VOLUME 11: CHAPTER 9

VOLUME 11: CHAPTER 9

The massive claw of mana tore through the Fire Giant’s defenses.

Blood, which resembled lava, gushed out of the severed arm. The Fire Giant groaned in pain, its cry echoing on the battlefield. It glared at the Beast King. Using its remaining hand, it tried grabbing the Beast King, who was in the middle of falling.

Midair, the Beast King released a burst of mana from his feet and twisted his body, evading the hand of the Fire Giant. He clenched his fist, pulled his arms back, and punched the Fire Giant’s head.

Amazingly, despite the massive size difference, the punch held enough force to knock back the head of the Fire Giant and lift it several meters into the air.

Even the Fire Giant was taken surprise by this.

It had never thought that a creature ten times smaller than it was capable of unleashing such brute force.

The Fire Giant tried landing on its feet to regain its posture, but the Beast King shot out another massive claw of mana at its body, creating four deep cuts on the Fire Giant’s torso. Unable to maintain its balance, the Fire Giant fell down, crushing dozens of lesser demons marching behind it.

Using the recoil from his strike, the Beast King jumped up and landed on top a nearly destroyed stone tower.

At the same time, Vaungur, the semi-finalists of the tournament, and the Royal Guards riding the translucent mounts also jumped down and landed right behind the Beast King.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“L-Lord Vaungur!”

“The Royal Guards!”

“What are they doing here?”

The warriors who’d been desperately defending the stronghold were perplexed upon seeing the Beast King and his subordinates in the flesh.

The Beast King should have been overseeing the War of the Three Gods in the Magna Coliseum right now. By cart, it would take around three weeks to reach the southern part of the Alliance. Even if he took the fastest burrcat, it would take more than a week to arrive at this location.

How did he manage to cover such a long distance in a short period of time?

Trying to find the answer to that question, some of the warriors in the stronghold looked up, particularly at the direction where the Beast King came from.

“A-Another monster!”

“What is that?!”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen such a massive wyvern!”

“N-No, is… is it a Dragon?!”

The Scylla had started hovering lower, revealing itself to everyone looking at the sky. Over a hundred Sky Demons started surrounding it, but all of them didn’t dare attack as the Scylla threateningly started gathering lightning and wind spells in its mouths.

“They’re allies,” said the Beast King.

Honestly speaking, he still found it hard to consider Lark and his group as allies, but the warriors of the stronghold needed an explanation to prevent further disarray and panic.

Although Lark said they were here as reinforcements, Beast King was someone who trusted actions more than words. And he’d yet to fully verify whether or not Lark was genuinely telling the truth.

“Now, stop with the chitchat!” snarled the Beast King. He was still trembling from rage. His eyes swiveled left and right as he scanned the battlefield. Even now, the demons were slaughtering his kin. Clearly, the beastmen were on the losing side of this battle.

The Beast King roared, “What are you doing! It’s still alive! The ballistae! Fire it!”

“Y-Yes!”

Throughout the Talverton Stronghold, numerous massive weapons meant to subdue the Wasteland monsters had been installed. Ballistae, catapults, trebuchets, and rapid-fire crossbows were installed on the barracks and stone towers. Although half of them had already been destroyed by the demons, the remaining ones were still functional.

The warriors pointed the loaded ballistae at the fallen Fire Giant. And before it could get up, they started firing massive iron bolts at it, one after another. Although the iron bolts managed to pierce the Fire Giant’s amor-like skin, the molten lava flowing out of its body immediately melted the bolts in seconds. Seeing this opening, the warriors who’d been fighting against the Tormentors, Parasitic Demons, and Flesh Eaters below immediately moved and started hacking away at the Fire Giant. At the same time, another Fire Giant, who witnessed what happened to its comrade, started charging at the stone tower where the Beast King stood.

The beastmen warriors loaded boulders into the trebuchets and hurled them at the second Fire Giant. It struck it right in the chest, sending it stumbling a couple of steps back.

And at the same time—

“Archers! Fire!”

—using the rapid-fire crossbows, they started riddling the bodies of the smaller demons around the Fire Giants with arrows.

The continuous hurling of boulders, coupled with the volley of arrows and the defensive line of the warriors on the ground, managed to temporarily halt the further advance of the demons.

“Report,” said the Beast King. “What’s the current situation?”

A bear beastman knelt before the Beast King. “I am the officer in charge of the Fourth Defensive Line! Currently, the second, third, and fifth defensive lines have already fallen! The walls had been broken through, and the towers and barracks had been ravaged to the ground!”

Although the Beast King had already seen the state of the stronghold from the sky, hearing it from an officer still brought a bad aftertaste in his mouth.

What a mess.

They came here to request for reinforcements for the subjugation of the demons in the Iron Mountains, but it seemed that they’d reached the stronghold a bit too late. Currently, the stronghold was already on the verge of total collapse.

“It shames me to say this!” said the bear beastman with his head still lowered, “but thousands of monsters had already managed to move past the stronghold! According to our scouts, some of them had already spread out and started heading to the nearby territories!”

After three out of six defensive lines fell, the warriors stationed in Talverton Stronghold were powerless to stop the influx of demons. They couldn’t even afford to chase after those who’d penetrated the stronghold’s defense, as they were already having a hard time making sure the entire stronghold didn’t collapse.

“The casualties?” said the Beast King.

“It is a rough estimate, Your Majesty! But we believe that around eight thousand beastmen had already perished in battle! And out of the twelve thousand warriors still remaining, more than half of them are injured!”

Screams, screeches, and roars continued resounding on the battlefield.

The sound of boulders hitting flesh, and the sound of metallic bolts hitting the demons served as background as the officer made his report.

The Beast King started pondering his next course of action.

Should he abandon the stronghold and order the remaining warriors to retreat? Or should he order them to continue defending this place until their dying breaths?

These warriors, who’d been stationed at the borders, were the most loyal to the Alliance. Moreover, each of them was an elite who’d fought with the monsters of the Wasteland before. The Beast King was certain that as long as he gave the order, these warriors wouldn’t hesitate to jump into a pit of fire.

Even now, despite the desperate situation, there were hardly any deserters in their ranks.

While the Beast King was caught in a dilemma, the night sky suddenly turned brighter. Looking up, he saw that it was being illuminated by several massive magic formations.

There were nine of them in total, and each of them hovered right above the stone towers of the Talverton Stronghold.

“…What is that?”

The officer who made the report looked up. And just like the other warriors, he was mesmerized by what he saw.

Nine fifty-meters large magic formations had just formed in the sky. The overlapping runes within the formations started spinning and glowing, illuminating the three remaining defensive lines.

In mere seconds, the magic formations were created and activated. For a moment, they glowed brightly, before shattering into innumerable particles of light.

For each of the remaining defensive lines, three powerful spells were cast.

Grand Scale Magic: Wrath of the Sun God.

Thousands of fist-size golden orbs started falling down from the sky. The golden orbs shot toward the demons, and like hot knife cutting through tallow, pierced their bodies. Even the Wraiths and Phantasms, who proved to be difficult opponents for the beastmen due to their ghost-like bodies, were killed in just a single strike.

Grand Scale Magic: Pixies Dust.

Particles of golden light rained down from the heavens and started healing the injured beastmen. Light wounds and bruises were healed instantly, and even deep cuts started closing after being touched by the golden particles of light.

And the last spell—

Grand Scale Magic: Blessing of the Sun God.

For several seconds, night turned into day as rays of golden light fell upon the beastmen. The beastmen, the Beast King included, were stupefied upon experiencing a sudden gush of strength come out of their bodies. The strength boost was hardly noticeable for the Beast King, the semi-finalists, and the Royal Guards. But for the ordinary warriors, it felt as though they’d gained twice their original strength upon receiving the spell’s blessings. Moreover, they could feel that a thin shield of mana had started covering their bodies. This thin shield of mana wouldn’t be able to block even a single attack from the Fire Giant, but it should be strong enough to block an attack or two from the weaker demons. In this battlefield where a single mistake meant death, this blessing drastically increased the warriors’ chance of survival.

“What’s… happening?”

“I feel strange.”

“This strength…”

“Did the Three Gods give us their blessings?”

Confusion arose throughout the entire battlefield.

The beastmen warriors of Talverton Stronghold were astonished upon suddenly finding themselves fully healed. And they were stunned upon realizing that their strength had increased twofold. Moreover, around them, the golden orbs of light that had fallen from the sky continued massacring the demons.

Within such a short period of time, the tide of the battle tilted, and its flow started moving in the beastmen’s favor.

And as though that wasn’t enough, above them, the seven-headed flying creature started firing lightning and wind spells at the Sky Demons, killing them by the dozens.

“Y-Your Majesty! What’s happening!” said the officer in charge of the Fourth Defensive Line.

The Beast King looked up into the sky and didn’t answer.

***

“King Lark,” said Agnus as he looked at the battlefield below. “Is this alright? You’ve used up quite a lot of mana for those spells. Especially the last one—”

Agnus was pertaining to the Blessing of the Sun God.

“—The amount of mana that spell used up should be more than three Grand Scale spells combined.”

Not all Grand Scale Magic was equal. Some were more powerful than the others, and some used up disproportionately larger amounts of mana than a regular grand scale spell.

The Blessing of the Sun God, in particular, not only strengthens but also creates a weak protective shield on the body of its target. A spell that drastically improved the survivability of those who received it.

“Didn’t you say that you’ll need vast amounts of mana to close the portal? Using those spells just to save those beastmen…,” said Agnus.

“It’s fine,” said Lark. “The amount of mana remaining inside Morpheus should still be enough to close an unstable portal.”

Lark observed the battlefield below. Currently, upon the orders of the Beast King, the beastmen started their counterattack. The Beast King, the Royal Guards, the semi-finalists from the tournament, and Vaungur also went down the tower and started killing the demons left and right.

“And it’s not like I can just stand here and watch those beastmen die,” said Lark.

Agnus clicked his tongue. “How soft, King Lark. If it were me, I’d just let those insects to die. Why waste mana to save those bugs?”

Agnus wasn’t wrong.

Lark was aware that the mana he’d used up for this battle already exceeded his initial expectations. He knew that he needed to conserve them as much as possible, as it would require vast amounts of mana to close the portal. In the first place, they didn’t expect the Talverton Stronghold to be in this state by the time they arrived.

“Shut your mouth, hatchling,” said the Scylla. “God Evander’s will is absolute. He must have his reasons for doing this. If I hear another word of complaint, I’ll personally sew that damn mouth of yours.”

“What did you say?!” snarled Agnus.

“I’m saying that a mere hatchling like you should keep his thoughts to himself!” said the Scylla. “Why unnecessarily blabber!”

Agnus gnashed his teeth in anger, but decided not to retort any further.

“And we are partly to blame for this,” said the Scylla. “Because we are lacking, God Evander was forced to intervene in this battle. If only we were stronger, there wouldn’t have been any need for God Evander to lift a finger.”

Although the Scylla and Agnus had powerful spells in their arsenal, most of these spells weren’t capable of distinguishing between allies and foes. The beastmen warriors who’d been desperately fighting against the demons would be swept up if they used their spells.

Using his fingers, Agnus combed his curly crimson hair to the back. He sighed. In the end, he knew that the Scylla was right.

“And look over there,” said the Scylla. “More demons are coming from the direction of the Iron Mountains.”

As Blackie pointed out, more demons were coming toward the stronghold as they spoke. Although a hundred thousand demons had already reached Talverton Stronghold, another hundred thousand more were marching toward their direction.

“If you have any intention of helping out,” said the Scylla. “Undo your polymorph and annihilate those demons at the back.”

Agnus frowned. “Damn lizard. Stop telling me what to do.”

Although Agnus blatantly showed his dissatisfaction, he started preparing to undo his polymorph regardless.

“God Evander,” said the Scylla. “Please allow me to demonstrate my loyalty and strength to you. The demon army approaching this stronghold – I’ll annihilate them all.”

“Just don’t overdo it,” said Lark. “If things turned too dangerous, turn back.”

The Scylla’s entire body momentarily quivered from bliss upon hearing Lark’s words filled with concern.

Ah, how wonderful it was to serve God Evander!

“I shall obey!”

Lark, together with Chryselle and Anandra, jumped down from the Scylla’s back. Using wind spells, they softly landed on the tower where the Beast King and his men previously stood.

“I shall massacre those demons for you, My God!”

At the same time, Agnus undid his polymorph spell. Quickly, his body grew in size, and the gaudy clothes he wore turned into crimson scales. Although he was still a hatchling, Agnus’ body had already reached fifty meters in size. He was as large as his father, Vulcan.

Agnus roared.

The beastmen below looked up and were horrified by the sudden appearance of a Red Dragon. Moreover, right next to the Dragon was the seven-headed creature of comparable size. The two mythical monsters flapped their wings and flew toward the approaching demon horde. The gust of wind their wings created tore the bodies of the Sky Demons they passed by along the way.

“Humans?”

The officer in charge of the Fourth Defensive Line warily asked Lark. Since Lark and his disciples had been riding on top of the Scylla, this was the beastmen’s first time seeing them.

“…The Beast King has already engaged himself in battle,” said Lark as he gazed at the battlefield below.

“W-Who are you! State your name!” shouted the officer, clearly afraid of the unknown humans who’d just landed on the tower.

Lark turned to the officer. “Greetings. I am Lark Marcus, the current King of Lukas. And these two right next to me are my disciples. Worry not, for we came here as reinforcements for the Alliance.”

The officer opened then closed his mouth. He didn’t know what to say or do in this situation.

Reinforcements?

What was the King of Lukas doing here?

Moreover, if they weren’t mistaken, he was riding that absurdly large seven-headed monster before landing on this tower.

So many things didn’t make sense, and the officer ended up at a loss for words.

He wasn’t sure how to address this matter.

If only the Beast King was still here…

“Blackie and Agnus are doing their best to kill as many demons as possible for us. We shouldn’t be just standing here,” said Lark to his two disciples. “Are the two of you ready?”

Chryselle and Anandra nodded.

“Yes, Master.”

“Don’t stray too far from me,” said Lark. “We’ll be joining the Beast King and his men in battle. Just think of this fight as a way of gaining more experience.”

“Understood,” said Chryselle and Anandra.

“Let’s go.”

Lark’s bracer quickly morphed into a beautiful sword with a translucent blade. Without uttering another word to the officer, Lark jumped down, and his two disciples quickly followed suit.