Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Anne, activate the King’s Protection!”
Rhode commanded. Anne stood up instantly and leapt off the altar with the steel shield in her hands. The mechanical gears inside the shield cranked and the shield changed its form where a white shield emerged from within. Anne plunged it into the ground.
In the blink of an eye, countless silver lines erupted from the shield and formed a crystal-clear barrier that shrouded the altar. At the same time, Chaos Beings crashed onto the shield like menacing waves.
Boom!
Anne’s footing shook, but held on with all her might. Rhode heaved a sigh of relief.
Despite Anne’s strength, she couldn’t possibly resist that many Chaos Beings. The terrifying part about Chaos Beings was their strength. Moreover, the Chaos attribute in them would contaminate everything that they touched. If Anne got into contact with them, she would be corrupted from her body to her soul entirely. Fortunately, Anne had a trump card.
[King’s Protection (Ancient. Bronze. Fantasy)———Rule Watcher: Immune from attacks with Chaos Attribute. Resistance to Rule Attribute +100]
Rhode didn’t expect that this ancient equipment that he had gotten from the Light Parliament would have a chance to shine this soon. He initially thought that the ‘Resistance to Rule Attribute +100’ would come in handy when Anne faced magic spells and sword skills. Unless they were incredibly powerful, they wouldn’t affect Anne at all. The King’s Protection was the most useful artifact for a main tanker, which explained why Rhode had chosen it. As for the ‘Immune from attacks with Chaos Attribute’, he thought that it would only be useful in the future.
But he didn’t expect it to be effective so soon.
However, this wasn’t a long-term solution.
The Chaos Beings didn’t retreat immediately. Instead, they continued to push forward. Anne gritted her teeth and persisted. However, Rhode knew that she couldn’t hang on for too long. He had to make a decision.
What should I do next?
Rhode shifted his gaze from Gaya’s pale face to Lize who was treating her wounds, Nell who watched on expressionlessly, Christie who was unconscious, and lastly Sovann who half-knelt on the ground with his eyes shut. It was apparent that he was in the crucial moments of his ritual. But he didn’t think that Sovann would instantly possess the strength to defeat the enemies as soon as he came back to his senses.
So then, what should I do next? Should I trigger the teleportation ring as soon as Sovann returns to his senses?
Rhode gazed at the ring on his finger. However, he wasn’t sure how long Sovann would take to complete this troublesome ritual because according to his experience escorting NPCs in the game, the ritual process usually took a long, long time.
Try again after Gaya recovers her strength?
Rhode observed Anne’s pale expression. There wasn’t much time left and she couldn’t hang on for too long. The Chaos Beings had stacked themselves over half the barrier and let out disturbing ‘hisses’, at the same time twisting their disgusting-looking bodies.
Rhode couldn’t delay any further. Even though Anne could still hang on, it would be foolish of him to make a decision after she crumbled. As a guild leader, Rhode wouldn’t allow himself to commit such a mistake. It would be too late to run if the BOSS cast an AOE attack on them!
“Nell, interrupt Sovann’s ritual. We don’t have any more time. Lize, get ready. Help Miss Gaya get prepared. We’re leaving this place by teleportation!”
Rhode made his decision. Although the mission reward was precious, it seems like he was bound to fail this time. He lacked the strength to engage in another battle. At this moment, he couldn’t even summon a low-level spirit like the Spirit Bird while Gaya was also powerless. Anne couldn’t wait for them to recover their strength and Christie’s life was also at stake. Rhode couldn’t risk it anymore!
“Yes, Master!”
Nell nodded, hurriedly went up to Sovann, and stretched out her arm. However, something strange happened before she touched his shoulder.
A blue flame leapt and pounced on her. Fortunately, she dodged and retreated agilely while the blue flame extinguished upon striking the ground.
Damn!
Rhode cursed inwardly. At this moment, he swept a glance to the petite figure.
“Christie?”
Lize shrieked as Christie slowly crawled to her feet and observed everything in silence. Then, she ran up to the little girl quickly.
“You’re finally awake… Christie?”
Lize sensed that something was wrong with the little girl. At this moment, Christie looked back at her quietly with an unusual expression. Not only that, but her purple pupils also glinted in an eerie radiance.
“Christie, you…”
“I’m fine. Thank you, Lize…”
Christie smiled and turned to Rhode.
“Rhode, thanks for your help…”
“You are…”
Rhode sulked. He was familiar with that smile. But…
“You are… Christie?”
“Yes…”
That ‘Christie’ nodded lightly.
“It’s all thanks to you, Rhode. You helped me stabilize the spiritual path and now it’s my turn to help you…”
Christie slowly floated into the air. Lize widened her eyes in bewilderment. She had never seen this side of Christie. She turned to Rhode as though waiting for his answer. However, Rhode puckered his brows and gazed blankly at the floating little girl.
The instant Christie floated into the air, the Chaos Beings climbing over the barrier hurriedly fled as though sensing an omen. They let out terrifying shrieks while retreating as Christie extended her right arm.
Boom!
Countless purple lightning bolts struck out from thin air and exploded upon hitting the ground. In an instant, the Chaos door stopped operating and Gloucester’s voice sounded. This time, apart from the craziness in its voice, there was also obvious fear!
“… It’s you! Why are you here! Why!”
“Order exists forever over Chaos.”
Christie answered softly. A white paint brush emerged in her hand. Then, countless dazzling golden rays emerged before her and formed a huge empty canvas. She lifted the brush and painted all over it.
“That is…”
Rhode widened his eyes in astonishment. The painting was exactly the same as the scenery before them. The scrambling Chaos Beings, Chaos door, and this abandoned plaza. It was apparent that this Christie was a talent in painting. In only a few strokes of the brush, the entire painting had been outlined.
However, it wasn’t her talent that surprised them. Instead, the painting was moving on its own as she painted!
One by one, the Chaos Beings exploded and disappeared as an invisible force turned them into powder and erased their existence in this world. The pitch-black Chaos door also twisted, trembling before vanishing into thin air entirely.
The painting was finally completed. There weren’t any Chaos Beings or the Chaos door. There was only an empty plaza.
“No———!”
Gloucester screamed.
Rhode widened his eyes in bewilderment.
He swore with his identity as a player that he had never seen this before. As soon as Christie stopped painting, the Chaos Beings and Chaos door cracked, shattered and disappeared as though being erased from the face of this world. In the blink of an eye, they were nowhere to be seen.
“No———! This shouldn’t be how this ends! Almighty Chaos! This isn’t…”
Those were Gloucester’s last words.
Everything returned to its peacefulness with shattered rocks scattered all around the plaza and dancing flames illuminated the emptiness in this place.
Only lifeless silence existed before them.
