Chapter 971

C971

***

The moment Rakiman successfully occupied Pirol, Bakarun was also attacking Maysil in the same manner.

Large-scale spatial jump followed by successive waves of crimson lightning bolts.

In particular, the weaponry used by Pibil was far superior to that of Pat, being an aerial fortress operated by the most powerful Great King of Battle.

Airan Vermont was gazing at the crimson sky of Maysil.

“I never thought I’d see a sky like this in Maysil…”

The waves of crimson lightning bolts emitted by Pibil had already dyed the ground a deep red.  Like Pirol, all communication devices and dimensional portals in Maysil had ceased to function.

And negotiations were impossible. The Red Legend Tribe had no reason to negotiate with the Imperial Family; they had planned their betrayal from the beginning.

*Kwaaaaah…!*

Pibil and his fleet began their bombardment. The Demon Men who hastily formed the combat formation could do nothing but disintegrate before they could even wield their swords.

The ancient Legend Tribe didn’t conquer the underworld solely with their overwhelming power. It was their overwhelming technological prowess that truly made them the embodiment of terror in those days.

The Imperial Family’s living golems were nothing more than crude weapons to the Red Legend Tribe. The exceptional combat abilities, intelligence, or any extraordinary characteristics of the living golems weren’t impressive.

“You, who call yourself the Emperor of the human world’s empire, Airan Vermont. You were lucky to exploit the powerful Red Legend Tribe, but all you managed to create were such crude weapons…”

Bakarun’s voice resonated clearly from Pibil’s transmitter into the interior of Maysil Fort.

Airan seemed to swallow a bitter taste in response. Airan had thought he had created powerful Demon Men capable of rivaling the great forces of the surface, but they were nothing more than failures by the standards of the Red Legend Tribe at its height.

“I almost forgot for a moment because of how easily we subjugated them. What the Red Legend Tribe truly was.”

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the stature of the Red Legend Tribe and the Melka Tribe at that time had a gap larger than that between a Genesis Knight and an ordinary knight.

Although the Red Legend Tribe had suffered setbacks at the hands of several powerful forces since their unsealing, fundamentally, they were conquerors unlike any other in the world.

When the Red Legend Tribe and the Blue Legend Tribe were at their peak, all the demon gods in the True Demon World held their breath, and even the great serpent Ameris tried to avoid an all-out war with them as much as possible.

“No, Your Majesty. It’s my fault. If Manoff and I had been more vigilant, they wouldn’t have dared to betray us in this manner.”

“By now, Manoff is probably also under attack. And today is the day most of the buried Blue Legend Tribe members have been transported to Pirol… Our luck is quite terrible.”

Bibol had nothing to say.

No matter how much he thought, he couldn’t find a precise plan to salvage this situation. Saying, “I will protect you,” was absurd under these circumstances.

“Bibol, I suppose only you and I will have to survive.”

“Your Majesty?”

The other Imperial Family members who were listening raised their heads.

Airan intended to abandon them. It was necessary to increase his chances of survival, no, even slightly increase his chances of survival.

“Our grand plan has failed. We will have to hide for a long time from today, just as we did before. Until the Red Legend Tribe who were once our friends are gone, until Zipple and Runcandel perish and are forgotten by the world. But waiting is what we do best.”

As long as he had Bibol and Temar Vermont, anything was possible.

It was a painful decision to let go of the opportunity that had come so close, but as long as he wasn’t dead, he could dream again someday.

His subjects momentarily showed a bewildered expression, but soon they knelt down.

“Please save the royal body, Your Majesty.”

“Please save the royal body, Your Majesty!”

The subjects swiftly moved outside the fortress with quick steps. Their bodies have been strengthened using the information in Temar’s body, and they will hold out a little longer than the Demon Men before dying.

“Awaken Eltiot and have him rampage. That should buy us enough time to escape. Fortunately, it seems this aerial fortress isn’t complete and lacks blood. Therefore, its operating time is limited. I think they can use it for about three hours.”

Eltiot’s combat abilities weren’t as potent as they were before the sealing, but fundamentally, he possessed the power of a Genesis Knight. He could hold off the aerial fortress and the fleet for several hours by himself.

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

Bibol headed towards Eltiot’s chamber. The Emperor turned to the Demon Man beside him, Temar Vermont.

“Temar Vermont, can you protect us?”

“I will do my best.”

“It seems you’re not entirely confident.”

“It depends on how long Eltiot can hold out. If he falls before the aerial fortress’s firepower weakens, it will become dangerous.”

“What about awakening the memories in your left arm?”

The left arm of the true Temar Runcandel was Emperor Airan’s greatest hope.

“I’m not entirely sure. I don’t know the full extent of my original’s abilities. However, I’m confident it will be better than I am now.”

“I see.”

*Boom-*!

Suddenly, the top of the fortress exploded, and a stream of blue lightning surged. The lightning unleashed by the unleashed Eltiot annihilated a portion of Bakarun’s fleet floating in the sky in an instant.

“Your Majesty, it’s done!”

“Good, let’s go.”

Airan and his group began running towards the back gate of the fortress. The underground passage had already been consumed by the crimson lightning, and they wouldn’t be of any use even if they were still operational. Because it was impossible to avoid detection by the aerial fortress.

It was deemed better to abandon Maysil as quickly as possible while Eltiot contained the enemy.

‘It’s not difficult to wait much longer if we succeed in escaping. But if we’re caught… I have to think what to do.’

The crisis wouldn’t end just because they fled from the Red Legend Tribe now.

Once the current situation became known to the outside, not only the Vamel Alliance but all the major factions would hunt them down. Everyone had reasons to acquire Temar’s left arm.

‘In that case, negotiation with the Vamel Alliance would be impossible… and exchanging with Zipple would be risky. It seems I’ll have to rely on Kinzelo in the end. It’s absurd… but I have no other options.’

The fleeing group made their way, and waves of crimson and blue lightning continuously roared behind them. Eltiot’s rampage quickly drew Bakarun’s attention.

“…..Eltiot! The Melka insect sky possessed the God of Battle of the Blue Legend Tribe. But he seems to be in a weakened state. We can suppress him if we concentrate the firepower of Pibil and the entire fleet.”

“Airan Vermont is fleeing, compatriot Bakarun. We should send part of the fleet to pursue them…”

“No, we can’t compete with Airan’s bodyguard golem with a regular fleet anyway. Pay no attention to that side and keep an eye on Eltiot! His blood is unparalleled to anything else if we can subjugate him without destroying his Light Heart!”

Even the calm and serene Bakarun couldn’t hide his excitement. Eltiot, the God of Battle of the Blue Legend Tribe, was now more precious than anyone. If they could obtain his blood, it might be possible to partially replicate the true glory of the Red Legend Tribe’s heyday.

“Understood, compatriot Bakarun!”

All the main cannons of the aerial fortress and the fleet targeted Eltiot.

[*Red… Legend… Tribe members…!*]

Even in his state of madness, Eltiot hadn’t forgotten his animosity towards the Red Legend Tribe. Maysil Fortress resembled the ancient Blue Legend Castle to Eltiot, and the dying Demon Men appeared as his brothers.

If Eltiot were in good condition, he might have been able to handle an entire aerial fortress by himself. But it was impossible in his current state. His power could turn the entire sky from red to blue, but it wasn’t sharp enough to corner Bakarun. Those who had run out, shouting to save the Emperor’s body, had already been annihilated without a trace in the wake of this chaos.

“Your Highness, they’re going after Eltiot! We might be able to escape if we leave now.”

Once they crossed one more flat area, there should be a functioning dimensional portal.

However, Airan and his group were consumed by a sense of unease. They could understand the Red Legend Tribe’s desire for Eltiot’s blood, but they couldn’t understand why they were being ignored to this extent.

Their unease soon became reality.

“Ah…!”

*Pzzzzz!*

Suddenly, the ground beneath Airan and his group crumbled like a pile of sand. Temar Vermont quickly protected Airan and blocked the shockwaves surging from all directions. Meanwhile, Bibol looked ahead with stunned disbelief.

Beyond the flat area, a massive crimson dimensional portal had just opened. The ground had crumbled due to the shockwaves generated when the portal appeared.

“Pa, Pat…”

Bibol uttered the name in a weak voice.

The aerial fortress of the third city, Pat, was emerging from the dimensional portal.

“Why would compatriot Bakarun let you go? Airan. It’s because he already knew we could finish off Pirol and come here.”

A massive window screen opened at the top of Pat and revealed Shimat’s face. And he looked at Airan and his group.

Airan and his group were forced to stand still, with no options remaining. They had no chance even with only Pibil, but now, even that minimal hope had been extinguished.

Furthermore, Pat was in a more stable state, thanks to the use of the blood of the Blue Legend Tribe members.

“It seems this one has no intention of revealing the location of our compatriot God of Battle, even until the end.”

Shimat commented while holding Manoff’s head, the only remaining part of Manoff’s body. Thanks to immortal body technology, Manoff’s head had been preserved and remained alive despite everything.

“…Your Highness.”

“Manoff…”

Suddenly, Shimat tossed Manoff’s head aside and looked into Airan’s eyes.

“Airan Vermont, I offered Manoff the opportunity to become our slave. But since Manoff wouldn’t talk, it would be good for you to become our slave with all four limbs intact. Anyway, it won’t be long before we extract the whereabouts of our compatriot God of Battle by slowly opening your heads.”

Shimat said with a sardonic smile, and Temar Vermont drew his sword.