In the end, the dragon soul heirs voted unanimously to approve Rhode’s proposal. After all, this was indeed a great opportunity for them. With the testimonies of Lydia and Erin, who had been to that world, Lillian, Siena, and Nalea were full of fantasy and imagination. They could never imagine a world without Chaos, but now that there was a chance to be free of Chaos forever, there was no way they would let this opportunity go.
But they had to make a lot of sacrifices.
According to Rhode’s plan, in order to perfect the transmigration process, theDragon Soul Continent had to build three layers of defensive barriers in order to stop Chaos from infiltrating. The outermost two layers would ultimately be given up. It was imaginable that Chaos would do everything they could to stop the transmigration of the Dragon Soul Continent. Currently, the Dragon Soul Continent wasn’t strong enough to defend against the invasion of Chaos. Therefore, Rhode’s solution was to construct three layers of protection to defend against their attack. As soon as one protection layer was dominated by Chaos, Rhode would abandon it without any hesitation. It was just like earthlings sending satellites into space. When the rocket of the ‘Dragon Soul Continent’ was ‘fired into space’, it was a matter of discarding parts that were redundant and dangerous to the situation, leaving only the core.
This was equally dangerous for the Dragon Soul Continent because according to the calculations of the dragon soul heirs, they had to give up millions of square kilometers of the continent. In comparison to Earth, it was like the size of several countries. The remaining land would be the core regions connecting the Country of Light, Country of Darkness, Country of Law, Void Territory, and Munn Kingdom. When that happened, the dragon soul heirs would unleash the maximum power of their dragon soul protections to protect the land so as to resist the spatial turbulence.
At the same time, this would be one of the largest migrations in the history of the Dragon Soul Continent. Under the lead of the dragon soul heirs, most people living by the borders would be forced to relocate to central areas of the Void Territory and Munn Kingdom. The undead creatures would also need to abandon the defensive line that they ran for years and evacuate to safety. The elves and angels would be responsible for handling migration. Rhode’s magic fleet and the Munn Kingdom’s floating magic warships would undoubtedly serve as transportation vehicles.
Of course, not everyone would be willing to leave their homes and for that, Rhode wouldn’t force them. Everyone had their own ambitions. If they were willing to die on the land they grew up on, so be it. Besides… They could also more or less obstruct the progression of Chaos, so it could be considered as waste utilization.
Everything worked out well, but eventually turned into a mess as people got busier. Most people didn’t know what exactly they were facing. The only thing they knew was that this was an extraordinary project. They were forced to leave their hometown and land to head to an unfamiliar territory to lead their lives. Merchants were gathered to transfer food and materials from their warehouses to the core region in order to standby for crises. On the other hand, elite teams were dispatched to strong fortresses and city walls to build tall, pitch-black, triangular towers. Almost all the strong ones were gathered and mobilized in order to deal with the ambush of Chaos. Perhaps when the Creator Dragons attacked, the strong ones could remain indifferent and watch from the sidelines, but now that they were implicated, they naturally couldn’t watch the fires burning across the river anymore. No matter if they were willing or not, they had to contribute their strength for the lands. It was especially so after they heard that they would leave the encirclement of Chaos forever and head into a safer world. Even the races that stood aloof from worldly affairs also agreed to partake in this unprecedented war.
But even so, it still wasn’t enough.
The brightly lit hall was shrouded in a heavy atmosphere. Before the gorgeous, wooden round table, almost all the representatives of each race and leaders of organizations came together in preparation for the upcoming battle. But it was a pity that almost none of the news they brought was good.
“Judging from the news from the defensive lines, the situation doesn’t seem optimistic.”
Siena tossed the intelligence on the table, lifted her head, and gazed at everyone.
“Everyone, what do you think?”
“We’re trying our best.”
Clad in a pitch-black, leather armor, a dark elf with fair skin and long hair was the first to respond: Nell. She had become the supreme queen of Carlesodar City. As the first ruler of the dark elves in history who was unable to cast magical spells, she controlled the top 10 dark elf families in the underground world.
“Dwarves and bugbears have joined our lineup. But according to the current progress, we need another half month to complete the construction of the final defensive circle and activate the coordinates tower. Even though we have given our all, frankly speaking, we don’t have enough manpower. Honestly, even if we finished building the defensive circle, I’m not sure if we have enough manpower to patrol and defend against the invasion of Chaos.”
“It’s not only you, dark-skins! Us, dwarves, are the same!”
Along with the loud quarrels, a dwarf who wore a set of heavy armor and looked like a walking can waved his arms in displeasure. He tried to express himself, but his short arms fluttered in the air for a few seconds, before smacking onto and shaking the whole round table.
“Us have no intention of getting involved in this mess! But since it has begun, it must be completed to the best of our ability! But us, dwarves, have limited manpower. Your massive plans require many more hands. Us are experienced in construction, but it is an entirely different matter for other areas! Anyway, if there isn’t enough manpower to fight against Chaos, don’t expect me to bring my wife and kids into battle!”
The King Dwarf glared at the ice-cold figure who blended into the shadow on the other end of the table.
“If I were to say, the undead creatures are more suitable for the job, aren’t they?”
“Ha, ha… I think you may have misunderstood, ruler of the dwarves.”
An old voice rang out as though it burrowed out of the grave, dropping the temperature in the entire conference room to below zero. The skeleton figure who wore an elegant robe lifted his head. Ice-cold, spiritual glints danced inside his pitch-black eye sockets. Skin as pale as paper wrapped his skeleton body, making it seem unsettling. The King Lich gripped the crystal staff and answered with a chuckle.
“There is also a limit to spiritual techniques. We can summon the dead and give them a second chance of life and stronger power. Time is the biggest test for undead creatures. Only those who passed the test will be able to possess stronger power. But it is a pity that even though we can produce undead creatures on a large scale, we can’t bestow upon them power comparable to Chaos… It is only after they have been through thousands of years of honing that they become unique. Judging from this, we don’t have as much freedom and potential as mortals.”
The King Lich said, shifting his gaze to beside him.
“If I recall correctly, recently the number of darkness dependents increased by quite a lot…”
“You must be kidding, King Lich.”
Facing the King Lich, a young lady who was clad in a scarlet, gothic dress twitched her brows—the Scarlet Princess. Angelina smiled and responded in a casual tone.
“I suppose you’re as clear as me on the reproduction technique of vampires. If it weren’t for Her Majesty Erin’s order, I also wouldn’t resort to this. Descendants bearing the power of vampires need a period of time to grasp their own strength. Even though the possibility of them becoming stronger is much higher than the lowly undead creatures, it is still impossible for them to grow so much stronger that they can defend against the invasion of Chaos in such a short time.”
“Elves are equally powerless in this area… In the previous battle, we lost too many of them. Although we sought help from orcs and fairies, in this current situation, no one knows how long we can resist Chaos for.”
Corina let out a sigh and said in a helpless tone. She glared at the great lich seated opposite her. It was apparent that even though it wasn’t the ‘true’ undead creatures that ambushed the Elf Forest, the elves still didn’t have any favorable impressions of undeads that defied and existed against the laws of nature.
“Us, Silver Northern Expeditionary Force, will always stand on the forefront against Chaos!”
Clad in a silver-whitish armor, a middle-aged man carrying a longsword on his back said. He swept a glance at the group like a bolt of lightning.
“My subjects and I will fight until the very end. We will defend against Chaos with our lives until the plan succeeds! Unless conscience and justice no longer exist, we will never give up!”
“Voices can’t fill stomachs, Sir Knight.”
A Naga spoke in her snake-like voice. She slithered and leaned back on the chair. Her tail trembled constantly, showing the restlessness of its owner.
“Even though my brave warriors can walk on land, they can not leave the waters for long! Besides, we need to stand guard in case Chaos infiltrates the sea! If they enter our world through maelstroms, it will be a tough challenge for us! The seal at the bottom of the sea and coordinates tower are our priority! Do you have any opinion?”
“About that, the water elemental lord is willing to provide assistance.”
Agatha’s voice sounded as plain as usual. The wriggling tentacles on her remained as slow and relaxed as ever, as though she weren’t mindful of what was happening or about to happen. As this plan implicated the four main elemental planes and Seven Fantasy Boundaries, Rhode had also sent representatives out to negotiate. As Gillian was the fire elemental lord, the fire elemental plane was easily settled. Meanwhile, Agatha was responsible for representing the water elemental plane. Rhode requested the Sky Whale’s help to negotiate with the air elemental plane. As for the earth elemental plane, he handed the job to the Queen Elf. After all, elves were talented in this aspect.
“Seems like this is all the information we can gather for now.”
Lydia forced a smile. Even though this meeting was a little chaotic, almost everyone’s doubts surrounded two issues. First, the lack of manpower to face the upcoming Chaos army. Second, there also wasn’t enough manpower to defend the enormous defensive circle, which made them suspect if the defense was necessary.
“I wonder what His Majesty Rhode thinks. He did promise to provide us sufficient and powerful forces…”
“…”
Along with Nalea’s remark, the entire conference room fell into a strange silence. As a matter of fact, the reason why everyone was willing to partake in this huge construction project was because Rhode promised to provide strong forces to defend their regions. Even though he was the Void Dragon and had to keep his promise, the leaders and representatives present either flew in the air, climbed trees, crawled on ground, or swam in water. It could also be said that the subordinates under them made up 80 to 90 percent of the continent’s strength. Now that they had a lack of manpower, where would Rhode go to seek help? Besides, why was he so certain that he could recruit that many people? This time, their enemy was going to be Chaos creatures. Not only was there a high demand in terms of quantity, but also in terms of strength, which couldn’t be easily achieved.
Rhode didn’t join this meeting. While everyone debated about the present and future of the Dragon Soul Continent, Rhode, his younger sister, Lilian, and Christie arrived at the palace in the Land of Atonement—the Astral Temple.
“… Christie said… She will open up the… path to the Astral Temple… when the battle begins… and awaken the heroic spirits in this world… to fight against Chaos…”
Christie held Rhode’s hand tightly and said with a gentle smile. Upon hearing her words, Rhode nodded and stroked her long hair.
“Well done, Christie. With the help of the heroic spirits, our hopes of protecting the Dragon Soul Continent will become much bigger.”
But, this still isn’t enough…
“Have you decided, Big Brother?”
The younger sister standing on his other side asked softly.
“You need to know that if you do that, your power will also be weakened, Big Brother. Even though we have indeed gathered reliable information, it requires a lot of energy to manifest them all. If you’ve decided to do that, your strength will fall to its original level.”
“It doesn’t matter. If I can hold back Chaos on my own, I wouldn’t need the help of so many people. Besides…”
Rhode said and revealed a proud smile.
“You should be aware of that, my sister. It isn’t my first time defeating that newbie, Ion…”
“That’s right, Leader!”
Mini Bubble Gum and Canary who followed at the back nodded slightly. The former swung her fist and yelled.
“Let’s get to work; gather all our power and show that fool our true strength!”
“You’re right.”
Upon hearing Rhode’s answer, the younger sister covered her mouth and chuckled. Rhode shrugged, lifting his head and gazing forward. At that moment, Lesa, who donned a long robe and held a golden scepter, sauntered out of the temple. She went up to Rhode and gave a solemn bow.
“Welcome to the Astral Temple, Master. Have you decided to summon the heroic spirits?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then, please show me the spiritual proof.”
Upon hearing Rhode’s answer, Lesa lifted her head and gazed at the young man with a pair of beautiful, azure eyes. Rhode looked at her expression and the corners of his mouth perked up into an odd smile. Then, he extended his right arm. Along with this action, an incredibly powerful strength coalesced in his palm. A golden card appeared in his hand. Looking at the card, Lesa was slightly surprised. Despite that, she stretched her hand out quickly and accepted the card, before her eyes glinted in a bright flash.
“———Confirmed. Spiritual Proof———Rhode———About to enter summoning mode…”
Lesa announced, coming to a pause. Then, she looked at Rhode and asked again.
“Do you confirm to use this card as a medium and summon the heroic spirits?”
“Yes.”
“…”
After receiving Rhode’s answer, Lesa closed her eyes and extended her arm. Shortly after, the card flickering in a golden radiance erupted in a bright, dazzling brilliance. At the next moment, as though resonating with the brilliance, a golden light column burst into the sky from the Astral Temple!
The glaring light column forced everyone to narrow their eyes. Rhode stood on the spot and stared at the glowing temple. Shortly after, in the golden light column, figures appeared one after another, from tens, to hundreds, to thousands… to many more…!
The figure at the forefront raised the arm high and waved at Rhode.
“Master, we’re here to help!”
Upon hearing the voice, Rhode revealed a relaxed smile. He looked ahead and ordered.
“Everyone, get ready to open up the land!”
