The gate portal connected to a huge fortress located south of Dresden. To be exact, about 20 kilometers away from there. “You have to get through the fortress first. It’s blocking the way,” Lydia added. The Awakened in Prague aimed for Dresden. She also knew that crossing the fortress was the primary hurdle. “It was originally a German ruin. It was a fortress built on a mountain range… and Permegon made his nest there.” Thanks to that, I was able to gradually learn information about the demons’ fortress, but…
It wasn’t just us who were fully prepared. “It looks like they’ve prepared themselves as well.” Permegon knew it too. That we would soon be storming Dresden. Not only were there thick barricades lined up in front of the gate portal, but there were also sharp-looking artillery turrets on top of the walls, aiming their guns menacingly. It was as if they had been waiting for us to come to Dresden.
Knock knock. Ding ding. Lower-level imps pulled heavy carts. Attached to the carts were barricades made by adding iron plates. Although they looked like shields, they were actually closer to defensive structures. While subduing thirteen demon castles, I had never seen anything like it before.
“Where…”
We went straight into the attack. He deployed a subspace portal in front of his nose and began attacking Permegon while hiding his body. Piwoong! Wedge! Elvenheim’s silver arrows were shot out along with the Holy Lance that had been shipped out, but… Break! Bam! It only pushed about 1 or 2 meters. The barricade the demons had erected was stronger than I had imagined. The fortress that had just come into view disappeared from sight again as the imps pushed the road cart. Cock cock! The imps came out and laughed at us… Kkwadduk! This time, the ‘Demon Predator’ had his face torn apart mercilessly. “Don’t stick your head out…”
It was the ‘Demon Predator’ who finally achieved the conditions. Even a simple comparison could confirm its overwhelming performance. Thanks to the newly added ‘double penetration’ effect, it was possible to pierce through barricades and even hidden imps in one go. And… Wedge! The ‘double penetration’ was not limited to just demons. You could tell just by looking at the way they tore through the barricades like a piece of paper. Beyond demons, it could also be effective on structures and buildings they built. Thanks to… Kugugugugu… It was possible to collapse dozens of spires built on top of the outer castle in one fell swoop. Whoosh! A pile of rocks swept down like a landslide. In the meantime, Permegon’s piercing scream could be heard.
-Shoot!
Kwaaaaaaaah! Kwaaaaang! Immediately, a sea of fire appeared before my eyes. The defensive turrets spewed out a steady stream of fire, and huge fireballs poured down from time to time. “Sure… This time it’s a bit much.” It was just as Lancelot said. A strategy of taking a helicopter and dropping an H-beam to destroy their stronghold. Now, it has become difficult to even get out of the portal, let alone ride a helicopter.
Wedge! Kwaaang! Kwaarrung! A gun battle ensued. Because of Permegon’s continued restraint, all I could do was deal with the imps that clung to me. Although they were able to destroy barricades and spires with their ‘Demon Predators,’ they were unable to effectively strike the thick walls of the fortress. Kookookookook… The battle situation suddenly reached a deadlock. A demon giant with a hard shell rose up. Kuung. Kuung.
-Ouch, oh, oh, oh…
With a low roar, he began to approach the portal with large footsteps. It seemed that the demons of Permegon had regained their confidence…
-Ugh, ugh, ugh…!?
Kwaaaaaaaah! It was a refreshing blast to the forehead, and it made them realize their illusions. “…Where are you going to raise your head so rudely?”
Tiring!
[Divine Explosion: Spits out the devoured soul as a projectile, causing a divine explosion.] This was also an effect of the ‘Demon Predator.’ It can prey on up to 1,000 souls and spew them out, causing a ‘divine explosion.’ Because I was constantly accumulating the souls of demons by exchanging attacks with Permegon. Of course, when an explosion occurs, the demons’ souls are also consumed. It was used as a secret weapon, and it was something that might require aiming for one room…
“…That doesn’t apply to me.”
As the souls accumulated, the spear was accepted into the subspace through ‘product recovery.’ Then, the accepted window was duplicated and injected again. Thanks to this, even if I caused dozens or hundreds of ‘divine explosions,’ the demons’ souls would not fall on me. Although there was a problem that the souls of intelligent demons could not be copied… ‘After all, they are just low-level demons.’ He intentionally targeted lower-level entities such as imps and carefully selected and filled them with ‘copyable’ souls.
-Kaaaah!
-Grrrrrr!
The demons looked puzzled the whole time. The artillery battle continued on in a tense manner to the point of boredom. You probably didn’t realize that you had been digging your own grave all this time. Either way… Kwaaaaang! Kkwarreung! The demons’ bodies simply exploded with the flash of ‘Holy Explosion.’ Thud! Kuung! Demons fell one by one. After clearing away the five or six giant demons that surrounded the walls, the great fortress of Permegon, blocking Dresden, came into view.
“I can see it better now.”
There was no need to hesitate. It was when I checked the effect granted to ‘Blessed Demon Predator.’ I’ve always imagined the fortress of Permegon crumbling like a maze. Of course, even though it was a demon predator with a ‘double penetration’ effect, it couldn’t penetrate the thick walls of a fortress. Moreover, since it was built on a mountain range, the fortress of Permegon was more like a steep cliff than a castle. But… “All you have to do is get it stuck.”
Wedge! Wedge! After kicking out all the demons that were getting in the way, I fired hundreds of ‘predators’ straight at the smooth walls of the fortress. Kkwaduk! Crunch! Wheeing! The effect of ‘Double Penetration’ was activated without fail. The spear rolled in a spiral and dug into the wall again… Crunch! Parsak! Spiderweb-like filaments stretched out around the area. That wasn’t all. Taang! Taang! Because the ‘battle hammers’ sent with drove the holy spears into the wall like nails. So, the ‘predator’ that had stabbed it so deep that the handle was no longer visible… Kwaaaaaaaah! Kwaaaaang! It caused a ‘chain divine explosion’ with 1,000 souls. Bam! Crap! The walls burst apart like shards of glass with a slash…
WHACK! The fortress that had become a tower began to crumble without warning. The ground exploded, and the walls poured down toward the center as if folding in half. The artillery units lined up above it were also sucked into the dust as if they were being swept away. At last…
-Kaaaaaaa…
That was the end. Dozens of gargoyles floating in the sky. All I could do was stare blankly at the main camp that had disappeared right before my eyes.
After the fortress of Permegon was neatly destroyed. But unfortunately, I couldn’t hear the news I was hoping for.
“…There wasn’t any?” Lancelot answered me. “There were only prisoners who had come over from Valencia. The other wing was empty. The original prisoners were…” The camp established in Dresden consisted of two buildings. It was true that the prisoners who had been tracked down through the gate portal were rescued safely…
“It looks like they’ve already moved.”
“This…”
The Awakened people in Prague, who had family in Dresden, could not help but swallow their tears. “…” Lydia was the same. She just shook her shoulders, clutching an unidentifiable pendant. I remembered the conversation I had with her last night. A series of gate portals leading to Permegon’s stronghold. However, there was a high possibility that it would not be connected to the main base in Paris. ‘The gate portal is no longer useful…’ It was different from before. The situation where the prisoners who had been dragged along the gate several times were finally rescued. Not only had he opened up the ‘Demon Predator,’ but he had also obtained all the magic stones needed to level up in the subspace while fighting in Dresden. Now that we’ve confirmed that the Prague Awakeners’ families aren’t in Dresden, we can put off raiding their stronghold for a while. Further… ‘…He’ll still be alive.’ Permegon’s target was the vengeful spirits of humans. Even in Dresden, one of the concentration camps was left empty, and there were no signs of massacre. It would be more reasonable to assume that they only moved the location without killing, and it wasn’t difficult to guess the location. I spoke to Lydia, who was quietly hanging her head.
“Let’s go to Paris.”
It must have been there. Her sister too, and Permegon, the mastermind behind all this.
The European headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Permegon were sharing some welcome news after a long absence. “Complete! It’s complete!” Sisyphus, the soul extractor that has been under construction for a long time. Because the facility that would become the core of Earth’s development had finally been completed. “Thank you for your hard work, Permegon.” Clap clap. The chief clapped his hands and tapped Permegon on the shoulder. “Sisyphus… has gathered all the materials, so now all that remains is Barnaul’s response.” “Yes, we have sent an official business proposal to Barnaul as well.” “Good. Very good.” Phew. The chief let out a deep sigh. The minimum conditions for trading with Barnaul were finally established. If they declare their intention to do business on Earth, they will also gain a solid position as they govern Europe. ‘Those Korean guys are annoying, but…’ This wasn’t a problem either. Because no one who exists in multiple dimensions could interfere with Barnaul’s business.
But… Is it because we have been suffering repeated defeats? Permegon could not hide his anxiety. “Is it really okay if I just enter Barnaul? I’ll probably be subject to class restrictions…” That wasn’t a wrong statement. Grade restrictions. Even if all sorts of tricks were used, the 6th rank was all that was left for now. Even though it was Barnaul, it could not break the principles set by the Multidimensional Chamber of Commerce. But the chief calmly reassured Permegon. “Of course, a very strong warlock won’t be able to enter. But… Isn’t there something we have prepared?” “Ah…” “We just need to create the vengeful spirits. They will all become Barnaul’s power.” This was also their tactic. Europe full of corpses and ghosts. Because it was an environment where Barnaul could run wild. The chief of staff leisurely chatted with Permegon, who seemed much more at ease. “They are no match for Barnaul. Have they joined hands with any druids? Have they even brought back a decent World Tree?” At the chief’s joke, Permegon burst into laughter. “Haha… No way.” It was a World Tree that was said to have dried up throughout the multidimensional world. What’s more, the Druids can’t do anything without the World Tree. They were once a menace to Barnaul, but have now been reduced to a multidimensional laughingstock. Widely! The chief grabbed Permegon’s shoulder. Everything was going well, but they still had to wait for a reply from Barnaul. But… “Until then, Permegon should be able to buy you some time. Are you sure about that?” “Of course, it won’t be easy to break through the Dresden Fortress. At least for a week…”
CLANG! That was when. A demon suddenly came running towards Permegon. “Big, big trouble!” “What?” Sigh. A look of ominousness passed through Permegon’s head. Perhaps the fortress that was painstakingly built was breached in half a day. But… “The knights have entered Paris!” The news that came far surpassed his anxiety.
LUNA-CAVE
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