Chapter 253   - Outbreak of War (2)

Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa!

Light, lightning and flame flew towards them like a torrent. Everyone tried to react to the attack, but they knew they couldn’t block it all. When they had that thought, a wave of light expanded in front of them.

-Come Dragon Demon weapon! Unyielding Fortress!

It was as if numerous water drops were falling to the surface of the ground, then waves of light spread outwards as they overlapped each other to block the onslaught.

Kwahhhhhhhng!

Most of the surprise attack was blocked by the Unyielding Fortress summoned by Azell.

He had to cover a large area in a short amount of time, so he couldn’t block all the attacks. However, it didn’t matter. Everyone present in his party could block the remaining attacks without taking damage.

“We’ll split up. Let’s hit them from both sides!”

Kairen yelled out.

The suicide squad was populated by people, who had only fought on their land. Basically, they never had the opportunity to fight alongside each other.

Despite this fact, the group quickly and efficiently split up when Kairen’s order came down. Of course, each member used their preferred long range attacks to keep their enemies in check. They moved closer to their enemies as they attacked.

“Foolish bastards! Even if each one of you is excellent, do you really think you can threaten the Dragon Demon castle with such numbers?”

The Dragon Majin was the commander in charge of the guards defending the Dragon Demon castle. He grinded his teeth.

They were the defenders of the Dragon Demon castle. This was the first time in history that the Plain of Darkness had been attacked, and it was humiliating.

‘This castle gate is meaningless in front of the Guardian Shadows. It is best to meet them outside.’

The commander made the shocking move of opening the castle gate, because he knew the Guardian Shadows possessed a special characteristic. They were like ghosts that could go through the walls or floors of buildings. He determined it would be better to fight them out in the open. It would be more advantageous than fighting in cramped space.

‘If we push the enemies backwards, we’ll be able to join up with the civilians, who are fighting in the streets! General Reshoo and the troops of each clan will mobilize soon!’

It wasn’t a bad judgement.

Even if a lot of troops had vacated their posts, the Dragon Demon castle possessed massive number of troops. The beings, who were considered to be the ruling power before Atein’s revival, had continuously developed their military power. On top of that, there were the Undeads, who had participated in the Dragon Demon war.

If they pushed back the enemies in front of them, they merely had to wait for the rest of their forces to mobilize and participate in the battle. They would be able to easily win this fight if that happened.

The problem was the fact that the enemy in front of them couldn’t be judged through normal standards.

-Come Dragon Demon weapon! Sky Splitter!

The sky was clear, yet a lightning bolt streaked down from the sky. As the light dissipated, a sword letting out blue light made its appearance.

“It’s Azell Karzark! Shoot him!”

The guards were shaken by the presence of Azell, yet they reflexively followed the order. The 1st line of troops attacked the suicide squad, which had split towards each side. There was a small time difference between the attacks sent by the second and third line. They attacked Azell.

“You have good judgement!”

Azell gave his compliments to his enemies. As he blocked the attack with his Unyielding Fortress, his heart started to pound.

Ba-dump!

The Dual Bands around his heart resonated as it produced a massive amount of Dragon Demon magic. The Dragon Demon magic coursed through his Energy Pulse. A powerful wave of Dragon Demon magic emanated from Azell’s body, and clones made out of light charged forward.

Gwa-roong! Gwah-gwa-gwa-gwahng!

The clones successively let out lightning bolts, and it stalled the guards.

However, the defense of the guards were sublime. They were all Dragon Arts practitioners or magicians. They worked with each other to put up a defense, and the protection magic around the gate extended outwards towards them. Magical barriers were also erected. This was why all of Azell’s attacks were blocked.

“Let’s go!”

Azell didn’t hesitate.

He attacked with his clones, so he could distract his enemies.

The sound of thunder rang out above his head.

Ggwah-roo-roohng!

A blue bolt of lightning struck Azell.

It was Kayalia. At the request of Azell, she had directed a lightning spell towards him.

After being hit by the lightning bolt, all the electricity was sucked into the Sky Splitter. In a flash, the power of the lightning became amplified as it was shot towards his enemies.

-Thunder Dragon’s Horn!

During the Dragon Demon war, Kayalia and Azell had made a name for themselves as being in the rank of the most powerful beings. Their attacks were well above what the guards could handle.

The barrier put up by the guards were ripped apart, and they were swallowed up by the lightning bolt.

Ggwah-ggwah-gwah-gwahng!

The sound of the explosion rang out a beat late, and the battle lines set up by the guards were broken.

“Now! Go, Crying Phoenix!”

Arrieta’s eyes shone.

The Crying Phoenix had been flying around her in its miniature form. In a flash, it regained its original size as it flew up into the sky. Countless bombs made out of fire fell from its wings as it carpet bombed the guards.

“Koo-ahhk!”

“Ahhhhhhhhk!”

The scream of their enemies rang out.

The two split teams re-joined once again. The Guardian Shadows, who had been causing chaos around the city, started to gather in one place too.

Kairen didn’t let this opportunity pass him by.

“Everyone just let it rip! Oh Dragon Sword, burn the evil darkness!”

Even if Kairen hadn’t said anything, everyone had been waiting for an opportunity to attack. The warriors, who were the quickest to attack, started to send out long distance attacks. Consecutive explosions rang out as the 10 meter tall castle gate was blown into pieces.

The magicians attacked before the explosion could subside. On top of that, Leticia controlled the Guardian Shadows to snipe at the guards with long range attacks.

The guards became desperate at that point.

“Shit! Break them apart!”

The troops, who had been stationed behind the castle gate, had taken massive damage. The ones that exited from the top weren’t the target of the attacks, so they continued to pour out to put pressure on their enemies.

The guards were trying to turn this into a melee, and the suicide squad looked as if they were about to jump in. Suddenly, a voice rang out inside the heads of the guards.

-The guards shall immediately retreat back into the Dragon Demon castle.

“Your majesty?”

It was Atein’s voice.

The guards were puzzled by the order, but they followed it. Atein’s orders were absolute to them.

Kairen clicked his tongue.

“They wised up to it.”

“We hid it as best as we could, but we caused too much damage. I thought Atein would be too focused on his ritual, but it seems he has enough time to monitor the events outside.”

Azell grumbled.

Suddenly, the suicide squad ebbed away. One of the guards, who were puzzled by their move, suddenly let out an exclamation.

“Ah......!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Look up at the sky!”

He had been monitoring the sky since he had been wary of Kayalia’s presence in the sky.

The sky was blue, and it was empty except for the white clouds. Suddenly, a portion of the sky became distorted. It was as if an enormous teardrop had formed in the sky.

Everyone knew what this phenomena meant. The guards were shocked when they saw it.

‘Heaven’s Tear Goblet!’

While her comrades fought on the ground, Laura had entrusted herself to the White Flame Phoenix. She was flying at a higher altitude than Kayalia.

While Kayalia blocked Larua’s magic from being detected, she prepared an attack that would deal a critical blow to her enemies.

After Laura honed in on the Dragon Demon castle as the target, she raised the Vitan’s Chalice. She mumbled to herself.

“Release.”

A massive amount of sunlight was gathered in the sky. An iron mace of destruction fell onto the Dragon Demon castle.

In a flash, their vision burned white.

Afterwards, a terrifying heat swept through the surrounding. It was such a devastating destructive event that it looked as if the world in front of them had ended.

“Ooohk. Everytime I see this I don’t know what to think. It really is amazing.....!”

Kairen grumbled to himself.

The previous attack was a joint effort between Laura and Kayalia. The amount of power used was calculated. If the Heaven’s Tear Goblet was used in an irresponsible manner, she would have wiped out her allies too.

The target was ultimately the Dragon Demon castle. Instead of causing mass destruction, the goal was to cut through the Dragon Demon castle using the beam of light.

Despite the restraints, the aftereffects of the attack was massive.

There was nothing left near the Dragon Demon castle. All the buildings within several hundred meters were destroyed, and everything was on fire. The aftereffects of the attack created fierce winds that could send humans flying like ragdolls.

Leticia grumble.

“My god. It took the full brunt of the attack, yet it took so little damage?”

In comparison to the destroyed surrounding, the Dragon Demon castle retained its shape.

Of course, it wasn’t untouched. There was a big hole where the attack hit, and the nearby structure was crumbling. However, it was almost unbelievable that the damage stopped there.

Kairen asked Azell a question.

“By looking at the damage inflicted, I’m guessing the place where the ritual is taking place was unharmed?”

“I believe so. That place should have the highest defense.”

“As expected, nothing is easy. Let’s charge in before our enemies can get back on their feet!”

Even if Atein’s defensive magic had minimized the damage, their enemies were probably in a state of shock. They had to break through their enemies before the confusion could reigned in.

The suicide squad immediately entered through the castle gate. There were many corpses strewn about the entrance, and there were many enemies inside that were still dazed from the attack.

The suicide squad cut them all down as they moved deeper into the Dragon Demon castle. Soon, they clashed with the troops stationed deeper inside.

“Do not yield!”

The guards were ready to give up their lives in order to stop Azell’s party. The number of guards still outnumbered the suicide squad by a significant amount.

This was true if one counted those that were ‘alive’.

“Koo-ahk!”

“They are coming through the walls!”

“Floor! Be wary of the attacks from below!”

The screams of the guards rang out.

The Guardian Shadows passed through walls like ghosts, and they attacked the guards. In a straight fight, the suicide squad could fight the guards to a standstill. When the Guardian Shadows revealed themselves from below, the line set up by the guards were destroyed.

“Laura.”

Azell spoke as he observed the fight. Laura had re-joined him by this time. She nodded her head.

“Yes.”

The Vitan’s Chalice created a Dimensional Distortion. The floor beneath them became distorted, and a path to the lower floors was opened.

Above all else, they had to stop Atein from completing the ritual.

Kayalia had found the room where the ritual was taking place. It was being done in the 7th floor of the underground.

Azell took half of the suicide squad as they left the first floor. The other half of the suicide squad and the Guardian Shadows were tasked with fighting the remaining enemies up top.

Azell and his party arrived at the 7th floor of the underground. They had used the Path of Tears. Azell looked at his surrounding as he asked a question.

“How far do we have to go?”

-You just have to go straight for 5 kilometers.

“This place is large for no purpose.”

It was such a large space considering it was just one floor. From the floor to the ceiling, there was a distance of over 30 meters.

Kayalia spoke.

-Atein’s ritual room is above the abyss. It is a place where he can focus all of his power.

“The abyss.......”

It was a grandiose name. However, it was the heart of the Great Darkness, so it deserved to be called by such grandiose name.

Soon, the party checked their surroundings as they quickly moved forward. Laura and Kayalia were their guides, so there was no way they’ll become lost.

<You shall not pass.>

Undead magicians wearing fancy clothes got in the way of Azell’s party. There were also several dozen Dragon Majins and Dragon Demons present alongside the Undead Dragon Majins.

Laura recognized them.

“They are Digo and Bolton’s warriors.”

These were the troops directly under leaders of the Plain of Darkness. The Undeads, who had participated in the Dragon Demon war, had pulled aside these troops, since they weren’t part of the guards.

“I knew they wouldn’t let us move forward in peace. Sir Kazark, do not waste your strength here. Let us handle it. Just go.”

The one to speak was the White Sword Count Bakard Lakadi from the Rios Kingdom. His siblings stepped forward with him.

Azell nodded his head.

“I wish you good fortune in battle.”

“Thank you. When this battle ends, I’ll invite you to my land. Will you come? I’ll serve you some rare alcohol that had been passed down through the previous generations.”

“I’ll gladly take you up on that offer.”

Including the four Lakadi siblings, 10 members of the suicide squad and 50 Guardian Shadows remained behind.

The rest left behind the fierce battle as they pushed onwards.

However, that wasn’t the end to the enemies they encountered. At various locations, troops of similar level as the previous group were deployed.

Each time a part of the suicide quad stepped forward to fight them.

They were 400 meters away from the ritual room, and only the members of Azell’s party was left amongst the suicide squad.

Suddenly, Kairen mumbled to himself.

“Will we be ok?”