Chapter 52: The Prisoner of Chaos

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

When Charigna announced this lavish reward, the pirates cheered and began searching for any hole they could squeeze into.

This brought tremendous stress to the Titans.

As stress chemicals spread throughout their bodies, the Central Units awakened.

-Eliminate them.

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

“A monster!”

“Kill that one first!”

“There are way more of us!”

The Dark Elf was not wrong.

Because they’d split their numbers, there were not many Apocalids.

On a single Titan’s back, there were about five hundred Walkers, two hundred Scout Class, and around fifty Warriors.

In contrast, the number of Dark Elves atop a Titan ranged from at least five thousand to over ten thousand—by numbers alone, the Apocalids should have been wiped out instantly.

No matter how monstrous, any creature capable of thought would normally flee in terror.

But Apocalids were biological terminals built solely for predation.

They knew nothing of the fear of death.

Regardless of numbers, they simply and silently obeyed the will of the Outer Mind.

What’s more, there was a massive difference in quality.

With Source Combat Muscle, Rapid Regeneration, Death Resistance, and a Species Evolution of level six, how many Dark Elves could a single Warrior face?

A pirate, half-mad from drugs and excitement, caught the black eyes of a Warrior and charged without hesitation against a monster far larger than himself.

Bang!

The pirate fired his Mana Gun from his left hand.

The bullet struck the Warrior in the forehead.

But it wasn’t that the Warrior couldn’t dodge.

For a Warrior with level six Psionic Combat Nerve, the pirate was far too slow.

He simply didn’t move, knowing the bullet would never pierce the Psionic Chitin Gauntlet—thus saving energy.

“Ha ha ha!”

The pirate laughed.

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

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

A scythe-claw, sharpened by a psionic blade, cleaved him cleanly in half at the waist.

Thud.

He spilled his innards and died cold, never even realizing his own death.

Slice.

The Warrior was ruthless.

Whether the prey melted away in Acid Fluid, died to an ally’s misfire, or was overcome by terror, the Warrior moved with perfect efficiency toward optimal predation, expending not a shred of emotion.

Against such Warriors—hard, swift, and cunning—the Dark Elves were completely helpless.

Occasionally, a Warrior would take a critical hit.

Sometimes it was a disposable Mana Ballista bolt; other times, a crashing Dimension Ship.

A handful of Dark Elves managed to destroy a Warrior’s head or heart and rejoiced in their success.

Killing even a single such ruthless and powerful monster was a tremendous feat for them.

But that joy was fleeting.

A fully restored Warrior would rise to its feet.

With Death Resistance holding on and Rapid Regeneration healing its wounds, it returned to the fight.

At that point, not even the drugs affecting the Dark Elves’ minds could keep out fear.

“Aaahhh!”

“Save me!”

“That bastard hit me more than you!”

Slash, slash, slash.

The Warrior understood every word they said, but without emotion, it slaughtered the Dark Elves.

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

“On average, a single Warrior kills about a thousand Dark Elves.”

Choi Kangjoong, using the brain of an Apocalid, could easily count and remember the number of Dark Elves each Warrior killed.

The lowest was five hundred; the highest, over two thousand.

Those slain Dark Elves turned into nutrients and evolution points, giving birth to new Apocalids.

“If nothing unexpected happens, we should win smoothly like this.”

Perhaps he’d jinxed it.

From Dark City, a Dimension Ship emerged.

It was different from the Pirate Ships—an entirely different kind.

“Demons?”

It was a reinforcement dispatched by Duke Royal.

The ship drew closer, shut down its Mana Engine, and sealed its nozzles.

This 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 Ship unleashed its Hell Cannon.

The wisp shells, wildly unpredictable, had atrocious accuracy—but the destructive power was terrifying.

“Kuong.”

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

Many Scouts and Warriors fell as well.

The Demons ascended to the deck.

It was Count Chakor and his Mage Battalion.

When they began chanting spells, an enormous concentration of mana and demonic energy gathered.

“This doesn’t feel good,” Choi Kangjoong muttered.

Soon, the great spell of Chaos Magic was complete.

“Chaos Ray.”

Count Chakor thrust out his staff.

An unstable sphere extended forth, releasing a blackish-red beam.

A grand spell powerful enough to scar even the dimension itself, it swept indiscriminately through Pirate Ships and Apocalids alike.

“My Light Titan!”

Two Light Titans on the outskirts of the Apocalid formation were struck by the Chaos Ray.

One only lost its tail, triggering Rapid Regeneration.

The unlucky one was split in two—though Death Resistance activated, it died regardless.

It was the first loss of a Titan Class Apocalid.

“Should I send in the Light Titan and Fighter Giant?”

Even if he did, there were too many enemies—and with Count Chakor, it would be futile.

“I’ll have to go myself.”

Choi Kangjoong stood and took off his clothes, but just then, a Gate opened near Count Chakor’s fleet.

“An enemy?”

The Dimension Ship that emerged from the Gate was pure white, elegant and beautiful.

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

It had come all this way with the Gate Stone he had given her.

“So it’s Iselin.”

Though battered and stripped of paint from her time in the Kraken Sea, the overall appearance was instantly recognizable.

Alongside Divine Arrow, a dozen more Dimension Ships crossed the Gate and attacked Count Chakor’s fleet.

Mana Ballistae fired upon the Demon’s Dimension Ships.

Arrows loosed by Iselin and Dielka flew incredibly far, piercing several ships at once.

As expected of High Elves and High Dark Elves.

Count Chakor was forced to switch targets from Apocalid to Elves.

“Getting home will be harder after this. But I still have to go.”

Choi Kangjoong opened a Gate and moved onto the battlefield.

The instant he appeared, the Apocalid wave surged with intensity.

Some Dark Elves were driven mad or even stabbed their own allies under the influence.

The monsters aboard the Demons’ ships also went berserk.

Rebellions broke out, and some ships exploded on their own.

“I can leave the Apocalids alone. But that’s the real problem.”

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

If that went off, another Titan Class Apocalid might die, or an Elf’s Dimension Ship might sink.

“That can’t happen.”

Choi Kangjoong released the Space Severance of the Origin.

The ability that separated him from the outer space and concealed his presence was turned off—his presence now spread far and wide.

Count Chakor jerked his head in alarm.

“The Outer Mind has appeared. Ignore that one. We’ll use the Gate Stone and return to the Demon Realm.”

That was Count Chakor’s real objective all along.

Just as Charigna had planned to betray him, Count Chakor never intended to fully cooperate.

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

An unstable sphere shot forth a beam.

Spirits of life and death raised shields.

A barrier of higher mana enveloped the entire Elf fleet.

Crack!

Chaos Ray pierced Dielka’s shield.

As expected, Chaos Ray cast as a great spell broke through.

However, because it destroyed a shield made of Death Mana—its natural enemy—much of its power was lost.

Thoom!

Chaos Ray met Iselin’s shield.

Iselin’s barrier rippled softly, and Chaos Ray vanished.

The Ray had weakened, and Life Mana was fundamentally specialized for growth, recovery, and defense.

“Start up the Mana Engine! Get in close and bombard them with Hell Cannon! If we destroy everything, we’ll find the Gate Stone!”

The Demons poured mana into the Mana Engine, bringing it to life.

They charged at full throttle, and Count Chakor’s Dimension Ship surged forward.

Demons fired spells from the deck, and monsters leapt across to board the Elves’ ships.

The Elves calmly intercepted spells and monsters with arrows.

Having returned from the Kraken Sea, these veteran Knights were not rattled by this level of chaos.

Dielka and the Dark Elves, having lived fiercely in dangerous places, felt more exhilaration than fear.

“I wonder how long you can keep those calm faces.”

The corners of Count Chakor’s mouth curled in anticipation.

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

Even with Iselin and Dielka, the difference in forces gave Count Chakor a clear advantage.

BOOM!

The deck where Count Chakor stood shook violently.

He clutched the railing to keep from falling and looked down.

For such a tremor to reach here, it had to be a direct hit by magic or cannon fire.

Sure enough, a gaping hole was blown in the ship’s side.

“What in the world hit us?”

There was nothing in that direction capable of such an attack.

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

The attacker was, of course, Choi Kangjoong.

Using the Booster’s psionic skill, Hyper Charge, he had pierced straight through the Dimension Ship.

Now standing opposite Count Chakor, Choi Kangjoong unleashed the Apocalid Field.

VROOOOOOOM!

The immense hunger of the hive mind crushed the Demons’ psyches.

For Demons, who were half-spirit beings, mental anguish was physical torment.

Their screams never ceased, and the entire Dimension Ship trembled.

Their souls began to collapse.

Some Demons, unable to endure the agony, smashed their heads into the wall and died.

Others detonated themselves with Chaos Magic.

The weaker-minded monsters had long since been wiped out.

“Aaaagh!”

Count Chakor clutched his head in agony.

Choi Kangjoong seized him and threw him aboard Divine Arrow.

Elf Knights swooped in, severed his limbs, and tightly bound him with a magic-sealing device.

The Demon who had come to steal the Gate Stone was now a prisoner in the Elves’ dungeon.

Choi Kangjoong looked back.

There were still plenty of enemies.

“About two hundred left, I’d say.”

He shut off the Apocalid Field.

It was a powerful area-wide ability, but it took time to kill a Demon.

If he neutralized one to five ships at a time with Apocalid Field, how long would it take to wipe out so many Dimension Ships?

Destroying them physically would be faster.

Click, click.

Both of Choi Kangjoong’s arms transformed into Mana Cannons.

They were small for dealing with Dimension Ships, but he was the Outer Mind.

He had Source Energy.

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

He took aim at the Dimension Ship beside Count Chakor’s, and fired.

BOOM!

The Mana Shell punched through the ship’s armor and exploded inside.

The ship swelled up like a balloon, then shattered into fragments.

Thanks to the Death Mana specialized for offense, its penetration and destructive power had increased.

With normal magic, you’d need a variety of enhancements to achieve that kind of piercing and explosive power.

But Death Mana accomplished it all in a single shot.

That’s why it was called high-grade mana.

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

Terrified Demons targeted Choi Kangjoong.

Chaos Magic surged, and wisps fired from Hell Cannons exploded relentlessly.

Mana condensed, heat erupted, and a local Mana Storm erupted.

But Choi Kangjoong was no longer there.

Using Stealth Blink, he teleported and fired the Mana Cannon into the flank of another Dimension Ship.

BOOM!

Another Stealth Blink, then aim and fire.

Without fail, the Dimension Ship was destroyed.

“A monster!”

“Wh-where is he?! Where?!”

Panicked Demons attacked anything that moved.

A scene unfolded where they hurled spells and Hell Cannon shots at each other.

Choi Kangjoong simply finished off any ship that had luckily avoided being targeted.

“That’s enough for here.”

Kuongi’s back was clear now.

Among Lutal, Central Cannon Giant, and Central Command Giant, which one could withstand him?

The Dark Elves riding other Titans were nothing but prey waiting in line for the digestion pit.

Still, the battle was just beginning.

These were the lowest-ranked pirates, mere meat shields.

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

WHOOOOM.

The enormous Dimension Ship, the city-sized Dark City, was approaching.

All the fighting until now had been nothing but a prelude.