Chapter 125: First Attack!

Jax emerged above Aeternum Noctis in a silent distortion of space, the night sky rippling for a fraction of a second before sealing as if nothing had happened. To the world, it would look like nothing more than another calm evening beneath the Demon Capital’s ever-burning stars.

To Jax, it felt like standing at the edge of a blade. Knowing that now was the time for them to officially begin their attack and crusade against the Merchant Foundation, and all the other powers attacking them as well.

He teleported back into the Cathedral, and sat on his Throne of Domination, sensing all throughout the Demon Kingdom as he took his seat. He searched to make sure everything was ready.

Across the city, demonic infrastructure reacted instinctively. War sigils awakened and various spatial anchors locked to make sure no-one could teleport in or out to launch a surprise attack while he was away,

Though Jax was sure his people would handle any attackers, and he had his own plans in case the people defending the Capital weren’t strong enough.

He continued his look, and once he was finished, he was assured that the Demon Kingdom was ready for this upcoming war.

Jax exhaled slowly, and sent out the order, “Begin phase one.”

Across Terra, select strike-circles ignited simultaneously, each activated by his authority rather than mana expenditure, alerting all of his soldiers to get ready.

And far beyond the capital, deep within a hidden emerald caldera veiled by layered illusions and territorial wards, Hydra opened her eyes.

The Emerald Dragon rose from her resting coils with a sound like mountains shifting. Her scales shimmered with living green mana, veins of gold light pulsing beneath as she stretched her wings.

Her Poisonous Aura was still being held down by Jax, so unlike before where she would devastate the environment with her poison and corrosion until it was completely unlivable, now the plants and fauna just didn’t react.

Hydra lifted her head and looked toward the horizon.

She felt him. A moment later, space folded beside her, and Jax stepped into existence atop the obsidian platform she favored for takeoffs. She turned immediately, massive head lowering until her forehead rested inches from him.

“You’re back,” Her voice echoed directly into Jax’s mind, warm and sharp at the same time, “Is it time?”

Jax placed a hand against her scales, “It is.”

Her lips pulled back into something between a grin and a snarl, ” Then climb on. I’ve been waiting,”

He mounted her without ceremony, settling between the armored ridges of her neck. Hydra unfurled her wings, emerald membranes catching the ambient mana like sails filling with wind. With a single, thunderous beat, they were airborne.

Their destination was not the heart of Aurelion’s trade empire, not yet at least, as Jax knew better than to attack the headquarters immediately.

Jax had instead chosen something far more deliberate for their first attack.

High above the neutral sky-lanes between three continents floated Skyport Arbitrium, one of the Merchant Foundation’s most vital logistical arteries.

It was a place built in the ruins of a dimension broken in an Ancient War, which caused it to perpetually float in mid air. The Merchant foundation had purchased this location long ago, and transformed it into a hub for their operations.

This place was extremely important to them. Tens of thousands of shipments passed through it daily: food, mana crystals, weapons, relics, contracts, information.

Destroying it outright would be wasteful, and Jax knew it was better to use all the resources he could obtain from these locations for himself, to further strengthen the Demon Kingdom.

As Hydra approached, the port’s long-range sensors screamed warnings. Barrier arrays flared gold and white, overlapping layers designed to repel monsters, pirates, and even minor divine interference.

They had prepared many protections for this location, but they did not account for a Demon King riding an Emerald Dragon.

After all, from their POV, the Demon Kingdom would have much bigger beef with other powers in the Alliance, so they would be relatively safe from large scale attacks for the time being, but it seems that was clearly incorrect.

Hydra slowed midair, hovering effortlessly as Jax stood atop her neck. He did not draw Crimson Maw. He did not cast a spell.

He simply looked

.

The Demonic Eyes of Sin flared.

Every defensive system in Skyport Arbitrium hesitated, not because it failed, but because the wills maintaining it faltered. Operators froze and Overseers gasped under Jax’s pressure, his Eyes of Sin working their magic.

Faith-backed enchantments stuttered as fear bled into their cores, and then Jax raised two fingers.

“Sever.”

Reality complied with Jax’s order, and the spatial anchor holding the port in its fixed sky-position that had existed since ancient times was disconnected.

The entire structure lurched violently as emergency protocols activated, engines screaming to compensate.

Hydra exhaled and special mana poured out of her like a tidal wave, flooding the port’s outer ring. It was a new spell she had been taught by Willow.

Wherever her mana touched, the various merchant sigils faded, and were all replaced by Demonic Command Runes that sank all the way into metal, crystal, stone and any other material.

Jax’s voice followed, broadcast across every channel, every scrying mirror, every divine observer who dared to watch.

“Skyport Arbitrium is now under Demon Kingdom authority.”

Panic erupted.

Merchant guards mobilized. Emergency contracts were invoked. Calls were sent to Lumeria, to the Holy Church, to Heroes stationed a long ways away, but obviously, none could arrive in time.

Jax was already moving, and he had sealed the entire area’s space, to make sure no-one could teleport in or out.

He gestured once, and demonic strike units phased in, not armies, but specialists. Control seizure teams, and much more, all having specific tasks.

Within minutes, the port’s command hierarchy ceased to exist, all of the leaders were taken down, and Jax did not linger, heading to the core of this port to look at all of the resources he’d picked up, and also pinging all of the transportation vehicles, sending his units on their way to intercept these and take them over as well.

Across Terra, alarms began to ring.

Merchant Foundations scrambled to assess losses, shocked by his attacks while the various Kingdoms realized to their horror that if the Demon King truly began to take down the Merchant Foundation, they’ll lose too much of their resources.

And this was only the beginning.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep