. They could easily withstand several shots from a Mana Cannon.
When 200 Dimension Ships, ranging from 100 meters to two kilometers in size, swarmed the Apocalid, there wasn’t enough firepower to stop them all.
The Bio Torpedo launchers on Kuongi’s back opened. But that wasn’t all. Countless Mana Missile launchers on its back and belly activated. These were the armaments Serad had installed with a beaming smile.
Bio Torpedoes soared, and Mana Missiles were launched. As thousands of missiles surged forth simultaneously, it looked as if massive wings had unfurled from Kuongi’s body.
The Bio Torpedoes, aimed at the larger targets, pierced through the thick armor. Countless Mana Missiles also exploded inside and outside the Dimension Ships.
Kaaaa-boooom!
A curtain of explosions spread around Kuongi. It was enough to momentarily halt the charge of the assault ships. Even the demons stared blankly at the feast of destruction. Shifting shadows of ecstasy flickered across their faces.
“Ku-eong.”
Kuongi unleashed a Great Mana Storm and pressed close to the Bluestone Fortress. Most of the Hell Cannons focused their fire on Kuongi. Its Shield was destroyed, and its Chitin Gauntlet-like hide cracked. Still, as a Hive Class, its hide was incredibly thick, and combined with the regeneration Buff from the Mana Storm, there were no fatal wounds.
‘Let’s head down.’
Choi Kangjoong’s strategy was simple. They would close the distance, destroy the Devil Cannons, and then sink the Bluestone Fortress itself. It was unavoidable, as engaging in a direct artillery duel against the Devil Cannons was nearly impossible.
The only concern was that they knew nothing about the abilities or specialties of the three Demon Dukes. Since they had been active on the opposite side of the Enterprise Union, even the Elves’ intelligence network had struggled to gather information on them.
‘I should quickly pull out a Colony Class or something,’ Choi Kangjoong thought as he looked back.
Iselin, Dielka, Han Junghwa, and Guild Master Kang Sungpyo stood there, fully armed. These were the two Elves and two humans who would infiltrate the Bluestone Fortress.
“We’re ready.”
“You know which demons you have to handle, right?”
“Of course.”
Iselin and Dielka were to deal with the Immortal Demons, while Han Junghwa and Guild Master Kang Sungpyo would face the Demons of Ruin. Choi Kangjoong and Lutal, who could fly quickly, were tasked with handling the Chaos Demon.
“Let’s go kill some demons already,” said Dielka, who wanted to kill every Immortal Demon in existence.
Han Junghwa and Guild Master Kang Sungpyo remained silent. Their gazes, fixed solely on the Bluestone Fortress, were as sharp as honed blades.
“Let’s go.”
A Fighter Giant grabbed each Elf and human before leaping. Using powerful leg strength and Distortion Flight, they rapidly accelerated and dove into the hail of Hell Cannon fire.
Though it was a sophisticated web of fire created by Duke Uruatan, it was merely a loose net to the 200 Skyeye Giants unified under Choi Kangjoong.
Kuongi and the Super Titan turned and released Bio Pods. Countless Bio Pods followed them.
Slice.
Choi Kangjoong elongated his Death Blade and cut through the Shield. The Fighter Giants passed through the gap and landed near the Demon Dukes.
“Mine’s right over there.”
“Krrt.”
Choi Kangjoong and Lutal looked down at Duke Uruatan. Though he was a Chaos Demon with no form, Choi Kangjoong could feel his gaze. He could sense that it was full of curiosity, expectation, and hostility.
‘What could he be expecting?’
“Krrt,” Lutal replied, signaling he didn’t understand.
‘It’s obvious. He wants to kill me. If he does, the Union will fall into chaos.’
“Krrt.”
Lutal again replied that he didn’t understand.
‘Let’s just eat him first.’
“Krrt,” Lutal agreed.
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.
Amorphous demons similar to Duke Uruatan surged up around him. The barrels of the Hell Cannons moved to aim at Choi Kangjoong.
“Welcome to my hell.”
Duke Uruatan cast a Great Magic.
[Hell Cannon Ground]
One hundred Hell Cannons simultaneously fired Explosive Wisps. These shells were typically slow and had terrible accuracy, but their power was immense.
However, under the support of [Hell Cannon Ground], their accuracy and speed improved dramatically. They were fired toward Choi Kangjoong and Lutal like lasers.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Duke Uruatan also cast Hallucination, Bind, and Enfeeblement Magic recklessly. Since he could draw Mana from the Bluestone Fortress, he could use it as much as he wanted. As long as he was inside, his Mana would never run dry.
‘If anyone else had taken this on, they might not have been able to kill him.’
“Krrt.”
Choi Kangjoong activated [Apocalid World] and evaded the Hell Cannons. At the same time, he checked the status of the others through the vision of the Skyeye Giants. They seemed to be struggling against the Demon Dukes who had cast Great Magic, but their situation improved as they entered [Apocalid World] and more Apocalids fell from the Bio Pods.
‘It’s strange. In the Dimension War, the Apocalid couldn’t ally with any other race.’
Choi Kangjoong pushed his sentiment aside to dodge the raining Explosive Wisps. Since the firing paths were so straightforward, evasion was actually easy.
‘His processing power is severely lacking.’
Unlike the Apocalid, which was both one and many, Duke Uruatan merely served as the anchor for the demons controlling the fortress. It was impossible for him to act like a single monster with thousands of arms like Choi Kangjoong. The proof was that neither Choi Kangjoong nor Lutal had been hit even once.
Slice.
Choi Kangjoong’s Death Blade drew a semicircle after he appeared behind Duke Uruatan using Stealth Blink. Just before the blade struck, Duke Uruatan vanished. Not having a physical body had the advantage of making Blink easy.
Slice. Slice. Slice.
Choi Kangjoong continued to use Stealth Blink while swinging his Death Blade. Duke Uruatan never stayed in one place for more than one second. He even placed Trap Magic where he had been to try and damage Choi Kangjoong.
Meanwhile, Lutal dodged the Hell Cannons and began eliminating the Count-class amorphous Chaos Demons one by one.
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