Chapter 59

Gabiru was flying through the air in formation with his squadron of dragonewts. They were flying fast and with purpose. Nothing was going to stop them. They had to cover all of the Clayman's domain. The beginning was smooth as there was nothing standing in their way. It wouldn't be long before they met some enemies though. They were nearing one of the locations where a beam landed. They prioritized the locations closest to them so the teams led by Benimaru and Hakurou would have it easy.

As they approached the site. They noticed the enemy was spread out, but still trying to regroup. Gabiru, noticing this, ordered his men to spread out and over a larger area. Gabiru had recalled a strategy called "carpet bombing" which was explained by Artoria. She said that with their numbers they can replicate the effects of the strategy.

As they got closer, Gabiru and the other dragonewts started charging up their attacks. Smoke came from out of their mouths, just waiting for Gabiru to give the order. Finally, when they were close, Gabiru gave the order. 

On the ground, many of Clayman's forces were barely getting themselves together. They didn't know what happened, but they knew they were under attack by some force. As they were regrouping, one of the monsters looked up and saw multiple dragonewts flying above them.

"There''s enemies above us!". They tried to warn everyone else, but many couldn't react in time before multiple fireballs and streams of fire were unleashed upon them. Some tried to conjure up a magic shield to block, but there were too many to count. Even if one was blocked, the explosion from another would blow them away and destroy any defense possible.

The fireballs seemed to indiscriminately attack them. As if they just hurled them hoping to make a direct impact on one of them. Luckily for them, it seemed the dragonewts were flying away after launching their attack. Despite their further losses, it seems they might have a small break.

"There's more enemies coming!". Even if it was only one monster that said that, their voice seemed to reverberate throughout the whole area further sowing more panic and chaos into their ranks. They looked and saw a red-haired kijin leading a group of other kijin, goblins, wolves, and orcs.

They were approaching them with speed and strength they'd never seen before. This was the nail in the coffin for any hope of survival. They tried putting up a fight, but it was a one-sided beatdown of epic proportions. The group being led by the red-haired kijin cut them down too fast for anyone to see. Once they were all dead, they started moving to the next location, noting the route of Gabiru and his team.

"Keep up everyone! Speed is the goal here. We can worry about the aftermath later. Have faith in our king to lead us to victory.". Benimaru said to his group who all gave a cheer in response.

Scenes like this were happening everywhere throughout the Pupper Nation of Jistav. And it was only the beginning.

/\\//\\//\

Yamza, Clayman's Army Commander-in-Chief of his army and Middle Finger of Clayman's five fingers. A Majin skilled in swordsmanship as well as ice magic. He had red eyes and black and white hair. He was currently in a makeshift camp, though it was more like the ruins of an outpost if anything. His location had been hit by a beam of light or magic as he more accurately assumed. 

Thanks to his leadership, he was very quickly able to regroup everyone under his command and bring order. He knew they were under attack, but he also knew that an attack like that was made from long-range. It meant he had some time to get any information he could. Even if he had lost any of the initial desire he had to serve Clayman, he still wanted to live and get through this. 

If there was a silver lining he had found it was that it would be some time for any follow-up move from whoever was attacking them. He had tried getting information, but because of the recency of the attack. There was barely anything being spread. Assuming the worst, he guessed that those beams of magic that were going through the sky were responsible for cutting off communications, assuming everyone was being affected, he was in a really tough spot. 

He was being cautious when he suddenly saw the sky fill with dark gray clouds along with the sound of thunder. He immediately knew something was wrong. This was the work of a skill or magic of some sort. He gave out the order to be on alert to all his troops.

"It seems Gabiru hasn't reached this place yet, but that's fine. I prefer it this way.". 

Yamza and the other soldiers heard the voice of a woman. They looked around and saw a purple-haired kijin wielding a large greatsword standing on a pile of rubble overlooking them. She had the sword on her shoulder and her demeanor exuded absolute confidence and strength in herself as if nothing could stand in her way. 

The thunder in the sky could be heard with more ferocity than usual. Yamza immediately took out his Ice Blade. He knew this wouldn't be a normal opponent to face. 

"You must be the one attacking us. Do you know the repercussions of attacking a demon lord's territory?". Yamza asked the purple-haired kijin. Fighting her would be almost suicide. He hoped to talk her down using the threat of a demon lord.

Shion, who was staring all of them down, simply smiled and said, "It's a good thing we have friends in high places.". As she finished talking, she readied Gorikimaru, her greatsword. Small sparks of purple lighting could be seen dancing around her sword and her body. 

Yamza didn't waste any time and started to use his ice magic. He immediately went on the defensive, setting up walls of ice here and there. He also immediately orders the soldiers there to get ready for a fight. He knew that they would hardly put up a fight, but they didn't need to know that. They just need to think they can and they will think that as long as he is there to command them. He was supposed to be the commander in chief of the army afterall.

They say that when a wall is in front of you, you have to find another way around it. Either by going around it, going over it, or going under it, but there was another option. And that was to destroy the wall in front of you. Shion was the kind of person who breaks the walls down.

Shion didn't bother using any attacks except brute force and strength. She rushed in head-on and swung her great sword at any ice constructs in her way, her sword serving as more of a blunt weapon than any blade. As she broke down the ice, ice shards and dust were thrown into the air obscuring the vision of anyone there and cutting them. 

Yamza and all the soldiers were on full alert. All of a sudden, a gust of wind could be heard, and from above they saw Shion, her greatsword above her head, coming down for a strike. Purple lightning was coursing all around her, lighting up the the area with a purple hue. 

Yamza sensing the danger of the impending attack, ordered everyone to retreat from the areas immediately. But they were a step too late. Shion came down and smashed the ground with her greatsword, not even targeting anyone specifically. Purple lightning erupted from the center of her attack and it seemed to have a life of its own as it sought out any targets. Anyone who was hit by the lighting was turned into ash or left charred as they lay dead. 

Yamza, seeing this, gave up hope for anyone getting out alive. He was focused only on himself while doing the bare minimum to "command" any soldier he had left. It took him multiple ice constructs to block the lighting and it had taken up a portion of his magic. 

Shion, after unleashing her initial attack, started running around and killing anyone in her way. She fought using only her strength. Anyone seeing her fight would doubt she had some kind of technique with her sword. Unless they consider relentless brute force a technique.

Her "fight" barely lasted a few minutes. At this point, Yamza was the only one left. And that was only because he…"retreated". He was running with as much force as he could muster. 

Unfortunately for him, the sound of thunder could be heard behind him. He stopped and turned around to face the kijin that was chasing him. He realized that he wouldn't be able to escape. He decided that if he was going to die here, he would die while fighting.

Eventually, he saw the quickly approaching figure come to a stop in front of him. He took out his Ice Blade and took a stance.

"A final stand I see. I hope you're comfortable with your choice, cause you'll find no mercy from the edge of my blade.". Shion said as she gripped her greatsword with two hands.