Chapter 968

C968

Fourth City of the Red Legend Tribe, Usrok.

The Great King of Battle Gaila trembled as she constantly received reports from her compatriots.

“The third fortress has been completely annihilated, and we’ve lost contact with the fifth and seventh fortresses. It’s presumed to be a total loss!”

“Compatriot Gaila! You must make a decision. If this continues, those bastards will soon advance to Usrok…!”

The communicators on their wrists continuously updated with new displays. It was video communication sent by those who had narrowly survived the invasion and were fleeing.

{Hah, Haak! We, the compatriots of Usrok, must escape.}

{Usrok’s location has probably been exposed. It’s impossible to confront that guy unless the God of Battle returns…!}

*Crack!* *Clang!*

The screen within the bracelets shattered, cutting off the appearance and voices of the survivors.

The last image Gaila and her staff saw was their compatriots suddenly engulfed in flames.

Fire was currently reducing all the fortresses and pathways under Usrok’s control to ashes.

The fire had burned down all the fortresses, passages, and standby troops of the Red Legend Tribe that they had built to attack the Imperial Family.

It was Elona’s fire. She was single-handedly ravaging the underground and annihilating the Red Legend Tribe.

“Compatriots, compatriots! Damn it, what the hell…?! Could it be that those bastards even created a map of the underground?”

Gaila shouted, clutching her head as if she was about to rip it off.

Though she hadn’t personally engaged in battle yet, her eyes were bloodshot from shock. It was difficult to control her bewilderment and rage, and she didn’t know what decision to make.

“Compatriot Shimart… Can we still not establish proper contact with Compatriot Shimart and the other Great Kings of Battle?”

The reporters nodded forcefully. The communication disruption continued.

It wasn’t clear what measures Elona had taken, but she was effectively isolating Usrok and its fortresses.

They were receiving weak signals to communicate with cities 1, 2, 3, and 5, and the conditions were so bad that fluid communication was impossible.

“She did it on purpose… She made sure that only the fortresses connected to Usrok occasionally have perfect communication. And even that is just to show the surviving compatriots being killed while fleeing. She wants to terrorize us…!”

*Clang!* Gaila stared at the switched-off screen with gritted teeth.

The Red Legend Tribe had suffered great humiliation since being freed from their seal and reappearing on the surface.

Shimart’s group, the first to awaken, had encountered Jin and suffered humiliation, and then Great Kings of Battle like Rakiman Hog and Drek Hon faced a bitter defeat from the Vamel Alliance.

Particularly shameful was the fact that Drek Hon, who could produce vast amounts of blood, died. As a result, the Red Legend Tribe lost its leverage in the alliance with the Imperial Family, and was forced to relinquish Hufester and obtain sustenance only from Lutero.

But even that wasn’t easy. Out of nowhere, a Genesis Magician joined Zipple, obstructing the Red Legend Tribe’s path.

It was all unimaginable. The great Red Legend Tribe being pushed around by humans and the Melka Tribe, who were worse than insects. Even the True Demon World had to be wary of the Red Legend Tribe and the Blue Legend Tribe to survive in the past.

‘No, that won’t do. I mustn’t make another mistake while drunk on past glory and anger. Whether Elona Zipple is underestimating and frightening us, or crushing us like insects, I must make a rational decision, just as Compatriot Shimart would have.’

Gaila quickly made a decision.

“Compatriots below second-class Kings of Battle, prepare to retreat immediately!”

“Compatriot Great King of Battle, are you saying you and those above second-class will fight her?”

“It might be better for compatriots below second-class Kings of Battle to stay behind and buy some time.”

“No, we will retreat as well. But simply retreating will do nothing. It’s better that some of us establish a solid formation, directly confront the enemy, gather information, and then retreat. Some casualties are inevitable, but with me here, at least more than 70% of our compatriots can return safely.”

Gaila believed she had made a wise decision. She was sure Compatriot Shimart would have made the same judgment if she were here.

“Understood, Compatriot Great King of Battle. The attendants will remain at the dimensional portals after our compatriots finish their retreat.”

“Understood.”

When the order was given, the designated individuals began preparations for the retreat. It would take approximately three hours for the fleet to reach the dimensional portals leading to other cities. Originally, when relinquishing a city and retreating, the rule was to destroy the portal at the end.

“Bring the remaining best blood from the city. Distribute it to all combatants according to their ranks.”

The remaining members of the Red Legend Tribe brought the stored blood from the warehouse. Originally, this blood was reserved for later use in the battle against the Imperial Family. It was inevitable that it would be delayed for the Red Legend Tribe to loosen the Imperial Family’s leash due to this incident.

“We wish you good luck, Compatriot Great King of Battle.”

“I apologize for leaving first. As soon as the communication interference disappears, I will immediately request support from the other Great Kings of Battle.”

The fleets within the city began to depart.

The sight of hundreds of fleets rising into the air was magnificent in itself. If there weren’t figures like Elona or Jin, then the forces would be capable of quickly conquering any region they desired at this very moment.

“…Now, we need to find out how she managed to locate our position and if it has anything to do with the completion of the Demon God Orb.”

By the time the fleet disappeared from Usrok castle’s view, Gaila received an unexpected communication request on her wrist. She accepted the call urgently.

{Gaila…}

“Compatriot Ozen!”

Ozen Kam, a second-class King of Battle of the Red Legend Tribe, was one of the first members of the Red Legend Tribe to awaken from their seal, along with Shimart.

Unlike the others who communicated earlier, Ozen had a somewhat slower speech but maintained a calm expression. However, his eyes were dilated, making him appear somewhat dazed, as if under the influence of a drug.

“Compatriot, what happened? What’s the situation on your side? Is the seventh fortress unharmed?”

{Gaila Tun…}

Ozen sounded like a machine voice, and that unsettled Gaila. Ozen had something resembling a tangled tree branch wrapped around his head.

{Can you escape…?}

“Compatriot Ozen, what are you suddenly talking about?”

{There’s a lot of information in Ozen’s head… This guy has made it incredibly convenient for me to locate and eliminate you.}

A chill ran down Gaila’s spine.

“You, Elona Zipple…!”

*Crack!*

Gaila’s words were cut short as Ozen’s body exploded, and the screen filled with his scattered remains. Right after that, Elona’s expressionless face appeared.

“What kind of bullshit is this, bitch?”

{Gaila Tun, the Great King of Battle who governs the fourth city of the Red Legend Tribe. What happened to the fleet that just retreated?}

Gaila’s eye widened.

The fleet should have reached the dimensional portal safely, out of her line of sight and beyond her sensory range by now.

However, Elona, who was much farther from the fleet than Gaila, already knew the retreat had taken place.

Gaila reflexively opened another window on her wrist and requested communication with the retreating fleet. There was no response whatsoever.

“You… you already destroyed the fleet?”

Elona nodded.

{Like this bracelet, the fleet still has useful components, so I haven’t completely destroyed it. However, the low-ranking Red Legend Tribe members weren’t valuable to use as living golems at this moment, so I eliminated them.}

From the moment Elona began the invasion of Usrok, she used her limitless mana to block all communication within Usrok. She had imitated the “Blocking Authority” possessed by the Visepps family of the True Demon World purely with mana.

Furthermore, Elona used the Holy Crown to break the minds of the Red Legend Tribe members captured by Zipple. The Holy Crown’s powerful mind control ability wasn’t limited to Elona herself; she could apply it to others.

Based on the information obtained, Elona invaded the Red Legend Tribe. She confirmed the approximate locations of each city and some passages of the low-ranking Red Legend Tribe members imprisoned by Zipple. Then, she gathered more detailed information from the Red Legend Tribe members she encountered in Usrok.

Now, the only area Elona needed to eliminate was Usrok castle.

“You… you…!”

Gaila glared at Elona, her eyes brimming with tears of rage.

Then, she suddenly realized that the scenery behind Elona was strangely familiar.

Elona was already inside Usrok castle. She had walked here while Gaila remained completely unaware of her presence. She had massacred the Kings of Battle stationed at the watchtowers and outer walls.

*Crash!*

The massive castle gates shattered. In that instant, Gaila stood up and tried to lunge her fist forward, but the light magic erupting from Elona’s staff was faster than her.

“Ugh!”

The spear-shaped beam of light magic shot out and pierced Gaila’s red Light Heart in a fraction of a second. The nearby Kings of Battle also tried to attack Elona, but all fell defenseless as the energy explosion from the light lance in Gaila’s chest radiated an explosive shockwave.

Gaila had initially planned to use the castle’s transformation and confront Elona as soon as she received news of her arrival.

However, her calculations had been wrong from the start. Even with thorough preparation and using her transformation, Gaila didn’t stand a chance against Elona.

“Gaila Tun, you must now tell me the information about the other Great Kings of Battle of the Red Legend Tribe and their bases.”

Gaila tried to get up by all means possible while struggling to regain her composure and clutching her shattered heart. However, new beams of light had already formed, and they were piercing her like stakes and pinning her down.

Gaila saw a multitude of tendrils resembling tree roots sprouting from Elona’s Holy Crown. They appeared to be the same tendrils that were wrapped around Ozen’s head.

In an instant, these roots overwhelmed Gaila, and that was the last thing Great King of Battle Gaila experienced.