novelHoly Sword Barrier
| ← Ch.1361 | Ch.1363 → |
Rhode didn't comment much on the matter. Just like every other ruler who traveled incognito, they had to return home after his identity was revealed, while leaving the rest of the matter to court. This time, however, Rhode left Lillian behind and went to investigate what exactly was going on. This could also be considered an attempt for him to keep Lillian occupied before the great war.
He was certain that Chaos would launch a counterattack against the Dragon Soul Continent along with the unfolding of the Holy Sword Barrier. However, he didn't want any more troubles in his hinterland and this was a good opportunity for Lillian to gain experience.
Even though she was no longer the ruler of the Country of Light, she more or less needed to get her emotional intelligence up. When she was on the run with Sonia earlier, she got into a huge trouble as she was at too great a disadvantage in terms of human interaction. If it weren't for Rhode who came to her rescue, the mighty Light Dragon would probably have been betrayed by a common town guard.
On the other hand, Rhode also didn't teach her any sneaky tricks, but it was always good to have a little more practice. After all, there was a proverb that went 'refrain from hurting others, yet guard against those trying to hurt you'.
Of course, Rhode won't leave Lilian behind alone. Apart from Sonia who would help her, as usual, Icy Snow would temporarily be responsible for her side of the work. Besides, Rhode also hoped that Lillian wouldn't simply investigate and retaliate. She must learn that in any time of war, there would always be screw-ups in the rear, which was why he asked her to manage its 'stability and unity'. Even if riots or conflicts were to occur, with the power of the Light Dragon, she could eradicate them in a matter of minutes, saving Rhode from having to deploy other forces.
Lillian nodded in agreement to this assignment by Rhode. Although she didn't like political dealings, this time in front of Rhode and Christie, she managed to hold her ground after being challenged by the captain of the guards. As Rhode mentioned, she was the Light Dragon, after all.
Even though she used to be a mascot, she sat on the throne in Casabianca and wrestled with the Light Parliament. She just couldn't accept being fooled by the guards. Hence, she patted her chest, which was just beginning to develop, and vowed to Rhode that she would find out who was behind the trouble.
Looking at her action, Rhode was a little afraid that she used too much force that would sink her chest in... However, it was good that she was so attentive. No matter what, he had no intention of letting her stay idle forever either. This was a crucial moment and everyone would have to contribute for the future of the Dragon Soul Continent, wouldn't they?
The reason why they left Icy Snow behind was because she was obedient, sensible, and worked well with Sonia. This was also the reason why Rhode had no plan to ask Mini Bubble Gum over. If she were here, perhaps she would cause even more trouble with that personality of hers that was motivated by a desire to see the world in chaos. Thus, after some consideration, Rhode decided to let Icy Snow stick around, while leaving Mini Bubble Gum to continue showing her passion in the front line.
After taking care of the internal matters, Rhode led Christie and Bell back to Grandia. And this time, he would be starting the final activation of the Holy Sword Barrier. After all, Karin's problem was solved entirely. She was a holy sword spirit, and her sub-personalities shared consciousness with her core. She was aware of what Rhode had done in the mental world and acknowledged his strength completely. The previous strife they had with each other was no longer there.
Rhode had to admit that with regards to such a 'creative project', only a local tyrant like his younger sister was most effective in its management. When she first created the Holy Sword Barrier, she had everything planned out. In fact, what Rhode was doing now was basically the same as what she had planned in the earliest days: build beacon towers to unite the power of the Door of Akasha.
In that case, when the beacon towers were activated, they would be the first to be attacked by Chaos. And when that happened, the Holy Sword Barrier was essential to protect the beacon towers in all regions. The Holy Sword Barrier would use the combination of the 10 cards that were almost equal to a complete integration of the entire Order rules in the Dragon Soul Continent into one. When Chaos attacked the beacon towers, the power of the holy sword card spirits would explode, helping the defenders of the beacon towers resist Chaos's attack.
Previously, Rhode failed to harmonize the balance between the holy sword cards. But now, after wandering in their mental worlds, his relationship with them improved greatly. Not only did the card spirits that were previously on good terms with him have a better relationship with him, but the card spirits that were on average terms with him also became significantly closer to him.
Seems like... Those trips to their mental world weren't entirely useless.
"I suppose all of you are ready?"
Looking at the card spirits in front of him, the corners of Rhode's mouth curled up in a smile. After getting through the previous challenge, the next and final step was to activate the Holy Sword Barrier. Rhode had given orders for all fronts to be prepared to counter Chaos's invasion. And now that the front lines that Erin, Lydia, Nell, Mini Bubble Gum, and the rest were in charge of were completely in place, the only thing left was for him to expand the Holy Sword Barrier and activate the Door of Akasha.
Celia's behavior wasn't much different from usual. But compared to the formerly serious and principled battle angel, her expression seemed more laid-back and relaxed and didn't seem to be as serious and tragic as before as if she were always sacrificing herself for the world. Upon hearing Rhode's question, Celia smiled and nodded in response.
"Yes, Master. We are ready."
"That's right, Master. Even though I don't know what you've done, we're all feeling pretty good right now."
At the same time, Celestina leaped to his side like a kitten, reaching out her hands to grab his arm in an affectionate manner and whispering in his ear. Perhaps Celestina didn't notice yet, but he realized that she was behaving exactly the same as the little Celestina in her mental world.
On the contrary, Gracier and Madaras stood quietly beside each other, looking at Rhode hand-in-hand and nodding slightly as a response. There was really nothing more that he could do about this pair of sisters. Their problems couldn't be solved through a single trip to the mental world, which was an issue with the profession Carlesdine itself. If he wished for them to return to their ordinary daily lives, it would require depriving them of their abilities as Carlesdines. But based on the current situation, it was clearly something that couldn't be done.
"I assure you, Master, that nothing will go wrong."
The one who changed the most among the card spirits was Shira. At that moment, the undead puppet was completely devoid of its previous insanity. After the core personality was freed from her self-imposed captivity, she was as though reborn a brand new person. Not only were her clothes no longer tattered, but her disheveled hair also became silky-smooth and neatly-combed. She didn't look any different from the missy that Rhode met in her mental world.
As expected, the rest were also bewildered by the dramatic change in her. But despite that, they behaved pretty calmly and Rhode could also see that some of them were glad of the 'positive changes' in Shira. Just like what he expected, all the card spirits knew how Shira used to be like in the past and were concerned about her madness. But now, after she restored her usual self, they were undoubtedly happy for her.
As for Little Five and Catherine, they didn't say a word. But when Rhode saw Catherine holding bags of snacks in her arms and also feeding Little Five, he knew that there wasn't a need for him to comment anything... Perhaps not every card spirit had subjective consciousness about the things that happened in the mental world, but it would still make drastic changes in how they themselves felt.
At this thought, Rhode took a deep breath, gathered the complicated thoughts, closed his eyes, and once again rethought the activation of the Holy Sword Barrier. Over the past few days, he calculated several times on how it should be activated. But even so, when it came to the actual moment, he still felt tremendous pressure on his shoulders.
Because this wasn't just a mission for him, but it also involved the life and death of the Dragon Soul Continent. Hence, he pondered repeatedly. But this time, what the others didn't know was that apart from the activation of the Holy Sword Barrier that occupied his mind, the problem about fleeing in case of failure was also a huge issue. Although he was responsible for the Dragon Soul Continent, it didn't mean that he would live and die with it.
On the contrary, he was the typical representative of 'where there's life there's hope'. And strictly speaking, the Dragon Soul Continent wasn't the place where he was born and raised, so he wouldn't be so foolish as to lose his life over it. In fact, he had prepared himself. If he failed in the end, he would take Lillian, Lydia, Erin, and the other higher-ups, as well as loyal subordinates like Angelina and Nell and flee directly. The worst case scenario was to escape to the solar system and find a random planet to live in.
Since he had the power of the seven deity wardens and Creator Dragons on his side, there was nothing they couldn't do, wasn't it? Not to mention building another Dragon Soul Continent out of thin air, what would be so difficult for him to hollow out Mars and transform it into a Sith Empire? At the very most, he could find some ways to gain money, before buying another Death Star from Stefania... Come to think of it, the plane merchant seemed to also have a whole set of fleets ready to be sold to him at a discount...
But now, Rhode couldn't count on Stefania. Plane merchants wouldn't commit themselves until success was certain. And now, things hadn't even begun to take shape yet. Of course, if he were willing to trade a beautiful woman for it, Stefania would surely welcome with open arms. But whether he was willing or not was another matter.
"Let's begin..."
After a moment of silence, Rhode shook his head and put behind him the scene of five Creator Dragons flaunting in space with an imperial fleet. It was just too awkward to look at a scene that didn't seem scientific or magical in the slightest. Of course, he could still fantasize about it later. But if he didn't activate the Holy Sword Barrier now, there wouldn't even be a future to speak of.
At this thought, Rhode opened his eyes and extended his right hand.
"———!"
Along with his action, a dazzling summoning ritual flashed on the back of his hand. Soon after, light pillars rose up into the sky and enveloped the holy sword spirits. The holy sword spirits within the light pillars closed their eyes tightly and hovered quietly in midair. And at that moment, a line of long-lost system prompts appeared in front of Rhode's eyes.
[Holy Sword Card Deck completed. Activating special skill—Holy Sword Barrier]
Swish———!
The moment this line of system prompt appeared in front of Rhode's eyes, the 10 light pillars coalesced into 10 spheres of light. And almost instantaneously, the holy sword spirits encased in the light pillars returned to their original card form and dispersed in rapid succession to form three triangular magical rituals. At the top were Catherine, Little Five, and Celia. In the middle were Dona, Gracier, and Madaras. At the bottom were Eleanor, Shira, and Celestina.
As the three layers of magical rituals spun, the atmosphere around them turned heavy. Soft, dazzling golden light of the sun emanated, intertwining and reflecting a vibrant hue of green that was full of vitality, while below them, shadows like a dark tide surged unceasingly.
But it was no longer just a problem in front of Rhode at the moment. Along with the eruption of the card spirits, the sky darkened. Thunder and bolts of lightning roared within the clouds from time to time. Blustering winds rose from the ground and swirled into the clouds. The land trembled as if the world was coming to an end, so much so that civilians in various regions were bewildered after witnessing these bizarre, heavenly phenomena.
It was especially so for the people of the Country of Light, where they knelt on their knees in fear and prayed for the blessing of the dragons. It wasn't too long ago when the angered Lilian erupted her dragon soul power which led to the disasters that devoured the Country of Light. But now, who angered the Light Dragon again?
[Holy Sword Barrier Infusion Progress——65%——66%——67%]
Rhode didn't pay any attention to the surreal phenomena at all. Instead, he stared at the progress bar that was inched forward slowly, at the same time heightening his senses to the extreme as a Void Dragon. He sensed that the Chaos surrounding the Dragon Soul Continent also realized the abnormal situation inside the continent. And now, Chaos was bubbling like boiling water. He believed that in a short while, as soon as Chaos realized the seriousness of the situation, it would swarm and attack the Dragon Soul Continent on all fronts. If Rhode couldn't open up the Holy Sword Barrier by then, he would have to lose quite a bit of manpower.
[89%——90%——91%]
"Leader! Chaos is about to attack! They're opening the gaps!"
Upon hearing Mini Bubble Gum's report, Rhode's heart sank immediately. However, he gnashed his teeth and didn't give an order.
As long as the Holy Sword Barrier is activated, based on this progress it should be able to envelop the entire Dragon Soul Continent before the all-out war begins... As long as the Holy Sword Barrier is activated...
At this thought, Rhode also sensed that Chaos was attempting to break through the defenses of Order and launch attacks on the Dragon Soul Continent. But now, he had no other way. This situation was like a player who built a fortress in the game. Due to the lack of offensive power, he could only hide in the fortress and take a beating, while watching the durability value of the fortress decrease. All he could hope for was to upgrade the fortress faster than the speed of the fortress's decreasing durability, praying that the upgrade was completed before the fortress's destruction. This was the same for Rhode. Although he was under a lot of pressure, the infusion of the Holy Sword Barrier forced him to hold on.
"Tsk!"
It was at that moment when Rhode sensed that Chaos broke through the Order barrier in more than one area. The Chaos creatures passed through the Order barrier and were about to attack!
[98%——99%——100%]
[Holy Sword Barrier Injection Complete. Please activate the core module]
Finally!
Upon witnessing the flash of information in front of him, Rhode was relieved. He extended his arm abruptly and grabbed the pure white card floating before him silently. And along with this action, the [Heart Piercer] shattered into light dust. Tens of thousands rays of light erupted from it as if they were guiding light that extended in all directions. At the same time, the other nine holy sword cards that were constantly spinning suddenly transformed into nine light pillars, flying in all directions, and disappearing into the sky in the blink of an eye.
"Whew..."
Rhode let out a long breath. The sweat on his back soaked his clothes. But now, he couldn't care less about that. Because the moment the nine holy sword cards flew away, he sensed that Chaos also realized the problem and launched their deranged attack on the Dragon Soul Continent!
| ← Ch. 1361 | Ch. 1363 → |