Game World: I Can Share Talents

Chapter 185 - 183: Bring the Ship Over!

As if in answer to Westheid’s silent prayers, the subsequent cleanup operation went remarkably smoothly. While there had been considerable resistance in the first few days, it seemed the Devourer, having recognized the overwhelming momentum of the Qinghui forces, later withdrew nearly all its Demon Army from outside the Chaos Domain.

It had practically handed over its territory.

This made the subsequent conquest incredibly smooth. If the goal had been merely to restore the old borders of the Qinghui Territory, the campaign could already be considered a success. However, as long as the Gate of Chaos remained open and the Devourer was not eliminated, Duke Qinghui could not rest easy.

Thus, the army continued its march toward the Gate of Chaos. The deeper they advanced into the Chaos Domain, the more the crimson canopy of the sky filled with an ominous smog.

They marched until the silhouette of the Gate of Chaos became visible on the horizon.

In the center of the gray, decaying hills, a dim light flickered. A colossal vortex of space and time churned with a foul, chaotic mist, hovering over a hill. Through a narrow spatio-temporal passage behind it, an endless torrent of the Power of Chaos poured into this world. Demons surged from the vortex, swarming and capering around it in ever-increasing numbers.

’Damn it, this Gate of Chaos is massive. We can’t afford to wait. Launch the attack now.’

Westheid’s expression turned grim. Seeing the Gate of Chaos continuously spewing out corporeal creations, he grew as agitated as a Noxus Dog watching its rival get fed, instantly triggering his Blood Fury.

The Floating Battleships advanced first. Blessed by the Celestial Vault Kingdom’s unique Ascension Ceremony, the warships could almost completely ignore the interference from Chaos, allowing them to scout the movements within the Chaos Domain with impunity.

Then, Duke Qinghui saw something that made him completely lose his cool:

Directly in front of the Gate of Chaos stood several hills. Upon these high grounds of thick, angular rock, heavily armored Demons had been artificially stitched together and stacked up.

Behind these armored carapaces, Demons specialized for ranged attacks were embedded into the hills themselves, leaving only their scarlet, needle-like appendages exposed to attack.

Farther back, there were even chariots belonging to Chaos Corpse Witches. These Chaos spellcasters had dug out the cores of their brethren to power their defensive shields.

There were even Demons that had stretched and torn their own blade-filled bodies to fill the gaps in the fortifications.

.......

The Chaos Hundred Forms each displayed their own perverse talents, a pandemonium of Demons creating a vision of Hell across the vast hills.

Although it looked utterly abstract—a work of art that those of the Mortal World could never appreciate—Westheid could still see it for what it was. ’This is a fucking defensive line!’

’Since they can’t manufacture tools, they’re using whatever’s on hand—the Chaos Creatures themselves are the construction materials.’

’Wait, since when is Chaos on the defensive? Since when do they build fortifications?!’

’This is the most Reversed Celestial Spirit episode of all time!’

Reiya’s expression was complicated as she took in the scene. "It seems you were right," she commented. "This is indeed a very special type of Chaos Creature."

"It cannot be allowed to live," Westheid said coldly after a long silence.

’It pulls a new stunt every time we meet.’ Westheid wasn’t afraid of the Devourer; he was worried that if it was this deeply "infected" by the poison of Order, it might lead other, more simple-minded Chaos astray.

’In the not-so-distant future, the will of Chaos Undivided is going to sever the connection between the Supreme Heaven and the Mortal World. When that happens, the Law of the Celestial Gods will spiral out of control, and the Chaos invasion will evolve and upgrade across the board.’

’One disaster after another will upend millennia of established knowledge.’

’To put it simply, the Chaos-tainted Mortal World will enter an "Age of Impermanence," where anything that should be impossible under the Law can and will happen. Who knows if the Chaos Will won’t suddenly have a fit and decide to replicate the Devourer’s intelligence as a meme.’

’One of these bastards is enough of a headache. A whole army of them is unthinkable.’

"Fortunately, we’re forcing the enemy’s hand. Since it paid a heavy price to open the Gate of Chaos, the Devourer will have to defend this place to the death. Let’s solve this problem once and for all. I’m getting tired of this reclamation war. This time, we settle it in one decisive battle."

In Duke Qinghui’s plans, retaking his homeland was only the first step. Before the great cataclysm arrived, he needed to leverage his foreknowledge and prepare with every second he had. He had no more time to waste on the Devourer.

Westheid picked up a communications terminal, relaying his orders to the Legion via the signal from the Radiance-class Floating Battleship.

"All units, on my command. Here are your deployments..."

The Duke Qinghui’s orders were quickly relayed to the entire army.

An array centered on the six Crowns of Banquet Fire began to advance. However, the first to strike were not these mobile fortresses, but the Army of Light positioned further back.

These cold, implacable Divine Weapons uniformly unslung the rectangular gunlances from their backs, which were crafted from Holy Stone. Though called gunlances, their size was more comparable to cannons.

BOOM— BOOM—

BOOM— BOOM—

The inscribed patterns on the Holy Stones lit up, growing steadily brighter. A deep, muffled report followed as scorching beams of light shot forth, plunging into the hills. They instantly pierced the outermost armored barrier, setting off a chain reaction of explosions.

Every piece of the Army of Light’s armament was a top-tier anti-Chaos weapon. This was especially true for their Holy Guns, which used Radiant Holy Stones to compress the Power of Order—a force utterly anathema to Chaos. There was no better weapon for single-point demolition.

Once the Army of Light had breached the enemy lines, the Crowns of Banquet Fire began their advance. They poured out a constant stream of firepower while deploying shields to protect the nearby legions. The Chaos Demon Army retaliated immediately. Countless spears, glowing with a scarlet light, shot toward the heavens before tracing a graceful parabola back down to earth.

However, the shields on both sides intercepted most of the volleys, and on the whole, the Chaos forces were still at a disadvantage.

But after fighting Chaos for so long, the Qinghui Legion had advanced by leaps and bounds. They were now experts at handling swarms of beasts. Even though this was an unprecedented siege against a Chaos position, the fundamentals were not much different.

Moreover, they were far stronger than before. Their spearhead units were composed of Qinghui Knights forged in the fires of war, and above them, the Floating Fleet provided fire support from the sky.

The Secret Magic Sails flared, raining down Cluster Rune Shells that scoured every inch of the Chaos-held ground.

And yet, their advance was still agonizingly slow. After hours of intense bombardment, they had only just managed to break through the first defensive line. Farther back, the Chaos Demon Army had already set up and reinforced several more.

Reiya looked at Duke Qinghui and said coolly, "Our advantage is only temporary. If we can’t achieve a decisive breakthrough, the scales of this battle will slowly tip... Chaos can afford a war of attrition. We cannot."

The Silver-haired Princess had stated a profound truth. A confrontation with Chaos couldn’t be judged by the gain or loss of a single city or territory. It had to be viewed from the perspective of total war, to see which side was truly bearing the brunt of the attrition.

Clearly, with the Gate of Chaos at its back, the Demon Army had an endless supply of reinforcements.

"Can we really not afford it? I don’t think so... The Devourer is nowhere to be seen. Is it protecting itself, or planning some other petty trick? Fine. Let it come at me from all sides; I only need one way through."

A faint smile touched Westheid’s lips as he waved his hand and declared:

"Who does it think I am? Bring the ship in!"