A jet-black shadow expanded from beneath Suho's feet, beginning to cover the area.
Fwaaaaaaah—
Like a black sea. No… it was a scene as if the Sea of the Afterlife itself was surging forth upon the land. And in reality, it wasn't much different. Because from within that deep darkness, immortal souls, defying death, revealed themselves all at once.
Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!
The thousands, tens of thousands of Shadow Soldiers commanded by Suho. The sight was majestic. Their roars echoed through the alien dimension ruled by the Outer God like a grand requiem. Suho, standing at their center, gripped daggers in both hands and spoke.
"Let's go."
With that single word, the war began.
[Kuhahahaha! A fun feast has begun!]
Ammut, laughing heartily, leaped into the center of the enemy lines, clenching his fists. And the moment he thrust them forward…
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
A chain explosion occurred. Every piece of land his fists and feet touched was overturned and collapsed, and all the enemies upon it were torn to shreds.
Ruuuumble! Kukwakwang! Boom-boom!
Kiaaaaaaak—!
Merely grazing Ammut's energy caused the apostles' blood and flesh to burst apart. The ultimate form of Iron Body Technique! It was truly a calamity. The strongest of the crocor humanoids, now reborn as the King of Monstrous Humanoids, Monarch of Trials, Ammut had become trial itself. His already formidable power, having absorbed the Primordial Darkness, had transformed into an even more powerful weapon of war. Ammut unleashed that full power, bursting into cheerful laughter.
[Kuhahahahahaha! Excellent, truly excellent!]
How refreshing it felt! This was not Earth, nor the dimension he had lived in. This was the enemy's stronghold, where he could run rampant as he pleased without a thought for the consequences! A playground where he could destroy and break everything in sight with all his might. For Ammut, who had recently obtained the new power of the Primordial Darkness, this was a chance to unleash his full potential! However…
The other Monarchs felt the same…
[I can't fall behind either!]
On the exact opposite side, Thomas Andre, transformed into a massive giant, was mercilessly sweeping through the enemy lines like a living siege weapon. He, too, was simply delighted by the opportunity to run wild like this.
[Kuhahaha!]
The King of Giants leaped. The vast land buckled from the recoil, creating a massive crater. And right above it, Thomas Andre, clasping his giant hands together, slammed down upon this hideous alien land with all his might.
[Collapse!]
Boom-kwaang—!
Skill: 'Collapse'
At its fearsome power, everything within the radius was pulverized, while the nearby enemies were swept up in the shockwave and torn apart.
Thud thud thud.
The debris that had shot upwards rained down.
[Capture!]
Fwaaaaaaah—
At that moment, an immense gravitational pull emanating from Thomas as the center, drew in everything within range. Like a black hole. Then, the countless magical beasts that had been flung back by the shockwave were all sucked towards him. And the 'Collapse' skill was unleashed upon them once more.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!
The laughter of the two Monarchs, which could only be described as mad cackles, echoed thunderously.
[Kuhahahahaha!]
While the two of them were collapsing the enemy lines on a grand scale from both sides, the King of Snow Folk, Monarch of Nightmares, Sirka, advanced in a different direction.
[Let's see you endure this! The cold winter our elves have endured!]
As Sirka spread her arms wide, countless ice crystals coalesced in the empty air. They instantly transformed into an enormous number of 'Ice Tree Spears.'
Shweeeeeeeeeeeek—
Sirka did not attack the enemies directly with those spears. Instead, they scattered in all directions plunging vertically into the ground. In the middle of the enemies.
Boom!
At that instant…
Crrrrrackle—!
Ice sheets formed, centered on those spots, and 'Ice Trees' instantly took root in the land. Simultaneously, branches made of ice crystals sprouted rapidly from the trees.
[The King of Snow Folk, Monarch of Nightmares uses Authority: 'Nightmare Tree'.]
Chwaaaaaaak!
Nightmare Trees of majestic size grew up from here and there. Ice trees with no leaves. The desolate scenery they created resembled the Elvenwoods that had long ago dominated the elves. And their characteristics, as well.
[Authority: 'Blizzard of Disaster' occurs, centered on the Nightmare Trees.]
Hwiaaaaaaaaaak—!
A blizzard of disaster. A natural calamity that froze everything it touched pursued the enemies fleeing from the Monarchs' onslaught. And it froze their footsteps completely. Simultaneously, the one who moved was none other than the King of Beasts, Monarch of the Hunt, Gray.
[Grrrrrr!]
The predator of the Primordial Beast Forest, the giant wolf king Gray, roared. His sharp claws and fangs bit and tore apart the apostles before him.
Crunch!
After killing the lunging enemies in a single bite, he raised his head and let out a howl imbued with authority.
[Awooooooooo!]
Gray's cry echoed across the battlefield.
[The King of Beasts, Monarch of the Hunt uses Authority: 'Contempt for the Weak' on all prey.]
The 'Contempt for the Weak' debuff was activated. At that moment, the numerous but weak cannon fodder lost their momentum and their strength waned.
"Now!"
The players, familiar with games, did not miss that moment. The instant the enemies before them were Weakened, and Slowed by Sirka's blizzard. All the players who had connected to this hunting ground called 'Outer Universe Dimension-1' through their game avatars actively began their hunt.
"Time to level up!"
"Don't let a single one escape!"
The players cheered, beginning to indiscriminately attack the weakened enemies. Each one of them was far weaker than the Monarchs, but thanks to the stage being set up like this, they could easily pull their own weight. But… such a chaotic melee was not efficient.
"Arsha!"
At Suho's shout, Arsha instinctively knew what her role was. The Queen of Insects, Monarch of the Void, Arsha, spread countless Void Insects in all directions.
[Hello, everyone!]
All those insects transformed into small clones of Arsha, cheerfully greeting the players. The players were momentarily flustered by the sudden appearance of small, cute fairies before them, but only for a moment.
[My name is Arsha! I'm a helper who will assist you in your exciting adventures from now on!]
Arsha's clones began to kindly and gently introduce themselves here and there. And attaching one to each player, they began to give appropriate advice according to the situation.
[Oh my? An attack from behind? Twist your body immediately to dodge! And counterattack right away!]
[Too many people are gathered here! It's more efficient to hunt over here!]
Arsha's advice was helpful to the players in many ways. This was a tutorial in a manner very familiar to humanity, accustomed to games. Moreover, Arsha's clones didn't just assist them with words. Though they looked like fairies, their foundation was that of Void Insects. The moment the player they were in charge of faced a fatal crisis, they would temporarily tear open the void, creating a dimensional wall to protect the players.
[Ah! It's dangerous! Your level is still too low to hunt this apostle of the Outer God!]
[How about we hunt the magical beasts gathered over there first, level up, and then try again?]
Kraaaaaa!
Thus, following the dimensional walls that were created, 'zones' according to level were established. Thanks to that, a 'strategic' flow began to emerge in the movements of the players, who had previously had to fight chaotically after being dropped into the middle of the enemy camp. From a distance it was easy to see that the scenery was rapidly transforming into a proper war. At a very fast pace.
…In that situation, Suho's gaze was fixed not on the enemies, but elsewhere. Specifically, the enemies' corpses.
[Shadow Extraction is possible on this target.]
[Shadow Extraction is possible on this target.]
[Contaminated mana, Shadow Extraction impossible.]
[Contaminated mana, Shadow Extraction impossible.]
[Shadow Extraction is possible on this target.]
[...]
Was it not truly interesting? The countless corpses lying on the path where the Monarchs and players had fought and passed. And above, system messages floated. Among them were those on which Shadow Extraction was possible. Suho reached out his hand towards all those souls without delay.
"Arise."
Kiaaaa!
Kyaaooo—!
[Shadow Extraction successful.]
[Shadow Extraction successful.]
[Shadow Extraction successful.]
[...]
Thus, the monsters that had been enemies just moments ago rose, blazing with black steam. At that sight, the players' eyes widened.
"Wh-what? What's that!"
How could they not be surprised? The creatures they had just killed were alive again. But they soon realized. The revived monsters were made of black shadow, just like the Shadow Soldiers Suho commanded. Then, the surprised emotion vanished, and a bright expression bloomed in its place.
"Our forces have increased!"
"As many as we kill, they all become our allies!"
"Waaaaaaah!"
War is, after all, about momentum. Along with the cheers, the players engaged in battle even more actively.
But Suho did not stop there.
[Contaminated mana, Shadow Extraction impossible.]
[Contaminated mana, Shadow Extraction impossible.]
[Contaminated mana, Shadow Extraction impossible.]
[…]
There were still plenty of souls on this land that could not be extracted as shadows. But…
To Suho, who had become the Guardian of the World Tree, Monarch of Transcendence, even these broken souls were materials for war.
"Extract."
[Using Authority: 'Fruit of the World Tree'.]
Chwaaaaak!
The essence of all the contaminated souls that could not be extracted as soldiers was sucked into Suho's hand.
And then…
Purification.
Compression.
Crystallization.
Extraction.
Ting!
[Successfully extracted Rune Stone: 'Hardened Scales'.]
[Successfully extracted Rune Stone: 'Leg Strength Enhancement'.]
[Successfully extracted Rune Stone: 'Keen Senses'.]
[…]
If they couldn't be recycled as soldiers, wouldn't they be useful as 'rune stones'?
"Arsha!"
At Suho's call, Arsha's main body immediately flew over. Suho handed all the numerous rune stones floating in the air to her and said.
"These are skills. Pick appropriate people and distribute them as rewards."
[Yes, understood!]
Flutter flutter!
The command was carried out instantly. Arsha collected all the rune stones and distributed them to her clones who were assisting the players.
Suho could have learned all those skills himself, but there was no need. The current Suho had far surpassed the level where he could become stronger by learning a few miscellaneous skills. And since this was a war, it was more strategic and efficient for all forces to grow specialized into various classes.
[You did very well! This is a gift from your helper!]
"Oh! A new skill!"
[You did very well! You'll become stronger if you learn this skill!]
"Wow!"
[You did very well! I happen to have 3 skills, would you like to choose one of them?]
"Ooh!"
Thanks to that, the players learned new skills and began to perform even more dazzling feats on the front lines. All those methods employed the very game-like systems familiar to humanity. Even in a situation where the Outer God's wrath was pouring down from right above their heads, the players were not crushed by helpless fear as they had been on Earth. They knew, of course. That this whole situation was not a game, but a real battle.
But…
[Kyaoooooooo!]
The 'Battle Roar' Gray periodically unleashed ignited their fighting spirit, boosting their courage.
[Kuhahahaha!]
[Excellent, excellent! No matter how many I kill, there's no end!]
Powerful Monarchs were fighting alongside them.
Thanks to all that protection, humanity could charge bravely towards the enemies.