Beyond the Apocalypse
Chapter 297: Showing might (I)

Chapter 297: Showing might (I)

The battlefield was a scene of utter chaos. Flames from the burning nomadic settlement cast a hellish glow across the landscape, illuminating the desperate struggle unfolding at its borders.

Thousands of soldiers from the Turkin Kingdom, their faces etched with determination, stood as the final barrier between the advancing horde of demonic beasts and the fleeing civilians—women, children, and old—scrambling toward safety with terror in their eyes.

The warriors fought bravely, holding nothing back. Blades clashed against the thick hides of monstrous creatures, arrows flew with deadly precision, and magic crackled in the air as mages cast spell after spell.

Outnumbered and fighting on unfavorable terrain, the soldiers knew their situation was dire, but their courage was unyielding. Every second they held the line meant another life saved—another family escaping the massacre.

A massive beast, a hulking demon with molten skin and three eyes, charged toward a group of soldiers. It roared, its maw dripping with blood, and crashed into the shield wall. The impact sent men flying, but those who remained on their feet rushed forward, spears plunging into the beast’s side. They were fighting not just for their lives but to buy time for others, and many knew they wouldn’t live to see the end of the battle.

At the edge of the battlefield, a mother hurried her two children forward, her heart pounding as she heard the snarls of beasts behind them. She risked a glance back and saw warriors falling; their cries cut short as the demonic horde closed in.

Fear gripped her, but she kept running, tears streaming down her face as she urged her children forward. Behind her, the soldiers’ voices shouted orders, their shields forming the last defense, their swords swinging with all the strength they could muster.

At the rear of the demonic horde, towering above all others, stood an Abyssal demon. The demon was nearly five meters tall, his body a twisted combination of a demonic humanoid torso and the lower half of a scaled horse. His crimson eyes glowed with a sickening light, and his skin was covered in jagged scars and blackened scales.

The Abyssal’s cruel smile widened as he watched the human soldiers, seeming to relish their perseverance, all while remaining indifferent to the loss of his minions.

"They think they can endure," the Abyssal murmured, his voice like gravel grinding through the air. He turned his gaze to his right, where a massive Champion demon stood—a grotesque creature that resembled a werewolf, with poisonous green fumes seeping from its maw.

The Abyssal’s eyes flashed with cold malice. "I think they’ve started to believe they can win. Correct their mistake."

The werewolf demon growled in acknowledgment, his savage eyes gleaming with hatred. Turning toward the fifty demon Champions behind him, he gave a signal, and they charged forward. In seconds, the ground shook as the demon Champions sprinted toward the front lines of the Turkin soldiers, their massive frames barreling through everything in their path.

When they reached the front, the impact was devastating.

The demon Champions collided with the Turkin forces like a tidal wave crashing against a fragile shore. Soldiers screamed in shock as the formation shook violently. Shields shattered, men were hurled through the air, and the once-strong line began to waver.

Fear took hold of the soldiers as they realized that if their formation broke, the demonic beasts would flood through and slaughter the fleeing civilians.

The poison-fanged wolf Champion smirked, baring his fangs as he prepared to deliver the final blow that would break the humans once and for all. He raised his claws, ready to cleave through the weakened soldiers, when suddenly—

"Lightning-Fire Cannon!"

A voice roared across the sky, and in an instant, a massive beam of concentrated fire and lightning shot down from above. The attack tore through the demon horde with terrifying precision, vaporizing everything in its path. The poison-fanged Champion demon had no time to react—his body was consumed by the blast, reduced to ash in the blink of an eye.

The battlefield fell silent for a moment, both humans and demons frozen in shock as they turned to see the source of the attack.

A small yellow cat was hovering in the sky, with enormous flaming wings and black eyes that seemed to swallow all emotion. The flames that danced around him radiated a power that no one on the battlefield could comprehend.

"Insolent insects. You think you can act freely in my presence?" The cat’s black eyes gleamed with disdain as he glared at the demon horde. His aura radiated pure rage, causing the demonic beasts to tremble in fear.

A myriad of power was coursing through Jormungandr’s body, and among them was a powerful Devil Bloodline. From the hundreds of bloodlines that Vlad managed to obtain from the Legendary Devil, there was a Flame of Falsehood that the small yellow cat implanted in his body, and he was eager to unleash his flames on demons once more.

The Abyssal, watching from the rear, felt a shudder of disbelief. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at the small creature. ’Impossible. Such power shouldn’t exist in a young New Plane!’

But before the Abyssal could act, his instincts flared in alarm. He whipped his head to the side just in time to see a burst of red lightning flash across the horde. In the next moment, one of his demon Champions was blasted away, and a figure appeared before him, eyes cold as death itself.

Vlad stood there, his body radiating an overwhelming aura of power. He had activated the Lightning Charge, and his speed was beyond anything the Abyssal had ever witnessed. Yet, despite the shock, the Abyssal’s instincts allowed him to react, raising his hooves to crush the human before him.

The Abyssal’s strike, powerful enough to obliterate most Champions, was laughable to Vlad. He dodged effortlessly, and the runes covering his body flared to life.

With the power of the Inferno Comet Runic Set unleashed, Vlad dived toward the Abyssal with a devastating tackle, driving the towering demon off the battlefield. The Abyssal and Vlad flew across the sky, crashing far away where no one would interrupt their clash.