Chapter 1063
Episode 252: The War Begins (Part 2)
Gaaaargh…!
The roar of the immortal phoenix Tess echoed across the battlefield, and in that instant, everyone present was seized by the same strange sensation.
The sky felt unbearably heavy.
There was no other way to describe it. Even the allied forces inside the ship felt as if some colossal presence was gently pressing down on their heads.
The weight of oppression—the overwhelming power contained within Tess’s azure flames.
Summoned without warning, Tess now appeared more massive and imposing than ever before. Perched atop the ship Sara, Tess surveyed the battlefield.
Wherever Tess’s gaze landed, blue flames blossomed fiercely—especially around the Tower of Stories, as if the flames were imprisoning the tower itself.
Just as before.
Ziphlos would try to escape the azure flames by activating manipulation and distortion.
But to Jin’s eyes—and those of the Changsung warriors alongside him—it was clear that Ziphlos would not succeed so easily.
Even the manipulation powers granted by the demon stones were affected by this crushing pressure.
Crackle, sizzle, grind…!
The first to react to the oppressive force were Ziphlos’s fleet and Usrok, stationed with the Divine Warrior fleet.
Though they hadn’t yet come into direct contact with the azure flames, they wavered like flies losing strength before a flame.
The ships Ziphlos had formed were marred by chaotic black lines running across their hulls, tearing and blurring along those lines—like an illusion being unraveled.
The essence of the forces created by the demon stones was that they were ‘fakes.’ The flames of karma were a power too great for such fakes to endure.
Since the demon stones’ power itself was not false, the fleet didn’t vanish completely—but it couldn’t hold out much longer.
And the flames of karma had only just begun.
Ssshhh…!
Bradamante drew her sword from its sheath.
It was as if multiple streams of blue rivers had spread across the sky.
Jin stepped onto one of those flowing azure flames like a path and began advancing toward the Tower of Stories. The vast flames surged around him like a tidal wave.
“Wow, it looks like part of the Flame Elemental realm has been recreated… I wonder how the real Sara would feel seeing this,” Jin mused.
The flagship of the Runcandel fleet, the ship Sara.
Sara wasn’t just equipped with the latest allied technology. It also incorporated magic developed jointly by Tess, Ameris, Lucy, Valeria, and Jin.
They had subtly altered the flames of karma and inscribed rune characters modeled after those flames onto the ship.
In other words, Sara had become a vessel capable of enhancing the sword technique’s flames of karma.
It wasn’t just about expanding the domain or increasing destructive power. The technology and magic applied to Sara eased the conditions for Tess’s manifestation and even reduced Jin’s stamina consumption.
Of course, Tess couldn’t fully manifest yet. But that stage was now within reach—if only given enough time.
[Murakan will be very pleased. And to Ziphlos, this sword will become an even worse nightmare than a thousand years ago.]
Leuet replied. No longer just the steward, she now served as Sara’s vice-captain, taking on many responsibilities. Leuet and Valeria, both recorders of magic, would be central to all upcoming battles.
Jin rapidly closed the distance to the Tower of Stories.
The raging azure flames had grown from mere streams into a vast sea, pressing against the tower.
But his advance was slowing. The pressure of the flames weakened the powers of manipulation and distortion, but the tower was more than just that.
Countless spells were woven throughout the massive hull—thousands of layers of protective shields, guarded by Ziphlos’s elite mages.
The oppressive force hadn’t yet penetrated inside the hull. And the closer to the tower’s core, the stronger the demon stones’ power.
Inside, the demon stones continued to endlessly create fake troops, mixing with real archmages to attack Jin.
“Deploy chain magic! All units to the Phantom Battalion positions!”
Phantom Battalion, Ghost Battalion, Spirit Battalion, and White Night.
Every staff was pointed at Jin. Amidst the chaos of grand magic, Jin calmly swung the azure flames, swallowing their attacks whole.
The thousands of protective layers would eventually melt away under the flames. After that, wiping out the troops would be no challenge for Jin.
But since the demon stones would keep generating forces, the best strategy was to deepen the flames of karma’s penetration.
[Supporting Sogaju. Draw the sword.]
Leuet wasn’t telling the crew to draw their swords. She meant the sword of the ship Sara itself.
Clang, clatter—!
Sara’s form began to shift. Two long armored plates covering the main cannon spread out like wings and folded back along the hull.
The main cannon then unleashed a thunderous energy, forming a shield-like barrier across the front of the ship. From above and below the cannon, two massive blades sprang forth.
Both the shield and blades were wreathed in flames of karma. The runes illuminating the hull grew brighter, and the heat of Tess’s azure flames deepened.
[Charge!]
With the core power of the radiant heart engine pushed to its limit, Sara accelerated explosively, performing a series of short-range spatial leaps.
Ignoring its massive size and weight, Sara shot forward like a bolt of light. Five leaps in the blink of an eye, each passage through a dimensional gate sending rippling shockwaves that distorted the sky.
The shockwaves were so powerful they shook even the scattered golden ships nearby. Yet the flames of karma between Jin and Sara remained unshaken.
The clash was swift.
Before Ziphlos could reinforce the shields, Sara’s twin blades pierced through one of the thousands of protective layers surrounding the Tower of Stories.
Sara rammed diagonally into the tower’s outer armor like a spear. The troops nearby were reduced to ash before they could even scream.
The impact was so tremendous it tilted the entire tower momentarily. Yet, astonishingly, no shock was felt inside Sara.
Not a single crack appeared on the armor. Sara was already preparing for its next strike.
[Reopen main cannon. Divert all power except escape engines.]
Crack, grind! The cannon reemerged through the breach made by the blades. Long-range bombardment, relentless reloading and firing.
Instead of a deafening explosion, the sound inside the tower was like the cracking of a giant beast’s bones.
If this were an airborne fortress of the Akyung tribe, it would have been destroyed by now. But the Tower of Stories drew power from the demon stones and the ‘sanctuary’ of the sun god fused with the tower itself.
The dying mages smiled, as if to say this wouldn’t be enough to bring the tower down.
As Jin had predicted, no troops nearby regenerated once Sara and the flames of karma penetrated the shields.
Though one side of the hull was being savagely destroyed by the bombardment, it wasn’t enough to cause fundamental damage.
The Tower of Stories wasn’t made entirely of real minerals and materials like the golden fleet. Most of its hull was composed of magic and the power of demon stones.
“The core and its immediate surroundings must be the only real parts. It still holds the tower’s original form.”
Endless magic and power flowed from the demon stones. Jin thought of the one who must be operating this power.
Elona Ziphlos.
A grand mage who feared harming the world, but whose true nature was the fragment of destruction, Malugia.
“Elona… The reason I can’t sense malice from you now—is it because there’s still some humanity left? Or because you’ve become a pure embodiment of destruction?”
Whatever the truth, Jin knew he wouldn’t find out until Ziphlos was defeated.
The flames of karma spread out around Jin. Though already large enough to engulf an entire fleet, they now threatened to consume over thirty percent of the tower’s hull.
“Keliak, you’ve done well nurturing the demon stones with that cunning mind of yours. Still, I’m not afraid of the demon stones like I was of Gliek. You didn’t scream in terror like back then.”
His voice was low, but everyone on the battlefield heard it as if he were right beside them.
Keliak watched Jin through a crystal orb, and Jin met his gaze in the sky—where Keliak hid near the tower’s core.
“But today, I want to hear the demon stones scream. It’s the first day I’ve led the fleet to tear you apart, and if I don’t hear that, I won’t be able to hold my head high.”
They were trying to escape.
From the moment it was first revealed that the flames of karma could suppress some of the demon stones’ power, and when Sara pierced the shields and expanded the flames inside the hull, Jin was certain Ziphlos was preparing to flee.
Ziphlos had avoided all-out war ever since the Divine Warrior fleet began pursuing them. What they needed now was time—nothing more.
Jin could feel the flames of karma swarming over the tower’s hull.
It was resistance. The tower tried to perform spatial leaps like before, but the flames of karma tangled it, slowing it down.
As the resistance grew more intense by the second—
Sssshh, Kraaak-!
Following Sara, two more ships rammed into the Tower of Stories: the flagship of the Divine Warrior fleet, Lafrarosa, and Runcandel’s second flagship, Diana.
Ban and Luna were emerging from the bridge of each flagship.
Just as the ship Sara intensified its flame power, the Golden Fleet’s bombardment could support the Reign of Pluto Sword.
“Entire fleet, resume bombardment. The warrior is ready to unleash the Reign of Pluto Sword.”
The moment the order came down from Baltirok, all allied fleets began channeling their thunderous energy back into their cannons.
Luna shrugged with a hint of regret and said, “Looks like my Crimson Sword’s the only one without backup. Well, guess I’ll just have to take it out on those Zipple bastards.”