Chapter 1390
Their city lord, the Blood Elf noble who ruled the city, a formidable Tier Three Heaven-class warrior, was killed in a single blow. Even his mount was slain instantly. What right did they have to continue fighting...
Within three minutes, only remnants of blood rain continued to fall from the sky, while the surviving monstrous bird riders had already retreated behind the city's defenses.
Hubert's eyes were bloodshot as he gripped Slaughter and charged forward, smashing the warhammer against the city's protective barrier. Ripples spread out like water from where Hubert struck, and the crystals atop the three central spires immediately flared with blinding light, boosting the shield's defenses by several levels.
Inside the barrier, Blood Elf mages and archers unleashed spells and arrows at Hubert. The dense barrage blasted him backward, but not a single attack could even scratch his skin.
"Hubert, come back."
Leon’s voice echoed in Hubert’s ears. Only then did Hubert heft Slaughter, glare fiercely at the terrified Blood Elves inside the barrier, and fly back to the mana-powered warship.
With Hubert gone, not a single Blood Elf dared to leave the safety of the barrier. All of them hid inside, warily watching the five mana-powered warships drifting outside.
Leon gazed calmly at the Blood Elf city. Inside, nearly everyone was a Blood Elf—there were hardly any other races. The few non-elves present were either slaves or subjugated magical beasts. To the Blood Elves, those orcs and other races were nothing more than monsters...
In the entire underground world, aside from the Blood Elves, the other intelligent races were barely different from magical beasts—even dragons were treated the same...
"Tear down their defenses."
At Leon's order, the alchemical golems aboard the five Arcane Battleships began rapid calculations. Within three seconds, two secondary cannons on one of the battleships started charging up.
The two secondary cannons, each over ten meters long, swung out from the sides of the Arcane Battleship. The massive mana reactor ramped up to full capacity, flooding the cannons with power. The surging mana twisted the air around the barrels, and as the energy peaked, the space inside the muzzles warped and collapsed, compressed and held together by raw magical force—just fragments held by sheer power.
Three seconds later, both cannons fired at once. Blazing white beams shot forth, slamming into the surface of the Blood Elf City's barrier.
In an instant, the entire city's barrier began to distort. The three crystals floating atop the central spires spun wildly, their magical radiance as blinding as the sun. Yet even this immense power couldn't hold out.
Seconds later, a breach appeared in the barrier; the rear half collapsed completely, and all remaining power gathered at the front, forming a massive shield to block the twin beams.
But it only held for a moment—the three crystals atop the central spires exploded one after another. The magical radiance vanished, and the giant shield shattered into a shower of light.
The city's proud defenses were utterly destroyed. The Blood Elves inside were devastated, forgetting all about fighting as they stared in shock at the now-empty central spires.
These city defenses were among the Blood Elves' greatest achievements. The spires themselves were defensive towers—the more there were and the larger they were, the stronger the protection they provided.
Most importantly, all the mana came from those crystals, which were crafted from Blood Essence Ore fused with several other materials.
This was the Blood Elves’ most advanced alchemical technology—or rather, the only one truly worth mentioning.
These Blood Sigil Crystals themselves held little mana; they were merely conduits. The true source of power was the Void Blood Pool in the Blood Elf Royal City—a vast reservoir of enchanted blood that could supply magical defenses for every Blood Elf city.
It was the Blood Elves’ most vital mythic artifact, containing unimaginable magical power. Unfortunately, it was not meant for combat, only to provide mana for city defenses.
As long as the Blood Sigil Crystal didn’t exceed its transmission limit, the city’s defenses would never be breached. When other races attacked, only the strongest could drain the crystal’s mana in an instant, and unless they destroyed the defenses and the crystal before more mana arrived, the city would remain secure.
Over countless years, the number of Blood Elf cities barely increased—mainly because the Void Blood Pool wasn’t infinite. Though it produced mana endlessly, it could not supply unlimited defenses to every city at once.
The most effective way to break this kind of defense was sustained spellcasting...
Hubert’s single blow could shatter half the shield’s power, but by the time he struck again, the barrier’s mana had already been replenished. At this rate, it would never be breached...
The Arcane Battleship’s secondary cannons might only drain a tenth—or even less—of the shield’s energy per shot, but their attacks were continuous, far outpacing the Blood Sigil Crystal’s ability to replenish mana. In just a few seconds, the barrier was torn apart...
That is the true terror of the Arcane Battleship. The frenzied leap forward during Northend’s Great Colonization Era was all because of its invention.
Normally, to break into even a small Blood Elf city, Leon himself would have to make the attempt. Only a Tier Five Heaven-class warrior, with the right spells for breaching such defenses, could hope to succeed.
But now, just a handful of level-thirty alchemical golems—most of which couldn't even fight directly—could operate the Arcane Battleships and tear through the Blood Elf city's defenses with ease...
Tier Five Heaven-class warriors were pitifully rare, but Arcane Battleships and mass-produced alchemical golems could be made in any quantity, as long as there were enough materials...
Even ten thousand years from now, no one would casually send a Tier Five Heaven-class warrior to attack a small city like this—but Arcane Battleships...
Deploying ten Arcane Battleships at Tier Five Heaven-class power wouldn’t be much of a problem...
With the barrier shattered and the Blood Sigil Crystal destroyed, the Blood Elf city was left utterly exposed—like a defenseless maiden. The Blood Elves inside were stunned; in all their long lives, most had never witnessed anything like this...
As the five Arcane Battleships floated slowly over the city, the Blood Elves didn’t immediately resist—they fled in panic, some trying to escape on their mounts, only to be shot down by the battleships’ weapons as soon as they left the city.
Those who tried to resist were vaporized in an instant...
Within a minute, countless Blood Elves surrendered. By the rules of the underground world, any creature that surrendered automatically became the victor’s slave...
Whole companies of Blood Elf warriors hung their heads in defeat, ready to accept surrender—because only the surrendered survived, while those who resisted faced only death. That was the way of the underground world...
With the city taken so easily, Gobwin couldn’t wait to rush out.
"Where are my people? Where are my tribe members—the ones you captured?"
Seeing their new overlords wield such terrifying power, the Blood Elves who once made Gobwin tremble now cowered like the Cave Goblins once did, awaiting judgment. Gobwin had forgotten his old fears.
Unfortunately, one Blood Elf still clung to his pride—or perhaps hadn’t realized his situation. Upon seeing Gobwin, he couldn’t help but sneer.
"A filthy Gray Goblin dares question the great Blood Elves? Pathetic fool..."
Before the Blood Elf could finish, Hubert bared his teeth and glared, while Darryl strode forward, grinning wickedly, and slapped the insolent elf dead.
"Fools—forget your damned arrogance. Hand over every one of Gobwin’s tribe. For every missing member, I’ll snap two Blood Elf necks. Insult Lord Merlin, Lord Hubert, or Lady Reina, and you’ll all scream in the flames until you die—your souls will be whipped for ten thousand years!"
Leon frowned but said nothing. The underground world had its own laws; Northend’s rules didn’t fit here. Darryl, a native, clearly understood these customs far better.
Killing a Blood Elf in front of everyone, with five Arcane Battleships hovering overhead like monstrous beasts, silenced any objections. Some Blood Elves, misunderstanding the situation, hurriedly brought out every Cave Goblin still in the city.
Seeing his tribe brought forth, Gobwin—the once-timid Cave Goblin—had tears in his eyes and growled through gritted teeth.
None of the Cave Goblins brought out were unharmed. The lucky ones were barely alive; many were missing limbs, and some had been flayed alive, able only to utter low, hopeless moans—too weak even to scream...
Some had lost all their limbs, their wounds still bleeding, as if they’d been torn apart by savage magical beasts...
At first, only a dozen Cave Goblins were brought out, but after Darryl snapped a few more Blood Elf necks, the number kept growing.
In just a few minutes, over three hundred Cave Goblins were released—none unharmed, and some were already dead when brought out.
Faced with so many suffering Cave Goblins, Gobwin clutched one covered in tiny wounds and wept, then ran to Leon, begging on his knees.
"Great lord, please save my people—I offer my life, just save them..."
Seeing this, Leon’s face darkened. He handed Gobwin two bottles of Elixir of Life, instructing him to treat the most severely wounded Cave Goblins.
Many of the Cave Goblins were children, barely half a meter tall, and all were on the brink of death from torture.
Seeing their misery, Hubert’s face twisted with rage; the glow around Slaughter shifted from earth-toned to blood-red. Even Reina, usually impassive, frowned, while Darryl’s tongue flicked in anger.
Leon watched the Blood Elves coldly. He’d planned to seize the captives by force—efficiency mattered. Had he not, and simply relied on overwhelming power, those three hundred Cave Goblins might never have survived...
He’d disliked the Blood Elves from the start—not just for their blood magic, killing enemies to harvest their blood and breed more magic, but for their arrogance and cruelty, more detestable than demons.
These seemingly dignified figures were, in truth, a pack of cruel degenerates—the proportion of sadists among their kind was alarmingly high. They saw all other races as inferior, mere beasts to be tormented and slaughtered for amusement.
Some delighted in slowly torturing other races, making their deaths as agonizing as possible. Years of torment before dying was considered merciful. The most depraved Blood Elves kept captives as 'blood pigs,' torturing and bleeding them for power, never letting them die—a fate worse than death...
When the barrier between the underground world and Northend shattered, and travel became free, the only full-scale war between the two worlds erupted—because the Blood Elves began capturing mages as blood pigs, even high-level ones, igniting the wrath of the Northend mages.
The war nearly wiped out the Blood Elves, turning a quarter of the underground world into ruins and destroying the Void Blood Pool. Only then did the mages relent.
The Blood Elves’ secrets were well-documented. Their vile habits made them as hated as demons a thousand years later—especially after the Void Blood Pool was destroyed and their numbers plummeted, leading to their extinction within a millennium.
By then, Northend’s mage civilization was rapidly rising, far outstripping the Blood Elves. Not a single Tier Seven Heaven-class warrior appeared in that war, yet with a fleet of a dozen Arcane Battleships and thousands more on the battlefield, the outcome was a one-sided massacre...
Within minutes, the wounded Cave Goblins stabilized. The dead were beyond help, but with the potent Elixir of Life, those with missing limbs—thanks to their vitality—would regenerate in time.
Leon opened his demi-plane and sent the Cave Goblins to the Cave Goblin Tribe within it, then turned to face the Blood Elves.
These beautiful-looking creatures were nothing but devils in human skin—Leon felt nothing but contempt for them.
"Where are the rest of the Cave Goblins you captured? You have three seconds to answer. If you don’t, you all die."
As soon as Leon finished speaking, a trembling Blood Elf hurried to answer.
"Great lord, the Cave Goblins—they’re all at the mines thirty kilometers east of the city. I swear, every last one is there..."
‘Gray Goblin’ was the Blood Elves’ insult for Cave Goblins. Even now, they couldn’t shed their old habits.
Leon couldn’t be bothered to waste words on these degenerates. He turned to Lord Sean.
"Lord Sean, these are the new laborers. Do as you see fit."
With that, the Arcane Wheel appeared beside Leon, expanding to dozens of meters tall. As it spun, Leon uttered a rune, and countless magical runes and energy burst forth, sealing all the Blood Elves’ magic—they could only use their physical strength.
A gust of wind swept through, tossing thousands of Blood Elves into the Natural Semi-Plane. Lord Sean grinned and charged in after them.
"You idiots—meet your new master: the great Lord Sean, who will rule you for countless years to come."
Lord Sean shrank to palm-size and floated in midair, clearly not intimidating. As soon as a Blood Elf tried to speak, Lord Sean became a streak of light, tearing into the elf’s soul.
A shrill scream rang out. In less than three seconds, Lord Sean returned, shaking his claws in disgust—the Blood Elf’s soul was utterly destroyed.
"Damn, what filthy things lurk in these degenerates’ souls? They’re completely polluted..."
While Lord Sean trained the new laborers in the demi-plane, outside, the army of alchemical golems and mages began to loot the Blood Elf city, hauling away every valuable resource.
The Blood Elves had oppressed every nearby race, living in wild luxury—their city of less than ten thousand contained wealth rivaling a year’s collection by the Gilded Rose. Rare Northend materials had been turned into mere decorations...
Back aboard the Arcane Battleship, Reina suddenly soared into the sky, transforming into her Frost Dragon form and diving toward the city’s center. Blue-white light shone in her mouth as she unleashed a blast of zero-degree dragon breath.
In seconds, frost spread from the city’s center, covering everything. In less than twenty seconds, the entire city became an ice sculpture—after Reina’s breath, it wouldn’t thaw for a thousand years...
After being insulted and witnessing such cruelty, even Reina couldn’t hold back...
Reina returned silently to the Arcane Battleship. Hubert grinned, while Anderson’s three faces looked horrified—none dared say a word. Reina, whose power had leapt several tiers, was not to be trifled with...