Chapter 843: Abyss Swarm

Chapter 843: Chapter 843: Abyss Swarm

From the enemy flagship, surviving admirals plunged into panic upon witnessing their vanguard disintegrate into a heap of burning wreckage.

"Cancel the deployment! Halt the push!" desperate orders roared through encrypted comm channels. "Retreat! Close the runic portals immediately!" 𝐟𝒓ℯⅇ

However, aborting a dimensional jump once initiated was virtually impossible. Dozens of heavy battleships continued surging out of the wormholes into the crossfire, colliding into one another as they attempted to turn in space saturated with burning ships. Absolute chaos gripped the Divine Wind army, turning their line into an aerial slaughterhouse.

At the mountain peak, Ethan gazed upon the carnage with the Black Chaos Sword resting across his shoulders, his eyes glowing with an insatiable appetite for death.

"Crul," whispered Ethan mentally. "How can I make sure each and every single one of them stays here forever?"

[As a wielder of the Void Amethyst bloodline, Master, you could release a drop of your blood into the firmament], the synthetic voice explained within his mind. [Other aberrant creatures of the Void will flock to your call. However, this method is a double-edged sword. If you summon something beyond your control, it could breach into this world and cause total realm destruction.]

Ethan formed a cold smirk as violet mana swirled around him.

"That sounds even better, don’t you think?" replied Ethan.

[It appears you will not have to trouble yourself, Master], chimed in Crul, detecting a massive anomaly within the deeper layers of reality. [I detect a swarm of Void entities en route. They smelled the blood and decay of the battle.]

Space above the Pass of the Two Gorges began tearing open not through runic magic, but through invisible physical claws and impacts. The fabric of reality shattered like glass, exposing the crimson void of the abyss.

Out of the spatial rifts emerged colossal Void worms—aberrant beasts thousands of meters long, covered in purplish bone plating with gaping maws packed with endless rows of teeth.

The giant worms lunged at the enemy fleet with feral ravenousness, punching through the armored hulls of the dreadnoughts like paper and devouring entire crews in a single bite.

The army’s comm frequencies dissolved into a hellish din of shrieks and agony:

"WHAT ON EARTH ARE THOSE THINGS?!" screamed a captain as his ship was bitten in half by one of the beasts. "VOID MONSTERS! OUR SHIELDS CAN’T STOP THEM!"

"REQUESTING ASSISTANCE! IT’S SWALLOWING ME WHOLE! YOUR MAJESTY, HELP US—!"

Chaos and despair reached their peak as enemy ships began exploding in succession, caught between the undead horde below and the Void devourers above. Ethan observed the scene with satisfaction, feeling the density of death and abyssal energy begin to shatter the last barrier holding back his cultivation.

Gradually, the roar of explosions died down until silence dominated the pass. The runic portals closed one after another, cutting off the flow of enemy reinforcements.

At the base of the Pass of the Two Gorges, the veterans and officers of the Golden Dragon Empire army gazed upon the landscape with awe and respect. Her Majesty’s son-in-law was someone beyond measure; there was no doubt why he had become the youngest and most formidable general in the emperor’s forces.

Ethan adjusted his grip on the hilt of the Black Chaos Sword and asked through the mental link:

"What happened, Crul?"

[They stopped, Master], replied Crul in his mind. [Based on intercepted transmissions, they are regrouping several leagues from here. They will advance once their main fleet finishes concentrating. They have learned their lesson and will no longer jump in blindly.]

Ethan pondered the situation for a few seconds before asking:

"How many ships do we have left?"

[During the previous battle, we lost twenty percent of our light ships and forty percent of our medium ships], reported Crul. [At the rate they were being consumed, we might hold out for a full day. However, according to enemy intelligence logs, they are deploying heavier vessels upfront to intercept our suicide attacks.]

"Try to hack as many units as you can," ordered Ethan firmly. "We cannot allow them to encircle us or we’re dead."

[Understood, Master. Working on breaching their defensive frequencies], confirmed Crul.

Miles away, at the mouth of the outer valley, the remnants of the invasion force were regrouping. Thousands of warships arrayed themselves in defensive lines while awaiting high command. After moments of high tension, three gargantuan flagship-class dreadnoughts emerged from the void, bearing the banners of the senior commanders.

An adjunct general boarded the lead vessel and delivered a full report before the three newly arrived commanders, detailing the hangar ambush, the capture of the central node, the malfunction of the heavy batteries, and the emergence of the Void swarm.

The three generals listened with grim expressions.

"It seems the enemy is shrewd and has ways to infiltrate us...", one of the commanders clenched his fists in rage. "Damn it! His Majesty is wounded, the Grand General is fighting to hold the western borders, and we are being torn apart here in the east... That cursed Golden Dragon Emperor had everything far too well planned."

The adjunct commander, his face bloodied and his helmet dented, stepped forward and asked in a low voice:

"What must we do, my Lords?"

The three generals looked at one another in silence for several seconds. The gravity of the situation weighed upon them.

"We must retake the Pass of the Two Gorges no matter the cost," declared the commanding general, a grim determination etching every line of his face. "If they consolidate that position and breach the defensive dome, they will have a clear path to the Capital."

"Prepare the fan formation," commanded the first general, pointing at the holographic tactical map. "We will deploy heavy-class dreadnoughts at the vanguard with maximum barrier output to absorb their suicide rams, while our long-range artillery targets the dome from the outside. We assault both flanks of the mountain simultaneously."

"Broadcast the situation to the Capital immediately," chimed in the second general with a grim tone. "Request urgent mobilization of imperial reserves and reinforcements from the central division."

The communications officer executed the order without delay. However, bare minutes later, the reply from Supreme Command arrived to crush any flicker of hope.

[Request for reinforcements denied], the official voice echoed over the encrypted frequency. [The Golden Dragon army has launched a massive advance across the entire western sector. Defensive lines are collapsing, and there is not a single battalion available to dispatch to your canyon. Hold the line with your remaining forces.]

The three generals stood in silence, staring at the darkened transmitter as the scale of the tragedy sank in.

"We are on our own...", whispered the third general, clenching his fists. "We retake the pass with what we have left, or the Capital falls."ℴ