667
Chapter 667
KUGUGUGUGUGU!
The mobile fortress moved at high speed while floating above the Dark Sea, making a thunderous noise.
Elizabeth, the First Princess, had magically modified it to move sufficiently even in the harsh environment of the demon realm, making it possible to travel through the Dark Sea region.
Zeke was watching the screen showing the outside from the situation room of the mobile fortress.
Although it was meant to observe the outside situation, the screen was filled with magical storms making visibility difficult, and rapidly flying hailstones and flashing plasma.
Elizabeth's subordinates calmly operated the mobile fortress while deploying barriers to neutralize the harsh external environment.
Zeke's plan to cross the Dark Sea using the demon realm's mobile fortress had worked.
"Oh Guide of Fair Pain."
At that moment, Elizabeth, the First Princess, approached Zeke.
Behind her were Yekaterina, the Second Princess, and Anastasia, the Third Princess.
Unlike Elizabeth, who maintained a courteous expression, Yekaterina wore her usual angry expression, while Anastasia appeared somewhat intimidated.
After greeting her sisters, Elizabeth bowed her head to Zeke and continued speaking.
"In five hours from now, we will cross the Dark Sea and reach the Abandoned Continent."
Before departing, Zeke had informed Elizabeth of Laura Agamemnon's route and asked her to find the path to the Abandoned Continent.
The speed of the flying mobile fortress was incomparably faster than that of a ship.
Zeke nodded at Elizabeth's words.
"Five hours. That's faster than expected."
"Yes, it's thanks to the effects of the new navigation system you provided, Demon lord. Because of it, we're cruising without being affected by the external environment."
The new navigation system Elizabeth mentioned was originally applied to the Ark, which Zeke had asked Hades to adapt for the mobile fortress.
Thanks to this, the mobile fortress could automatically offset external environmental hazards and find the optimal route.
Zeke nodded and opened his mouth toward Elizabeth.
"When we arrive at the Abandoned Continent, numerous magical beasts will rush in. They possess far greater power than the magical beasts of the Central Continent because they've been directly exposed to the Demon King's power. We need to create a stronghold by summoning an Erosion Fortress while holding them off to open a gate."
Elizabeth spoke to Zeke in a reassuring tone.
"No matter how strong the magical beasts are, they won't be able to break through the fortress's defense system."
"You don't understand my words. The magical beasts here are more terrible than even those of the demon realm. The moment we let our guard down, the entire fortress could collapse."
At that moment, Yekaterina, who was standing behind Elizabeth, raised her voice toward Zeke.
"Even if you are a Demon lord, I cannot let that comment slide! Are you doubting the strength of our proud demon realm warriors!"
Elizabeth's mobile fortress also carried Yekaterina's forces.
She, who commanded powerful battle demons as subordinates, always maintained strong pride in her combat units.
For her, even comparing magical beasts to her warriors was an insult to her pride.
Hearing Yekaterina's words, Zeke looked at her steadily and spoke.
"I'm not doubting the abilities of demon realm warriors, I'm stating facts. These creatures are ones that even demon-kind cannot easily handle..."
KWAKWAKWAKWABANG!
Before Zeke could finish speaking, the mobile fortress shook violently.
Elizabeth, the fortress's owner, shouted to her subordinates in surprise.
"What's happening?!"
The demon controlling the mobile fortress shouted back to Elizabeth.
"So-something invisible has collided with the fortress's defensive wall!"
At the demon's words, Zeke furrowed his brow.
'Have we reached the magical beasts' territory as we approach the Abandoned Continent?'
At that moment, Yekaterina spoke with a confident expression.
"Ha, perfect. I'll go personally and show you the power of the battle demon unit."
Elizabeth looked at Yekaterina and spoke in a low voice.
"Rina, we haven't even properly identified the enemy yet. First, let's calmly assess the situation..."
"How foolish, instead of wasting time, we should go and sweep away the enemy. Enough with this nonsense!"
Yekaterina immediately left the situation room.
She mounted a dragon-type magical beast and led her prized battle demon unit outside the mobile fortress.
The battle demons with their massive bodies spread their wings and flew into the air with Yekaterina.
KURURURURUNG!
However, Yekaterina, who had set out so boldly, was shocked as soon as she left the fortress.
'Was the environment outside the fortress this harsh?'
Even within the range of the defensive wall, she could barely maintain her composure due to the magical storms raging in all directions, the hailstones, and the powerful plasma currents striking down.
Even in the demon realm, it would be difficult to find such a harsh environment.
Even the dragon-type magical beast she was riding had difficulty maintaining its balance.
Just as she hesitated in shock and tried to regain her composure, she sensed something approaching from the side of the mobile fortress's defensive wall.
A massive shadow appeared in the magical storm and slammed itself against the defensive wall.
BOOM!
CRASH!l
The defensive wall of the mobile fortress shook, sending intense vibrations throughout.
"Ugh!"
Yekaterina and the Tuma forces couldn't maintain their balance from just the shockwave of the collision.
After steadying herself, Yekaterina could finally see what was attacking the mobile fortress.
'That, that is...?'
It was truly massive.
The demon beast was as large as the entire mobile fortress, with black eagle-like wings covering its body and countless eyes surrounding a face-like formation in the center.
Every time the demon beast's wings fluttered, magical storms arose and plasma poured in all directions.
Yekaterina felt despair for the first time since facing her father Mephistopheles, confronted by the demon beast's form that far exceeded her imagination.
'Ah...'
The Tuma clan, possessing battle instincts, was a race that lacked emotions of fear, dread, and resignation.
Even when faced with powerful beings, the Tuma clan would charge forward with madness.
As a high-ranking Tuma, Yekaterina also had this tendency, typically becoming more motivated when facing strong opponents.
But the demon beast she faced now was different on another level.
A sense of frustration enveloped her entire body, feeling that there was nothing she could do.
Not just Yekaterina, but the other Tuma following her felt the same way.
Every time they met the demon beast's eyes looking at them from outside the defensive wall, their unique battle instincts disappeared and were replaced with a sense of defeat.
'What if it breaks through the defensive wall?'
Yekaterina felt her body gradually stiffening from the creeping fear.
At that moment, an ominous light surged from the demon beast's eyes.
WOONG!
The surrounding plasma gathered into the demon beast's eyes, concentrating into a single point before shooting toward the defensive wall.
BOOM! BOOM!
When the plasma beam collided with the defensive wall, the entire mobile fortress shook and tilted sideways.
"URRRGH!"
Yekaterina and the entire airborne Tuma force lost their balance in the shockwave.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
Yekaterina noticed parts of the defensive wall surrounding the mobile fortress slowly crumbling.
The demon beast seemed to notice this too, as it raised its wings and began shooting feathers toward the weakened defensive wall.
WHOOSH!
The sharp feathers penetrated through the gaps in the defensive wall.
Yekaterina drew her sword and shouted to her subordinates.
"Stop them!"
Following her command, the Tuma forces finally regained their senses and opened their mouths to fire magic cannons at the feathers.
BOOM!
While some incoming feathers were destroyed by the Tuma's magic cannons, others changed trajectory and embedded themselves in the demons' bodies.
THUD!
A demon who had a feather pierce their chest center tried to pull it out immediately while groaning.
However, the feather spread through the demon's body like tree roots, transforming the Tuma warrior's body.
"GRRRR!"
Soon, small wings began sprouting from the bodies of the demons pierced by feathers.
CRACK!
The bodies of the demons pierced by feathers quickly transformed to resemble the massive demon beast outside the defensive wall.
CRUNCH!
In an instant, dozens of demons transformed into demon beasts and gathered together, lining up in a row.
Seeing this, Yekaterina shouted.
"Damn it! Attack them!"
The Tuma warriors followed Yekaterina's orders and charged at the transformed smaller demon beasts, but their fighting spirit was already broken.
Then, plasma gathered in the demon beasts' eyes and fired beams at the charging Tuma warriors.
ZZZZZZING!
The powerful plasma beams instantly shredded the Tuma warriors bodies.
Yekaterina clenched her teeth watching this scene.
"You bastards!"
Enraged by the deaths of her subordinates, her earlier fear vanished, replaced by a burning fighting spirit.
She raised her sword and summoned her battle energy.
BOOM!
After imbuing energy in her raised sword, she rode her dragon-form demon beast and charged at the demon beasts.
The demon beasts fired plasma beams again.
Yekaterina swung her sword and released powerful battle energy.
BOOM!
CRASH!
Yekaterina's battle energy and the plasma beams collided, creating shockwaves in all directions.
As battle broke out inside the defensive wall, the mobile fortress's defensive barrier grew increasingly weak.
The massive demon beast outside pushed harder against the weakening barrier.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
It tried to break through the defensive barrier by ramming it with its enormous mass.
At the same time, it shot another volley of feathers inside the defensive wall.
WHOOSH!
This time, more feathers than before reached the mobile fortress and embedded themselves in its surface.
One of the feathers pierced the dragon-form demon beast Yekaterina was riding.
GRRRRRR!
The pierced dragon-form demon beast also began transforming.
Yekaterina immediately spread her hidden wings and flew into the air.
CRUNCH!
The dragon-form demon beast, now covered in wings, unleashed a plasma storm toward its former master Yekaterina.
"URGH!"
Though she instinctively summoned battle energy to barely block the plasma storm, she couldn't completely escape its effects.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
Dozens of plasma lightning bolts enveloped her body.
The more Yekaterina tried to shake them off, the more persistently they dug in.
Yekaterina finally understood what Zeke meant when he warned that these were different from normal demon beasts.
Just then, the lined-up smaller demon beasts fixed their eyes on Yekaterina.
WOONG!
Powerful plasma beams surged from their eyes and shot toward Yekaterina.
Caught in the plasma storm, Yekaterina couldn't dodge.
It seemed she would be vaporized by the incoming beams.
SLASH!
The lined-up smaller demon beasts were suddenly cut horizontally, along with the incoming plasma beams.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
The plasma storm enveloping Yekaterina's body finally subsided.
Zeke had appeared before her.
He spoke to Yekaterina.
"Their energy defies even Tuma instincts. Stay focused."
As Zeke snapped his fingers, his guardian Caligula was summoned.
Zeke placed the ‘Crown Made from the Cursed King's Skull,’ one of the Arrogant Savior's treasures, on Caligula.
The treasure, imbued with thousands of years of grudges and curses, amplified Caligula's power.
RUMBLE!
When Caligula's power merged with the ‘Crown Made from the Cursed King's Skull,’ amazingly, the demon beast's influence was blocked and the Tuma warriors fighting spirit was revived, including Yekaterina's.
Thanks to her restored fighting spirit, unlike before, Yekaterina could completely shake off her fear of the massive demon beast.
She glared at the demon beast and gripped her sword again.
"Wait."
Zeke stopped her and snapped his fingers again, splitting the sky to reveal a giant eye.
The Eye of the Destruction God, another treasure of the Arrogant Savior, had appeared.
When the Eye of the Destruction God emitted a red light, intense destructive power surged through Yekaterina and the other Tuma warriors .
Zeke calmly spoke to Yekaterina and the Tuma forces he had strengthened using two of the Arrogant Savior's treasures.
"Wipe them out."