Chapter 260 Demons Move Again

Several days after the meeting held by the various A ranks participating in the defense of the Desolate Lands, word came in from the patrols sent out to sea.

"A massive fleet consisting of up to a thousand ships has been spotted." Leonidas grunted with his arms folded over his chest. His eyes roamed over the faces that had gathered around the planning table.

"How are our forces taking care of it?" Leon asked.

"That is what we are here to discuss. I was hoping your summons could help beat down their numbers before they came any closer." Leonidas replied, turning to look at Leon.

"...I guess I could do that." Leon hummed and rubbed his chin.

Leonidas nodded and turned back to the map that was spread out over the table where they were all gathered. He spoke a bit more concerning the location of the fleet and how they would deal with the Demons when they came into the optimal engagement range.

Leon listened to all this with only half his mind on the matter. He was more focused on controlling his summons to attack the incoming fleet.

It took only a few days to make the journey from the island where Ashtar's castle was to the shore of the Desolate Lands. With magic and enchantments, it took even less time, so the fleet was fast approaching.

At sea, dozens of giant, dark creatures swam through the water at a furious pace. Great Crocodiles and Great Pythons carved through the ice cold water as they rapidly approached a fleet composed of up to a thousand ships.

"Sea creatures!" A Demon cried out as he sensed the approach of the monsters. He was one of the mages that had been put on sentry duty to sense the approach of any foreign entity, no matter who or what it was.

The Demons on the ships immediately reacted. Unlike before, they were much more prepared to fight back against a sudden attack from Leon's summons.

The space around the ships suddenly tensed, as if it was being ironed out by something invisible. It made teleportation and spatial magic around the fleet become much more difficult. This was the primary precaution that had been taken to inhibit Oris and the other Dark Wing Eagles.

However, this time, it was not the Dark Wing Eagles that were attacking them.

"Down below!"

The sea beneath the ships surged with power and mana as many mages that were adept in water magic joined forces to create water blades to slice through the bodies of the incoming monsters.

Roar!!!

A Great Crocodile thrust its body out of the water and slammed head first through the hull of one large ship. Broken wood and splinters were sent flying in all directions as the giant body of the crocodile tore through the entire ship and thrust out from the other side of it.

Boom!

A Great Python thrust through the underside of a ship and through its deck, creating a vertical hole through the sections of the ship, and causing water to instantly begin to flood in.

"Kill them!"

A flurry of spells exploded underwater, instantly wiping out a portion of the Undead summons. The A ranks that had been sent with the fleet also took action to minimize the amount of damage that they would sustain. There was no need for them to hide their entire presence since the enemy was already expecting them.

"Don't hold back!" The commander of the fleet yelled as he dove into the water. He instantly transformed into a strange looking creature that could best be described as something similar to a merfolk, but with large bat wings on his back, and spikes running down his arms and back. His legs were swapped for a tail, and gills grew alongside his neck.

Boom!

Shockwaves were generated as the man shot towards a Great Crocodile that had its mouth wide open to take a bite out of one of the ships. He punched forward, and a powerful water pressure was generated, instantly tearing a hole through the upper body of the Great Crocodile.

"Ha!" He twisted his wrists and the pressure around the crocodiles and pythons changed. The increasingly turbulent sea current began to bend to the whims and wishes of the Demon, causing about thirty percent of Leon's summons to be drawn together. When enough of them had been drawn together, the Demon clenched his fists, causing the condensed water to explode, along with the bodies of all the summons that had been trapped by his spell.

The Demon exhibited exquisite control over the strength and power of his spells. None of the shockwaves generated by his attacks had spread to the ships in the water. He easily manipulated the water to prevent the spread of the shockwaves.

"Humph! Did they think that these little pests would be enough to stop us?" The Demons were arrogant by nature. Already, he was looking down on Leon's summons.

After dealing with those summons, he went on to clear out the rest of the Great Crocodiles and Great Pythons.

Splash!

The body of the commander morphed as he shot out of the water and landed on the deck of the flagship of the fleet. His wet, blue skin glistened in the sunlight as he turned to look around. A frown made its way onto his face as he did so.

"Report!" He called out, and a Demon rushed over to his side.

"We lost eight percent of our fleet, Your Excellency, Bardock." The Demon said with a lowered head.

"What?" Bardock had a murderous look on his face as he glared at his subordinate that was reading him the report.

"W-we were unable to take care of the threats fast enough due to their insane regenerative powers." The subordinate bowed his head as he said.

"Incompetent! This will reflect poorly on my abilities in front of the High General!" Bardock growled and his aura exploded, causing the sea to rage underneath the ships.

The Demon subordinate trembled under the pressure, but did not say anything. He was just a random Demon, and was not even B rank, so what he could do was limited. Even the B ranks had trouble dealing with the insane regenerative speed of the summons, so what could he do?!

"Calm down, Bardock." A smooth voice rang through the air as four people appeared behind Bardock. The one who had spoken was a beautiful dark skinned person that resembled a human. He could easily be mistook for a human if he wore a shirt to cover the strange markings that covered his back.

"Shut up, Marvaine!" Bardock growled lowly.

"Your attitude needs work Bardock. We are all of the same rank. That you have been appointed as commander of this fleet means little if your power cannot overwhelm the rest of us." Beside Marvaine, a woman with purple skin sneered at Bardock. An elastic band was wrapped over her forehead, and her dark hair was cut short. Her name was Andraste.

The two other Demons did not speak, but they clearly agreed with Marvaine and Andraste. They were two males, and just like the other three, they were Mid A rank powerhouses. Their names were Julius and Caesar.

Julius was a half breed Demon with human blood, but his impure blood did not make him any less powerful than any other Demon. In fact, his mother had been a powerful B rank human mage that had unfortunately been captured a long time ago, and had been sold to his father, who was a Demon. Eventually, Julius had been conceived.

The man had dark skin, and a head full of short spikes. At first glance, it would simply look like spiky hair, but on a second glance, one would notice that Julius' head was just covered in short, black spikes.

The second Demon, Caesar, was a quiet one, unlike most Demons. He was a Demon through and through. The Demon stood at 2.5 meters, and possessed only a single eye in the middle of his forehead. His eye was usually closed, as if he was in thought, but among all of them, he saw the most.

With the attacking summons taken care of, there was no need for the A rank powerhouses to still remain in the open. Caesar took his leave first, folding his thick arms behind him, and turning around to descend below the deck.