novelPath to the Future
| ← Ch.1379 | Ch.1381 (e) → |
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The shrieks of the Chaos creatures echoed through the dimly-lit underground. Twisted, hideous creatures snarled and moved their limbs about like cockroaches as they darted across the floor. They opened their mouths wide, revealing sharp, beast-like teeth that glowed coldly in the darkness and pounced on the prey before them.
Soon, in a roaring explosion, a series of fireballs erupted before them. Powerful streams of air and scorching flames surged and exploded, engulfing the Chaos creatures. Shortly after, one of the Chaos creatures whose entire body was blazing in flames rolled out of the airflow. Its whole body had ruptured and only charred flesh and white bones were left. But even so, the Chaos creature let out a screech, crawled to its feet, and darted ahead. At the same time, its ghastly wounds regenerated swiftly, and its body restored its original form.
"These damn bast*rds are so annoying!"
Angelina grumbled and stretched out her hands. Soon after, scarlet, dazzling fireballs coalesced between her hands, before whirling forward. In a string of vibrating explosions, the rushing waves erupted and created a high-temperature barrier that resisted the attack from other Chaos creatures.
"These things are relentless, and more disgusting than those zombies in the movies that Madam Bubble put on!"
Looking at the Chaos creatures that burrowed into the flames and charged forward persistently despite their entire body being scorched, Angelina couldn't help but gnash her teeth. Watching as the creatures were about to break through the flame barrier, the middle-aged player, who stood silently at the side, took a half step forward with a staff made of a tree branch in his hand.
He widened his eyes at the flames and struck the staff on the ground. At the next moment, the solid ground turned muddy, and the dusky, deep soil turned into a pungent, green swamp. The creatures that rushed into the swamp slowed down drastically, before coming to a sudden halt. Not only that, but when they tried to lift their limbs, they also found that their limbs had corroded. The leading creatures collapsed into the swamp. Their flesh decayed and broke, while their white bones dissolved like melted ice, leaving behind trails of white aura.
But not even the strong acid was able to stop these chaos monsters, they just turned around and attacked the target in front of them once more.
"We can't stop them, Angelina!"
Gazing at the dark elves that were gradually retreating, Nell frowned, turned to look at Angelina, and yelled. Upon hearing her words, Angelina gnashed her teeth. But her blood-red eyes revealed an unwavering look.
"You must stop them even if you can't! There's a beacon tower right behind us. If our defense crumbles, who knows what these creatures will do to it. Now that the entire Dragon Soul Continent has entered the plane channel, if the beacon tower is destroyed, the continent will be in grave danger. Do you want to let your master's efforts go to waste?"
"I..."
Upon hearing Angelina's response, Nell had nothing more to say.
Although Nell was also Rhode's subject, there was a difference between her and Angelina. Even though Nell followed Rhode's orders as well, she was more inclined to defend herself in times of danger. But Angelina was different. She knew very well that her position and future depended entirely on the strength of her efforts to please Rhode, which explained why she never spared any effort to carry out his orders. To put it bluntly, Angelina spared no effort to flatter him, seeking to do her best at all times. This way, she could raise her rank and obtain a higher status and power.
For that reason, Angelina would do everything even at the cost of her life.
Although her objective was overly utilitarian, Angelina could be said to be in a realm of her own to be willing to lose her life over it.
But fortunately, Angelina wasn't the kind of person who was blinded by fame and fortune and didn't know what was beneficial for her. Hence, after realizing that the defenses on her side would most likely crumble, she informed Rhode instantly through the spiritual communication. She also knew very well when to be greedy for merit and when to report the situation immediately. If the beacon tower were destroyed, perhaps Mini Bubble Gum would demolish her before Rhode could... Well, Angelina wanted to live longer, after all.
"I've already informed Master. I think he'll have a solution! Get up there! Keep these damn creatures out of the second level of defense at all cost!"
"Got it!"
The underground defenses were built by a combination of dwarves and players, and played a considerable role in defending against Chaos's attacks. In fact, the underground experienced the least penetrations from Chaos as Order was most stable there. The dwarves' construction skills were also great enough to withstand the attacks.
Moreover, the underground had limited space, unlike on the surface where Chaos could attack from all directions. That was why Nell and Angelina were calm when facing the Chaos creatures. But now, with the appearance of the bizarre, mutated Chaos creatures, they couldn't remain calm any longer.
The mutated Chaos creatures were even more terrifying than they had imagined. They had the advantages of Chaos and Order, could think, and would even use ways to evade the attacks of Angelina and the rest. In fact, Angelina and the rest had a hard time resisting their attack until now.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of roars echoed and the earth trembled. Angelina puckered her brows and soon, she witnessed the roof of the cave in the distance collapsing. Chunks of rock fell and flooded the swamp of strong acid that was created after a long struggle. And in the midst of the flying dust, the dark creatures pounced again.
"Damn it..."
Looking at this scene, Angelina couldn't help but stomp her foot in rage. She lacked manpower. The dark elves weren't good at attacking head-on, and the number of players on her side were too few. The only thing they could rely on now was the barrier built by the dwarves to withstand the assaults. But Angelina didn't expect the mutated Chaos creatures to be so cunning to come up with countermeasure so quickly... And just as she gnashed her teeth and about to give her orders, suddenly, an arm reached out from behind her and held her shoulder.
"All right, Angelina, you've done well. Leave the rest to me."
"Master!"
Upon hearing Rhode's voice, Angelina turned around and looked at him in surprise. Upon sensing her gaze, Rhode nodded at her.
"You've done well. Now, I want you and Nell to lead the rest and leave this place immediately. But none of you will use your abilities. You can only run out on your two feet! Got it? Remember, you can't use your abilities, and you should never blend into the ground!"
"Yes, Master."
Although Rhode's order was a little strange, Angelina nodded quickly and gestured to Nell. The two of them turned around and left quickly. And soon after, the deep sound of the bugle reverberated. The dark elves who fought on the front lines scattered and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving behind the players who stood on top of the walls built by the dwarves to fend off the Chaos creatures. In fact, the players were the main force. After all, the power of the dark elves and dwarves wouldn't be enough to deal with the mutated Chaos creatures.
"Okay... Let's get started. This is the final battle."
After ensuring that Angelina and the rest had evacuated, Rhode took a glance around him. At that moment, he stood on the last barrier around the beacon tower. At a glance, one could see the steep mountain walls on both sides, and the entire fortress looked as if it were suspended from a giant chandelier with only one side connecting to the path outside—only dwarves possessed such ingenious craftsmanship.
To Rhode, though, it was nothing to marvel at.
"The final battle..."
Rhode mumbled under his breath and stretched out his hand. Soon after, along with his action, a floating, glowing green card appeared between his fingers. And at the same time, he closed his eyes. The back of his right hand emanated a burst of dazzling white light. The summoning ritual flickered and rotated constantly with him as the center. Then, the other nine holy sword cards appeared in pillars of light.
Unlike before, this time, they didn't show up in their card form, but turned into pillars of light the moment they emerged and fused into the card between his fingers. Not only that, but at the same time, those players, who stood on the walls and fended off the attacks of the mutated Chaos creatures also vanished one by one. It was as if they shattered like bubbles and disappeared, forming a colorful magical brilliance that flew towards Rhode's direction and fused into his body.
These players relied on Rhode's power to manifest and were completely different from phantom guardians. And now, they regained their original power and returned to his body once again.
"———"
The air became heavy, and even the mutated Chaos creatures that were attacking wildly earlier came to a standstill, looked at one another and the young man in the distance with fear and confusion. They felt like something wasn't quite right. The land surrounding them didn't seem to be as stable and kind as it was a moment ago. On the contrary, it seemed to have turned into a meat grinder, as if revealing its razor-sharp teeth of steel, in an attempt to tear apart the prey before them.
And it was at that moment that Rhode opened his eyes.
He extended his right arm forward, stretched out his fingers, and clenched them hard. And with this action, the green card shattered and emanated a strange glow, before coalescing between his fingers again, transforming into a strange weapon—a scythe.
At a glance, the scythe didn't seem extraordinary. It had a long hilt and a curved, crescent-shaped blade that shone with an icy-cold light. The breath of death coalesced into a substantial chilliness that lingered by the edge of the blade, and even its vivid colors were now dull. The instant this scythe was unsheathed, it was as if everything in the world had come to an end. Everything lost its vitality and could only tremble and wait for the arrival of the moment of final extinction.
Squeal————!
At that moment, the mutated Chaos creatures sensed that some kind of danger was approaching. They cried out frantically while retreating as fast as they could. This retreat had nothing to do with a battle strategy. Instead, it was an instinct from the depths that warned themselves that an existence they couldn't resist against was about to show its unprecedented power. The only thing they could do was to flee.
"Looks like the aura of death is rather useful. But unfortunately, I don't intend to let you leave."
Along with those words from Rhode, a bright, dazzling golden glow shone in the dark cavern. The flat, uninspiring rocks had as if turned into diamonds, while the soil seemed like it had turned into shining gold. The dim underground changed colors all of a sudden, and the mutated Chaos creatures were horrified to find their power diminishing quickly, so much so that their speed also slowed down! The Chaos creatures that looked like ghostly apparitions before were now as if shackled and could do nothing at all.
But all of this was meaningless to Rhode. He faced the void in front of him and stared at the end of the glowing light.
Meanwhile, on the surface, the other four Creator Dragons—the twin dragons, Lillian, and Erin—infused their pure dragon soul powers into the earth, dispelling the mutants that were attempting to contaminate and assimilate. At the same time, the four Creator Dragons forced out the creatures that were hidden in the shadows back into the illuminating light. The dragon soul powers stretched out in all directions, and eventually, came into contact with the dead that hid in the deepest depths of darkness.
"———!"
Miserable and blood-curdling screams reverberated in the underground. But Rhode, who heard the scream, only looked slightly moved. He held the scythe in his hands, raised it high, and gazed ahead calmly. Soon after, he swung his arms downward along with the icy-cold light on the curved blade.
At the next moment, the earth crumbled.
On both of his sides, the steep cliffs shattered and a long trail of cracks fissured from the top to bottom through the underground ceiling, thick ground, and steep stone walls. The earth shook. Right in front of him, a dark abyss emerged from the flat ground that was torn apart.
If one looked from afar, one would see that the earth beneath the Dragon Soul Continent was cut open entirely as if a knife were used to slice through the bottom layer of a cream cake. The ground crumbled. Rocks fell from above and even debris the size of a mountain tumbled into the plane channel, before being engulfed by the twisting and shattering void storm.
"———!"
The high-pitched screams grew louder, but Rhode was unmoved. He held the scythe in his hands and stared quietly at the scene before him. The mutated Chaos creatures had to be annihilated. That was why he would rather cut off nearly one-fifth of the Dragon Soul Continent to ensure its overall safety. Soon, the shattered earth disappeared before his eyes, and in its place was an empty void, where shining beams of light flowed from both sides like rivers.
For Rhode, however, what he was focused on at that moment was the monster beneath the earth that resembled a giant fetus. Its body was entirely pitch-black, while its pair of scarlet eyes blinked continuously. Like the Chaos Core, countless blood vessel-like parts unfolded the fetus's body, deeply implanted into the Dragon Soul Continent. However, they were already shredded. The power of death had ended its life, bringing them to the end of eternity.
This was the difference between pure Chaos and mutated Chaos. If it were pure Chaos, Rhode wouldn't be able to deal with it in any way because Order was an unnecessary existence to Chaos. On the other hand, mutated Chaos was entirely different because it implied some sort of Order. Indeed, mutated Chaos could rely on such traits to erode Order. But in turn, Rhode could also use it to destroy them.
At that moment, that terrifying and ugly monster reached out fearfully and grabbed at Rhode in desperation. But of course, it didn't catch anything.
"No———"
"This is it. The war between us... has ended."
Rhode's expression remained unchanged in the face of its struggle. He raised his hands again and swung them down.
At the next moment, the dark, rotten fetus tumbled and fell, disappearing entirely at the end of time and space.
And it was at that moment that Rhode closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
It finally ended.
The war between Chaos and Order had come to an end.
And for Rhode, a new life was just about to begin.
| ← Ch. 1379 | Ch. 1381 (e) → |