Summoning the Holy Sword

Chapter 1117: Dancing in the Dark

"That's about it."

Shifting his gaze away from the monitor, Rhode turned to Lydia and shrugged. The latter extended her hand and covered her mouth in surprise. A few moments ago, Rhode told Lydia about his identity, the Creator Dragons, and the relationship between this world and the Dragon Soul Continent. It could be said that Rhode basically told Lydia everything he knew. But to him, those weren't actually secrets. With Lydia's identity and status, she had the right to know everything. From a certain degree, he had gained her support in order to get Lilian's. Even though Lydia definitely couldn't match up against Lilian in terms of strength, Lydia's influence was much stronger than Lilian in the current situation. In this case, gaining Lydia's recognition also meant gaining the support of the entire Country of Light.

As for the thoughts of the Country of Light's people? What had they got to do with Rhode?

"I… I didn't expect this at all…"

Even the calm, collected Lydia couldn't maintain her cool at this point in time, especially after she learned that the original Creator Dragons existed in this world. In the Dragon Soul Continent, the disappearance of the original Creator Dragons was always a mystery and not even an archangel like Lydia knew about the truth. The only thing she knew was that the Creator Dragons left on a certain day, left behind their powers, and selected dragon soul heirs to replace them in protecting this world. Lydia thought the Creator Dragons had died of old age and didn't expect this to happen at all… She also didn't expect them to build a virtual Dragon Soul Continent in this world to continue their project. Moreover, the fact about the Akashic Slate and war between Chaos and Order bewildered her.

"In other words, the reason why we're able to reach here through the channel is related to the Creator Dragons?"

"No, I'm not certain for now…"

Facing Lydia's question, Rhode shook his head in response. A few moments ago, they had taken control of the base and he used his younger sister's ability to infiltrate the system and learned the reason as to why the slates were uncovered on the moon. But it was a pity that there was no specific information about them. Their only guess was that the five original Creator Dragons' subjects could have arrived on Earth. but due to some accidents, they had no choice but to abandon their plan. Not only that, but also due to some unknown reason, they shattered the Akashic Slates, brought them to the moon, and buried them under the surface. Rhode had to admit that he felt curious when he first heard about this. If the subjects were successful back then, what would have become of Earth now?

But it was meaningless to think of the things that didn't happen.

According to Rhode's younger sister, there should be five Akashic Slates. She also sensed a faint, dark presence in three of them, which meant that they had landed in Erin's hands. However, Rhode wasn't too surprised with his younger sister's speculation as Erin wasn't muddle-headed. She was dragged into this world ridiculously and the slates contained a clear presence of Chaos and Order. In that case, Erin would surely snatch and research them even if she didn't know what they were. Rhode had no doubt about it because this archangel and Erin had the same bad habit… they would grab whatever they fancied first and do whatever they wanted later… like true sisters…

But in this case, it made the situation complicated.

"What should we do next, Your Majesty Rhode?"

"All in all, let's find the last slate. I'm sure Erin will come for it too. As long as we reach the location of the slate and wait for Erin's arrival…"

Rhode continued. He couldn't help but knit his brows as his first intention was to transmigrate to this world, conduct an investigation, search for Erin, and return to the Dragon Soul Continent together. But he didn't expect things to take such a turn where he would transmigrate to Earth. He thought he would only need to roam the unknown world once and could leave thereafter. However, this mysterious situation puzzled him. He was hesitant, but it seemed like he had to figure out what was exactly happening to Earth before making a decision. All in all, he had to contact the other four original Creator Dragons. After all, they lived here for years and were owners of multinational companies. They surely would have more solutions than Rhode who had no power or connections.

At this thought, Rhode decided to throw this matter to the back of his head. As of now, they were almost 400,000 kilometers away from Earth and it wasn't an easy task heading back to earth.

"Anyway, let's search for the next slate for now."

Rhode made a decision quickly.

***

Staring at the black slate slowly being taken out of the tightly-sealed vessel, David couldn't help but tense up, while his ears listened sharply to the surroundings. At this moment, David was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow. He was terrified to hear sudden blares of sirens—what should he do if some unknown beings were to find trouble with him? After all, the unknown beings found the other Apocalyptic Slates effortlessly, which meant that they had a special way to locate them. What should David do if they sensed the slate being moved and decided to pounce on him? But apart from this, there was also something else which he couldn't understand. He sized up the tall guards who were as though clad in iron barrel-like armor and standing behind Dr. Martin dubiously. Judging from their appearance, they seemed at least two meters tall and their sturdy built was unlike humans'. Two ice-cold and mystical crimson radiances flashed from the gap in their helmets as they gazed at David emotionlessly, leaving him in discomfort. Even though Dr. Martin mentioned they were members of the Special Investigation Force, for some unknown reason, David didn't feel like they were humans.

"Erm… Dr. Martin, are we seriously not sealing up the Apocalyptic Slate?"

David asked nervously, but the expression of the bald man beside him remained unchanged.

"Don't worry, Mr. David. We've made ample preparation. According to your report, it seems like the unknown beings possess some unknown means of locating the Apocalyptic Slates. If we seal up the slate, they may attack us upon realizing something is amiss. This is why we don't need to seal the slate immediately. After all preparations are ready, we will seal it and leave."

"Is that so… alright then…"

David heaved a sigh of relief. Of course, he was aware of the possible fact that unknown beings might arrive upon realizing someone took away the slate. The reason why he was here was that he had decided to leave with them. On the surface… he seemed to be doing it for the sake of 'reporting the recent series of grave attacks on the moon bases', but in fact, he had made up his mind to make a run for it. Facing the unknown beings, David wasn't willing to stay any longer. As for the rest, good luck to them.

David sank into deep thoughts and didn't notice the strange glint in Dr. Martin's eyes. Dr. Martin narrowed his eyes, gazed at David, and spoke with a smile.

"But before that, Mr. David, we have something that needs your help in order to avoid the unknown beings finding trouble with us."

"What is it, Dr. Martin?"

Upon hearing Dr. Martin's words, David returned to his senses quickly and asked with a smile. Dr. Martin didn't respond immediately. Instead, he strolled toward the black slate before turning to David. For some unknown reason, David suddenly felt his heart pounding. But before he reacted, the silent black slate shone abruptly, releasing a mysterious halo that expanded to the surroundings.

What happened!?

David stared blankly on the spot as the halo passed through his body. He lost his senses immediately and couldn't move at all. Not only that, but he also felt his clear vision blur as though there were a thin layer of mist before his eyes.

"Dr. Martin, what's going on!"

David used almost all of his strength to yell as he gazed ahead frantically. In an instant, the world around him changed. The pitch-black shadows in the surroundings distorted and squirmed like conscious creatures that constantly bulged. At this moment, David heard some terrified screams, but didn't turn around to check out the situation. Instead, he glared at the man before him. Dr. Martin maintained his smile, stood beside the black slate, and extended his hand to gently harass it.

"It's nothing, Mr. David. I just hope you and your subjects can fulfill your duties in helping us resist and eliminate the unknown beings, that's all."

Dr. Martin said and spread his arms apart.

"Don't worry, all your sacrifices will not be for naught. I represent the nation in paying the highest respects to you."

Dr. Martin said and saluted the military commander before him. Then, he made a hand gesture and the strange guards clad in iron barrel-like armor took over the black slate, turned around, and left along with Dr. Martin.

"Wait. Damn it. What are you trying to do! You…!"

All of a sudden, a slippery touch from below disrupted David's screams. He lowered his head in shock, only to discover that his shadow had turned into some sort of black mud that climbed up his legs. At the same time, he heard blood-curdling screams from the outside.

Where are the guards? Damn it, how are the rest doing? Are they in the same predicament as me? What exactly is this?

David struggled with all his might to break free from this mysterious presence to no avail. The black mud-like presence clung onto his body and he couldn't budge at all.

"Guards! Guards! G——"

However, that was the end to his screams of despair because at the next moment, the ice-cold, mud-like presence climbed up his body and drilled into his wide-opened mouth. Then, his consciousness was completely cut off.

The world had changed entirely.