Numerous explosions erupted.
Small mushroom clouds billowed upward, and a scorching gale swept through the area. The Scrap Cannons and Orc Launchers, which had been nearly assembled, were blown to pieces.
“This should be enough,” Choi Kangjoong muttered.
The remaining forces could be easily dispatched with Mana Cannons and flying Apocalids. Bomber Giants, their bodies packed with explosives, took to the skies.
*Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!*
Whenever the bombs crafted by Metra fell, massive holes were torn into the dense ranks of Orcs. From the Orc Launchers in the rear, Orcs were launched into the air to board the Bomber Giants, but the result was the same as before.
“The Rifle Scouts are fighting well, too.”
When the Rifle Scouts fired Chitin Spikes from behind the Walkers, the Orcs collapsed in agony. Because the Walkers had a low profile, the Rifle Scouts could attack relentlessly without worrying about friendly fire.
The battle in the Dimensional Sea also gradually turned in favor of the Apocalids. The number of Orcs and dimensional ships dwindled, while the number of Apocalids only grew. Even when Orc dimensional ships latched onto a Titan and blasted it with Scrap Cannons, the Titan did not easily fall.
Its **[Psionic Chitin Armor]** was at Level 8, and thanks to the **[Evolution Code]** for **[Mineral Accumulation]**, the armor was rarely breached. Even if the Chitin Armor was damaged, it was quickly restored through Rapid Regeneration.
The interior of the Titan was even more of a hellscape. Having grown smarter through combat experience, the Titan opened and closed its biological pathways to lure Orcs toward the Apocalids. Whenever a skirmish broke out, it supported the smaller Apocalids by spraying Acid Fluid over the Orcs’ heads.
‘The battle in the Dimensional Sea will be an easy win. I can just watch from here.’
From this point on, it was a repetitive cycle of slashing with Scythe Claws, blasting with Mana Cannons, firing Bio Torpedoes, and dropping bombs. In truth, even if he had left everything to Kuongi, they would have won without any issues.
“Time to eat.”
Just as Choi Kangjoong was about to get out of bed, his phone rang. It was a call from Iselin.
“Hello?”
— Are you busy?
“I’m busy, but also not busy.”
— You are fighting Orcs, aren’t you?
Having briefly experienced the conscious connection of the Apocalids, Iselin immediately understood what he meant.
“I feel like I can leave them to it now, so I was about to go eat.”
— Actually, I have something to discuss with you. Would you like to eat together?
“I eat a lot, though.”
— Who do you think I am? I can certainly fill the stomach of an Outer.
“All right. I’ll be right there.”
Choi Kangjoong hung up and stepped through a Gate. Iselin and Arthil were waiting for him.
“Let’s head to the dining hall.”
“We aren’t eating here?”
“This isn’t exactly a pleasant place for a meal. I’ve minimized the staff in the dining hall for your comfort, so please don’t feel pressured.”
“Got it.”
Choi Kangjoong followed the two Elves to the dining hall. The hall was even more magnificent than he had imagined. Various plants grew along the windowed walls, while the opposite side was filled with beautiful sculptures and paintings. The space was over 1,000 square pyeong, large enough to run in. Yet, in that vast area, there was only a single table set for two.
“Don’t places like this usually have incredibly long tables?”
“If we had invited many guests, we would have. But since only the two of us are eating, having a table like that would be a waste of space. Please, have a seat.”
Choi Kangjoong and Iselin sat across from each other. Moments later, maids arrived, pushing elegant carts. A delicious aroma wafted from them. The maids opened the side doors of the carts and placed the food on the table. While Iselin’s bowl was a normal size, Kangjoong was served a massive basin filled with salad.
“I told the kitchen to pack it full. You can finish all this, right?”
“I could eat ten bowls of this.”
Choi Kangjoong began shoveling the salad into his mouth with a spoon.
“How does it taste?”
“It’s good. But is this really Elf food? It’s quite different from what I had at the restaurant before.”
“I told them to cook according to your tastes.”
“I see.”
The maids brought out food continuously. Choi Kangjoong shoveled it into his stomach as soon as it hit the table.
“So, what was it you wanted to discuss?”
“You are currently attacking the Akirif Duchy, correct?”
“Yeah.”
“We were hoping to participate in that battle. Would that be all right?”
“I’d welcome it. Even just having you fire Mana Ballistas from the rear would be a help.”
“In that case, could you perhaps lend us the back of that giant bio-dimensional ship? What was its name again?”
“Its original name is Maelstrom, but I call it Kuongi.”
“Kuongi?”
“It makes a ‘Ku-eong’ sound when it cries.”
Iselin burst into laughter.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because the name of such a large and powerful bio-dimensional ship is so cute.”
“It used to be much smaller and cuter.”
“Even then, it must have been over 100 meters long.”
“Compared to now, it was the size of a cell back then. But why the back of Kuongi?”
“We want to store supplies there. We also plan to install defensive weaponry.”
“I don’t mind, but will things even stay attached? Even if you nail things down, they’ll just be pushed out by its regeneration.”
“We can use suction or hook them onto the protrusions. You already installed Mana Missile launchers on it before.”
“True.”
Choi Kangjoong told her to do as she pleased while they attacked the demons. After finishing the meal, they went out to the garden. It was a beautiful place, meticulously decorated by Elves who had a natural talent for gardening. In the center of it all, they enjoyed the sunlight while drinking tea and juice.
“Wait a second.”
“What is it?”
“The Orcs have suddenly increased in number.”
A Gate opened 10 kilometers away from where the Dimensional Sea battle was taking place, and Orc dimensional ships surged out. It was a phenomenon caused by the sheer, collective desire of the Orcs to fight. If they approached, the Titan could be in danger. It was durable, but it wasn’t invincible.
“Another Gate opened.”
“That might be Dielka.”
“How would Dielka be here?”
“She said she wanted to fight together, so I lent her a Gate Stone.”
Sure enough, the ships emerging from the Gate were not Orcish. They were ships based on the Metra design but decorated with Dark Elf aesthetics. Dark Elves stood on the decks, and Dielka was chattering excitedly.
“It really is Dielka.”
“I’ve also prepared dimensional ships and knights.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“I simply wanted to offer even a little help.”
More Gates opened, and Orcs poured out. Even an Orc Dimension, filled with screaming Orcs, was drawing near.
“I’ll open a Gate for you. Where are the ships?”
“They are in Deraellan.”
Iselin provided the coordinates for Deraellan, and Choi Kangjoong opened a Gate. One side of the dimension where Deraellan was located served as a commercial harbor. It was the same place where a cargo ship sent by Choi Kangjoong’s father, Choi Jooyoung, had once been detained.
The opposite side was a military harbor. To ensure security, the harbor had been built by excavating the earth of the dimension, requiring one to go underground to enter it. Choi Kangjoong and Iselin took flight. Passing through the developed cityscape, they arrived at the entrance to the military harbor. Arthil was waiting there.
Choi Kangjoong felt as if he were dancing in the palm of Iselin’s hand.
“Are you ready for departure?”
“We can set sail immediately upon your command.”
“The Outer will open a Gate. Tell everyone to come out.”
“Yes, Princess.”
Dimensional ships emerged one after another from the underground military harbor. Choi Kangjoong opened the Gate wide, sending the ships toward the battlefield. Finally, the Divine Arrow emerged, and Choi Kangjoong and Iselin boarded it to join the movement.
The battle was already in full swing. The Dark Elf ships fired Mana Ballistas relentlessly at the newly arrived Orc dimensional ships. The Orc ships were split between attacking the Apocalids and the Dark Elves, only to be picked off one by one.
A Dark Elf flew up from one of the ships and approached the Divine Arrow.
“Princess, what is this? I thought you weren’t coming!”
“I said I was busy; I never said I wasn’t coming.”
“If I had known you were going to move directly through the Outer’s Gate, I wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble of traveling!”
Even with a Gate Stone, the distance was so great that it had taken a significant amount of time to reach this point. Dielka looked dumbfounded, while Iselin wore a faint smirk.
‘She’s teasing her again.’
Choi Kangjoong could more or less guess the situation. Iselin had likely told Dielka she was busy while lending her the Gate Stone, and Dielka had taken that to mean Iselin wouldn’t be coming at all.
“Dielka, you should focus on the enemies in front of you first.”
“I’m going to pay you back for this later!”
“If you can.”
Choi Kangjoong doubted Dielka would ever be able to trick Iselin.
*Vrooooom!*
The Orc Dimension collided with the dimension where the fierce battle was raging. It was on the opposite side from Kuralgal’s Orcs.
“We’re about to be surrounded. Can you fire at those first?”
“Of course.”
At Iselin’s command, the Elf dimensional ships moved into a side-by-side formation and opened fire with their Mana Ballistas. The Elves on the decks also fired their bows without pause. Orcs crossing into the dimension were mowed down in droves. Though the Elves’ firepower was formidable, there were so many Orcs that it was impossible to stop them all.
“I’ll have to stop them myself. I’ll send a unit that can use Telepathy over here, so let me know if you need anything through it.”
“Be careful.”
Choi Kangjoong donned his Chitin Armor and descended. He sent a Central Command Warrior to the Divine Arrow. Iselin looked at the creature with a strange expression. It was the very same individual that had requested healing during the battle at the 6th Dimension Fortress.
“I hope you won’t be asking for healing again.”
The Central Command Warrior didn’t even listen to her words; it simply focused on assisting the Sky-eye Giant’s calculations.
Falling toward the dimension, Choi Kangjoong manifested the Apocalid World. The Orcs charging toward the Apocalids clutched their heads and collapsed. Choi Kangjoong flew around like a giant eraser, deleting the Orcs. He killed the boss leading the Orc horde with his Death Blade.
“They really do have good synergy with Elves.”
Thanks to the Dark Elves’ support, the battle in the Dimensional Sea, which had been on the verge of turning disadvantageous, quickly swung back in their favor. After clearing the Orcs in the rear, the Elf dimensional ships began pounding Kuralgal’s Orcs, causing the Orc death toll to rise at double the previous rate.
While the Apocalids had their own long-range units like Rifle Scouts, they couldn’t match the accuracy and power of the Elves, who spent their entire lives mastering the bow. The combination of the Elves, a race of long-range dealers, and the Apocalids, a race of overwhelming numbers, had always been effective in the Dimension War. He had once gone on a thirty-game winning streak in two-on-two ranked battles while partnered with an Elf player.
Suddenly, a Gate opened to the right of the Apocalids on the ground, and Orcs surged out. In an instant, their numbers reached 1,000,000, and their equipment was peculiar. Many of them carried Goblins strapped with bombs or held large, cannon-like devices.
“Those are strange ones.”
Depending on their boss’s disposition, Orcs’ equipment and combat styles varied. While most preferred the mindless charging favored by Kuralgal’s Orcs, some Orcs evolved in unique directions.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
“It’s a fight!”
“Blow it all up!”
“There are lots of flying things too!”
“Shoot them down!”
The Orcs stopped their charge and threw Goblin bombs. The Goblins, curled into balls, unfolded their limbs as they flew through the air. Fabric stretched between their arms and legs allowed them to glide like flying squirrels. Once they reached a position above the Apocalids, they tucked their limbs back in and plummeted like arrows.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
They weren’t just Goblin bombs; they were missiles. Their power was greater than any Goblin bomb Choi Kangjoong had ever seen. These Goblin missiles rained down on the Cannon Giants. Their barrels snapped and their Chitin Armor was shredded, forcing them to retreat to the Soil Pits to recover by consuming nutrients.
“The Elves should be able to handle those well.”
When he requested Elves to intercept the Goblin missiles, Iselin descended into the dimension herself, accompanied by her knights.