Volume 2 chapter 38
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE...
The swollen Prague River was a trapped beast, writhing and roaring, desperate to break its tiny cage. Rain still hammered the surface, feeding the beast with relentless power.
"Good! It's almost time!"
Eleanor looked at the continuously rising floodwaters and nodded with grim satisfaction.
After days and nights of magical enhancement, the water level had risen nearly a hundred meters. Millions of tons of water pressed against the earthen dam, which was barely a few meters thick at the crest. If the Rock Demons hadn't been reinforcing it with their lives, it would have collapsed long ago.
"Everyone, evacuate! Prepare to breach the mountain!!"
Eleanor shouted. Every demon scrambled backward to safety.
To force the river to change course, Eleanor and her Shock Troops had spent days drilling deep into the mountainside and planting explosives.
Dozens of blast holes, each a hundred meters deep, were packed with thousands of tons of explosives. Their calculations were precise: this blast would shatter the cliff face and open a new path for the river.
"Detonate!"
Once the evacuation was complete, Eleanor gave the order. The demolition specialist slammed the plunger.
BOOM!!!
Dozens of thunderclaps shook the earth simultaneously. Pillars of dust shot into the sky like the quills of an angry hedgehog.
Then, the mountain lost its footing. A hundred-meter-tall section of the cliff face slid slowly, then rapidly, into the abyss.
CRASH!!!
Millions of tons of rock slammed into the water, displacing a tidal wave hundreds of meters high.
"HOLD IT!!!"
The leader of the Rock Demons screamed. Ten thousand Rock Demons poured their souls into the spell. The earthen dam shot up another two hundred meters in an instant, a desperate wall raised against the tidal wave caused by the landslide.
Many Rock Demons began to crumble, their bodies cracking from mana exhaustion, but they refused to stop casting. They burned their lifeforce to hold the line.
BOOM!!!
Their sacrifice held the dam. Denied its eastern path, the furious water turned toward the newly opened breach in the northeast.
The Prague River, like a beast finally breaking its chains, unleashed its fury. Carrying the debris of the collapsed mountain, it transformed into an unstoppable mudslide and roared northeast!
"We did it! Hahaha!! WE DID IT!!!"
Eleanor watched the flood surge toward the Alliance lines and laughed uncontrollably.
"Hahahaha..."
_____________________
Ahead, the Holy Crusade Army was marching toward the mountain, completely unaware of the calamity barreling toward them.
Rumble...
When the towering wall of mud and water appeared on the horizon, carrying trees and boulders like toys, they finally realized the magnitude of the demon's plot.
"Scatter! Scatter!! Get to high ground!!"
Senior Bishop Cologne screamed. But against the speed of the flash flood, most soldiers had no chance.
"Ah!"
"Help me..."
The waters swallowed them whole.
The Bishops grabbed their closest aides and flew into the air, closing their eyes as they watched thousands of knights below disappear into the churning brown torrent.
Rumble...
The angry flood rolled through the valley, accelerating and devouring everything in its path, gaining more mass and power with every second.
"The demons... they changed the course of the Prague River?!" Cologne’s face was pale as he hovered above the destruction. He finally understood what the force at the Old Mountains had been doing.
"We must return and warn the main camp immediately!" He grabbed his aide and flew back at full speed.
...
The Alliance Main Camp.
Built in a valley stretching for kilometers, the camp was fortified with ringed sentry posts on the surrounding hills.
Bishop Cologne and Bishop Clovis landed and sprinted straight for the command tent.
"What happened? Why are you two in such a rush?" a Ninth-Rank Knight asked, puzzled.
"Disaster! The demons diverted the river! A flood is coming straight for us!!" Cologne screamed.
"What?!" the knight shouted, losing his composure.
"Why are you standing there?! Evacuate the men!" Clovis yelled.
"Right! I'm going! You warn the others!" The knight nodded frantically and ran out.
Soon, the news spread like wildfire. The entire camp erupted into chaos.
Officers tried to organize a retreat to the canyon walls, but evacuating hundreds of thousands of men in minutes was impossible. The hills were too small to hold everyone; they needed to get to higher ground further away.
Two hours later, when the roaring flood arrived, tens of thousands were still stuck in the valley floor.
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...
The roar of the flood sounded like a thousand freight trains. The noise alone shattered the last shreds of reason.
"Move! Get out of my way!!"
High-Rank Knights used their strength to shove weaker soldiers aside, trampling them in their panic.
"Order! Keep order!"
Some officers tried to maintain discipline, but their voices were drowned out instantly.
"Argh!"
Men were cut down by their allies. Screams of pain were silenced as the water hit.
Driven by the instinct to survive, order vanished. Men from different nations and races turned on each other without hesitation, desperate to reach the high ground.
CRASH...
The flood swept through mercilessly.
Tens of thousands of people were reduced to ants in a storm. Once pulled under, they vanished without a trace, leaving not even a ripple of resistance.
"This..."
High-Rank powerhouses hovered in the air, looking down at the tragedy with horror.
"Damn demons..."
Some gnashed their teeth in fury.
"They used the river to cut off our advance!" A Grand Magus realized. "No wonder I sensed abnormal mana convergence at the Old Mountains... So that was it..."
"We cannot let that unit escape! Those damned demons!!"
An Archbishop roared. "I will go end them! For the vengeful spirits of our warriors!"
With that, the Archbishop led dozens of Bishops and Senior Bishops, flying toward the Old Mountains with murder in their hearts.
_______________________
Ironwood Territory. Subterranean Chamber.
Charlo sat cross-legged in the center of the room. He cycled the mana within his body again and again, turning it into a raging river that scoured every meridian.
His spirit was elevated to its limit. With heightened perception, he saw the omnipresent elements filling the world.
Fiery Red. Heavy Yellow. Gentle Blue. Light Green.
Bolstered by the Golden Spirit Sphere, Charlo’s spiritual power was immense. He felt the four basic elements—Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water—drifting toward him, eager to bond.
If it were anyone else, they would be overjoyed. These four were the foundation of magic, the easiest to resonate with. While Life, Death, Time, and Space were also fundamental, they were profound mysteries. Few Seventh-Rankers could resonate with them; even at the Eighth Rank, they were rare.
But Charlo ignored the four basic elements. He extended his spirit deeper, toward the fabric of the sky itself.
BOOM!!
In the next instant, Charlo felt the world shake. A vast, majestic power descended, suppressing all other elements.
It was colorless. Formless.
Infinitely large, yet infinitely small.
Empty, yet encompassing everything.
Space.
Intuition told Charlo: This is the one.
He immediately channeled his mana. It flowed down from his dantian, through his legs to his feet, then surged up through his heart and arms, straight to his brain.
Finally, it returned to the dantian, completing a cycle.
As the cycles repeated, the hundred apertures of his body opened wide. Charlo’s spirit guided the Power of Space into his body, intertwining it with his own mana.
This was the final and most dangerous step of ascension.
His mental guidance had to be perfect. Too weak, and the resonance would fail. Too strong, and the element would erode his body.
Charlo's spiritual power was constantly consumed by the strain of guiding the element, but the Golden Spirit Sphere replenished him instantly. This endless reserve was his confidence!
Under his guidance, the Power of Space washed over his body. He entered a wondrous state where every detail of his existence was magnified.
He saw his blood rushing like a turbulent river.
He heard his heart beating like a war drum—strong, powerful, radiating vitality.
Wherever the Power of Space passed, every cell was tempered and strengthened. Hidden blockages were cleared; old injuries were repaired.
As time passed, the element fully merged with Charlo’s spirit and mana. The turbulence subsided.
Now, even without active guidance, the Power of Space naturally refined his body. With a mere thought, space warped and gathered in the palm of his hand.
Seventh-Rank Knight — Ascension Complete!
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