“Kill them all!”
“Faster!”
“Bring them closer, now!”
The voices of the demons reached the ears of the Dark Elves.
Sierra fired arrows at the demons while keeping a close eye on the Devil Cannon.
“Captain! Support has arrived!”
Sierra turned his head toward the opposite side of the Bluestone Fortress.
“It’s the Outer’s dimension ship!”
A look of joy spread across Sierra’s face.
The Titan swerved sharply to the left as if drifting.
The Mana Cannon fired, and two demon dimension ships were instantly pulverized.
— To the other side.
“Yes, Outer!”
Having spoken with the Central Command Giant in the Separate Sea, Sierra did not flinch at the telepathy and responded immediately.
“Lower the ship! Get as far away from the Outer’s ship as possible!”
The bow of Sierra’s ship dipped downward.
The ship groaned continuously due to the cracks formed by the aftermath of the explosions.
The barrel of the Devil Cannon moved.
It aimed at the Titan, which was larger than Sierra’s ship and belonged to Choi Kangjoong.
A flash of light erupted from the Devil Cannon.
The Titan suddenly vanished as Choi Kangjoong unsummoned it, and a massive explosion occurred in its place.
There was no further bombardment after that.
It was not at a good distance to hit Sierra’s ship, and since there were no other ships to pursue, firing the Devil Cannon was a waste.
“Whew…”
Sierra let out a sigh of relief.
The dimension ships scattered across the Dimensional Sea gathered in one place and returned to Marsala.
Following that, the appearance of the Bluestone Fortress was reported to the Union.
Once the departure date was set, Choi Kangjoong had dinner with his parents.
The first-ever Allied Forces were being formed, and since a major battle was ahead, his parents were deeply worried; he wanted to ease their minds.
Choi Kangjoong even showed them a scale from Ladespina, saying he had taken down the Dragon Lord.
Looking at the 20-meter giant scale, Choi Jooyoung and Yoo Haein felt somewhat relieved, yet they could not entirely shake off their concern.
“I’ll be back after crushing them all, so make sure you eat well.”
“If it looks like you can’t win, run away with Yunseo. Don’t worry about what other people think. That is more important than your life,” Yoo Haein said firmly.
“That will never happen. I’ll protect Yunseo well, too.”
“Take care of yourself,” Choi Jooyoung said, pretending to be calm.
After saying goodbye to his parents, Choi Kangjoong moved to the 6th Dimension Fortress.
On the Dimensional Sea, 500 dimension ships brought by Serad were gathered.
On the ground, Elf knights and the defensive forces of the 6th Dimension Fortress stood in formation, listening to Iselin’s speech.
Iselin, who had become the commander of the Allied Forces, vividly expressed her rage toward the demons with words like “crush” and “annihilate.”
After her speech ended, the Hunters and Elf knights boarded the dimension ships.
Iselin, Dielka, Han Junghwa, Choi Yunseo, and Guild Master Kang Sungpyo boarded the Divine Arrow.
Choi Kangjoong also quickly headed to the deck.
The Elf knights knelt, and Iselin greeted him.
“You’ve arrived?”
“Are we heading out?”
“Yes. What about your troops, Outer?”
“They’re far away, so I’m going to summon them when we arrive.”
“Where do you think would be the best place to fight?”
Arthil brought a military chart and spread it on the table.
Choi Kangjoong had cleanly swallowed the area between the Enterprise Union and the Akirif Duchy, but as time passed, a few dimensions had drifted in from elsewhere.
“We have to destroy the Bluestone Fortress, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“We should ambush them halfway.”
Iselin drew a circle in the middle of the Bluestone Fortress’s predicted route.
“Let us move here.”
The Divine Arrow moved to the front of the line.
The Elf dimension ships and the rectangular or cylindrical Metra dimension ships followed behind.
“They look even worse when compared to the Elf ships. Hey, you tin can. Try some design. Do you not know what design is?”
“Most efficient form for production, movement, and combat. The appearance of Elf dimension ships is highly inefficient.”
“What’s the point of efficiency? The people on board need to feel excited!”
“The relationship between the emotions of the passengers and the performance of the dimension ship is unknown.”
“A ship needs to look cool for it to be fun to pilot!”
“The appearance of the Elf dimension ship is an inhibitory factor in steering.”
“I can’t talk to you!”
“Cannot accept the persistence of a protein mass filled with inefficiency.”
Han Junghwa and Choi Yunseo watched with curious eyes as Serad and Dielka traded insults.
It was their first time seeing the Dark Elf and Metra races in person, and seeing the two act like old friends made them feel like they were in a different world.
“Serad, you’re building the dimension ships I ordered according to the specifications, right?” Iselin asked.
“Affirmative. Efficiency improvements with slight modifications are all.”
Iselin, feeling slightly uneasy at Serad’s answer, told Arthil to look into it in detail.
“You’re Choi Yunseo, right? I’m Dielka.”
Dielka, having finished her bout with Serad, turned her attention to Choi Yunseo and Han Junghwa.
“Hello.”
“This is Han Junghwa, right? Congratulations on becoming an S-class.”
“Thank you. But may I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“How did you become friends with that Metra?”
“Well, that… it might be a long story. Shall we sit over there?”
“Sure.”
Dielka’s eyes sparkled as she seized the opportunity to brag about her exploits.
Dielka, Choi Yunseo, and Han Junghwa sat at a table.
“Captain!”
Choi Kangjoong turned his head, puzzled by a familiar voice he hadn’t expected to hear here.
Joo Eun-jong, who had just stepped onto the deck, waved his hand.
“Why are you here?”
“What do you mean ‘why’? I volunteered for the Allied Forces to stop the demons!”
“I thought only personnel from the 6th Dimension Fortress were going?”
“Well, that’s actually because of the cost. Do you know how expensive a single Hunter is?”
“Then what about you?”
“I said I would fight without pay. I won’t take any spoils, either. I’m saying I came here purely to fight. Don’t I look cool?”
“Not bad.”
“Thank you! Hehe.”
There were quite a few Hunters like Joo Eun-jong who asked to be allowed to fight without receiving any money.
Since accepting them would strengthen their forces, the Allied Forces welcomed them.
However, they couldn’t take everyone; only those B-rank and above could join the Allied Forces and board the dimension ships.
“By the way, can we really win?”
“We wouldn’t have gathered the Allied Forces if we couldn’t.”
“Right? I’ll put my trust in you, Captain! I’ll come to see you often before I move to another ship!”
Joo Eun-jong bowed 90 degrees and entered the cabin.
“That’s really unexpected.”
Who was Joo Eun-jong?
Even if he was polite to Choi Kangjoong, he was known to others as a foul-tempered rascal.
It did not match his reputation for such a person to enlist in the Allied Forces and work without pay.
“You really can’t know what’s inside a person.”
“Is something wrong?” Iselin approached and asked.
Choi Kangjoong explained about Joo Eun-jong.
“I’ve seen a report on him.”
“How?”
“He is the child of an S-class Mage. We track all S-rank Hunters and their surrounding relationships.”
Choi Kangjoong was once again surprised by the Elves’ intelligence-gathering capabilities and meticulousness.
“The report concluded that his rascal-like behavior was a rebellion against his parents’ expectations.”
“That’s rebellion?”
“It must have been caused by his relationship with his parents soured for some reason.”
Finding it hard to understand, Choi Kangjoong shook his head.
“What are you going to do about the Devil Cannon?”
‘Lutal and I will go and destroy it together.’
“Won’t it take longer to destroy if you go alone, Outer?”
Choi Kangjoong ran a simulation.
If Choi Kangjoong and Lutal invaded the Bluestone Fortress, the three demon dukes would all try to stop them.
If all three of them unleashed Great Magic, it might take a long time just to kill them.
“I suppose so.”
“What if I, Dielka, and the S-rank Hunters help you?”
Choi Kangjoong nodded.
He would eventually have to activate the Apocalid World, but it was better to fight alongside four S-classes.
‘Alternatively, should I twist their source slightly?’
If Iselin, Dielka, Han Junghwa, and Guild Master Kang Sungpyo received the buffs of the Apocalid World, they could literally fly.
‘It would be perfect if Han Junghwa and Guild Master Kang Sungpyo handled the Demons of Ruin, Iselin and Dielka took on the Immortal Demons, and Lutal and I dealt with the Demon of Chaos.’
The sparrow whose source had been twisted by the Apocalid was still perfectly fine.
The source hadn’t changed further.
Rather, the original source as a sparrow had increased.
It was due to the nature of trying to return to its original form.
‘I think it’ll work.’
Having finished his deliberation, Choi Kangjoong explained it to Iselin.
“So, you are using Source Energy to make a part of me become the Outer’s race.”
“Right.”
“Please do it.”
“If it goes wrong, you might turn into a Central Unit.”
“A Central Unit?”
“The command units of my race.”
“It is fine. I am sure you will save me, Outer.”
Choi Kangjoong felt a surge of emotion at the endless trust she placed in him.
“I’ll do it gently.”
“You can be rough if you need to.”
“For safety, summon a Spirit of Life.”
“Yes.”
A Spirit of Life bounced on Iselin’s shoulder.
Choi Kangjoong took Iselin’s hand and concentrated.
She was much larger than a sparrow, so she wouldn’t die or transform easily, but he couldn’t be too sure.
Like repairing tiny clock gears, he stirred his Source Energy and minutely twisted Iselin’s soul.
“It’s over. How do you feel?”
“Is this the end?”
“That’s all.”
“Hmm… I feel like a dot has appeared on my soul. I feel a slight sense of a foreign body, but I think it will be fine later.”
“Does it hurt or anything?”
“It is fine.”
“Then let’s test if it worked.”
Choi Kangjoong took Iselin to a distant part of the Dimensional Sea and unfolded the Apocalid World.
Instead of being in pain, Iselin properly received the buffs of the Apocalid World.
That wasn’t all.
“I can feel you, Outer. Even if I close my eyes or no matter how far away you are, I feel like I can know your will.”
“I think it’s because you’re inside the Apocalid World.”
Choi Kangjoong moved away from Iselin and narrowed the range of the Apocalid World.
“How is it now?”
“It’s gone.”
“It was because you were inside.”
Iselin gazed at Choi Kangjoong.
“Why?”
“Because through that experience just now, I have come to understand better what kind of being you are.”
“What was it like?”
“A being so vast and with only a single will that it is terrifying. And yet, knowing that such a being is on my side gives me a sense of stability.”
Choi Kangjoong asked Kai if he felt something similar.
Kai replied that he did not understand Iselin’s feelings.
“The name of your race was Apocalid.”
“Right.”
“What are the names of the others?”
Choi Kangjoong told her the names of the classes and special entities.
Iselin took pleasure in learning about them.
When they returned to the Divine Arrow, Dielka quickly approached and asked.
“What is it? Where did you two go alone?”
Choi Kangjoong gathered Dielka and the S-rank Hunters and gave them the same explanation.
When Iselin told them that she had done it too and shared how it felt, everyone was clamoring for him to do it to them first.
Choi Kangjoong twisted each person’s source one by one and put them into the Apocalid World.
None of them suffered a mental attack.
“Wow. I’m overflowing with power. I feel like I could just slice through a demon duke.”
Han Junghwa swung her sword back and forth, looking delighted.
Dielka and Guild Master Kang Sungpyo felt similar.
Everyone was brimming with confidence.
The Allied Forces arrived at the scheduled battle area first.
Because the Bluestone Fortress was so large, its speed was slow, and it would take three days to arrive here.
During that time, the Allied Forces were assigned to their respective dimension ships and began training to coordinate their efforts.
Since their purpose was to support Choi Kangjoong, their direct involvement in combat would be minimal, but one never knew.
“They’ve come,” Iselin said.
Something bluish was approaching from afar.
Atop it, three demon dukes sat, looking down at the Allied Forces with arrogance.