Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Although these Imps were as annoying as they appeared, Rhode wasn’t taking them on alone, fortunately. Corina, who had been running alongside Rhode, pulled back the bowstring and arrow on the silver bow. The Moon Elf lady scanned from one end to the other and released her fingers.
In a dazzling flash, hundreds of golden arrows descended from the dusky sky and obstructed the group of Imps before them, at the same time swiping them cleanly like a gigantic scythe cutting the overgrown weeds.
She’s so powerful.
Even though Rhode was dashing forward, he stole a glance at the Moon Elf lady beside him. [Lock-On] was Corina’s Attribute Rule skill. Strictly speaking, it was considered one of the most highly ranked amongst the Attribute Rules. Combined with the Moon Elves’ special archery technique [Glittering Meteors] and Corina’s individual strength, she could instantly shoot down all the enemies accurately within one second. Rhode had seen this scene multiple times in the Elves Holy War that would happen later on where Corina had turned the tide against her arch-enemy, the Dark Elves Army, and defeated thousands of enemies by herself. Moreover, as a member of the Royal Family of the Moon Elves, Corina was born with the ability to see through invisibility, which negated the Dark Elves’ secret ‘Backstab Assassination’ move. Once one had been seen by her, one could forget about struggling because it was meaningless to resist against an enemy like her.
Due to this reason, Corina was the idol of many Ranger and Elf players. If they possessed such talents and raw powers, they would have a much easier time regardless of missions and dungeons. However, it was a pity that Corina was in the same boat as a talented NPC like Marlene, who had perfected the Four Main Elements. It was impossible for players to reach Corina’s standards because her [Glittering Meteors] was a secret skill of the Royal Family that was only passed down to those with Royal blood. Not to mention, even though the [Lock-On] skill might seem simple, it actually belonged to a source of Fate Rule and players would have an extremely difficult time comprehending it.
On the other hand, Di was much more useless. At that moment, he was casting a few spells to protect them from ambushes while the Elderly Mage was responsible for the buff that increased their speed. Corina’s [Lock-On] was a passive rule and the Chaos Realm affected her strength to a certain extent. However, Di’s [Blood Code] was an active rule which relied greatly on spells. In Rhode’s Order Dimension, Di and the Elderly Mage were able to cast some spells leisurely, but their spells were instantly affected and even negated by the effects of the Chaos Realm. At this moment, there was really nothing much that they could contribute with.
Regardless, Rhode was certain that the Elderly Mage was trying his best. On the contrary, a cunning fellow like Di was definitely just putting on a show and his ‘obedient’ behaviors were nothing but a facade. Rhode had once led a group of players and fought against Di for one year and three months. They had experienced over a hundred major and minor battles and to the extent that Rhode knew what this Vampire was plotting even with a twitch of his fingers. But it seemed that Di at the current moment was rather ‘puerile’ and Rhode could guess his thoughts at the turn of his eyeballs.
Rhode wasn’t afraid of him. If Di was an expert in being preemptive, then Rhode’s best was in controlling and taking advantage of the situation. Once Di had fallen into Rhode’s palm, Rhode wouldn’t be afraid even if Di had a myriad of ideas. However, it would be difficult to play Di into his hands.
Furthermore, Rhode actually had some motives for luring Di into following him now.
Future allies must be saved and the future enemies must be killed, without a doubt. Of course, Rhode had no intentions of doing it himself.
Silver-whitish rays emerged and transformed into circles beneath their feet to boost their speed. At this moment, the group didn’t seem to be running. Instead, they seemed more to be flying in large strides. Rhode leapt off the ground and when his other foot landed, he had covered a distance of 10 meters. The Elderly Mage behind them released a ‘Flight Spell’ and he soared along with the airflow in the air.
More and more Imps attacked them and the Imps standing before them were demolished by Corina in a blink of an eye. Some Imps which Corina didn’t notice pounced forward and entered Rhode’s Order Dimension. But a puff of red fog engulfed them instantly and a shapeless strength squeezed all the fluid and blood out of their body viciously. The Imps wailed and their shriveled carcasses vanished into black powder after collapsing to the ground.
With Rhode’s Order Dimension as protection, the pressure applied by the Chaos Realm was lessened and the chattering Imps around them darted towards Rhode’s group fearlessly. The Imps from afar danced foolishly as they threw dark fireballs like baseball players. These Imps who hailed from the Bottomless Abyss lacked logical thinking and couldn’t understand any systematic spells. They could battle only with their instinct and anything logical was their archenemy. They couldn’t even carry out the orders from highly-ranked Devils accurately and almost every one of them had their own understanding and deciphering of the commands.
The Devils believed firmly that every extra movement could push the development of the situation forward.
However, under the effect of the Order Dimension, the intensity of the Chaos Flame was weakened. Countless dark fireballs were thrown from above and weakened after entering the dusky space instantly. They extinguished entirely after hitting on the invisible protective barrier. The Elderly Mage gripped his staff with the embedded flashing gem. Apparently, the force field barrier was the works of this staff and to the Elderly Mage, the previous close encounters in Mithril Hall had reminded him that he shouldn’t use the guided protection spells.
The chaotic nature of the Imps erupted after their consecutive attacks failed miserably. The Imps in the front stumbled their way to the back while the Imps at the back pushed forward as though they were attempting a close combat style since their far range attacks were useless.
Such a messy, disorganized attack had become a major setback. Soon, the Imps trampled on one another and even began to attack their companions. Di and Corina gaped in disbelief as they had never seen their enemies turning against themselves. Meanwhile, Rhode wasn’t bothered to even turn his attention towards the Imps. He was used to the behavior of these Imps, where their only goal was to destroy all enemies that stood before them. Even so, the situation that they were in didn’t turn out any better. The Devil’s disorderly nature prevented them from resisting the Demon Army that had a great amount of plot and stratagem. However, the Devils weren’t purely lucky that they could survive all these years. The Devils were superior in one aspect that the Demons could never ever compare…
Quantity.
Presented before Rhode’s eyes was a sea of dark figures that blended as one with the Chaos Flame surging from the cracks on the ground. Corina’s attack continued to bombard a huge chunk of enemies, but even the Moon Elf lady had begun to worry as she gazed at the boundless view of black prairie before her. “Sir!”
“Don’t panic and just keep going. We’re almost there. Lift your head and look towards the end!” Rhode recognized the hint of fear and helplessness in Corina’s scream. This was a scene that everyone battling the Devil Army would face. Although the Devil Army wasn’t as organized and filled with deadly, murderous intent as the Demon Army, it would feel as though one was facing the crushing landslide at the bottom of the mountain when one saw the sea of unrestricted Devils charging for you. That feeling of inescapable, unchangeable, undefendable helplessness would devour you completely.
If we don’t come up with a solution, we will be in trouble.
In a mere second, an idea came up in Rhode’s mind and he shouted.
“Mr. Di, please come up with a way to push these things farther away from us. It will be best to cast a duration spell on me!”
Di let out a snort and this was the first time the Vampire had an obvious change in expression. He hid behind the solid defense of the Undead Knight beside him and gestured with his hands. Soon, lines of bloody characters emerged between his hands. Di folded his palms and the bloody characters formed into a talisman which he tossed upwards without even glancing.
A strange, twisted symbol flew up and fastened above them. As the symbol emerged, those Imps that had ‘trampled’ their own companions and rushed towards them suddenly stopped their movement as though there was a transparent barrier before them. Not only that, they retreated subconsciously like something was pushing against them.
Order Incantation!
Rhode’s eyes glittered as he recognized this advanced Order Spell. The powers of the Incantation Characters could temporarily extend the source power of Order. The effects of the Order Incantation should be weakened by the Chaos Realm, but its effects were maintained with Rhode’s Order Dimension in place as a barrier.
But it was also rather depressing. After struggling in a bloodbath for about three hours and escaping a large distance from Soraka Mountain, Rhode still wasn’t able to figure out what rules his Order Dimension was concretized from. At least for now, he could see that the Order Spells, Undead Spells, Defense Spells, and the Elves’ bloodline weren’t restricted at all. Furthermore, the powers that they had released weren’t altered at all. Could it be that my Order Dimension is a public bus that whoever boards will benefit? If that’s the case, isn’t this too deceptive?
Rhode threw his grumbles to the back of his head and lifted his head to gaze towards the horizon over the sea of Imps. With the effects of the spell, the speed of Rhode’s group could truly be described as ‘running as fast as flying’. Previously, they had spent one to two days before arriving at Soraka Mountain from the Intersection Boundary and now, they had only spent two to three hours and they arrived at the Intersection Boundary. Rhode could even see the dazzling, hopeful sky protected by the Light Dragon Soul from afar. However, he was also aware that there was still a long way from their destination.
“Everyone, pay attention. Don’t attack, because we’re going full throttle!” Rhode sheathed his daggers and with the protection of the Order Incantation, he didn’t need to worry about the troublesome Imps as it would separate everything from the outside completely. Although Di wasn’t speaking, Rhode understood this Vampire’s thoughts.
Rhode gathered his attention at the farthest point ahead. Soon, he felt his mental focus coalesced as though a solid wooden hammer striking the ground. Then, a shapeless ‘rope’ connected him, the domain around him, and everything else. Rhode ‘extended his arm’ and pulled as he grabbed the ‘rope’.
The clear scenery before his eyes twisted abruptly and transformed into a ray of black and white that blasted towards Rhode’s group. In an instant, the group blinked and the scene before them restored to normal. However, this time, there was a huge mountain before them that they had never seen before.
“This is…” Corina and the others scanned the mountain in disbelief. The Moon Elf blinked her eyes rapidly before turning towards the man beside her. Meanwhile, Di squinted with complex emotions while the Elderly Mage knitted his brows and gazed at Rhode.
There should be two more attempts left.
Rhode heaved a sigh of relief. A sense of happiness brewed in his heart the instant he witnessed success. [Self-breakthrough] didn’t only provide him with the Order Dimension; instead, it had also transformed his abilities. Although Rhode wasn’t sure about the abilities of this public bus-like Order Dimension, at least he knew that there wouldn’t be changes to the increase of his strength that he had already possessed. At this moment, Rhode’s nimbleness had broken his limits and reached the stage of ‘Instant Movement’. Furthermore, with Rhode’s Order Dimension as the foundation, Rhode could move everything within it at the speed of light. However, even so, this was different from ‘Teleportation’.
Their movements were still traceable whereas ‘Teleportation’ would make a direct leap in the spatial space. Even though they were protected from the Order Forcefield, Rhode didn’t dare to risk opening the portal for spatial teleportation because once the spatial teleportation passageway was affected by Chaos, no one knew where they would be teleported to.
Regardless, the ‘Instant Movement’ came with a price.
A sense of fatigue struck Rhode. Logically speaking, one’s attribute would be maximized after the activation of the [Self-breakthrough] and it would be impossible for one to lose one’s strength. However, this ‘Instant Movement’ proved to have consumed a relative amount of strength and he couldn’t afford to use it too many times.
But this was enough.
Rhode continued to dart forward while the Imps welcomed him with their fireballs. However, with the protection of the Order Incantation, Rhode’s group was as though driving an invisible tank against the Imps. The Imps were pushed away by the shapeless Order Forcefield and those that couldn’t dodge in time were mashed into minced meat by the powers of Order. The air was filled with a putrid smell and even Rhode’s group was stained with disgusting, rotten flesh.
Second ‘Instant Movement’.
Rhode shifted his line of sight towards the far end ahead. His mental strength once again phased through the unlimited space and transformed into a ‘signal point’ that struck in the deep ground heavily. Then, he leaped up. The entire space twisted and turned before his eyes once more, then returned to its original state.
Rhode felt the pressure pushing against him lessen and the number of Imps before him was no longer as massive as before. Furthermore, their aggression also seemed to weaken greatly. Rhode witnessed the brightening radiance of Order from ahead, but a furious bellow sounded behind them at the same time. Then, the dark halo that had been spreading towards the Order Dimension stopped.
“Everyone, be careful. The Duke Fiend may be coming soon!” Rhode yelled before once again gazing with rapt attention. But the lack of focus in his mental strength disrupted him from planting another ‘signal point’ at the other end of the Intersection Boundary. There was not much time left for them to dash forward anymore. The Duke Fiend’s natural ability to teleport was much more insane than Rhode’s ‘Instant Movement’. As long as the Duke Fiend wished for it, it could appear before them instantly. Argh… How is it possible that these damn Chaotic creatures are this insane?
Rhode consumed his final amount of mental strength and planted a ‘signal point’. Shortly after, the space that had transformed into lines before their eyes restored to its original state abruptly. Rhode landed on the ground heavily and his ears couldn’t stop buzzing. Then, he lifted his chin. The ‘signal point’ which he planted had been covered by a pitch-black gigantic hand entirely.
The dark giant lowered its head and granted its attention to these bugs for the first time.
