Chapter 1366: Under the Eternal Night
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The loud explosions rang in her ears.
Erin opened her eyes, gazed blankly at the ceiling, and shook her head. Shortly after, her unfocused vision regained its clarity. She stood up and walked to the window. In the distance, the continuous artillery fire didn’t seem to be stopping anytime. She watched as the brilliance that shone through the sky interlaced to form a dense net.
“Beautiful… But so cruel…”
Erin whispered to herself while closing her eyes as if she didn’t want to look at the never-ending battle in front of her. Like Rhode, Erin also felt the terrifying power that pounced on her when Chaos went all out.
Eren though she was prepared for it, she still felt a considerable amount of pressure, which was a heavier and more overwhelming burden than before, and she could barely breathe. Although with the Dark Dragon’s power, Erin didn’t require much effort to deal with Chaos, she would eventually tire out if Chaos continued to hara.s.s them infinitely.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
At that moment, she heard some pounding on the door. Before she responded, the bedroom door was pushed open roughly and two pet.i.te figures scurried in.
“Big Sister Erin! Wake up! It’s time to move out. Give those Chaos bast*rds a taste of our power!”
“That’s right, Big Sister Erin! Come on, come on! Why are you still dazing by the window!”
It was precisely the two Mini Bubble Gums who burst through the door without the slightest hint of politeness. After some careful consideration, Rhode decided that the real Canary should follow Lydia, while the two Mini Bubble Gums were sent along with Canary’s projection to take charge of the defense of the Country of Darkness.
Of course, it wasn’t without reason for his decision. He realized that the projected Canary was a stronger deterrent to the two Mini Bubble Gums compared to the real Canary. Perhaps this was because back then, the part of Canary in his memories which could control Mini Bubble Gum had been strengthened when he projected her. As a result, the projected Canary had an easier time handling the two troublemakers. For that reason, Rhode arranged for the two Mini Bubble Gums and Canary to help the front at the Country of Darkness.
Rhode had to admit that the two troublemakers worked well together. Besides, their tyrannical and desperate style of offense restrained Chaos successfully. Moreover, with Eleanor who was in charge of guarding the beacon tower around, the projected Canary to a.s.sist them, and together with Erin and her undead army, they were still able to stop Chaos from attacking.
As a matter of fact, the undead army of the Country of Darkness didn’t have any significant advantage against Chaos. One edge they had was having the same trait as Chaos creatures: they didn’t know what ‘exhaustion’ was and could continue fighting without resting. But in other aspects, the undead army was no different from a human army.
The undead army’s specialty was converting death to undead, but Chaos creatures didn’t understand the concept of ‘life and death’. All Chaos creatures knew was the difference between destroying and being destroyed, so even necromancers and lichs couldn’t recover any corpses to turn them into undead creatures. In fact, the undead creatures were quite wary of getting entangled with Chaos after Ion’s lesson. And if they were accidentally influenced by Chaos like Ion, they would be in huge trouble.
Hence, in this regard, undead creatures were instead more vulnerable than ordinary life forms, as their undead nature itself made them more susceptible to Chaos’s exploitation. Fortunately, after Erin asked Rhode for help, she was able to solve the problem.
“Where’s Miss Canary?”
Upon hearing the screams of the two Mini Bubble Gums, the fatigued look on Erin’s face was swept away instantly. She turned around to look at them with a soft smile. It wasn’t that she pulled herself together for their sake. But rather, although they were noisy, they succeeded in lifting her spirit back onto the battlefield.
After all, on the battlefield of the Country of Darkness, the undead creatures were lifeless and lacked any enthusiasm. For that reason, the strong, positive energy and atmosphere of the two Mini Bubble Gums made Erin feel more comfortable. The sense of accomplishment of spurting over a mouthful of dragon’s breath as the two little ones cheered her on was far greater than a group of silent undead creatures.
“Hurry up, Big Sister Canary is waiting for us outside, Big Sister Erin. That bunch of Chaos is asking for it. Miss Marybelle gave them a good beating before and they’ve forgotten all about that. But we can’t always let her have the limelight all the time. It’s about time for us to show Chaos what we’re made of!”
“Alright, I’ll be right there.”
Sometimes, Erin felt a little envious of Mini Bubble Gum’s spirit. Honestly, even she couldn’t figure out why they were always so high-spirited. One had to know that Chaos’s aggression was so strong that even Erin felt overwhelmed. And with the strength of the two Mini Bubble Gums, there was no way they couldn’t see that Chaos was infinite.
But even so, the two of them didn’t display any worry, deep thoughts, or frustration at all. On the contrary, they lived happily everyday without a care in the world… Erin was concerned that it was due to the fact that the two of them suffered trauma in the past, which was why they had a nervous breakdown. But now, it seemed like that wasn’t the case.
But anyway, it was indeed more relaxing to have two carefree little ones with her while she was under such heavy pressure.
With that in mind, Erin collected her thoughts, turned around, and walked out of her room, following the two Mini Bubble Gums to the outside.
The roaring became incomparably clear the moment they stepped out of the building. At a glance, tens of thousands of magical cannons constructed on the city walls fired unceasing and dazzling brilliance splashed over the land, repelling the advancing Chaos creatures entirely.
Unlike Lydia’s side, which relied entirely on individual force, on the side of the Country of Darkness, the undead army, which relied on the human wave attack to win, uncharacteristically adopted mechanized warfare. Rhode made a great deal of effort to distribute most of the Illusion Crystals, handing them over to players who specialized in manufacturing to create a huge number of magical cannons on the city walls.
With the Illusion Crystals providing energy for firepower, the magical cannons wouldn’t run out of power and become worthless steel. They could be fired indefinitely, and the undead creatures also wouldn’t feel exhausted. Hence, by having a being at the level of a death knight control the magical cannons, they could be guaranteed to be able to bombard the Chaos creatures continuously for 24 hours. Meanwhile, the rest of the job was left to the players and liches. When the Chaos Lords appeared, it would be the home turf for Mini Bubble Gum, Canary, and Erin. With the a.s.sistance of Alice and Marybelle, the battlefield of the Country of Darkness was doing fine for now.
Of course, the main reason is…
At that thought, Erin couldn’t help but look at the pitch-black statue erected not far behind the city walls. It was a statue of a half-naked young lady with her head hanging low. Her long skirt slid down her legs, while her entire body exuded a mysterious and seductive aura as if she were seeking the affection of some man. But most importantly, the young lady’s entire body also emanated a dim glow. Under the artillery fire, one could easily feel a dark barrier connecting as if it were a bowl upside down, merging together from the sky to earth.
This was exactly the secret structure that Rhode summoned using the system after listening to Erin’s request—Fallen Banshee. It was the complete opposite of the Holy Maiden Statue. The Holy Maiden Statue relied on pure holy power to shut out undead creatures and Chaos, while the Fallen Banshee relied on negative energy to erase all existences. If it weren’t for the fact that this world was transformed by Rhode and his younger sister into a very ‘systematic’ one, and that Mini Bubble Gum and Canary were immune to ‘friendly-fire’, perhaps they would be drowned in a world full of negative energy right now.
They would be committing suicide if the friendly-fire mode was off.
And under the ma.s.sive spread of negative energy, Chaos that wasn’t recognized as an ally naturally couldn’t mix in. Even if Chaos took this opportunity to influence some undead creatures, discomfort would still occur. And if the others found out, they would basically be heading down a path of destruction. In this regard, undead creatures were much more principled than humans. At least there wouldn’t be a melodramatic scene in which a harmless protagonist was spared out of compa.s.sion, only to return to seek revenge years later.
“Your Majesty Erin.”
Upon seeing the arrival of the three of them, Angelina scuttled over and gave a solemn bow to Erin. Even though Angelina recovered her original strength and logically became one of the four legendary generals, she was aware that this power of hers didn’t stand a chance against Chaos. Thus, the only thing she could do now was to act as a supervisor to keep an eye on the battlefield and make sure there was no trouble.
“It’s been hard on you, Angelina. Is anything wrong?”
“After Madam Marybelle took out two Chaos Lords earlier, there were no more sightings of Chaos Lords for now. Madam Celestina is still stationed at the beacon tower, and everything seems to be fine. Currently, the Chaos creatures are still attacking, but no Chaos Lords have been seen. But I suppose it should be about time.”
Angelina said, swept a glance at the two Mini Bubble Gums standing beside Erin, and s.h.i.+vered instinctively. She couldn’t be blamed for overreacting as she was tormented by Mini Bubble Gum in the past. Not to mention, Rhode also brought back a second Mini Bubble Gum (the real one). With the intention of enjoying blessings and enduring misfortune together, the projected Mini Bubble Gum introduced Angelina to the real Mini Bubble Gum as a fun ‘toy’ previously. Hence, to this pitiful vampire, perhaps the end of the world was already here.
“Where’s Miss Marybelle?”
Upon hearing Angelina’s reply, Erin widened her eyes and looked around curiously. However, she didn’t find Marybelle anywhere. But even so, Erin had to admit that Marybelle’s strength was unparalleled. She still remembered that moment Marybelle didn’t move an inch as she faced the ma.s.sive Chaos Lord earlier. Marybelle stretched out her right hand and pointed her finger at that Chaos Lord. In an instant, the Chaos Lord, who flaunted its power, crumbled and shattered into dust. Such a swift battle left even Erin gasping for air. It just wasn’t something that anyone could do.
“———!”
However, just as this thought cropped up in Erin’s mind, a deep roar boomed all of a sudden. She turned around and saw the gunfire that covered the land bulging like a bubble. At that moment, the undead creatures also realized the problem. The overwhelming beams of the magical cannons exploded, attempting to ma.s.sacre the existence that was about to be born. But magical beams were of no use. Instead, under the flash of flames, the swelling existence could be seen growing larger as if it were a b.u.t.terfly emerging from its coc.o.o.n.
“Chaos Lord!”
Upon witnessing this scene, Erin returned to her senses quickly. She gave Angelina a hand signal before turning around and das.h.i.+ng over to the place where the gunfire erupted. But before she ran over, the ‘coc.o.o.n’ in the midst of the artillery fire cracked open. Along with a bizarre roar, a monster that resembled a giant scorpion burst out from the bombardment, waving its two gigantic pincers and clamping down on her!
“Hmph!”
Erin sulked and let out a grunt. Boundless darkness shrouded her body in an instant. At the next moment, along with a brilliance that was as clear as the bright moon, the ma.s.sive Dark Dragon flapped its wings down and slammed the twin pincers.
“Whoa, Big Sister Erin is still as brutal as ever…”
The two Mini Bubble Gums gaped at this scene. Erin was usually considered a model of quiet elegance. But the most unimaginable thing about her was that after transforming into her dragon form, this moon princess—no, moon queen—loved engaging in physical combat. With the Dark Dragon’s ma.s.sive body and almost unstoppable strength, an average Chaos Lord was no match for her.
Of course, she transformed with the intention of ending this battle quickly. After all, Chaos Lords weren’t as precious and indomitable as the five Creator Dragons. So if she didn’t get this battle over quickly, more and more Chaos Lords would appear. When that happened, even a tiger couldn’t stand up to a pack of wolves.
“Good job, Big Sister Erin! Crush them! Looks like we should also…”
Before the two Mini Bubble Gums finished their sentence, the gigantic scorpion that wrestled the Dark Dragon shuttled to the side all of a sudden. In the blink of an eye, another enormous and heavy serpent-like monster that was nearly 100 meters long emerged from the darkness and widened its mouth at Erin. If she weren’t fast enough in dodging, she would have been ripped apart by it.
But fortunately, Erin wasn’t just a n.o.body. Besides, she wasn’t fighting alone.
Boom———!
The moment Erin dodged the attack, a series of red lotus flames erupted from the serpent’s body. The giant serpent that didn’t react the slightest to the magical beams earlier let out a miserable howl and retreated hurriedly. But it was a pity that before it hid in safety, two beams of white, holy light blasted through the darkness and struck its body mercilessly.
The two Mini Bubble Gums had transformed into two shooting stars that streaked across the sky. At the same time, a white, fast-spinning magical ritual appeared under the serpent. Soon after, countless white light beams that appeared out of thin air coalesced into chains and wrapped around its body.
“With that horrendous strength of yours and you want to sneak up on Erin? You must be tired of living! Go to h.e.l.l!”
In terms of violence, Mini Bubble Gum was much more ruthless than Erin. Not to mention that there were two of them now. As soon as the serpent was tied up, the two little ones arrived in front of it from the left and right. They yelled and waved their fists, smas.h.i.+ng them hard into the serpent’s body.
Along with the blast of holy power, the giant serpent in front of them bayed and fell on its back. Although its head was dozens of meters in size, and even the entirety of the two Mini Bubble Gums combined was only the size of a few of its scales, power wasn’t determined by the size of its holder. Thus, when the serpent was struck by them, it shuddered and collapsed.
But this wasn’t the end.
“Be careful!”
After the two Mini Bubble Gums attacked, Canary, who watched from the side, was stunned to witness two incomparably ma.s.sive arms suddenly appear and extend toward Erin and the two Mini Bubble Gums. The pair of arms opened their palms and grabbed at Erin and the two Mini Bubble Gums. This scene bewildered Canary. She flourished the flames in her arms hastily. But this time, her flames failed to stop the a.s.sault. On the contrary, after being agitated by the flames, the pair of arms grew larger in size!
“Oh no!”
Upon witnessing this scene, Canary realized the gravity of the situation. But before she reacted, a dazzling radiance flashed before her face. Soon after, the two enormous arms were severed entirely from the elbows and crumbled in a loud rumble.
Then, Canary noticed a pet.i.te figure clad in a red robe and white mask emerging from the brilliance.