The general pondered Evan's words and then grunted in approval.
"Clever. The dark elves are experts in guerrilla tactics. They'll bleed the enemy dry before they even reach the stronghold."
As the generals busied themselves with executing Evan's commands, whispers began to circulate through the command centre. Even the most skeptical among the demons began to see him as a prodigy in the art of war.
"He's even better than the Progenitor."
Evan's ears caught this mutter and the boy couldn't help but smile wryly under his mask.
"They know when to press the attack and when to pull back; when to take risks and when to play it safe."
The murmurs grew louder as the generals exchanged glances. To them, the two boys had a unique synergy, a way of thinking that allowed them to complement each other perfectly. Arthur was a force of nature on the battlefield, while Evan was the calculating mind that guided their forces to victory.
'Calculating mind, huh? Well, I wouldn't deny it completely, but I'm having massive support from a dead Hero.'
A moment after Evan thought that, he remembered he was in the past and then questioned internally.
'Since this is the past, then Arlan Maddox is not dead here. He's not even born yet.'
Suddenly, a message came in from one of the other battlefields, snapping Evan out of his thoughts. The voice on the other end was filled with disbelief.
[Is it true? A teen is commanding the southern battlefield?]
Evan overheard the message and laughed dryly. He tapped the communication device on his wrist, responding calmly.
"Yes. And I suggest you focus on your own sector. We have everything under control here."
The demon generals exchanged amused glances; Evan's confidence was contagious. They quickly assured the other Four-Star General that everything was indeed under control before cutting off the connection.
Evan continued giving orders as the battle raged on and the sun began to dip down the sky, guiding the demon forces with the precision of a master chess player.
"Prepare for a full assault on the angelic forces in Sector 17. We'll draw out the Transcendents converging on Arthur's position and eliminate them one by one.
Have this General lead his troops to sector 17 and engage that angel's forces.
The 15th Legion will strike from the left, and the Dragons will be on standby for air support. We'll need them to prevent the angels from flying away."
After he said that, he stood up and stretched his body, before switching off his communicator.
"I'd take my leave here. It's deep afternoon and I made it my goal to reach Level 740 today so I need to rack up a few kills."
The Demon generals nodded in understanding. They too had shifts and soon, some of the generals deployed to fight earlier would return and take over commanding for a bit.
"…hmm?"
It was then that one of them realised the number Evan had called.
"Wait, Level 740?!"
"Yeah, Level 740."
Evan responded casually before walking out of the command centre, leaving a group of stunned demons behind. They were astonished to realize that the 16-year-old was already a Legendary!
However, their surprise was short-lived as they quickly shifted their attention back to the battlefield projection, resuming their command with the seasoned attitudes of battle-hardened veterans.
◇ ◇ ◇
Evan decided to leave the main continent behind entirely.
He'd let Arthur handle the chaos there, especially considering Arthur's plans to fight multiple Transcendents.
Evan wasn't keen on being anywhere near a battlefield where such a fight was about to unfold. A battle of that magnitude would devastate the entire continent.
Though Arthur might try to avoid friendly fire, Evan knew there was no way to prevent some weaker Demons from dying in the aftershocks of Arthur's attacks.
Evan wanted to be far, to not get caught up as well, so he chose to distance himself completely, leaving Arthur to do his thing while he focused on his objectives elsewhere.
His destination was the southern islands.
They were scattered across the region as if someone had struck the southernmost point of the continent with a hammer, creating a hole in the land, and the islands that remained resembled shattered pieces of glass.
At least, that's how Evan saw it. He mused to himself that the damage might be the lingering aftermath of some long-ago powerful being's strike.
While he didn't know, he actually wasn't wrong.
He activated Lethe on his way and silently descended towards one of the sea battlefields, his landing spot a naval ship not too far from a base manned by the angels of Toverus.
This was his first encounter with the Angel Race, and he couldn't help but observe them like someone watching animals in a zoo.
After all, he had never fought angels before, nor met anyone like this. There were no angels on future Aidos, and from what he had heard, there were none on past Aidos either.
He sat silently and watched, studying them intently. Their wings, though feathered, were not much different from his dragon wings.
In addition to giving them the ability to fly, these wings also served as conduits for magic.
'So, it seems that every race with wings shares this trait…'
Evan thought to himself as he watched two angels fly right past him.
With his Lethe Skill active, no one could detect him. To see through it, one would need at least a Pseudo-Authority, and no such presence existed here.
As Evan silently observed the conflict between the angels and demons, he allowed his thoughts to wander.
After some time, he sighed.
"Well, I suppose it's time to make my move."
Evan stood up from his perch atop a watchtower—one of the elevated platforms used by those on ships to keep watch over the seas.
He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes, the calm before the storm settling over him.
"Time to begin the massacre."
With that, he let gravity take hold, allowing his body to fall through the air.
As he neared the deck of the ship, where hundreds of angels were scrambling, Evan spun mid-air and landed on his feet.
The moment his feet touched the deck, he activated Collapse skill, and the surface beneath him buckled, the ship's deck collapsing under the force of his power.
Collapse—a skill that caused structural damage to whatever surface Evan's feet landed on.
He had never used it with any other part of his body, so he didn't know if it could work with his hands as well, but he didn't mind. His feet were powerful enough to do the job, so that's how he'd keep using it.
While Evan reflected on his usage of the skill, hundreds of angels were dying around him, their blood spilling into the air.
He wiped some white blood from his skin, chuckling at the mess it made before extending his hand and pointing toward the next ship.
"Energy Blast."
A beam of prismatic energy shot from his hand at supersonic speed, piercing through the hull of the ship. It tore through the vessel, reached its engines, and detonated it in a massive explosion.
The blast triggered all the explosives aboard, which had been intended for attacks on demons. They too erupted in a chain reaction, causing chaos.
"Vindiction's Strike."
Multiple portals opened above Evan, and crimson golden beams of energy rained down from it, obliterating ship after ship in their path.
"Devastation."
Evan activated a skill he rarely used.
| Devastation;
Type: Rare Skill
Effect;
The sky fractures with ominous cracks as bolts of lightning and destructive flames rain down, igniting the ground below in a chaos that consumes the user's enemies.
—Optional- Summons a Translucent Mountain that spews volleys of magma upon the battlefield. Each impact sends shockwaves of devastation rippling through the earth, leaving nought but desolation in its wake. |
True to its description, the sky fractured upon activation, with bolts of lightning and destructive flames raining down, setting the area ablaze in a fiery inferno that consumed everything in its wake.
He hadn't used this skill since reaching level 700, but now, with his ability to control universal law energy, the lightning and destructive energy pouring from the sky wasn't just magic—it was raw universal law energy.
'Not surprised.'
He turned away from the raining lightning and activated Elemental Skewer, summoning icy spears from the ocean water below him.
They pierced through the bodies of the angels who had realized he was the source of all the devastation, killing them instantly.
Standing on a Void Step, Evan yawned and glanced over at the ship where the demons were.
He casually waved at them, and as his hand moved in a sweeping motion, he drew a circle in the air. Tapping the centre of the circle, a powerful fireball materialized in his palm.
"Grand Fireball."
The gigantic orb of flames flew from Evan's hand and over the demons he just waved at, slamming into the angel ship on the opposite side. It collided with the vessel before anyone could react, detonating and leaving nothing but wreckage behind.
[Level Up.]
Evan waved the notification out of his field of view before turning to spot any nearby angel ships.
Jumping from ship to ship, Evan devastated everything in his path. He landed on the islands, using area-of-effect skills and attacks to destroy the naval bases there, sending many angels and divine humans to their graves.
At one point, he used his wings to soar high into the air, spun around, and came crashing down with an axe kick, activating Collapse on impact.
The entire island sank beneath that attack.
After that, he hopped to the next, using World Sunder repeatedly and cutting down waves of angels with his destructive flames.
When level 800 angels attempted to remove him from the equation, level 800 demons intervened, shielding Evan as he continued to decimate their enemies.
Since Evan was wreaking havoc on the angels, the demons, grateful for the chaos he was causing, eagerly rallied to protect him. Their support allowed him to continue his rampage, further destabilizing the angels' morale and making their situation even more desperate.
Evan pressed on, activating Disaster Genesis and making use of the flames, shattered land, shipwrecks, and burning surroundings to amplify his chaos.
Soon enough, the demons began to fear Evan more than they feared the angels they were fighting.
He didn't care, though. He just continued his mini-rampage, leaping from island to island, and using the Devastation skill repeatedly.