Beyond the Apocalypse
Chapter 221: Azarin Empire’s fortifications (II)

Chapter 221: Azarin Empire’s fortifications (II)

The attack had started less than ten minutes ago, yet two-thirds of the horde was already lost, without a single sign of human activity by the soldiers of the Azarin Empire. Even if the Golden Sky weakened the demons, it was still clear that the power of the white wall was terrifying, and the energy it had at its disposal was nothing short of extraordinary.

Luckily, the rampage did not come without effect as the demonic horde managed to break the west door. However, just as the demonic beasts were about to surge into the capital, a group of warriors bathed in a golden aura marched forward, their shields blasting the demonic beasts back and their swords cutting them to pieces.

Vlad immediately noticed the power of those warriors and discovered the nature behind their power. ’Paladins. I guess it makes sense considering the presence and power of the Church of Glory.’

The Paladin class was similar to the Priest class in the sense they were a variant of the Warrior Class, able to channel Divine Force. Becoming a Paladin was much easier than becoming a Priest, so with a few months of harsh training, it made sense for some warriors to have attained the specialization.

With the barrage of fireballs coming from the walls and the Paladins protecting the west gate, the demonic horde was unable to advance. It was at this point that the demon Champions finally made their moves, all charging with immense power.

Fireballs also targeted the demon Champions, but they could dodge most and endure the rest using their Force. Just as it seemed the fifteen massive monsters would reach the west gate, a figure appeared above the walls, floating as he basked in golden light.

When Vlad saw that person, a burning rage and killing intent arose in his heart, but he made sure to hide it immediately, not revealing anything.

The one that appeared in the air was none other than Pope Jerom. The old man glanced at the demon Champions with coldness and disdain before channeling his energy and shouting with a regal voice.

"Holy Spell: Sacred Dragon!" Jerom charged his Divine Force into the scepter, merging it into a colossal dragon head nearly twenty meters tall that charged with colossal power toward the demon Champions.

The power of the spell was even stronger than when fired in Strong Hammer Military Base, which made sense as Priests tended to become stronger when closer to their God. The dragon head marched forward and exploded among the demon Champions, pulverizing half and sending the rest flying away, badly wounded.

"It is over." After seeing the state of the demon Champions, Vlad knew he would get no more information, so he guided the demon summon away before the battle ended.

Vlad did not return to Constantine Country after analyzing the battle between the high demonic horde and the Azarin Empire’s capital. There was nothing more he could gain in Radiance City, but the neighboring cities were packed with powerful demonic hordes and valuable natural resources.

Although destroying those hordes would improve the overall safety of the Azarin Empire, it would also diminish the amount of Origin Force they could gain, stagnating their growth. As for the natural resources, Vlad did not intend to leave even a single useful plant behind.

The demon summon flew north of Radiance City, heading towards Sunshine City. Though heading in the direction where he had caused havoc for the past few weeks and where spies and scouts were numerous might sound dangerous, it was the last place they would look for him after the ordeal with the west flank.

Vlad, Freya, and Jormungandr rested on top of the demon summon, using the time to recover. While the small yellow cat was the most drained, the Depravita of Wrath and the viking princess were also exhausted from the past few weeks.

After several days of flying, the demon summon finally left the Golden Sky, exiting Radiance City and entering Sunshine City. The summon’s speed increased as it was no longer weakened by the Divine Force, allowing it to march deeper into the new city.

It didn’t take long for Vlad to notice a demonic horde marching through a forest. It seemed they had been drawn by the presence of Monsters, and by the blood marks on the trees, it was clear the demons had won.

Vlad let the demonic summon descend and glanced at Freya. The viking princess nodded before jumping from the demon summon, charging her mace with Force and totemic energy. Just as her body was about to touch the ground, she channeled the momentum of her fall into her mace and smashed it with all her strength.

"BOOOMMMM!"

Freya’s impact was like a mountain dropping from the sky, blasting the nearby demons to pieces, and sending many others flying away. Even the large and ancient trees couldn’t endure the power behind her mace.

The demonic horde was taken by surprise by the destruction unleashed by the young woman, but their nature took over, and they charged at her with pure killing intent and bloodlust.

"Hmph!" Freya sneered, raising her shield and mace before dashing forward, moving around the forest and killing all the demonic beasts in her path. A single swing of her weapon sent many flying away with broken bodies.

Explosions and screams echoed across the forest as Freya went on a rampage, but they didn’t last long. Less than thirty minutes after the fall, silence returned. The forest was obliterated, packed with the broken bodies of demonic beasts.

The only demons not shattered to pieces beneath Freya’s hammer were the two demon Champions that had led this horde, and she refrained from killing them because she knew Vlad had use for them.

The demon Champions resembled a massive scaled lizard and a monkey with three long, spiked tails. The monsters were badly wounded, yet they still gazed at Freya with hatred and killing intent as they tried to rise from the ground.

However, the demon Champions did not struggle for long as, without warning, a blow landed on their backs, striking their spines with so much strength that it destroyed some vertebrae, paralyzing them from the neck down.

Vlad’s eyes were cold as he took care of the demons. Jormungandr spent his days sleeping as he was still recovering, so Vlad had to adopt more brutal methods to control the demons. He then passed the sleeping yellow cat to Freya before taking a parchment with the soul-sealing rune.

Vlad focused on the rune for a long time before taking his runic pen and beginning to modify it. For the last two weeks, as he caused mayhem in the north of Radiance City, he also made sure to use the A.I. Chip to keep advancing in his project, going over countless simulations, and improving the rune to enhance the soul’s integrity.

After half an hour, all the changes were applied to the runic formation in the parchment, and Vlad sent his energy into it, causing thin black tendrils to emerge and dive into the body of the demon Champion shaped like a monkey.

"Ah...!" The demon Champion was about to scream in agony when Vlad’s hand moved.

The Depravita of Wrath used a single finger to perform a small cut on the demon’s neck. It was deep enough to shatter its vocal cords but not so deep as to cause severe hemorrhage.

In the end, the demon Champion could only suffer in silence as the black tendrils took over his body and spirit before retracting into the parchment, taking with them his vitality and soul.

Vlad’s mood had been very sour for the last few days after witnessing the power of the Azarin Empire’s capital, knowing the fight would be harsh and bloody, but he couldn’t help but smile as he saw the density of the soul force emanating from the monkey-shaped rune in the middle of the parchment.

[Beep! Soul integrity: 57%]

The weeks of constant hard work and thousands of simulations granted a whopping 7% improvement. That was amazing considering just how hard it was to improve after passing the 50% mark.

After a few minutes, allowing the joy of improvement to wash over him, Vlad’s focus returned. He went through the analysis of the soul-sealing done by the A.I. Chip, searching for new ways to improve, and after several simulations and hours of theorizing, he turned his focus to the second demon Champion.

The scaled lizard demon Champion was terrified, but it could not move its body, and Vlad immediately crippled its ability to speak as he did not want to hear its pleas for mercy. Without wasting time, he took a new parchment and began to modify it, improving it before sending his energy inside.

Thin black tendrils emerged from the parchment and pierced into the scaled lizard demon Champion, causing the monster immense agony as it consumed all its life force and spirit.

Vlad focused on the new rune that appeared in the parchment, and he couldn’t help but frown as he felt no discernible improvement. Luckily, he did not have to rely solely on his senses for this task, and the robotic voice of the A.I. Chip soon echoed in his mind.

[Beep! Soul integrity: 57.8%]