634
Chapter 634
Zeke grabbed the control crystal that controlled the ark and raised his aura.
WOOOOOONG!
The golden aura that burst from his body flowed into the crystal.
At the same time, the entire ark was dyed golden and emitted purifying energy.
EEEEEING!
The purifying power that burst from the ark spread throughout the Atlas airspace.
The demonic beasts touched by the golden aura screamed while spewing black smoke.
KAAAAAK!
Small demonic beasts either exploded and died unable to withstand the aura's power, or fell to the ground leaking black fluid. Winged medium-sized demonic beasts either escaped the range by leaving Atlas airspace or quickly descended to the ground.
However, the demonic beasts that entered Atlas Castle had to face attacks from the Guardians waiting on the ground.
SWOOSH!
Hercules, standing on the Atlas castle walls, fired orichalcon arrows at the demonic beasts.
PUBUBUBUBUK!
The demonic beasts died exploding just from being grazed by the orichalcon arrows imbued with purifying power.
Soon corpses of dead demonic beasts piled up all over Atlas city, but this was temporary.
TSUTSUTSUTSU!
Within the area linked to Defense Mode, the corpses of dead demonic beasts were automatically sucked into the shadows.
All dead demonic beasts were converted into Zeke's Karma Points, becoming resources to build stronger defensive walls.
Through this, Zeke strengthened Atlas' defense line while thinking he could also remotely reinforce other Defense zones.
As soon as the thought occurred, Zeke checked the stronghold areas that could be linked with Defense Mode.
―Stronghold Area List―
1. Atrahasis' Fortress
2. Dragon Slayer's Tomb
3. Hero King's Resting Place
4. Sky Tribe's Resting Place
5. Giant's Guardian Tower
6. The Ark
7. Infinity tower
Zeke decided to strengthen the defense lines of Atrahasis' Fortress in Mycenae, the Giant's Guardian Tower in the Barbarian territory, and the Infinity tower in Athens in Nirvana's domain.
Soon thick castle walls appeared and magic cannons for attacking enemies were installed in the stronghold areas Zeke designated among those linked to Defense Mode.
WOOOONG!
The magic cannons installed in the stronghold areas took out the swarming demonic beasts, and these were also converted into Zeke's Karma Points.
He could collect massive Karma Points by massacring the swarming demonic beasts from multiple battlefields.
Zeke redistributed these points to strengthen the Shadow Legion and Guardians and granted them new skills.
Judging that some stabilization had been achieved through Defense Mode, Zeke this time imbued the purifying power with complete recovery authority and scattered it throughout Atlas.
The golden light spread out, healing the injured citizens, knights, and soldiers of Atlas.
Minor wounds disappeared immediately, and damaged bodies were cleanly restored to their original state.
Low health was also replenished, so everyone could only be surprised by this suddenly occurring mystery.
"It's, it's a miracle."
"God has saved us."
To those in despair, the golden-dyed ship that suddenly appeared and eliminated the demonic beasts looked like a divine messenger sent by God to save them.
Once the situation in Atlas calmed down somewhat, Zeke immediately drove the ark towards the giant demonic beast holding the angel's cocoon.
KUGUGUGUGU!
As the ark approached, the giant demonic beast became wary and initiated transformation again.
KUUURURURURUK!
New demonic beasts burst out from the giant demonic beast's body.
KAAAAAK!
Giant demonic beasts resembling starfish burst out and tried to attach themselves to the ark's surface while baring sharp teeth and spreading their bodies flying through the air.
Then, gun ports opened on the ark's sides and magic cannons extended out from there.
ZIIIIING!
The magic cannons extending in all directions attacked the charging demonic beasts and split their bodies.
PUBUBUBUBUK!
The demonic beasts flying towards the ark turned to ash and vanished before they could properly approach.
The ark gradually approached the whale-like giant demonic beast while spewing magic cannons in all directions.
Then the giant demonic beast extended its tentacles trying to wrap around the ark.
It seemed intent on crushing the ark in one go with its tentacles.
CHWARARARARAK!
Seeing this, Zeke placed his hand on the ark's control crystal and raised holy spirit energy.
PAZIZIZIZIK!
Then heavenly thunder rippled throughout the entire ark.
The rough electricity began extending towards the approaching tentacles.
PAZIZIZIZIZIK!
The electricity caused chain reactions affecting not just the tentacles trying to wrap around the ark but reaching the demonic beast's main body.
GOOOOOOO!
The demonic beast that took a direct hit from the heavenly thunder let out a huge scream.
But Zeke's attack wasn't over.
He took out an ice attribute Elemental Stone from his inventory.
When he placed the stone on the control device, the ark recognized it and a message appeared.
[The ark has detected the Elemental Stone.]
[Linking Elemental Stone with the ark's main cannon.]
WOOOONG!
The Elemental Stone connected to the ark began to glow with a blue light.
Seeing this, Zeke commanded the system.
"System, aim the main cannon."
Following Zeke's order, the ark's head opened, revealing a crystal cannon made of processed orichalcon and fairy stone.
[Aiming main cannon at target.]
WHEEEEENG!
The crystal cannon precisely aimed at the cocoon in the center of the giant monster.
Through the ark's connection, Zeke could see the cocoon as if it was within reach.
Zeke shouted while watching this.
"Fire the main cannon!"
WOOOONG!
With Zeke's command, the Elemental Stone's energy flowed into the crystal processed with fairy stone.
WOOOONG!
The stone's energy, amplified through the orichalcon, concentrated at the crystal's tip.
The giant monster sensed an ominous power from the ark and immediately began retreating from Atlas's airspace.
KUGUUUU!
But the ark's main cannon was faster.
ZHEEEEENG!
Blue light extended from the crystal toward the giant monster.
ZHEEEEJJJJK!
As the blue light passed by, the tentacles completely froze and shattered into pieces.
THUDUUDUK!
When the amplified Elemental Stone's power combined with the ark, its power far exceeded Zeke's expectations.
The thousands of extended tentacles had all frozen and could no longer move.
The blue light froze all tentacles and still had power left to extend further.
Even the translucent barrier couldn't reduce the blue light's power.
ZHEEEEENG!
The blue light advanced straight through, piercing the barrier.
The main cannon's target was the cocoon attached to the giant monster's body.
Zeke planned to freeze and destroy the cocoon itself before the Angel of the End could hatch.
KUDUDUDUK!
The giant monster desperately tried to close its opened back shell to block the blue light that froze everything.
But the speed of the main cannon flying inside was faster.
ZHEEEEJJJJK!
Before the shell could fully close, the blue light completely froze the inside of the monster's body.
KUDUDUDUK!
Though it barely managed to move its shell to prevent the light from reaching the cocoon, the areas directly hit by the blue light were completely frozen and became necrotic.
The frozen shell parts eventually detached from the body and fell to the ground.
KWAKWAKWA!
Where the giant monster had retreated from Atlas's airspace was where other monsters had gathered on the ground.
KWAKWAKWABANG!
The frozen monster shell fell onto the advancing monsters' heads.
In an instant, thousands of monsters were crushed under the shell.
With one shot from the main cannon, the giant monster lost its barrier, half its shell was gone, and it had taken out other monsters too.
KUDUDUDUK!
The giant monster with its shell gone couldn't properly maintain its massive body's balance and staggered.
Seeing this, Zeke prepared for a second attack.
What he took out from his inventory was a drum and horn.
These were items bestowed with power by Gusion, the powerful constellation of the demon realm and leader of the Tuma tribe, known as the ‘Judge of Endless Struggle’.
Befitting the leader of the Tuma tribe who worship struggle, Gusion's power was mighty.
The drum could summon earthquakes and magma, while the horn could summon meteors.
Additionally, Zeke had enhanced this drum and horn with the sacred ark.
Thanks to this, their original vague criterion of only being usable in battlefields full of hot struggle energy was changed to being usable in 'large-scale battlefields' when their abilities were enhanced.
Zeke synchronized the drum and horn with the ark's system.
WOOOONG!
As the constellation's power dwelling in the artifacts synchronized with the ark, its power was further amplified.
[Execution conditions met.]
[Executing constellation's power.]
Soon, red energy erupted from the ark.
DDDDDDD!
Due to the executed constellation's power, an earthquake occurred where the monsters were.
KWAKWAKWA!
Then, magma began to surge from the earth split by the earthquake.
CHIIIIIK!
This wasn't ordinary magma.
The magma summoned from the Abyss realm, which could be called the demon realm's dangerous territory, engulfed the monsters.
KAAAAK!
Even monsters with foreign species' power couldn't regenerate when hit by the demon realm's magma and melted away inside it.
CHIIIIIK!
Magma spurted like fountains from all directions, and as it soon flowed like a river, the monsters began to panic and flee.
However, the undead legion of immortality waited before them.
KKIGIK! KKIGIGIK!
The immortal legion swung bone swords at the monsters fleeing from the magma.
PUEOK!
Unlike ordinary human soldiers, the undead legion could regenerate and move again as long as they had magical power, even if they were broken.
Inside the Defense Mode area, since the undead legion could receive magical power from Zeke, they could regenerate endlessly.
They had truly become an immortal legion in every sense.
While the monsters were stuck, unable to move forward or backward due to the undead legion, an ominous change occurred in the sky.
KURUURURUNG!
The sky turned red, and a bright light flashed with thunder-like sounds.
Soon, meteors wrapped in flames began pouring from the sky like rain.
KWAKWAKWAKWA!
Huge meteors struck down into the area where the monsters were.
The monsters hit by the falling meteors were crushed without being able to properly resist.
Their fragmented forms tried to stick together and regenerate, but as they writhed and clumped together, magma surged from the ground and melted them all.
DUDUDUDUDUDU!
Even the giant monster floating in the air couldn't avoid the flame-wrapped meteors.
KWADUDUK!
With its barrier broken and half its shell gone, blocking the meteors was impossible.
KUAAANG!
Meteors fell on the remaining half-shell, causing massive explosions.
Finally, the giant monster couldn't hold on any longer and crashed to the ground.
KWAKWAKWAKWABANG!
When the giant monster crashed where the ground had split from surging magma, the monsters couldn't properly escape as they were crushed beneath it.
KUDUDUDUDUK!
The fallen giant monster extended its tentacles again to create a temporary barrier wall to block the falling meteors.
KWAKWAKWABANG!
However, blocking the meteors that were exploding with flames from all directions wasn't an easy task.
The floating ark continuously struck down lightning, and the magic cannons on the fortress walls fired magic bullets to attack the monsters.
Although monsters kept emerging from the huge black hole in the sky, they were often destroyed by the ark's magic cannons before they could properly appear.
To the monsters invading Atlas, Zeke driving the ark was nothing short of a disaster.
Even in this situation, the giant monster didn't give up on protecting and hatching the cocoon as ordered.
KUDUK! KUDUK!
The cocoon, which had grown to over ten meters in size, was pulsating more strongly than before.
It was a signal that hatching wasn't far off.
But that's when it happened.
WOOOONG!
Two glowing swords appeared in front of the cocoon.
Zeke, leading the floating swords, emerged from the darkness.
Zeke flashed a sharp gaze toward the pulsating cocoon.
Simultaneously, the two swords flew toward the cocoon while emitting light.