Ch.301302. The Eve of the Decisive Battle (1)

To summarize the Dark Elves of the Southern Continent in one word, they are the quintessential “evil” elves.

This faction, which emerged when some High Elves with antisocial tendencies severed their mental connections and declared independence, has become the primary reason why the Southern Continent is now called the “Dark Continent” and similar names.

They primarily established themselves along the coastlines of the Southern Continent, building their own cities. Under the leadership of the strongest elf, the main industry they chose was—unsurprisingly—all manner of criminal activities.

Their largest industry is trade (smuggling) combined with commerce (plundering), where they transport smuggled…traded goods and “trade with” (plunder) any ships from other factions they encounter, pocketing the profits.

Their notoriety is quite high as they roam the world relying on a single ship. Of course, their main “trade” (plunder) commodity is labor—to put it bluntly, slave trading.

They capture prisoners from human tribes or other factions in the Southern Continent, turn them into slaves for sale, “consume” them as labor on their ships, or take them back to their homeland to use as slaves there.

Besides this, they deal in drugs, weapons, and anything else that makes money, legal or not. They’re the kind of maniacs who will start plundering without hesitation if they think someone is an easy target.

And the moment a demon dimensional gate appeared near their homeland—

“Boys, let’s get out of here fast!”

“Yes, Captain!”

True to their pirate nature, they fled with their entire home port at an incredible speed comparable to Lun(Sun)joe, the lord of escape.

This was possible because Dark Elves, notorious for piracy, slave-catching, and smuggling, easily accumulated enemies, forcing them to become masters of escape and deception. Some had even built cities on top of several anchored ships, making it possible to simply flee with their entire base.

In any case, with the Dark Elves—the only faction capable of closing the dimensional gate in the Southern Continent—fleeing without looking back, the Southern Continent was instantly swept up in a demonic invasion.

The Southern Continent was already in chaos due to its dynamic natural environment and periodic raids by Dark Elves. In this situation, with demons now entering the fray, things became even more disastrous.

For nations that had exhausted their national power trying to fend off the Dark Elves, they were defenseless against the demons and fell one by one before their forces.

As more nations fell, the level of demonic realm corruption increased day by day.

Damn it!! This wretched bastard!! Just wait, dumping this place on me?!!

Thanks to the assistance of “Fear,” who was forcibly pushed to appear in exchange for settling a grudge over a past mistake, “Vengeance” somehow managed to defend a certain line, but the biggest problem remained that they likely couldn’t hold out for long.

So while “Fear” struggled in the desert of the Southern Continent—an environment that didn’t match his nature—”Vengeance,” having finished organizing the great desert, deployed the true “main force” of the Dawn Empire.

※ ※ ※

The Southern Continent. A wild continent of hot deserts, fertile lands, and diverse predators coexisting.

In the skies above, about 60 Battle Airships cut through the air, quickly traversing the parched land below.

These vessels, painted with blood-red paint manufactured by workers with devout mindsets in blessed factories, and treated as moving temples through various consecrations and sacred rituals during their production, emit a holy aura that drives away evil.

The Holy-Battle Airships, the main vessels of the Avenger Corps, are transporting an army to exterminate the demons.

And beyond where these ships are headed—fierce flames and deep navy-blue waves violently clash against each other.

It’s a fierce battle between “Fear’s” minions and “Wrath’s” demons, who have become the core of the Southern Continent invasion.

The demons of “Wrath,” said to be the first-born among all demons of the demon realm, most closely match the image of demons as people imagine them.

Red or black-scaled skin, the smell of ash and sulfur fire, reptilian body parts, and human-like faces adorned with several large, beautiful horns.

They wield swords or axes that embody their wrath, endlessly cutting down the minions formed in “Fear’s” domain, and advancing relentlessly forward, burning with rage at the minions that keep reappearing.

[············??]

Suddenly, the evil domain of “Fear” that had been tenaciously blocking these demons disappeared, leaving the demons momentarily confused, looking around awkwardly, unable to understand the situation.

But that didn’t last long. Soon they began spewing forth their wrath again and tried to advance into the now empty front—when they noticed airships approaching from the sky.

Airships emitting a holy red light. Nothing could be more irritating to demons, so naturally, they directed their wrathful and hateful gazes toward them, each trying to attack the airships in their own way, but……..

—KWAAAAAANG!!!!

—KWAAANG!!

—KWAAANG!!

—KWAAANG!!

One step ahead, the airships aimed their Blood Cannons mounted on the sides and bottom of their hulls and began firing wildly at the demons.

The blood-colored energy shells fired from the massive magic-cannons struck the enemy lines, tearing apart the demons they hit, and the holy power imbued in the energy shells ensured their injuries were more than just wounds.

When the enraged demons tried to fly up toward the sky, a continuous barrage of lead bullets ground them up well, and meanwhile, the airships steadily advanced forward until they reached above the demons’ heads—

—KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGANG!!!

This time, they flung open the bomb bays on the bottom of the airships and dropped countless alchemical bombs, causing massive explosions.

If the bombardment was a sudden attack that erased part of their forces, this bombing was filled with countless hatred directed solely at demons.

The holy bombs, consecrated by priests and filled to the brim with liquid explosives mixed with holy water, emitted brilliant blood-red flashes when they exploded, damaging the demons’ souls and forcibly ejecting them back to the demon realm.

After the area was devastated by a single bombardment from a total of 60 military airships, massive warriors wearing heavy armor began to drop from the bomb bays.

These warriors, wearing red-painted armor like the ships, were equipped with various gear, and an aura seeped from the weapons they wielded.

The elite mid-level warriors of the Avenger Corps, the finest of the Dawn Empire, had jumped from the bomb bays.

“《Summon United Soul》!!”

Despite jumping from a height of nearly hundreds of meters, they landed without issue and began summoning their bound souls—beasts with whom they had formed soul contracts.

Wyverns, griffins, hippogriffs, hydras, land drakes, basilisks, and even manticores or sub-adult dragons were called forth, all sharing the common trait of wearing red armor.

KUUUUUNG—!!!!

Next to descend with this heavy sound were golems—specifically, high-quality Iron Golems.

These iron statues, looking like Avenger Corps soldiers scaled up to about 5 meters, were not only painted red on the outside but also equipped with giant metal greatswords and shields befitting their size.

These bipedal war machines, piloted by mid-level warriors who should have retired due to injury or physical aging but still wanted to return to the battlefield, as well as some eccentrics, naturally moved to the front lines and began glaring at the demons before them.

Around that time, regular Avenger Corps soldiers were rapidly descending via ropes lowered from the airships, carrying shields and magical rifles.

And as the ground forces landed and the airships followed from behind, ready to begin the battle in earnest—

—the demons began surging forward like a flood from the corrupted land beyond.