Chapter 147: The Steel Cataclysm (4)
As the saying goes, ten thousand people stretch as far as the eye can see. While saying "ten thousand people" sounds casual, watching them actually line up in formation is a truly magnificent spectacle.
The sight of these two hundred thousand Fire-Fiend warriors advancing together was even more heart-pounding. Draped in crimson metal armor, they formed an endless metal dragon stretching beyond the horizon.
Having fought the Divine Council due to its frequent explorations, the Fire-Fiend King was well aware of the terrifying nature of the Forest of Broken Halberds. Therefore, the first batch of warriors dispatched consisted of the tribe's sturdiest and most defensive-oriented "Iron-Melters."
A group of brute warriors standing over four meters tall, clad in heavy black armor, marched in neat steps directly into the jungle.
Their faces were concealed behind heavy visors, with horizontal red crystalline lenses for goggles, making them look less like living beings and more like giant mechas.
These were the Iron-Melters of the Fire-Fiend tribe. Weighing over three tons each, their pitch-black magic-iron heavy armor was even heavier than their physical bodies.
Upon entering the Forest of Broken Halberds, they sank waist-deep into the humus-rich soil.
However, obstacles of this scale were of no consequence to warriors possessed of such monstrous strength. The resistance of mere dirt was no different from air to them.
As an Iron-Melter stepped into the forest, a faint ripple slowly expanded outward from around him, and in the next instant, the scenery before his eyes suddenly shifted.
From an outside perspective, he had simply vanished.
Though he should have entered a towering, giant-treed jungle, he had actually arrived on a flat, solid ground.
The soil here was extremely firm, but clearly not of natural formation. Scorched marks and various tread marks were plainly visible on the surface, littered with strange craters, depressions, and shattered debris and bones.
He raised his head. Directly ahead of him stood a colossal tree towering over two hundred meters high, with a radius of nearly one kilometer!
On the rough bark of the giant tree were tumor-like growths about half a meter in diameter, from the center of which protruded arm-thick, meter-long branches.
The dense canopy blotted out the sky, casting a shadow over the land for tens of kilometers around.
Among the thick branches and leaves, figures hurried to and fro, and a multitude of strangely shaped fruits and twigs rapidly sprouted.
This was the core defense facility of the Forest of Broken Halberds: the War Tree!
An exquisitely proportioned female elf with golden pupils, dressed in dark green military uniform, stood at the very top of the War Tree. Gusts of wind whipped through her long green hair, giving her a dashing and heroic appearance.
Faint blue diagnostic spells rippled in her eyes as she watched the Iron-Melters pouring endlessly out of the spatial barrier. She smiled and said, "It seems the Commander-in-Chief's guess was correct. This is indeed the work of the Fire-Fiends."
"The Commander-in-Chief once led an exploration team deep into the Fire-Fiends' territory, and was apparently repelled back then by some special causal magic, so the memory is quite deep," a burly man beside her said with a smile. "Still, these guys don't seem much different from before, do they?"
These two officers garrisoning the War Tree fortress had been on the front lines for a long time. Both had fought the Fire-Fiends during the period when the Otherworldy Demon Realm was most hostile to the Divine Council and battles were fiercest. Naturally, they were well acquainted with the Fire-Fiends' various troop types and combat methods.
"I don't think they're stupid enough to come and throw away their lives," the female elf officer frowned and said. "Notify all units to engage according to traditional protocols."
At the elf's command, the strange branches sprouting from the tumor-like growths on the War Tree's bark began to condense fist-sized crimson orbs of light.
"Death beams preheated. Fire."
Seeing this, the Iron-Melters raised their arms to shield their heads, bent forward, and charged forward with all their might!
Over ten thousand terrifying giants, heavier than elephants, charged frantically, causing the ground to tremble slightly. In fact, if the ground here hadn't been reinforced by the root system of the War Tree to a strength comparable to solid metal, the entire battlefield probably would have been shattered by the vibrations!
Just as the Iron-Melter vanguard began their charge, the countless crimson light orbs turned an eerie dark red, and then finger-thick beams of light shot into the enemy ranks.
The seemingly inconspicuous rays instantly sliced through the several-centimeter-thick magic-iron heavy armor, piercing straight through the skulls of dozens of Iron-Melter warriors.
However, the Fire-Fiends were not human.
Though humanoid, their vital points differed from those of humans.
Piercing their skulls could not completely kill them; it merely forced them into the next stage.
Without exception, all the Iron-Melter warriors bypassed their fallen comrades with pierced skulls and continued their charge.
Meanwhile, the fallen Iron-Melters clutched their heads and convulsed violently. Then, flame-like strands actually melted through their heavy helmets and drilled outward, while their bodies swelled continuously.
The heavy magic-iron armor was stretched apart by their growing frames, transforming in the blink of an eye from full-coverage heavy armor into ordinary light armor, because the Iron-Melter's size had ballooned to over twenty meters!
Yet, an Iron-Melter expanded to such a degree was no longer flesh and blood. Flames flickered across its body surface, turning it into an eerie giant monster resembling a fire elemental.
The magic-iron heavy armor was gradually dissolved by the astonishingly high temperature, turning into streams of pitch-black demonic runes that integrated into its body...
Such was the true nature of the Iron-Melter warriors.
The primordial form of the Fire-Fiend tribe was that of an elemental creature. However, once transformed into an elemental state, while their strength would skyrocket, their lifespan would plummet drastically, their intelligence would drop significantly, and the process was irreversible.
The more powerful the warrior, the stronger the elemental creature they would become. The most powerful among them possessed terrifying temperatures capable of dissolving magic-iron, earning them the moniker of Iron-Melters.
Furthermore, embedded within that suit of magic-iron armor was a unique magic array that enhanced the various attributes of the Fire-Fiends in their elemental state, while allowing for a degree of soul communication that ensured rudimentary obedience to command.
As more and more Iron-Melter warriors fell, the number of terrifying elemental monsters continued to multiply.
"Indeed, nothing has changed..." The elven female officer standing atop the War Tree shook her head in puzzlement. "Still the same old routine, and the magic arrays on the magic-iron armor haven't been improved at all."
"I really hoped they'd bring some surprises, or all these years of preparation would be wasted effort," the burly man beside her said with a smile.
"Save the brainless talk! If they're sticking to the old ways, we'll deal with them the old way," the elf officer said disdainfully, giving no further orders.
Atop the canopy, objects hidden among the foliage gradually revealed their shapes.
They were a large number of massive wooden siege-engine-like structures, upon each of which rested a fruit roughly three meters in diameter, operated by controllers casting spells nearby.
Every soldier in charge of operation held a small communication crystal. Following the orders transmitted from within, the fruits were hurled near or directly at the various elemental monsters.
The outer skin of the fruits writhed sluggishly like flesh, looking quite repulsive. Yet, in truth, the interior matched this disgusting appearance entirely.
When the fruits smashed against the elemental monsters, their bizarre skins burst open with a loud pop, spewing out massive, writhing, chubby, arm-thick giant grubs.
Though these disgusting grubs looked extremely fragile, their plump, tender skins showed no fear of the high temperatures emitted by the fire monsters; instead, they turned and burrowed straight into the monsters' bodies!
Once inside the monsters, the grubs began rapidly absorbing the thermal energy within them.
The Iron-Melters weren't fools. Even if the grubs didn't fear high temperatures, the monsters manipulated the fire elements inside their bodies to generate high pressure in an attempt to squeeze the grubs out. Yet, when subjected to external pressure, these bizarre grubs would actively divide or lay eggs. The high pressure could only expel a portion of the grubs and eggs, while the majority remained inside the Iron-Melters, continuing to multiply at high speed.
A vast number of elementalized Iron-Melters collapsed to their knees one after another, the flickering flames on their skin gradually growing dim...
Needless to say, these grubs were magical biological weapons researched specifically by the Council forces to deal with fire elemental beings like the Iron-Melters. Decades ago, they had relied on this very trick to defeat the elementalized offensives of the Fire-Fiend tribe.
A few stronger Iron-Melters were unfazed by the grubs. They could exercise finer control over the fire elements within their bodies, creating complex pressure environments to thoroughly purge all the tiny grubs and eggs.
However, the problem was that as the ordinary Iron-Melters incessantly spewed out grubs, the battlefield soon became infested with them.
These bizarre grubs would instinctively burrow into the soil, and even their eggs would extend tentacles to dig into the ground. Thus, even on this chaotic battlefield, instances of being trampled to death were exceedingly rare.
These grubs continuously targeted the individual units with the highest thermal energy, leading to a very awkward predicament.
The grubs instinctively expelled by the ordinary Iron-Melter monsters would, due to the cooling of those bodies, turn their attack toward the tougher elite Iron-Melters, leaving the elite Iron-Melters immobilized as they struggled to deal with the internal parasites.
At this rate, combined with the beams and the grubs, the Iron-Melter army would likely be annihilated in no time.
"After all these years, they haven't even found a direct counter to this trick?" Atop the War Tree, the elf officer sat down casually, resting her chin in her hand, her expression clearly disappointed.
"So the Burners are next, then?" The burly man snacked on rations, looking rather leisurely.
In the distance, spatial ripples suddenly surged, indicating a sharp increase in the number of units entering the Forest of Broken Halberds.
Sure enough, a large number of Fire-Fiend warriors clad in crimson armor rushed into the battlefield. The armor runes on their bodies gradually brightened, igniting with raging flames.
The flame temperature was extremely high, causing the grubs to panic and redirect their attacks toward these warriors known as Burners. Unfortunately, the armor on these warriors effectively prevented the grubs from burrowing inside. Thus, the grub offensive gradually lost its effect.
To the elven officers, however, this mattered little, as this scene had played out countless times before.
"Feels like a boring routine drill," the burly man grinned and said. "No, less interesting than a drill. In the simulated enemy projections, they were supposed to be much tougher."
The Burners could not only project flame shields but also unleash various fire spells.
A barrage of fire rays and fireballs, rivalling seventh or even eighth-tier spells in power, slammed into the War Tree. Yet, by this time, the trunk of the War Tree had long been coated with a crystal-clear, glass-like protective barrier that shrugged off both fireballs and flame rays completely.
"Their fire spells have gotten stronger," the elf officer remarked. "But for a 'civilization,' this little progress is far from enough."
"Indeed... I have a feeling they're just courting death..." The burly man looked at the battlefield, frowning in puzzlement. "Could there be a conspiracy?"
Before the man even finished speaking, a purplish-red flame spear pierced straight through the trunk of the War Tree!
Though only wrist-thick in diameter, the flame spear blasted a penetration wound over ten meters wide right through the massive trunk!
From within the spatial ripples, the Fire-Fiend King slowly stepped out. Clad in purplish-red armor, it stepped through the air, leaving behind flickering flames of the same hue.
Behind it emerged several hundred Fire-Fiend warriors wearing matching armor.
This was the personal guard of the Fire-Fiend King: the Skyfire Army.
"Looks like there's no conspiracy," the burly man stammered, stunned. "This son of a bitch is mounting a direct assault! Quick! Summon Gale! He should be at the Godwood Fortress! And have the Godwood Fortress send reinforcements!"
No matter how cliché or foolish the enemy's tactics were, the moment the Fire-Fiend King made an appearance, it was no laughing matter!
For the Fire-Fiend King was a True King-tier monster! That was the foundation of the Fire-Fiend tribe, and its very appearance signified an all-out invasion!
Big as the War Tree was, fighting a True King meant it would be forcefully dismantled in minutes.
Fortunately, Gale had been stationed near the Fire-Fiend territory by the Commander-in-Chief, allowing for direct teleportation without transit stations.
Beside the Fire-Fiend King, two purplish-red flame spears materialized, pointing their stern, solemn gazes directly at the elf officer and the burly man atop the canopy, before flicking a finger.
The two spears vanished instantly.
Concurrently, before the elf officer and the burly man, two points of purple light pierced through space, aiming straight for their foreheads!
The female elf's skull was pierced by the purple beam, while the burly man managed to raise his hands just in time, materializing a pair of steel gauntlets to grab the purple flame spear with a death grip!
Yet the spear that pierced the elf's head did not stop, continuing its forward thrust.
In mid-air, the elven female officer reappeared, simultaneously materializing a battle saber to parry the purple flame spear just in time.
Virtually all senior military officers possessed the Brave System, and many high-level dungeons served as exclusive experience grinding rooms for the military brass.
This was only natural; there were far too many super-powerful entities in this world, elusive and hard to guard against. If the higher-ups lacked self-preservation skills and could be picked off one by one, there would be no point in fighting at all.
Sweating profusely, the burly man and the female elf retreated wildly. Officers along their path tried to help, but unfortunately, the purple flame spears were completely immune to all spells; casting protective magic on the pair was utterly useless.
Both knew that despite appearances, the situation was dire—the opponent hadn't even truly attacked yet.
True Kings and Pseudo-Kings were in completely different leagues. The former belonged to strategic weapons, comparable to nuclear deterrence, even if the Fire-Fiend King excelled in small-scale combat and single-target duels.
Seeing that the two actually managed to block its attack, the Fire-Fiend King narrowed its eyes, seemingly displeased.
In the next moment, two arms made of purple flames sprouted from the shaft of the spear, followed by a torso, legs, and a head.
A humanoid figure made of purple flames, identical in shape to the Fire-Fiend King but with blurred facial features, appeared before the two.
Wielding spears, their combat capability was vastly different from when they were mere spears alone. With body parts possessing the same high temperature and spell-breaking properties as the flame spear, their offensive points multiplied with every gesture.
The gauntlet-wearing burly man suffered a lapse in concentration and took a kick to the chest from the flame humanoid. The searing limb pierced straight through his torso, and the terrifying high temperature instantly evaporated the moisture within him, turning the once-stout hunk into a mummified corpse in an instant.
Yet even so, he did not die; the survival capabilities of his Brave System class were quite formidable.
*'Damn it, I'm dead meat... Should've just holed up in the fortress...'* the burly man thought with remorse. But it was too late; one more strike from the enemy would spell his doom.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before him, raising a hand to block the punch of the purple flame humanoid.
And then crushed it to pieces with a single grip!
The Fire-Fiend King stared at that figure and abruptly vanished.
The figure twisted its body and sent the other purple flame humanoid flying with a single punch.
The flame humanoid that took the hit rapidly dissolved and dissipated in mid-air. Simultaneously, that figure instantly materialized beside the female elf, reaching out to rescue her from danger.
However, a fierce sense of crisis surged within that person's heart. He swiveled his body and threw out a palm, blocking an iron fist materialized out of thin air!
Boom!
A surging shockwave erupted from the point of impact between fist and palm, causing the entire canopy of the War Tree to shudder incessantly!
The newcomer stepped slowly out of shattered space, clad in purplish-red armor—none other than the Fire-Fiend King.
The other person bounded backward, casually driving an elbow into the remaining purple flame humanoid and shattering it.
"Mr. Gale!" the elven officer cried out in pleasant surprise.
"Sorry I'm late," the newcomer said calmly, dressed in black with a dark mask obscuring his features.
Despite his astonishing combat prowess, he stood just over one hundred and seventy centimeters tall, with clearly defined muscle lines that were far from bulky.
"An Otherworld Spirit?" The Fire-Fiend King looked at Gale, its expression turning serious as purple flames surged around its body.
"I am Gale," Gale said coolly. "Withdraw immediately from the territory of the Divine Council, Fire-Fiend King, or else—"
"There is no 'or else'." The Fire-Fiend King wore a wild expression, wreathed in purple flames as it lunged forward with a punch! "Let's settle this right here! Hahaha~~~"
"I can die." Gale clearly had no desire to fight to the death with it, prioritizing defense and entanglement in his movements. "But your tribe cannot survive without you. Think carefully: will you retreat obediently, or be swallowed up and wiped out by other tribes?"
Killing it brought no tangible benefits to the Divine Council anyway.
As long as the Forest of Broken Halberds could not expand, merely expanding the Dungeon System was useless; the surrounding monsters were endless, and holding the territory was impossible.