Rhode glided across the sky. The shimmering blade rays around him enveloped him in a perfect halo. He looked at the battlefield with a stern expression. Frankly, he wasn’t surprised that the soldiers of the Country of Light were utterly defeated. If they didn’t retreat in this bloodbath, he would be even more astonished. Besides, the quality of those soldiers was also questionable. That was why, from the start, Rhode didn’t have high expectations of them. But now… This defensive line couldn’t be abandoned. It was currently just a prelude, and if any layer of defense was lost at that point, it would be a very unsettling factor for their plans.
That was why they had to secure this defensive line at all costs.
Rhode collected his thoughts, looked up, and took his eyes off the body of the fallen skeletal dragon to the obstacle in front of him. There were about five to six skeletal dragons that attacked this defensive line. Their massive bodies erupted with a gloomy, blue spiritual fire, while black fog wrapped around their bodies. Although there was no telling what Chaos had done to these skeletal dragons, judging from their wild, scarlet eyes, it was apparent that they had completely lost their minds and were turned into frenzied beasts. After witnessing Rhode kill one of them, the remaining skeletal dragons turned around and pounced on him with their razor-sharp teeth and claws.
“Inhale…”
Looking at the skeletal dragon closest to him, Rhode took a deep breath and flipped his right hand around. Soon after, a stack of cards appeared between his fingers. He narrowed his eyes, aimed at the skeletal dragons, and flung his right arm forward. At the next moment, a bright, glowing light escaped his hand. It was a sharp blade coalesced from pure light.
The light blade whistled ahead.
“———!”
In the face of this attack, the skeletal dragon let out a furious roar, raised its head, and snapped its jaws open. At the next moment, a roaring spurt of flames sprayed out of its gigantic mouth, blasting at the light blade.
Shing———!
The moment its fiery breath collided with the light blade, the light blade dispersed all of a sudden. It seemed at first glance that it shattered in the dragon breath. However, that wasn’t the case. The instant the light blade clashed with the dragon breath, the light blade split into five, spread out in all directions, and formed a circle that surrounded the skeletal dragon. Looking at this scene, Rhode’s expression remained unchanged. Instead, he held his right hand forward in an empty grip and made a downward chopping motion.
Swish!
The moment he made that action, a light blade behind the skeletal dragon jumped up and expanded in size. In the blink of an eye, the holy sword glowing in a divine brilliance heavily slashed the skeletal dragon’s body. With a loud bang, the skeletal dragon’s body tilted and an endless source of holy power bombarded its body, shattering the dark fog that had enveloped its body completely.
Upon sensing the blazing holy power, the skeletal dragon howled in wrath and agony, instinctively extending its claws and swinging backward to strike the sword away. But at the same time, another scarlet longsword flew out and whirled from the other side, hacking at its menacing claws. In the sound of a crack, the skeletal dragon’s strong, enormous claw shattered in this ambush by Shira like fragile pieces of glass. Not only that, but half of its right arm was also demolished.
Feeling the intense pain, the skeletal dragon shuddered, swinging its head and attempting to get away from the holy swords. However, its resistance was futile. The moment it turned around, its head shook abruptly. At the next moment, its neck was cut by a criss-cross stroke and almost imperceptible blade rays, to which a stark wound appeared. Shortly after, along with a dazzling thunder, a huge, serrated, chainsaw-like blade also stabbed the wound.
Roaring thunder, exploding flame, ice-cold frost, and collapsing air current proliferated within the skeletal dragon’s body in an instant. The crowd witnessed its huge body expanding like a balloon, before blowing up into pieces, while the murky, black fog was also shredded in the whistling winds. Soon after, the skeletal dragon that was completely sliced to pieces collapsed onto the ground, joining its lifeless companions from before.
Something doesn’t seem right.
Looking at the dark fog dissipating before his eyes, Rhode stretched his wrist. His attack this time wasn’t just as simple as just destroying the enemy anymore. He also needed to determine which attributes worked together more effectively and how he should get them to work together to pose the strongest threat. But now, with two attacks in a row, he didn’t feel satisfied yet. This time, he used five holy swords in this attack. First, Celia’s holy power overwhelmed the undead power that enfolded the skeletal dragon. Then, Shira coordinated with Gracier and Madaras in attacking the skeletal dragon. In the end, it was up to Dona to finish things off with a fatal blow.
However, this combination didn’t seem to be very effective. It wasn’t surprising because Rhode hasn’t even figured out the attributes, attacks, and effects of these cards so far. And the ones he was most familiar with were Celia, Celestina, Gracier, and Madaras. He didn’t use the other holy sword cards as much. Besides, there were many differences between being in sword form and physical form. Rhode could work with them while they were in physical form to conduct battles. But after they returned back into their sword form, they needed to rely more upon his control of the battle to be able to use their powers again. This was also something new to him as he had no prior experience in this field as a Spirit Swordsman. Spirit Swordsman was a class that summoned spirits and displayed swordsmanships to perform powerful combinations and attacks. And now, it was rare for him to be in a situation that required him to fully control the battle as the lone swordsman.
I need more practice.
At this thought, Rhode turned over and projected his gaze at the other skeletal dragons that rushed toward him. Upon hearing their bellows, the corners of his lips perked up into a smile.
All I have is time for now.
The outcome of the battle had been determined upon Rhode’s arrival on the battlefield.
Although the fleeing soldiers of the Country of Light had put the defensive line into perilous danger, after Rhode devastated the skeletal dragons crisply, Lydia didn’t miss the chance to call forth the magic fleet and battle angel army to take on the Chaos creatures again. After facing the strong resistance, the Chaos creatures stopped persisting, but turned back and left the battlefield quickly instead. In the end, the safety of this defensive line was guaranteed.
However, although they were victorious, not a single person showed a relaxed expression; instead, everyone, including Rhode and Lydia, looked grave.
“Thanks to you, Your Majesty Rhode. If it weren’t for your help, this first line of defense would have most likely collapsed.”
Looking at Rhode in front of her, Lydia revealed an expression of helplessness and relief. In fact, she also knew that if he didn’t show up, she would be the only one fighting it out. But this wasn’t a really good idea to her, and more importantly… As a matter of fact, her current situation wasn’t looking exactly great.
Rhode didn’t know that while Lydia gained rule of the Country of Light under Lillian’s appointment, that didn’t mean she earned the heartfelt acknowledgement of its people. Aside from the fact that the Country of Light had been tarnishing the reputation of the Munn Kingdom for so many years, Lydia’s image had long been deeply rooted in their hearts. Moreover, after the continuous battles between the Country of Light and Munn Kingdom, as well as the Country of Light and the Void Territory, the people of the Country of Light had deep and unfavorable impressions of Rhode and Lydia. That was why most of them were still more or less resistant to them.
Previously, they were willing to accept Lillian’s rule because Lillian was born and raised in the Country of Light and considered one of their own. The people believed that she would make the right decision for them. But what about Lydia? She was the archangel of the Munn Kingdom. And now that the Country of Light was in her hands, would she be able and willing to give them good lives ahead?
It seemed like the people of the Country of Light knew that they had bullied Lydia back then… And now, they were feeling nervous about karma.
For that reason, the people of the Country of Light were actually quite wary of Lydia’s rule and management. They had so much fun tarnishing her reputation at first. But now, she became their biggest boss. According to the rumors, this archangel was a murderer who didn’t bat an eye whenever she killed someone, so it was hard to guarantee that she wouldn’t settle old scores. What if she hit on the idea of sending the people to the front lines as an excuse, but actually meant to send them to their deaths? Wasn’t she capable of doing that? Well… It was hard to say.
With these thoughts from the higher-ups, the soldiers below had even more ideas. None of them were willing to be scapegoats, much less letting someone else drag them to their graves.
Back then, you were the one shouting for joy out there in the first place. We’re just ordinary soldiers, so why must we die for the conflicts between higher-ups like you?
In fact, Lydia knew all about this, which explained her awkward expression when she saw Rhode. But honestly, she couldn’t be blamed for that. People were selfish by nature. Even now—so what if it concerned the existence of the entire world? How could one expect everyone to hold such a high level of consciousness to abandon their past differences and strive for the Dragon Soul Continent? Hahaha, how was that possible? Not to mention, in order to avoid causing a panic, Rhode and the rest didn’t tell the truth to the general public. After all, there were only two choices: either succeed or die. Just think about it. Imagine if some scientist on Earth suddenly made an announcement to the world claiming to have discovered that the sun would soon explode and destroy the whole solar system. Humans would either choose to move the Earth out of the solar system or accept their fate and die. What would the reactions be?
Perhaps some might resign themselves to fate, but panic and riots were certainly inevitable. It was already unavoidable on Earth, which was a planet that was technologically-advanced and had a higher literacy level per capita. In that case, how could one expect this continent that was pretty much medieval, aside from magic and civilization, to have high awareness? Moreover, this wasn’t even a natural disaster, but a man-made one instead. While his troops were dealing with Chaos, Rhode wasn’t willing to waste his energy dealing with riots possibly arising from internal conflicts.
That was why the soldiers actually didn’t know what they were facing, as well as the consequences, which explained why they had no pressure fleeing from the battle.
Frankly, even if Lydia were to tell them the truth, they would perhaps even suspect if she had made it up just to send them to their deaths…
The soldiers didn’t trust their commander, so how was it possible to rely upon them to fight properly? Wasn’t it ridiculous?
On the other hand, Rhode didn’t give it too much thought. After all, as a player of the Munn Kingdom, he was sick and tired of watching the soldiers of the Country of Light fleeing. That was why, like the players, he didn’t particularly look into them. Anyway, fleeing from battle was considered a talent of the people of the Country of Light, in his opinion.
Despite that, his expression was still as solemn. It wasn’t about the problem surrounding the Country of Light, but that he realized that the defensive line that he had crafted himself seemed to have a hard time holding out against Chaos’s attacks for long.
According to his predictions, the first three defensive lines were enough to last until he finished building all the signal towers. Besides, Chaos’s attacks shouldn’t be able to get through the defensive lines that quickly. Of course, only ground enemies were considered when he previously made this call, and he didn’t expect the skeletal dragons to show up. After all, skeletal dragons were too uncommon. Even though they weren’t as strong as Erin, they were still ancestors of the night wyverns and considered powerful creatures. In addition to the influence of Chaos, their strength had risen, which was why extra manpower had to be deployed.
But the lack of high-end forces was nothing new for the Dragon Soul Continent… Otherwise, Rhode wouldn’t have used his power to summon tens of thousands of players. But even so, the number of players still wasn’t enough. Despite that, he no longer had sufficient power to create additional high-end players. He could only hope for quality to offset quantity. Anyway, Chaos creatures were difficult to deal with in the eyes of average people. But in the eyes of high-end players, except for creatures at the caliber of Chaos Lords, the rest was still easy to annihilate.
But with the addition of the skeletal dragons… Things were different.
The reason why Rhode was able to wipe out the skeletal dragons was due to the addition of the holy sword cards. If he didn’t have the holy sword cards, he would need to group up a squad of five to take on these skeletal dragons, at the very least. The highest level for players was level 85, so they weren’t invincible. And although these skeletal dragons didn’t have particularly strong moves after being influenced by Chaos, as dragons, they were powerful enough on their own to be a fairly huge threat. Coupled with Chaos creatures on the surface, it would be an even tougher fight.
If the skeletal dragons didn’t show up, Rhode would be confident in withstanding the attack of the Chaos creatures. But he didn’t expect that as soon as the skeletal dragons appeared, the defensive line on his side, which was able to hold on, would immediately waver like fragile straws swaying in a storm as if they would completely snap at once. This left Rhode in displeasure. This was just a front line battle. If he couldn’t even win one, what could they do if Chaos were to come all-out? The skeletal dragons weren’t a benchmark of Chaos—that honor belonged to the Chaos Lords instead. Now that the Chaos Lords hadn’t even shown up and his side was already struggling… If they couldn’t even withstand this level of attack, wouldn’t they all pop after being poked by the Chaos Lords?
Sounds rather wrong using that description… Well, forget it.
The main problem now was whether they could defend against Chaos successfully. This time, Rhode relied on himself and finally won. But the crumbling defensive line caught him by surprise. If this were to happen a few more times, he couldn’t guarantee that the two defensive lines at the back would be able to handle the pressure. Even though strategic turnarounds and retreats were the exact same thing at times, the meaning would be different if the phrasing was different.
If one were to say that it was a strategic necessity, which explained why they abandoned the defensive line, it would definitely sound classy and endowed with the extraordinary intelligence of the superior Zhuge Liang[1].
If one were to say that their defensive line collapsed and they had no choice but to retreat to the defensive line at the rear, their morale would definitely take a huge hit. When that happened, perhaps the soldiers would be on the edge of their seats and the last two defensive lines wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer. Even if Rhode were to set up the Holy Sword Barrier, no one knew how long he would last.
That was why this problem must be solved soon.
“We need more manpower.”
Rhode tapped the map that displayed the after-battle report in his hand with dissatisfaction. This time, the defenses on the side of the Country of Light had lost about one-fifth of their manpower (with the exception of players, of course). It could almost be considered the most costly of all the losses. It wasn’t that surprising, though. Even though Rhode introduced the rule of resurrection to this world, the prerequisite for it was that the victim had to be a devout believer of the dragon soul heir in order to be resurrected. That was why this was a good cycle as seeing people come back to life from the dead would make one be in awe of the power of the dragon soul heir and thus have more faith…
But it wasn’t necessarily the case that things would head in that direction. There was also the worst case scenario, which was to see that the people didn’t come back to life from the dead. Thereafter, people would start having doubts about faith from deep in their minds and thus deny it. This made it even less likely that they would be resurrected, and that they would doubt and deny the entire thing again. Right now, the Country of Light was trapped in this vicious cycle. Since they didn’t have much respect for the Light Dragon in the first place, most of them weren’t able to enjoy the benefit of the great resurrection spell after their deaths and would actually die in battle.
This was also the reason why this defensive line suffered the most as compared to the rest.
“But we don’t have any more manpower to spare, Your Majesty Rhode.”
Lydia was also helpless about that. And that was the truth, as a matter of fact. She could be considered to have recruited every qualified person in the Country of Light. As for the rest, they couldn’t be trained to form a strong fighting force within a short period. Besides, they really didn’t have the strength to fight, to begin with.
Even though Lydia considered sending out soldiers from the Munn Kingdom for defense, it still wasn’t enough for this long battlefront.
“… That’s indeed a problem too.”
Rhode bit his lip and knitted his brows. This was an unavoidable problem and currently, he hadn’t come up with a good solution yet. However, as he and Lydia were troubling over it, a voice sounded from beside them all of a sudden.
“Your Majesty, can’t you summon demons? If I recall correctly, didn’t you open Hell’s Gate and summon armies of demons to raze Casabianca to the ground? If we have them by our side, there shouldn’t be much problems.”
Rhode and Lydia were taken aback. They turned to Gaya, who stood silently at the side. At that moment, the young lady didn’t seem anxious or nervous about her question. On the other hand, Lydia felt a little awkward about seeking help from demons. But Gaya, as a human, didn’t feel any pressure asking for assistance from the demons. Besides, judging from the current situation, this was indeed a solution. But…
“I’ve thought about it too. But I won’t do it unless it is absolutely necessary.”
Facing Gaya’s suggestion, Rhode shook his head. Honestly, from the very start, he never thought of relying upon the power of hell. In fact, he had already decided to abandon hell as part of his transmigration projection. After all, it was the solar system and Earth that they were heading to. Although he wasn’t sure if there would be any problems between completelyDragon Soul Continent and Earth, he was certain that if the hell plane was also brought to the solar system, those demons would definitely not leave Earth alone. Rhode wasn’t about to scourge his homeland… at the very least.
That was why he didn’t mention a word about this transmigration project to the demons. The people who learned about his plan were those he trusted and wouldn’t inform the demons. But if he were to seek help from the demons, with their craftiness, they might read his thoughts. When that happened, side issues might arise and cause even more trouble.
Upon hearing Rhode’s answer, Gaya fell into silence again. Shortly after, as though coming up with an idea, she said.
“Your Majesty, I think I may have another solution…”
[1] A Chinese politician, military strategist, writer, engineer, and inventor.
