Chapter 129: Chapter 128: Shaman Ko’s Selfishness, Part I
Translator: HunterW
Editor: RED
“Thank you!”
“You will be a great help to us all. Thank you.” The Ravi Guild’s officers shouted their thanks to me when I decided that I would enter the battle.
“However! I will fight only to the extent of my abilities. If it seems that either the Ravi Guild or I will lose, I will leave the battle.” I left my one condition.
None of knew what the outcome would be and the Ravi Guild was obviously at a disadvantage. I was going to give it my all in the upcoming battle but something could happen that will change my mind and I needed an escape route.
“That is more than fair. It is true that you don’t have a real stake in this battle, so you may leave whenever you feel the need to. We won’t hold it against you,” Lagus agreed.
No one else said anything, either. They all knew that I had nothing to do with both parties and that I was forced to become a Comrade.
“Now then, we know that Mr. Lee specializes in smaller bouts and in PVP. This is from rumors about Mr. Lee and what we have gathered from your previous fights,” one of the intel officers said. I nodded in agreement.
I had no AoE skills. I had the debuff effect from the King-Emperor’s Dignity, but no combat-style Aoe skills. That didn’t mean that I was horrible at larger fights, but I wasn’t going to step in and say that I could do much more. That would place too much weight on my shoulders.
“Then, as we initially discussed, Mr. Lee will face Madudu alone and take on Kiran’s debuff, while Master Lagus will focus on the larger battle.”
“I agree. Let’s do that,” I said. That was truly the best tactic we had.
“Mr. Lee will have to show Kiran that he is the most dangerous person on the battlefield…”
I understood what he meant. “Then, will it be enough if I take out Madadu right away at the start of the battle?”
The officers stared at me in shock. I had said it so simply, as if killing Madadu would be as easy as breathing.
“If you can, that will be great. If one of their strongest soldiers dies that early, Kiran will have no choice but to show himself,” Lagus said. He seemed the least fazed out of everyone here, as if he believed that it was obvious that I could do that.
From there, we finalized our battle prep. h.e.l.l, there was nothing else to discuss. We had our backs against the wall. This was the Ravi Guild’s last stand.
“Alright, this is it! Four days! We have four days until the Descendant awakens,” Sandip said strongly as he looked around at his officers. “They fear the advent of Shiva’s Descendant, but once she awakens, Muskan will become the source of strength for the Vaishyas, the Shudras, and the Dilats. Those high-cla.s.s b.a.s.t.a.r.ds will tremble at our combined force!”
“That’s right!”
“They won’t be able to rely on their s.h.i.tty caste system any longer!”
“Exactly. It’s enough that we can seed fear into their hearts. That’s why we must hold out here for four more days. Are you all ready? Are you all ready for glory?!”
“Yes, sir!”
“The only way we leave here is through death!” the officers roared in reply.
When we received the report that the Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds were less than thirteen hours away, we ended the meeting. The rest of the Ravi Guild was ordered to rest for the next ten hours to lower their Fatigue, and I headed to my private tent to rest as well.
Ten hours later…
“Have all of our tanks on the front lines. If they’re not enough, reinforce them with fighter cla.s.ses with high HP.”
“The Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds will have to freeze the Manori Creek to cross over. Fire Mages will be important here. Instead of having them spread out, have them grouped together to inflict the maximum AoE damage.”
“Archers will focus on anyone one with flight capabilities. It doesn’t matter if you kill them or not. Just make sure they don’t make it across the river!”
The Ravi Guild was busy making its preparations, with its guild members spread out over the entire riverbank. It was a sign that it wouldn’t be long until the battle started, and I started to tremble in antic.i.p.ation.
At that moment, Akashwi came up next to me, “This is where you were!”
“Yes.”
“They’ll be here soon. We’ve also come to the decision that since you are our ace in the hole, it would be best for you to stay hidden and jump in when no one expects it.”
“I understand. I’ll make it happen.”
“I’ll take you to your position.”
I followed Akashwi to a secluded and covered section of the riverbank where the top elite devas of the Ravi Guild were gathered. My position was right next to Lagus’s.
“Thank you again for doing this.”
“It’s not a problem.”
“Whatever the outcome, I’ll make sure to pay you back.”
I didn’t say anything and laughed it off. I had my own variables in play here, even one that the Ravi Guild would not like at all.
“I’m starting to see them now.”
After a while, we began to see a few figures off in the distance, whose numbers continued to grow.
“Will they attack right away?”
“There’s a pretty high chance they will, as they’re pressed for time as well. They should know by now that they have less than four days until the skill matures.”
“Ah…” The other side would be anxious as well. This battle was going to take at least a few days, with one side trying to protect Muskan, and the other trying to kill her.
I kept watching the other side of the river. I could now see a huge army heading our way, kicking up a cloud of dust from beneath their feet.
“There has to be… at least 40,000 of them.”
We could also see now who was leading the army at the front. “It’s Rahul, the guild master of the Sahtashwi Guild. It seems they’re in a hurry, if he’s here this early.”
“I see,” Lagus said, before standing with the other elite soldiers. “Well then… I leave the rest to you.”
“Yeah. I’ll do my best.” I would definitely take out Madadu once I had the chance.
“Muskan and the Ravi Guild, come out here!” Rahul’s voice could be heard all the way across the river.
At that moment, Sandip walked out. “You called?”
“Don’t you think it’s wise to end this here and now? We’ve lost enough men by now.”
“That’s what we wish as well, but I’m sure you have other thoughts.”
“Just hand over Muskan then I’ll promise you that I’ll abolish the caste system. I’ll make sure all Indians are treated equally and fairly.”
“Then why do you want Muskan that badly if you’re already prepared for such humanitarian actions? Wouldn’t it be enough to just leave her and us alone?”
“She possesses a weapon that she cannot hope to control. She also doesn’t have the capacity to wield it! It would be better to take that weapon away from her. Do you intend to leave a sharp dagger in the hands of a child?”
“I don’t know about that.”
“We must prevent any accidents that may happen in the future. Don’t you know the consequences of carelessly using such power?”
At a glimpse, there was merit to Rahul’s words, but the problem here was that only the higher castes saw that merit. The Ravi Guild, the lower two castes, and the Dalits didn’t believe a single word of what Rahul said. They all knew what the Sahtashwi and the Behi-Kinant Guilds had done in the past. Everyone here knew that if Muskan fell into their hands or died before her skill was activated, Rahul and the higher castes would do everything in their power to make sure everything went back to the way it was before.
“What you say sounds very convincing, but shouldn’t we negotiate on equal footing here? And…I’ll need a sort of safeguard, so that I know the terms will last.”
“So you plan to keep this up until the end, is that it?”
“I doubt we’ll come across a chance like this ever again.”
“There’s a chance that you will never set foot in India ever again! That goes for whoever supports you.”
“We’ve all come here prepared for whatever comes our way.”
“I’ll make you regret that decision.”
“We’ll also show you the extent of our willpower.”
Rahul turned around to face his army. “Listen up!”
“Yes, sir!”
“We will cross the river in one hour. Spare no one! Show them the error of their ways!”
“Yes ,sir!”
Sandip turned to the Ravi Guild as well. “Listen up!”
“Sir!” The Ravi Guild’s army shouted in response, louder than the 40,000 soldiers on the other side.
“We are here to fight desperately against injustice and absurdity and whatever the outcome, know that what we do here is right! We fight for justice! Let it be clear that n.o.ble blood does not exist, and we all share the inherent limitations of life!”
The Ravi Guild roared deafeningly in response. I thought I could see the river’s water ripple from the sound.
“It must have been like this in the past.” I made sure not to miss a thing from my solitary position. “The world truly is big.” I knew that the Ravi Guild had lost here, meaning that the Descendant of the G.o.d of Destruction failed to awaken. But I had no idea this huge battle had occurred.
The air around the battlefield was electrified with intensity from the two men’s speeches. ( )
“So that’s Madadu.” I had carefully viewed the montage of the man the Ravi Guild had given me. They told me that even though he was a summoner, he was always in the heat of the battle. He was that arrogant, that confident in his abilities, and trusted his comrades to protect him. That just made it easier for me to target him.
I stood up and took out my spear. I could feel the tension all the way over here; I couldn’t stay sitting any longer.
As Rahul said, they waited an hour before making their move. The first wave charged towards the river.
“Frozen Earth!”
“Spirit of Water, I command thee to bend to my will!”
“Thick Shield!”
“Mega Shield!”
Once the enemy made its move, the Ravi Guild quickly reacted.
“Get ready! Follow the plan and we can win!”
“Fire Field!”
“Fire Pillar!”
“Fireball!”
The Ravi Guild’s mages fired off their most powerful spells but could not do much against the sheer number of the enemy’s army. Despite their efforts, a solid bridge of ice was beginning to form.
“I should start getting ready.” It wouldn’t be long until Madadu would make his move as well.
“Mana Conversion – Fire. Warrior’s Brave Spirit.”
==[Mana Conversion – Fire level 2 has been activated.]==
==[Warrior’s Brave Spirit level 1 has been activated.]==
“Judge’s Gavel.”
==[You have activated Judge’s Gavel.
Your next attack will be a critical hit
Level 1: 3,600 second cooldown. Base damage increased by 5,000. The damage of the User’s next attack increased by 300% and CRIT damage increased by 500%.]==
My preparations were done. I watched the battle as carefully as possible to not miss my time to attack Madadu.