The Demon Dimension Ships wrapped around the Mana Storm in a semicircular formation.
They wanted to surround it completely, but the counter-interference from the Apocalid and the Elves made it difficult. Even so, they occupied half of every direction around the Apocalid, giving them an extreme advantage.
If things continued like this, Duke Royal’s victory was a foregone conclusion.
It seemed that way even to the two Elves, two Dark Elves, and two Humans watching from the Divine Arrow.
Iselin, Arthil, Dielka, and Sierra remained calm because the main body, Choi Kangjoong, had not yet stepped forward. However, Choi Yunseo and Han Junghwa were stomping their feet in anxiety. Since they had never seen Choi Kangjoong fight personally, they didn’t know how strong his power truly was.
“What should we do? Aren’t they going to lose like this?”
“Should we go too?”
Choi Yunseo and Han Junghwa asked. Iselin shook her head. Since her orders as the Commander were absolute, Choi Yunseo and Han Junghwa didn’t ask further. Dielka might have normally blustered about their ignorance, but her gaze was fixed solely on Count Jende.
Choi Yunseo and Han Junghwa fidgeted. They were worried, but they were also itching for a fight. They wanted to charge into the middle of that battlefield and go wild. It was a wish that couldn’t be fulfilled because of the Apocalid World, though.
And even just by watching, there was much to gain.
They saw the techniques used by the numerous Demons as they fought the Apocalid—the secret techniques born from their desperate struggle for survival. They learned how to use and counter Magic in ways not easily seen elsewhere. A battlefield where Demons with extensive combat experience fought was truly a hall of learning.
That made it all the more regrettable. They felt like they could learn much more if they were fighting there themselves. But even if they were Choi Kangjoong’s sister and friend, they couldn’t deviate from the grand scheme of the operation.
— Wahhhhhhh!
A cheer echoed from below the Apocalid. They had succeeded in attacking the belly of a relatively weak Titan, inflicting a major wound. The Demon Dimension Ships swarmed toward that spot.
“You bastards!”
The Titan under concentrated attack was an 800-meter-long one. It was a creature that would evolve into a Super Titan if it grew just a little more. It was a Titan that absolutely could not be allowed to die, but it had taken several hits from Hell Cannons while trying to protect a vulnerable Light Titan.
Blood poured from below as pieces of chitin armor and flesh floated through the void. Choi Kangjoong, who had just finished charging his Source Energy, moved using Stealth Blink. He sprayed Life Essence onto the Titan’s belly as emergency treatment. The massive wound closed rapidly.
The Demons swarmed in, determined not to let the Titan escape. Choi Kangjoong elongated his Death Blade and slashed through the area in an X-shape. Demons were sliced apart in heaps. As expected of a technique imbued with the infamous Death Mana, they died if even a glancing blow touched them.
“It’s the Outer Mind!”
“That guy is mine!”
“Kill him!”
The Demons were blinded by the massive bounty. Demons of Ruin with powerful physical abilities, Immortal Demons draped in Death Aura, and Demons of Chaos firing Chaos Magic all lunged toward Choi Kangjoong.
Even though his vision was filled with Demons, his Psionic Combat Nerve Level 7 found the optimal path through the chaos. He split the Demon of Ruin directly in front of him in two. He threw the corpse toward the incoming Chaos Magic, using it as a shield to detonate the spells.
He used an Immortal Demon who was approaching confidently with its Death Aura as a shield to block a Hell Cannon.
“They’re hard to kill, so they make great shields,” he muttered.
“Arrrgh!”
The Death Knight caught in Choi Kangjoong’s grip struggled. Its limbs were gone and its back was shredded to ribbons; it wouldn’t survive even if he let it go now. Choi Kangjoong tossed it to a Walker and flew toward an approaching Dimension Ship.
*Click, clack.*
He transformed both arms into Mana Cannons, filled them with plenty of Death Mana, and fired at the side of the Dimension Ship.
*Boom! Boom!*
The condensed Death Mana pierced through the hull and exploded inside. The Dimension Ship was smashed by the physical impact. Then, death itself—as intense as lightning and as persistent as poison—attacked the Demons and Magic Beasts.
The Demons cut off the parts of their bodies where the Death Mana had burrowed in a desperate attempt to survive. However, once the Death Mana took hold, it wouldn’t disappear easily, leading the Demons to their graves.
Only two shots were enough to destroy a Dimension Ship and eliminate all the Demons and Magic Beasts inside. Choi Kangjoong repeated the process. While he couldn’t kill as many enemies in a short time as he could when deploying the Apocalid World, he could consistently kill more enemies this way.
*Boom! Boom!*
Lutal also rampaged on one side. With the two of them blocking two sides, the burden on the Titan Class was significantly reduced. They could also concentrate their dispersed firepower. The Demon Dimension Ships were still swarming in tiresomely, but the situation was much more stable than before.
“Pathetic fools.”
Watching from a distance, Duke Royal was so frustrated he felt like he might explode. He had brought over 1,000 Dimension Ships to ensure the recovery of the Gate Stone. Archduke Ventresca had also sent reinforcements, though how he found out was a mystery.
Yet, even after their ships had been reduced to fewer than 500, they were struggling to break through a single line of the Outer Mind, let alone recover the Gate Stone. Even if half of those 1,000 ships were manned by greedy, incompetent warriors, this was nonsensical. If they had pushed 500 Dimension Ships in, the Elves should have been tangled in a chaotic melee by now.
“It can’t be helped.”
Duke Royal decided to step in personally. Though he had lived as a researcher for a long time, he had once been an outstanding combat mage—good enough to become a Duke. To reach a high rank within the three legions of Destruction, Immortal, and Chaos, martial power was a requirement.
“Break through in one go. Everyone, stick close.”
Duke Royal’s Flagship and 100 Dimension Ships filled with his disciples and subordinates advanced. Other ships that had been waiting in the rear also gathered. It was normally taboo to cluster together when the opponent’s firepower was strong, but Duke Royal had a plan.
“They’re bunching up as they approach.”
“Ku-eong.”
Choi Kangjoong noticed about 400 Dimension Ships approaching. Receiving his thoughts, Kuongi turned its body and fired its Lightning Breath. A pure white beam of light shot out.
Choi Kangjoong grinned, expecting it to explode in the middle of the clustered Dimension Ships.
“Huh?”
A mirror-like surface appeared on the outskirts of the clustered ships. The breath reflected off it and flew back toward Choi Kangjoong. He quickly dodged. Kuongi, who was behind him, also moved its tail quickly to get out of the way.
*Kwoooom!*
The Lightning Breath, which grazed Kuongi’s tail, exploded. Kuongi had almost been seriously injured.
“It’s Great Magic.”
Just as Choi Kangjoong guessed, it was Duke Royal’s Mirror Gate that had reflected the Lightning Breath. He was originally a master of teleportation magic. That alone allowed him to gain the upper hand in one-on-one combat or contribute significantly to a war.
However, he had always been on the sidelines. No matter how hard he worked to open Gates, the credit for the greatest achievements always went to the Demons who killed the enemies directly. So, he developed a Great Magic that moved the enemy’s attacks instead of moving himself.
That was the Mirror Gate that had reflected the Lightning Breath. With that—the ultimate shield and spear—Duke Royal had risen to his current position.
Choi Kangjoong tried firing a Bio Torpedo as a test. The result was the same as the Lightning Breath. it flew back toward the Apocalid. The same happened when he sent Air Walkers.
‘Would it be the same for me?’
Choi Kangjoong went in person. The Mirror Gate didn’t activate, allowing him to pass through immediately.
“I just have to avoid long-range attacks.”
Duke Royal’s fleet was tightly packed, making it similar to the Dark City that had been the Elf Pirate’s base. It was much like a dimension with a complex internal structure. And in such places, the Apocalid had the advantage.
“They should have fought like that from the start.”
It would have been extremely dangerous if 200 to 300 ships had approached while protected by the Mirror Gate while the rest spread out to attack from outside the Mana Storm. However, due to their nature of being ruled by Demonic Energy, Demons who used brilliant strategies were rarer than an Apocalid’s Central Unit.
“Let’s go.”
All large Apocalids turned their bodies and advanced toward the clustered Dimension Ships. Explosive Wisps and Chaos Magic poured down. Choi Kangjoong deployed the Apocalid World to block them.
The Apocalids inside the Mana Storm and the clustered Dimension Ships protected by the Mirror Gate drew closer. Neither side slowed down. The Apocalid intended to ram them, and Duke Royal’s fleet had turned off their Mana Engines.
*Kuuuuuuong!*
The large Apocalids used their hard heads to smash into the Dimension Ships. The smaller ones opened their jaws wide and swallowed them whole. Although they had evolved to focus on firepower, Titans were biological Dimension Ships that were fundamentally good at ramming.
In particular, Kuongi, as the heaviest Apocalid, dug deep into the gaps between the clustered Dimension Ships. It was stuck so tightly that it couldn’t even move, which was exactly what Choi Kangjoong wanted.
*Crash! Crash! Crash!*
The magic fired by the Demons of Chaos was blocked by the hulls of the ships and couldn’t reach Kuongi. The fragments of the destroyed Dimension Ships piled up, naturally becoming cover for Kuongi.
The Walkers, who had been sleeping inside the large Apocalid’s belly, woke up. Since there was no place to stand, only 10,000 Walkers and 20,000 Air Walkers had been moving previously, but now the 180,000 Walkers that began their activity spread out in all directions.
“These bugs!”
“Mere Monsters!”
Demons of Ruin and Immortal Demons scoffed as they fought the Walkers. No matter how many there were, to them, Monsters were just Monsters. They thought they were insignificant creatures that would be swept away after a few swings of their weapons and a few spells.
“W-What is this?”
“Stop coming! I said stop coming!”
The Demons were surprised by two things. The first was that the Walkers’ chitin armor was much harder than expected. It took several times more effort to kill them than it did to kill a Monster of a similar size.
The second was that no matter how many they killed, more kept coming. Monsters usually got scared when their own kind were slaughtered. Even the IANT, a colonial species, felt fear and wouldn’t approach easily.
But the enemies before them approached like machines programmed with only one action.
*Crunch!*
A Walker leaped and bit into a Demon’s neck. Only when its head was separated from its body did the Demon look directly into the Walker’s black eyes and read the single will contained within.
Endless hunger.
A desire deeper and darker than even a Demon’s caused even the Demons to be stained with terror.
“Aaaaagh!”
An ear-piercing scream echoed. The Walkers, making only the sound of their footsteps, dragged the dismantled Demons to the Soil Pits.
**[You have earned Evolution Points]**
**[You have earned Evolution Points]**
**[You have earned Evolution Points]**
**[You have earned Evolution Points]**
**[You have earned Evolution Points]**
The speed at which nutrients and Evolution Points increased rose significantly. Because Duke Royal’s Great Magic was active, the Apocalid World was weakened, so having the Walkers move directly was the fastest method.
“What is that?”
Stealth Scouts wandering through the clustered Dimension Ships discovered strange Demons. They were focused on capturing the Apocalid alive rather than killing them.
“They must be the ones sent by Duke Akirif.”
Choi Kangjoong considered killing them all but decided to attach Central Stealth Scouts to those Demons instead. Since they would be going to the Akirif Duchy, he planned to use them to gain information about that place. Unaware of this, the greedy Demons captured a few Walkers and Scouts before retreating from the battlefield.
They were clearly visible to the Sky-eye Giant, but Choi Kangjoong intentionally let them go.
*Kwoooooom!*
A giant whirlpool erupted, swallowing and grinding everything in its path, whether it was an Apocalid or a Dimension Ship. It was a massive power, enough to make a whole section of the battlefield vanish. It was Duke Royal’s magic.
He had finally gotten off his heavy backside. Choi Kangjoong flew toward him. This was the Demon who might have been the culprit behind the Gate Incident that occurred five years ago. Even if he wasn’t, he was someone who would know important information.
And he was also one of the conditions for adding the Special Entity production function.
In a place filled with the wreckage of Dimension Ships, Choi Kangjoong came face-to-face with the furious Duke.
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