Chapter 639: Land of the Malevolent God (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 639: Land of the Malevolent God (1)
A black ship floated in the sky, seeming to tread upon the heavens themselves.
With a hull nearly four kilometers long, the Ram overwhelmed every other vessel in the skies of Huphester by its sheer scale alone.
“That… is a ship?” Octavia asked, her voice hollow with disbelief.
As she said, the Ram looked less like a flying ship and more like an aerial fortress, its scale rivaling the main hall of the Land of the Fighting God. It didn’t look like a mere vessel; it looked as if a black island had simply taken to the air.
“When on earth did Runcandel build such a thing?!” Kadun roared, baring his teeth.
The great powers that had arrived in Huphester with such momentum felt their blood run cold once more at the sight of Runcandel's hidden strength.
It was bordering on despair.
What had they actually known about Runcandel all this time?
The leaders of each faction were forced to ask themselves the same question.
Nothing… We knew absolutely nothing! We had no idea what kind of horrific power they were hiding!
How could this be? How could they have been so ignorant of their enemy’s true nature?
Regret was useless now.
“…My judgment was flawed. We should never have come to Huphester,” Hedo admitted, his decision to prepare for an all-out assault now clearly a mistake.
“It is not your sole responsibility. Kelliark deemed the judgment correct and gave the final approval himself. It was a mistake shared by all of us who remained ignorant of their power until now. Damn it! It seems even the fleet’s communication lines are failing.”
They had already ventured too deep into enemy territory to escape.
Even far behind their fleets, the sky was as black as pitch. The energy of Chaos was severing the ships' communication arrays.
Beyond mere interference, the fleets were being actively pulled toward the Ram. This forced Zipple's hand.
They had to fight.
The Ram had not yet begun its attack. Though they were overwhelmed by its aura and appearance, nothing was certain until they actually clashed. The great powers had brought their full might, after all.
“If we try to force a retreat, we’ll be open to a one-sided attack. Furthermore, there must be constraints to operating such a massive power. We must find them and exploit them. Kinzelo is surely thinking the same thing!”
Kinzelo was indeed discussing exactly what Kadun suspected.
[This is unexpected, even for me. To think they had already completed that. Was the despair of Rosa and Joshua Runcandel truly that deep? It is truly the manifestation of the Malevolent God…]
Orgal was the only one who had seen the Ram in the past.
Back then, he had concluded that even in his prime, he could not withstand the Ram’s firepower.
If there was any silver lining, it was that the Ram did not appear complete in Orgal’s eyes.
[Everything now depends on Jin Runcandel.]
“Leader, what do you mean by that?”
“Master?”
[Even if it is incomplete, as long as the Ram exists, it is absolutely impossible for us or Zipple to break through the sky and enter the Garden of Swords. Retreating would also be a decision resulting in catastrophic losses.]
The Leader’s dimensional gates were also being affected by Chaos. From Mort’s dimensional movement to the Red Owl’s space-jump, Chaos placed restrictions on all forms of spatial travel.
If they forced a dimensional gate open now, Kinzelo would suffer devastating damage without dealing a single blow to Runcandel.
[We can only hope that the sole individual fighting inside, Jin Runcandel, damages the Ram’s power source. Whether we attack or retreat—it only becomes meaningful if he succeeds.]
The Ram’s power source was the very Chaos energy centered on Rosa Runcandel, which now blanketed the entire Garden of Swords. Something had to go wrong with it for Zipple and Kinzelo to reap even a small harvest and live to see another day.
[I am resetting our war objectives. All fleets, engage the Ram and support Jin Runcandel. Keeping him alive is our top priority.]
Orgal swiftly rescinded his previous command to wage a war that would damage both Zipple and Runcandel. He judged that if Jin died without striking the Ram’s power source, the only outcome for the great powers would be total annihilation.
And so, the aerial battle between the two great factions and Runcandel began.
Naturally, the Ram struck first. The center of its hull distorted like a whirlpool as Chaos energy gathered.
A main cannon—or at least, the equivalent of one for a ship of this scale.
However, the strike the Ram unleashed far surpassed every known ship cannon in the world, befitting its colossal size. It was beyond comparison.
Kwaaaaaaa…!
A black band of energy that seemed to divide the heavens swept through the Zipple fleet.
Kadun, who had already transformed into his true form and moved outside the ships, was forced to unleash his flames with full strength from the very start.
The ships huddled together, deploying their shields. The barriers, infused with all of Zipple’s technology and mana, struggled to hold against the black energy spewed by the Ram.
But after only a few seconds, they began to tear apart mercilessly.
The shield centered on the 2nd Fleet’s flagship, Kozec 2, was the first to be breached. There was no time for Kadun, the other experts, or the neighboring fleets to intervene.
[Kuaaaaaagh…!]
Kadun’s roar was buried under the thunderous sound of the fleet’s destruction.
Standing at the prow of the Ram, Rosa let out a thin smirk at the sight.
[How pitiful, struggling like insects… Fire Dragon of Zipple.]
Rosa’s voice trembled slightly, as if she were swept up in ecstasy. The Prophet, however, felt a sense of unease at her demeanor.
Her mind is collapsing too slowly. I've proven so much, yet she still resists my power… Why, Rosa Runcandel…!
Though a single volley had silenced the Kozec 2 and pushed Zipple’s 2nd Fleet to the brink of annihilation, the power the Prophet expected from the current Ram was about fifty percent higher. Because Rosa was still resisting the Prophet, that power wasn't being fully manifested.
Rosa saw right through the Prophet’s inner thoughts.
[It seems you're displeased that I still resist full synchronization, even after you've proven this much.]
“That is not the case.”
[The day Runcandel becomes completely subordinate to you will never come. Your job is merely to provide power while parasitizing my clan…]
“Ha, it is simply a shame that you reject a more effective path. You are always like this.”
[Everything depends on my judgment. Do not forget that your essence is nothing more than a servant of the clan, Ilina Runcandel. Is the youngest not done yet?]
“Sir Stam and Sir Lionel are there, so it will soon be resolved…”
[You surely know that will not be enough. You are hoping for me to step in personally.]
The Prophet bowed her head.
Rosa was on a completely different level than Joshua. The Prophet could never get her way with her.
[This is your last chance. After today, if you ever try to measure me with your shallow schemes again, I will terminate our contract.]
“I was wrong.”
[Summon him.]
*
When the Ram’s first bombardment ended, Kadun was gasping for breath with a metallic wheeze, his scales peeled back across his body.
For the first time in his life, he felt his will to fight completely evaporate. A sensation he hadn't even felt when facing Murakan a thousand years ago shook his very core.
Nevertheless, Kadun gathered his flaming breath with all his remaining strength. Had it been any other dragon, they would never have been able to do so.
[Shinu’s protection shall be with us…!]
As Kadun charged, the Zipple fleet used the Ram’s gravitational pull to match his speed and advance.
They did indeed possess true grit. The space where the Kozec 2 had vanished was quickly filled by a newly summoned fleet of the Wraith Squad, and the shields shattered by the Ram’s attack were being restored in an instant.
All of them were being bolstered by the heat Kadun was emitting.
Hedo, along with Octavia, mounted the Wind Dragon Salion and fired sword energy, while the Wraith Squad behind them deployed chain magic.
The Ram needed time before its main cannon could fire again. To the naked eye, the Chaos energy gathering into the Ram didn't seem particularly fast.
From the rear, Kinzelo was rushing in. Unlike Zipple, who had endured the Ram’s attack, they had yet to suffer any damage.
Zephyrin, leading the charge, was larger than ever before. She was drawing upon all of Orgal’s power, which she hadn't been able to use due to previous constraints.
However, since Orgal had not yet fully recovered, there was a clear limit to her ability to recreate his prime.
About one hour.
It wasn't long, but during that time, she could engage in battle as a being close to the strongest in the Demon World.
Thus, Zephyrin was full of confidence. Unlike those foolish Zipple bastards who hadn't brought Kelliark, she was certain she could deal a proper blow to Runcandel.
Until the Ram opened up and released what it held within.
[Did I not tell you, Zephyrin? Until Jin Runcandel creates a variable on the ground, you will not be able to strike the Ram. Do not be greedy.]
[Damn it, Master! What is that now?!]
[Chaos… her creations.]
Graaaaaagh! Screeeech!
Emerging from the hull of the Ram were hundreds of dragons—creations of Heluram that could only be called ‘Chaos Dragons.’ And with them, over a hundred black ships.
The Chaos Dragons and the Black Ships escorted the Ram. They incessantly fired breaths and main cannons, deploying shields and absorbing the attacks of the two great powers.
The entire sky was a chaotic mess of light. The scene of the war did not look like a fight between humans, but rather the desperate struggles of mortals challenging a malevolent god.
The Chaos Dragons let out eerie cries as they tore into Zephyrin and the fleets.
Amidst the explosions of blood, with the flesh and bone of humans, dragons, and Chaos creatures scattering everywhere—
Orgal fixed his gaze on the ground, in the center of the Garden of Swords.
Jin’s karma fire was fading.
*
Haa, ha…!
Jin gasped for breath as he looked down at the fallen. Stam’s body was half-gone, his movements stilled. Lionel was kneeling on one knee, spitting up blood and foam.
Lionel’s final decisive technique was certainly dangerous… Even with a corrupted mind, a Patriarch is still a Patriarch.
Jin’s injuries were visible through the gaps in his shattered Rune of Mul-ta and Spirit Armor.
It was true that his stamina was severely depleted, but it wasn't to the point where he couldn't continue fighting.
Before finishing off Lionel, Jin looked up at the sky. He saw the Ram, the Chaos Dragons and Black Ships fighting beneath it, and the fleets of the great powers.
Against those things… I don’t know if the Elder Council Head can hold out.
Like those outside, Jin was also becoming slightly anxious at the sight of his family’s power, which continued to defy his expectations. Even at a glance, the two great powers were already being pushed back.
Lionel raised his head.
[You are the strongest child of Runcandel I have ever personally faced… You were born in the wrong era. If a child like you had existed in my time… the Malevolent God would never have been born from our clan.]
Jin did not answer. He stepped forward and severed Lionel’s neck.
As he was about to search for the Prophet, Lionel’s severed head spoke:
[Furthermore, the heroes of the clan would never have had to fight such a dishonorable battle against their most brilliant descendant…]
Jin felt the aura of yet another ancient hero emerging from the Mausoleum.
It was an aura Jin had encountered once before.