Chapter 44: Collapse of the Remnants

In the distant sky, three massive Dwarf warships advanced slowly in a triangular formation.

On the ground, a hundred elite magi-tech warriors led the rest of the ground forces, all equipped with magical devices, advancing toward their destination.

At Mine D12, the Corpse Hunters held their breath as they gazed at the iron behemoths slowly approaching from afar, along with over a thousand well-equipped Dwarfs. They forced their racing hearts to calm down as much as possible.

Not long ago, they had seized this Dwarf mine without lifting a finger—not because of their strength.

The reason they captured the mine without a single casualty was entirely thanks to Origami Tobiichi, who had teleported all the Dwarfs outside the mine, catching them completely off guard.

Without their magi-tech equipment, the Dwarfs' combat prowess was on par with that of ordinary Beastkin. Thus, the army of ten thousand easily suppressed the Dwarfs who had been mining inside.

But that was nothing more than a sneak attack.

What followed would be a true battle with the Dwarfs—a race ranked second among the middle-tier species.

Many of the Corpse Hunters felt their palms begin to sweat.

From being an insignificant species to becoming a recognized lower-tier race, the Humans' strength had become incomparable to before.

But now, facing a middle-tier species—and one eligible to participate in the Great War at that—every Remnant Hunter was under immense psychological pressure.

Especially when they saw those three Dwarf warships.

In the past, just a single Dwarf warship passing overhead was enough to make an entire Human settlement tremble in fear.

Yet despite the pressure, the Corpse Hunters were equally filled with excitement.

Because if they could defeat this Dwarf force, they would rise into the ranks of the middle-tier species and officially earn the right to participate in the Great War.

At the same time, they would prove themselves worthy of the power bestowed upon them by the Spiritrace's supreme God.

Meanwhile, aboard one of the Dwarf warships, the commander had already detected the Corpse Hunters scattered across the mountains and plains ahead through radar.

"Those guys... are they really Humans?"

Seeing no signs of Beastkin features on the enemy, the commander furrowed his brow, thinking, Weren't those creatures unable to even be controlled by the Elf race? Why would they dare oppose us now?

Before setting out, the commander had received some intel from the mine overseer.

Among the reports was the surprising claim that the enemy's main force consisted of Humans.

He had doubted it at first—and so had the mine overseer.

But now, seeing the figures on the radar display, his doubts were beginning to fade.

"Commander, sir, the enemy has entered our firing range."

After sailing for a while, one of the operators reported, "A triple salvo from the main cannons will wipe out at least 40% of the targets. Should we begin charging?"

"Start charging. After the first salvo, have the ground forces immediately rush in," the commander ordered without hesitation. "Don't kill them all. If Humans really have changed in ways we don't know, I need prisoners to interrogate."

"Yes, sir."

After the command was relayed, the three Dwarf warships began charging their main cannons.

The magic power within the atmosphere was drawn to the spell formations engraved into the cannons, gathering rapidly inside the barrels. The terrifying destructive force slowly took form.

Seeing this, Riku, standing at the front of the Remnant Hunter formation, lit up with determination.

"Special squad, to me!"

Riku pulled three specially crafted Remnant Crystals from his pocket and tossed them into the air, shouting, "[Collapse of the Remnants]—prepare!"

At that moment, thirty Corpse Hunters surrounding Riku split into three groups of ten and began channeling the energy within their own Remnant Crystals into the ones floating in the sky.

The originally stable Remnant Crystals began to destabilize under the continuous influx of power.

With Jibril help, more of the crystals' potential had been unlocked.

Although the Machinekin had the best analytical capabilities in the world, their lifeforms were ultimately limited to the middle-tier level. They couldn't compare with the Flügel species.

With Flügel knowledge and perspective, and using their divine strike as a prototype, the Humans had finally developed their own ultimate technique.

Jibril named it: Collapse of the Remnants.

By shattering a Remnant Crystal, all the power stored inside was released in one go, allowing the corrupting force of the Spirit Remnants to surge uncontrollably and devastate the battlefield.

According to calculations, destroying just one Dwarf warship only required ten Corpse Hunters to unleash Collapse of the Remnants.

Such devastating power, naturally, came with a price.

The special Remnant Crystals created by Jibril had to be controlled by Corpse Hunters. And once shattered, the backlash would affect them as well.

The crystals within their bodies would accelerate their internal decay unnaturally, drastically reducing their remaining lifespan.

If a Remnant Hunter already had a high corruption rate, they would be immediately consumed by the Spirit Remnants during the activation process and vanish from the world entirely.

Yet, as long as the value created by their sacrifice matched the price, no Remnant Hunter would ever hesitate to offer their life.

Inside the Dwarf warship, the radar's warning sirens blared throughout the control room.

Seeing the three rapidly rising red energy signals, the commander panicked. He had no idea what these mysterious energy sources were.

When did Humans gain such power?!

Despite the overwhelming doubt, he knew now was not the time to look for answers.

"Maximize cannon efficiency! Push into overload mode!" the commander shouted. "Target those three unknown energy sources—fire the moment charging is complete!"

"Yes, sir!"

A few breaths later, the glow from the warships' main cannons became too blinding to look at directly.

At the same time, the three special Remnant Crystals empowered by the thirty Corpse Hunters exuded an eerie, inky aura—like they could swallow all life.

The next moment, both the warship cannons and Collapse of the Remnants were unleashed at once.

Light and darkness—two opposite energies—collided in midair.

Yet to everyone's surprise, there was no explosion.

No deafening boom.

No blinding flash.

No shockwave of flying dirt and stone.

When the power of Collapse of the Remnants met the Dwarf warships' cannon fire, the column of light formed from gathered Spirit magic was visibly eroded.

The black energy spread like a plague, and before the stunned eyes of the Dwarfs, it overwhelmed the cannon fire and struck the hull of the warships.

In the next moment, on the ships' internal displays, the status of the main cannons turned red.

The Dwarf warships had lost their strongest weapons.

"Charge!"

With all three warships' main cannons disabled, Riku raised his arm high and led all the Corpse Hunters into a full charge against the Dwarf ground forces.

"Offer your hearts to the Spirit God!"