Chapter 921
Episode 230: Invasion and Assault (Part 2)
Jin decided to convey his thoughts to Ziphl and Kinzello’s factions.
“What you need to do right now isn’t to recklessly gather your forces at Grosh Castle just to boost your prestige. Instead, you must disperse your troops across your territories. If you don’t, the dimensional rifts will cause devastating damage.”
Of course, this wasn’t a decision made for the leaders of Ziphl and Kinzello. It was a consideration for the powerless civilians living on their lands. Jin’s principles wouldn’t allow him to stand by and watch innocent lives destroyed just because they were in enemy territory.
“Right now, Luna, go to the Ziphl fleet, and Lord Hedo, you head to the Kinzello fleet. Meet with the commanders and tell them that more rift invasions are very likely. They need to station their troops across their territories, not just at Grosh Castle.”
“Understood, Jin.”
“And if they refuse to listen?”
“Intimidate them firmly.”
“So, it’s okay to rough them up a bit? Little brother?”
“Still, given the situation, don’t go overboard. Just create a sense of pressure. Also, tell them it’s best to finish preparing defenses within three days—before the Field of Loss disappears completely. Preparing immediately is the best course. If they have any sense, they’ll understand.”
Luna and Hedo left the conference room.
Meanwhile, at that moment, Veradin was already receiving reports in Drakka about the situation Jin had anticipated.
“Lord! The Tower’s calculations were wrong. We’re receiving reports of simultaneous dimensional rifts erupting across the entire Federation territory…!”
Satlin Ziphl spoke urgently.
The Tower’s calculations.
Since the moment the Jinma War began—or rather, since Elona secured Ziphl—Ziphl had been using the Tower and the Demonstone to ‘calculate’ the future.
They had poured the most resources into predicting this war, yet Satlin was now reporting that the Tower’s predictions were completely off.
“…Simultaneous across all regions?”
“Yes. Fifteen confirmed locations so far, and the number is rising in real time. My advisors and I estimate over fifty rifts have opened. Soon, even Drakka and its neighboring autonomous districts might be affected.”
Veradin’s eyes narrowed.
This wasn’t the first rift invasion. But ever since the Inse began attacking Grosh Castle, the Jinma realm had clearly been struggling. They had even withdrawn forces from existing rifts to reinforce Grosh Castle.
And now, over fifty rifts at once.
That was a number never seen even at the height of the rift invasions—back then, the total rifts across the entire Inse territory barely reached that figure.
“Have we confirmed the situation with other factions?”
“Not yet.”
“They’re probably not much different from us. The Jinma realm has no reason to single out Ziphl.”
Veradin tapped his fingers on the desk for a few seconds.
The Tower’s calculations mimicked the power of ‘Az Mil.’
But Ziphl hadn’t secured Yuria, Az Mil’s contractor. So the Tower’s future predictions were inevitably incomplete.
‘…Not being able to offer Az Mil as a sacrifice is one reason, but the main cause of this miscalculation must be the Eye of Zito. The current Demonstone can’t handle the immense power of that immortal. And Jin Runkandel’s existence power must also be a huge burden on the Demonstone.’
Urgent footsteps echoed down the hallway.
“Lord! The Kingdom of Pellin is collapsing. A rift opened right in the castle, and the kingdom’s army was wiped out in an instant. The Federation mages stationed there are holding on, but they can’t last long…!”
“A new rift has appeared in the Bakl autonomous district! It’s the largest rift confirmed so far! Demonic forces attacking the city’s protective barrier from outside have also been detected. Rift activity is suspected in the nearby plains as well!”
Veradin stood.
“Regent.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“Keep the fleet sent to Grosh Castle as is. The fleet currently on standby there remains unchanged.”
“Then what about Lady Elona…?”
“If the Jinma realm attacks the Tower of Stories itself, Lady Elona will have to intervene. But I don’t think that will happen. Right now, the Jinma realm’s target isn’t us—it’s the Eye held by the Holy Kingdom. So Lady Elona should stay put and prepare for any further emergencies.”
The Inse homeland invasion and the Jinma realm’s assault on the Holy Kingdom.
Veradin was certain these two crises would unfold soon. From the perspective of the steadily advancing Inse, now was the perfect time to pressure Ziphl.
“We’ll handle rift suppression with the Spirit Army and the fleets stationed at the Holy Site. We didn’t earn much glory in the Grosh Castle campaign, so we can’t afford to lose more prestige now. It’s inevitable that some of our resources will be exposed.”
Satlin nodded heavily.
“Understood.”
Veradin stepped outside.
Above Drakka, violet rifts spread across the sky. One massive rift and a dozen smaller ones cast shadows over the city’s heart.
And for some reason,
Veradin sensed a faint energy emanating from those rifts.
“Traitor, Keliak Ziphl…”
“Lord?”
“Regent, don’t you feel it? Faint, but the magical energy carries Keliak Ziphl’s fiery aura.”
“…According to the Demonstone’s calculations, he really did flee to hell. And if you can sense his aura, that means he’s regained his strength. Zito must be using him as payment for healing him.”
“Well, who’s really being used remains to be seen.”
Flames suddenly roared to life.
At the same time, a fiery shield formed over Drakka’s skies. Veradin’s magic enveloped the entire city.
Above the shield, a blazing orb resembling the sun appeared.
The Annihilation Flame Orb.
Veradin’s grand magic instantly melted the smaller rifts, turning the violet sky a deep red.
Before the screams of demons could even be heard, Veradin’s eyes glowed with blue flames. His Azure Flame Magic Eye traced blue flames across the sky wherever he looked.
“Keliak Ziphl… soon we will meet again.”
At the same time, the Kinzello Divine Headquarters.
Pirops woke and made his way to the conference room. He had just received orders from Orgal through a dream.
Rifts were appearing across the beastmen lands as well, but unlike the Luterro Federation, Kinzello’s atmosphere wasn’t as urgent.
Orgal had already relocated all non-combatants to underground cities once the Grosh Castle campaign began in earnest.
However, the residents—small beastmen tribes, a few ordinary humans, and non-combat demons—were unaware they had been moved underground.
The evacuation was carried out after Pirops put them all to sleep using his dream powers. Orgal had no intention of revealing these underground cities to the public yet.
Having used so much power, Pirops looked visibly exhausted.
“Daughter, if only you had started unlocking your dream powers a little earlier, your old man wouldn’t be this worn out.”
“Hmph, just because you’re tired doesn’t mean your lifespan is shortening.”
“That’s true… such a familiar reply.”
“If you say anything else, I might just quit the dream powers altogether.”
“Ah, don’t do that.”
Pirops rubbed his forehead and looked at the demons gathered in the conference room. The highest-ranking demons of the Hamak realm, including Shagal, were present.
“We’ll avoid direct combat with the Jinma realm as much as possible and only deploy troops to defend key strongholds. Assign the masters on standby to each major point. The Divine Headquarters will be personally protected by Bianca and me.”
“Understood.”
“Again, we won’t waste effort defending non-key locations. If the rift invasions get too severe, it’s fine to abandon smaller cities completely. Destroyed cities can be rebuilt. The enemy has no defense forces, so they won’t recklessly attack beyond the rift’s influence.”
The demons nodded.
“We can afford to lose some masters, but casualties among our demon and beastmen forces must be minimized. Weapons can be remade like rebuilding cities, but the dead cannot be brought back. Not until our great work is complete.”
“Yes, sir!”
After a brief meeting, the demons left to carry out their orders.
Ainas stayed behind, staring intently at Pirops.
“Daughter, you seem to have something to say. Are you about to apologize for your earlier outburst? How admirable.”
“What outburst? No, I just wanted to ask something.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Well, when our great work is complete… will everyone who sacrificed themselves really come back?”
The Great Work—the resurrection of the Sun God Kinzello.
Pirops met his daughter’s gaze.
“Not everyone. But many will return. Including your real mother. So you’ll have to train your dream powers even harder. So much depends on you.”
Ainas shrugged without replying.
Back at the ruined Grosh Castle.
An hour had passed since Hedo and Luna returned. The Inse forces gathered there showed no sign of returning to their lands.
But Jin had already received communications from spies hidden in the beastmen lands and the Federation.
“According to our spies, Kinzello and the Federation have revealed their remaining resources. They must believe that alone will be enough to contain this latest breach.”
Within the Balmel Alliance’s territory, many of the superhumans who had been deployed to the Grosh battlefield had already returned. Just like in Ziphl, fierce battles were raging here as well, all caused by the dimensional rift.
Overall, the situation wasn’t looking too bad. After all, among the major powers, the Balmel Alliance had been the best prepared for the rift.
Now, their priority was clear: defend the Holy Kingdom.
Jin was waiting for word from the kingdom. The moment Lani requested support over the comms, he planned to head there immediately.
“Prince Jin!”
Suddenly, his communicator vibrated. It was a message from Kashimir.
“Lord Kashimir? What’s going on?”
“About thirty minutes ago, the Jin Demon Realm began their assault on the Holy Kingdom…!”
“Thirty minutes ago?” Jin’s eyes widened.
The attack had already started half an hour ago, yet no word had come from the kingdom until now.
“They had a way to block communications! The only reason I was able to confirm the attack, even this late, was thanks to a Seven-Colored Bird informant waiting nearby. Apparently, you have to get quite far from the kingdom before any signals can get through. You need to get there as soon as possible.”