Chapter 30: Death Mana Harvest

Rustle, rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

The scythe claws sliced through the air.

Count Pabelus gave up on blocking.

He was too busy dodging with all his might.

Meanwhile, Scouts and Warriors swarmed the Black Knight.

Despite the overwhelming number of Apocalids, they remained composed.

It was nearly impossible for an Immortal Demon to be killed by such monsters.

However, the Apocalids’ scythe claws were buffed with Death Mana.

Back when the Dark Elves of Nahromel were active, Death Mana was infamous for its deadly power that could even bring down Immortal Demons.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Just grazing the scythe claws caused the Black Knight to collapse repeatedly.

The Ghost Horse also toppled over as if dead.

Startled, the Black Knight froze in place.

If he had any expression, it would have been a grimace.

Chaos erupted as Apocalids charged forward.

“Kraaah!”

“I don’t want to die!”

“Stop them!”

“You stop them!”

Gripped by the fear of death, the Black Knight chose to flee instead of fighting like Count Pabelus.

“Why is Death Mana on those things…?”

Count Pabelus could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Death Spirits were notoriously unruly and difficult to control, just as their name implied.

Yet, these monsters—who seemed insignificant—had been bestowed with Death Mana.

“Hold them back!”

At Pabelus’s command, the Flesh Golems surged forward.

Having swallowed Orcs to bulk up, they were several times larger than Giants.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every step the Flesh Golems took shook the ground.

As they pressed forward, Count Pabelus mounted the Ghost Horse and fled.

Lutal gave chase.

In the past, he might have been stopped, but thanks to his Combat Muscle origin, he had no worries.

—Waaaaaaah!

Orcs swarmed in.

Count Pabelus’s Ghost Horse trampled over their heads.

Lutal hopped and bounded to keep up but kept getting blocked and ultimately lost sight of them.

Instead, several Orcs fell under the swipe of Lutal’s scythe claws.

“We can’t let them escape.”

Choe Gang-jung sent the strongest flying Apocalids to the Immortal Demon’s Dimension Ship.

Fighter Giants and Fighter Warriors flew in, firing Chitin spikes wildly.

The Dimension Ship, damaged by the Orcs, couldn’t fight back.

The destroyed ship crashed into the Dimension Sea, and its debris floated aimlessly.

“They keep coming back to life!”

“We can kill them again!”

“There’s even more of the tough ones there!”

“Kill them!”

“This is exciting!”

The Orcs fought enthusiastically.

They dragged Scrap Cannons and fired relentlessly at the Flesh Golems.

Holes appeared all over the Flesh Golems’ bodies as corpses fell off.

Even though Flesh Golems were strong against swarming species like Orcs, they were far from invincible.

Crack!

Kuralgal’s axe tore into a Flesh Golem’s shoulder as he leapt high.

The Flesh Golem’s misery wasn’t over.

It was hit by Mana Shells and shredded into pieces by the Giants’ scythe claws.

“Regroup! Use the Orc corpses to create more zombies!”

Count Pabelus, barely alive, shouted.

“They’re strong, but there aren’t even ten thousand of them. We can push through with sheer numbers. Death Mana isn’t infinite either.”

With a proud stride, the Black Knight and Count Pabelus charged the Orcs, having started with 500 but only 100 returning.

As he trampled the Orcs, the number of zombies quickly multiplied.

Banshees screamed, and Orcs collapsed.

The dying Flesh Golems rapidly regained their strength.

Count Pabelus climbed high to observe the Apocalids.

Though their numbers were smallest, their overwhelming firepower and physical abilities slaughtered the Orcs.

Moreover, Immortal Demons—normally very hard to kill—fell one after another as they entered the monsters’ spawning grounds.

It was clear that the monsters fed on the Immortal Demons.

“What on earth is going on? A species that devours even Immortal Demons… The only beings like that were the Demons of Devouring…”

A wave of deathly fear washed over him.

It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced since becoming a Death Knight.

“Gather zombies and create more Ghouls and Banshees!”

Count Pabelus ordered.

From now on, it wasn’t a hunt—it was a fight for survival.

[Evolution Point acquired.]

[Evolution Point acquired.]

[Evolution Point acquired.]

[Evolution Point acquired.]

[Evolution Point acquired.]

Choe Gang-jung leisurely watched the battle.

With Count Pabelus’s charge failed, there was no threat to the Apocalids.

Unless the Dark Elves betrayed them, that is.

But that seemed unlikely.

The Dark Elves waited near the Cannon Giants, taking down Orcs flying in on Orc Launchers.

“Must be painful for their ears.”

Every time the Mana Cannon roared, the tips of the Dark Elves’ ears trembled.

“Kruaah!”

Despite the Black Knight’s horrific screams melting away in the digestive pits, they endured and held their ground.

[Immortal Demon Evolution Code Decryption Rate: 100%]

The Death Resistance code was fully deciphered.

Choe Gang-jung immediately applied Death Resistance to all classes.

“Rapid Regeneration plus Death Resistance? Truly a dream combo.”

Even in years of Dimension War play, few had ever achieved it.

Choe Gang-jung smiled brightly, thinking of strengthening evolution codes related to regeneration.

“What’s best for racial evolution? Nothing urgent for now, so let’s just save up.”

Since racial evolution would apply immediately and stop the Apocalids, it would be done after the battle.

Apocalids bearing the Death Resistance evolution code joined the front lines.

Crack!

A Scout’s head flew off from a mace strike.

The Orcs delighted in the sharp sensation.

“Fun.”

As they passed the Scout, a scythe claw suddenly flew.

Pook!

An Orc stabbed deeply in the side gushed green blood like a waterfall.

Turning around, the Orc saw a headless Scout still moving.

“What are these things? They should be dead without a head—it’s strange!”

The Orc was baffled, and the Scout swung its scythe claw again.

Clang!

The Orc’s severed neck fell, and the Scout’s movement ceased.

A Walker approached, grabbed both the Scout and the Orc by the jaw, and took them to the digestive pit.

Similarly, Warriors sent several Orcs to the afterlife before dying themselves.

Giants displayed monstrous vitality, resisting death even when parts of their heart or head were destroyed, and rapidly regenerating.

“Should we get the Self-Destruct evolution code and make self-destruct Apocalids?”

Mana Cannons were enough firepower, but the Korean instinct craved more.

Besides, the fantasy of blowing up an entire enemy formation at once was irresistible.

Choe Gang-jung imagined hundreds of flying Giants carrying self-destruct Apocalids, raining destruction.

“Maybe after capturing Hydra Fort, I’ll try for it.”

The battle was shifting to a new phase.

Thanks to Count Pabelus’s efforts, the zombie count had grown to 200,000.

The Orcs had dropped to 800,000.

With so much nourishment flowing in, the Apocalid production speed couldn’t keep up.

“Make 12 Cannon Giants and 3 Skyeye Giants first. The Dimension is expanding, and 3 Skyeye Giants can’t cover it all.”

The brains of the Skyeye Giants were reaching their limits trying to observe the vast battlefield with only three.

Their eyes grew tired, and resolution gradually dropped.

Pwoaaak!

Giant-class Apocalids erupted from the digestive pits.

Cannon Giants immediately fired Mana Cannons near the pits.

Their arrival certainly bolstered firepower.

Skyeye Giants went out into the Dimension Sea to rotate reconnaissance duties.

With reinforcements, Count Pabelus launched an attack on the Apocalids.

Zombies and Ghouls charged in, attacking Walkers and Scouts.

Weaker than Orcs, Walkers mowed through them effortlessly.

Warriors were even more devastating.

A bulked-up Flesh Golem approached.

It was nearly 30 meters tall.

Lutal judged that a single Central Cannon Giant was the most efficient counter.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Central Cannon Giant fired Mana Cannons in rapid succession.

The Flesh Golem staggered after a direct hit to its chest and threw a punch.

The Central Cannon Giant blocked with its shield, fired another Mana Cannon, then swept its tail.

Whoom!

The Flesh Golem collapsed.

The Central Cannon Giant climbed atop and hammered it relentlessly with its shield.

Each heavy blow carved deep into the Flesh Golem’s body.

Though its corpses clung onto the Chitin Gauntlet, only their teeth were dulled.

Thud!

The Central Cannon Giant raised its shield high and brought it down hard.

The Flesh Golem’s chest was pierced, and the force binding the corpses vanished.

The corpses lost strength and collapsed in heaps.

When the Central Cannon Giant pushed with its shield, Walkers rushed in to clear the corpses.

“We could be doing something else.”

There seemed to be no way to stop the Apocalids.

Choe Gang-jung exercised and sparred with Warriors while observing the fight.

The battle was drawing to a close.

Orc numbers fell below 300,000.

All Scrap Cannons were destroyed, and only a few Orc Launchers remained.

The once excited mood shifted as the Orcs began sneaking away.

“Fight! Fight, I said!”

No matter how much Kuralgal shouted, the Orcs ignored him.

A terrifying monster wielding four scythe claws even approached nearby.

“Damn it! We’re retreating!”

Kuralgal led the few tens of thousands of Orcs toward the Dimension boundary.

Rustle, rustle!

“Krah!”

“Run!”

“Where’s the Dimension Ship?”

“There it… is!”

The Orcs rushed toward the Dimension Ship.

There weren’t enough to fit everyone.

“Move! I need to board first!”

Kuralgal cleared the path, blasting aside Orcs blocking the way.

He was the first to board and activated the Mana Engine.

As the Dimension Ship took off, the Orcs fell into the Dimension Sea.

Lutal, chasing them, reached the Dimension boundary.

The ship hadn’t gained speed, so it was within leaping distance.

But Choe Gang-jung stopped the pursuit.

“If he drags more Orcs back, we’ll just be food again.”

“Heh.”

Lutal gave up the chase and turned back.

Choe Gang-jung hoped Kuralgal would bring back a massive horde of Orcs.

With the Orcs’ destruction assured, the Apocalids focused all their forces on the Immortal Demon.

Count Pabelus was near death.

All Flesh Golems had vanished, and all Banshees were caught by flying enemies.

Only a few tens of thousands of zombies and a small number of Black Knights remained.

“We can’t die like this. If we absorb the Death Spirits, there might be a way.”

Count Pabelus rallied his remaining troops for one last charge.

Unlike the first, fewer Black Knights remained, and their shields were weaker.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Their shields shattered under the Mana Cannon fire.

Hit by the shells, Black Knights tumbled across the ground.

Walkers dismantled their limbs and took them to the digestive pits.

Count Pabelus was caught in an explosion and thrown off his mount.

“Heh.”

He quickly regained balance, drew his greatsword, and faced Lutal.

Determined not to lose him this time, he sent Warriors behind to block any retreat.

Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle.

A powerful aura blade sliced Count Pabelus in two.

Walkers carried his pieces to the digestive pit, where he was consumed alive.

“Duke Akirif!”

His dying words carried resentment toward Duke Akirif.

[Evolution Point acquired.]

[Total Evolution Points: 29,871,223]

True to his boss status, he rewarded a million Evolution Points.