In terms of magical knowledge alone, Celia and Elise were actually on par with each other.
Although Celia's mental processing power could not match that of Elise, the Queen of the colony, she could borrow a portion of the hive mind's processing capacity. Furthermore, she possessed rich practical combat experience as a mage—something Elise lacked.
However, there was one decisive difference between them.
Unlike Celia, who possessed a human mind, Elise was fundamentally a completely different existence.
“To actually use humans as components for a magic circle...”
Celia muttered blankly to herself as she stared at the unbelievable sight before her.
What Elise was doing now was something someone like Celia, who possessed a strong sense of kinship with her own kind, would never even dare to imagine.
To Elise, human mages were nothing more than consumables.
Humans, as just one of the countless species in this world, possessed no inherent dignity or value to speak of.
Just as countless ants belonging to the colony would sacrifice themselves for it without a single hesitation, these mages were merely soldiers existing for the sake of the colony.
The mages, whose bodies were connected to the magic circle, let out a collective roar that sounded almost like a shriek of agony, releasing every drop of magic power within their bodies.
They forcibly unlocked the self-preservation limits of their bodies, ignoring the burning pain and severe side effects. The magic power they unleashed was multiplied exponentially through the massive magic circle that linked them all together.
“It's magic!”
“Everyone, get out of the way! Deploy the barriers, quickly!”
The magic power, having broken past its limits, was about to be discharged as a colossal shockwave.
The elves intuitively sensed the danger and hurriedly set up their defenses. However, having unconsciously let down their magical defenses during their long struggle against the Great Devourer, they stood absolutely no chance against this devastating shockwave.
‘Everything has been completely leveled.’
Lin Miao marveled blankly as he gazed at the earth, which had been reduced to scorched wasteland.
Elise had not precisely sniped the enemy's artillery batteries as Celia had planned.
Instead, she had gathered such an immense amount of power to completely obliterate the entire enemy position.
An area of land equivalent to the size of a large sports stadium was entirely crushed, torn apart, and rendered completely unrecognizable.
The people and machinery caught in the direct hit were all crushed into mincemeat or blown to smithereens. Even those who were merely grazed by the aftershock had parts of their bodies erased out of existence or ground into paste.
“Aaaagh!”
After the thunderous blast and shockwave subsided, only screams of terror and chaos echoed across the battlefield.
Those who had only lost parts of their bodies could still scream while clinging to life, whereas those who had perished completely could not even utter a sound, reduced to chunks of flesh that melded into the earth.
【Elise expressed satisfaction with this level of firepower】
Only Elise felt satisfied with the success of this test.
Immediately after, the Great Devourer launched a coordinated charge toward the Elven Second Legion, whose defensive line had completely collapsed.
“I never imagined that magic could be used in such a way.”
【Elise smugly said that there are many more ways to use magic】
“Indeed. Because... this kind of magic was never created for humans to begin with.”
Celia sighed as she watched the charging forces of the Great Devourer instantly breach the defensive line, sweeping through the utterly routed enemy.
To her, magic was a tool for humans—a tool used by humans, for humans.
Yet this was never an absolute truth, but merely her own preconceived notion.
The moment this power fell into the hands of Queen Elise, humans themselves could be reduced to mere tools of magic.
Ultimately, the reason Celia lost to Elise lay in their fundamentally different understandings of what magic truly was.
“Lord Guardian, we must retreat! We can no longer hold this line!”
The elves, caught completely off guard, were driven into a corner.
“These demons... How dare they!”
Virgil, whose mind was entirely set on avenging his niece, trembled with rage as he watched his army fall apart.
He felt as though he had been utterly humiliated and played by the Great Devourer.
“Fortunately, reinforcements are almost here. We don't have to retreat too far. Even though we were defeated, as long as we warn our allies, they will surely...”
Hearing his lieutenant's words, Virgil could no longer suppress his emotions and flew into a towering rage.
“The point is that we lost! If we retreat with a defeated rabble, we will completely lose the initiative. Revenge will be out of the question. If we are unlucky, we might even become scapegoats for others!”
Revenge was what Virgil cared about most, but for those without power, the word “revenge” was the ultimate luxury.
To seek revenge, one had to possess power.
Therefore, stripping him of his power and forcing him to retreat in disgrace was no different from sentencing him to death.
Yet no matter how furious he was, it was of no use.
Even if Virgil was an incredibly powerful and noble Guardian, he could not turn the tide of battle on his own.
People called those who could perform miracles and turn the tide of war single-handedly “heroes,” but the god of the elves was not adept at concentrating resources on a select few individuals.
“...Retreat.”
In the end, suppressing his explosive fury, Virgil handed down the order to retreat.
But he had not given up on his revenge.
On the contrary, the desire for vengeance buried deep in his heart intertwined with his immense humiliation, growing even heavier.
【The servants have reclaimed the land】
In this manner, the Great Devourer began to gradually reclaim the southern territories of the Empire left behind by the retreating elves.
The lands that had been contaminated due to the Great Devourer's invasive nesting had already been restored by the elves' power. Now, these lands were back in the colony's hands.
Because of this, there was no longer any need for the Great Devourer to contaminate and destroy these lands again.
Rather than blindly constructing temporary nests, it would be far more advantageous to build sturdy, fortress-like nests and take root in this territory.
Just as the Great Devourer had exerted immense effort to breach the elven defenses, the elves would have to invest an equally massive amount of resources and energy if they wanted to destroy the nests the Great Devourer had established.
【Kerrigan requested immediate support with new weapons】
The production and combat testing of the Cordyceps mages had been completed successfully, precisely as Elise had calculated.
Although there had been a minor incident at the beginning, Elise had already paid the price for it, and the mage legion had officially become one of the new forces at the Great Devourer's disposal.
Naturally, Kerrigan, the Queen of the migratory colony, also took an interest in this.
Though she had laughed uproariously upon seeing Elise—who usually looked down on her—get punished by Lin Miao for acting without permission, the truth was that Kerrigan's current situation was not doing so well either.
“Follow the great God of War!”
“To the warriors who achieve military merit, the Lord God shall bestow rewards!”
In the southern plains, the beastkin were launching an offensive.
Having been driven out of the plains by the Great Devourer, the beastkin had returned after a short while under the banner of reclaiming their homeland, bringing along a massive force of slave soldiers.
They pushed the slave soldiers to the front to trigger the traps set by the Great Devourer. After breaching the traps at the cost of countless lives, the heroes directly blessed by the main god, Uria, took the stage.
“The blessing of the Lord God is with us!”
A beastkin great warrior roared, swinging a massive battle axe. The ground split open, fierce winds howled, and thunder rumbled.
Even a giant monster like a heavy-armored ant was kicked flying by him. He then grabbed its horn, hacking wildly with his battle axe to shatter its psionic defense shield and crush its head. Relying solely on his own strength, he had become a strategic weapon capable of deciding the course of the battlefield.
These individuals, who had received the full investment of their main god, perfectly demonstrated what it truly meant to be a hero capable of altering the tide of battle single-handedly.
“Fire!”
Not only that, but the forces of the Dwarven Alliance from the north were also launching a massive invasion, spearheaded by steam-powered magitech chariots.
With their massive tracks rumbling, the chariots began to fire shells, unleashing firepower that even the Spore Beasts could not match.
Furthermore, with dwarven warriors equipped with reinforced exoskeletons guarding the perimeters, the Great Devourer struggled to even engage them in close-quarters combat.
“To be honest, this is the most troublesome issue right now.”
To Lin Miao, the situation looked highly unfavorable.
Although Kerrigan was doing her best to buy time, she had already been forced to abandon more than half of the plains she had previously devoured.
If this continued, it would not be long before the flames of war spread into the territory of the Lucadia Empire, potentially even threatening the Great Devourer's headquarters in the undeveloped northeastern region.
【Elise is preparing to deploy large-scale reinforcements】
As the Queen of the main nest colony, Elise could no longer stand by and watch the migratory colony struggle.
She ordered the deployment of a massive force, including the mages, to provide support, planning to launch a full-scale counteroffensive not only on the southern front against the elves but also on the western front.
【Elise handed down an order to capture prisoners】
For this, she needed materials. Specifically, those unfortunate souls who would be infected with Cordyceps and used as consumables.
The wounded and captured soldiers left behind during Virgil's retreat became the perfect targets.
Of course, the Great Devourer never possessed emotions like “pity.”
【Elise cautiously observed your expression】
“...They are enemies anyway. You can dispose of them however you like.”
With the pain of the electric shock still fresh in her memory, Elise instinctively checked Lin Miao's expression. Lin Miao merely shook his head and did not interfere.
In any case, those captured by other deities would ultimately face death anyway, processed as mere nutrients.
Thus, Lin Miao did not stop Elise from turning them into Cordyceps hosts instead of simply slaughtering them.
【Kerrigan launched a counteroffensive】
Ultimately, a massive army of hosts was deployed to the northern battlefield where the migratory colony was located.
The Beastkin Kingdom and the Dwarven Alliance were similarly caught completely off guard by the Great Devourer, who utilized magic in the manner of the insect hive.
The overbearing beastkin hero was struck by a massive bolt of lightning discharged from the overlapping magic circles, dying on the spot.
“What on earth is that?”
“They're clad in armor made of earth!”
Rough rocks rising from the ground covered the massive heavy-armored ants and saw-bladed ants, transforming them into living golems.
Taking advantage of the enemy's confusion, the migratory colony launched a large-scale counteroffensive, dealing a heavy blow to the foes who had been relentlessly pressing forward.
【Kerrigan's discontent is steadily accumulating】
Yet even though the counteroffensive was a success, the discontent in the heart of Kerrigan, the Queen of the migratory colony, only grew stronger.
What Kerrigan truly wanted was to tear the enemies apart and bite them to death with her own hands.
Unlike Elise, Kerrigan, whose instincts for slaughter and violence had awakened on the battlefield, was now forced to lie in her nest and be tended to by the worker ants.
“We cannot win against those monsters in a war of attrition like this. At this point, we must make a decisive move to save our nation. I will personally infiltrate their nest and take the Queen's head. Contact the dwarves and tell them we are willing to join forces temporarily for this operation.”
Right at that moment, the Great Warrior Captain leading the beastkin, Grimgor, made a resolute decision.
In fact, the Great Devourer was not the only one feeling anxious.
The beastkin and dwarves, whose supply lines were overextended and whose homeland resources were rapidly depleting, were equally anxious.
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