While Amon and Yue battled the Prophet and the Goddess high above the heavens, the war below descended into absolute carnage.
With Leon locked in combat against the Apostle of Chaos, the divine blessing protecting the allied armies vanished from the battlefield.
The pressure was imdiate.
Soldiers who had once fought beneath holy protection now faced the demonic tide with nothing but steel, mana, and sheer willpower. Yet instead of breaking, the armies of humanity roared louder.
"Hold the line!"
"Advance the artillery formations!"
"Wyvern squads, intercept the aerial flank!"
The battlefield exploded with movent.
The Solaris Army and the reinforcents of the Hyades Republic advanced shoulder-to-shoulder, their banners snapping violently amidst storms of mana and fire. Tens of thousands of soldiers clashed against endless hordes of Demons as blades collided, siege cannons thundered, and war cries drowned beneath the screams of the dying.
The Demon Empire vastly outnumbered them. But numbers alone were not enough. The demonic horde lacked discipline. They surged forward like rabid beasts, trampling over one another in their frenzy to kill.
And against a properly structured military force, that recklessness beca a weakness.
Rows of Solaris shield-bearers locked in formation.
"Brace!"
A tidal wave of demons slamd into the defensive line. The earth trembled. Yet the formation held.
The mont the demons stalled, the second line struck.
Thousands of enchanted spears launched forward simultaneously, impaling entire ranks before retracting in perfect unison. Behind them, battlemages raised their staffs.
"Fire sequence—release!"
The battlefield lit up crimson. Explosions swallowed entire sections of the demonic army as artillery formations unleashed concentrated mana bombardnts across the frontlines. Bodies flew through the air like broken dolls while burning flesh and black blood rained across the battlefield.
Above them, the Grey Solaris Knights dominated the skies. Wyverns roared through storms of ash and smoke as aerial cavalry formations pierced through flying demons at terrifying speed.
Silver-armoured knights swept across the heavens like falling stars, their lances tearing through monstrous wings and skulls alike.
Every few seconds, another flaming carcass crashed into the battlefield below.
The Eldorin forces were even more terrifying. Unlike Solaris’s brutal defensive style, they fought like guerrillas amid chaos. Venya shot arrows with rapid precision, killing Greater Demons and Demon Nobles as if she were at a shooting range instead of a desolate battlefield.
Eris used the dead bodies of the fallen demons to replenish her undead legion as she thrived in this wasteland of death. Fenric used his runic powers to supplent the others, creating added pressure while he ripped demons open with his bare hands.
Eldorin were doing their jobs as expert demon hunters and it was showing.
Entire units vanished into the smoke-covered battlefield before suddenly reappearing deep behind enemy lines. Demonic commanders fell one after another, arrows piercing their eyes before anyone even noticed the attack.
One hour into the war, the battlefield had beco a graveyard.
Mountains of corpses covered the plains.
The allied armies had repelled wave after wave of demonic assaults, and for the first ti since the battle began, the pressure eased.
Inside the command fortress overlooking the battlefield, Grand Commander Alrock stared at the war map with narrowed eyes.
"The Demon Empire is bleeding troops too easily," he muttered.
Around him, the other officers exchanged grim looks.
"That’s what worries ," one commander said. "Kieran wouldn’t waste soldiers without reason."
The ntion of the Apostle of Domination caused the atmosphere to grow heavier. He was a master strategist and wouldn’t do anything to weaken his position. Although to Kieran, lives were rely numbers on a battlefield, it didn’t an that he could endlessly spend them.
"He’s exhausting us," Alrock said coldly. "Every formation activation drains mana crystals. Every artillery volley consus resources. Our troops are growing fatigued while the Demons keep coming."
"And the navy?"
A naval officer imdiately responded.
"The western fleet has repelled multiple aquatic assaults. Minimal casualties so far."
Alrock gave a slow nod, though his expression remained tense. The Solaris House excelled in land warfare, not naval combat. If the rear defensive line collapsed through the sea, their position would beco disastrous.
Still... They had prepared for that possibility.
If they did strike... the Solaris House, no, Amon and Yue had prepared sothing that would protect the navy, far better than anything Alrock could ever do.
"S-Sir!"
A ssenger suddenly burst into the command room, covered in blood and ash.
"The next demonic wave is approaching!"
A few officers chuckled bitterly.
"They really won’t stop until every last one of them dies."
Alrock stepped toward the battlefield windows.
"Signal the frontline divisions. Rotate the eastern shield battalions and prepare another artillery sweep..."
His words were abruptly cut off.
"Our vanguard is collapsing!"
The entire command room froze.
"...What?" Alrock turned sharply.
"The First Army has been forced into retreat! Defensive lines are breaking across the centre!"
"That’s impossible!"
The vanguard was the strongest section of the army. Veteran Guardian Knights, elite formations, heavy cavalry—every powerful unit had been concentrated there. Not to ntion, the Golden Dragon Order were stationed there. Gallahad and his trusted legion were the most powerful Knight Order; there was no question about that.
Even an Apostle-led assault should not have shattered that line so quickly.
Another ssenger stumbled into the room.
"The western fleet is under attack! Five warships have sunk!"
"The Hyades divisions are requesting reinforcents imdiately!"
"We’re losing entire battalions!"
Panic began spreading through the command centre.
The battlefield that had seed firmly under control monts ago was suddenly imploding.
"What in the hell is happening out there?" Alrock growled.
A knight rushed forward carrying a mana-recording crystal.
"S-Sir... you need to see this."
Mana surged into the crystal.
The image that appeared silenced the entire room.
Gigantic figures marched across the battlefield. Three ters tall. So possessed massive armoured bodies with eight chanical arms. Others resembled twisted humanoid demons fused together with black steel and rotting flesh.
A few moved on all fours like monstrous beasts forged purely for slaughter.
But all of them shared the sa horrifying trait.
Empty eyes.
No fear.
No pain.
No life.
And yet demonic mana poured from them endlessly.
The footage showed allied knights striking one of the creatures directly. Their mana-enhanced blades shattered. The creature retaliated instantly, crushing an entire squad into bloody paste with a single swing.
Another was blown apart by artillery fire, only for its body to regenerate monts later.
"They’re immune to pain..."
"Magic disruption isn’t working..."
"They keep regenerating..."
The creatures marched through the battlefield like engines of war. Formation lines collapsed wherever they appeared. Wyverns were dragged from the skies. Guardian Knights were butchered. Entire battalions vanished beneath their advance.
"The demons call them Chaos Dolls," the knight whispered. "They’re appearing across the entire battlefield."
The room fell silent.
Everyone understood what they were seeing.
This was not reinforcent.
This was extermination.
The Demon Empire had finally revealed the weapon they had hidden for this war.
And humanity was not prepared for it. Alrock slowly clenched his fists.
For the first ti since the battle began, he felt the balance of the war shifting.
"Tch..." He grabbed his weapon and turned toward the others. "It’s earlier than planned, but we deploy now."
Behind him, several figures rose to their feet.
Manon, the Sky Spear. Kassadin Bromm, the Sword Saint. Alrock Solaris himself. And the rest of humanity’s monsters. War heroes. Living legends.
The warriors reserved for the Apostles and Demon Dukes.
Their final line of offence.
As the distant sounds of collapsing battlefields echoed across the horizon, the greatest champions of mankind marched toward war.
❖❖❖
At the rear lines, the Solaris Navy had successfully repelled the first demonic assault.
The aquatic demons were terrifying creatures in open waters, but against a fortified naval formation backed by coastal artillery, they found themselves completely suppressed.
More than thirty Solaris battleships remained locked in formation across the sea while massive cannons mounted atop the harbour walls unleashed bombardnts without pause.
Every ti the demons surged forward, the ocean erupted into explosions. Columns of seawater hundreds of ters high rose into the sky as enchanted shells detonated amidst the swarms. Mangled corpses floated across burning waters while the navy maintained formation with disciplined precision.
In many ways, the rear battlefield was the most stable front of the war.
Even when a Greater Demon the size of ten battleships combined erged from beneath the ocean depths, its colossal body splitting the sea apart, the Solaris fleet still managed to kill it with overwhelming firepower before it could even reach the harbour.
The rear defences were performing so well that Alrock’s hidden trump card had yet to make a move. Standing atop the towering coastal walls was a handso middle-aged man clad in silver naval armour. His sharp eyes constantly swept across the battlefield as he issued commands one after another with flawless timing.
"Second fleet, rotate starboard!"
"Reload the eastern batteries!"
"Don’t let the third formation collapse!"
Every order was executed instantly.
Though he had been absent from the Solaris House for many years, he had once been hailed as the greatest Solaris Knight of his generation.
And after returning ho, he rapidly regained his forr glory, ascending directly into the realm of Eight Suns... Just like his father before him.
Lucas Solaris. Son of Alrock Solaris... And Leon’s father.
Beside him stood a tall man clad in crimson-and-gold Paladin armour. His fiery red hair danced beneath the sea winds as he smiled faintly.
"Lucas," Arthur said with a chuckle, "you really haven’t lost your touch."
Lucas snorted.
"Arthur, stop flattering . Without your support, I would’ve made mistakes sowhere along the way. It’ll still be a long ti before I can match the commanding ability of the Head Paladin."
Despite the chaos of war unfolding around them, the two spoke with surprising ease. Arthur and the remaining Paladins had sought refuge under the Solaris House after abandoning the Holy Church and the mad Goddess they once served.
Though Alrock had accepted them, caution was still necessary.
No one knew whether the Goddess possessed thods to remotely influence the Paladins.
As a result, they had been assigned to the rear defences alongside Lucas, far from the core command structure yet still entrusted with protecting one of the war’s most important battlefields.
Arthur laughed loudly.
"Heh, that’s rich coming from you. I still rember the old days. You never listened to orders and always charged ahead on your own."
"That was decades ago!"
"Hah... I don’t know where Leon got his personality from. Compared to you, that brat was practically obedient."
The two n shared a rare mont of laughter amidst the war.
Because, regardless of everything else... Both of them cared deeply for the sa person.
Lucas smiled faintly as he looked toward the distant battlefield.
"Leon has already surpassed us," he said quietly. "At this point, the best I can do is make sure I don’t beco a burden to him."
Arthur folded his arms and grinned.
"Tell about it. My disciple beca a god before I even realised it."
For a brief mont, the tension atop the walls eased.
Then the battlefield exploded.
BOOOOOOM!!
The frontmost Solaris battleships vanished in pillars of fire as a new demonic wave erupted from beneath the ocean itself.
"Enemy ergence beneath the fleet!"
"Protect the flagship!"
"Turn the cannons!"
Lucas and Arthur reacted instantly.
Orders thundered across the harbour as the Solaris fleet repositioned while coastal artillery unleashed another barrage toward the incoming tide.
But then... Sothing else appeared.
The sea shook violently as gigantic figures marched across the ocean floor.
Chaos Dolls. Black chanical monstrosities wreathed in demonic mana. So towered over the battleships themselves, while others moved with horrifying speed across the frozen waves of blood and fire.
Cannon fire slamd directly into them and accomplished almost nothing.
The creatures continued advancing relentlessly.
Within minutes, five Solaris battleships had been torn apart.
One was crushed beneath a Chaos Doll’s bare hands.
Another was split clean in half.
Panic began spreading throughout the fleet.
"They’re breaking through!"
"We can’t stop them!"
Lucas imdiately reached for his weapon while Arthur summoned blazing holy flas around his sword. They were preparing to enter the battlefield in person... but suddenly, the ocean froze.
An endless layer of ice spread across the sea in an instant.
Towering waves beca frozen mountains.
Entire demonic swarms were trapped mid-charge beneath glacial frost. Even the Chaos Dolls slowed as thick ice crawled across their bodies. Lucas turned sharply. At the edge of the harbour, a woman stood with her arm extended toward the sea.
Cold mist flowed endlessly from her fingertips while an overwhelming aura of frost engulfed the battlefield.
Yeon. The Witch of Oblivion.
One of the most powerful ice mages in the world.
Yet despite Yeon freezing the battlefield, Lucas’ eyes shifted toward the figure standing silently behind her.
A woman with flowing blue hair that danced like the tides themselves. The ocean moved with her breathing. The waves cald beneath her presence. Even the sea itself seed to bow before her authority.
She had remained hidden until now.
The final safeguard of the naval battlefield.
Lucas’ wife.
The Goddess of the Ocean... Aluria.
Arthur glanced toward the frozen battlefield before letting out a low chuckle.
"Heh..." A grin slowly spread across his face. "They picked the wrong battlefield to invade."
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