Chapter 2949: Hounds |
Emery watched the battle against Parasite X unfold from the ground below but did not move to join it.
From the beginning, the operation had already been divided clearly. Supreme Dunadan and the main combat team would focus entirely on suppressing the massive abomination itself, while the support division handled everything else surrounding the battlefield.
And there were already more problems appearing.
His divine sense suddenly picked up dozens... then hundreds... of chaotic life signatures rapidly approaching from beneath the mountain. Emery’s gaze immediately shifted toward the gigantic cave entrance next to the crater, where thick purple miasma continuously flowed outward like poisonous smoke from the depths below.
The interior remained heavily obscured beneath corruption dense enough to block ordinary spiritual senses completely. However, Emery’s divine perception was powerful enough to pierce through the contamination.
And what he saw inside immediately sharpened his expression.
Grotesque creatures were rapidly rushing upward through the darkness.
The monsters possessed twisted tetrapods bodies formed entirely from flesh and corruption. At the front of each creature was a disgusting worm-like head filled with rows of rotating fangs and writhing tentacles that continuously leaked purple mucus onto the ground below.
Emery had seen these creatures before during the siege of Tartarus.
Parasite Hounds. .
According to them, even the smaller ones possessed combat strength comparable to legendary beasts, while the largest variants—roughly the size of bears—could rival Half Moon Magus cultivators.
The first wave finally burst from the cave.
Without hesitation, Emery unleashed his flying
[Eightfold Willow Swords]
Jade streaks instantly flashed across the battlefield as dozens of blades transformed into streams of light before shooting directly toward the cave entrance at terrifying speed.
Several parasite hounds were shredded apart immediately, their corrupted bodies sliced into pieces before they could even emerge fully from the tunnel. Dark purple blood splattered across the shattered stone while severed limbs rolled down the crater slopes.
Unfortunately, there were simply too many of them.
One... two...
Three larger parasite hounds suddenly broke through the slaughter and charged directly toward Emery.
Their twisted worm-heads locked onto him immediately before releasing enraged shrieks powerful enough to distort the surrounding air.
Then—
BAM! BAM! BAM!
All three heads exploded apart instantly.
The attacks came from Hubert.
The previously elegant nobleman now held an unusual black revolver engraved with glowing runes. Thin smoke slowly rose from the barrel while several golden bullet casings dropped casually onto the ground beside him. The rune bullets had completely blown apart the parasite hounds’ skulls in a single shot.
"Let’s clean them all," Hubert said lightly while casually spinning the revolver once around his fingers.
Soon both Emery and Hubert focused entirely on the incoming waves pouring from the cave entrance. Flying swords flashed continuously across the battlefield while rune bullets exploded through charging monsters one after another. The cave entrance quickly turned into a slaughter zone filled with broken flesh and purple blood.
Yet moments later, Emery’s expression suddenly changed.
His divine sense expanded far beyond the crater itself, piercing through the surrounding purple mist covering the mountain ranges.
And what he sensed caused his eyes to narrow sharply.
Thousands.
There were thousands of parasite hounds moving throughout the surrounding landscape. Endless hordes of corrupted creatures were charging toward the crater from every direction, their chaotic life signatures spreading across the mountains like a living tide.
The ground itself began trembling beneath their numbers.
Then Anderson’s sharp voice suddenly rang out nearby.
"Focus on the cave!"
Clearly, the lieutenant general had sensed the same thing.
At that moment, a loud roar suddenly echoed from the distant hills.
Ayla returned from her scout.
The beastmaster woman rode atop a gigantic golden-striped tiger nearly ten meters long while her half-dozen silver squirrel beasts rapidly raced alongside her across the battlefield. Behind them, dozens of parasite hounds chased furiously through the purple mist, their grotesque bodies leaping across rocks and cliffs with terrifying speed.
The hounds were fast.
Far too fast.
Several of the larger creatures rapidly closed the distance, their elongated limbs tearing through the terrain as they lunged toward Ayla and her beasts.
Then the surrounding space suddenly rippled.
Arctus’ formation activated.
Layers of glowing runes erupted throughout the battlefield as invisible pressure instantly descended upon the charging horde. It was as though the entire mountain itself suddenly increased in weight.
The parasite hounds violently crashed against the ground while several creatures were flattened immediately beneath the crushing force. Those behind them continued charging blindly, smashing directly into the immobilized front lines and creating instant chaos throughout the swarm.
It was at that moment Anderson finally moved.
The muscular lieutenant general stepped forward before violently slamming one hand toward the ground.
BOOOOM!!
The mountain exploded apart.
Massive tornadoes suddenly erupted throughout the surrounding hills, each one filled with razor-sharp wind blades powerful enough to shred stone itself. The storms rampaged across the battlefield like living disasters, swallowing entire groups of parasite hounds within seconds.
Creatures were torn apart instantly.
Purple blood filled the skies while entire sections of the mountain collapsed beneath the overwhelming destruction. Amidst the raging storms, Anderson calmly advanced forward like a general walking through his own battlefield.
Above the battlefield, the Proxima flagship joined the fight. The Frost Dominion slowly shifted position across the skies before dozens of cannons along its lower hull began glowing intensely with accumulating energy. Moments later, concentrated beams of blue-white light rained down across the other side of the mountain range.
Entire hills exploded apart beneath the bombardment.
Massive shockwaves swept through the battlefield as the cannon blasts bombarded through swarms of parasite hounds emerging from the surrounding mist.
For several minutes, the battlefield descended into complete chaos.
The gigantic parasite creature continued thrashing violently despite the three massive ice spears pinning its body in place.
Meanwhile, the crater below had already transformed into a slaughter ground filled with broken corpses and corrupted flesh.
Gradually, Emery began sensing the number of parasite hounds emerging from the underground cave decreasing.
At first, he thought the enemy swarm was finally thinning.
Then his expression changed.
Something else was coming, several new life signatures emerged from the darkness deep within the cave.
Humanoid figures soon stepped out from the purple miasma.
Or rather—
What used to be humans.