Chapter 51: The Opening Skirmish

“The Queen has declared that whoever slays the largest monster will be rewarded with one hundred Pirate Ships!”

As Charigna announced the grand prize, the pirates cheered and scoured for any hole to get inside.

This was a severe stress for the Titan.

When stress substances spread through its body, the Central Units rose up.

-Eliminate them.

The Central Unit woke up a small Apocalid, which slipped out through a hole in its side and climbed up onto its back.

“Monster!”

“Kill that one first!”

“There’s way more of us!”

The Dark Elf’s words were not wrong.

Since they had divided up the boarding, the number of Apocalids was small.

On a single Titan’s back, there were about 500 Walkers, 200 Scouts, and 50 Warriors.

As for Dark Elves on the Titan’s back, there were at least 5,000, sometimes over 10,000. By numbers alone, the Apocalids should have been wiped out quickly.

No matter how monstrous, if you had a mind, the normal reaction would be to flee in terror.

But Apocalids were biological terminals built for consumption.

They knew no fear of death.

Regardless of numbers, they silently followed the will of the Outer Mind.

More than that, the difference in quality was overwhelming.

With Combat Muscle of the Source, Rapid Regeneration, Death Resistance, and a Warrior at Stage 6 of Species Evolution—how many Dark Elves could a single Warrior handle alone?

A pirate appeared reflected in the Warrior’s black eyes.

Half-crazed by drugs and excitement, he charged the massive creature without hesitation.

Bang!

The pirate fired his Mana Gun with his left hand.

The bullet struck the Warrior’s forehead.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t dodge.

To a Warrior with Psionic Combat Nerve at Stage 6, the pirate was far too slow.

He simply knew the bullet wouldn’t penetrate the Psionic Chitin Gauntlet, so he didn’t waste nutrients moving.

“Kehaha!”

The pirate laughed.

It was the pleasure secreted by his drug-soaked brain.

He swung his sword, but his next move never came.

A scythe claw, wreathed in a Psionic blade, sliced his waist in two.

Thud.

Spilling his innards, the pirate cooled rapidly, unable even to recognize his own death.

Slice.

The Warrior remained cold.

Whether the prey melted in acid, died from friendly fire, or succumbed to terror, he moved with zero emotional waste, following the optimal path for consumption.

Against a Warrior—so tough, fast, and cunning—the Dark Elves were helpless.

Occasionally, a Warrior would be critically injured.

Usually by a disposable Mana Ballista or being pinned beneath a crashed Dimension Ship.

The Dark Elves who managed to destroy a Warrior’s head or heart rejoiced.

Killing even one such ruthless and powerful monster was a great achievement for them.

But the joy was short-lived.

The recovered Warrior stood up again.

He had endured with Death Resistance and healed with Rapid Regeneration.

At that point, not even the drugs acting on the Dark Elf’s brain could stop the fear.

“Hiiiaaagh!”

“Save me!”

“That bastard hit me more than he hit you!”

Slice, slice, slice.

The Warrior, understanding their words, impassively butchered the Dark Elves.

The screams of the prey had no effect on the Warrior’s thoughts or actions.

“A single Warrior slaughters an average of a thousand Dark Elves.”

Choi Kangjoong, using the Apocalid’s brain, could easily count and remember how many Dark Elves each Warrior had slain.

The least killed was 500, the most over 2,000.

The Dark Elves who died thus became nutrients and evolution points, giving birth to new Apocalids.

“If nothing unexpected happens, we should win without issue.”

Perhaps he jinxed it.

From Dark City, a Dimension Ship emerged.

It was a Dimension Ship, but different from a Pirate Ship.

“Demons?”

It was the reinforcements sent by Duke Royal.

As they closed the distance, they shut down their Mana Engine and blocked the nozzles.

That way, even if caught in a Mana Storm, the Mana Engine would not be damaged.

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

The Demon’s Dimension Ships unleashed a barrage from their Hell Cannons.

Because the Wisps modified into shells behaved unpredictably, accuracy was terrible, but the firepower was monstrous.

“Kuong.”

Blood flowed from Kuongi’s back after dozens of Hell Cannon hits.

They lost quite a few Scouts and Warriors as well.

The Demons climbed onto the deck.

Count Chakor and the Mage Battalion appeared.

As they chanted, enormous mana and demonic energy gathered.

“This doesn’t feel good.”

Choi Kangjoong muttered.

A moment later, a grand spell of Chaos Magic was completed.

“Chaos Ray.”

Count Chakor thrust out his staff.

An unstable orb extended forth, unleashing a black-red beam.

It was a grand spell that would leave a scar on even a dimension, tearing through Pirate Ships and Apocalids indiscriminately.

“My Light Titan!”

Two Light Titans positioned at the edge of the Apocalid formation were hit by the Chaos Ray.

One only lost its tail, activating Rapid Regeneration.

The unlucky one was split in two—Death Resistance activated, but it still died.

It was the first loss of a Titan Class Apocalid.

“Should I send out the Light Titans and Fighter Giants?”

Even if he did, there were too many enemies, and with Count Chakor present, it was pointless.

“I’ll have to go myself.”

Choi Kangjoong stood and removed his clothes, when suddenly, a Gate opened near Count Chakor’s fleet.

“Is it an enemy?”

The Dimension Ship emerging from the Gate was pure white, with an elegant, beautiful form.

It was Divine Arrow, the Dimension Ship that had carried Iselin to the heart of the Kraken Sea.

She had arrived here using the Gate Stone given by Choi Kangjoong.

“So it’s Iselin.”

Though battered and with faded paint from the Kraken Sea, the overall shape was so familiar he recognized it at once.

A dozen or so Dimension Ships crossed the Gate with Divine Arrow and attacked Count Chakor’s fleet.

Mana Ballistas fired, hammering the Demon’s Dimension Ships.

Arrows from Iselin and Dielka soared incredible distances, piercing through several Dimension Ships.

As expected of High Elves and High Dark Elves.

Count Chakor had no choice but to shift his target from the Apocalids to the Elves.

“Going home will be harder after this, but I have to.”

Choi Kangjoong opened a Gate and stepped onto the battlefield.

As he appeared, the Apocalid pulse instantly intensified.

Some Dark Elves, affected, went mad or stabbed their own comrades.

The monsters riding with the Demons also went berserk.

A rebellion broke out and some exploded of their own accord.

“The Apocalids will be fine left alone. That’s the real problem.”

Count Chakor and the Mage Battalion were preparing another grand spell.

If that was unleashed, another Titan Class Apocalid might die, or an Elf Dimension Ship might be sunk.

“I can’t let that happen.”

Choi Kangjoong released the spatial severance of the Source.

The ability that separated him from the external space and concealed his presence was deactivated, and his presence radiated everywhere.

Count Chakor whipped his head around.

“The Outer Mind has appeared. Ignore it. We’re taking the Gate Stone and returning to the Demon Realm.”

That was Count Chakor’s true goal all along.

Just as Charigna had intended to betray from the start, he had never meant to fully cooperate.

Count Chakor cast Chaos Ray toward Divine Arrow, where Iselin was.

A beam stretched from the unstable orb.

The Life Spirit and Death Spirit deployed their shields.

A high-mana barrier enveloped the front of the Elf fleet.

Crackle!

The Chaos Ray pierced Dielka’s shield.

As expected of a Chaos Ray unleashed by a grand spell.

However, even if it destroyed the shield of Death Mana—its natural opposite—a large portion of its force was dissipated.

Boom!

Chaos Ray met Iselin’s shield.

Iselin’s shield rippled softly, and the Chaos Ray vanished.

Not only was the Chaos Ray weakened, but Life Mana was inherently specialized for growth, recovery, and defense.

“Fire up the Mana Engine! Get close and unleash the Hell Cannons! Once everything’s destroyed, we’ll find out where the Gate Stone is!”

The Demons poured mana into the Mana Engine and started it up.

They charged forward at full speed, with Count Chakor’s Dimension Ship at the head.

The Demons fired spells from the deck, and monsters leapt out, trying to board the Elf Dimension Ships.

The Elves calmly intercepted spells and monsters with their arrows.

With veteran Knights who had braved the Kraken Sea at their core, they weren’t rattled by this level of chaos.

Dielka and the Dark Elves, hardened by living rough in dangerous places, felt more excitement than fear.

“I wonder how long those relaxed faces will last.”

Count Chakor’s lips curled in anticipation.

Throwing Elves, a race far removed from chaos, into confusion and terror was one of the Chaos Demons’ favorite amusements.

Even with Iselin and Dielka present, the difference in forces meant Count Chakor held a great advantage.

Boom!

The deck beneath Count Chakor shook violently.

He grabbed the railing to avoid falling and looked below.

For such tremors to reach here, it must have been a direct hit by magic or cannon.

Sure enough, there was a gaping hole in the side of the Dimension Ship.

“What hit us?”

From this direction, there shouldn’t have been anything with that kind of firepower.

The giant creatures were fighting the pirates, and the Elves were in front.

The one who had attacked the Dimension Ship was, of course, Choi Kangjoong.

He had pierced the Dimension Ship with Hyper Charge, a Psionic booster technique.

Now on the opposite side from Count Chakor, Choi Kangjoong responded by unleashing the Apocalid Field.

Vwoooom!

The hunger of the massive hive mind crushed the Demons’ minds.

For Demons, half spirit to begin with, mental pain was physical pain.

Screams rang out, making the entire Dimension Ship hum.

Souls began to shatter.

One Demon, unable to endure, smashed his head against the wall and died.

Others exploded themselves with Chaos Magic.

The weaker monsters had already been annihilated.

“Kraaaagh!”

Count Chakor clutched his head in agony.

Choi Kangjoong grabbed him and hurled him onto Divine Arrow.

Elf Knights flew over, severed his limbs, and bound him tightly with a magic seal.

The Demon who had come to steal the Gate Stone ended up imprisoned by the Elves.

Choi Kangjoong looked back.

There were still many enemies left.

“About two hundred, I’d say.”

He deactivated the Apocalid Field.

It was a powerful area attack, but it took time to kill Demons with it.

If he neutralized Dimension Ships, one to five at a time, with Apocalid Field, how long would it take to annihilate all of them?

It was faster to destroy them physically.

Click, click.

Choi Kangjoong’s arms transformed into Mana Cannons.

They were small, and might be insufficient against Dimension Ships, but he was the Outer Mind.

He had Source Energy.

He loaded the Mana Shells, stuffing them full of Death Mana.

He aimed at the Dimension Ship next to the one Count Chakor had been on and fired.

Boom!

The Mana Shell penetrated the ship’s armor and exploded.

The Dimension Ship swelled like a balloon, then shattered into pieces.

Thanks to Death Mana’s specialization for attack, both penetration and destructive power increased.

With magic, you’d have to process it in various ways—enhance penetration, boost explosive force, and so on—for this kind of effect.

Death Mana accomplished all of it at once.

No wonder it was considered higher mana.

“It’s the Outer Mind! Kill that one first!”

The terrified Demons targeted Choi Kangjoong.

Chaos Magic raged, Wisps from Hell Cannons exploded relentlessly.

Mana gathered, heat surged, and a localized Mana Storm formed.

But Choi Kangjoong was no longer there.

He moved with Stealth Blink and fired a Mana Cannon at the side of a Dimension Ship.

Boom!

Again, he used Stealth Blink, aimed, and fired.

As expected, the Dimension Ship was destroyed.

“It’s a monster!”

“U-aaaah!”

“Where is it? Where is it?!”

In a panic, the Demons attacked anything they could see.

A scene unfolded where they hurled magic and Hell Cannon shots at one another.

Choi Kangjoong just had to finish off the Dimension Ships that had avoided being targeted.

“It’s mostly cleaned up here.”

Kuongi’s back was clear.

Lutal, the Central Cannon Giant, and the Central Command Giant—what could endure against the three of them?

The Dark Elves on the other Titans’ backs were no more than a queue waiting to go into the stomach.

Yet, the battle was only just beginning.

These were the lowest tier of pirates, mere meat shields.

Their purpose was to wear down the enemy’s strength and gauge their power.

Vwooooom.

The massive Dimension Ship, Dark City—a city as large as a dimension itself—was approaching.

Everything so far had been no more than the opening skirmish.