The Spirit of Battle ran forward and leaped. It soared high as if to exit into the Dimensional Sea, then dropped.
KWAH!
A mound of dirt shot into the air. The tunnels dug beneath collapsed completely, burying Gratis alive. Some Walkers were also buried, but they had Wave Radar and could orient themselves to escape. The Spirit of Battle, however, floated serenely, unaffected. Even though it had a physical form, its essence as a spirit made this possible.
The center of the Spirit of Battle’s chest opened. A rotating sphere inside fired a beam of light. The silver ray gouged the ground, creating a massive canyon. It was obvious what had happened to the demons, Magic Beasts, Gratis, the Dark Elves, and the Apocalids that had been there.
“Fire a Breath.”
One Super Titan turned its head and opened its mouth.
FLASH!
A pure white Breath struck down like lightning. The Spirit of Battle turned the staff in its right hand into a sword and slashed the air. The space split with a loud crack, and the Breath was also divided in two, passing by the Spirit of Battle.
“It’s more like a God of Battle than a Spirit of Battle.”
A being with powerful ranged attacks, yet swift beyond its size. In some places, it was actually worshipped as a god.
The Spirit of Battle leaped lightly and landed among the Apocalids. It was trying to block the Super Titan’s Breath. Choi Kangjoong stopped firing the Breath. Not because the Apocalids might die, but because there was a more efficient entity to deal with that thing.
-Enemy frontline strongest individual. Rapid elimination increases combat efficiency.
The Central Command Giant called the Battle Titans. The three of them rushed over, shaking the ground, and surrounded the Spirit of Battle. Any more than that would cause the Scythe Claws to interfere with each other. A Battle Titan swung its Scythe Claw. Under the Central Command Giant’s control, the attack formed by six Scythe Claws meshed together as precisely as gears.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The Spirit of Battle blocked all the Scythe Claws without difficulty. And with only three sword strokes. The Scythe Claws of the Battle Titans tangled, and one Battle Titan even stumbled from the Spirit’s kick. A beam shot toward that Battle Titan.
KWAH!
The left middle leg of the Battle Titan was blown off. If another Battle Titan hadn’t shoved the Spirit of Battle, its torso would have been pierced. The Spirit shoved the Battle Titan it clung to, shortened its sword, and slashed the chest.
FWOOSH!
The Chitin Gauntlet split, and blood spurted high. The Spirit of Battle’s outer shell, drenched in Apocalid blood, gleamed. Shimmering with heat haze, it looked truly alive. A sight that would instill fear and helplessness.
But to Choi Kangjoong, it looked like a huge mass that would give him lots of Evolution Points.
-Brutal Lord has entered combat. Transferring command authority.
The Central Command Giant stepped back slightly. The Lutals passed it and drove their Death Blades into the Spirit of Battle’s shoulders.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
Sparks erupted from the punctured holes. This was a phenomenon caused by pushing out the Death Mana. The damaged parts also quickly recovered. But the impact wasn’t negligible. The Spirit of Battle’s power had diminished somewhat.
“I’ll leave this to the Lutals.”
Choi Kangjoong checked the status of the Expedition Fleet. The fleet was already engaged in battle. As soon as Silvius appeared, they reacted quickly and weren’t unilaterally overwhelmed. Moreover, Silvius had intended to encircle the Expedition Fleet. But because the Apocalids pushed the front line further, the Expedition Fleet instead received support from the Apocalids positioned in that direction.
“You lot have prepared a lot.”
Silvius sneered, clearly displeased. She was always in the position of attacking unilaterally, but today was not going well. The Dark Elves that infiltrated the rear destroyed a few cannons and were annihilated. The Arrowheads did nothing but get hit by Chitin Spikes and fall. She had deployed the Spirit of Battle, but it hadn’t performed yet.
BOOM!
A tremendous vibration occurred.
The fact that even this place at the center of the Dimensional Ship shook meant something serious had happened. Silvius grabbed her sword and went out onto the deck.
A massive Bio-Dimensional Ship was biting the flank of the flagship. Even though the Spirit of Battle was on its back, tearing it apart, it didn’t let go.
“This is interesting. Do you think you can do anything to me if I get close?”
Silvius pointed at the Expedition Fleet. All the Dark Elf Dimensional Ships accelerated.
The Expedition Fleet was in their path. Silvius was an eccentric Dark Elf who preferred close-quarters combat.
Having a fast Dimensional Ship wasn’t for hit-and-run tactics. It was to get closer to the enemy faster.
That was why her flagship boasted acceleration and top speed comparable to a small Dimensional Ship.
KWAH!
The Dark Eater fired a Breath.
The recoil separated it from the flagship. No matter how Hive Class it was, it couldn’t withstand the Spirit of Battle and attacks from all directions while almost stationary.
Blood and flesh from the Dark Eater trailed long across the Dimensional Sea, marking its path. The Dark Eater used Rapid Mobility to shake off the Spirit of Battle on its back and escape from Silvius’s fleet.
The Dark Elf Dimensional Ships, numbering 2,000, clustered together and advanced through the Dimensional Sea.
They ignored the ships sinking from the attacks of the Apocalids and the Expedition Fleet.
“We’re going to be caught up.”
The Expedition Fleet was also moving. They were trying to lure Silvius’s fleet into a good position for the Apocalids to fire, but the distance was closing.
“Prepare for hand-to-hand combat.”
At Iselin’s command, the Barents Beastmen, who had been gloomy about being called bug-eaters, rejoiced. Metras stood by everywhere for emergency repairs on the Dimensional Ships. Soon the distance between the two fleets became close enough for arrows to be exchanged. Elves and Dark Elves stood on the decks and fired aimed shots, while magic flew back and forth.
Among them, Choi Yunseo’s magic stood out.
As an A-class Flame Mage close to S-class, a single spell sank a Dimensional Ship.
The front was protected by Barents Beastmen carrying large, thick shields, allowing her to focus on attacking.
THWACK!
At the sound like a drum being struck, Choi Yunseo checked the Barents Beastman in front of her. An arrow was embedded deep in his shoulder.
“Hey! Go to the back and get healed!”
“It’s fine. This is nothing.”
The Barents Beastman grabbed the arrow and put strength into it. It broke inside, and only the shaft came out.
“If you move with that inside, your muscles will tear more, making it harder to heal.”
“Just push and it comes out!”
The Barents Beastman tensed his shoulder. Blood shot from the wound, and the arrowhead slowly pushed out. Choi Yunseo was both exasperated and relieved.
“Still, go get treated. That way you can fight longer.”
“Treated to fight longer? That’s right!”
The Barents Beastman asked another to take his place and moved to the rear. Even so, the Dark Elf Dimensional Ships drew closer.
Suddenly, the Dimensional Ship Choi Yunseo was on changed direction. The ship to its right moved in the opposite direction. Choi Yunseo turned her head at a presence she felt behind her.
Ku-eong was passing through the middle of the Expedition Fleet.
As Ku-eong came closer, Choi Yunseo waved. Choi Kangjoong responded by firing a Mana Cannon. Choi Yunseo frowned, covering her ears.
The Super Titans also passed between the Expedition Fleet ships. Ku-eong and the Super Titans, protected by the Expedition Fleet, charged at Silvius’s fleet.
The Dark Eater descended from a vertical direction, lessening Ku-eong’s burden.
The massive Apocalids didn’t slow down and rammed directly into the Dark Elf Dimensional Ships. They opened their mouths wide and swallowed the smaller ones in a single gulp.
Ku-eong latched onto Silvius’s flagship, biting it.
The attacks pouring in from all sides were endured with the regeneration of the Great Mana Storm.
The Apocalid inside Ku-eong moved to Silvius’s flagship.
This reduced the impact force of Silvius’s fleet, but it couldn’t stop all the Dimensional Ships. About half passed through and reached the Expedition Fleet.
The Dimensional Ships of both fleets became entangled, and hand-to-hand combat erupted everywhere.
Silvius boarded the Life Spirit where Iselin was.
She had descended from her flagship and transferred to a faster Dimensional Ship to get there. Of course, she was not alone.
Her personally trained elite forces and the Spirit of Battle came with her. Akila and Han Junghwa, who were on other Dimensional Ships, urgently moved to the Life Spirit. Choi Kangjoong also quickly flew over.
A Gate Interference Magic was deployed over the Expedition Fleet, so he didn’t use a Gate. He could force one open, but if that weakened the Gate Interference Magic, Silvius might escape.
“I should call the Lutals too.”
Fighting Silvius without the Lutals seemed like it would be too costly. The Spirit of Battle on the Dimensional Sea could just be overwhelmed with numbers.
“Because I can spawn more Apocalids.”
On the other hand, Iselin, Dielka, and Choi Yunseo would be gone forever if they died once. Choi Kangjoong summoned the Lutals and flew to the Life Spirit’s deck.
“Captain!”
Akila was bleeding all over. Han Junghwa’s condition was not much better.
“You finally grace us with your presence.”
Silvius pointed her sword at Choi Kangjoong. The next moment, without warning, they both charged.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The clashing of swords sounded like Dimensional Ships colliding.
“I wondered where the confidence came from. You’ve gotten a bit stronger than before.”
“I did an upgrade or two.”
There were three Species Evolutions that cost 1 billion Evolution Points each. There was no way he could be the same as before. Silvius felt herself being pushed back little by little. Her wounds increased, and cracks appeared in her sword. This was only natural, since Choi Kangjoong had become stronger by spending 3 billion Evolution Points.
“If it’s too much, you can surrender anytime. I’ll accept.”
Choi Kangjoong said. Silvius’s face hardened, and she shouted something to the Spirit of Battle. The Spirit of Battle approached her and shrank drastically. Silvius leaped up and entered inside it.
“I didn’t want to go this far.”
Silvius’s soul connected with the Spirit of Battle. The Spirit of Battle was something she had created, but as a collection of thoughts, her very soul could become tainted by the spirit. If that happened, the self called Silvius would vanish and be reborn as the Spirit of Battle. There was that risk, but the advantage was clear. She could use everything of the Spirit of Battle as her own, becoming several times stronger.
“I will kill you all.”
Silvius said. Having grown to 10 meters tall, she looked like a giant in silver armor. Silvius raised her sword and brought it down.
KWAH!
A deep crack formed in the Life Spirit. Three nearby Dimensional Ships were split in half.
“Good thing I brought the Lutals.”
“Kruk.”
The Lutals agreed and approached Iselin. Iselin read their thoughts and spread Life Mana. The Lutals, healed of the wounds they had sustained fighting the Spirit of Battle, flew toward the giant Silvius.