Chapter 252: Chapter 251: Section 79, Part II
Translator: HunterW
Editor: RED
Center A of Section 79…
Three deities of Claudia’s faction were lounging around talking to each other.
“What did Mistress Claudia say?”
“She’ll be planning a large-scale invasion pretty soon.”
“Ugh, it can’t come soon enough.”
“Yeah, I know. d.a.m.n. Hunting barely gets us any EXP or golden rings. I don’t even remember the last time I saw an item.”
“We got played by whoever made the Judge’s Continent. He scammed all of us out of so many golden rings.”
“Well, there isn’t much we can do about that now. We should start making our way to the front lines and see what’s up.”
“I guess we should. I’ve been bored being cooped up here for so long.”
“By the way, Command told us to be careful on the front lines and make sure we don’t get caught.”
“Tsk. What a pain.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it. Winning the battle on the Continent isn’t our only objective. We have to put as much distance as possible between us and Adora the Demon and Skyla the Leech.”
During the meeting of Croot’s deities, Claudia had made the decision to not invade the enemy right away and instead take the time to adapt. However, just about everyone knew what her true intentions were. She wanted to use that as an excuse to wait for the right time to attack the enemy and make her own people stronger. And yet, no one stood in her way. Clauda’s faction was no doubt the strongest in all of Croot, and had the best chance to defeat the enemy.
“Nothing’s happened yet, has it? No one’s gone to meet the enemy or anything?” Ashio, the appointed commander of Section 79, asked the other two deities.
“It’s been quiet.”
“They’re all a bunch of cowards, to be afraid of a 700 million difference.”
“Now, now, don’t say something so scary. The enemy might become our prey, but they have to be strong enough to get rid of Adora and Skyla.”
“Oh, you’re right. I’ve completely forgotten about that.”
“Hahaha. I do hope it works out that way!”
They did not have any type of information on the enemy, but they were that confident in Claudia’s Time Controller ability. That wasn’t just for Claudia’s faction; the rest of Croot’s deities were the same. For the ten years of their Otadolon stage, they had all lived as kings and queens, just for being deities. Their rivalry was fierce, but they had all acted as one when it came to the treatment of devas. To them, all devas were slaves or as useful as livestock. That was how much stock they put into their existence as deities, and how much they relied on it!
—–
Outside of Section 79’s western gate…
“Mana Conversion – Ice. Warrior’s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf”
==[Mana Conversion – Fire Level 7 has been activated.]==
==[Warrior’s Brave Spirit Level 2 has been activated.]==
==[Howl of the Wolf has been activated.]==
I only activated those three combat buffs. After the battle against Rocky, I had noticed that I had become quite dependent on Ripped Advance and Critical Weakness. It was to the point that I was hoping to meet the enemy after their cooldowns were up. I quickly realized that it was a foolish thing to hope for in the middle of a war, especially when their cooldowns were ten days and thirty days, respectively.
That was a lot of time to wait during a war. It was not like I had any control or say as to when I would have to fight the enemy. Besides, I was strong without those two skills, and I realized that I hadn’t really needed them when I fought against Rocky and his fifty thousand soldiers. I decided that for this battle, I would hold off on using them as much as I could. I would only use them if I really had to.
{Editor’s Note: The very definition of trump cards…}
With my thoughts in order, I looked over at the ramparts labeled Section 79. “I’ll see you all there by sunrise tomorrow,” I said quietly so that the enemy couldn’t hear, but loud enough for my men to hear.
“…” My men replied with silence.
“Move out,” I said, before sprinting away. “Blink 1. Blink 2.” With both Blinks and a few more bounds, I was up on the fifty-meter tall ramparts in an instant. The stone walls were silent, not because they weren’t manned in the first place, but because the walls were already captured.
One of my men revealed himself next to me. “The western gate’s surrounding area has been cleared out. We have at most ten to twenty minutes before the enemy realizes what’s happened.” It was Han Kyungchul of the Sunbin Guild.
“Good work. That’s more than enough time,” I said, nodding at his report. I looked out over the outer side of the walls, watching something large and black quietly creeping over to the walls like an ocean wave. It looked like it would reach the walls in about five minutes.
“Are the deities still over there?”
“Yes, sir. They are still at the 101st Block of Center A. No one has left yet.”
I had the scouts ascertain the locations of Section 79’s deities first thing when we arrived. It wasn’t hard; all they had to do was follow the slave devas and find out who was ordering them around. Those deities were my priority targets. From the previous battle, I had discovered that one deity was worth more than a couple of thousand devas.
It wasn’t a decision made to just fulfill my greed. These deities were in command here. Cutting off the head of the snake was a quick way to win any war or battle. As a result, my officers had wholeheartedly agreed with my decision and even thanked me for taking it upon myself to take on the deities.
-Hmm…I might be way in over my head this time, though,- I thought to myself, but didn’t let Han Kyungchul in on my doubts. He didn’t need to know. “Very well. We’ll proceed as planned.”
“Yes, sir!” Han Kyungchul replied and jumped down the walls into the darkness. He was to lead the battalion attacking the enemy base, and lure out the three deities inside for me to kill. I gave one last look at my army hidden in the shadows as they prepared to move forward, before I heading towards the 101st Block.
On the way there, I noticed there were still some enemy soldiers around this late at night. As I saw them, I felt thankful for a second that there were no mortals or children on this Continent. We were all fighting with our lives on the line; we could not for a moment hesitate in the face of the enemy, and could not afford to have mercy. I looked away from the enemy soldiers and quickly headed to the 101st Block.
——
Five minutes later, the Empire’s battalion stealthily reached Section 79’s western wall. With a gesture from Han Kyungchul who was waiting atop the wall, the soldiers crossed over and soon, the entire western district was full of Terran devas.
The Croot devas were stunned at the sight, to say the least. They had thought they were safely nestled within Section 79’s walls!
“Huh?”
“What…what is this?”
“It’s…it’s the enemy!”
The fifty-meter walls that were supposed to keep the enemy out were completely overrun by their enemy. Section 79 was supposed to be protected by Ashio, the deity hand-picked by Claudia herself. To the devas of Claudia’s faction, it just made it that much harder to believe that the enemy had actually invaded their home, yet it was obvious that they were not here to say h.e.l.lo.
“Attack!”
“Triple Shot!”
“Stalagmite!”
“Blizzard!”
“Run!”
“No! No! Agh!”
The Croot devas fell before they could even try to defend or so much as send out a warning to the rest of their base. The invasion of Section 79 was in full swing.
——
101st Block of Section 79’s Center A…
“What is that racket?” At first, the sounds were faint and it was late at night, so Ashio didn’t think too much of it. But soon, the sounds were getting louder and louder, to the point that Ashio finally came outside, annoyed. Ashio was sensitive to sounds, thanks to his exclusive ability, Sound Wave Control. His ability allowed Ashio to hear sounds leagues away as if they were right next to him.
The moment Ashio stepped outside, he heard another sound. Something was cutting through the air at high speeds. He then heard a male voice softly say “Blink 2!” from behind him. Before he could turn around, he heard something fall towards him from the sky.
He looked up to see a giant, red hammer falling towards him. His eyes bulged. Had he noticed the voice earlier, or if the hammer had been at least five meters away from him, Ashio would have had enough time to get away. But the voice was coming in at unimaginable speeds and the hammer had sp.a.w.ned less than a meter away. Ashio had no time to run, and the hammer slammed down right on his forehead.
“Agh!” Ashio was a ranger-cla.s.s and consequently had low VIT and DEF. He also didn’t have time to use sound waves to form a shield to protect himself. As a result, he was killed with a single blow.
The two other deities had heard Ashio’s cry, and came outside in time to see him die. Ashio was supposed to be the strongest one of the three.
“…”
They were horrified. Ashio wasn’t someone who could be killed with a single blow, and by a lowly deva, at that! And yet, that deva was standing before them, poised to attack!