Chapter 1465: Battle of Struggles
“Cough — cough… cough…”
It took Nassaupelle a considerable time to pull himself upright from the rubble. Without the reinforced body he had prepared, the tremors would have killed him.
What did the humans just do—
His life meant little to him as a matter of principle, but he could not afford to be seen dying here — not while the King watched. Until he had full command over the core apparatus, he had to maintain his present appearance. Reduce every reason for others to watch him.
“Your Majesty, are you—”
“King City’s dome is compromised. The magic barrier is shattered.” The King’s voice came back as flat as machine calculation. “Restoration is expected to require an hour. Countermeasures must begin immediately.”
“What was that light? What was that sound?” Blood Conqueror’s voice cut in, distant with surprise. “I could see the disruption from Arrieta.”
“Where are the Eye Demon guards? I can’t reach any of them!” Undeserved was audibly shaken. “Mask — what did you do!?”
What did he do. A clean, clarifying rage moved through Nassaupelle. These creatures of muscle and arrogance, still unable to understand what had just happened — the humans had launched an attack on the demon race unlike anything in the history of the Battle of Divine Will. The white light alone had struck like a physical blow. Ten of his brains were still blind, their vision burned away. The sun itself had never managed that.
The Eye Demon guards’ fate needed no explanation.
For the first time in recent memory, Mask did not filter his words.
“The Eye Demon guards are dead. Use your own eyes.”
He said no more, and climbed to the nearest floating platform.
Rubble fell from the dome as he walked, chunks of Blackstone striking down into the wide Red Mist Lake. The damage did not threaten the Birth Tower. But since King City’s founding, no enemy had ever defiled this place. The race would feel that, regardless of material consequence. A wound to psychology was still a wound.
He reached the highest point of the city.
Hot air enveloped him. The smell of burning was embedded in it as if something vast and slow had been consumed. He remembered clearly that the white light had first appeared several hundred meters above the dome — yet standing here, the residual heat was real and impossible to dismiss.
He surveyed the damage.
The assessment was simple and complete: the black cylinder had done all of this.
It had punched the hole in the dome and obliterated the Symbiotic Demon defensive installations along the wall. From the geometry of the crater, the outer region of the city had been compressed by a force striking from above. The crystalline outer shell was not as resilient as the Birth Tower, but it had been protected by the magic barrier. One strike had broken through it anyway. The destructive force of this object exceeded anything in his understanding of snow powder, even if one multiplied the quantity tenfold. The humans had found a new legacy. And the demon race knew nothing of it.
What twisted his expression further was what the iron birds were not doing.
They had not swarmed downward while the defenses were in chaos. They had not targeted the ground forces now scattered and confused. They had turned away. All of them. No intent whatsoever of drawing close.
That means there is more than one of these objects.
He turned to look at the Birth Tower and the churning Red Mist Lake through the cracked dome. His chest became very still.
“Send all Bogle Beasts aloft. Don’t be delayed by the iron birds. Have them climb to maximum elevation and search for anomalies. Any discovery — any abnormality at all — report directly to me.”
“Report to you? Nassaupelle — are you confused about something? The Bogle Beast forces of King City are under my command.” Undeserved’s tone had turned cold.
If I had not succeeded in producing a Symbiotic Demon capable of flight, would I even be standing here listening to this? Mask swallowed the anger.
“Listen carefully. The iron birds are not the humans’ main assault force. Something else is — ” He reconstructed the scene from a few minutes ago. “Something that can fly at great altitude. It carries a weapon deployed from that height, detonating at a predetermined distance above the target. The iron birds are not attacking the Deity of Gods. They are screening the main attacker. You must find it immediately and destroy it. If you don’t, we are finished.”
“Finished — because of humans?” The surprise in Undeserved’s voice was genuine.
“Move. Identify and eliminate their forces. Only you are capable of that.” Mask transferred his consciousness to the race’s core. “Your Majesty — please authorize me to move the Deity of Gods. We cannot remain stationary. We are a fixed target.”
He had expected this to require a significant argument. Instead the King replied almost at once.
“Control over King City is temporarily yours. Eliminate the intruders.”
A conclusion without sentiment. Pure reason. Mask inclined his head toward the Birth Tower. “Your wish is my command, Your Majesty.”
Since the King had fused with the core apparatus, he had become more to Mask’s liking. Perhaps in a century, he would truly come to comprehend what Mask believed. Unfortunately, the Presiding Holy See stood in the way. Without that, none of these extremities would be necessary.
He raised the miniature core and sent magic power through it.
Without warning, the Deity of Gods rumbled and lifted. It moved toward the base of the dispersing smoke column. With full control of the core apparatus, he needed no subordinates to relay commands — the city obeyed the object in his hand as an extension of his will. The sudden movement inevitably sent some demons over the edge of the city’s cliffs. Those caught traversing the boundary fell, and there was nothing for them below. Nassaupelle did not consider this further. If the second black object struck the dome, there would be no choices left to make.
“Large number of Devilbeasts taking flight! I repeat — large number of Devilbeasts taking flight!”
“They’re heading for us!”
“Squadron Six — spread out and brace!”
Dawn light filled the sky at last. The Aerial Knights no longer needed tail lights to hold formation — but flying in golden light was not a comfortable situation. Beyond the growing smoke column, black dots spread outward from the Deity of Gods in every direction, like hornets from a nest hit by a stone.
“Ark of Peace — what’s your situation?” Tilly’s voice over the transmitter.
“Calculations complete. Proceeding to drop position.”
Confirming the first bomb’s effects had cost the bombing squadron time. The Deity of Gods had an outer shell, and to make the second high-explosive bomb deliver maximum effect, the crew needed to bring it as close to the Red Mist source as possible. Sylvie had recalculated the new parameters at speed, but the natural dispersion from seven thousand meters exceeded the diameter of the existing hole. The Ark of Peace had therefore descended to five thousand five hundred meters to reduce the drop error and increase the probability of the bomb entering the city.
“Ark of Peace is in position for drop. All squadrons stand by for charge sequence.” The transmitter sounded the confirmation.
“Wait.” Sylvie’s voice cut through everything. “The Deity of Gods is moving.”
Chapter 1465 - Battle of Struggles
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Cough! Cough… Cough…”
It took Nassaupelle quite a while to get up from the rubble. If he had not prepared a fortified body, he would probably have died from the tremor.
Darn it—what were those lowlifes doing!?
Although a life was worth nothing to him, he did not wish to be discovered that he was capable of transplanting his soul under the watchful eyes of the King. Until he fully obtained control over the core, he had to try his best to maintain his current image. Only then would he be able to reduce the wariness others had of him.
“Your Majesty, are you alright…”
“The dome to King’s City is damaged. The magic barrier has been shattered. The time to restore it to normal is expected to taken an hour.” The King rigidly instructed, “We have to immediately take countermeasures!”
“What was the bright light and boom from just now?” Blood Conqueror’s voice interjected. “Why was I able to see the turmoil even from Arrieta?”
“Where are the Eye Demon guards? I can’t contact any of them!” Undeserved felt somewhat flustered. “Mask, what did you do!?”
What did he do? A raging fire suddenly surged up in Nassaupelle’s heart. Had these idiots who were all brawn no brains not figured it out yet? The humans had launched an unprecedented attack on the demon race!
The white light’s brightness had reached an unbelievable state. Just the visual blast was enough to cause damage. Now, more than ten of his brains were
blind. Even the sun couldn’t do the same.
As for the outcome of the Eye Demon guards, it was obvious.
For the first time, Mask did not hide his emotions.
“The Eye Demon guards are dead. Use your own eyes to see.”
After he said those words coldly, he went up to the nearest floating platform. On the way, rubble kept falling from the dome, crashing into the wide Red Mist Lake. Regardless of this damage, it did not threaten the Birth Tower. But ever since the establishment of King’s City, this place had never been defiled by the enemy. This no doubt was a setback to the race’s psychology.
After climbing to the highest point of King’s City, a sizzling hot wave inundated him. There was a smell of burning mixed in the air as though a fire had once ravaged the area.
He clearly remembered that the white light first appeared close to the top of the dome, a few hundred meters in the sky from where he was. Despite such a distance, the heat still remained and this far exceeded his level of comprehension.
After surveying the area, Nassaupelle had a basic understanding of the entire situation.
Without a doubt, the black metallic object was the culprit of all of this.
Not only did it cause a huge hole in the dome, but it also destroyed many Symbiotic Demon defensive installations. From the periphery of the cracks that cratered in, the outer region of the city had been crushed by a particular force. Although the crystals that made up the upper shell was not as resilient as the Birth Tower, they had been under the protection of the magic barrier. Yet, just one attack had blasted open a hole. This served to prove that the destructive force of the object was astounding.
It was absolutely impossible for snow powder to have such effects, even if the quantity was raised by ten times. The weapon the humans had used was
clearly new legacy, but the demon race knew nothing about it!
What warped Mask’s expression even more was that the iron birds did not swoop down while taking advantage of the situation. They did not launch an attack on the ground forces which were in chaos. Instead, they turned around and had no intention of coming close!
This thing… Could it be that there might be more than one?
He turned his head to see the tower and the churning Red Mist Lake beneath the crack as his heart abruptly sank.
“Let all Bogle Beasts rise into the sky. Do not be held back by the iron birds. Investigate from a high elevation as best as they can. Once they discover any abnormalities, report it to me immediately!” Mask roared using his consciousness.
“Report to you? Nassaupelle, are you mistaken about something? The King City’s Bogle Beasts army is under my command!” Undeserved said in an unfriendly manner.
If I had not managed to successfully produce a Symbiotic Demon capable of flight from my research, would I be here listening to your nonsense!? Mask held down his anger and said, “Listen up. The human’s main force is not that bunch of iron birds, but something else—” As he recalled the scene from before, he continued, “That thing likely can fly very high. And it carried a weapon that is dropped from a high elevation. It will then detonate at a particular height. Due to its tremendous might, all the iron birds are circling the outer perimeter. Their goal is not to attack the Deity of Gods but to protect the main attacker! You have to find it as quickly as possible and destroy it. Otherwise, we are doomed!”
“Doomed? You mean… as a result of the humans?” Undeserved was taken aback.
“Quick. Take down those troops. Only you are capable of doing so!” Mask transferred his consciousness to the race’s core. “Your Majesty, please allow
me to move the Deity of Gods. We cannot remain here. We would only become target practice for the humans if this continues!”
He originally imagined that it would take a great deal of effort to convince the King of moving the floating fortress to avoid the humans, but to his surprise, the King quickly gave the orders. “Control over King’s City will temporarily be under your charge. Make sure to eradicate the intruders!”
This is a conclusion that is devoid of emotions and completely a result of reason… Mask bowed his head at the Birth Tower. “Your wish is my command, Your Majesty.”
Ever since the King fused with the core apparatus, he acted more to Mask’s liking. Perhaps in a century or more, he would truly understand his beliefs. Unfortunately, if not for the Presiding Holy See being that terrifying, he would not have to go to such drastic measures.
Mask raised the mini core high and infused magic power into it.
The Deity of Gods produced a rumbling sound and lifted off without any warning signs. At the same time, it flew towards the bottom of where the pillar of smoke was dispersing.
With full control, he didn’t need to inform the subordinates. Just the core in his hand was enough to make all of King’s City operate as he wished. The floating island’s sudden movement caused a nontrivial amount of danger to the demons without a doubt. For example, the unlucky fools who traversed the boundaries of the cliffs would fall tens of thousands of feet and splatter to their deaths. However, this was no longer something Nassaupelle needed to consider.
If he allowed the black explosive land on the dome, the situation would truly be irreversible!
…
“A large number of Devilbeasts taking flight has been detected! I repeat, a large number of Devilbeasts taking flight has been detected!”
“They are heading for us!”
“This is Squadron 6. Lads, spread out and brace for the attack!”
After the light of dawn illuminated the skies, the Aerial Knights finally didn’t need to rely on the taillights to determine their bearings. However, being bathed in the golden light of dawn was not a perfect situation. Apart from the blooming cloud of smoke, a large number of black dots appeared in the vision of everyone. They were surging out of the Deity of Gods like a horde of hornets.
“Ark of Peace, how’s the situation right now?” Tilly asked loudly.
“We have finished doing the calculations. We are proceeding to our drop point.”
Previously, in order to confirm the situation of the explosion, it wasted the bombing squadron quite a bit of time. As the demons’ King’s City had an outer shell, to fully express the second high-explosive bomb’s might, they needed to do their best to close in on the source of the Red Mist. Even though Sylvie had managed to calculate the new parameters for the air drop at quick notice, the natural errors that resulted from a seven-thousand-meter drop exceeded the range of the hole. As such, the Ark of Peace had intentionally lowered its altitude by 1,500 meters so as to ensure that the bomb would enter the city.
“Ark of Peace is preparing for the drop. All squadrons, be prepared for the charge.” Tens of seconds later, the transmitter sounded its report.
“Wait!” At that moment, Sylvie suddenly interrupted. “The Deity of Gods is beginning to move!”