Summoning the Holy Sword

Chapter 1273: Two-way Strategy

"Attack! Attack! Attack! Charge! Charge!"

Along with Ion's snarls, the Chaos creatures swarmed forward with great difficulty and unwavering determination amidst the overwhelming artillery fire and magical spells. Flares erupted among the sea of Chaos creatures. The strings of dazzling, scarlet flame rings seemed so glaring and bright under the darkness. Erin tightened up, held both her hands on the edge of the city wall, and gazed at the battlefield in uncertainty. The battlefield was shrouded in billows of smoke and flames. The dense, black smoke almost enfolded the vast land, where even the bright moonlight descending from above had no way of penetrating them. Both sides tore into each other. Countless powerful AoE magical spells were cast from the city walls, transforming the land and sky. Flames, thunder, lightning bolts, and all sorts of elemental attacks flitted across the field and blasted the ground heavily. The solid land fissured and turned muddy and murky. Corpses of Chaos creatures could also be seen laying and buried within them.

"Time is almost up, huh?"

The sleepy Orchid Heart asked all of a sudden. She opened her eyes, let out a yawn, and flipped the pages of that thick, gorgeous tome.

There was a change in the battle situation.

Even though Orchid Heart didn't say a word, for some unknown reason Erin suddenly realized that the situation over at her side had become overwhelmingly unfavorable. The powerful spells obstructing the Chaos creatures became sparse, while the deadly artillery fireballs were also extinguished. Shortly after, the Chaos creatures who were suppressed by the artillery attack earlier went wild as soon as the pressure was gone. They rushed ahead and before long, Erin witnessed a black sea of wild Chaos creatures arriving at the bottom of the steel city walls. Almost in the blink of an eye, the dark wave slammed onto the strong, towering city walls.

Boom!

Erin felt the entire city walls shake. At that moment, the artillery cannons creaked as they retracted back into the city walls before the iron plate sealed them shut to prevent Chaos creatures from infiltrating any further. But even so, the Chaos creatures didn't slow their pace. They continued to rush ahead and pile up on one another. Just like what Orchid Heart mentioned, even if the Chaos creatures had no sense of offense, the final result wouldn't be any different when they charged in like an endless stream.

Destruction. Only destruction.

"Miss Orchid Heart… May I know if there is anything I can do?"

Even though Erin decided to hand this matter to Orchid Heart's command, she also knew that it must be Orchid Heart's command that the artillery fire became sparse all of a sudden. Erin was clearly aware that these people around Rhode possessed a unique form of telepathy, so much so that they could read one another's thoughts and intentions from miles away without speaking or using magical spells. She had to admit that this was truly a convenient skill. But even though she knew that this was part of the strategy, she was unlike Orchid Heart, after all. No matter how much of a veteran of the battlefield Rhode was, Erin was just a princess who loved artifacts and historical research, despite her efficiency in battles. She had never joined the military and didn't undergo any formal training. She merely followed the undead army and served as an AoE cannon and secret weapon. Although Erin read innumerable books, it would be absurd if she were able to become a commander-in-chief after reading 'Sun Tzu's Art of War'.

Erin normally wouldn't be concerned in this situation. But it was different now. She didn't possess an undead army of countless troops like her Big Brother. She was like a penny split in half. As much as possible, she wished for troops under her command to not be sacrificed in the battlefield. Even though the Chaos creatures couldn't trample on their companions' corpses and climb over the city walls yet, Erin was certain that at the rate they were piling up, they would need at least half an hour! Even though she didn't know much about the military, she was aware that if things went that far, the situation would be extremely dangerous and bothersome.

It was at that moment that Erin looked like a novice. Although she didn't snatch the commanding rights from Orchid Heart out of anxiousness, the unfavorable, one-sided battle situation made her nervous. She felt like if she didn't do anything, she would continue to feel uncomfortable. Upon hearing Erin's question, Orchid Heart shook her head without turning to her.

"There isn't any, Your Majesty Erin. This is the only thing we need now. Rhode's preparation should be ready by now. In order to prevent the Chaos creatures from sensing the issue and retreating, we need to contain them here. If we prolong the stalemate, Ion may possibly choose to withdraw his armies and shift his attack to Rhode instead. After all, Ion lost a lot of troops in the earlier clashes and was advancing without much result. If he continues to tangle with us, there aren't any benefits for him. But if he were to turn back and attack Rhode now, that will be the end of us. That is why we gave Ion a chance—one that makes him think he can break through our defenses effortlessly. Through this way, even if he realizes that something is amiss, he will hesitate and this will buy Rhode enough time to accomplish his mission. All we have to do now is to hold back Ion's armies so they won't retreat."

Orchid Heart said, flipped a page casually, and continued.

"This time, please do not take matters into your own hands, Your Majesty Erin. I will show you what the true strength of Starlight is."

Even though Orchid Heart's expression appeared calm, Erin heard a hint of pride in her unwavering tone that echoed her faith in their ultimate glory.

Everything is ready.

Gazing at the strong, heavy door, Rhode extended his arm to grip his sword. At that moment, Bubble and her team of clerics and mages were in position. As soon as Rhode gave his command, they would activate the Order barrier to isolate the entire Darkness Palace from the outside world. Through this way, they could prevent the Chaos Lord from summoning Chaos creatures into the battle. But on the other hand, Rhode had to seize the moment. After all, he didn't think of the need to build such a huge isolation barrier when choosing his forces earlier. Currently, apart from the members in his group, the other teams sent out half of their members to create and maintain the isolation barrier. As a result, their damage output was obviously insufficient to defeat the Chaos Lord. In that case, Rhode's group needed to annihilate their enemy as soon as possible, so as to provide assistance to the other two parties in defeating the other two Chaos Lords.

"Canary, Mirror, are you ready? Confirm your location once more."

"All ready, Rhode. We'll act according to the situation."

"… My side too… Leader, don't worry… We'll be fine… Our clerics are at the back. If anything is to happen, our men can be resurrected… It's no biggie…"

The current situation was that there were a total of three Chaos Lords in the Darkness Palace. They were located in the northern garden, southern tower, and western executive palace respectively. Canary was responsible for the northern tower, while the assassin, Mirror, was in charge of the western executive palace. Rhode was confident in both of them. The two young ladies had calm and steady personalities, so there shouldn't be any big issues. Of course, if it were Mini Bubble Gum instead, it would be an entirely different matter. At the very least, Rhode would not dare to let Bubble lead a team. But fortunately, Mirror was also aware of that, which was why she didn't keep Bubble in her team, but put her in charge of the isolation barrier instead.

"Get ready."

After confirming that everyone was ready, Rhode gestured to Icy Snow and the rest behind him. Upon noticing his hand gesture, everyone got ready to move out right away. Lapis and Lesa were also fully prepared. Even though they weren't as powerful as elite players, they could still more or less contribute to the battlefield.

"Do it!"

After taking in a deep breath and calming himself, Rhode yelled his command.

Shing!

The instant Rhode gave his command, magical rituals engraved with an exquisite and beautiful pattern rose from the ground behind his group all of a sudden. The magical rituals spun as they extended throughout the Darkness Palace, connecting with one another. In a soft clang, the white fog shrouding the Darkness Palace dissipated abruptly, revealing the door's original form to everyone.

At the same time, one of the mages behind Rhode raised his white staff, which emanated a flash of white brilliance. Shortly after, a meteor fell from the sky and crashed onto the door. In a loud bang, the heavy door was shattered into bits. But before the smoke dispersed, Rhode transformed into a spiritual ray of light that zoomed into the garden when suddenly, he heard a hoarse voice.

"Who's there? Who destroyed my palace? You bast*rds! You will pay the price!"

The moment this voice echoed, Rhode had already led his group and charged into the fog. The true identity of the Chaos Lord who was seated in the garden was unveiled on the spot. The Chaos Lord had a naked, dozen-meters-long female upper body, while her lower body was in the structure of a gigantic spider.

"It's Julia! We struck gold! Let's go everyone!"

Rhode heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of this Chaos Lord. He was afraid of meeting a Chaos Lord that he had never encountered before. When that happened, he would need to spend a lot of time figuring out its movements and skills, not to mention that he didn't have much time to waste. And now, the instant he saw the 'Black Widow' Julia, he felt reassured. This Chaos Lord was a BOSS inclined to nature. Most of her spells were like that of Druids. However, due to the traits of Chaos, her spells were a little bizarre. But despite that, she was still easy to deal with.

Rhode extended his arm abruptly and three cards flew out of his palm. Shortly after, Shira, Little Five, and Celestina appeared in midair. As a BOSS of nature, Julia relied upon the vitality of life as her power. In that case, nothing was more suitable than using undead and evil against her!

Along with Rhode's action, Little Five emerged vaguely, while Shira with the tattered, gothic dress and Celestina with the comfortably-expanded black wings showed up in midair. Upon sensing their death aura, Julia locked her eyes on them instantly.

"Are you intruders here to kill my children? No!! I will not let you!"

The bewildered Julia snapped her jaw open and spat a white spider silk that metamorphosed into an omnipresent web that enveloped everyone.

"Everyone, firewalls!"

Looking at this scene, even Rhode was surprised. This was one of the most frustrating tricks of Julia. The spider silks she spat were able to shroud everyone within the garden. As long as one was caught in the web, one would have a hard time budging. But fortunately, this wasn't Rhode's first time taking on this Chaos Lord. Therefore, the instant he witnessed the spiderweb, he gave his command, extended his arm, tossed a card into the air. At the next moment, the hellhound appeared in the hellish blaze, howling as it slammed head-first into the spiderweb. The hellhound let out an anguished wail and self-destructed as flames scattered in all directions and burned large holes in the spiderweb. At the same time, the mages around Rhode chanted their spells. Walls and balls of flames rose and fluttered into the air, forming a scorching barrier that blocked off the spiderweb. In the blink of an eye, the spiderweb was burned into a crisp completely.

"You won't get away with it. Don't even try…!"

Upon witnessing her attacks being stopped so easily, Julia snarled bitterly, extended her arms, and clawed at the intruders. But at that moment, Icy Snow raised her bow and two red arrows appeared on the bowstring. Shortly after, two scarlet radiances flashed, followed by two loud explosions. Julia, who was attacking Rhode's group, let out a howl of grief and covered her eyes. This young lady's space arrows were really powerful.

After disrupting Julia's attack twice, Rhode led his group and arrived beside her. The thieves brandished their daggers and ran Julia's body as though climbing a cliff. The other combat classes that were less mobile snarled and raised their weapons, slashing Julia's legs and huge abdomen. The mages also chanted another incantation. Flame radiances struck her body, forcing her to let out an agonizing scream. She fluttered her arms, attempting to stop the assault. But as she was struck by Icy Snow's attack, she was completely blind. In an instant, she spun on the spot in a fluster, while the players dodged her huge, moving body and climbed upward, at the same time launching attacks on her weaknesses.

At that moment, Shira's and Little Five's attacks also arrived before Julia.

The transparent, razor-sharp blade was as illusory as usual. The specter young lady lifted the green blade and penetrated Julia's heart. On the other hand, Shira burst into laughter, raised the double-handed sword, and hacked one of Julia's hind legs. In a loud crack, she inflicted a deadly gash on the thick hind leg!

"Arghhhh!"

Julia let out a blood-curdling shriek upon receiving multiple attacks from the players, Shira, and Little Five. Julia spread her arms apart and shuddered, and a massive, invisible force erupted and blasted the players and summoned spirits away from her body.

"How dare you hurt me! I will seize your lives! My children, awaken! Devour your prey and let their flesh be your nourishment!"

Along with her snarls, everyone heard loud rustles from their surroundings. Shortly after, along with the rustles, hundreds upon thousands of human-sized, poisonous spiders darted out of the bushes and pounced on Rhode's group!