The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military (96)
Translator: ChubbyCheeks
32 The Beginning of Chaos (1)
The other-worlders pushed and attacked the head of the mermaid race. For them, missing one of their biggest goals, the thunderbird, was a huge blow. So, they had to at least get something of equivalent value. They knew that it was already difficult to obtain the Sea Orb since there were masters out in the field. However, they believed that they would still be able to reap a lot of rewards if they successfully captured and killed the head of the mermaid race. So, they had to either kill or capture the head of the mermaid race while the masters and the troops were still busy dealing with the extremely large octopus.
The octopus was super large but there were three masters fighting against it. Even the Northern Commander jumped off of the airship and joined the fray bringing the total number of masters to four. If that huge monster held out, it would probably be able to endure the onslaughts of attacks for about 30 minutes. In other words, they needed to finish everything in 30 minutes.
However, from the other-worlders point of view, they could only see this as a game. A game where they could reap great rewards as long as they did their best.
“Everyone, give it your all!”
Hearing Kim Jungtae’s roar, the other-worlders immediately pulled out their hidden abilities.
Their abilities were based on the power that they had learned and acquired here during the beta test. Their abilities were formed by combining the aura of their innate abilities and strengthening it with their innate magical abilities. This meant that their abilities were far stronger and more amplified than the abilities of the people of this world.
Several different types of force appeared and flew towards the head of the mermaid race.
“Kgghk…”
The head of the mermaid race glared fiercely at Kim Jungtae as bloody tears continued to trickle down his face. He was having a hard time controlling the black water thanks to Kim Jungtae’s interference. And the contaminated mana was being blocked by Evastole. He couldn’t believe that the power that the mermaids had received through their countless sacrifices for the dimensional crack had been blocked by the other-worlders ridiculous innate abilities just like that.
But despite the unfavorable situation, the head of the mermaid race still continued to endure.
Even though most of his powers had been blocked and tied up, his high level and skills alone had allowed him to endure the attacks of the other-worlders.
“As expected of monsters.”
Kim Jungtae clicked his tongue.
He had felt this during the beta test. At first he tried to deny it, however, even if he turned a blind eye and denied it, it was an unmistakable fact that all masters were monsters. The head of the mermaid race was not even a complete master yet but he was able to hold out alone against the onslaught of attacks from the other-worlders.
Kim Jungtae couldn’t help but admire his strength. After all, most of his powers were already being tied down by him and Evastole’s abilities. Watching him twist and break their powers with just the most minimal force made him see why a master-level being was respected by friends and foes alike whenever they appeared in the battlefield. Even the arrogant Kim Jungtae had no choice but to show respect to such a powerhouse. However, he only acknowledged his strength.
The other-worlders continued to utilize the experiences and abilities that they had gone through before to thoroughly ‘attack’ the head of the mermaid race.
During the beta test, they had proven that even a master-level being would fall as long as they, the other-worlders, gathered and fought together. So, for the White Whale guild members, the head of the mermaid race was just one of the many targets that they could fight against together.
“Stick to him! Make him tired!”
“Don’t stop attacking! If we’re tired, then he’s more tired!”
The other-worlders screamed as they kept on attacking. They constantly attacked from all sides as they completely harassed the head of the mermaid race. They even set a routine as if they were just killing a boss monster in a game.
As a result, the head of the mermaid race became exhausted. And the more tired he became, the more gaps he showed which ended up giving him plenty of injuries. If things continued at this rate, the White Whale guild would be able to defeat and capture the head of the mermaid race within a few minutes.
Just when the head of the mermaid race was on the verge of being caught…
Something came down from the sky and fell on the other-worlders.
“What…”
Before Kim Jungtae could finish his words, a huge weight pressed on them.
“Kgghhhk…”
A huge fist made of black water was trying to crush the other-worlders.
Kim Jungtae controlled the water as much as he could while Evastole tried his hardest to purify the contaminated water. They resisted the fist with all their might.
However, the head of the mermaid race did not hold back this time. He showed his strength with no holds barred.
He tried to sweep away the other-worlders while Kim Jungtae and Evastole were still busy facing against the huge black fist.
“Stop. It will be hard for us to endure this any further.”
Before they knew it, a woman with dark blue hair appeared and looked at the head of the mermaid race with her jewel-like eyes.
And just like she said, the other-worlders and even the forces from the military’s main fleet had already moved to kill them one by one. The main force had already arrived on the coast and had already started a siege. The other-worlders had also regrouped and completed a new formation to attack him once again. If he continued to resist and linger in this place, then he would be the one in danger.
“…It can’t end like this.”
“The war is just beginning. Don’t sacrifice our people for your useless pride.”
The head of the mermaid race bit his lips when he heard the woman’s words. His hideous appearance disappeared as he turned back into a beautiful man with dark blue hair.
“Hoo… That’s right. The war is just beginning.”
The head of the mermaid race tried to calm down.
They weren’t the only ones who wanted to destroy the Empire. All of the races that had fallen victim to the Empire’s cruelties and wars hated them down to their very core. In addition, those who wanted to destroy this world also wanted to destroy the Empire first. That was why the battle here was only a prelude to the Empire’s collapse and destruction in the future.
“The path is long.”
“…Yeah. I’ve already waited for hundreds of years. It’s not that hard to wait for just a few more years.”
The head of the mermaid race contained his anger as he soared to the sky with his black water.
Kim Jungtae gritted his teeth as he threw a huge spear of water. However, when it came to water, the mermaids were not inferior in any way. Although they had been corrupted, they were still mermaids.
“Goddamnit!”
Seeing his spear being blocked by a water shield, Kim Jungtae couldn’t help but shout furiously.
They had already missed the thunderbird but it seemed like they would still be missing the head of the mermaid race.
While the White Whale and the other-worlders failed to enact their plans, the four masters succeeded in reverse-summoning Cthulhu’s apostle, Thulhupus. In addition, the tower masters and the Eastern Naval Fleet succeeded in killing the catastrophes of the sea. It seemed like the battle was slowly going to close.
“It will be over as long as we acquire the Sea Orb.”
Lioner said so and looked up at the sky.
There was an enormous collection of mana in the sky in the form of an orb. It was none other than the Sea Orb, the item deemed to be the highest quality mana core.
Sky’s Eyes.
Earth’s Heart.
Sea’s Orb.
Glacier’s Jewel.
These were the four cores that were hailed as the continent’s best treasures. And one of them right now was maintaining the dimensional gate by constantly emitting contaminated mana in the sky.
Countless void insects and dimensional fish wandered around the Sea Orb. However, something felt weird.
“Strange.”
“You feel it too?”
Hearing Lioner’s words, Terrion, the Godly Sword Family Head, frowned and looked at the contaminated Sea Orb.
They felt it strange that only the void insects were appearing from such a large-scale gate.
Terrion and Lioner had both experienced the dimensional cracks in the Northeast. And despite being a low-scale dimensional crack, strange creatures had squeezed through the crack. So they felt it strange when no strange creature, a phenomenon that they were familiar with, did not appear from such a large-scale gate.
It looked similar to the dimensional gate that the witch had artificially filled in with void insects. What was stranger was the fact that they could only feel a scant few mana from the Sea Orb. it felt like the mana from the Sea Orb was far less than the mana from the mana cores found in the Northeast.
“That’s the Sea Orb, right?”
Terrion tilted his head in thought when he heard Lioner’s question.
It would be extremely disappointing if that was the extent of the power of the Sea Orb.
Just then, cracks appeared in the dimensional gate as it began to collapse by itself. At the same time, the Sea Orb, which maintained the dimensional gate, also began to break down along with it.
The masters immediately ran towards the dimensional gate when they saw this. However, even though they rushed forward, they still could not prevent the Sea Orb from collapsing.
“It’s a fake.”
“Yeah. This is a fake.”
Terrion nodded in agreement with Lioner, who was collecting the debris of the broken Sea Orb. It was just a mana core made into the form of the Sea Orb. However, it was still true that it contained a huge amount of mana. Just having the debris was enough to gather huge amounts of mana towards it. In addition, it also made the dimensional gate collapse and return to a dimensional crack that constantly released void insects and contaminated mana.
“This is like… the artificial dimensional crack in the Center.”
Lioner and Terrion turned to look back upon hearing the words of an other-worlder.
“Artificial dimensional crack?”
The other-worlder nodded in answer to Lioner’s question.
“The numerous dimensional cracks that appeared in the Center were made in the same way. Of course, it wasn’t at the level that’s comparable to this since they only used a contaminated high-leveled mana stone not like this one that used a huge mana core. And they’re only open for a short period of time.”
Lioner’s expression hardened when he heard the other-worlder’s words. Even the two commanders, who were standing near Terrion, had the same expression on their faces.
“Perhaps this was just a prelude.”
The expressions of all of the people in the vicinity turned solemn when they heard Lioner’s mumblings. Just like what he said, they also felt that this was just the beginning of something.
They missed the head of the mermaid race and even the Sea Orb could not be found anywhere. If this was the case, then the fight in the East was still not yet over.
When those who gathered on the Ghost Island felt exhausted just by thinking about the future, a more surprising thing greeted them. It was news from the Eastern Command to each alliance. The expressions of the officers in charge hardened when they received the news.
The first to react was the South.
“I think we should stop here.”
“You…”
Hearing the words of Terrion, the Southern Wizard Tower was now excluded from the battle for the Sea Orb. Others were confused and shocked by their sudden decision but none of them said anything since it was a good thing for the rest of them. This was because a big competitor had disappeared among them.
But they weren’t the only ones who were retreating.
“I guess I’ll stop here too.”
“Hoo… So the Lion Family will retreat too.”
Everyone looked suspicious when even the Lion Family and the Northern Commander, Jayden Wicks, retreated. They couldn’t understand why everyone was stepping down after coming all the way here. Not long after, the West and the Central Wizard Tower also retreated which added confusion to those who remained.
Their reason was revealed in a letter addressed to the Northeastern Commander, Crimson Halo.
“Dimensional cracks appeared all throughout the Empire?”
Everyone’s eyes turned wide when they heard Crimson’s murmurs.
The North, the West, the South and the Center. Huge dimensional cracks suddenly appeared in all four regions. If they counted the one in the East, then dimensional cracks had appeared all over the Empire. And they weren’t just like the small cracks that appeared in the Center before. Large dimensional cracks that were comparable to the one in Ghost Island occurred in every region. Although they did not know the exact details, it was clear to them that it was not on a small scale since the two households and the two tower masters urgently wanted to return.
And in such a chaotic situation, the only place where the dimensional crack did not open was the Northeast. In other words, only the Northeast, the place considered to be the worst and most dangerous place in the entire Empire, was a clean area without any unmanaged dimensional cracks.
“Was this battle the prelude?”
Crimson stared at the dimensional crack hovering in the blue sky.
The East’s fight against the mermaid was the start. However, large battles were already about to take place all over the Empire while this war was not yet over.
“Hoo… The future of the Empire is dark.”
Crimson muttered to himself as he continued to stare at the dimensional crack with a heavy expression on his face.
***
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