CHAPTER 818

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Satrin headed towards the basement of the Tower. In the basement of the Tower, the Demon's God's Orb was placed.

Meanwhile, on the flagship of the Red Fleet, Vilka Hon was evaluating the fleet of Zipfel.

"As expected, except for that Kozec battleship, the rest are just mediocre. They are even inferior to the battleships used by the Blue Plutonian tribe."

Vilka Hon said. As there was no Great battle king in the fleet that attacked the Tower of Stories, he, a 1st-class battle king, was in command.

"I agree. Compatriot Vilka. Firepower, maneuverability, defense. They are no match for our fleet in any aspect."

"It's a pity. If I had been selected as the Great battle king, I could have led more battleships and dealt a considerable blow to them before retreating. But now, the number difference is too great, and there's nothing we can do."

The technological superiority of the Red Plutonian Tribe was a fact, but seventy couldn't defeat five hundred. Since their purpose was reconnaissance, Vilka was preparing to retreat.

"I will open the dimensional portal. Some of our compatriots have warned that there are monstrous humans on Zipfel as well. They might suddenly move, so we must remain vigilant until the end."

Since Vilka's fleet lacked a Great battle king, it would take much more time to open the dimensional portal.

"Red Plutonian!"

The Zipfel's battleships couldn't easily penetrate the Red Fleet's shields. Their maneuverability was insufficient to encircle the Red Fleet.

Therefore, Vilka and his crew felt a sense of superiority, but at the same time, a strange uneasiness was creeping in.

'But this is odd. Why haven't the so-called "superhumans" joined the front lines so far? Did they plan to spread the superhumans to other 1st-class Magic towers, leaving the Tower of Stories to be defended by just the fleet? If that's the case, it's even more regrettable that there is no Compatriot Great battle king here."

Vilka still didn't know that Veradin, Satrin, and numerous members of the Spectre corps and Ghost corps were inside the Tower. Since they hadn't joined the battle, there was no way for him to know.

The uneasiness felt by the Vilka turned into a terrible sense of crisis after about ten minutes had passed.

"The dimensional portal will open soon!"

"Prepare the fleet for retreat."

"The dimensional portal is open! Oh, wait. Compatriot Vilka! Something is strange!"

"What are you talking about?"

"T-The dimensional portal is distorting...!"

Upon hearing those words, Vilka doubted his own ears, and in the next moment, he immediately checked the dimensional portal and had to doubt his own eyes.

Squeak, crack-!

Some unknown force was bending the dimensional portal open at the rear of the fleet. The portal could maintain a perfect circular shape only for a very brief moment.

"What's happening!"

"I don't know. Both the settings and the required power seem fine, but what on earth is this...!"

Among the members of the Red Plutonian Tribe who attacked the Tower of Stories, no one had experienced such a phenomenon before.

'I've heard that some of our compatriots have seen the Blue Plutonian Tribe's Battle god to block a dimensional portal, but it certainly wasn't like this. Distorting it is one thing, but tearing it apart?'

The dimensional portal was already tearing into several pieces, disrupting the airspace. The torn portal seemed as if it was mocking them.

[Red Plutonian Tribe, are you ready to pay the price for daring to attack Zipfel?]

A voice came out of the torn dimensional portal.

It was Veradin's voice. Vilka could feel his whole body trembling with fear and reflexively checked the Tower of Stories.

"W-When did it change like that?"

Unlike before, the Tower was now split into two vertically. In the center, there was a round, massive object resembling an eye.

It was the Demon's God's Orb.

Hiyee...

In an instant, the Demon's God's Orb's black face twisted, emitting eerie breathing sounds. Unlike during the Sword Emperor castle war or the Evil God War, the Demon's God's Orb had only one empty eye socket this time.

As the members of the Red Plutonian Tribe made eye contact with Demon's God's Orb's single eye, they were frozen in place, like beasts facing their mortal enemy.

Vilka clawed at his own neck, barely managing to produce a voice. Even though a chunk of flesh was torn from his neck, he couldn't feel any pain due to the overwhelming fear.

"Spe, speed up! We must retreat from the battlefield by flying at maximum speed!"

If the Red Fleet retreated at full speed, the Zipfel fleet would never be able to catch up. Therefore, Vilka decided that they needed to escape to a place where the Demon's God's Orb was not visible.

However, even as he gave the order, Vilka couldn't have any certainty. Valka didn't know about the fleet, but that dreadful entity seemed unlikely to leave them be. The abilities and dangers of the Demon's God's Orb were unknown, but Vilka knew one thing for sure—it wasn't an object that their fleet could handle.

The Red Plutonians urgently supplied lightning energy to the power source. They felt that if they didn't get away from the Demon's God's Orb right now, death was the only fate awaiting them.

Or perhaps, they feared the terror of paying a price even worse than death. They would not be able to become the Undying warriors, of course, but they might become experimental subjects and suffer unspeakable horrors.

[You must have thought that you could escape anytime using the dimensional portal. However, this is the Tower of Stories. Unless I permit it, no one can do anything here.]

As the Red Fleet tried to increase their speed, a human figure walked out from the torn dimensional portal at the front of the flagship. It was Veradin Zipfel, the Patriarch of Zipfel.

Hroti was surrounded by flames. Those flames spread instantly, creating a massive wall of fire, preventing the Red Fleet from advancing any further.

It was evident that the entire battleship would melt. Veradin stood suspended in the air with an expressionless face. With a single swing of Hroti, the firepower focused and incinerated the flagship of the Red Fleet.

Around twenty crew members turned to ashes, and nearly half of the battleship's structure disappeared, yet the flagship remained fixed in place due to Veradin's mana, preventing it from crashing.

After Veradin put away Hroti, the front of the command bridge was completely obliterated. The crew members who were sitting in front of Vilka were all reduced to ashes or melted away, meeting their deaths.

He wasn't human.

Or, he was not a mortal. Only beings bestowed with the power of immortality from the sun could wield such authority.

Vilka thought so and was barely able to look at Veradin's face. Veradin was walking confidently through the air, entering the command bridge.

[What is your name?]

"Vilka... Hon. A 1st-class battle king of the Red Plutonian Tribe."

[What is your purpose for coming here?]

"Ugh... reconnaissance..."

[What do you have to do from now on?]

"To return... and report the situation..."

Vilka trembled in agony and drooled. With each question from Veradin, his fear-filled eyes gradually turned blank.

[I'll ask again. What do you have to do from now on?]

"To return... No, give information to Zipfel... about us. What are you doing to me, aaargh!"

Crack!

Suddenly, Vilka's right arm twisted in a grotesque manner. This wasn't what Veradin intended.

[Oh, no. Did I go too far?]

Veradin was manipulating Vilka's memories, will, and even his history as "Vilka Hon'' using the Demon's God's Orb.

However, his manipulation wasn't as precise as he wanted, causing an overload. Veradin gritted his teeth and sighed.

'I see, he resisted the manipulation to the point of contorting his body. If I hadn't missed my father and Sheenu, I could have succeeded more smoothly.'

When Veradin released the "manipulation" he was applying, Vilka collapsed forward, gasping for breath. He had no recollection of what he had just said, or why his right arm was twisted.

Moreover, there was severe damage to the memories and the depths of his mind.

'Why am I here? What's going on right now... Was I in a battle? Who is this human? Did I really get defeated by a human? Why do I feel this overwhelming fear?'

Veradin immediately noticed Vilka's horrified state and sighed.

[What is your name?]

"Vilka... Hon..."

[Are you the 1st-class battle king of the Red Plutonian Tribe?]

Vilka slowly nodded.

'He remembers his name, affiliation, and rank. Luckily, the damage isn't too severe. I almost ruined a valuable resource. Although he may not be a Great battle king, as a commanding officer, he should still have access to valuable information.'

It seemed like Veradin was testing him.

Veradin applied manipulation to the ordinary warrior kneeling beside Vilka. The warrior answered his name, but before he could respond further, his neck was twisted, and he died. On the other side, the 2nd-class battle king managed to endure a little longer before showing signs of resisting.

'It seems that 1st-class battle kings or a similar rank are able to withstand the pressure of manipulation to some extent. It appears that the members of the Red Plutonian tribe have a certain level of resistance... "

In that case, he would need to take his time and manipulate the 1st-class battle king carefully to gather information, while the others could be subjected to interrogation.

With this conclusion, Veradin turned around.

[Lock them all in the Tower's basement. Isolate the battle kings separately. The battleships should have devices in place to prevent technology leaks. Self-destruction is the most likely scenario, so keep them waiting in the Theia Plains until the top engineers arrive.]

"Understood."

Each fleet commander responded from inside their respective battleships. Veradin could hear all their voices.

[And 2nd and 3rd fleets immediately retreat and provide support to the Captain of Specters as quickly as possible.]

After giving the orders, Veradin staggered for a moment and coughed up blood.

'I guess I pushed myself a bit too far. I showed a pathetic appearance.'

Then, he turned and looked at the rocky area far away from the Tower of Stories. After opening the Demon's God's Orb, Veradin had become certain that there was a group watching him from there.

Among that group, there was clearly Jin.

"...Sir Owal. Veradin just noticed us."

"Under these conditions and at this distance, even if it's Sir Chiron, he shouldn't be able to detect my stealth. But I felt chills... Is it the power of the Demon's God's Orb?"

Unlike Owal, Jin wasn't particularly shocked by the fact that Veradin had noticed them. After all, not much was known about the abilities and limitations of the Demon's God's Orb. The same was true when the tower was opened, and the Red Plutonian Tribe was subdued.

It was just bitter to see his friend gradually becoming more distant from humanity.

"Well, I want to go there and beat him until he comes to his senses, but for now, it would be best to retreat."

"Understood. I prepare to retreat."

While Owal made preparations, Jin and Veradin kept their eyes on each other without looking away.

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