Episode 1065
Chapter 252: The War Begins (4)
At Leet’s command, the Golden Fleet ascended to a higher altitude.
Click, grind…!
Soon, the upper decks of the Golden Fleet’s ships folded open like beetle wings, revealing the golems hidden inside.
These were the Ielo 2s—the mass-produced versions of Marliet Hister’s golem, the original Ielo Hister.
Biological golems from Ziphl, masters of Kinzel, and the royal mine.
Every humanoid war machine developed in Inse until now had been plagued by serious ethical issues—using living humans or life itself as raw materials. Only the Ielo 2 was a pure product of magical engineering.
And it was the most powerful war machine of all.
Its blue body, symbolizing Hister’s record magic, was as hard as ancient eternal steel, and its core, forged from luminous heartstone, pulsed with a power as immense as a dragon’s heart.
The artifact embedded in each Ielo allowed near-simultaneous spellcasting, and even their close combat skills rivaled those of elite guardian knights.
[Commencing combat.]
[Commencing combat.]
Flash!
The eyes of all three hundred Ielo 2s glowed blue in unison as they began their descent.
The Ielo 2s were not designed to face transcendent beings like Bligiet or the Demonstone.
Once they landed, the Ielo 2 units immediately targeted the summoned Ziphl forces. Shielded by the flames of Up-hwa, the Reign of the Underworld Sword, and the Crimson Sword, the Ielo 2s clashed instantly with the ranks of Ziphl mages.
[Eliminate Ziphl. You will be eradicated.]
Ziphl’s mages were already struggling to create even the smallest advantage against the Changsung.
Now, with the Ielo 2s added to the fray, they couldn’t even spare a thought for the Changsung.
Even Bligiet was powerless against the Ielo 2s. The Changsung left him no room to breathe.
“What kind of confidence is this? I heard that Ban Gyeong alone nearly drove you back at the Sun God’s temple. What makes you so bold to show up like this?”
Thwack!
Luna slammed her Krantel down over Bligiet’s head.
When did she get this close?
As the Sun God, Bligiet had always believed his insight could pierce through everything.
No matter how chaotic the battle, no matter the pressure from the three Changsung, he thought he would never miss a thing.
But he had already lost track of Luna’s movements, missed the direction of Ban’s supporting sword techniques, and failed to locate Jin controlling Up-hwa from the rear.
In such a situation, there was no way to attack the Ielo 2s.
The battlefield naturally split into two fronts: the Changsung and Bligiet on one side, and the Ielo 2s and mages on the other.
“A fragment of the one who created this world, and yet you are so pitiful. Borrowing my ancestor’s flesh and siding with those who seek to destroy the world. Aren’t you ashamed?”
[‘Siding with them,’ you say? Perhaps it seems that way. Don’t worry—the world will be rebuilt by my own hand. Then, dangerous mortals like you will no longer appear.]
Bligiet’s blade grazed Luna’s forehead, but she showed no sign of flinching and closed in, swinging her Krantel again.
Frustration.
With every passing second, Bligiet felt his limbs stiffening, an unpleasant sensation creeping over him. Despite radiating infinite solar energy across the battlefield, the Changsung’s secret techniques showed no sign of waning.
Not even the fleet that had completely surrounded the Tower of Stories could check them.
For Bligiet, who had long believed himself “close to omnipotent,” this was a series of incomprehensible events.
A sense of crisis was closing in.
And he wasn’t the only one feeling it.
Kelliak Ziphl, leader of Ziphl, watching the entire situation from the tower’s core, was also gripped by unease.
‘…The Demonstone’s calculations were wrong. Or rather, only partial calculations were made.’
Throughout their evasion of the Pursuit Fleet, Ziphl had used the Demonstone to calculate and predict countless battle scenarios.
The Demonstone had predicted that the Pursuit Fleet would temporarily halt the Tower of Stories today, and that the alliance would send reinforcements. After that, a smooth battle would follow, with both sides withdrawing without major losses.
But the current Demonstone failed to account for the vast scale of the Balmel Alliance. It accurately predicted the six hundred-ship fleet’s arrival but missed the synergistic effect between that fleet and the Changsung.
The entire Tower of Stories engulfed in flames and lightning was a scene no calculation had foreseen.
‘If we don’t retreat in time, the Demonstone will be overloaded. If we pull back, we’ll have to pay a price.’
Kelliak stared into the crystal orb, deep in thought. The best course was to give up what was necessary and preserve the Demonstone intact while retreating.
There was no time for long deliberation. Ban and Luna’s movements were visible in the orb, but Jin was not. Both Ziphl and Bligiet had lost track of Jin.
‘I must abandon Bligiet…’
Kelliak reached his conclusion.
Abandoning him meant that Temar’s body—his left arm—would fall into the Balmel Alliance’s hands. It also meant losing one of the safety measures against ‘Malugia.’
A bad move. But there was no better option—unless sudden support came from another dimension, the Demon Realm.
‘The Demon Realm won’t send aid. Even if I abandon Bligiet, he won’t disappear. Because of his absolute nature, he can’t surrender or join the Balmel Alliance. And even if he bears a grudge against me later, the constraints on Airan haven’t been fully lifted yet, so there’s room for negotiation.’
Besides, by then, with the Demon Realm’s support, the Demonstone could be further perfected, making Bligiet’s threat negligible.
“Withdraw all Demonstone powers supporting Bligiet. Once the withdrawal is complete, retreat immediately.”
[Understood.]
Elona responded in a dry voice. She was fused with the lower part of the Demonstone, now transformed into a wooden form alongside the sanctuary.
‘Kelliak… you worm…!’
Bligiet immediately sensed Kelliak’s betrayal but could only vent his fury. With Luna and Ban now engaged in close combat, he had no time for anything else.
The two Changsung, attacking in tandem, noticed something was wrong with Bligiet. They too quickly realized Kelliak’s treachery.
They saw the Demonstone’s energy rapidly weakening. Naturally, this meant Ziphl was using Bligiet as bait to make a desperate escape.
[How does it feel to be used and discarded by someone you thought beneath you, Bligiet?]
[Shut up, Ban. We were only ever bound by a simple contract.]
[Emphasizing the contract so pathetically must mean you’re shaken. Today, I’ll finally let your long-bound body rest.]
The tide of battle had already turned, and Ziphl chose to retreat.
That left the Balmel Alliance’s task: to drive the wedge in.
[All superhumans, prepare for deployment…]
As Leet issued orders to the entire fleet, he suddenly noticed blue letters appearing before the ship Sara.
It was Valeria’s record magic, conveying a message: the superhumans were not to be deployed.
[No, hold all units. This is an order from the Sovereign.]
The reason Valeria sent Jin’s command to Leet in this manner—and why neither the Demonstone nor Bligiet had been able to locate Jin until now—was because Jin had been moving with Valeria from some point onward.
After joining Jin, hidden within Up-hwa and the Reign of the Underworld Sword, Valeria had been ‘concealing’ the records he created on the battlefield. This prevented the Demonstone and Bligiet from reading him properly.
Thanks to this, Jin had already passed Bligiet and reached the center of the Tower of Stories. Kelliak’s crystal orb still did not reflect that area.
Whoosh, roar…!
Suddenly, the Up-hwa engulfing the entire tower began to swirl violently.
Bradamante—the sword of Jin—was gathering the flames. The speed was unbelievable for a firestorm spanning ten ri.
“…Jin Runkandel!?”
Kelliak flinched and turned the crystal orb. The image of Jin appeared, already swinging his sword toward him.
The target: the Demonstone.
“Didn’t I say, Kelliak? Today, I want to hear the Demonstone’s scream.”
The vast, blue sword energy surged, ready to cleave the tower’s core in two. Kelliak could not stop it.
Not even Ban could avoid serious injury from such an unexpected strike.
Kelliak hastily raised a shield, but it was useless.
He could vividly feel the sword energy, condensed from Up-hwa, tearing through the shield and heading straight for him.
If Elona and Ziphl, fixed to the Demonstone, hadn’t thrown themselves in at that moment—
Kelliak would have been sliced in two and instantly consumed by flames.
Elona, appearing as an ordinary human before being controlled by the Sanctuary, blocked Jin’s sword energy.
The shockwave dented the lower part of the Demonstone, and at that moment, Jin heard two voices simultaneously.
Hiiiiii…!
“Sir Jin…!”
The Demonstone’s scream, deeper and more intense than during the Sword King War, and Elona’s voice.