The Final Boss Has Returned
Chapter 83
A vast ocean. Above the clouds.
At the head of a wyvern squadron cutting through the cold air flew a user riding a red drake.
None other than Flyingman, the famous streamer affiliated with Jeil E&M!
He was a user renowned as a Drake Rider.
"Ah, brothers. How about that—I've been put on reconnaissance duty again this time."
Flyingman flashed a good-natured smile.
In his vision, he could see countless messages flooding in via live chat.
"Ah, so the enemy has an aircraft carrier this time too? I've heard that as well. But even so, it's no match for me."
The enemy also possessed an aircraft carrier!
Flyingman had already been briefed on that fact beforehand.
Even so, he wasn't particularly nervous.
Watching the worried chats, the cheering chats, the trolling chats, and the donations pouring in, Flyingman smiled confidently.
"Where in the world is there a user who can fight better than me in the skies of Ard World?"
Flyingman!
His other name was precisely the Ruler of the Azure Sky.
It would be no exaggeration to say that there were virtually no users who could clash with him in the sky and survive, for he was the rider of a drake—a monster surpassing wyverns and griffins.
A user who held absolute supremacy in the heavens, so long as his opponent wasn't a dragon or a legendary monster like a phoenix!
That was Flyingman, and because of it, he possessed the confidence that he would not lose in this aerial battle either.
And so, in the very moment that Flyingman was leading the countless wyverns following behind him across the sea.
[Grrrrrrr.]
Flyingman's drake let out a low cry.
And soon after, wyverns appeared from between the clouds.
It was the appearance of the enemy air force.
A smile crept across Flyingman's lips at the sight.
"Now the real battle begins!"
With those final words, his drake rapidly shot forward.
The aerial battle had begun.
* * *
The moment battle began in the sky!
The situation beneath the waves was no different from that above.
Splash!
The sea surface churned as if a typhoon had struck!
Below it, a war between fishmen and mermaids was unfolding.
"Drive out the fishmen! We must reclaim the Eastern Sea!"
"Kill every last one of those mermaid bastards who covet our land! Dye this entire sea in blood!"
Mermaid Queen Siren and Fishman King Nereus!
Under the command of these two leaders, a fierce battle was raging beneath the surface.
Skills rampaging everywhere and screams rising up!
Sea monsters tamed by the fishmen tore mermaids apart, magic wielded by the mermaids annihilated fishman soldiers, and both sides speared each other through the chest—the gruesome spectacle unfolded in all its brutality.
However, there was one small yet decisive difference between the two camps.
"Oh, I just leveled up again!"
"War is totally OP, huh?"
The decisive difference was none other than the presence of users.
Unlike the fishmen, who had succeeded in actively mobilizing numerous fishman users with bait such as quests and contribution points, the mermaids were not a playable race, and therefore had no users.
Nevertheless, in terms of overall military strength, the mermaids still held the advantage.
Unlike the fishman kingdom, which had only just begun to recover its power, the mermaid kingdom's national strength was at its peak, to the point that it had once destroyed the fishman kingdom!
Had it not been for the users, the mermaids would have swept the fishmen away long ago; it was only because of the users that the balance still appeared somewhat maintained.
Fishman King Nereus, sitting atop a sea serpent and observing the battlefield, took a deep breath.
Because he could see that while the fishmen and users were fighting desperately, the front lines were gradually being breached.
"Lord Kraken. It is time for you to emerge."
[I shall accept your request.]
Nereus had no choice but to call upon the Kraken.
The moment Nereus finished speaking, a massive shadow engulfed the battlefield!
The Guardian Beast of the Fishman Kingdom, the Kraken, had finally appeared.
But the Mermaid Queen did not bat an eye even at the Kraken's arrival.
Queen Siren, riding upon a sea turtle, looked straight at the Kraken and spoke.
"Lord Baekgyeong. It is your turn."
[My Queen, I shall follow your command.]
The moment Queen Siren finished speaking, a massive whale appeared, splitting the cold currents with a clear voice.
Baekgyeong, the White Whale!
An existence that had been one of the Mermaid Kingdom's two Guardian Divine Beasts until Scylla died, and had ascended to become the sole Guardian Divine Beast after Scylla was slain by JDG's elite raid team!
True to its name, Baekgyeong was an enormous white whale.
Two sea monsters had appeared on the battlefield!
The two sea monsters collided, causing violent currents in the depths.
Baekgyeong rammed into the Kraken, and the Kraken wrapped its tentacles around Baekgyeong's body, scattering lightning.
But even though the fishmen had summoned their Guardian Beast, the momentum still lay with the mermaids.
Because the Kraken was tied up with Baekgyeong, the fishmen's disadvantage remained unchanged.
Mermaid Queen Siren opened her mouth.
A beautiful song flowed from her lips, enveloping the battlefield.
Siren's ultimate skill, the Hymn of the Sea!
As the melody that buffed allies and debuffed enemies covered the battlefield, the mermaids' momentum grew even more ferocious.
At that very moment.
BOOM!
An explosion of sound erupted in the center of the mermaid formation as a shell detonated.
The mermaids, bewildered by the sudden attack, soon discovered the culprit who had fired the shell.
At the rear of the mermaid army!
There existed something that absolutely should not have been at the bottom of the sea.
It was a ship.
But the vessels at the bottom of the sea were no ordinary ships.
Ghost ships!
The Ghost Fleet, the undead navy, had finally arrived to support the fishmen.
Unlike ordinary vessels, ghost ships were ominous ships that moved not by sails but by magic and the power of death!
Ghost ships, which needed no wind power, could even perform submerged maneuvers if necessary.
Moreover, because all the sailors of the ghost ships were undead, unlike other surface races including humans, they received no environmental penalties even in the deep sea.
The Ghost Fleet had appeared at the perfect moment for a surprise attack from behind!
Ghost Admiral Nelson, the fleet's commander-in-chief, gave the order.
[Hehehehe. The Immortal King has commanded. Chop every last one of those mermaid bastards to pieces!]
BOOM!
With that, the Ghost Fleet's gunports opened and shells flew, ruthlessly striking the mermaid formation.
Confusion settled in Mermaid Queen Siren's eyes at the sight.
The undead!
She had never even imagined that they would dare strike her from behind.
"Do not panic! Counterattack!"
Siren composed her emotions and issued commands.
While the undead's intervention was unexpected, she believed victory was not yet entirely out of reach.
At that very moment.
Someone leaped from the deck of the Mary Celeste, the Ghost Fleet's flagship and largest ghost ship, which led the vanguard.
[I have endured countless ages, but this is the first time I have descended beneath the sea like this.]
A Death Knight clad in black armor, his blue eyes glowing ominously!
He was the Commander of the Black Knights, one of the Immortal King's three closest aides and the strongest Death Knight, leading his order into battle.
[Attack.]
The moment the Commander of the Black Knights charged forward atop his ghost horse, raising his sword wrapped in Dark Aura.
The Death Knight order mounted on ghost horses charged at the mermaids in unison.
The charge of the Death Knights on ghost horses!
As the Dark Aura of the Commander of the Black Knights, who stood at the forefront, exploded beneath the sea, the mermaids died in droves.
Behind them, the Ghost Fleet's bombardment continued.
KABOOM! BOOM!
Shells imbued with the power of death, fired from the ghost ships, landed throughout the mermaid army, and the depths began to grow red with mermaid blood.
They were surrounded from front and back like a sandwich!
Although the mermaid forces had turned to face the undead under the Queen's command, this conversely meant that holes had formed in the frontline forces that had been bottling up the fishmen, and this presented Fishman King Nereus with the perfect opportunity.
"Attack! Push the mermaid bastards! Kill them all!"
Nereus shouted at the top of his lungs, driving the sea serpent he rode to the forefront.
Drakan!
The Apostle of Darkness, and just as he—who had restored Nereus to the throne of the Fishman King—had promised, the undead reinforcements had arrived just in time. Now all that remained was to feast upon the table that had been prepared.
[SKREEEEEEEE!]
The sea serpent Nereus rode let out a hideous shriek.
Breath poured from the sea serpent's gaping maw.
The breath struck the enemy lines directly, and the mermaids died en masse.
The fishman army followed behind the sea serpent, and the front line collapsed.
Mermaid Queen Siren's gaze turned upward as she watched the scene.
KABOOM! BOOM!
The two massive monsters fighting above the battlefield, causing fierce shockwaves and turbulent currents!
The Kraken and Baekgyeong!
But contrary to expectations, the one gaining the upper hand in the monsters' battle was not Baekgyeong, but the Kraken.
The Kraken!
The Kraken, resurrected by the Thunderbird's Horn, was imbued with the lightning attribute that the Thunderbird's Horn possessed, and because of this, Baekgyeong could not withstand the Kraken's further strengthened power.
[KUAAAAAAAHH!]
Terrible screams flowed from Baekgyeong as it was wrapped in the Kraken's massive tentacles and struck by lightning.
Despair settled in Siren's eyes as she witnessed the sight.
The fishmen and undead attacking from front and back!
And Baekgyeong, who was being pushed back!
Every situation was at its worst, and there was no escape route.
Meanwhile, a smile hung on Fishman King Nereus's lips.
The sea serpent moved, and every time Nereus's spear was swung, the mermaids died in droves.
On the opposite side from the Fishman King, the Commander of the Black Knights rampaged like an enraged bull, leading his Death Knights.
BOOM!
Watching the ghost ships' shells flying from afar, Siren squeezed her eyes shut.
Death and defeat were approaching.