“Yo, Leader, we’re here!”
Along with the energetic greeting, Mini Bubble Gum strolled out of the fog as Canary followed closely behind her. After a few moments, the rest also arrived one after another. As members of Rhode’s elite squad, every one of them possessed solid strength, so no one was sacrificed when they sneaked around the Chaos army. In just a few breaths, all elite members were gathered, arriving behind Rhode and standing by to go.
“Seems like everyone is fast on their feet, huh.”
Looking at this scene, Mini Bubble Gum couldn’t help but blow a whistle. She squinted and scanned the fog casually.
“Huh, why isn’t Little Icy here? Don’t tell me she was killed? How pitiful. Back then, I knew Little Icy shouldn’t have chosen the archer class. Sigh, perhaps her ‘corpse’s still warm’… What a tragedy. I knew she had a poor sense of direction…”
“You used that proverb wrong, Bubble. Besides, I’ve been here for a long time!”
Upon hearing Bubble’s clearly provocative speech, Icy Snow couldn’t help but speak up for herself. She stood at the back of the group, peered out, and glared at Bubble. The instant Bubble detected her gaze, she let out a chuckle and lifted her head proudly.
“Oh, really? I used that wrong on purpose. You can’t blame me for being so short that I couldn’t notice you in the crowd. A primary school student should look like one. Wouldn’t it be all good if you stood in the first row obediently? I can’t even see you at the back. Oh, right, you’re only capable of releasing arrows, so perhaps you will be killed straight away if you stand in the first row. Come to think of it, whose *ss did you follow this time to get here? The battlefield is so huge, you would have been lost if no one led you.”
“You…!”
Icy Snow’s cat ears and tail perked up instantly upon hearing Bubble’s words. At that moment, the quiet group behind them burst into cheers.
“Oh-oh-oh! It has begun! The battle of the two most adorable, elite mascots! Place your bets! Who do you think will win this?!”
“I’ll bet on Bubble. That little fella has a vicious tongue. That good little girl, Icy Snow, doesn’t stand a chance!”
“Icy Snow will win! Didn’t you see Leader standing there? They have such a close relationship. As long as Leader says the word, Bubble will shut her mouth straightaway! She doesn’t listen to anyone in the guild except for Leader! I’m sure Icy Snow will win this time! I bet 1000 gold coins!”
“Come on, come on, place your bets and don’t regret! The more you bet, the more you win! First come first serve!”
“Alright, everyone shut up.”
Gazing at the group of players placing their bets at the back, Rhode couldn’t help but force a smile. Even though he knew that these guys were merely projections, their behaviors weren’t any different from reality. As always, they enjoyed watching a bustling scene. Of course, this wasn’t the first time they gambled on such occasions. At the sight of the crowd getting more excited, Rhode had no choice but to intervene, separate the two young ladies, and give a command. Upon hearing his command, an archer in the crowd cheered loudly.
“Hahaha, Leader settled the fight! All of you guessed it wrongly! Dealer takes all!”
“Tsk, get lost! You bast*rd, scamming us of our money again! I wanted to bet on ‘Draw’ earlier!”
“Let’s go, Brothers! Let’s bash this swindler up!”
“Alright, alright, it isn’t too late to deal with him after we’re back. We gotta get ready to move out now, so cut the crap. We will all be doomed if we’re discovered by the Chaos creatures!”
Upon hearing Rhode’s words, the group broke out in a tumult, but restored peace shortly after. At that moment, Rhode nodded in satisfaction, turned around, and looked at Icy Snow. The young lady had heard him and stood beside him. However, judging from her expression, it was apparent that Mini Bubble Gum made her furious. But come to think of it…
These two fellas have always behaved this way. They still haven’t learned their lesson…
At this thought, Rhode couldn’t help but shake his head, lowered his body, and said.
“Icy Snow, can you confirm the general location?”
“Yes, Big Brother. Please give me a moment.”
Upon hearing Rhode’s question, Icy Snow nodded, opened her eyes, and looked at the empty space before her. A mysterious glint gradually flashed in her bright, pitch-black eyes. At that moment, Icy Snow’s vision had passed through time, space, and the limitations of everything, piercing straight into the deep, white fog. After more than 10 minutes, Icy Snow looked away and this time, she showed a dubious expression.
“I’ve confirmed the target, Big Brother. But… It’s strange because according to my observations, the Darkness Capital isn’t destroyed, yet it’s still standing among Chaos. Not only that, but the surrounding Chaos also seems to form a sort of peculiar coexistence as though both sides are conforming to an unique Order.”
Really?
After hearing her report, Rhode couldn’t help but feel surprised. Logically speaking, any buildings of Order would decay and break down gradually after being contaminated by Chaos. And the Darkness Capital, as a city of Order, should have been completely broken down by the erosion of Chaos a long time ago. But now, according to Icy Snow, the Darkness Capital hadn’t perished yet, but was continuing to operate in a special form of Order?
“… Let’s go.”
Rhode pondered for a few moments before shaking his head. Then, he gestured to the large group, turned around, and headed into the other side of the fog. Meanwhile, Lesa and Lapis also followed closely at the back. Shortly after, everyone’s figure seemed to become twisted within the white fog as they disappeared completely in faint afterimages.
With the Camp Reversal Badge, this time, Rhode’s group wasted no time arriving at the Darkness Capital. If they used the usual method, perhaps they would have spent a long time trudging through Chaos and arriving at the destination. But now, their bodies that were assimilated with Chaos just had to go with the flow, allowing themselves to follow the waves of Chaos and reach their destination.
A sense of dizziness struck them. When Rhode stepped onto the ground again, Lapis had already passed out with her eyes spinning. On the other hand, even though Lesa remained calm, her upright, petite body leaned in Rhode’s embrace. But even so, Lesa continued to grab her silver staff as though it were her only support.
“This is the Darkness Capital?”
After shaking his head to toss the unpleasant dizziness behind him, Rhode lifted his head and sized up the Darkness Capital. This wasn’t his first time here. In the game, as well as in this world, Rhode couldn’t be more familiar with this city of darkness. But at that moment, when Rhode looked at the Darkness Capital again, he felt extremely unfamiliar.
The entire Darkness Capital was shrouded in white fog. But what surprised him was that its buildings weren’t damaged at all, but were preserved perfectly instead. If Rhode knew that Ion had destroyed more than half this city earlier, perhaps he would be more astonished. Rhode didn’t spot a single trace of damage. Everything seemed so perfect and peaceful. But… Something didn’t feel right.
Gazing at the spots of light in the Darkness Capital, Rhode narrowed his eyes and reached for the hilt on his waist. A bizarre sense of danger surfaced from deep inside him. For some unknown reason, he felt that it was ridiculous and weird. Just like what Icy Snow mentioned, a power of Order that was entirely different from this world was unleashing its effects. This power didn’t belong to this world, but was from a world that Rhode was more familiar with…
But before that, there was another issue…
“We’re separated again… Leader…”
Mini Bubble Gum’s complaints sounded in Rhode’s head. After all, Chaos was Chaos; it was totally impossible to expect them to act according to rules like Order. Therefore, despite everyone arriving at the Darkness Capital at the same time, they were separated once again. Some were thrown outside of the city, while some were tossed into the city. Fortunately, Rhode had Lesa, the ‘signal transmitter’, with him, so he was able to contact his group. This time, apart from Lapis and Lesa who he carried in his arms, Icy Snow and 30 other players were also with him. But it was a pity that Canary and Mini Bubble Gum were separated this time. Canary seemed to be inside a library in the darkness palace, while Mini Bubble Gum was transported to a vampire tower. Not only that…
“There’s nobody around, Rhode. We didn’t spot any living or undead creatures.”
Canary was as calm as ever, but her tone of voice revealed some uncertainty. This wasn’t too surprising because the Darkness Capital was the gathering place for undead creatures. It was understandable if there weren’t any living creatures. But now, taking a glance at this enormous city and not spotting a single undead creature…? No, there wasn’t even anything that was moving.
Clang…!
At that moment, a heavy collision rang. Upon hearing that sound, Rhode’s expression changed slightly. He extended his arm and gestured. As soon as the group witnessed his hand gesture, they hid themselves in the surroundings and turned to the direction of that foreign sound.
Clang…! Clang…!
Along with what sounded like the constant clashing of steel, several dark figures appeared in the fog ahead and slowly approached Rhode’s group. After the fog dispersed, their true identities were exposed. Not only Rhode was surprised, but Lapis who stood by his side also exclaimed.
It was a team of skeleton guards. Well, this might not be the most accurate description. Judging from their appearance, they looked just like skeleton guards, where there was no flesh apart from bones. But other than that, their presence seemed more similar to robots. The bizarre-looking, robotic bodies merged perfectly with the bones! If it weren’t for the skull and limbs sticking out, perhaps Rhode wouldn’t be able to identify them.
“So that so-called weird Order is referring to this…”
Gazing at the mechanized skeletal guards marching and operating under the jets, Rhode finally understood why he felt so odd. The Darkness Capital had been contaminated by Ion entirely. But unlike the ‘original’ Chaos, the source of Chaos that influenced Ion came from Earth and was also a mutant. It wasn’t perfect Chaos, but products created through the distortion of Order. For that reason, even though the Darkness Capital was totally contaminated by Chaos, it wasn’t destroyed. On the contrary, they fused with the Darkness Capital according to Order from Earth and became like this.
Seems like the situation has become slightly more troublesome now.
At this thought, Rhode knitted his brows, turned around, and gazed at a thief at the back.
“Check out that room.”
“Got it, Leader.”
Upon hearing Rhode’s command, the thief concealed himself and shuttled across the shadows. The instant the mechanized skeletal guards turned the corner, the thief dodged their line of sight and arrived at the door on the other side. But before he extended his arm to push it open, he heard a soft unlocking of the door. The seemingly classic steel door actually slid open to both sides on its own. Then, rays of dazzling torches emanated from inside, illuminating the otherwise dark and empty house.
“What the heck!”
Looking at this scene, the flabbergasted thief cursed under his breath. But his reactions were also really quick. The moment he realized the unfavorable situation, he turned around and hid in the shadow by the corner, staring vigilantly at the door. Fortunately, it just seemed to be an empty room with no one inside. After the thief went away from the door, the lights inside extinguished once again. The steel door gradually closed and restored its peace.
“Leader, it is an automatic door!”
“It can’t be… A fully-automatic Darkness Capital? Leader, I think we should take our time. If a gatling gun were to show up, things would get hilarious.”
“Do we have hackers amongst us? Let’s find the main control unit and hack into it! Isn’t that a given? Come to think of it, do we even have a hacker-class? Would that be considered a job advancement for craftsmen or mages? Or perhaps thieves?”
“Mages, I suppose, Didn’t you see that mages were the only ones who fixed computers?”
Looking at this scene, the group around Rhode ridiculed instantly. Well, they couldn’t be blamed. After all, the Darkness Capital used to be a fantastical and gothic city. And after it was messed up by that strange source of Order, it developed in the direction of sophisticated technology. Back then, these elite players who followed Rhode had personally razed the Darkness Capital to the ground. Therefore, the moment they witnessed its dramatic changes, they laughed in an unusually joyful mood. After witnessing these ridiculous fools discussing hacking the central unit, Rhode had no choice but to interrupt them.
“Alright, cut the crap and let’s get down to business. No matter what the Darkness Capital has turned into, our goal hasn’t changed. Stick to the plan: thieves search for BOSSes. Icy Snow, Rika, and Reflective Mirror search for the plane coordinates; check how many BOSSes there are in the Darkness Capital and their locations. Remember, act cautiously. You’ve also seen it for yourself; the Darkness Capital is entirely different now. There may be some traps lying around, so watch where you’re going. The rest of you, patrol the place. Remember—speed, accuracy, and steadiness—don’t be greedy and pursue battles zealously! Do you understand?”
“Okay, Leader. Leave it to us!”
“Got it, Rhode. No problem, I’ll go get prepared.”
Upon hearing his command, the group left one after another. Up until that moment, Rhode heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Lapis.
“Lapis, you can start now. You prepared the necessities, right?”
“Y-Yes, Sir Rhode. I’m ready. G-Give me some time and I will assemble and successfully activate it.”
Facing Rhode’s question, Lapis who was curiously observing the surroundings tensed up all of a sudden. She nodded with might and extended her arm into the spatial pocket. Shortly after, she retrieved a large, oval-shaped metallic object. At a glance, it looked just like an oversize metal capsule. On its surface was a beautifully-drawn magical ritual emanating a faint golden light. This metallic object that was one-meter-long and half-a-meter-wide was locked up in a translucent, rectangular crystal box like some sort of an artwork.
But Rhode was clearly aware that this wasn’t artwork, but a weapon invented by Lapis. An epoch-marking super weapon—the Plane Destruction Bomb.
