Black Dragon Tmus found it ridiculous.
His great magic, Black Space, was impossible to destroy physically.
If one swung a hammer through the air, would the gas be damaged? Black Space was the same.
To dismantle it, one needed a specific method, not just crashing a massive object into it.
“He dares to enter, relying on a mere dimension. As expected, a Monster’s intelligence is below par.”
In battles against other races or dragons, there had been many times when meteors were hurled or dimensions were slammed into Black Space. However, Black Space had never once been destroyed.
“Go ahead and run wild. This place shall be your end.”
Tmus sent out his Guardians. Most of them were Dark Elves—exceptional individuals whom he had personally raised. they had become the ruling class, leading the other Dark Elves and handling the tedious chores that Tmus found bothersome.
The Dark Elves took off on Dimension Ships and flying Monsters. Even though they were facing an unknown monstrosity, they felt no anxiety.
Within Black Space, they were invincible, and their Dragon was a god.
They also far outnumbered the enemy, with a force of one million—roughly three or four times the enemy’s size. It was a battle they could not lose.
“Lord Tmus said he would grant a special reward to the one who achieves the greatest merit!”
“That reward is mine!”
“Skwaaaaark!”
As they approached, the Apocalids who had been slumbering within the Apocalyde Dimension awakened.
Blood flowed faster, and Source Energy saturated their muscles to prepare for energy consumption. Mana concentration spiked, and combat hormones were secreted, sharpening their focus.
“Grrr.”
Lutal held back the Apocalids who were ready to pounce based on instinct alone.
Among the Apocalids, Lutal was the most cunning and possessed the highest combat intelligence. Lutal controlled the instinct-driven Apocalids, forcing them to fight on a favorable battlefield.
To make the overconfident enemies even more careless, Lutal hid the Apocalids’ sharp killing intent.
He deliberately lowered the concentration of Apocalid Spores in the areas where the enemy was likely to land.
The plan was to release a massive burst of Apocalid Spores once more enemies had disembarked.
Under Lutal’s command, the Apocalids, who previously knew nothing but hunger, became seasoned hunters.
The Dark Elves let out screams that sounded like war cries as they descended upon the Apocalyde Dimension.
Lutal primarily sent out Walkers, allowing the Dark Elves to become intoxicated with the thrill of victory.
As the battle continued, the number of Dark Elves collapsing for no apparent reason increased, but the excited soldiers simply ignored it.
“Hmm?”
The first to realize something was wrong was Black Dragon Tmus. The Dark Elves were dropping dead one after another for no reason. Among them were even the Guardians he cherished.
“Stop! Do not approach!”
The Guardians broadcasted his command to the Dark Elves.
However, the Dark Elves, already crazed by the promise of rewards and surging with adrenaline, threw themselves into the Apocalyde Dimension regardless.
Although the battle had only just begun, one-third of the entire Dark Elf force had already set foot on the Apocalyde Dimension.
“Grrr.”
Lutal decided this was enough. If he dragged it out any longer, there was a chance the remaining Dark Elves would flee. The Apocalid Spores shifted. The concentration of spores in the areas where the Dark Elves were located spiked.
The Apocalid Spores clung to the Dark Elves’ skin and burrowed into every opening—eye sockets, nostrils, ear canals, and pores.
A particularly large amount entered through their respiratory tracts.
“Gah!”
A Dark Elf, gasping for breath and inhaling a lungful of Apocalid Spores, fell to his knees from excruciating chest pain.
Cough! Cough!
As he coughed, blood and bits of internal organs mixed with his melted lungs splattered out.
“Uh…?”
Suddenly, he couldn’t hear anything.
It was because his eardrums had melted. His cochlea was destroyed, causing him to lose his balance and collapse.
His tongue and the inside of his mouth dissolved, and his teeth fell out.
His nasal membranes were punctured, and blood poured from his nose—mixed with cerebral fluid.
That was the last sight the Dark Elf saw. The Apocalid Spores that had entered his skull devoured his soft brain in an instant.
“Hold your breath! Something is attacking from the inside! Endure it with healing and get out of here! Gah!”
Slash.
Lutal charged and sliced through the commanding Guardian in one blow. Every Dark Elf who opened their mouth to give an order was struck down by Lutal’s Abyssal Claw. With their chain of command paralyzed, the Dark Elves fell into chaos and died in droves.
[Evolution points acquired.]
[Evolution points acquired.]
[Evolution points acquired.]
[Evolution points acquired.]
[Evolution points acquired.]
In an instant, 300,000 Dark Elves were converted into nutrients and Evolution Points.
[Evolution Points: 65,127,459]
“Seven million Evolution Points. Still quite a bit to go.”
Choi Kangjoong’s goal was 100 million points to unlock the Hive Class. Compared to that, 7,000,000 points was a very small amount. Still, it was better than nothing.
“Damn it!”
Tmus was enraged. Even if he didn’t strictly cherish them, they were subordinates he had spent time cultivating. One-third of them had evaporated without being able to do a single thing. However, he didn’t lose his head and charge blindly.
He was not a Red Dragon. He was a cunning Black Dragon who observed his enemies secretly before dealing a fatal blow at the perfect opportunity.
First, he began analyzing the enemy.
‘Why is that thing not affected by Black Space at all?’
Black Space was a poison that blinded the enemy. Naturally, the enemy should have died in agony, unable to see anything.
‘Is that thing the problem?’
The pitch-black mass he had thought was just a peculiar dimension. The things inside it were perfectly fine despite being within Black Space. Those outside were clearly being affected by Black Space, though they were enduring it due to their massive size.
Upon closer observation, that wasn’t all. The pitch-black mass was actually dispelling Black Space. Looking at it now, the size of Black Space was shrinking at an incredible rate.
‘How on earth…?’
The Apocalyde Dimension was digesting even the great magic, but such a thing did not exist in Tmus’s knowledge.
Regardless, now that he knew the cause, he just had to eliminate it. Tmus changed his strategy and ordered his troops to attack from a distance.
While Black Space darkened the vision of allies as well, it wasn’t a major obstacle for the Dark Elves, who could naturally see well in low-light conditions.
The Dark Elves on the Dimension Ships and flying Monsters fired arrows and magic.
Holes were gouged into the Apocalyde Dimension, and chunks of the mass fell away. The surface of the Apocalyde Dimension was not Chitin Gauntlet, making it weak against ranged attacks.
However, the Apocalids Choi Kangjoong had raised were more than prepared to handle one-sided bombardment.
The Super Titans, Titans, and Light Titans on the Apocalyde Dimension turned their bodies.
The Central Cannon Giant and all the Cannon Giants aimed at the Dark Elves. The barrels of the aligned Mana Cannons numbered approximately 5,000 units.
All of them fired at once.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwang!
Tmus hurriedly flew in front of the Dark Elves and deployed a Shield. He felt it would be a waste to lose the Dark Elves like this.
“Spread out! Quickly!”
The Dark Elf Dimension Ships and flying Monsters hurriedly increased their distance from one another. While Tmus struggled to block the barrage of 25,000 rounds per minute, several pillars rapidly approaching caught his eye.
They were Bio Torpedos fired by Kuongi. There were 100 rounds.
Thanks to the Production ability upgraded by the Sea Area Consumption Bonus, the nutrients required to produce Bio Torpedoes had also drastically decreased.
Until now, he had restrained himself to save nutrients, but thanks to the upgrade, he could now pour them out without hesitation.
Tmus transformed his Shield into a narrow, thick shape. He added curves in between to prevent direct penetration.
The brains of the Bio Torpedoes determined that a frontal breakthrough was unfavorable.
They spread out to the left, right, top, and bottom, attempting to surround Tmus in a spherical formation to attack from all directions.
“This…!”
Terrified, Tmus hurriedly flew backward. The Bio Torpedoes, whose speed was not inferior to boosters, gave chase.
The Bio Torpedoes that reached Tmus’s rear slammed into him and exploded.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Intense explosions shook Tmus.
Even while disoriented, he fired his Breath to intercept the Bio Torpedoes. He also fired volleys of Magic Missiles and used Black Veil to disrupt the Bio Torpedoes’ senses.
Due to Tmus’s desperate struggle, fewer than twenty rounds of Bio Torpedoes actually landed a direct hit.
That was a hit rate of less than 20%.
Against a Dragon, even that was impressive, but Choi Kangjoong was dissatisfied.
The efficient proliferation of Apocalids was the Outer Mind’s entire reason for being. Simply ramming Bio Torpedoes into the target was inefficient.
‘I should turn a few Skyeye Giants into Central Units as well.’
He felt the need for an entity that could command flying Apocalids, including Bio Torpedoes.
Central Command Giants or Central Command Warriors were too slow and had weak defense, making them unsuitable for commanding fast-moving units.
“Kwaaaaaaaaah!”
Letting out a scream of pain, Tmus fled from the range of the Mana Cannons and hurriedly cast healing magic on himself.
“Kill them! Kill them all before Black Space disappears!”
Enraged, Tmus lost his reason.
He planned to reduce the enemy’s numbers with the Dark Elves first, and then, once he recovered, fight alongside them to kill everyone.
At his command, the Dark Elves charged.
Choi Kangjoong instinctively felt that the battle was over.
The Dark Elves were melting away in the crossfire of the Mana Cannons. And the strongest and most cunning entity among the Apocalids had no intention of giving Tmus time to recover.
“Grrr.”
Lutal began his descent. Tmus’s eyes hurriedly darted upward. The aura he felt from the small entity was unusual. He was horrified when Death Blade manifested from the Abyssal Claw.
‘How is a mere Monster capable of this?’
He fired his Breath to prevent the approach. It was the Black Breath, which was difficult to see and possessed great power. In Black Space, it was particularly hard to detect.
Lutal avoided the Breath by seeing it through Mana and infrared vision.
Tmus deployed Deception Magic and Illusion Magic simultaneously.
Similar forms appeared everywhere, attempting to mislead Lutal. They even emitted heat and Mana, making it difficult to determine which was real.
Lutal slashed through the forms one by one. They were all fakes. Spells flying from all directions blanketed Lutal. Magic Missiles struck his Chitin Gauntlet, and poison attempted to seep in.
“Hahaha! No Monster can pierce through my magic.”
Regaining his arrogance with that thought alone, Tmus sneered.
However, he did not know that 100 Skyeye Giants were watching only him.
The brains connected through the Outer Mind analyzed and dismantled Tmus’s magic in an instant.
Lutal, who had been flying toward one of the Black Dragon forms, suddenly swerved and thrust out his Abyssal Claw.
Slash!
A long gash was torn into Tmus’s abdomen.
‘How…?’
Dismissing it as mere luck, he scattered illusions again and hid among them.
Lutal ignored the illusions and flew straight. With the support of the Skyeye Giants, he could clearly see which one was real.
Slash.
One-third of Tmus’s neck was cut. Black blood gushed out.
‘This is impossible…!’
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Lutal zig-zagged back and forth, cutting through Tmus’s neck. Before long, the head and torso were separated, and Tmus’s decapitated head floated aimlessly through the Dimensional Sea with a hollow gaze.
Kuongi flew over eagerly and swallowed Tmus whole.
[Dragon Evolution Code Decryption: 5%]
Soon, Black Space also disappeared. The Dark Elves, realizing Tmus was dead, began to flee.
Fighter Giants and Fighter Warriors flew out, not allowing a single person to escape.
A short while later, in the region where the black mist had spread wide, nothing remained after the Apocalids had passed through.