Hoo!
The massively stretched void rift was trembling nonstop, that patch of purple swaying unsteadily.
A powerful aura violently surged outward from within. Along with thick magic power, the violent wind currents swept up dust dozens of meters high.
The originally gloomy sky was stirred into waves of dust, and the outside world seemed to sink even lower.
Those adventurers waiting outside the rift clearly felt the powerful force spreading out from the purple haze.
They trembled uncontrollably, seemingly still unable to recover from the pressure brought by the giant dragon.
"A… a dragon appeared above the monster rift?"
"What exactly is this aura!?"
"That is absolutely not something humans can stand against! I can't… I can't stay here any longer!"
Their faces were filled with terror, hands shaking as they clutched their cheeks.
Even Pia, the blond warrior who was close to the fourth tier, felt his legs go weak, his worldview nearly collapsing.
Leaning against the rock wall, dragging his weakened body, he tried to leave this place.
As the storm arrived, the abnormality of the monster rift spread throughout the entire City of Adventurers.
Large numbers of adventurers were thrown into panic, yet many of them also clenched their fists in excitement.
The abnormal riot of a monster rift, for adventurers who had spent years walking the edge of a blade,
Was itself a challenge where opportunity and risk coexisted.
———
[Southern Empire, Second Battle Line]
The surrounding steel walls towered into the clouds, black steel forged into an enormous beast, crouching over the dust-storming land.
Behind the beast-like walls, massive heavy cannons were mounted atop black, sharp towers.
They swayed nonstop, as if searching for potential threats.
Giant ballistae were also built in a circle along the walls, bows drawn full, ready to erupt.
Behind the battle line, a colossal cannon that pierced the clouds was loaded with a massive long arrow tipped with a sharp spearhead, slowly lowering as it aimed forward.
The soldiers within the city were likewise on full alert, their expressions incomparably solemn.
The second battle line was an extremely important link in the empire's southern defenses.
As the primary battlefield, it was imperative to ensure that no monster-induced chaos broke out across the entire south.
This place was the strongest safeguard of the entire southern front.
The First Prince stood atop the high tower, clad in golden armor, sharp light in his eyes.
Around him stood numerous silver-armored officers.
He quietly stared at the constantly churning monster rift in the distance, his brows tightly furrowed.
The sky, shrouded by dark clouds, also revealed a deep purple hue, surging like an ocean.
Because of the Wind Calamity's intrusion, the monster rift had expanded immensely, and the intense fluctuations produced within the abyss began to spill outward nonstop.
The small number of guard troops deployed there had already withdrawn before danger arrived, passing all information back to the rear battle lines.
Being able to learn of it in advance meant gaining more time and assurance for preparation.
But…
The First Prince slowly closed his eyes.
Under such terrifying phenomena, no matter what kind of world-devouring monster emerged from the monster rift, it would not be surprising.
The First Prince descended from the tower and led the officers to stand before the city gates.
Before him stood over ten thousand soldiers already deployed in various positions.
They wore armor, long blades at their waists, fear absent from their eyes as they stared intently at the surging purple sky in the distance.
Upon the yellow-brown earth, patches of black iron were embedded like inlays, incomparably resolute.
Warrior Corps, Knight Corps, Mage Corps.
The number of mages was the smallest. Unless they were high-tier mages, on a battlefield like this, they could only serve as cannon fodder.
They were assigned to logistics preparation.
Warriors slowly pushed massive artillery carts, bringing batch after batch of steel beasts into formation.
Those powerful firearms filled with various kinds of magic were mounted on wooden carts and slowly moved forward.
The formation was quickly completed. An officer behind the First Prince saluted him.
"Reporting, Your Highness! The army has assembled, and all weapons are fully prepared!"
Listening to the report, the First Prince slowly nodded and said calmly, "This is an abnormal situation. I have already heard about it."
"That monster did not emerge from the monster rift at all."
The First Prince had never entered a monster rift, but he understood the abyss.
In the already explored regions, it was impossible for such a powerful monster to exist.
Because the rift itself was not worthy.
Able to ride the wind without wings, its oppressive presence even completely surpassed that of fourth-tier monsters.
Moreover, according to the intelligence the First Prince had received, that enormous black dragon had once appeared in the far northern lands, completely crushing the Second Prince's army.
That was a force led by a prince.
Yet it could not withstand a single strike from that terrifying monster.
In just three days, it had traveled from the far north of the empire to the southern regions.
That speed… combined with its overwhelming body.
Unfathomable.
This was the First Prince's sole impression of the black dragon.
Then, narrowing his eyes, he continued, "My father the Emperor has already learned of that monster's existence, and… its species has been defined as, dragon."
Dragon?
It was hard to imagine that such a long and narrow creature could be compared to those robust giant dragons.
However, judging by the sheer terror conveyed even through descriptions, it indeed deserved the title of 'dragon'.
The First Prince took a breath and issued orders to the officers behind him.
"As for the black dragon appearing above Godinli, suppress the information as much as possible. We absolutely must not let Father know in advance!"
"Yes!"
He slowly raised his head and gazed at the mysterious, silent purple sky.
"This will be my military achievement."
———
Within the rift, behind the massive void gate, the giant eye writhed incessantly.
Countless pupils trembled nonstop.
Like insect eggs, they squeezed out from within the pupils, growing larger and larger.
The initial red gradually filled with purple blood vessels, swelling to the point of bursting.
Each swollen egg cracked open with a fissure, black-purple vapor spilling out.
The eggshells shattered instantly, and several insects with five sharp limbs fell into midair.
Their narrow heads looked as if they bore human mouths, their eyes compound, glowing with countless yellow lights.
They shakily stood up, instinctively letting out piercing screeches toward the black giant dragon before them.
Soon, the massive eye behind the gate began to rotate, as if revealing another side.
From that other side burst forth several more horrifying insects.
The moment one eye completely closed, another eye actually replaced it behind the gate, continuing to spew small demonic insects outward.
Dense purple creatures instantly covered the entire arena, piling up, stepping on the void, stepping on their companions' bodies, continuously climbing within the vast space.
In almost the blink of an eye, they crawled over Doragon's body at an incomprehensible speed, patches of dull purple gnawing relentlessly at the dragon's black scales.
Amid sharp tearing sounds, the insect eggs finally stopped breaking open.
Yet just as everyone thought these terrifying demonic insects were already the limit, the gate expanded once more, larger than before.
Even more horrifying wails rose from within the gate.
The void itself seemed to fall into boundless silence.
Only Viktor knew that the final terror had merely revealed the tip of the iceberg.
A dark-colored body suddenly lunged out of the darkness, its size comparable to half a giant dragon.
It extended an upper body shaped like a human's, yet without arms, possessing only a thin head.
On its forehead and face were dozens of holes like hollow eye sockets, from which purple vapor continuously spewed forth.
Its thin yet enormous, bone-piercing body violently struggled out from between the gates. Its human-like giant mouth opened wide, erupting with horrifying, chaotic cries.
Its emaciated body continued writhing behind the gate, and soon the other half of its torso was dragged out with difficulty.
Its lower body resembled that of an octopus, eight dark tentacles floating. On each tentacle were countless damaged eyes, from which purple-red blood continuously flowed.
On every single eye were clearly the remnants of freshly burst insect eggs.
This utterly horrifying scene was fully exposed before everyone's eyes.
That decayed, terrifying aura instantly devoured everything.
Making the adventurers feel their sanity collapsing.
It was as if space itself were trembling, crying and begging for mercy.
Even Doragon, upon seeing that suddenly erupted horror, seemed to pause for a moment.
At this time, the monster that seemed to have emerged from the void moved.
The countless damaged giant eyes beneath it all focused on Doragon's body at once.
The terrifying demonic insects continued to gnaw relentlessly at the dragon's body.
Whirling vortices spun around Doragon's form. Just the storm clinging to its body was enough to grind the insects gnawing at its scales into powder.
But in the next second, those purple powders began to recombine, turning back into demonic insects that fearlessly climbed onto the dragon's body again.
The dragon's body twisted, and intense airflow erupted instantly from between its scales. Black metal collided with black metal, producing heavy reverberations.
The demonic insects froze briefly, blown away by the airflow, slamming into the flesh-covered ground. After twitching a couple of times, they stopped moving.
Those ordinary monsters, no matter how powerful, were nothing more than cannon fodder before a calamity.
The adventurers watched the chaotic arena, their bodies forgetting to tremble, eyes becoming utterly blank, as if engraving a horrifying war into their vision.
Even seated in the spectator stands, they could still feel that immersive sense of terror.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the black swarm couldn't do anything to that monster.
If fourth-tier beings like them were thrown into that insect tide, they would likely be devoured into filthy chunks of flesh in the blink of an eye.
At this level of battle, they… didn't even have the slightest chance to intervene.
The gap… was far too great.
Also fourth-tier, yet that man made them feel powerful beyond anything human.
If not for the fact that the fourth-tier aura radiating from him was so obvious, no one would ever regard Viktor as a fourth-tier mage.
Fourth-tier? Impossible.
At this moment, Viktor slowly raised his staff, lifting his other hand as well.
Vega understood immediately. Within his single eye, golden light began to flicker.
Soon, that golden light completely covered the eyeballs on every tentacle floating beneath the sky.
And as Viktor moved, the magic formations behind him suddenly rose.
The multicolored light covering his body burst forth along the staff, transmitting toward the eyeballs in the sky.
A line connected to his body, following the eyeballs in the air.
A subtle feeling rose within his heart.
'Buff Sharing.'
This was an ability that could share any of one's own buff effects with a friendly unit.
And at this very moment, almost all the buffs he had applied earlier were copied onto that void construct in the sky.
Multicolored light gradually spread across the entire terrifying being.
Countless attribute boosts began to skyrocket, quickly reaching a level that made one tremble.
The golden light in Vega's eye slowly flowed out, bestowing itself upon the giant entity.
In an instant, a powerful aura accompanied by piercing cries swept across the entire arena.
[Ability: Level Up]
"Are you ready?"
"We're getting serious now."