Chapter 1022

"Gustav..." Zodiac One leaned in, a frown deepening on his face hidden securely behind the mask.

"What exactly are you thinking?"

The leader of the Otherworlders lifted a brow, then looked around to see the other zodiacs quietly analyzing the battle without saying a single word.

"About what?"

"Has seeing your son finally weakened your resolve?"

Gustav’s brows knit together in instant irritation.

"Mind your tongue, Jim. If my resolve was weakened, I wouldn’t have tried killing him multiple times in the past, nor would I have abandoned my family all those years ago."

"Hm." Zodiac One returned to his original position, but not without leaving one last warning.

"Just don’t forget the primary reason you are doing this. He will be highly displeased."

Gustav frowned deeply as he turned to glare straight at Jim.

"And do I look like I care about what pleases him? We both know that there’s absolutely nothing he can do to me. I’m far too powerful for him to tame. Besides, without my cooperation, he wouldn’t be able to achieve his ultimate goal."

Zodiac One didn’t say anything again as he just cocked his shoulders lazily and then yawned, behaving as though the entire war was just a tiresome chore.

"Just hurry up and take care of this so we can finally return. Oh... I’m hungry."

Gustav’s brows knit in worry as he tilted his head to look over at Zodiac One.

"Hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Who exactly interests you that you want to snack on now?"

Jim smiled darkly beneath the mask as he gazed directly ahead.

"Your son—Grey. He is strong enough to completely satisfy my hunger and increase my personal strength exponentially."

Gustav chuckled inwardly at the thought.

"Like hell I will ever allow you to have him."

Jim frowned.

"Meaning?"

Gustav crossed his arms firmly across his chest.

"We both know the specific conditions for your strength to grow. If you consume him, you could very well surpass me, and we certainly can’t have that happen, right? Forget about me—even Him won’t want this outcome. So pick someone else from the field."

Jim frowned deeply, his teeth grating fiercely against each other like two heavy stones being grinded together.

"Hm."

...

With Noir and Kira actively joining the battle, though the overall tides were not being overwhelmingly turned around just yet, they were still stable for a while as the beasts fought back with renewed vigor.

Forces from both sides were falling by the second.

Magic and ki were flaring continuously all around, as both elemental spells and magical attacks were flying all across the air.

The ground beneath them kept shaking with every violent clash that ensued.

Nobody was spared from the conflict.

But even so, due to the numerous amounts of men out on the battlefield, the central clash had shifted drastically from where it had initially began.

It began moving steadily across the town, as movements became too stiff in the exact spot the war had commenced.

Hence, the destruction spilled out across the entirety of the town.

Residential houses were being completely razed down.

Stalls were overturned as men were sent flying violently into buildings.

Spinning around and performing a swift 360-degree drift, Noir bashed his powerful hind legs directly into the chest of an orc, sending its body driving through a building and leaving a gaping hole in the structure.

Nearby, Kira shot forward, her sharp beak grabbing the shoulder of an enemy warrior. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

She then dove upward into the sky before spinning back around, and within a blink, she drove the man straight into the earth.

At that exact same moment, a deep crevice burst open in the ground.

Blinking out of view, she unleashed a hundred crackling lightning arrows from her wings that burned through men and beasts alike at this point.

Even with this, it seemed like the Dawn forces were struggling a bit against the overwhelming force of the Otherworlders.

The mages from Arondale were mostly at the fourth star, with just a few being five stars, while the Otherworlders’ mages were primarily comprised of five-star mages.

The warriors on the enemy side were all stage four and five warriors.

It was the same with Grey’s forces, but individual strength was inherently different from strength.

The overall tide remained highly unstable, tilting in favor of Grey at times, then shifting back to Gustav’s side the very next second.

The scale of the war was so destructive and devastating that thick smoke and heavy dust clouds were rising into the air every now and then.

Stray attacks were flying all around as the army intensified their clash, pushing forward with everything they had.

"MAGUS LEGION!" Grey shouted—making sure that his booming voice carried over the sounds of battle... the clashing sounds of steel and the heavy smell of death.

"... The enemy is strong, they are powerful. You are losing strength, losing hope even though it hasn’t even been five minutes since the war started. But I just want you to know one thing."

Sucking in a sharp breath, he bellowed into the air with full authority.

"If you don’t fucking get serious now, I will burn you all to the ground myself. I’m sure you aren’t scared of them more than you are of me, right? Don’t fucking test my patience, you bastards!"

Gustav and the remaining zodiacs blinked confusedly at the incredibly strange speech.

Was that supposed to be a form of motivation, or a literal threat?

They had absolutely no idea.

But the very next second, it actually seemed to work flawlessly.

A sudden surge of fierce determination coursed through the veins of the men.

— You heard the leader! Do you want to be burnt to ash?!

— Fuck no! These Otherworlders aren’t even that scary compared to him.

— Screw this. Seems the Supreme Magus is genuinely angry.

— AAAAAAAAH!

The men thundered in unison as they all pressed forward.

It was as if a massive wave of adrenaline had suddenly rushed into their bodies directly from Grey’s unique ’motivational speech.’

Swords, spears, and all sorts of weapons were ripping through the enemy faster than before and with significantly more energy.

They were now putting their entire being into their strikes.

Earlier, the Otherworlders were taking down three to four of the Dawn forces for every single man they lost.

Now, the Dawn forces had completely reversed the case back on their heads.

Two Otherworlders lost their lives before a single member of the Dawn force fell.

— Come on! Don’t fail the Supreme Magus now!

— The universe is banking entirely on our victory.

— VICTORY IS OURS!

— AHHHHH!

Gustav was in sheer disbelief as heads flew from the Otherworlders’ side and dark fluids sprayed across the field like mist.

’Wow. It actually worked? Is Grey really that much scarier?’

A heavy chain was swung around nearby and immediately zipped forward like it had a mind of its own, coiling tightly around the waists of three Otherworlders.

The next second, they were lifted high up and clobbered directly into the earth with a devastating force that caused a deep rift to split the terrain apart.

Even without taking their special alchemical pills, the Dawn forces received a profound second wind of determination and stamina completely out of nowhere.