Chapter 39: The Feast of Three Armies

The next day, Senjo Count’s fleet approached.

They left 50 ships outside the dimension and brought only about 10 closer.

Like wary wild animals, they crept up to the dimensional boundary and docked, unloading their troops.

“That one looks like the leader.”

A demon with two horns on its head and a hunched back walked with the help of a staff.

As Choi Kangjoong had guessed, it was Baron Puromin, a subordinate of Senjo Count.

Sniff, sniff.

“This smells like a conspiracy. Quickly, find Selic. Who knows what devious plan Gratis is scheming?”

The Bluespawn trudged along.

These bizarre, bipedal creatures, who shared nothing in common except walking on two legs, were made from other races contaminated by the Demon of Chaos’ magic.

“They shouldn’t get caught.”

Bluespawn were highly regenerative and knew no fear, but their dull senses made them unsuitable for scouting.

Choi Kangjoong felt reassured, but then another monster emerged from the Dimension Ship.

It was a Chaos Hound.

These beasts, with either one or two heads, sniffed the ground with their muzzles buried deep in the earth.

“They’ll find us soon. Where’s Selic?”

Choi Kangjoong checked on Selic through Kai’s viewpoint.

Selic had already finished preparing to escape and was just waiting for the right moment.

“We’re done here. Release him and follow quietly to find the Gate Stone’s location.”

“Kiiik!”

The Scout guarding the entrance to Selic’s room was moved elsewhere.

Selic, who had been pressing an ear to the door, cautiously opened it.

Finding nothing outside, he cheered and bolted away.

“Kihihi. Fools!”

Selic crawled through a mousehole in the room into a secret space.

There, he had a small Dimension Ship prepared for emergencies, just for his own escape.

He activated the small Mana Engine and accelerated.

In a flash, the Dimension Ship burst through the outer wall.

“Keep fighting! A swarm of rats that will devour you is coming soon!”

Selic escaped the area that would soon become a battlefield.

Completely unaware that Kai was hiding right beside him.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

The Chaos Hound dug into the ground.

It was where Apocalid was hiding.

“Looks like they’ve found something.”

Baron Puromin swung his staff.

The magic of chaos twisted the laws of nature.

The pull towards the dimension was reversed, and the earth erupted upward.

Scouts were pulled up along with it.

“Interesting creatures. I should capture a few alive.”

Baron Puromin fired a Magic Missile.

Whump! Whump!

The Scouts, struck in the body and head by Magic Missiles, flailed about.

“They’re not pierced?”

Baron Puromin’s power was comparable to a B-grade Hunter.

A B-grade Hunter would be on par with a Death Knight or Twinhead Ogre, so he’d assumed these creatures would die instantly.

But the Psionic Chitin Gauntlet, carefully evolved by Choi Kangjoong, was the ultimate in efficiency.

Even those whose heads were half-blown off didn’t die and regenerated, reminiscent of immortal demons.

“I need to catch a lot for research. Dig up the ground!”

The monsters began searching for Apocalid, who was hiding underground.

Some Scouts died, and a few were captured, but Choi Kangjoong simply watched.

What he wanted was a balance among Apocalid, the Demon of Chaos, and the Dark Elf.

That way, Gratis would get excited and come charging in.

“How far have the Dark Elves come?”

He observed the direction the Dark Elves might approach using the Skyeye Giant.

A faint ripple appeared on a part of the dimensional sea.

It was a subtle change imperceptible to the human eye.

But Apocalid, equipped with numerous Evolution Codes, couldn’t miss it.

“It’s a Dark Elf Pirate Ship. They’ll be here soon. Attack.”

The Walkers dug at the ground.

The surface collapsed, and Apocalid burst out.

“Stupid monsters!”

Baron Puromin sent Bluespawn forward and cast a wide-area spell.

“Chaos Firestorm!”

A blue flame rained down, engulfing Apocalid.

Some flames even burned Bluespawn.

Chaos Magic was powerful, but even the caster couldn’t predict where it would land.

With bad luck, it could hit their own base, but this time, most of it landed on the enemy.

“Lucky day.”

Baron Puromin was riding high.

No matter how many monsters came, a few blasts of Chaos Magic could wipe them out.

The ground collapsed again.

Following the Scouts, a Central Command Warrior emerged, leading the Warriors.

The commanding entity, watching the battlefield through the Skyeye Giant, quickly set the highest-priority elimination targets.

-Eliminate them.

As the Warriors, more than twice as numerous as the Bluespawn, advanced, Baron Puromin’s expression hardened.

Bluespawn were shredded like paper under the Warriors’ sickle claws, and terror surged within him.

“Stop those things!”

Baron Puromin shouted.

Bluespawn and Chaos Hounds surged forward in a horde.

It was quite a number to handle with just the Warriors.

In the past, it would have been best to call for Scouts or get Cannon Giant support, but now, there was another way.

The Central Command Warrior deployed the Apocalid Field.

Bluespawn and Chaos Hounds were already so contaminated by magic that they were nearly immune to mind spells.

But the Apocalid Field was more than a simple psychic attack.

The Central Unit served as a relay, connecting the will of the Outer Mind to every unit.

It could even display the overwhelming hunger of a vast collective consciousness.

“Graaaargh—!”

Bluespawn, confronted by a fragment of the hive mind, twisted their already warped limbs violently.

They grabbed their heads, collapsed, and rolled on the ground.

The Chaos Hounds lolled their tongues and died.

-Devour.

The Warriors trampled the monsters as they advanced.

Walkers carried off the crushed monsters and dumped them into the Soil Pit.

[Chaos Demon Evolution Code Decoding Rate: 55%]

The Demon of Chaos’ Evolution Code was Law Distortion.

Rather than applying it alone, it was better used as a fusion material with other Evolution Codes.

“I should synthesize it with Wind Flight.”

Combining Wind Flight and Law Distortion yielded a new Evolution Code: Distortion Flight.

Distortion Flight could partially ignore physical laws like inertia and resistance, greatly increasing efficiency and enhancing high-level mobility.

It was useful not just for flying Apocalids, but also for the Titan Class.

“Send more monsters!”

Baron Puromin unleashed Chaos Magic wildly.

Explosions roared and lightning flashed.

It would have been fatal for a Scout, but to the Warriors, who had received the Apocalid Field Buff and wore Psionic Chitin Gauntlets, it caused only minor scratches.

Baron Puromin backed away and fled.

He intended to escape on the Dimension Ship.

But the ship he’d arrived in had already left, merging with Senjo Count’s fleet.

That was because of the approaching Dark Elf Dimension Ship.

Thud!

A Warrior’s sickle claw pierced Baron Puromin’s chest.

With its other sickle claw, the Warrior severed Baron Puromin’s neck.

Still not dead, Baron Puromin was dragged off by a Walker, looking empty and hopeless, and was dropped into the Soil Pit.

“It’s only just beginning.”

Senjo Count’s fleet took up position on the opposite side of the dimension from where the Dark Elves were arriving.

The rapidly approaching Dark Elves also docked their Dimension Ships at the dimensional boundary and deployed their troops.

“Kill them all and find the Gate Stone!”

The Dark Elf Pirates attacked without warning.

With over 100,000 Dark Elves and numerous Dimension Ships, they calculated that they could sweep away all monsters and the Demon of Chaos in no time.

At first, things went just as the Dark Elves expected.

Apocalid and monsters fell easily to the mana Ballistae of the pirate ships.

But as Senjo Count’s subordinates intervened, the tide shifted.

Their overwhelming Chaos Magic destroyed Dimension Ships, and Dark Elves died in droves.

Choi Kangjoong controlled Apocalid to maintain a careful balance.

“It’s about time.”

He swept the area with the Skyeye Giant.

“There they are…”

Selic had convinced leaders of other clans and was leading a fleet of Dimension Ships toward them.

There were 200 ships, so if left unchecked, Gratis’s victory would be certain.

“Kihahahahaha! Fools! You’ve all danced in the palm of my hand!”

Selic let out a maniacal laugh.

“Food! There’s food!”

“Hurry, let’s eat it all!”

The Gratis drooled as they shot down Dark Elf and Demon of Chaos Dimension Ships.

The Dark Elves and Demon of Chaos formed a temporary alliance and resisted, but it wasn’t enough.

After destroying all the enemy Dimension Ships, the Gratis’ fleet docked at the dimensional boundary.

The doors opened, and Gratis poured out like a swarm of rats.

Everything in their path, living or dead, was devoured.

“Something’s wrong……..”

Selic, who had been gleefully gnawing on a Dark Elf’s bone, looked up.

There had certainly been bio Dimension Ships among those monsters, but now not a single one could be seen.

“Don’t tell me… they were waiting for me to arrive…?”

Selic’s uneasy premonition came true.

Something enormous was moving toward the cluster of Gratis Dimension Ships.

“Back to the ships! Hurry!”

No matter how much Selic screamed, the excited Gratis were too busy feasting on corpses.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Mana Shells rained down on the haphazardly clustered Dimension Ships.

The Dimension Ships, full of unstable mana, exploded violently.

Since all the ships were close together, the explosions triggered a chain reaction.

“No…!”

Selic looked at the fewer than ten remaining Dimension Ships with a sense of utter despair.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Bio Pods crashed down, and Giant Class Apocalids emerged.

The Giants charged forward and eliminated the spellcasting Demons of Chaos.

Cannon Giants’ bombardment swept away Dark Elves, Gratis, and Bluespawn.

[You have gained Evolution Points.]

[You have gained Evolution Points.]

[You have gained Evolution Points.]

[Current Evolution Points: 5,276,977]

After evolving Enhanced Psionic, Evolution Points, which had almost hit zero, now exceeded five million.

“If I cross a few more dimensions, I’ll be able to unlock the Supertitan Class.”

“Kuong.”

Kuong was pleased at the prospect of having even larger subordinates.

“But where is Senjo Count?”

Almost all the Demons of Chaos had been eliminated, yet Senjo Count was nowhere to be found.

Even sending flying Apocalids to search the Dimension Ships turned up nothing.

“Maybe Selic knows.”

Choi Kangjoong sent a Central Command Giant to Selic.

When the Central Command Giant deployed the Apocalid Field and wiped out the Gratis, Selic trembled and prostrated himself.

“Please spare me! Spare me! Spare me!”

-Where is Senjo Count?

“H-he didn’t come here!”

-Why not?

“I-I’m not sure…!”

-Then you have to die.

“Eek! The Gate Stone! He must have gone to the place where the Gate Stone is hidden!”

-Where is the Gate Stone?

“I’ll tell you, just spare my life…!”

-Speak.

“Yes! Yes! I’ll tell you! There’s a Black Market Map on my Dimension Ship that marks the location of the Gate Stone!”

-Bring it.

Choi Kangjoong used the Central Command Giant to move Selic to his Dimension Ship.

Once inside his own room, Selic rummaged through his possessions instead of looking for the map.

Flash.

“Of course I have the Gate Stone myself!”

A brilliant, glowing cube was in Selic’s hand.

“I’ll come back and have my revenge! Kihihihihi!”

Selic poured mana into the Gate Stone.

He was beaming, sure he’d soon escape through the Gate.

“Huh? Why isn’t it opening?”

Selic shook the Gate Stone frantically.

No matter how much mana he put in or how hard he pounded it, the Gate wouldn’t open.

There was no way a Gate could appear right next to the Central Unit, where the Apocalid pulse was strongest.

Thunk.

Kai stabbed Selic in the heart.

“How could this happen…”

The fallen Selic was carried off by an Air Walker, and the Gate Stone landed in Choi Kangjoong’s hand.