Chapter 130 - Amarita's Defense

As the tanks continued to be carried high into the air by the large roots bursting from the ground, a wave of flames spread across the battlefield.

"Did those tanks really get destroyed by that?" An angry murmur echoed through the chaos, as the sound of burning wood filled the air.

"Jahil-sama!" cheered the voices of the front guards. The sight of one of the well-known generals in the armored corps and a famous scientist appeared. With a wave of his red spear, flames erupted, burning every plant life in the area.

The Bovoids and Equinoids halted their advance. Observing the appearance of such a powerful being, they took careful, measured steps.

Jahil sighed as he saw the Empire soldiers gazing at him with grateful expressions. He couldn't even stand these weak, useless humans, not worth using as test subjects, unlike his company of ten thousand.

"Mow them down!" shouted the Bullhead Gozu as he saw Jahil raise his spear again. "Don't let them regroup!"

Mezu clicked his tongue, annoyed that Gozu had spoken first. "Equinoids, rush forward!" he commanded.

Benimaru stared at them in astonishment. "Wait, you idiots—"

"Charge!" Gozu shouted, cutting him off.

The horseheads and bullheads surged forward through the field, which was now covered with flames. They trampled the charred bodies of Empire soldiers, undeterred by the obstacles in their path.

Their stomps crushed everything beneath them as they charged forward, pushing the fallen tanks aside with their brute strength. The eyes of the stampeding monsters were unyielding, locked on the mad scientist, Jahil.

"Ho~" A sly grin spread across the traitorous serpent's face. Cracking his neck, his grip on Blood Origin tightened, and he dashed forward, the weapon in his hand gleaming.

Gozu, noticing the sudden movement, raised his massive axe high, ready to counter.

The clash of their weapons rang out, a loud and resounding clang of metal against metal. Jahil frowned, seeing that his thrust had been redirected by Gozu. His previous assumption that the Bovoid leader was all muscle with no technique was proven wrong.

"Hah!" A shout rang out from Jahil's side. With his heightened magic sense, he detected the Equinoid leader leaping forward, his halberd aimed at Jahil's side.

Seeing the surprise attack coming, Jahil activated his flames once more, and a pillar of fire shot up from his side. Mezu leaped back, falling to his knees as his front body and right arm were scorched.

"Damn it!" Gozu cursed, seeing the difference in strength. Another swing of his axe was blocked by Origin Blood, Jahil's spear.

As their weapons clashed, Jahil's company fought fiercely against the rushing Bovoids and Equinoids. The monsters, shocked, found themselves evenly matched in strength with the Empire soldiers.

These soldiers were not just any ordinary fighters. They were a variation of what the Beast Corps had been trying to replicate from lycanthropes, at least, that was the official public report on their metamorphic changes in traits and appearance.

The truth, however, was that the ten thousand soldiers under Jahil's command had already been transformed into snakes. The same type of snakes that could alter the allegiance of their target to match that of the user, snakes that had turned Jahil into an enemy of Rimuru.

With thousands of new Empire soldiers whose strength and durability were triple that of their predecessors, the Bovoids and Equinoids' advance faltered. With the enemy now outnumbering them and matching their strength, the monsters found themselves at an unexpected disadvantage.

Casualties began to pile up on both sides. Monsters were impaled by bayonet-like weapons and struck down by powerful firearms. Meanwhile, Empire soldiers were cleaved and torn apart by the more ruthless and desperate monsters.

"Those idiots," Benimaru glared as a massacre unfolded on both sides.

The Dryads had retreated after seeing the flames that could even burn the plants they had created. Treyni had ordered their retreat after finding some Dryads injured by the flames.

Treyni stood beside Benimaru, watching the battle unfold. Benimaru had directed the Kijins to regroup and advance along different paths from the 'strong' soldiers led by Gozu and Mezu's enemy.

"Something is weird with those soldiers," Treyni commented, noticing one of them raise a Bovoid taller than himself and throw it into one of the broken tanks. "That type of strength..."

Benimaru's expression darkened. "We'll remain cautious. Have the Dryads and Kijins move to the side. Let Gozu and Mezu's group handle them."

"Isn't that cruel?" Treyni asked, merely for the sake of asking, not that she was against the idea. She would rather they be the ones fighting the flames than her Dryads.

Benimaru didn't look at her as he answered, his eyes still fixed on the chaotic battle ahead. "It's cruel, but they were the ones who didn't follow orders."

...

Kanzis frowned as he lit his cigarette. With his army of 50,000 soldiers, a detached force from the armored corps, they were ordered to change their course to Amarita.

"There isn't much to gain here. Gastor and Farraga are getting all the fun while we're here, fighting dolls!" Kanzis spat out, his irritation evident as he glanced over at his men.

As he shouted, another golem, twice his size, moved towards him, its massive fist lunging forward to crush the Empire colonel.

Kanzis looked at the golem, boredly exhaling a cloud of smoke, his expression cold and indifferent. A dark shadow began to leak from the ground beneath his feet, and soon, a large, monstrous beast emerged. The beast roared as it clawed at the golem before squashing it underfoot, bringing the golem to a sudden halt.

Kanzis continued to observe, his expression unchanged, as more golems of varying shapes and sizes moved across the borders. As soon as they crossed into Amarita, stepping over the line, they seemed almost to wait for the final moment before launching their attack, silent and predatory, like wolves stalking their prey.

Kanzis frowned deeper, his eyes now scanning the battlefield. Casualties among his soldiers were rising by the minute. The weapons they carried, supposed to be powerful enough to tear through golems made of stone and metal, were barely leaving a mark. The golems seemed almost impervious, their thick, magisteel armor shrugging off the hail of bullets with nothing more than small dents.

"The golems are made from pure magisteel," Minitz murmured, crouching down to grab a piece of the shattered golem. He examined it closely before tossing it aside.

As he stood there, seemingly unbothered by the chaos around him, a winged golem dove down from above, its halberd poised to strike. But as the golem neared, its movements suddenly faltered, as if frozen in midair.

Minitz's eyes flicked upward. The golem trembled, struggling against invisible forces as its body began to compress, drawn inward by some unseen pressure. In less than a second, the golem exploded in a violent burst, its remains scattering across the battlefield.

"Is this all a Demon Lord is capable of?" a white tiger lycanthrope shouted, his voice full of disdain. In one swift motion, he crushed the 'head' of another golem in his massive hands, then threw the broken remains into a cluster of enemies hovering above. Without pause, he darted forward, his claws slashing through the air as he ripped through ten more golems in an instant, his movements impossibly fast.

Kanzis, watching the chaos unfold, pointed in exasperation. "Why is Gladim here again? Wasn't he supposed to be with Farraga, wiping out the monsters in the forest?"

Nazim, a mutated harpy and one of Gladim's generals, turned to answer. Her voice was calm but held an edge of amusement. "Because we have a vendetta with someone on this route."

"A vendetta?" Kanzis raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Nazim's sharp eyes gleamed. "Demon Lords Karion and Frey are our prey."

Kanzis stared at her, a flicker of worry crossing his face. "Wait, wait... we're moving forward, even after we defeat Amarita? That means we march straight into Demon Lord Milim's territory, and we aren't strong enough to take her on."

Nazim smirked, her expression unfazed. "We're not idiots. We'll use the forest to bypass the Forgotten Dragons and head straight for Eurazania. The Magic Beast Corps has been briefed, they'll strike the forest first, then head south to assault the Demon Lord's territory."

Minitz hardly cared about their plan; as long as he got his fill in this battle, they could take care of the rest. Kanzis, however, did not like this one bit. But in the end, as the one with lower status and strength, he kept his mouth shut.

As they continued their battle, pushing back the golems, Gladim took the very front of the fight. Minitz and Kanzis led the remaining soldiers forward, with Nazim and the two generals of the Magic Beast Corps following Gladim's example.

The four of them led the charge, or more accurately, they rushed forward, unconcerned about those left behind.

As they pressed on, in the castle, Demon Lord Kagali and her subordinates watched them from the high tower.

"They sure are enjoying themselves with your golems, Kagali-sama," Tear said, tilting her whole body as she watched the beastman rip another golem apart. "And those are A-rank golems, too!"

Laplace, looking slightly worried, glanced at the many broken golems scattered across the battlefield. "Kagali-sama, aren't you losing too many golems? Why do you keep sending them out? We could just wait for them to get to the Mist."

They had been watching the battle unfold from the very beginning, and they knew the first wave of golems sent out numbered in the thousands. Now, the third wave was leaving Amarita, and it could be said that the golems in play were already in the tens of thousands.

Kagali turned to Laplace with a slight sheepish smile, averting her gaze from the former Hero. "The golems I'm sending out are the early batches I made a few hundred years ago. They've been cluttered up underground for ages. This is a good way to clean house, get rid of them, and make sure they're still useful."

Clayman, ever the supportive ally, reassured Laplace. "As Kagali-sama said, those golems are just a waste of space. They're doing us a favor by tiring out our enemies."

"Tiring them out, huh?" Laplace watched as the Lycanthrope barely broke a sweat, still mocking the golems for being weak. The human soldiers were marching in the back now, with far fewer casualties than before. "More like you're just throwing out golems you don't know where to put."

Quo giggled at the exchange between the so-called "clowns" and their 'parent.' She had initially only been a refugee seeking shelter in their territory, along with her people, but over time, she had become part of their strange family.

She didn't mind it, though. In fact, she rather enjoyed her time with them.

"Ho ho ho, they are getting close to the mist," Footman pointed out as Laplace continued to tease Kagali, with Tear joining in on the fun.

Taking a deep breath, Kagali sent out a thought communication to Adalman. ("Adalman, are you ready?")

"Of course, my undead army and I are prepared for battle!" came the response.

"Everyone, it is time to take the battlefield." With their expressions growing more serious, they began to leave the castle and prepare to receive their uninvited guests in the Mist.

Gladim found himself, along with his three generals, deep in the thickening mist. As they ventured further into the Demon Lord's territory, they felt the mist surround them, swirling in the air as though it had a mind of its own, ensuring that the intruders were concealed within it.

"Smoke like this won't be enough to defeat us, Demon Lord!" Gladim shouted, swiping his open palm through the air. A gust of wind cleared the mist momentarily, but it quickly returned, thicker than before.

"Gladim-sama," Barraga, one of the three generals, called out as their commander continued to push forward, the others following closely behind. "The mist is jamming our communication with Minitz."

Gozaline, the final general of the three, scanned the mist warily. "Magic sense seems to be dampened as well. We can't get a clear read on anything."

Just then, as if the mist itself was controlled, a clearing appeared ahead of them, revealing a group of majins standing in formation.

"You are trespassing on my territory," the Elven Demon Lord announced, her voice cold and commanding. "Do you have no qualms about facing annihilation for your actions?"

Gladim grinned, his confidence unwavering, and dashed forward toward Kagali, his White Tiger Claw sharpening his already formidable nails and enhancing his body's strength.

But before his claws could reach her, a sword blocked the path of his strike. He glanced up, intrigued, finding a knight standing firmly before him.

Before he could react, a sharp kick sent him stumbling backward. Another knight had struck from a different angle, forcing him to retreat.

"I'll take care of them, Gladim-sama!" Barraga shouted as he lunged forward, locking eyes with Footman, who met him with a determined stance.

Meanwhile, Gozaline and Nazim moved toward Tear and Adalman, each preparing to engage their respective foes.

Gladim smirked, pleased to see his generals separating the enemies. But in the back of his mind, he couldn't shake the feeling that this was part of their plan, splitting them up.

A/N: You know, I forgot if they were wearing masks lol. They shouldn't be right? because Kagali's face is fine.

As I continue this story, I have not only removed most of the cast but also forgot some characters accidentally being 'somewhat' relevant. Karion and Frey are basically non-existent in this war.

I am really happy that this is only a 'draft' and I can fix this in the future. I can also blame most blunder and plothole to it being a draft lol.