Episode 1015
Chapter 247: The Lafrarosa Liberation War (3)
For a moment, it felt as if the desert itself had been split in two.
The Red-Eyed Tribe’s fleet, which had been focused on the meteor shower, was thrown into chaos once again. The crimson shield clashed against the golden blade of Shaecheon, producing a dreadful screeching sound.
Ships were exploding everywhere.
Normally, they might have held out a little longer, but the chaos seeping through the shattered shields caused the Red-Eyed crew to cough up thick, black blood.
“Ugh!”
“Gah…!”
In the blink of an eye, chaos swallowed the crew whole. The Red-Eyed captains tried to push back the disorder, but they couldn’t withstand the shock of Shaecheon’s assault.
No matter how advanced their ships were, the situation made proper operation impossible. Their prized high-performance equipment and devices were rendered useless.
Every time the golden blade of Shaecheon surged across the battlefield, a dozen or so ships were destroyed. Flames and smoke from the explosions blanketed the sky, only to be erased repeatedly by Shaecheon’s relentless strikes.
“Today, the death of our Drek brethren feels especially tragic…”
Simat furrowed his brow and muttered.
The Drek spirit.
Before Simat awakened as a Divine Warrior, the misguided decisions of the Great War Kings had led to his senseless death.
Had Drek survived, even if only one of them had infiltrated Tikan or the Garden of Blades, the alliance wouldn’t have been able to fight so aggressively.
But what’s done is done.
“Open the bridge. Bakalun, Rakiman, Bekios. All Great War Kings, along with the first-class Divine Warriors under their command, prepare for full deployment.”
Simat made a decision unlike any before.
He ordered all of the Red-Eyed Tribe’s strongest forces—except for the airborne fortress ‘Kri’—to engage directly in battle.
Fighting safely inside the fortress might have been more advantageous, especially with chaos blanketing the battlefield like now.
But it was a gut feeling.
Simat sensed that if they failed to stop the alliance this time, Lafrarosa would be liberated without a hitch. With the witch involved, the already unpredictable situation was bound to become even more complicated.
Clank! Vrrrr…!
The bridges of all airborne fortresses, except for Patl, opened. As Simat and the three Great War Kings appeared, the Divine Warriors of the Meiwang Tribe grinned.
“Finally, those sub-specimens are charging out of their fortresses.”
“Jin, brother, we’ll handle the rest. You take down Murakan and those sub-specimens’ Divine Warriors.”
The mages of Ziphl had already given up entering the battlefield after being hit by the meteor shower. Even if they were phantoms or specters, without someone like Elona, they couldn’t intervene in this fight.
Originally, Ziphl had sent them for reconnaissance, not combat. Being the slowest movers, they chose the safest option.
But the giants on the battlefield wouldn’t even allow them to observe their fight.
Jin stepped out of the bridge and looked up at Simat, who stood on the battlefield like solid ground, radiating a red brainwave.
The atmosphere was different from usual.
Not just cold and resolute, but carrying the unique dignity of an ancient conqueror.
The gaze of someone who has ruled the world at least once.
Jin vowed to never let him look at the world with those eyes again.
“You seem well acquainted with chaos, Jin Runkandel. Abandoning your base defense the moment chaos spread across the desert.”
“I know it well. I’ve fought and won many times.”
Simat’s eyes and his radiant heart glowed red.
He, too, was sizing up Jin’s power—not just the strength gained from ascending to the Divine Star, but the inexplicable force within Jin Runkandel himself.
The will of someone who has transcended fate multiple times.
Looking back, even before ascending to the Divine Star, Jin always gave off that aura. No matter the opponent, no matter how strong or overwhelming the difference.
His eyes shone as if to say he could stand and win.
“Even before regaining your memories as a Divine Warrior, your attitude always unsettled me. Back then, I was Simat, a first-class Divine Warrior. But now… I can no longer tolerate it. It’s because of people like you that we seek the Sun God. You want to break free from your predetermined fate? That might be a pleasant thought for you personally, but fundamentally, it’s a corruption of the world’s order.”
Whoosh!
The blade of the Sun Sword Tetalon blazed fiercely. Behind him, the airborne fortress Pibil’s power source thrummed with amplified vibrations.
Those vibrations began to fuse the desert floor, split apart by Shaecheon, back into one. The remaining force in Shaecheon sank back underground, regardless of Jin’s will.
It was a forceful suppression. The firepower gap was still immense. But that was only when comparing Jin alone.
[Who are you, a mere mortal, to talk about order? Even a god would die if they spouted such nonsense carelessly.]
Murakan spread two pairs of wings behind Jin’s back. Though the massive black dragon’s size seemed small compared to the airborne fortress, its power was anything but.
A mist-like spiritual energy gently swirled around Jin and Murakan. Even the fortress’s main cannons wouldn’t easily disperse that fog.
[Above all, if you want to talk about order, you shouldn’t have tangled with chaos. Will you deny that the pure chaotic energy the witch spread across the desert has nothing to do with you?]
“The path toward order is inevitably filled with chaos, Black Dragon Murakan. What matters is the form the world takes at the end.”
Only the outcome matters.
That was the core belief of the Red-Eyed Tribe. They divided their kin by class and had no qualms about sacrificing their own for the cause.
They believed that once the ‘perfect world’ arrived, all past errors and mistakes would be corrected. This belief wasn’t unique to the Red-Eyed Tribe—it was shared by all factions except the Bamel Alliance.
“I’ve met many who speak like you, Simat. Some died by my hand, others still live and fight me. Their common trait? Their plans were thwarted when they met me. Just like you.”
“You have a knack for speaking of uncertain futures as if they’ve already happened.”
“Yes, because I can see your future.”
Jin and Simat swung their swords simultaneously.
As golden thunder clashed with crimson brainwaves, a blinding explosion and shockwave erupted between them. Before the shockwave faded, Jin and Murakan surged forward, driving their blades into Simat’s chest.
The dense crimson brainwave slowed Jin’s sword like water. Still, it was so fast it seemed like a flash of light. But Simat had already shifted position and slashed at Murakan’s wings.
The blade passed through like a shadow, soft and smooth. Murakan swung his foreleg in response, but the fortress’s crimson brainwave froze it mid-air.
All airborne fortresses except Patl were supporting Simat this way. It was as if three impenetrable shields guarded him.
Jin and Murakan quickly switched between offense and defense, absorbing Simat’s counterattack and deciding to target the airborne fortresses first.
At least one had to be disabled to create even a small opening. Instead of attacking Pibil, closest to Simat, they aimed for Rital and Vesel on the flanks.
‘The three demons haven’t joined the fight yet. Probably related to chaos somehow, but relying on them is only a temporary advantage. Ultimately, the alliance must be able to face Simat and the fortresses on its own.’
Unlike the two who had to dodge the crimson brainwaves, Simat used them like a path, swinging Tetalon relentlessly.
The condensed crimson brainwaves on the Red Sky Divine Sword Tetalon had already struck near Jin and Murakan several times. Each strike was followed by the fortress’s main cannon fire.
One hit would cause severe injury. Especially for Jin, who lacked Murakan’s durability and regenerative power, it was deadly.
Black Dragon Ultimate Skill:
Darkness Descends
The moment Murakan unleashed his spiritual energy, a colossal darkness descended over the battlefield, where countless energies clashed and shimmered chaotically.
The darkness instantly enveloped the airborne fortress’s shield and tore it apart in all directions. The red shield fused with the spiritual energy was ripped as well, and Murakan lunged into the breach.
Had Rital been alone, several layers of its outer armor would have been destroyed by that strike. But Murakan was pushed back by the concentrated fire from Pibil and Vesel, forced to regain his stance.
Meanwhile, Jin passed Simat and plunged his sword into the lower hull of Rital. That was the move they had planned from the start.
The blade pierced the armor and triggered a massive golden thunder explosion from within. The blast, though faint, affected Rital’s core and power source.
As a result, Rital’s crimson brainwave briefly vanished, and Murakan’s breath struck it once more. Rital was driven into the ground like a stake.
Simat had failed to protect Rital. At that moment, he was extending the Red Sky Divine Sword toward Lafrarosa’s dimensional gate, accepting the damage to Rital as a necessary sacrifice.
It was actually more effective to strike at Laprarosa.
Jin had to make a decision. Should he keep attacking Rital, which was momentarily vulnerable, or protect Laprarosa?
He quickly chose the former. If he tried to protect Laprarosa half-heartedly, they’d just end up being dragged around by the enemy tribe anyway.
Crack—!
With a thunderous strike, Jin drove Sigmund straight into the very center of Rital’s upper structure. Then, with the sword still embedded, he unleashed a powerful downward slash.
From inside Rital, golden beams of light burst forth like thorns. Though the fortress was massive and didn’t collapse entirely from the impact, this was clearly the heaviest blow it had taken since it first appeared.
“My brothers will hold on. For now, focusing on Simat and the fortress itself is better for them too…”
Just as he thought this, Jin’s eyes caught sight of Simat hastily retreating from a crack. It was the exact opposite of what he expected—that Simat would plunge the Heavenly Sword into the enemy again.
The reason Simat pulled back from Laprarosa’s dimensional gate was clear.
Inside, just like before, a flicker of half-formed sword energy had suddenly erupted.