Summoning the Holy Sword

Chapter 1278: Book of Death (3)

I'm close to winning.

Gazing at the Chaos army that charged to the bottom of the city walls, Ion revealed a proud smile. It was apparent that even though the other party was struggling, breaking through them was only a matter of time. Ion was deeply confident that in just a few moments, his army would crumble the barrier and when that happened, Chaos would infiltrate the Dragon Soul Continent and begin its dominance!

"What?!"

But at that moment, Ion turned around abruptly to the fog in the distance. Although there was nothing, Ion's vision seemed to penetrate space as he witnessed a barrier flickering in golden magical brilliance enveloped the Darkness Capital! Looking at this scene, Ion was in disbelief.

What's going on? How did that happen? How did those guys slip through my Chaos army and enter the Darkness Capital? Why didn't I realize it? Logically speaking, once Order inhabitants enter the world of Chaos, they should be discovered straight away. But with so many Chaos inhabitants around, why weren't they spotted?

This question flashed in his mind, but quickly turned into a more concerning doubt.

What are those people doing in the Darkness Capital? What are they trying to achieve?

There was an instant when Ion decided to withdraw his army. Being ambushed from the rear completely exceeded his expectations. He didn't expect this to happen. After all, this was a land of Chaos and any Order inhabitants who entered would be put under tremendous pressure, not to mention that Chaos had an ubiquitous influence. As a matter of common sense, those Order inhabitants would be surrounded and slaughtered by Chaos creatures as soon as they stepped into a land of Chaos. But they actually sneaked through the land of Chaos and made it to the Darkness Capital?

But…

This thought cropped up in Ion's mind and made him hesitate once more. He was uncertain about the current battle progress, but the situation was good for him at that moment. Besides, he also finally realized that the Chaos Lords that he summoned were totally unreliable. They didn't follow his commands and did whatever they wanted. This gave him a huge headache. He finally had a good understanding of what characteristics 'Chaos' had from another angle.

In this situation, even if Ion were to send the Chaos Lords as reinforcements, perhaps they wouldn't take his commands to heart. Not only that, but perhaps the Chaos Lords might also head home after hearing his order instead. From a certain degree, even though Ion felt like this wasn't a bad choice, it was a pity that he still needed their strength. Although they disobeyed his orders, at least they were able to summon countless Chaos creatures into battle. Although Ion was completely influenced by Chaos, he was a 'novice', after all. In this aspect, he was on a completely different level from the Chaos Lords. If he were to let the Chaos Lords leave, trying to break through his younger sister's defensive line on his own would be almost impossible.

Looks like I can only keep going!

At this thought, Ion let out a snort and made his decision. Although he didn't know what those people were doing in the Darkness Capital, he didn't need to bother about them. That place was turned into a land of Chaos. No matter what they tried to do, they would be encircled by Chaos creatures. Besides, if Ion wasn't mistaken, there were three Chaos Lords in the Darkness Capital. Although he didn't know how many Order inhabitants trespassed, there shouldn't be too many of them. Or perhaps, in the face of the mighty and endless Chaos, it wouldn't be enough no matter how many of them there were.

In that case, I'll just send them to their own demise. It isn't too late to find trouble with those guys after I break down this defensive line. Of course, that's if they can survive until then.

At this thought, Ion put his mind at ease. He lifted his head and gazed forward, giving a command.

"Continue attacking!"

***

In a routine scream, the Chaos Lord perished under Little Five's blade. Looking at this scene, Canary and Rhode couldn't help but shake their heads and let out long sighs. One had to admit that this Chaos Lord was indeed tough to deal with under normal circumstances. It could be seen that it decided to unleash its ultimate skill and all attacks it received were ineffective. Logically speaking, facing this ultimate skill from a Chaos Lord, players could either intervene or brace themselves. But it was a pity that although this Chaos Lord took in almost everyone's attack, it missed Little Five's. As a specter, her spiritual attack belonged to a fourth category, which coincidentally wasn't within its immunity range.

Such is life…

"Alright, pack up, resurrect, and take a break… We're pressed for time."

Unsure if Rhode's hopes were crushed by Lapis earlier, he shifted his gaze away from the Chaos Lord's remains and didn't mention anything about looting its corpse. Unlike in the past, as this Chaos Lord's abilities were unknown, Canary lost many party members. Apart from the thieves, close-combat classes, and three holy knights who were engulfed by the deadly wave, four other mages were also hurt. Fortunately, most of the clerics survived. After casting several great resurrection spells, the corpses on the ground crawled to their feet once again… But it was a pity that they didn't turn into undead spirits.

But come to think of it, there wasn't anything worthy of feeling pity.

Just as Rhode turned around and decided to leave, Lapis, who stood at the side all this while, stepped forward. She extended her arm and touched the Chaos Lord's corpse…

"Ah, Sir Rhode, I found an interesting book."

"Oh?"

After hearing her remarks, Rhode turned around instantly, only to see Lapis holding and waving a pitch-black, heavy book at him. Looking at this scene, Rhode was surprised. He thought his 'unlucky looting aura' had infected the people around him. But now, it seemed like Lapis wasn't entirely a goner yet. Although he wasn't sure what that book was about, judging from its cover, it was obvious that it was something valuable.

"Good. Pass it to me, Lapis."

Rhode said, stretched his arm out, and took the book. Shortly after, the name of the book appeared before him.

[Received <Book of Death>. Level ???. Can be awakened]

Book of Death?

Gazing at the heavy book wrapped in steel chains, Rhode knitted his brows. He felt a strong and dense energy of death from the book, but what captured his attention the most was the system prompt.

Could this book be a tool to summon spirits?

At this thought, Rhode gripped the book. Shortly after, a summoning ritual emanated on his palm…

For that reason, he didn't notice Celestina and Little Five sulking as they stared at the book.

"No! Master!"

As Celestina yelled, Rhode ceased the summoning ritual on his right hand.

"What's wrong, Celestina? Is there something wrong with this book?"

Rhode asked, turning to Celestina. At that moment, Celestina looked pale as though the book was about to bring an end to this world. The specter young lady who stood beside her also revealed an obvious look of relief. On the contrary, Shira, who didn't care about anything in this world, stared at the book blankly. The unique expressions on the three young ladies garnered Rhode's attention. Based on his experience, this book definitely had something to do with their companions; else, the three card spirits wouldn't reveal such emotions. Could it be…

"This is one of your sisters too?"

"Yes, Master."

After hearing Rhode's question, Celestina shifted her gaze to the thick, black book in terror again, swallowing a mouthful of saliva involuntarily, and responded.

"That… That is Third Big Sister…"

Third Big Sister?

After hearing Celestina's remarks, Rhode sized up the book in his hand…

Yes, this cover, spine, and pages. This is definitely a book, right?

A holy sword? Why does it feel like the higher the seats, the stranger the forms of the holy sword card spirit? Those at the lower seats were at least in sword forms, but from Little Five onward, they don't look anything like weapons. No matter how deliberate the misrepresentation is, this book can't be possibly treated as a sword, right?!

At this thought, Rhode couldn't help but imagine himself crushing a card in his palm, summoning a book in his hand, and throwing it at the enemy…

It was hilarious just thinking about it.

"Ugh… It isn't what you think, Master."

At that moment, Celestina seemed to realize that Rhode misunderstood the situation entirely. She let out an awkward cough and explained.

"Although we were sealed like her back then, First Big Sister, Second Big Sister, and Third Big Sister were different. Because they are too powerful, not only were their consciousness sealed inside weapons, but they were also sealed an additional two more times by Karin. The second seal is to lock them inside the books, which is why they ended up like this."

"What about the third seal?"

Rhode couldn't help but ask curiously. As of now, he had summoned seven holy sword card spirits—Celia, Celestina, Gracier, Madaras, Karin, Little Five, and Shira. All of their summoning processes were relatively simple, where he used the skill of a Spirit Swordsman. He didn't expect the top three holy sword cards to be this troublesome. Of course, he met similar situations in the game, where he had to fulfill more conditions than usual to unlock powerful cards and sign contracts with them as his summoning spirit. However, he didn't expect the top three cards to have such restrictions.

Facing Rhode's question, Celestina puckered her brows and felt a little helpless.

"That I'm not too sure, Master. Back then, our consciousnesses were sealed by Karin, and this was what I heard from her. I'm only aware that one of the prerequisites is that all three books must be collected to summon all of them at once. Otherwise, something terrible will happen."

"Karin, huh…"

Rhode thought for a while. If that was what Karin said, perhaps such conditions did exist.

"Yes, Big Sister Karin said when the seals are removed, the powers of the three big sisters will unleash at once. In order to defy that power, she created a condition that all three books must be gathered before they can be summoned. Besides, with your power right now…"

"I see."

After hearing Celestina's explanation, Rhode more or less understood why she was so anxious, wanting to stop him. As a matter of fact, he sensed a dense presence of death from the book already. Judging from this point, the three big sisters that she mentioned definitely had something to do with 'death'. If it was just like what Celestina mentioned—the power of death would surely be formidable when the seals were removed. Perhaps Rhode could give it a shot in his Void Dragon form, but in his current state, maybe they would end up in a disaster if he were to forcefully remove the seal.

It was a pity that Karin wasn't around. Even though she was Rhode's summoning spirit, as a technical person, Karin basically stayed home like Lapis. And this time, in order to deal with Chaos, he left Karin in Grandia. Since he was in a land of Chaos now, he naturally had no ways of contacting her. It seemed like the only way left was to head back and discuss this with her later.

I didn't expect myself to be so lucky to find another card spirit…

For Rhode, being able to coincidentally find yet another holy sword card spirit was purely a bonus. However, he was also rather astonished. According to Celestina, the other two big sisters possessed strength equal to and as powerful as this spirit in the book. Not only that, but their power could also cancel each other out. Did this mean that their powers were relative? Since the power of this book was darkness and death, could the other books be light and vitality?

Considering the fact that this book was found in the Darkness Capital, could the other books be found in Casabianca, the main capital of the Country of Light?

At this thought, Rhode felt tremendous pressure. Casabianca had been blasted into debris by him. Could a book even survive the devastation?

Looks like I will need to search for them after heading back.

But that would only occur later, after all. Rhode threw this matter to the back of his head and led Canary and the rest toward the next destination, which was where the third and final Chaos Lord was.

Mirror was doing much better than Canary. After all, the Chaos Lord they met was one that players dealt with in the game, so it wasn't too challenging. But unlike Julia and that bandage-like Chaos Lord, this Chaos Lord was a total meat shield. Even though its attacking patterns were easy to read, its powerful strength and strong, massive body were a headache for them. Fortunately, it had slow movement speeds, which was why the group was able to contain it successfully. But even so, when Rhode's group finally arrived, Mirror was already half-battered. After all, there weren't many tankers in her squad. In order to ensure their covert operation, Rhode mainly chose light-armored classes, so it went without saying that they couldn't deal with the violent punches of such a thick-skinned Chaos Lord. They used all their strength to attract its attention and ended up losing half their manpower.

But after Rhode's and Canary's groups arrived, the battle situation took a turn immediately. As players had dealt with this Chaos Lord in the game, they quickly gathered and defeated it in a single wave. In total, they spent a little more time than defeating Julia. This final Chaos Lord howled as it died to their attacks.

"Phew…"

Gazing at the disappearance of this last Chaos Lord, Rhode wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead and glanced at his pocket watch. They spent more than seven hours after entering the Darkness Capital. Even if Ion were an idiot, he would have noticed that something was amiss by now. But even so, Ion didn't return yet, which proved that Orchid Heart's strategy was working. It seemed like Ion were as though a donkey chasing the carrot dangling before it, only rushing ahead continuously…

Rhode's only hope was that Ion remained foolish and wouldn't react in time.

But Rhode also knew that this definitely wasn't realistic, which was why he didn't say much, but waved his arm and gave a command after the group was resurrected instead.

"Alright, everyone get ready. You're aware of your mission. Now, I want you to work with Lapis in setting up the Plane Destruction Bombs. At the same time, be wary of your surroundings, especially the infiltration of Chaos creatures. Remember, we don't have much time! Ion, that fool, will return anytime. We must hurry. Understand?"

Rhode yelled. But what left him dubious was that this time, his guild didn't answer immediately. On the other hand, they looked around their surroundings as though something was occupying their minds. Looking at this scene, Rhode couldn't help but knit his brows. A sense of suspicion rose from the depths of his heart. Although his elite squad was usually loose and casual, they were always serious when needed. But now, why were they acting strangely?

"What's wrong?"

"Erm… Leader? Our spiritual powers are restoring really slowly…"

While Rhode was confused, one of the clerics raised her arm timidly and spoke. Upon hearing her words, the rest also nodded.

"She's right, Leader. Our spiritual powers are recovering really slowly, at a rate of only one percent every minute."

"How is that possible?"

Rhode was startled. But before he figured out what happened, Mini Bubble Gum's voice sounded in his head.

"Leader, what have you done? The spiritual powers of my clerics are plummeting and they can't replenish in time! If this goes on, the barrier will be done for in just an hour!"

An hour?!

Upon hearing Mini Bubble Gum's remarks, Rhode's heart sank. According to Lapis, setting up a Plane Destruction Bomb required half an hour. And now, Mini Bubble Gum actually said that the Order barrier could only last for one more hour?

"Lesa, what's going on?"

Shortly after, Rhode realized this problem only plagued the elite members who were projected. Canary and Mini Bubble Gum were Phantom Guardians, so they weren't affected at all. Rhode turned around hurriedly and gazed at Lesa, who stood silently beside him.

At that moment, he also discovered that Lesa wasn't looking well either. The petite young lady looked pale with large beads of sweat trickling down her forehead. Upon hearing his question, she lifted her head and opened her mouth, but before she spoke, she fell weakly into his embrace.

"Lesa, what's wrong? What's happening?!"

Looking at this scene, Rhode was shocked. Lesa was the psychic of the Astral Temple and also the core of these projected players. If anything were to happen to her, everything would be done for!

"…"

Facing Rhode's anxious questions, Lesa opened her mouth, took in a deep breath, and answered weakly.

"… I over-consumed my spiritual powers… Master…"

Lesa said, her beautiful, azure eyes blinking and staring lifelessly at him.

"… I need to replenish my spiritual powers…"

She continued.