(Book 2 Complete!) Tales of the Endless Empire [LitRPG Apocalypse]

The next few hours were spent preparing the bombs for the coming assault. It was a little funny that you couldn't pull heavy objects out of a spatial ring while in the air, but if you were standing on a skyship, it was no problem at all. After some time, they had gathered the most battered scouting vessels, and now they were floating roughly two kilometers above the elven base.

Thalion, Jack, and Lucan were leaping between the empty vessels, arguing animatedly about which ones would be best suited to carry the largest bombs. Lucan proudly unveiled a new creation, his most powerful bomb yet, which coming from Lucan actually meant something.

The plan wasn't to let the scouting vessels crash directly into the shield but rather to simply deactivate the runes that kept them afloat. The resulting bombardment would be glorious, and according to Lucan, the shields could never withstand such devastating explosions. Thalion only hoped the elven base's building crystal would survive. If the base building crystal was destroyed, the base would be beyond repair.

It took quite a while to load more than twenty ships with bombs. They were positioned over strategic points of the base, while several vessels were left empty to serve as decoys, since they could be destroyed with minimal effort. The plan was simple: drop the empty ships first to test the defenses, then begin mixing in those filled with explosives. In total, they would sacrifice over fifty scouting vessels and nearly all of Lucan's bombs, but that was what they were made for, and they couldn't have brought most of them to new earth anyway.

The empty vessels weren't the only distraction. Thalion intended to infiltrate the elven base from below, wreaking havoc from within, and if that failed, he would manually guide bombs into the shield himself. The others were ordered to hold back, waiting for the defenses to fall and above all, not let a single elf escape. The strongest would likely have escape tokens at the ready, but the rest were doomed.

"Great. Looks pretty good. I'll go down first and try to create a distraction," Thalion said to Lucan and Jack, who both nodded eagerly. A few other smiths were also aboard to help deactivate the runes on the vessels, since two people alone wouldn't be fast enough.

"Yes. We'll start the moment we see your distraction working," Jack said. He and Lucan both gave him a thumbs-up, and Thalion let himself fall back onto the skyship with the portal. The elves had probably seen their preparations, but they couldn't possibly know how the scouting vessels had been loaded or with what.

Thalion decided to test the shield directly by carrying a bomb into it. That sounded far more fun than flying under the wall to fight elves face-to-face. He had three massive bombs in total, each the size of a small human. According to Lucan's ranking, these were in sixth place in terms of destructive power, which was saying a lot, considering the torpedo Thalion had once used against Ankhet in the catacombs was only ranked thirteenth.

Everyone was in position and waiting for Thalion to start the carnage.

He sat down, activated the Crimson Eidolon, and grabbed one of the bombs. It was heavy, but his strength made it manageable. Slowly, he turned toward the elven base, holding the bomb before him as though it was his shield, and then shot forward with near-superhuman speed. He flew at the wall like a crimson Superman, arms outstretched, the massive bomb in his grip.

The elves clearly hadn't expected such a stunt, and the explosion that followed shook the front gate. The shockwave was strong enough to throw soldiers on the skyships off their feet. Thalion himself remained safe, cocooned for a moment by protective vines from the Sanguis Impera.

A massive crack spread across the elven shield, and this one wasn't healing the way smaller ones normally did. The elves behind the barrier looked genuinely shaken. Their commander immediately shouted orders, and every defensive weapon swung to aim directly at Thalion, ready to fire if he dared another attempt.

That, Thalion thought, was not a bad outcome.

He sat down again and reactivated the Crimson Eidolon. This time, he didn't carry a bomb because he wasn't confident he could dodge all the arrows with his limited maneuverability. His goal was simply to draw attention, and so far, it was working perfectly.

He shot forward in a wide arc, circling the base at about fifty meters from the wall. Crimson flames burned across the Eidolon's body, and Thalion felt stronger than ever within its form. He didn't attack; he simply flew along the barrier, as though searching for weaknesses in the supposedly perfect shield, besides the massive crack he had just created.

The elves didn't hesitate. The moment he came within range, they opened fire, unleashing a storm of arrows and spells in his direction.

Thalion was struck from time to time, but the Eidolon was nothing like a human body. A hole in its form didn't hinder it at all. Only when the damage accumulated faster than he could repair it did problems arise, but even then, the Crimson Eidolon healed almost instantly. The elves weren't using any mental attacks against him, and it seemed they had no real means of inflicting lasting harm. The ballistae were the only real threat, their massive spears tearing large chunks from his form.

Meanwhile, Thalion tried to improve his control over the skill, but it was a miserable failure. He would need weeks of practice just to master the basics again. For now, his control was crude at best. Manipulating blood directly was nearly as efficient as it had been even before awakening the bloodline, but the other skills were proving troublesome. At that moment, it felt as though he had bitten off more than he could chew. Would he have done it differently if given the chance to go back? Probably not. No certainly not. His greed would never have allowed it. But being weakened now was something he despised with every fiber of his being.

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The elves, still in disarray after his first bombing run, desperately hurled every kind of spell at him in an attempt to destroy him, until the first two massive bombs dropped on the highest point of the shield above the golden palace at the base's center.

The explosion was on another level entirely. Even though Thalion had been a fair distance away, his form was ravaged. The entire left side of his body was obliterated by the shockwave. The once-imposing shield now resembled brittle glass. Lucan's bomb had exceeded all expectations.

The next scouting vessels soon followed, striking the shield in rapid succession. The greatest danger with these bombs was their sheer destructive power. The explosions could trigger nearby bombs before they even struck their target. That was why each detonation required a pause, waiting for the shockwave to pass before dropping the next. Still, from below, it must have looked like it was raining skyships. Some splintered harmlessly into thousands of shards, while others detonated, ripping gaping holes in the barrier.

The shield also didn't seem to block mental attacks. Thalion immedatly took advantage, unleashing Crimson Gaze upon the elves manning the ballistae towers. One glare was enough to knock an elf unconscious on the spot, or at least send them staggering to the ground for minutes on end. The elves were no fools, and they tried desperately to shoot down the falling vessels, but even they weren't immune to fear. They knew what would happen if even one of those ships exploded. Many abandoned their posts and fled instead of attacking, leaving commanders screaming themselves hoarse with rage.

As a result, nearly every bomb struck true. By the eighth detonation, the shield was riddled with massive holes. When the first bomb slipped through and hit a tower, the structure was blown apart in an instant, its stones hurled across the base like shrapnel.

Seizing the moment, Thalion dove beneath the wall, phasing through solid matter as if it wasn't there. The golden dome extended underground as well, but it was as fractured as the shield above. Thalion forced his way through a crack, losing part of his shoulder in the process. It healed quickly, and he emerged from the earth inside the elven base, ready to unleash carnage.

Chaos reigned within. Elves stumbled over one another, their commanders' shouted orders barely audible over the cries of panic. Thalion rose a few meters into the air above the plaza behind the main gate, scanning the battlefield. Without hesitation, he shot toward the sections of the wall where the shield still held.

Skills like Screech and Blood Claws were perfectly suited for quick flybys, and if those failed, he still had his Mana Wave. Thalion grinned, baring sharp, elongated teeth, when he saw an elven mage's confusion as his conjured flames turned crimson red.

He soared toward a nearby tower in a wide arc and unleashed Screech. The sound was so piercing that every elf in the base must have heard it. The blast annihilated all defensive equipment on the tower and killed every elf in range. Thalion absorbed their blood in passing, leaving shriveled husks behind as he moved on.

Above, the bombs continued to fall. The shield was nearly gone now. Thalion flew along the walls, slaughtering elves without hesitation. Some managed to dodge his crude attacks, but most were bisected or left grievously wounded by his long, bloody claws. Another bomb struck a tower on the far side, obliterating it completely. Thalion followed, wiping out the survivors.

When the first bomb slipped fully through the shield and destroyed over twenty buildings at once, panic finally overwhelmed the defenders. The elves began abandoning the base en masse.

Thalion had originally come here to rescue enslaved humans, but it didn't look like many were left alive. He hadn't seen any, and if they had, their plan would have had to change. But realistically, it wouldn't have helped much: once the elves realized they weren't attacking the slave quarters, they would have simply used the humans as living shields. The casualties would have been far worse.

Three more bombs rained down before Lucan and Jack exhausted their supply, but the damage was done. The shields were shattered, the base crippled. Now it was up to Thalion and his fighters to finish the work.

While Thalion flew from tower to tower, his warriors poured into the fray, capturing or killing elves wherever they found them. Most were slain though. Elves were fierce fighters, and only those who surrendered could be taken alive. Some fell badly injured in combat and were captured afterward, but their number was small.

Thalion attempted one last visit to the female elf in the golden palace. But when he reached a massive chamber containing a stone plate, he arrived just in time to see her and two others activate their escape tokens. They vanished in an instant. The female elf looked terrible. Her earlier escape attempt must have already taken its toll, and using another token would only weaken her further. That was fine with Thalion. A crippled enemy was better than a strong one.

He almost cheered aloud at the sight, then turned back outside, where his forces were overrunning the base. Resistance had all but collapsed.