The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 171 Berserker Demon, the Demon's Troublesome Aspect

The center of the Elf Kingdom.

A magnificent palace that seems to blend seamlessly into the beautiful forest.

Queen Antinoya, listening to her subordinates' report, sighed:
"I never expected that Eldoron would order so many materials all at once."

"Moreover, this situation of large-scale imports may continue for 10 years!"

Below, representatives from various elf families were all beaming with joy:

"Your Majesty, the large order recently placed by Eldorum has almost completely reversed the trade deficit between the two countries in recent years."

"This is the largest order of extraordinary materials that the Elven Royal Court has received in the past three or four hundred years!"

"The last time we had such a large order was when we first started trading with the Dwarf Kingdom, when they placed an order all at once to forge weapons."

"As long as Eldoron can maintain the current scale of material imports, our Sunflower family will be able to recoup all the losses we suffered due to the impact on the alchemy industry within two years, with interest!"

"..."

Antinoya was delighted to see the representatives of so many elven families and breathed a sigh of relief.

Over the years, trade with Eldoron has indeed brought a large number of inexpensive magical products to the Elven Kingdom, improving the lives of its people. For the Elven Kingdom, the benefits have definitely outweighed the drawbacks.

However, trade did indeed impact the Elven Kingdom's domestic manufacturing industry, sparking opposition from those working in related sectors.

In particular, the widening trade deficit between the two countries has raised many questions.

Now, Eldoron's large-scale import of extraordinary materials has reversed the trade deficit, allowing the Elven Kingdom to make a fortune and undoubtedly suppress any opposition.

Antinoya, the Whisper of the Moon, maintained her elegant demeanor and scanned the crowd:
"This time, Eldoron stockpiled a lot of materials in order to deal with the crisis predicted by their monarch, which made our elven kingdom a fortune."

"Although the so-called threat of the abyss invasion may just be a misjudgment by King Elion of Man."

"However, it would be best if the Elven Kingdom could benefit from this!"

At this point, the Elf Queen laughed:

"Anyway, we have already informed Eldoron of the observation results from the Elven Kingdom, which can be considered as fulfilling our obligation to remind them."

"Since they don't believe us, it's not our fault. There's no need to remind them further."

In Antinoya's view, if Eldoron had prepared for a few more years to deal with that so-called crisis, the Elven Kingdom would have been able to reap an incredibly huge profit from it!
When the King of the Sun Elves returns from his divine realm, the Elven kingdom, now wealthier than before and with significantly lower prices for everyday goods, will prove to Larkles how correct her decision to establish trade between the two nations was.

Just then, an elven minister, amidst his joy, expressed a hint of concern to the Queen:
"I think there is one thing we must be wary of."

The Queen nodded slightly, already vaguely anticipating what the other party was about to say:
"Let's talk."

The elven minister continued:

"We must guard against one possibility: that the humans in the East, in order to cope with the invasion of the Abyss, have developed military strength beyond our control and have developed the ambition to replace the Elven Kingdom as the overlord of the continent!"

Eldoron transcends the Elven Kingdom?

Upon hearing this, some of the court officials, whether moon elves who were relatively close to humans or sun elves who had always looked down on humans, were unconvinced.

Can atheistic races surpass those with gods?

The court mage Alamir Goldfleur snorted coldly:
"Those humans from the East are indeed quite capable. But their military strength is at most equivalent to that of a mid-to-upper-level family among the twenty-four elven families, far from being comparable to the two royal families. They also lack the high-level magical rituals and divine protection of the elves."

"Nine years ago, when faced with the attack of the legendary Mind Flayer, if I hadn't kindly helped them on Prince Elf's orders, their floating city would have crashed long ago!"

Of course, what Alamir didn't know was that after the Empire's 11-year war against the Mind Flayers, Eldoron had grown considerably over the next 9 years.

—Elian had already crafted an incredibly powerful legendary bone dragon from the corpse of the Mind Flayer. Through research into the Mind Flayer's legacy, three ninth-ring spellcasters were on the verge of breaking through to legendary status. A large number of young spellcasters who began learning magic in the first year of the Empire had finally successfully advanced to the high-ranking sixth ring, bringing the number of high-ranking spellcasters to nearly 150. The large-scale breeding of wyverns had produced numerous offspring…

The Queen considered the minister's suggestion for a moment and replied:

"I will send people to monitor the development of Eldoron's military strength, ensuring it remains within a controllable range. Moreover, the hypothetical military enemy must be the demons, not us!"

"In any case, we will only give Eldoron a 10-year window to strengthen its military capabilities."

"Once 10 years from now, when it has been proven that the crisis of the Abyss invasion does not exist, I will definitely demand that Eldoron immediately reduce its military strength!"

……

at the same time.

In a heavily guarded military camp south of Eldoron, near the Jade River.

In this military camp, the number of dead soldiers outnumbered the number of living soldiers.

A large number of half-dragon zombies and half-dragon skeletons make up the basic ranks of soldiers.

Battle mages and a small number of melee classes were interspersed among them.

The soldiers of Eldoron formed a circle and watched the battle drill taking place inside.

At this moment, General Thor was summoning different kinds of abyssal demons to the prime material plane, based on the demonology knowledge taught by Elion, as practice subjects for simulated battles.

—In the past, when Eldoron emphasized the leader of a school of thought, Thor was the leader of the Conjuration School, and summoning creatures and creating things out of thin air were his strengths.

After several drills, the soldiers' expressions became quite solemn, deeply aware of the terror of these otherworldly monsters:
"Demons are creatures that possess both magical and elemental resistance, making them difficult to harm with ordinary weapons..."

"How can there be such a troublesome and difficult monster in the world?"

"The supernatural creatures we often see in peacetime, such as burrowing worms and ferocious bears, are completely different. The supernatural abilities of demons are obviously more evil, bizarre, and filthy, including things like poisonous mist and fear."

"In the future, Eldoron will have to face massive numbers of these monsters? How are they supposed to fight them?" "..."

"Next one, Berserker!" General Thor uttered the demon's name and cast another summoning spell.

Suddenly, another towering demon roared out of the summoning magic circle.

This demon was over three meters tall, resembling a giant toad, covered in bumps, with eyes radiating ferocity and madness, wildly waving its claws.

—【Berserker】!
Mid-level combat force within the Demon Legion.

These demons are strong and powerful, but low in intelligence. They serve as elite infantry in the demon legion, responsible for breaking through the enemy's lines.

At this moment, four mid-level warriors, weapons in hand, surrounded the berserker demon. Facing this terrifying monster, their foreheads were covered in sweat.

"It does look terrifying."

"Don't be afraid, everyone! Maintain formation! We have the advantage in numbers!"

The four mid-level warriors remained extremely vigilant, slowly approaching the demon in the center from four directions.

Roar!
Facing the siege of numerous human warriors, the Berserker Demon showed no fear. Suddenly, it roared towards the sky, and a thick, foul, black stench emanated from its body.

—【A foul halo】!
As soon as the attacking human warriors stepped forward, they were immediately enveloped by a black, stench. Even if they held their breath, this foul supernatural gas still rushed into their bodies through their eyes, ears, nose, and skin.

The next moment, these mid-level warriors, whose physiques were far superior to ordinary people, either bent over and vomited, or their hands trembled and they kept retreating, almost losing their fighting ability.

Roar!
Seizing the opportunity, the Berserker Demon pounced forward, its incredibly powerful claws lifting up a human and preparing to tear him apart.

"Stop! That's enough!"

General Thor, acting as a summoner, suddenly ordered the Berserker to cease its attack.

"Ah, ah..."

The human warrior, who had narrowly escaped being disemboweled, was put down by the demon. He was already pale and panting heavily.

General Thor gritted his teeth and ordered the four warriors, who were clearly no match for the Berserker, to retreat.

"Damn it, is a mid-level member of the demon legion really that powerful?"

"An attack by multiple mid-level warriors offers absolutely no chance of victory..."

"According to His Majesty Elion's calculations, when the Abyss invades, there will be countless demons of this level in the demon army!"

At that moment, a calm yet wise voice came from behind General Saul:
"The stench of the Berserker is a huge threat to living melee units."

"Why not try ranged attacks, or use melee units that aren't afraid of the stench?"

General Saul turned around and saw a young, handsome man in a magnificent robe, with a scholarly air about him. He immediately bowed respectfully.
"Your Majesty El-Erian, you have arrived."

Without much unnecessary formality or small talk, General Saul immediately got back to the point:
"Your Majesty, these demons are really difficult to deal with!"

"For example, with this berserker, I've tried using undead soldiers who aren't affected by the stench, or having a battle mage bombard it with magic, but the results were all..."

General Saul paused mid-sentence, his face darkening, and decided to demonstrate, waving his hand:

"Undead soldiers, charge!"

A dozen or so half-dragon zombie soldiers, covered in green dragon scales and wielding weapons, charged toward the berserker demon.

"Wow!"

The towering demon swung its arms wildly, slapping them left and right. The group of half-dragon goblins and half-dragon kobolds, now turned into zombies, were no match for it and were quickly smashed away by the berserker demon.

Some undead soldiers managed to strike the berserker with their swords before being knocked away, but they were only deflected with sparks and left without any wounds.

"The undead soldiers of Eldoron are ultimately just low-level cannon fodder, only capable of dealing with low-ranking demon minions. They are far too weak against truly powerful forces..."

General Saul sighed softly, then gave the order:

"Battle Mage formation, attack!"

Rumble.

Multiple destructive spells of the third and fifth rings were blasted towards the location of the Berserker Demon.

Fireballs and lightning triggered violent explosions, raising plumes of smoke.

The extreme cold followed closely behind, sweeping across the entire open space and condensing layers of frost on the ground.

— [Fireball] (Third Ring Spell)!
— [Lightning Bolt] (Third Ring Spell)!
—【Ice Spike】(Fifth Ring Spell)!
A few seconds later, the demon emerged from the dissipating smoke.

It had only a few burn and frostbite marks on its body, and some areas were covered with frost.

Although he was a bit disheveled, he was fine.

—[Magic Resistance]!
—【Elemental Resistance】!
General Saul, looking worried, described his current predicament:
"Just as described in His Majesty Elion's encyclopedia, the demon race possesses incredibly strong [magic resistance]. They also have additional [elemental resistance] to fire, ice, and lightning."

"This means that most battlefields use destructive magic, which will be much less effective against demons."

“The lethal magic is not very effective, human melee fighters will be overwhelmed by the stench, and the undead soldiers are not up to the task.”

"If hundreds or thousands of such terrifying monsters appeared on the battlefield, our army would have no chance of dealing with them!"

(End of this chapter)