The Archmage’s Destruction Strategy - Chapter 142

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#142. Meteor Strike

The meteorite descent magic, called “Meteor” or “Meteor Strike,” was considered the highest-tier spell among the numerous attack spells that symbolized Mages—particularly difficult and demanding.
Not because it was hard to increase its power like other incantations, but because the spell required exquisite “power control” to avoid sweeping away allies in the process.
Of course, the difficulty of the incantation itself was also supreme.
Unlike Earth, where mana concentration had surged dramatically after D-day to the point where magic could be cast recklessly, the Cosmic Space beyond Earth had an extremely sparse mana density.
Searching for “meteorites of appropriate size” in ultra-long-distance space that couldn’t be visually targeted through magical power, channeling enough mana to open a Dimensional Gate into the designated coordinates, and dropping them onto enemies’ heads at precisely the right speed—neither too fast nor too slow—required calculations intense enough to fry the brain itself.
Even if I didn’t summon them through a Dimensional Gate but instead pulled meteorites drifting in Cosmic Space down to Earth, the computational problem remained unsolved.
The amount of calculation needed to drop a meteorite with precise timing onto the surface of Earth, which rotated at high speed across astronomical distances, was beyond imagination.
Moreover, as meteorites approached Earth, they accelerated under gravitational influence, making the direct method of pulling meteorites down essentially suicidal.

‘The key is crushing force, not impact, as they said.’

In comics and novels, meteors were often depicted as being pulled from space and dropped in free fall, but I chose a safer method.
I would summon a massive meteorite through a Dimensional Gate and detonate it at ten thousand meters altitude, creating a meteor shower effect.
It was a Mage’s carefully considered approach to instantly obliterate large-scale enemies spread across an endlessly vast area through sheer physical destructive force.

-SCREEEEEECH!!-

The enormous rock fragments that tore through the Dimensional Gate and fell to the Surface weren’t meteors with the colossal size and terrifying velocity of the meteorite that once drove dinosaurs to extinction on Earth.
If I had dropped a 15-kilometer meteorite at twenty kilometers per second—the same as the one that struck Earth back then—it wouldn’t be a matter of dealing with enemies but rather worrying about the extinction of all humanity.
Instead, the meteorites I dropped detonated right in front of the Dimensional Gate, shattering into tens of thousands of smaller fragments that rained down onto the insectoid Corrosion Entities’ heads.
Though small by comparison, each fragment was the size of a Building, giving those countless rocks terrifying destructive power that even high-grade Corrosion Entities couldn’t ignore.
Moreover, the speed gained from free fall at ten thousand meters altitude added even more destructive force to the descending meteorites.
Like ants crushed beneath a boot, the Corrosion Entities buried under the massive rocks died without even a scream, and the enemy’s army—ten thousand times our numbers—began to be cleared away in an instant.

“SCREEEEEECH!!!”

It was at that exact moment that twenty Level 8 Corrosion Entities waiting for an opening to attack from the rear began to move.
The colossal monsters, unable to bear watching their subordinates die pathetically without landing a single blow, let out furious screams and hurled themselves at the largest boulder within their sight.

“It’s futile.”

No matter how massive, a Level 8 Monster’s size was merely forty to sixty meters.
The boulders I dropped from the sky had diameters exceeding one hundred meters, and there were plenty of them.
Moreover, I had deliberately selected only meteorites with iron as their primary composition from the countless meteorites in Cosmic Space, so the weight of each rock fragment was beyond imagination.
An attack where chunks of metal weighing hundreds of thousands of tons struck the ground at speeds exceeding eight times the speed of sound possessed destructive power thousands of times greater than Void Spear, my previous highest-tier attack spell.

-Crack! Boom!-

With the sound of titanium-alloy carapaces shattering in an instant, twelve Level 8 Monsters that had been blocking the meteorite at the front collapsed without even managing a single counterattack, and the remaining creatures retreated at speeds invisible to the naked eye, assuming defensive positions.
They had witnessed firsthand through their dying comrades that the meteorite Sung-jun had dropped far exceeded their defensive capabilities.
However, the tremendous shockwave generated by the massive meteorite colliding with the ground possessed such catastrophic destructive power that it reduced even the bodies of Level 8 Corrosion Entities that had retreated and taken defensive stances into rags.

-Boom! Crack! Boom!-

Dozens of explosions, each possessing the force of a small tactical nuclear warhead, detonated simultaneously.
After the seemingly endless explosions subsided, where the endless swarm of Monsters had been writhing, there remained only body fluids that had instantly evaporated and ignited, and unrecognizable fragments of corpses scattered chaotically across dozens of massive craters that testified to the meteorite’s impact.

“It appears all the weaker entities below Level 6 have been eliminated. The remaining ones didn’t survive the attack—they were simply fortunate enough to evade it.”

Having eliminated 99% of the swarming enemies with a single spell, Sung-jun immediately recognized the attack had ended and leaped over the burning corpses, observing the tiresome insects rushing toward him.
Now that most of the weaker entities had been annihilated, the swarm of millions of insects each emanated enormous size and ominous presence.
Considering that nearly 99% of their numbers had been reduced beforehand, the remaining count was absurdly high.

“Still quite a lot.”

Sung-jun’s phantom, which had reappeared, spoke toward General MacFarlane, and the general nodded.
Then, smiling, he spoke to Sung-jun.

“Still, it’s far better than before the meteorite fell. Originally, each Golem would have needed to handle ten thousand creatures, but now each only needs to deal with roughly a hundred.”

Though smiling with his mouth, General MacFarlane’s heart was not so light.
Considering the strength of the remaining entities, he was well aware of how absurdly high the number of a hundred per Golem truly was.
However, thinking of the scale of magic Sung-jun had just employed, requesting further support felt far too shameless, so he deliberately maintained a bright demeanor.

“A hundred per Golem is quite a lot. These are all enemies with respectable levels.”
“It’s sufficient nonetheless. The Golems aren’t our only strength. There are only about eight remaining Level 8 insects, are there not? Moreover, the insects attacking now are all bleeding profusely from the Meteor Strike’s aftermath. What you’ve done already exceeds my expectations by several dozen times over. From here, this is a problem we must resolve ourselves.”

General MacFarlane gave a thumbs up as he spoke to the concerned Sung-jun.

“I understand your concern, but from here on, please leave it to us. You must conserve your strength now so you can face the ‘Level 9’ in the final battle.”

Sung-jun’s body, having already consumed an enormous amount of computational power to cast Meteor Strike, was precariously maintaining a state where collapse at any moment would be unsurprising.
Moreover, after dealing with the swarm of Corrosion Entities currently approaching, he would need to prepare his next card to face the Level 9 Corrosion Entity in Manhattan.
Sung-jun burned with resolve, lightly nodded toward the general who was watching him, then dismissed the phantom he had created through magic.

“Then please proceed. I must begin preparations for the next spell as well.”

In fact, moments earlier, Sung-jun had also dropped a colossal meteor above Manhattan, where a Level 9 Corrosion Entity was estimated to exist.
An even larger and heavier mega-meteor than those he had dropped on the heads of other enemies.
His intention was to gauge the power of the Corrosion Entity guarding Manhattan while simultaneously seizing the opportunity to eliminate the enemy’s leader in a single strike, should fortune favor him.

‘Yet it was blocked. A meteor fall so massive it could have instantly crushed a Level 8 Corrosion Entity.’

To put it simply, the Level 9 Corrosion Entity did not fall to my meteor strike.
Rather, it would be more accurate to say it was never struck at all.
Despite my precise coordinate designation for the meteor’s summoning, the unique wave emanation of the Corrosion Entity—which disrupted long-distance teleportation—forcibly warped the coordinates I had calculated through sheer power.
I desperately attempted to fix the coordinates in place, but amid the chaotic mana flow raging like a tornado, I failed to maintain them, and the meteor I summoned fell not upon the Level 9 Corrosion Entity’s head but in a different area roughly one kilometer away.
Ultimately, faced with the need to employ a spell other than Meteor Strike to eliminate the Corrosion Entity, I found myself confronting two significant problems.

‘The mana flow has become far too turbulent, perhaps from the meteor’s shockwave. Simply observing it induces vertigo.’

The vast quantity of debris and dust generated by the explosion had settled to some degree, but the mana flow near New Jersey, where I stood, was completely disrupted by the blast’s aftermath.
Moreover, the area surrounding the Atlas I occupied had become like the eye of a storm, drained of mana by the forceful channeling required to activate Meteor Strike.
Yet I possessed no alternative options.
Reducing the enemy’s numbers was the paramount objective, leaving me no choice but to deploy the most powerful spell at my disposal.
As a result, the Atlas became defenseless, unable to properly activate protective magic, but I harbored no fear.
In my current state, I had steadfast allies to buy me time while I calmed the turbulent mana.

“You’ll have to step over my corpse to advance past this point!!!”

Captain Cooper, mounted atop a ten-meter-class Steel Golem and wielding a Glaive—a weapon issued to golems in place of his specialized lance—swung it toward the enemies and roared.
The soldiers fighting alongside him answered his cry, their voices joining his in unison.

“Sung-jun took down nearly every enemy single-handedly, and if we can’t even buy time against these wounded stragglers, then we’re utterly useless! Come on! You insect bastards! Even if we’re not the leads in this battle, we’ll show you we’re at least supporting cast!”
“Aaaahhh!!! We’ll reclaim American soil with our own hands!”
“Sorry, but I think that ship sailed the moment meteors started falling from the sky….”
“That’s just how I feel, okay! Don’t nitpick!”

The exchange of jokes between them was a positive sign.
Had this truly been a hopeless battle, they could never have smiled and wielded their weapons against monsters several times—even dozens of times—larger than themselves.
The power of the Meteor Strike I had just cast possessed sufficient force to kindle a burning flame in the hearts of every soldier engaged in combat.
A spark of hope named the possibility of concluding this entire battle in humanity’s victory and returning to the happiness of the past.
Just as everyone raised their spirits with the word ‘victory’ on their minds, a terrifying cry erupted from all directions, instantly crushing the combat morale of every soul present.

“KIEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!”

Resentment, vengeance, anguish, condemnation, death, abhorrence, terror.
A shriek that carried a revulsion so overwhelming it seemed as though I had heard countless repetitions of every negative word humanity could conceive—words that defied precise definition yet poisoned the very air with their utterance.
It was a chilling warning message sent by the “Apocalypse-class” Corrosion Entity, towering 200 meters above the ruins of buildings in Manhattan, to the pitiful, inferior creatures daring to harbor the word hope before its magnificent presence.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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