Beyond the Apocalypse
Chapter 458: Depravitas vs Leviathan Lords (II)

Chapter 458: Depravitas vs Leviathan Lords (II)

Despite the immensity of the Leviathan swarm, the soldiers showed no trace of fear or hesitation. Their eyes glowed with resolution and determination as they made their energies explode outward, raising their weapons in unison.

"Enter Formation A-1!" Jormungandr’s voice echoed across the sky like rolling thunder. He and Ouroboros unleashed their energies simultaneously, massive bursts of lightning, fire, and dark, destructive auras flooding the heavens.

Just hearing those words—Formation A-1—sent a ripple of tension through the human ranks. Many soldiers tightened their grips on their weapons, their hearts pounding with adrenaline and conviction. Formation A-1 was a tactic designed for overwhelming destruction and ferocity. It required them to push their energy to the very limit and give everything they had to conclude the battle in an extremely short amount of time.

Freya, along with the Lords of Horrors and hundreds of Viking warriors, took their place at the vanguard of this formation. They were to be the spearhead, bearing the brunt of the Leviathan charge. This was an extremely dangerous task, but they were among those best equipped to handle it. The Viking princess was a monstrous figure of physical prowess, her strength and resilience amplified by her new bloodline. The Vikings themselves boasted higher vitality and stamina than most humans thanks to the Totemic Path of Power, making them natural front-line fighters. As for the Lords of Horror, they had been engineered precisely for this kind of brutal battlefield. Their bodies could endure unimaginable destruction, able to withstand damage that would kill an ordinary soldier a hundred times over.

Of course, physical might alone was insufficient. The Leviathan swarm was simply too large, too deadly. That was where the Xaos Tanks came into play. These towering metallic titans would provide the vanguard an edge over the seemingly endless horde. Hundreds of Vikings and Lords of Horror were positioned within, upon, or around these war machines, their massive frames of metal and runic engravings ready to crush anything that dared come too close. With these steel behemoths breaking through, the vanguard had a fighting chance to hold and push forward.

Immediately behind the spearhead came the shaft of the formation: the Golden Wave Legion. Their role was critical. If the spearhead was the point that pierced the enemy lines, then the Golden Wave Legion would follow through, widening the breach and ensuring that the enemy lines could not reform. Grand Marshal Anglius stood at the forefront of the Golden Wave Legion, and with a ferocious roar of power, his body began to grow. He expanded to a mind-warping twenty-three meters in height. Even the Xaos Tanks looked tiny in comparison to this golden giant. Anglius had more than enough strength to stand at the vanguard himself, but his true purpose here was to serve as a beacon. The sight of his towering form, shimmering in golden armor, would guide thousands of golden-armored soldiers through the chaos. Amidst swarms of millions of Leviathans, visibility and coordination were essential.

Following close behind the Golden Wave Legion were King Viserin and tens of thousands of elite Turkin Riders. Their mission was to exploit the openings created by the Xaos Tanks and the Golden Wave Legion. Once the Leviathan formation was pierced, the Turkin Riders would surge deep into the swarm, then spread out in all directions. They would fragment the enemy ranks from within, denying the Leviathans any chance at maintaining cohesion or focusing their strength in one place. With the swarm broken apart, hundreds of thousands of soldiers in black armor and additional Turkin Riders would pour in, attacking clusters of isolated Leviathans. The humans would exploit the swarm’s fractured structure, turning the Leviathans’ overwhelming numbers into a disorganized mass ripe for a massacre.

As for Jormungandr and Ouroboros, Formation A-1 did not account for them. It was originally devised for scenarios where Sky Seed Depravitas were either absent or too busy confronting a threat so immense that it required their full attention. Unfortunately, this battlefield fell into that second category.

Jormungandr and Ouroboros could sense it: two massive entities were approaching, radiating such immense power that even their instincts trembled. These presences made it clear that what came next would be a life-and-death struggle. The slightest miscalculation could end in their demise.

"ZNNNNNN!"

"RUMBLE!"

A supersonic sound approached from above as if a massive object was rushing forward at unimaginable speed. At the same time, the ground itself trembled and cracked as though something gargantuan was burrowing through the earth. The dual threat was manifesting simultaneously: one danger from the sky, another from below.

The first to appear before Jormungandr and Ouroboros’s sharpened gazes was a monstrous fusion of humanoid, scorpion, and serpentine traits, exuding raw, overwhelming menace. This creature’s humanoid torso bulged with muscle and was armored in dark, chitinous plates. Its upper limbs ended in enormous claws like scorpion pincers. Its head was demonic and terrifying, crowned with curved, jagged horns. A sinister grin lined with razor-sharp teeth stretched across its face, and its glowing red eyes radiated a malevolent intelligence. This was no mindless beast: it possessed a unique wisdom drawn from the collective consciousness of the Leviathan Race.

The lower half of this monster’s body bristled with sharp, spiked legs that granted it lethal agility. A long, serpentine tail coiled behind it, barbed and menacing, ready to crush or impale any prey. Large, bat-like wings with torn, crimson membranes were extending from its back. Each wingbeat propelled its massive, forty-meter-tall body forward with overwhelming might.

"Manticore," the word escaped both Ouroboros and Jormungandr simultaneously. Although not a perfect match to the legendary creature of old tales, there was no better word to describe this horrifying amalgamation of lion, human, and scorpion. In their long battles against the Leviathans, they had witnessed countless monstrous forms, but something about this one—its aura, its deliberate malice—set it apart. It was a unique existence, a champion or lord among the Leviathans, just like the Draco Leviathan Lord that Vlad had fought earlier.

While Vlad had managed to drive away the Draco Leviathan Lord, it had taken everything he had to survive. Now, Jormungandr and Ouroboros face a similar challenge.