"Roar!"
"Howl!"
"Shkk!"
As the monsters' roars echoed throughout the entire Machinart city, reaching every corner of the city, a formidable legion gradually emerged within a massive magic array. The monsters varied in appearance.
Some were boars covered in purple fur.
Some were lizards with tough scales all over.
Some were entirely wild beasts.
Others had forms only seen in stories.
For example, muscular minotaur.
For example, skeletal soldiers wielding weapons.
For example, ape-men gripping clubs.
And even armored warriors wielding swords like samurais.
These were monsters that appeared on different floors of the floating castle called Aincrad, from common foes in the outdoor training area to elite monsters in the labyrinth tower, small bosses in specific regions, to the boss blocking the path to the labyrinth area – each standing within the group of monsters like a leader, roaring to the sky.
Leading this group of monsters was a demon.
It had a lower half resembling a sheep, an upper half like a human, and a demonic head, tightly gripping a large sword with eyes filled with ferocity and shining with malicious light.
It was the 74th floor boss that Rozen had once defeated – The Gleam Eyes.
"ROAR!!!!!"
The demon named The Gleam Eyes roared loudly, causing all the monsters to roar collectively, shaking the entire atmosphere.
The terrifying legion of monsters had descended, intimidating the hearts of everyone.
...
"What...!?"
On the bridge of Daedalus, seeing this scene from the projection, Edmund stood up abruptly.
"What... what kind of monsters are those!?"
Glendan exclaimed in horror, unable to believe his eyes.
At the same time, a similar scene unfolded in the Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart.
"What is that!?"
"Mon... monsters!"
"Where did these monsters come from!?"
Students, guards, and professors all exclaimed in shock, creating chaos in front of the academy gates.
At this moment, in front of the academy gates, professors set up various instruments to form a massive screen, projecting the situation inside the Machinart city.
These instruments were a combination of numerous magical tools, all equipped with only one type of magic circuit – "FarSight." True to its name, it allowed the capture of distant scenes and projected them here using magic.
Following the instructions of the headmaster, professors brought these instruments to form a large screen, projecting the situation inside the Machinart city.
However, nobody expected the terrifying scene that appeared before them.
"What kind of magical creatures are those?"
Percival was extremely shocked.
"Are those shikigami?"
Magnus was equally astonished.
"..."
The headmaster remained completely silent, staring fixedly at the screen displaying the roaring legion of monsters.
"Is this where that giant eagle came from last time?"
The headmaster muttered quietly.
At this moment, people in this world finally witnessed the true strength displayed by Rozen.
After advancing the "Mind's Eye" into the realm of the divine, Rozen, in full force, was now capable of summoning all the monsters collected from Aincrad.
Initially, Rozen had collected these monsters for their strength, sword techniques, and special skills, including the powerful abilities of the floor guardians.
At that time, Rozen could only summon mid-level familiars, while some floor guardians from Aincrad had the strength of upper-level familiars, making them attractive to Rozen.
Later, Rozen mastered the "Mind's Eye" and further advanced, learning three major summoning techniques: "Summon Wyvern," "Summon Golem," and "Summon Shikigami," enabling him to summon powerful upper-level familiars. However, he had never summoned the monsters from Aincrad until now.
Now, Rozen had finally summoned them all at once.
Their strengths varied, some were low-level familiars, some mid-level, with only the floor guardians and some exceptionally powerful boss-level monsters being upper-level familiars.
However, some of them can use sword skills, some possess special abilities, and their numbers are in the hundreds of thousands, densely packed and seemingly endless.
With just such a legion of monsters, Rozen could declare war on any country in the world.
This is the full power of Rozen today, truly at a strategic level.
"Go!"
Accompanied by a command that seemed to come from the heavens, the legion of monsters began to attack.
Led by The Gleam Eyes numerous monsters roared as they charged forward.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
For a moment, the ground of the Machinart city trembled under the thunderous footsteps of the massive army, resonating with a deafening roar.
The automatons scattered throughout the streets immediately reacted, facing the charging legion of monsters, fearlessly rushing forward.
And so, the legion of monsters and the automaton army clashed completely.
Not long after, the two armies met.
...
"How could this happen... how could this happen..."
Inside Daedalus's bridge, Glendan muttered incoherently, completely engulfed in chaos.
Even Edmund finally wore a serious expression, unable to maintain his arrogance.
Through Daedalus's projection, Edmund clearly saw the war inside the Machinart city.
Monster and automaton were engaged in fierce combat along the streets, turning the entire Machinart city into a true battlefield.
With the dominance of "Multi-Controller" and the amplification of "Infinite Chain Reaction," the automatons were using magic to counter the legion of monsters. Various magical technique danced on the streets, resembling a myriad of blooming flowers.
However, faced with such a fierce onslaught, the monsters were not willing to show weakness. They aggressively approached, some using their bodies to attack, others employing unknown weapon skills. Especially the Gleam Eyes, wielding a large sword that shattered groups of automatons with each swing, spewing breath that incinerated the automatons. For a moment, the two armies were evenly matched in the battle.
No, it wasn't evenly matched.
In the current situation, there was no doubt that the legion of monsters had the upper hand.
In terms of numbers, they already surpassed the automatons throughout the entire Machinart city.
In terms of strength, although they were uneven, unlike the automatons, which only knew how to release magic, they seemed to be manipulated by invisible hands, displaying exquisite formations, tactics, cooperation, and support.
This was also a weakness of "Multi-Controller." While it could control automatons, when the numbers were too many, it was impossible to achieve precise control. It could only let them autonomously engage, attack, and fight.
On the other hand, the monsters from Aincrad numbered in the tens of thousands were skillfully manipulated, resembling a seasoned army. They overwhelmed the automata, gradually reclaiming the Machinart city.
For a while, the monsters' exhilarating roars echoed, pushing the legion of automatons to retreat step by step.
"Well, this is truly a big surprise for me..."
Edmund spoke in a low voice, but his mood was definitely not as calm as it seemed on the surface.
At this moment...
"Your Majesty! Outside...!?"
Glendan, wide-eyed, shouted as he saw something, and Edmund, shaken, quickly turned his head to look at the other side.
In the next moment, Edmund saw it.
In front of Daedalus, a figure was suspended there.
On the figure, a coat adorned with sparkling fire powder fluttered.
"Hey."
Rozen looked up, uttering a seemingly smiling but not quite voice.
"Let's start the second round, your highness."
The leader of the opposing side had descended.