Volume 3, Chapter 82 – Counterattack

The earth-shaking roars of the Abyssal Demons echoing through the city and the soaring flames outside immediately ignited the most primal fear within the hearts of the populace. Although the citizens of Sky Dome had always lived in peace and comfort, they still understood the horror of the Abyssal Demons from history books.

His Majesty Xue Tian’ao had once said that as long as he was there, it was absolutely impossible for the Abyssal Demons to head south.

However, what about now?

The swarm of Abyssal Demons was directly at the city gates, and their nauseating aura and death-like pressure weighed down on the people’s shoulders like a great mountain, making everyone feel a suffocating sense of oppression. At the same time, their absolute trust in Xue Tian’ao began to waver at this moment.

The people outside the palace felt this way, and those at Dragondance Plaza who had witnessed the collapse of the founding emperor’s phantom and the shattering of the crown felt it even more so. While feeling restless and uneasy, they could not help but cast doubtful glances toward Xue Tian’ao. These gazes, filled with suspicion and piercing him like sharp blades, made Xue Tian’ao quite annoyed.

At the same time, it stirred a trace of unease in his heart.

Right now, the failure of the epic quest and the loss of the opportunity to become an eighth tier existence had already left Xue Tian’ao furious and disappointed. If he were to lose the public support he had painstakingly cultivated for so long, Xue Tian’ao felt he might truly go mad.

Facing the attack of the Abyssal Demons, he had no room to retreat.

He had to salvage the people’s trust in him and absolutely could not let his rule be shaken because of this.

To regain the people’s adoration, he had to lead the army to crush those beasts with overwhelming advantage. He needed to reshape his image as the hero who saved the nation, making the people realize that the Empire’s army was sufficient to crush the Abyssal Demons and protect their homes.

As for why the Northern Frontier fell, he would investigate that clearly later and find a convenient scapegoat.

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Furthermore, in order to make the leaders of other factions willing to cooperate with him in the future, he had to demonstrate absolute strength now. In any case, he had originally decided to hold an exhibition of new weapons a few days after the Coronation Ceremony, so it was not out of the question to do it a bit early.

Besides, compared to those giant boulders and decoys, actual Abyssal Demons were the most suitable targets!

Finally, and most importantly, the fury in Xue Tian’ao’s heart was already difficult to suppress. He desperately needed to find an object to vent his rage upon, and choosing the Abyssal Demons as that object was perfect.

‘Heh, you animals.’

With this mindset, Xue Tian’ao issued the attack order to his subordinates.

On the other side, atop the northern city wall, Lingmu, the commander of the Second Army Group, looked at Toma, who had been sent by His Majesty to take over command, with a look of astonishment. It was not because His Majesty’s confidant had appeared there, but because of the countless heavy weapons Toma had brought with him.

As one of the Empire’s generals, Lingmu was aware of the existence of these weapons, and he spoke with some hesitation. “Commander Toma, His Majesty said… we are to use these weapons?”

“Of course. If we don’t use them now, when will we? The current battlefield is the best experimental site to showcase these weapons!”

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As he spoke, Toma stepped to the edge of the wall and gazed out at the black, oppressive tide of Abyssal Demons ahead. The aura of the Abyssal Demons made him feel sick, but it did not instill even a shred of fear in him. Instead, his heart was filled with an impulsive urge to test the weapons.

At this moment, the firepower, arrows, cannons, and magical bombardments of the Second Army Group had already been unleashed without reservation against the Abyssal Demon swarm following Lingmu’s orders. Although the destructive power was staggering and caused significant casualties among the Abyssal Demons, it was still unable to effectively halt their charge, as there were simply too many of them.

To the north of Sky Dome, the three outer barrier arrays set up to prevent the Abyssal Demons from moving south had all been activated, but two had already been torn apart by the claws and teeth of the swarm. The Abyssal Demons were less than a hundred meters from the final barrier and only a thousand meters from the walls of Sky Dome.

In the blink of an eye, the Abyssal Demons could reach the base of the city.

Although the sturdiness of the walls and the lightning-grid magic placed upon them could heavily damage the swarm and serve as a starting point to wear down all the attacking demons, such a victory relying on ancient methods was not what Toma wanted, nor what Xue Tian’ao wanted.

What they wanted was to crush the Abyssal Demon swarm head-on. They wanted to completely uproot the seed of fear regarding Abyssal Demons buried deep within the people’s hearts and let them know that the complete eradication of Abyssal Demons was not a fantasy.

So what if these Abyssal Demons could break through the Northern Frontier?

The strength and weapon equipment of their Imperial Guard were by no means comparable to the Fourth Army Group. There was a world of difference between the two.

Thinking of this, Toma suddenly drew the sword at his waist, pointing the blade directly at the Abyssal Demon swarm howling toward them, and shouted to the countless Imperial Guard soldiers behind him.

“Follow the original plan! Blast them for me!”

The next moment, as Toma gave the order, the magus corps of the Imperial Guard harmoniously channeled the magic power within their bodies. Under the coordination of fifty or sixty fifth and sixth tier mages, a massive azure amplification array hovered in mid-air.

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Simultaneously, under the operation of the Imperial Guard soldiers, hundreds of uniquely designed heavy cannons began a grand charge, a destructive power beginning to gather within them.

With a single command from Toma, the heavy cannons fired in unison.

Angry tongues of fire suddenly erupted from the dark muzzles as hundreds of shells containing dense magic power soared into the sky. After being fired, these shells, which emitted a blue light, began to rapidly decompose, each shell splitting into a dozen smaller missiles that densely passed through the amplification array set up by the mages.

Gaining the power of thunder within the array, the sky was instantly covered by dazzling blue spots of light. The terrifying and horrifying energy fluctuations even caused the nearby Abyssal Demons to instinctively feel a shiver of dread, looking up at the sky in total confusion.

In the next instant, the missiles amplified by the array poured down like a violent storm, densely packed and carrying an overwhelming momentum as they crashed into the sea of Abyssal Demons ahead.

“Boom!”

Accompanied by wave after wave of explosions, and under the excited gaze of Toma and the others, the storm of blue missiles collided with the sea of Abyssal Demons. In an instant, the earth shook and the sky fell. Each missile that landed among the demons instantly erupted in a horrifying flare, swallowing several surrounding Abyssal Demons.

At the same time, the enchanted missiles directly triggered a ‘chain lightning’ effect upon explosion, further spreading the damage. In a mere moment, the front ranks of the Abyssal Demon swarm were swallowed by a sea of fire and lightning, and the demons scorched by the intense heat instinctively let out series of wails.

As their lives were burned away by the flames, these Abyssal Demons who had just broken through the third barrier collapsed to the ground, turning into one nauseating charred corpse after another.

“Hahaha, they are actually so vulnerable!”

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Seeing His Majesty’s weapons being so effective and easily bypassing the Abyssal Demons’ defenses to kill them, the ecstasy on Toma’s face was beyond words. Subsequently, dozens of other types of weapons were brought onto the city walls at Toma’s instruction.

These weapons, which were supposed to be revealed two days later, now displayed their great might, venting the fury of the people of Sky Dome upon the Abyssal Demon army ahead.

For a time, various heavy cannons, all sorts of death rays filled with terrifying killing intent, and large-scale poison mists were unleashed toward the swarm.

That was not all.

At the same time, in the sky above and under the escort of hundreds of Griffin Knights, a massive airship surrounded by magic arrays appeared high in the air under the shocked gazes of all the residents. Its massive form, which blotted out the sun, captured the attention of the Sky Dome citizens the moment it appeared.

Even many envoys from other factions, including Nick, could not help but cast curious glances.

Such a massive flying object was truly astounding. After all, in this world, aside from a few knights riding griffins, only experts above the seventh tier could fly. Yet, Xue Tian’ao was able to make such a massive thing, even one made of steel, hover in the air? It was simply unheard of.

Following that, under the expectant gaze of countless eyes, the hatch at the belly of the airship suddenly opened. Countless spheres of light emitting a red glow poured down from the airship, delivering an unprecedented carpet bombing to the charging Abyssal Demons below.

Amidst one deafening explosion after another, every Abyssal Demon within Toma’s sight was swallowed by the shockwaves without exception. The vast snowy plain ahead no longer existed; what remained was an awe-inspiring purgatory of fire.

At this moment, atop Dragondance Plaza, looking at the Abyssal Demon swarm being swallowed by flames on the projection screen and the shocked expressions of the surrounding populace and foreign envoys, the corners of Xue Tian’ao’s mouth curled up slightly.