Chapter 588

Chapter 588

Boom-!

A massive explosion erupted from within the body of the King of Flies.

A barrier activated in the nick of time, and Geronimo was flung out of the King of Flies's body, caught in the shockwave and heat that poured out from the passage.

Inside the spinning airship, struggling to maintain balance, I desperately glared at the flames clinging to the body of the King of Flies.

The explosion caused by Burnout, gathering the remnants of her life to ignite, was of tremendous magnitude.

Burnout's passive ultimate skill, with innate magic power of explosive nature, was [Fireworks].

Its effect caused the bodies of the opponents she killed to explode immediately.

The explosion triggered by Burnout's self-destruction swept through the monsters inside the breeding chamber, causing them to detonate in a chain reaction upon death.

They killed each other in explosions, creating a massive firestorm.

The immense number of mutant flies about to complete their metamorphosis inside the breeding chamber would have mostly been blown to pieces by this strike.

It was a splendid achievement. So great that it couldn't just be summed up as 'splendid'.

But...

"Sniff, sniffle, snort..."

Seeing Bodybag next to me, struggling to suppress her cries, felt like my insides were crumbling.

From the beginning until now, always.

The monster front had survived on the heroic deeds of warriors who sacrificed themselves at crucial moments. I honored their legacy, continued it, and made it this far.

But suddenly, I thought.

Could it be that I am forcing these sacrifices?

Bringing people who are supposed to die in unavoidable circumstances, and killing them.

Of course, this isn't a situation with the luxury to ponder such things. However.

As a commander, I...

'I...'

That's when Damien shouted from watching outside the window.

"The King of Flies is completely crashing!"

From Geronimo's window, now regaining balance, we saw the King of Flies plummet to the ground, emitting a long trail of smoke.

The King of Flies's body slid forward, plowing through the plains' soil and sand, then tilted and tumbled forward.

Rumble...!

An immense cloud of dust and fluff was thrown up in all directions as the King of Flies's head slammed into the ground.

Despite the momentum, it continued to slide forward.

"We did it...!"

"The operation, a success..."

"Sob! Damn it...!"

Everyone was relieved at the enemy commander's crash, yet saddened by Burnout's death. Even with the success of the operation, we couldn't be purely happy.

Shortly after, Kellibey muttered in a deep voice.

"There's one more piece of bad news."

Feeling a sense of doom, I asked.

"What bad news?"

"We're crashing too."

"!"

"From the sortie until now, it's been nothing but excessive maneuvers. Fatigue has accumulated on Geronimo's hull..."

Kellibey hurriedly fiddled with the control panel.

"It seems a critical anomaly occurred in the magic row when we got caught in that explosion... The output is decreasing."

The altitude dropped suddenly. The airship began to spin again, shaking violently, and everyone screamed.

Kellibey yelled loudly.

"Hold tight! We're crash-landing!"

The next moment, Geronimo's hull slammed into the dirt.

Boom...!

***

Fierce battles were unfolding on the city walls.

While the soldiers could manage the ordinary giant flies attacking them, the problem was the mutant flies.

These mutant flies, appearing with barriers, rendered most of the soldiers' attacks ineffective, barely being held off by the close-combat troops wielding shields.

Even then, their sharp forelegs and pointed tail stings easily tore through and pierced the shields.

"Aargh!"

"We must hold them back... Urgh!"

Casualties occurred everywhere.

Evangeline maintained her ultimate skill [Last Bastion], allowing the affected soldiers to hang on, but...

Despite that, the damage snowballed.

"Damn flying monsters..."

Evangeline trembled with rage.

The overwhelming advantage of the front line here - the walls - was completely neutralized in the face of flying monsters.

They easily breached the walls, possessing overwhelming defensive barriers and vicious offensive capabilities.

"Evangeline Cross, quibbling, heresy points 10..."

"Ugh, those damn heresy points! I'll pay it off with donations later, just fight the monsters!"

"...Ahem. You seem to have the makings of a good lord, Miss Evangeline."

Rosetta put the notebook away. Evangeline laughed in disbelief.

Then it happened.

Whoosh-

A scorching heat was felt from the side. All heroes and soldiers on the wall looked in that direction.

"Hooo..."

It was the Dragon Lady, Dusk Bringar.

Whatever she did, she forcibly grabbed more than a dozen mutant fly monsters with magic, held onto the barrier they collectively put up, and then clung tightly to it...

"Don't be bothersome- aaaaah!"

With her black hair whipping behind her beneath a silver crown, she poured in a long-range breath attack.

Zzzzrrrzzz!

The breath, while heating up the red-hot barrier trying to block it, didn't last long before melting down, and over ten mutant flies were burnt to death at once.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The faces of heroes fighting with techniques, equipment, and even secret arts like Neijiazhongshoufa stiffened.

"Hoo!"

Dusk Bringar, doing a somersault back onto the wall, showed her sharp teeth and said.

"These creatures' barriers have a clear output limit. Concentrate firepower! They won't last long."

"Ah, understood, Your Grace!"

Evangeline issued the command, and cannons, ballistae, and artifacts began targeting the flies and unleashing their firepower.

As Dusk Bringar said, though the flies' barriers were strong, they couldn't last. Concentrating firepower brought them down one by one.

Just as the situation seemed to be turning...

"The, the King of Flies!"

A scout shouted at the top of his lungs.

"The King of Flies is crashing-!"

"...!"

Everyone startled looked in that direction, and it was true.

The King of Flies, its wings already burnt to ashes, was falling to the ground, causing a massive explosion behind it.

Everyone on the wall cheered. Dusk Bringar, jumping up and down like a child, clapped her hands.

"Did Ash do it? Woah, I knew he could!"

"To actually bring it down, that's amazing..."

Halfway through her words, Evangeline's expression hardened.

"...But, will it stop before hitting the walls?"

"?!

Rumble...

The King of Flies, originally flying at a terrifying speed, had lost lift and was crashing to the ground, its giant head already slammed into the dirt.

Yet, it still had momentum. The massive body of the King of Flies, throwing up huge clouds of dirt, slid towards the walls.

"Block it."

Evangeline mumbled, then shouted at the top of her lungs.

"We have to block it! All firepower, concentrate on the King of Flies-!"

Immediately, not only cannons and ballistae, artifacts, but also the waiting magicians' spells, various supernatural and magical techniques, and Dusk Bringar's all-out breath attack were unleashed towards the King of Flies.

Bang! Boom! Boom...!

But, it was futile.

The King of Flies, with its head and entire body smashed and shattered, did not lose momentum and continued to push towards the walls.

Realizing blocking was impossible, Evangeline screamed with all her might.

"Everyone, to the base of the walls-! Evacuate-!"

Soldiers, magicians, alchemists, and priests frantically evacuated.

Those in the center of the wall hurriedly descended to the base or spread out to run to the adjacent walls.

And then-

The collision.

Boom...!

The sliding body of the King of Flies hit the walls.

Its overwhelming mass shattered the southern gate of Crossroad, the fortress city considered the pinnacle of imperial architecture, and plowed into the southern walls, collapsing them entirely from the center inwards.

Rumble, rumble...

And finally, when the King of Flies's advance stopped.

Its gigantic body had penetrated the wall and dug deep into the city.

--TL Notes--

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