The blood-red moonlight guided our way. The high density of the Chaos Abyss's pollution caused all our indicators to be off the charts. Even the most optimistic person would feel tense as they looked at the stampede of beasts on the ground.
This was already the third day since the demon wave's eruption. According to the original plan, we were supposed to arrive tonight. However, plans were meant to be changed. We also met with several interceptions along the way. It would be quite fortunate if we could arrive before tomorrow morning.
It could be seen that the winged demons and magic dragons weren't attacking us at all. They were probably just flying magic beasts in the demon wave attacking us on their own. That was because the few flying magic beasts attacking the airships all seemed like they were simply sending themselves to die.
Airships didn't even need to be sent out. The airships on the airships would have already shot them down.
Those seemingly powerful magic dragons were actually Chaos Abyss variants of wyverns and other SemiDragons. Perhaps the demon wave had given them stronger bodies, but it hadn't given them the brains to avoid danger or fight in the air.
These flying magic beasts didn't pose any threat to us, but they did indeed slow down our speed. Sending out scouts and adjusting the airship's engine several times caused us to be four or five hours slower than we had expected.
As for Afina's message to me saying, "You can do whatever you want if you arrive earlier," I just treated it as nothing more than a joke. Such verbal promises weren't very convincing to begin with. Plus, it would be quite likely that Afina would go back on her word. I didn't want to take even greater risks for the sake of unreliable benefits, so I ordered the airship pilot to prioritize safety and stability.
As for whether or not it would make the elves waste more of the demon wave's energy in order to make our arrival more valuable? Would anyone believe me if I said no?
Harloys was quite supportive of my idea of safety first piloting. I felt that she just wanted to see more of her enemies die. Otherwise, it would be quite difficult to deal with the elves' subordinates.
The ground beneath us was now pitch-black. The densely packed magical beasts on the ground would cause one's scalp to go numb. It seemed that the demon wave didn't even take the Elven Emperor's capital seriously, and was only minding its own business as it spread its existence.
It was likely that the surrounding human kingdoms' hopes had been dashed. Even if the elves were completely wiped out, it was likely that they wouldn't be able to waste much of the demon wave's energy.
As I stood in the airship's flight deck's hallway and looked at the sky, there was something that I would never forget.
"Are you still thinking about last night's meteor shower?"
"… I hope that we didn't come here for nothing."
Meteor shower? It was probably a group of God Meteors. I was becoming more and more pessimistic about the elves' chances. Last night, four gigantic dark-white meteors fell from the sky. All the eyewitnesses instantly understood that they were God Meteors.
The new information was quickly delivered. Two weak follower gods and one mid-level god had fallen. Their priesthoods were Music, Pilgrim, Guide of the Lost in the Forest, and Enlightener of the Artists … and there was still one missing? It was a Lesser God, a follower of the God of Art. It didn't participate in the battle, and it fell as its faith fell.
It could be said that the small team of the Elven God System's Art God System had been completely annihilated.
There were approximately thirteen True Gods in the Elven God Faction. However, only two of them were powerful Gods. One of them was the silver elves' Guardian War God Sonia, and the other was the moon elves' God of Worship, Somulan. Sonia was one of the stronger Gods, and her Divine Concepts included war, protection of the brave, and protection of rangers.
Somulan had always kept a low profile and had a close relationship with Anslo. It was said that he was originally a Follower God of Anslo, and his Divine Concepts included religion (actually, he was only the supervisor of elven religious rituals), nature's guardian, and elven family pathfinder. Many Druil worshiped this powerful God of the Nature Faction.
The Elven Gods weren't completely united. The wood elves' True Gods counted as neutral in the nature faction. As for the dark elves … it seemed that their entire army had been wiped out. The silver elves' True God's small team was more focused on war and protection. These Gods who had nothing to do with war were naturally Somulan's subordinates.
The moon elves had a good relationship with the moon elves. Their low belief meant that they were in danger. Now that the moon elves were facing a fatal threat, the moon elves' belief was about to run out. Since they weren't skilled at fighting and had to force their way out, it was only natural that their entire army would be wiped out.
Challenging Donatis in the middle of the demon wave? That would be the same as challenging a Main God in a Divine Kingdom. Any existence below the level of a powerful God would never be able to escape unscathed.
But if Donatis truly chose to attack, then who would be able to stop him? It was unknown whether or not my preparations would be effective.
The only thing I could hope for was that Donatis wouldn't be interested in the ordinary elves … But even if he didn't attack, the demon wave would be more than capable of destroying everything.
From a certain standpoint, when the first demon wave of the Chaos Abyss chose the elves' territory as the breakthrough point, everything before them had already become a foregone conclusion. This was a battle where there was no hope of victory.
The difference between the Chaos Abyss and the elves … was far too great.
The elves had lost far too much in terms of overall strategy. No matter how hard the elves worked, they would only be able to obtain short-term tactical victories. Looking at the overall situation, the elves would only be able to minimize their losses, which wouldn't be of much use. Although this was cruel, this was war.
* Boom! *
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion in the distance as a brilliant golden pillar of light appeared in the sky. This was the light of pure mana. The shockwave and wind from this pillar of light messed up the elves' battle formation.
I opened my eyes and felt a piercing pain in my eyes. Meanwhile, everyone else around me was already clutching their heads and collapsing. This pure mana light had already surpassed the ability to look directly at it.
"A forbidden spell?"
"Impossible. Donatis wouldn't give them any time to prepare. If they start to prepare a forbidden spell, Donatis will unhesitatingly launch an all-out attack, which will cause them to die even faster."
"Then what is this?"
Every single spell's mana level was over the limit. With such a powerful magical shockwave, it was likely that it truly reached the level of a forbidden spell.
Instantly casting a forbidden spell? Not to mention whether or not it was even possible, the elves wouldn't have been forced into such dire straits if they were truly capable of such a feat. In that case, the most likely possibility was …
"A fragment of divine power crystal? I never expected that they would actually succeed … "
The person who understood you the most would forever be your enemy. Harloys actually knew what that was?
"The elves' belief in the Gods is completely different from that of humans. The elves' understanding of the Gods is more similar to that of mages. They've long since snuck into the Gods' forbidden zone …"
The moon elves had always been in charge of religion back in the old Elven Empire. The moon elves' understanding of the Gods had a long history. The moon elves' divine power crystal was an attempt to use mortal items to restrain divine power so that mortals could use divine power.
If it was possible to store divine power like a mana pool, then faith would become another form of currency. From a certain standpoint, the elves were indeed daring enough to do such a thing.
In the past, any divine job class member would have to obtain a "blessing" from a True God in order to obtain Divine Arts. The number of Divine Arts they could obtain would definitely be limited. After all, the power of faith would definitely be used to strengthen the Gods themselves. This was similar to how the Gods' public expenditure would definitely be less than half of the annual tax revenue. The Gods would also need to ensure a balance of income and development. The amount of Divine Arts and divine power bestowed upon them would depend on the Gods' mood and how much they favored their divine job class member.
If the moon elves could store divine power in a fixed container like Olivia's Magic Box, perhaps they would still be able to use Divine Arts even without the Gods. Theoretically speaking, the moon elves' power would be greatly increased.
And if they succeeded, the moon elves' priests would also have nearly limitless Divine Arts … but this would obviously enrage all the Gods. From a foundational standpoint, this would be no different from a Desecration Priest who stole divine power.
No, considering that if divine power could be stored, traded, and turned into a form of currency, the Gods' unpredictability would be greatly reduced. The Gods' loftiness and status would be seriously challenged. Perhaps this would be even worse than desecrating priests.
"They're so reckless. Do the Elven Gods really allow them to do as they please?"
"This was a research project of the Gold Elves back in the day. It's just that the moon elves took over …"
Harloys' words were filled with regret. The Gold Elves had once again demonstrated what it meant by "reckless behavior" and "suicidal behavior" would result in death.
I didn't even need to explain how Harloys knew about this. She had a large number of students and spies in the Mage Country. How could she possibly have fewer spies among the elves? Considering how the moon elves had been planning this for at least several thousand years, it was likely that some of the elves' subordinates had already reached the upper echelons.
In that case, it was quite easy to understand what was happening. The moon elves were forced into a corner, so they used their trump card and detonated their divine power. Pure positive energy would be incredibly destructive against demons. However, this was a double-edged sword. Even if the moon elves survived this current crisis, the human Order Gods wouldn't let the moon elves off …
"The fairies' latest announcement! The God of Sacrifice, Somulan, descended to the mortal world in his true form, but was still seriously injured by Donatis. His True God body self-detonated, and he perished! "
Alright then, it would seem that our earlier judgment had been smacked in the face. That wasn't some sort of divine power crystal at all. That was obviously a True God's final Holy Light. By the way, even I had never seen a powerful God's divine power explode before their death. So this was what it looked like.
"Ha, Harloys …"
After the pillar of light exploded, a gigantic white meteor tore through the sky. That was a Divine Kingdom fragment that had already lost all meaning.
I looked for Harloys with interest, intending to see her current expression. Just now, she had been so confident in her deduction, but now, she had been instantly proven wrong.
"Somulan died? Haha, then we really need to have a proper celebration. No, we're going to have the grandest party tonight! Alcohol is forbidden on the battlefield? No, we're doing this for a grand funeral! "
Harloys was overjoyed to the point where she didn't know which way was north. The other Superior Elf leaders all had awkward expressions, but it wasn't appropriate for them to stop her.
I had almost forgotten that Harloys had so many enemies in the Elf God Faction. Since Somulan was so close to Anslo, it was likely that he was one of Harloys' greatest enemies as well.
As for her misjudgment just now? She didn't care about it anymore since her enemy had died.
I could only helplessly shake my head as I watched Harloys go crazy and really intend to have a party with all the Superior Elves.
"It would seem that she trusts you quite a bit."
Didina's sudden appearance made me feel rather uncomfortable. She was a Chaos Lord, after all. I had always sent someone to carefully follow her. She had also played her part quite well.
"She's still in the mood to mess around at such a critical moment. Of course she trusts that you'll be able to handle the current situation. It's just that she doesn't know that we're about to face Donatis …"
"Heh heh, you'll see."
I didn't say anything else. Even if Didina's identity was rather special, trust would still take time to build up. Bringing her along was already giving her enough face. It was even more impossible for her to reveal my upcoming battle plan.
This wasn't because I was on guard. It was simply a necessary caution of an old fox. Some things would always be better if others knew as little as possible.
I could understand why Didina was worried about the elves. However, I didn't intend on giving her an explanation.
"In that case, can you tell me how you intend to lead the elves in escaping from the demon wave? It seems that these airships alone won't be enough."
Of course it wouldn't be enough. The Moonwheel Capital had the entire population of the Elven Empire. Even if the airships were fully loaded, there definitely wouldn't be enough. In fact, there wouldn't even be enough for the children and elderly. Not to mention, the elves wouldn't be able to leave by themselves, and I wouldn't be able to return empty-handed.
But if I led the elves in a large migration to open a path through the demon wave, that would be far too beautiful a scene.
"Have you heard of the Herit Mountains?"
"… Do you intend to cross that precipice? However, it'll take several days to make the trip back and forth. If you repeatedly transport the elves … "
Traversing through the human kingdoms layer by layer would be both time-consuming and dangerous. The Herit Mountains were treated as an insurmountable mountain range. The demon wave probably wouldn't be foolish enough to climb the snowy mountains. In that case, it would naturally be safe to cross the Herit Mountains. My goal was only to help the elves survive this calamity. I would simply leave them behind, and I could bring the young elves with potential to the Northlands.
As for how I would lead the elves to cross the demon wave and cross the impossible-to-pass mountain range … that would be my own problem.
I smiled and nodded at Didina's worry. I didn't say anything else as I directly got up and said goodbye.
When I calculated the time, it was indeed about time. From now until I reached my destination, I would have about twenty-four hours to prepare.
"Excuse me. I still have some personal matters to take care of."
After saying goodbye, I directly headed to the Borealis' mage tower. The modifications had begun the moment I left. By now, the preparations should have been completed.
"In that case, let me prepare a present for Donatis. Ha, I wonder what the elves will think when they see my present. It should be quite interesting. "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
