Published at 9th of November 2020 09:14:07 PM
Chapter 259
RMSBS - Episode 259 . Divide and Conquer (9)
The Palace of Divide was located in the center of the capital, and it had both a northern and southern entrance .
After defeating the Flying Dragon Division, Desir and his crew quickly came into view of the southern palace gate .
It had been smooth so far, but Desir felt like something wasn’t quite right . The growing sense of incongruity continued to bother him ever since they defeated the Flying Dragon Division . No one else one had tried to stop them .
Considering how Divide had been employing a strategy of constant ambushes and traps, the situation seemed very suspicious .
“Surely they haven’t given up… … ?”
There was no way that Skull Mask had not realized what Desir was aiming for .
It was clear that Skull Mask would use every means at hand to resist Desir from interfering with his plan .
“And if he decided that we couldn’t be stopped… … ”
Desir’s crew easily broke through the Flying Dragon Division, Divide’s most elite squad .
Then there was only one thing left for them to use .
“They would mobilize the chimeras . ”
Due to the lack of any rationality, chimeras attacked everyone in sight regardless of their status . Obviously it was impossible for them to be deployed along with regular soldiers, since the odds of them causing significant trouble was high .
If they wanted to release chimeras, it made sense that Divide’s soldiers were nowhere to be seen .
“Romantica, I know it might be difficult but could you please increase the detection range as much as you can?”
[-Got it . ]
Having traveled at a quick pace until now, Desir’s group slowed down their march to make sure they wouldn’t be caught off guard .
‘Chimeras couldn’t possibly be more powerful than the Flying Dragon Division… ’
Desir immediately chastised himself . Looking down on Skull Mask was an easy way for them all to die . If he believed chimeras stood a chance where their wyvern army did not, then there must have been a reason .
These members that Desir had gathered were precious talents who would play an active part in the Shadow Labyrinth in the near future . He could not afford to let his guard down and make any mistakes that would lose anyone from his crew .
“Everyone halt!”
As they were slowly moving forward, Desir suddenly stopped his crew . He had detected an irregularity in the flow of mana .
*Crash*
A noise similar to a piece of glass breaking echoed .
And at that moment, they could feel an incredible amount of mana flowing out of the Palace of Divide .
It was the same reaction that would be felt when a Shadow World was cleared .
“Seems like they finally succeeded . ”
Desir recognized that the phenomenon was likely the result of the Shadow World containing the power source being dismantled . This meant that all four towers responsible for the barrier had finally been broken .
Everything was proceeding according to plan at this point .
The problem arose from here on out .
Up until now, they could proceed perfectly using the information they gathered . But from now on out, there could be unexpected situations .
Of course, that hadn’t stopped Desir from preparing for a multitude of possible situations .
He opened his mouth and spoke to Adjest, who stood right beside him .
“Adjest, prepare the spear so we can use it when we need . ”
“Got it . ”
The Spear of Longinus .
The artifact that may end up being the core of this entire operation . He nodded as he again confirmed its existence .
As they progressed forward once again, they soon arrived at the entrance to the palace .
The gate was firm, but not enough to withstand Desir’s magic .
*Boom*
They stepped through the rubble, striding as if they owned the place .
Suddenly, Romantica called via a communication spell .
[-Desir, something’s approaching . ]
Desir could feel its movements just as she finished the sentence .
*Thomp*
*Thomp*
*Thomp*
Something with a large figure was approaching them at a rapid pace . Each step it took shook the very ground they stood on . And it wasn’t just one . They numbered in the dozens .
[Light]
*Pzzt*
A few dozen light spheres appeared, revealing the balls of flesh running towards them . The sight of them conjured a deep feeling of disgust . These misshapen creatures looked like the parts of various monsters mashed together .
Desir’s prediction of the appearance of chimeras was correct .
But they were not regular chimeras .
“U-Unbelievable!”
“That’s aura!”
Aura flowed out of chimeras’ arms and legs .
Desir squinted his eyes .
“Kruaaak!”
Among the clumps of flesh mixed with all kinds of monsters, there were human bodies screaming like beasts .
Desir realized exactly what the chimeras in front of him were .
The Starling Party had fought against one of these chimeras in the Nordin Territory .
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“Aaron… … ”
Divide had formed one of these chimeras using the Janissary’s former captain, Aaron, as a key material . Though it was unskilled, the raw quantity of aura it could wield was astronomical . Even with Desir’s meticulous planning and excellent command, the Starling Party had struggled against it .
The power of chimeras lay in their overwhelming basic physical ability, which far exceeded that of a typical knight . When their potential was heightened by giving them the ability to wield aura, a truly terrifying monster was birthed .
“They were really able to mass produce something like that?”
Desir bit his lip .
Aaron was probably only the beginning for an experiment like this .
“Damn it . ”
Not a single thing was likable about this situation .
Desir was furious at Skull Mask for sacrificing humans like they were nothing .
“I will soon relieve you of your pain . ”
Their bodies were already impossible to revert . The only thing he could do for them was to minimize any further sacrilege .
Desir shouted while staring down the charging chimeras .
“Raise your shields! Do not ruin the formation!”
As the knights quickly shrouded their shields in aura and raised them, the clumps of flesh and sheets of metal collided .
*Thwump*
As the two sources of aura battled, a loud noise emmenated .
“We’ve somehow endured it . ”
Chimeras repeatedly charged at them, but Desir’s team did not give up any ground . By slowing down the march, Desir was able to arrange his troops in battle position before they actually encountered the chimeras .
While the knights with shields and aura at the front blocked the chimeras, mages at the back invoked spells and did their best to clear them out, one wave at a time .
It was the most effective strategy, lifted straight out of a textbook .
“They’re charging in from the west!”
“Frontline, don’t push too far and maintain the formation!”
The problem was the number of them .
The location of the battle was in a wide open garden . The only silver lining was that they did not need to worry about their rear . Behind them lay the ruins of the palace gate . However, the chimeras simply swarmed in from the palace itself . Their numbers seemed endless .
Under Desir’s leadership, the crew was able to make it this far without any losses . But this situation was different .
*Thump*
*Thuuummpp*
The chimeras were not only threatening in number, but every one of them was also powerful .
They constantly transformed their bodies in response to the situation, and they could use aura, making them incredibly difficult to handle .
Just as they were slowly getting exhausted, someone broke formation and stepped out from the frontline .
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“Please step back for now . ”
“What?”
Countless silver sword strikes rained down on the chimeras .
*Slash*
“Kyaaaakk!”
With Pram taking the lead, Adjest and Romantica were able to step up and assist in turning things around . Their abilities, refined through individual training over the last six months, were overwhelming compared to the other Hebrion Academy students .
Chimeras that could utilize aura were surely strong, but the knights that were used to make them were terribly weak compared to Aaron .
King-Class knights like Aaron did not grow on trees . It was impossible for Divide to get its hands on many of them . To mass produce these chimeras, it was inevitable that the skills of the knights used had to be of lower quality .
‘They really got stronger . ’
For others, these chimeras posed great danger, but for main party members in the Starling Party, who narrowly escaped death many times during their growth, were not a completely unmanageable threat .
They now had the capability to compensate for each other’s weaknesses without much trouble .
Just as Desir was thinking that and looked at the situation .
*Crack*
A noise similar to a piece of glass breaking echoed .
[-World inversion detected . ]
The communication pad that was handed out by the Hebrion Academy made such alarms when a certain situation occurred close to its owner .
And that certain situation could only be that…
‘They plan to create a Shadow World here… !’
Skull Mask used the four towers to create a Shadow World in order to hide the source inside the Divide Palace .
This meant that it was also possible to create Shadow Worlds with both its location and range accurately specified .
‘This is the worst possible outcome . ’
The worst possible situation Desir had thought of was Skull Mask creating a Shadow World that covered the entirety of Pittsburgh .
Even if the Shadow World was created, clearing it should not be particularly difficult .
But to clear the Shadow World would consume a large amount of time, meaning the plan would fail .
Desir glared at the chimeras charging in nonstop and thought .
‘These chimeras are merely to keep us in place for the Shadow World . ’
No matter how strong these chimeras were, there was no way that they would be able to completely stop the continent’s elites, including Desir . The chimeras were simply mobilized to delay them from advancing until the Shadow World appeared .
Desir hurriedly called back Adjest who was fighting fiercely at the front line .
[-Adjest, you and I will break through their assault . ]
Adjest swiftly approached him upon his call .
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Following up on his order, a spell formed in front of Desir .
[Fire Storm]
A huge storm of flame roared in the middle of the garden .
*Boom*
The surroundings were dyed crimson red .
There was no need for holding his firepower back here, unlike back in the city . An impressively large area of the garden was turned into ashes in the blink of an eye .
“Rawrr!”
The scream of chimeras echoed painfully .
Chimeras directly in the range of the spell completely vanished without a trace, while the ones swept up by the residual heat had parts of their bodies melted, rendering them motionless .
Because the chimeras used aura to protect themselves, they were not completely wiped out . However, the number of them had gone down significantly .
That was enough .
Desir and Adjest walked toward the road that was now completely empty .
“Pram, I’ll leave the command of the army to you . ”
“I won’t let you down . ”
Pram quickly caught on to Desir’s intentions and nodded his head .
“Sorry but I don’t think I can let you pass that easily . ”
*Clang*
Two swords collided and created a sharp echo .
Adjest glared at the attacker who aimed for Desir, while holding her sword firmly . It was a man wearing a pierrot mask .
Desir shouted, realizing the man’s identity from the side .
“Pierrot Mask… … !”
Pierrot Mask backed off, the edge of his visible face scrunched up from what was likely an impossibly large, sinister grin .
“You gotta hang out with me for a while . ”
Chapter brought to you by The Patrons .
ED: Purplemen101
TLC: N/A
QC: Nhan