Chaos' Heir

Chapter 936: Demon

Chapter 936: Demon

?

The army couldn't see much once the wall of bright mana appeared. The Scalqa also quickly lost track of Khan, only knowing he had dived into the pack.

Occasional explosions and painful cries acted as clues for the army, but the scene remained tense. The Scalqa had also stopped stomping their feet, waiting to see what the result of that crazy battle would be.

Lieutenant Dyester cried orders every once in a while, making sure the Scalqa didn't get too distracted. Still, the same curiosity and tension afflicted him. He had complete faith in Khan, especially after facing him himself. Yet, two hundred against one didn't have the greatest odds.

Tense minutes passed. Gradually, the bright pillars acting as a barrier started to disappear, exhausting their violent energy. The wall began to shrink and darken, revealing the spectacle past it.

Nevertheless, a single creature jumped past the wall before it could entirely disappear. The lingering violent mana burned its fur, but the monster disregarded the damage to charge at the army. It didn't care about the impossible odds. It only wanted to eat.

However, a purple-red bulled suddenly flashed through the air, hitting the monster's back and exploding in its insides. The creature didn't die immediately. It let out a painful roar while struggling to take another step, but its body eventually crashed lifelessly to the ground. Meanwhile, the wall finished disappearing, finally revealing the battle's outcome. Gasps resounded throughout the army as aliens and humans squinted their eyes, trying to capture every detail of the distant scenery.

Trails of dark smoke rose into the sky, coming from piles of scorched corpses. Many more mangled and burned bodies encircled those small hills, and weak cries occasionally resounded among them. Some monsters were still alive, but nothing moved.

A blue light shone in the middle of that destruction. A figure stood on top of one of the tallest piles of bodies, casually studying the scene. His hands moved from time to time, silencing the occasional cries. Death kept spreading until life was extinguished.

The sight rekindled the Scalqa's excitement. Battle cries enveloped the army, and some aliens even kneeled, lifting their palms to the sky. Their leader had won, achieving the impossible in mere minutes.

Lieutenant Dyester's worries finally dispersed, but a serious expression filled his face as he looked at the distant light source. He shared some of Khan's destructive capabilities. He could bring death to a vast area. He had even done so already. Yet, the Lieutenant didn't believe he could replicate Khan's feat, especially in such a short amount of time.

The Lieutenant inevitably glanced at Bruno. Lieutenant Dyester had known Khan since he was a kid, but Bruno existed in the same realm. The evolved warrior's reaction could provide unique insights, but nothing appeared on the man's face. Bruno was as calm as always.

After checking that everything was dead, Khan turned, stepping off the pile of bodies to return to the army. He didn't waste time now, hurrying back to the Scalqa. He didn't sprint but still reunited with his companions in less than half a minute.

Khan's return added fuel to the Scalqa's excitement. More aliens went to their knees, lifting their palms at the sky. Yet, some remained on their feet, too captivated by the scene before them.

Such a terrifying battle would have brought the best warriors in the world to their limits. However, Khan looked calm, unaffected by the destruction he had delivered. His breath was regular, and not a single drop of sweat afflicted his face. Still, blood, dirt, and fur had covered him, adding monstrous and feral touches to his appearance.

Khan had tricked the Scalqa into believing he was a superior existence. He needed his figure to appear divine before that primitive species. However, the time spent among more intelligent people had developed those aliens' brains, allowing more intricate and deep thoughts.

Still, Khan's appearance had nothing divine. He actually embodied the exact opposite figure. He was a demon unaffected by death. He was the monster that gave meaning to the word destruction.

That stark difference didn't diminish the Scalqa's faith in Khan. It actually increased it. They were a primitive species, holding strength as its highest value. Khan could wipe out hundreds of hungry monsters on his own. He was the strongest, so the Scalqa would follow him.

Eventually, the entire alien army was on its knees, waiting for its leader's acknowledgment. Khan didn't let the Scalqa wait and calmly walked among them, occasionally running his fingers on their lifted palms.

The Scalqa stood up every time Khan caressed their palms, shouting his name in their peculiar accent. Soon, a whole line of aliens was on their feet, chanting Khan's glory. In the end, the entire army had risen, crying [Ka-Han] in a rhythmical fashion.

Bruno and Lieutenant Dyester had followed Khan's advance through the army, but the three young warriors didn't. They simply couldn't. Khan's presence was too stunning, intense, and incredible. They didn't have the strength to walk with him, let alone cross the sea of Scalqa. The trio could only stare at that impossible existence, confused about what to feel.

Khan reached the warehouse and tapped his dirty fingers on its surface. Menus lit up, revealing information even his senses couldn't touch. Theoretically, the dispatched pack was supposed to be the only threat in the area, but the battle could have changed that. Luckily, the scanners showed only clear plains, so Khan sent additional directives to the Leviathan above. He had secured a safe zone so the conquest could begin.

Azure lights fell from the sky, creating pillars that illuminated areas at the warehouse's sides. Those lasers expanded, highlighting the perimeter the following structures were bound to occupy. Part of the army was in the way, so Lieutenant Dyester resumed shouting orders.

The Scalqa went silent and immediately complied, but no one stopped looking at Khan. They didn't even care about the falling structures, and their landing didn't attract any curiosity. The area gained three more buildings, but their arrival went unnoticed.

Khan confirmed that everything went well from the warehouse's menus before finally turning. A wave of excitement washed over him, and a sea of waiting eyes filled his vision. The Scalqa wanted to hear their leader speak, but Khan didn't need words.

A single fist on Khan's chest rekindled the army's cries. The Scalqa shouted his name, their loud voices making the ground tremble. Pure craze filled the aliens' faces, and Khan calmly ran his eyes over them, unaffected by that feverish faith.

Only Bruno noticed something in Khan's calm expression. The Prince looked powerful, seemingly refreshed by the gory battle. Yet, his aura carried a trace of boredom. Slaughtering powerless beasts couldn't satisfy his battle drive. He had months of annoying politics to vent, and two hundred beasts weren't enough.

Of course, the chosen landing zone didn't feature powerful monsters. Its barren state matched those creature's strength. The more well-fed they were, the stronger they would be. Also, the lack of mana-enhanced food prevented significant mutations, leaving only weak

specimens.

Other, richer areas were bound to have stronger monsters, and some might have even developed spell-like abilities during their growth. Most of their features were still unknown, too. As far as Khan knew, that hungry species could have power limits. Yet, the abundance of mana in the air and terrain could easily remove them, especially after decades of mutating

influence.

Khan couldn't help but look at the sky. White light filled the sky, hinting at the rise of Senerth's star. The scene brought him back to Nitis, making him wonder whether that illumination could trigger mutations.

Khan quickly discarded the idea. Nitis' environment was unique. Senerth's bathed in its star every day for at least nine hours. Every mutation it could have caused had already happened in the past. Still, he would leave the last word to the scientists who had just landed on the planet. A group of scientists left one of the new structures wearing masks and wielding additional equipment. Senerth's study could finally begin, hopefully creating something to quicken the conquest. Khan had promised the Empire he would face the monsters in battle, but being smart about it was part of his army's edge.

The scientists didn't immediately start their job. They had watched the battle from the

Leviathan, obtaining far clearer images thanks to its scanners. They had actually seen what had unfolded past the bright wall, so shocked glances fell on the Scalqa army, trying to spot Khan in the middle of that sea of tall, burly figures.

The task was impossible, so the scientists moved to their actual job, retrieving pieces of ground or running scanners through the air. Soon, they discovered the same mineral Khan had seen after the landing and summoned excavators to recover some.

The other structures also got to work. Human soldiers exited them to deploy tents and other military equipment, reinforcing the perimeter and planning to excavate trenches. The first step toward Senerth's conquest was almost over, and the planet was next.