Chapter 68: War – 3/3

Year 3859, Day 37 

I decided to take much more time to break through in the end. 

Now that I no longer had to worry about my lifespan or bottlenecks, I chose to focus on the laws of fire. 

Everyone knows that elemental rules have much greater potential than derivative rules, and for good reason: derivative rules are ultimately controlled by the same elemental rule. 

Imagine someone controlling heat or combustion fighting someone mastering the rule of fire. 

Unless the first is a whole major realm above the second, the outcome is clear. 

But for the same reason, elemental rules are much more complex to understand. Even as an intermediate existence, it took me over fifty years to unravel this. 

However, now that my body has been baptized by the rules a second time, I feel that my understanding of the laws is much deeper than before, especially in all things related to fire or sword. 

It was all worth it. 

Now, it is time for me to come out of seclusion. 

... 

BOOM 

One of the commanders spun amidst enemy fire, sometimes dodging, sometimes parrying. Nevertheless, most of his attention was not on the ground troops but on the barrage of shots coming from the rear. 

Even he felt threatened by some of those shots. 

At the same time, he tried to redirect most of the attacks toward the sky to avoid them landing in the middle of the Great Army. 

However, he wasn't omnipotent and sometimes had no choice but to risk his life to save his men. 

But as he condensed a qi blade toward an incoming missile, he suddenly saw the planes, shuttles, tanks, missile launchers, and mechs—nearly all the vehicles—malfunctioning one after another. 

The men of the Great Army paused for a moment, while the Minks stared at their equipment in bewilderment. 

"CHARGE!!" 

A general roared. 

"The battle on this battlefield is coming to an end," another general thought calmly as he watched his troops immediately gain the upper hand and crush the Minks army. 

... 

Rank 4 spell – Wind Blades Storm

Within a radius of nearly five hundred meters, the wind raged, and the air became as sharp as razors. 

Although the threat was weaker due to the wide area it covered, it was also omnipresent. 

Still, the Minks only growled slightly and charged directly toward the Valyr magus. 

The young woman, though powerful, seemed to lack combat experience and panicked, barely controlling her body to dodge. 

But in her haste, she seemed to have forgotten that her enemy was faster than her. 

It wasn't until the last moment that she realized her mistake and hastily condensed a magical barrier in front of her. 

Rankless spell – Magic Barrier

However, she was a step too late and didn't have time to infuse enough mana into the barrier to make it strong enough. 

Crack 

The barrier shattered instantly upon contact with the blade. 

Still, it gave Alice enough time to retreat slightly. 

The blow that should have cut her in two only left a huge gash on her chest, splitting her generous breasts in two and exposing her ribs. 

However, the Minks didn't relent and immediately followed up with another strike. 

"Alice!" 

James, who had just decapitated a marauder, saw the scene out of the corner of his eye and immediately roared. 

But he knew that before his cry could even reach his beloved, the second blow would have been fatal. 

"Kid, use this!" the old immortal shouted urgently. 

James didn't hesitate and immediately condensed all his internal energy into his weapon, further strengthened by his own killing intent and hatred toward the one who dared hurt the person dearest to him. 

World Destroying Lance 

"HA!" 

Even with his scales, his left arm suddenly bulged as he channeled all his body's strength to unleash the most powerful attack he could. 

Unconsciously, another kind of energy emerged from the depth of his body and consciousness, blending into the weapon and giving it far more power. 

BOOM 

The air split instantly, triggering a sonic boom as the lance shot forward at supersonic speed. 

Three or four kilometers away, the marauder suddenly felt a prickle of danger and immediately turned around, ignoring the female in front of him. 

However, he wouldn't have time to think any further. 

BOOM 

The lance shattered, unable to withstand the tension, but the energy it carried exploded instantly, destroying the entire upper half of the Minks' body, while the rest flew skyward. 

As Alice breathed a sigh of relief, James scanned the battlefield with murderous intent, sending a heavy killing aura in all directions. 

"It's enough now, kid," the old immortal said calmly as he surveyed the battlefield, observing the other intermediate existences of Alandal, who looked at him with a certain admiration. 

"There's no one left who can still fight." 

... 

"Andddd now!" 

The Donver leader pressed the enter key and let out a small cry of satisfaction. 

"Headquarters, this is Beta. The base defenses have been shut down, I repeat, the base defenses have been shut down," Ruvia shouted joyfully into her transponder. 

Nevra calmly watched the Donver leader resume typing, sitting on the lifeless body of a large armored monkey. 

The small being didn't rest and immediately resumed coding; he still had one last task to accomplish. 

... 

Above the base, most of the defenses suddenly ceased their relentless attack on the six airships still able to fight. 

Only a few mobile cannons and anti-aircraft troops remained, desperately firing into the air. 

Ilbert, who had just landed the two damaged airships, calmly raised his transponder to his mouth. 

"All ships shoot. It's time to end this." 

Immediately, the airships' cannons began firing in unison. 

They no longer needed to search for targets; they were stationary. 

The Ranks 4 channeled all their energy into the main cannons, while the Rank 3s focused on the auxiliary cannons. 

With no need to focus on defense, the magical ships' offensive power reached an unprecedented level, and the entire area within a radius of seven to eight kilometers was swept by constant explosions, forcing the few remaining Minks to retreat deep into the base. 

... 

In the vast expanse of the sky, lightning and spatial fissures clashed continuously. 

Between the cracks, two figures flew at high speed, clashing dozens of times every second. 

Each of their exchanges was deadly, carrying enormous destructive power. 

A single blow from either of them was as powerful, if not more, than a thermobaric bomb explosion, enough to ravage the land for hundreds of meters, though that wasn't their goal. 

Clang 

Clang 

Clang 

The blows came at a rapid pace, with shockwaves exploding one after another. 

In just moments, they had traveled dozens of kilometers, reducing several mountains to rubble, all while carefully avoiding other battlefields. 

Finally, the serpentine figure saw an opening and suddenly brandished his spear. 

His movements became ethereal, and the man in front of him, in his powerful powered armor, suddenly lost track of the weapon. 

Sylvera's internal energy surged from his dantian. Behind him, the silhouette of a gigantic, phantom-like naga appeared, nearly a hundred meters long. 

The silhouette, actually Sylvera's nascent soul cultivated to the absolute pinnacle, immediately synchronized its movements with his. 

The spear in the saint's hands was enveloped in an intense blue light as his intent fused with the weapon. 

"Not good!" 

Captain Minks immediately felt his danger sense flare and used the full power of his armor's thrusters to flee at top speed. 

In mere tenths of a second, he was already several hundred meters away, but it wasn't nearly enough. 

Sky-Shaking Spear – First Movement: Mountain Breaker

"RAAAHHH!" 

The naga roared, thrusting its spear forward. 

An enormous beam of light as wide as a pillar instantly shot across the sky without a single sound. 

Only the naga's roar echoed in the air as the massive energy beam approached the Minks dangerously. 

Driven by his survival instincts, the captain contorted his body just before impact. 

The strike, originally aimed at his torso, only hit his left arm, and the result was immediate. 

Of the arm, only the hand and the lower forearm remained, still covered by the armor but detached from the body, slowly falling toward the ground. 

The rest of the beam, though weakened, violently struck the world's barrier shortly afterward. 

BOOM 

The impact shook the entire barrier for kilometers, and both men's expressions suddenly changed. 

"Damn it!" 

No longer paying attention to each other, both broke the sound barrier and rushed in opposite directions. 

The spatial wall, already weakened by hundreds of years without the support of the world's will, could no longer hold, and a crack several kilometers long suddenly opened, exposing the energy tornadoes of the void outside, as well as the magnificent starry sky. 

The entire spatial wall trembled for hundreds of kilometers around, causing the ground to shake. 

As the devastating shockwave spread, battles stopped everywhere, and everyone looked up at the sky. 

A massive wave of dark, tumultuous energy poured into the world, destroying everything as a suction force tried to pull them into the infinite void of space. 

In essence, void energy wasn't that violent, but contact with spiritual energy had driven it mad, attempting to devour everything in its path. 

"STOP!" 

A deep, guttural voice echoed, and all, whether Minks, Donver, or believers, stopped their retreat and looked toward the source of the sound. 

Their reactions could then be divided into two categories: those who lost all hope and those who became completely ecstatic. 

A massive silhouette stood behind the terrifying figure of the spatial rift. 

Despite the size of the rift, several kilometers long, only the upper half of this titanic being was visible. 

Even the drake Isabella, nearly two hundred meters long, seemed completely insignificant in the face of such a being. 

The visible part of its body was that of a bare-chested being with bulging muscles, holding a gigantic ancient spear in one hand that seemed as old as the universe itself. 

A few dark green scales on his chest calmly reflected the sunlight, while his long black hair seemed to float into infinity. 

His cold, razor-sharp red eyes suddenly gleamed, and Liam's projection raised its hand. 

A sort of shockwave spread throughout the realm, and everything seemed to freeze. 

Not only people and animals, but even the untamable void energy seemed to behave like a small child in front of their grandfather. 

"Return!" Liam said calmly. 

As if dictated by an immutable law, the torrents of energy flowed back toward the rift as it slowly closed. 

For the first time in nearly a decade, the sky was free of cracks, allowing the natives to admire once again the clear red sky of their dying homeworld. 

... 

Some time earlier, when Sylvera saw the Lord of the Four Elements' appearance, he knew he no longer had to worry about the void energy's threat. 

He immediately turned around and rushed after the wounded Captain Minks. 

Twenty kilometers away, the captain was holding his charred shoulder and had activated his armor's thrusters at full power. 

Even though he hated the idea of retreating, he knew he stood no chance against that strange being who had even tamed the chaotic void energy. 

Suddenly, with a faint beep, his vision went dark, and he felt himself falling from the sky. 

"What the hell is this now?" 

He tried to raise his arm but immediately felt strong resistance. 

"Damn, the armor!" 

He forced himself and managed to remove and tear off his helmet. 

However, all he saw was the ground rushing toward him at an alarming speed. 

Had he not previously been flying at over 4,000 km/h, he would have already crashed into the ground. 

Sky-Shaking Spear – Second Movement: Sea Splitter

His danger sense flared again, even more intensely than the last time, but without the support of his armor, there was nothing he could do. 

However, he managed to turn his head, finally seeing a massive, razor-sharp energy wall in the shape of a gigantic crescent moon approaching him dangerously. 

The sheer scale of it filled his entire vision. Even before impact, he knew he wouldn't survive. 

Seeing death staring him in the face, he couldn't help but recall all the good times he had lived before the tragedy that struck several decades ago. 

"Sorry, my love, it seems I won't be able to keep my promise..." were the last thoughts of a man who, at one time, could command an entire fleet. 

... 

"Our Lord is with us! SLAUGHTER THE HERETICS!!!" 

On the ground, after an indeterminate amount of time, no one knew who had shouted, but it was the spark that ignited the powder. 

No matter their rank or race, all the members of the Great Army roared toward the sky and drew their weapons once again. 

Conversely the Minks seemed completely overwhelmed and took some time to react. 

No matter their will or power as a warrior race, what they had just witnessed had completely surpassed their comprehension. 

On the side of the Great Army, more than 40,000 soldiers were still alive, while the Minks numbered over 50,000. Yet even though they had numerical superiority, they all knew they had already lost the war. 

Most of the two-star marauders who had previously led the frontline had perished, while the rear lines hadn't fired a single shot in over five minutes. 

Even the mechs, tanks, cannons, Vikings, and each one of their vehicles had mysteriously broken.

As for the few thousand remaining marauders, they had already forcibly removed their powered armor and understood that there was nothing more they could do to turn the tide of the battle. 

"To death! We'll take as many as we can with us!" 

One of the few surviving two-star marauders roared. 

The Minks seemed to suddenly regain their senses. They were the infantry of a warrior race—the most tenacious, the bravest, the most powerful—created solely to live and die on the battlefield! 

No matter the state of their wounds, no matter if their weapons still had munitions or not. 

They stood tall and grabbed whatever they could find at hand, raising it with a desperate glint of madness in their eyes. 

"AAAAAAH!" 

They let out one last roar and all charged in unison toward the Great Army's troops for their final fight, ready to die with the only thing they had left : honor.