Blood-red bolts of lightning exploded across the sky. The originally clear, azure sky darkened as if it were tainted by cloudy sludge. At that moment, Rhode and Lydia tensed up and darted out of the room. In an instant, they vanished to nowhere. Because they were clearer than anyone what this scene meant.
The encroachment of Chaos had arrived yet again.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Rapid alarms wailed. The peaceful defensive line entered a state of uproar like hot boiling water, with soldiers running up the city walls as fast as they could after putting on their armor and grabbing their weapons. Above them, the floating warships were all lined up, while the soft, dazzling brilliance of the Holy Maiden Statues descended from heaven like a waterfall, linking with the lands to form a strong barrier. Angels fluttered their wings and soared into the sky. Apart from the armored soldiers below them, many players were also seen.
Soon, the red lightning became increasingly vivid. A series of scarlet flashes surfaced in the horizon, while thick, dark clouds once again spread across the sky. Not only that, but along with furious roars, countless shadows also emerged, churning and tumbling forward like a fierce river. The air became tense for an instant. At that moment, the invisible air seemed to have turned into a boulder of a thousand kilograms weighing down on their shoulders. As a matter of fact, many soldiers indeed turned pale. But even so, they insisted on standing upright on the city wall and didn’t move a muscle.
“Looks so much better than before.”
Standing above the floating warship and looking down, Rhode nodded in praise after sweeping a glance at the people on the defensive line. It wasn’t surprising that he said so because in the earlier battle, the soldiers froze to the spot upon seeing the arrival of Chaos. Although Rhode admitted that whoever witnessed Chaos creatures gliding down from the sky would be petrified of their aggression, it didn’t mean that the soldiers should escape on the spot.
But back then, they were really at a loss. Perhaps because it was their first time taking on Chaos head-on, many broke down mentally before contact was even made. Fortunately, there were indeed quite a number of angels and clerics on his side. With the support of a whole bunch of spiritual spells, he was able to stabilize the battle line. Otherwise, perhaps the moment the first line of defense he had painstakingly built came into contact with Chaos, it would collapse completely.
But now, perhaps after experiencing war and becoming more familiar with the characteristics of Chaos, the soldiers didn’t seem as flustered as before. Although their expressions seemed a little tense, they were still in control of themselves. What terrified one the most was to face something that one couldn’t understand the true nature of at all. And once the true nature was revealed, be it aliens or Godzilla[1], they were nothing more than ‘enemies’ to humans.
The same went for these soldiers. Most of them had no idea what those so-called Chaos creatures were until now, or how terrifying they were, and whether or not they could be defeated. That was why they were naturally filled with fear. But after having fought each other in a war earlier and realizing that Chaos wasn’t as invincible as they had thought, they became more confident in their chances. Of course, there was no denying the deliberate ‘conniving’ announcement that Rhode made. But at that moment, it was clear that Rhode was simply ignoring the situation.
“Well then, Your Majesty Rhode, I’ll leave this place to you. I’ll head to the western defenses to check on the situation.”
“Leave it to me, Lydia.”
Upon hearing Lydia’s words, Rhode waved his hand airily. Of course, he knew why she left him here. But since she didn’t want to say more, he wouldn’t be that foolish to expose himself. That was why he nodded slightly and watched as she left, before connecting with the others through his spiritual communication.
Due to the need to familiarize himself with the Holy Sword Barrier, Rhode didn’t split the holy sword spirits and send to the other defensive lines this time. Instead, he found others to take their place. Of course, they were ones who had spiritual communications with him, such as Angelina, the projected Mini Bubble Gum, Canary, Icy Snow, and Lesa and the rest. To be on the safe side, they were also split up by him and sent to different defensive lines.
Even though they seemed to be assisting the defensive lines, as a matter of fact, it was just a way for Rhode to have a few more eyes out there to check in on the situation on all fronts so he could respond promptly. While many of the systems in the Dragon Soul Continent had been gamified, it was a shame that the communication system that players needed the most couldn’t allow them to connect with Rhode all the time. So there was no way for Rhode to form parties like in the game and chat from the ends of the continent. Therefore, it was fair to say that this decision was his only approach.
Incidentally, the original selves of Mini Bubble Gum and Canary also participated in the upcoming battle. In fact, in the beginning, Rhode didn’t want them to risk their lives. Although after arriving at the Dragon Soul Continent, their power attributes had returned to their original levels through some tuning, and there was a possibility for them to be resurrected, Rhode didn’t dare take any chances. That was why he initially arranged for them to stay in the safety of the back line. However, they didn’t want to stand idly by and not offer any help.
Without a choice, Rhode had to leave them in the care of their respective projections. He also gave the projections a strict order to protect their original selves. Although their personalities were more or less the same, wasn’t it always said that one knew oneself best? With the two projections in place, it shouldn’t be possible for anything bad to happen to their original selves.
And after Rhode asked around, he found out that this time, Chaos wasn’t launching an all-out attack either. The border that Canary and Lesa were stationed in didn’t look like it was under attack at all. The underground world where Angelina and Nell were assigned to seemed to be safe as well. On the contrary, over in the border of the Void Territory, Mini Bubble Gum and Icy Snow sent back some news of Chaos’s attack. But Rhode didn’t find it that surprising since the Void Territory was the newest territory to be explored compared to other territories, which was why it was relatively close to Chaos itself.
Ever since Chaos attacked the Dragon Soul Continent, attacks on the Void Territory had been really common. However, with the seven deity wardens and magic warships on the battlefield, Rhode felt rather relieved. But for that reason, he couldn’t spare too many people to support elsewhere. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen to rely solely on a group of players and the magic warships of the Munn Kingdom to defend the territory. After all, in terms of power, his magic warships were stronger. Unfortunately, the borders of the Void Territory were only a little longer than the Country of Light’s. He could be considered to have given his all to protect his borders from the invasion of Chaos. Meanwhile, it was impossible to mobilize manpower and strength to help the Country of Light.
Of course, aside from these objective reasons, Rhode wasn’t without ideas himself. After all, the first line of defense was always bound to be abandoned. But even if he gave it up, there was still a first come first serve basis in place. Sacrificing the defensive line over at the Country of Light so that their men could retreat smoothly was better than sending reinforcements over and accompanying them to their graves.
At this thought, the corners of Rhode’s mouth curled up slightly into a wry smile. At the next moment, he metamorphosed into a white light and vanished quickly. And when he reappeared, he arrived at a broken city wall.
“Master, you’re finally here.”
An arrogant voice echoed as Rhode appeared. Celestina emerged from the darkness with her head held high, walking toward him. Upon seeing the demon young lady, the true identity of this line of defense was also known. That’s right. This was precisely the ‘Shattered Tooth’ where Celestina ‘buried’ those thousands of deserters ‘alive’.
“The situation seems alright here.”
Rhode said, sweeping a glance at the soldiers standing quietly above the city wall. But in the face of his gaze, the soldiers seemed completely unresponsive as they stood upright with ashen faces and lifeless eyes. But if one were to feel it, one would discover that inside the bodies of these soldiers, there was a certain evil stench. It was apparent that this was Celestina’s doing.
“Are you sure you can really keep this place safe with them? Although I was the one who came up with this idea in the first place, if they can’t do it, I can still deploy some players over.”
Due to the peculiar nature of this place, Rhode let neither ordinary soldiers (after all, although rumors were spreading wildly, there was still a big difference between witnessing real evidence and just listening to gossip) nor players nor the battle angel army get close. It could also be said that if Rhode were to defend this place, he could only rely upon himself, the holy sword spirits, these soldiers modified by Celestina, and the Flesh Hunters.
After Gaya brought the Flesh Hunters over, Rhode summoned Celestina and had her sign a contract with them. And to his relief, although the Flesh Hunters were considered mutants, the demon’s bloodline in their body was still the real deal. Even though they dared to threaten Gaya, they behaved like obedient dogs and trembled in fear in the face of Celestina. It could be seen that hierarchy between demons was still very strict and this trait was deeply integrated into the minds of the Flesh Hunters. Meanwhile, Celestina was also rather satisfied with this arrangement. According to her, she had long wanted a team of personal guards. Upon hearing Rhode’s question, she twitched her lips and gave a proud reply.
“Don’t worry, Master, these lowly scums have been modified by a secret technique of mine. They are my most loyal, obedient, and powerful pets and survive by devouring flesh and death. They should be fine resisting a bunch of Chaos creatures.”
“Great if that’s the case.”
Upon hearing Celestina’s proud reply, Rhode nodded in satisfaction. After all, Celestina had fought against Chaos creatures in the Creation War in the first place. She had extensive knowledge of Chaos creatures, so her words had a certain degree of credibility. Since she said that there should be no problem, Rhode could most likely trust her. But even so, he didn’t let his guard down. This time, he was so particular about this side of the situation because he wanted to witness the true combat power of the Flesh Hunters that were ‘modified’ by Celestina. If they were strong enough to satisfy Rhode, they could become a hidden trump card against Chaos in the future…
While Rhode and Celestina exchanged a few words, the Chaos creatures, on the other side, ran wildly toward the defensive line. At the same time, flashes of magical brilliance emanated from all directions. Coupled with the brilliant fire of the magical cannons, the first wave of Chaos creatures were annihilated by an overwhelming storm of attacks. Despite that, it was nothing more than child’s play for the Chaos creatures. Although they were torn apart, they continued to cry and pounce ahead without hesitation. Their bodies froze in magical brilliance and shattered from the gunfire over and over, but even that didn’t stop them. On the contrary, they plunged forward savagely. That was what was most frightening about Chaos and the reason why their defenses crumbled most of the time. When the defenders knew there was nothing they could do to stop the attack no matter what, they knew that only despair and death awaited them.
“There doesn’t seem to be any difference…”
Frowning and staring at the Chaos creatures before him, Rhode mumbled under his breath. He always felt like things weren’t this simple. Chaos had been oddly silent for so long and this time, so its ambush shouldn’t only be at this level. But even so, he didn’t stop his hand motions. On the contrary, gazing at the Chaos creatures, a glint flashed in his eyes. He twitched the fingers of his right hand and three pure white cards appeared between them. Along with this movement, the pure white cards flickered in unique colors. Soon after, he flung his arm at the Chaos creatures. The three cards with glowing trajectories flew out of his fingers in a swish. And in the mere blink of an eye, they disappeared into the murky ocean of creatures, never to be seen again. One might wonder if the holy sword spirits were completely devoured by Chaos. But soon, along with his action, everything changed.
“Go!”
The moment the three cards sank into the ocean of Chaos creatures, Rhode shouted and raised his right arm. Along with this action, the three cards exploded in three pillars of light. The dazzling brilliances broke through the restraints of the Chaos creatures and outlined a triangular pattern. Upon sensing the triple spiritual undulations, Rhode’s face turned much more composed as he stared gravely at the pillars of light before him. He clenched his right hand tightly and made a downward-pulling motion.
All of a sudden, the connected triangle shook and descended from the sky like a heavy structure. The shimmering lights fell from above with a bang, landing in the middle of the triangle. Immediately after, a halo of light expanded in all directions, overwhelming the Chaos creatures within its range and leaving them howling and screaming in agony. They waved their limbs vainly to escape the light that bound them. With the diffusion of aura, the Chaos creatures that were enfolded by the light suddenly looked as if they were placed in a scorching oven. Their bodies began to emit smoke and even their movement became much slower. As the aura swept past them, they turned into remnants that were blazed in high heat.
“Good.”
Rhode nodded at this sight, extended his right arm again, and the three cards returned to his palm along with this action. At that moment, within the hundreds of kilometers in front of him, the Chaos creatures were completely wiped out. Not only that, but the Chaos creatures by the rear also became slower after being lit up by the holy light. Soon, the players seized this opportunity to attack the Chaos creatures and repress their fierce aggression.
I’m getting more familiar with the Holy Sword Barrier.
Sensing the spiritual undulations on his palm, Rhode nodded in satisfaction. After this period of constant battle, he became rather handy in the use of cards with the same attributes. The next thing he had to grasp was a mix of attributes and lastly, using them all at once. As soon as he could master the control of all 10 holy sword spirits at the same time, he could easily set up the barrier.
The only problem that’s left is…
“Grrr…!”
While he pondered, deafening roars reverberated and interrupted his thoughts. He lifted his head and turned in the direction of the menacing snarls. Then, he twitched his brow and revealed an unsurprised expression.
The skeletal dragons showed up again.
[1] A fictional monster that originates from a series of Japanese films of the same name.