The Demon Monarch System

Astarat's War: Humans v. Terrors (II)

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The prominent figures, such as Soren, Solomon, Valerie, and many other strong characters, stood at the forefront of the battlefield, watching as Brukti advanced towards the Catastrophe Line. At first, each of them seemed emotionless as they gripped their weapon and silently recorded the number of Terrors comprising the army.

And, the final number was truly frightening.

'Over four hundred million Terrors marching towards war. This is truly an unprecedented number. Even if half these numbers are made up of mere Rank 1 Terrors, it's too many to overlook. Numbers can overcome even the strongest of warriors once their stamina is depleted,' Solomon thought to himself.

Solomon then removed two rapiers from his waist with a languid sigh, wielding them with equal expertise. From his stance, it was clear that Solomon took ambidextrous to new heights.

Similarly, Soren and the others withdrew their weapons as well, producing robust energy signatures. If one looked from a distance, they'd see each of the Three Heaven's power taking on a tangible color. Soren's color was pale gold, Valerie's a milky white, and Solomon's adopted a black color with speckles of silver interspersed throughout.

Afterward, they wasted no time summoning their Spirits. In Soren's hand, he held the pseudo-Legendary Spirit Weapon, Gaelbolg, which possessed an ability of unsurpassed sharpness. If pierced by this weapon's Spiritual Arts, the odds of dying were extremely high.

On the other hand, Solomon summoned a Dark Spirit with long black hair extending into wisps of smoke. Its body was wreathed in silver clothing that seemed to sparkle like the multitude of stars in the night's sky. However, the most unusual trait about this Spirit was their eyes; they were completely white, giving off the impression of blindness.

But, anyone would be sorely mistaken to judge this Spirit based on appearances alone. This Spirit's perception was amongst of the powerful to ever grace Astarat.

Lastly, Valeria's Spirit took on the appearance of some type of celestial maiden, with their appearance obscured by a veil. No matter how hard someone tried to peer underneath the veil, it blocked out all intrusive gazes. Thus, till this day, save for Valerie, no one else had ever seen the true appearance of her Spirit.

Just the fact the Three Heavens summoned their Spirits before the battle even began told the soldiers that this would be a dreadful fight. After reaching the level of a Saint, rarely did the Three Heavens need to summon their Spirit to deal with an opponent.

Similar portals of varying sizes littered the battlefield, creating doorways that invited the soldier's Spirits to their sides. And, by the time all of the Spirits were summoned, Brukti performed a mighty leap, landing upon a large triangular rock.

His foot crushed the peak of the rock while he spread his arms in uproarious laughter. "Bring it on! But you will inevitably suffer defeat at the hands of my race. This will not be a repeat of the past as we've more than sufficiently prepared ourselves!"

"No one wants to hear your inconsequential words," Soren said with a sneer. He pointed his spear towards Brukti as his aura erupted with a golden blaze. While raising his spear, Soren uttered a chant in a cryptic language that only Gaelbolg understood.

Three symbols illuminated on Gaelbolg's shaft, followed by a condensed beam of golden light being fired directly at Brukti's chest. Soren was the type who rarely used words and determined his stance by actions. Hence, he was the first to make a move.

However, Brukti only stared at the incoming beam with a grotesque smile while its radiance reflected in his eyes. Just before the beam made contact, Brukti extended his hand and created a shield from a large amount of Death Essence.

Though some cracks were formed after the impact, overall, it protected Brukti from any harm as the shield dispersed thereafter.

"If this bug's bite is all you can muster, then your race is in for a rude awakening. TRAMPLE!" Brukti bellowed. The Terrors responded with a heated roar before crossing the Catastrophe Line.

"Defend our world! Subdue the Terrors!" Solomon commanded in an authoritative voice. His words stretched across the entire army, numbering more than ten million as they yelled back with contagious vigor. Even the weakest of soldiers rushed forward after locating the Rank 1 Terrors.

Now that the war had escalated to unprecedented numbers, there was no longer individuality on the battlefield. Every member of the World Reclamation Task Force united under one banner. Whereas the Terrors terrorized the battlefield, the soldier moved in units possessing at least one soldier well-versed in healing arts.

If the attackers and defenders in the unit sustained an injury, it was healed if it was detrimental to their combat ability. If it wasn't negatively impactful, then the healer held off on healing until they showed signs of losing combat effectiveness.

Meanwhile, the Three Heavens watched as Brukti targeted them as his opponent.

"It is clear that you all are the backbone of this army. So I must destroy you for it to fall apart!" Brukti snarled.

Bang!

Immediately after, Brukti leapt explosively, destroying the rock in the process. While in the air, Brukti waved his arm, conjuring a few Death Spears that leaked a toxic liquid. A sizzling noise appeared as the liquid left a corroding trail on the ground far below.

Once they were prepared, Brukti launched the Death Spears at the three. Since he was aware that they were powerful opponents, Brukti didn't attack with just one spear. Each of the Three Heavens witnessed as a set of five Death Spears targeted them separately, simultaneously attacking from numerous angles.

Solomon's eyes shifted back and forth rapidly while also tightening his grip around his rapiers. A thin film of silvery energy coated his rapiers during the tiny instant it took for him to read the trajectory of the Death Spears. Having obtained this information, Solomon turned into a silver stream as he rushed forward, deflecting three of the five Death Spears instantly.

The last two were slashed in half as Solomon executed a spinning slash that made him seem like a sharp yet suspended tornado.

On the other hand, Soren adopted a wide stance as his left foot slipped back and his right arm dropped toward the ground. Gaelbolg's weight was gathered around his palm and channeled through his back foot as Soren took a forceful step forward at the right time.

The Death Spears gathered on Soren By the time Soren fashioned his spear and made his move, but unlike Solomon, Soren wanted to deal with all of them at once, obliterating the Death Spears with a seemingly ordinary spear thurst. However, if one looked closely, one would notice the five afterimages parting from Soren's body, indicating the abnormal movements he performed.

Conversely, Valerie's Spirit clapped her hands together, forming a barrier that inhibited further movement from the Death Spears aimed at Valerie.

Despite the three efficiently dealing with his attack, Brukti maintained the same attitude. Not only had his physical process been bolstered by his transformation, but so had his pride. Besides, he was aware that the outcome resulted from his effortless creation.

Until now, he hadn't cinched an opportunity to test out his new strength. So, what better chance than a war for him to explore the depths of his power. Brukti didn't give them a chance to reset as he gathered Death Essence in his palms and clapped them the moment he landed.

A burst of potent Death Essence reminiscent of the miasma found in the Endless Death Domain billowed towards the three. After sensing the inherent properties of this wave, the three were forced to erect their Essence Aegis despite being on the safe side of the Catastrophe Line.

Brukti then followed up by channeling an absurd amount of strength into his legs.

BOOM!

The ground faced devastation as it succumbed to Brukti's monstrous power. Soren, Solomon, and Valerie's pupils constricted to the size of needles as they struggled to understand how such a massive figure could move so quickly.

Nevertheless, they didn't sit around to learn of the reasoning as they split apart in three directions, avoiding the inevitable aftermath of Brukti's next attack. A massive tremor accompanied Brukti's landing, followed by a deep pit filled to the brim with dust and debris.

Inside the debris, a set of rabid green eyes shimmered within and locked onto the Three Heavens. "Hehehe, you puny humans are scared. Even those Spirits by your side can't bridge the inherent fear you feel towards what you don't understand."

Suddenly, a low humming noise occurred as the Death Essence in the area vibrated in response to Brukti. A large amount converged in his palm, taking on the shape of a spiked axe but the bottom of the axe resembled a mace.

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