Chapter 1316: The Battle Formations

As both armies reached the 20 kilometer distance from each other, all of them now assumed their own unit formations, as every single line of a legion was comprised of 10 Chapters.

Yes, out of the 40 Chapters in the Cult of Darkborne, Kahn had allocated 10 Chapters on each front of the Khorne Empire. All of them were placed under the direct command of his 12 Subordinates.

And on each side, he had sent 3 of them together based on their own specific talents and skills that could shift the tide of the battle in their favor.

Behind the Wolfborne, 9 other Chapters had their own saint Chapter Masters.

But none of them chose to attack together and maintain the structure of their armies because, with the Doom Templars, there were also millions of common soldiers, made up of innumerable and varying species who would fight on the battlefield in the name of their empire.

And this was just the Abyss Empire’s forces. Behind them were also the 8 saints from the Rakos Empire who would act as reinforcement and supplement the fallen troops from time to time.

Every bit of detail was considered, and those with power also bore the responsibility to protect the battalions of their troops like a guardian angel.

In a war of this scale... numbers and even rank as a Saint didn’t mean anything if your entire army of common soldiers was wiped out. Hence, all the Chapter masters and commanders took their strategic locations and their roles as part of a stratagem very seriously.

Shhoooo!!

The air turned turbulent as only a small distance between these terrifying armies remained.

And even the warships and battlebarge equipped with artillery cannons and hyperbeam plasma launchers took their positions in the air as they had reached a safe distance where they could attack and defend from the enemies in front of them.

******************

SILENCE...

An eerie silence ensued as both armies took their stance and prepared for a battle to death.

"Charge the plasma launchers! Man the incendiary cannons! Be ready to shoot the enemies down till not even their corpses remain!" shouted Drevon Blackhound, the Chapter Master of the Wolfborne.

Soon, the battlebarges and warships started charging their long-range artillery and prepared for a large-scale bombardment.

On the Khorne Empire’s side, their weapons on the flying ships, as well as ginormous flying creatures, also started loading for an all-out assault.

It was right then...

Swoosh!

A 10-meter-large demonkin, whose appearance resembled that of an Armadillo with demonic wings, horns, and claws, while adorning yellow clothes similar to those of a sorcerer, came into sight.

Just like Drevon Blackhound, the newly arrived demonkin was also a Peak 4th-stage saint.

"Imravatus! Dol se benmarav tu el saka!" shouted the demonkin as he started rallying up their troops in their own language.

This demonkin also held a large and crystal white scepter with a glowing blue orb at the top.

He quickly cast a barrier as his right paw pointed towards the armies of the united empires.

"Jorkavaa!!" he bellowed in rage, and the very next second...

Shoot!

Shoot!

The Khorne Empire’s army launched their attack first and shot bullets and missiles made of mana against the enemies.

Blam!

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

From this side, the United Empire’s armies also counterfired.

BOOMM!!!

BANGG!!

Almost instantly, both sides summoned their protection barriers and shields that almost covered a 50-kilometer radius. And even within that barrier, thousands of large magic formations were inside to protect themselves.

And despite the large distance, the attacks launched by the aerial forces reached the opponent side and struck their respective barriers.

BOOM!!!

Rumble!!

Explosions after explosions shook the earth and the sky as the color red almost painted the entire battlefield from the shock and smoke from the barrage of artillery bombardment.

Crack!

Shatter!

On both sides, layers after layers of the protection barriers were destroyed, but they protected all the armies within their confines.

And in reality... this was just the test firing. Now, the real battle was about to begin.

******************

"Warriors of the Abyss Empire... CHARGEEE!!!!" shouted Drevon Blackhound, his voice resounding in the 40K radius.

Thud!

Thud!

Rumble!

Tremble!

The ground shook, and tremors spread across the lands as both armies decided to go all out.

The ground troops would face each other with both melee and ranged weaponry, using every possible tool they had to eradicate the enemies in close-quarters combat.

The aerial troops would bombard each other until they fell, and all the monster creatures would face the flying gunships.

Everyone had their own objectives and respective enemy platoons to kill... if they didn’t get killed in the meantime as collateral damage, that is.

Tremble!

And finally, all the ground troops also reached each other, led by the giant Wolfbornes.

Bang!

Shoot!

Pew! Pew!

Both sides charged with a barrage of mana bullets and targeted their guns at each other while charging ahead as they also dodged the projectiles launched by opponents.

Many of the Doom Templars started using shield barriers and magic formations to protect their own weaponry and troops on the ground. The normal soldiers, armed with guns and swords of their own, also charged behind the Wolfbornes.

Demons, on the other hand, faced the enemies more directly as they started using their Chaos Element to power up.

Right in front of their eyes, the Demonkins started growing in size as their auras erupted, clenching their weapons in hand.

The air was suddenly filled with residues of the chaos element, something that would turn normal people mad and put them in a self-harming frenzy.

AAAWWWWOOOO!!

The Wolfguard started activating their armor and artifacts etched into their armor to create shields that repelled the chaos element.

The aura emitted from their bodies instantly pushed back the chaos element within the air and started rampaging towards the enemies like psychopaths.

"We cannot be corrupted by chaos. We are the spear of the Cult of Darkborne.

And we shall impale the throats of our enemies. So be ready to face judgment, demons of the false god." shouted a captain of a battalion.

Bang!

Bodies clashed; swords and axes started hacking and stabbing each other. An immense display of brutality and skills laid bare in front of the eyes.

Macabre carnage of ripped bodies and intestines sprawled on the ground as both armies tried to tear each other apart.

Shooting the enemies, hacking the enemies, and slaughtering the opponents like cattle soon became a common sight in mere moments.

While the physical confrontation started on the ground and ballistic attacks from both sides filled the sky... the leaders of the leading troops had their own means to fight.

"I am Omprath, a servant of lord Yggramis, one of the 12 Rakshasas." said the leading saint demonkin from the Khorne Empire.

Both of them were Peak 4th-stage saint rank warriors, evenly matched on paper. Now, it was only a matter of skills and wits, as they would face their opponent soon.

But before the Chapter master could respond...

Drevon Blackhound suddenly received a message through a communication artifact, in the shape of an earring.

[[The Obsidian Shadows will assist your troops from afar. But you need to hold their cavalry until we take out those flying ships and the command centres within their armies.]] spoke a fellow Chapter master.

"Then we shall bide time for you. Just make sure that those ships do not fall on our side instead." said Drevon in a sarcastic tone, as if something like that had happened in the past.

[[Jesting at a time like this... it is very much like you, Chapter master Drevon.

And do not worry. We are the most suited for infiltration and aerial strikes.

I will lead the troops myself.]] responded the fellow Chapter master, his location unknown.

"Isn’t it too early for you to interfere? This is also an open battlefield, whether on the ground or in the sky. It is disadvantageous for your Chapter," spoke Drevon with concern.

Because this battle would last for a long while. Any preemptive attacks had to be made within a specific timeframe.

[[Do not worry, brother Drevon. Lord Ronin is also leading the assault with us.

With him around... We will surely succeed. Over and out!]] replied the saint to assure the leader of the Wolfborne.

Drevon nodded with a smirk as his own aura rose. Now, his eyes settled on just one opponent.

"You ready to face me, demonkin? Or do you need time to create a thousand barriers to protect your own skin?

Regardless of how much effort you make, the ending is already written.

Today... your Khorne Empire shall taste defeat." he declared in a dreadful tone.

Shing!

Clang!

Soon, Drevon summoned hundreds of large ice spikes, and an array of frost storms appeared around his body, starting to spread in the surroundings.

The saints were now ready to fight.

"Deploy the barriers. It won’t take long." commanded Drevon with a ferocious gaze.

Swoom!

Shing!

Multiple magic formations, made with archaic runes and hieroglyphs, soon encapsulated the surroundings.

And these were cast by both sides at the same time to create an isolated area.

Both of them were now put inside a restriction barrier that limited their aerial battlefield to 20 kilometers, as a visible violet colored translucent barrier with a beehive design appeared in the sky.

BOOM!!

Omprath then summoned dark clouds filled with lightning and red chaos-elemental energy. This was his fighting style, and within moments, large bodies of demonic creatures formed, made of his world energy and chaos element.

Drevon also summoned an array of gigantic wolves made of crystal blue ice, as they too replicated the same dreadful aura and locked their gazes on the enemies.

All that remained... was a fight to the death.

A battle to decide... the beginning of the Great War.