The Oracle Paths

The next morning at dawn, Jake and the elite Myrtharian Nerds stood a few kilometers away from Cradel, the Schwazen capital, waiting for the signal from Vexa and Radur to take action. Only those qualified for the mission were allowed to participate.

As a result, there were only 16 of them. Jake, Hade, Lucia, Xaverie, Asfrid, Gerulf, Rogen, Kenway, Haynt, Hephais, Svara, Shere Khan, Mufasa, Tim, Azeus and Maeve.

Maeve was the unexpected last minute addition to the group. Her show of strength had been endorsed by Hade and Asfrid, and Jake had to admit that her field of expertise was adequate for this undercover mission.

Other Myrtharian Nerds such as Drastan, Aisling, Enya, Crunch, Daniel and Kevin would be tasked with adding to the chaos and causing mayhem by slaughtering the Schwazens in the capital alongside Radur.

The stakes were so high that Jake had hesitated to bring along brutes like Gerulf, Rogen, Shere Khan and Mufasa with them, but he finally felt that it could also work to their advantage if the plan didn't go as planned.

Because he had at least one certainty about them... They would not die easily.

Suddenly, from their hiding place, Jake and the others were blinded by dozens of dazzling flashes. As their retinas adjusted, they saw several atomic mushrooms several kilometers high rising to the clouds.

A blast of fire razed the capital within seconds, until a huge shield of holy light stopped the expansion of the blast. Three furious streaks of golden light shot out of the city and went after the culprit: Vexa.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Jake counted the three distant detonations and received confirmation that Vexa and his men had indeed succeeded in luring 3 Virtues out of Cradel.

'Radur's turn now.' He muttered darkly.

This was the trickiest part of the plan. If it went well, the two Virtues defending the two temples would also be lured out of the capital, but if it didn't, his and the other Myrtharian Nerds' mission would become dozens of times more difficult and risky.

Radur was even more belligerent and confrontational than Vexa. After the holy light shield enveloping the city was erected, the greenish alien hovered over the energy dome and sneered,

"For corrupt Angels out to destroy the world, you're pretty damn spineless."

He waited a moment, but only silence answered him. He did garner a few thousand hateful looks from the Schwazen citizens, but no Principalities, Powers or Virtues responded to his provocation.

"You asked for it..."

At near teleportation speed the scorpion stinger of his tail stabbed itself all the way to its base in the light shield. There was no sound, but the dome of light turned black instantly, then shattered into pieces like a broken window.

Everything in the path of the dart, even that which had not been directly hit, was replaced by a gaping hole several miles deep. The inside of the drilled tunnel also turned black, and the blackness spread over a half kilometer radius, causing several parts of the city to collapse.

The Schwazens who did not fly away in time, whether angels or archangels, disintegrated in a few seconds under the effect of the poison. Several Principalities were also affected by the poison particles that spread through the air and their aura began to fluctuate as they all used their powers to narrowly escape instant death.

"So this is what the True Will of a Mirror Vanguard leader looks like..." Tim mumbled in a clearly jealous tone. "Really unfair."

His words reflected everyone's opinion. A single sting had been enough to destroy a supposedly invulnerable energy shield, while dozens of thousands of overpowered Schwazens had lost their lives.

If the Myrtharian Nerds had faced this Player even three months earlier, their entire faction would have been decimated. Only Jake, Gerulf, Rogen, Hade and a few other unkillable anomalies might have survived that first clash.

Even today, very few of them would dare to say that they could take such a blow head-on. Their True Will was in its infancy and the Killing Moves they had developed were rarely intended for self-defense, but more as a trump card that could offer victory in the most desperate situations.

Meanwhile, the poison continued to spread, causing other neighborhoods to collapse and thousands of helpless Schwazens to die. Only when several hundred Principalities and several Powers combined their powers was the spread of the poison finally halted.

But still no Virtues were found.

Radur frowned. The caution of these angels was causing him serious grief. How were they supposed to lure them if they refused to respond to his provocations.

Annoyed, he waved his hand and launched the assault. The thousands of Mirror Vanguard Players under his command teleported behind him and unleashed their ultimate techniques. A deluge of magics and abilities as disparate as they were destructive fell on the already damaged city and the entire capital with the exception of the two temples and a few palaces was razed to the ground.

Only a few Principalities survived the assault, but they were seriously injured. However, thanks to this all out attack, Radur finally got the desired effect.

At that moment, thousands of Schwazens burst out of the two temples with a deafening drone. The second leader of Mirror Vanguard was at first delighted, until his face broke down when he saw that they were thousands of Powers and Principalities.

'Sorry Vexa, I really did my best,' he apologized shamefully in his head.

A Principality could easily outperform the Jake from two months ago relying only on its embryonic True Will of Destruction. Their Spirit Body level was around 80 and their Body stats on par with a Silver Myrtharian. Including their Soul Classes and other amplification factors it was not an exaggeration to say that they were literally invincible except for a few rare players like the Nullifyer or Vexa.

A Schwazen Power was even more terrifying. Their Spirit Body level was around 90, but their Body stats were close to those of Jake, Gerulf and co. Their True Will of Destruction was also mature and fully functional. One of their attacks could even mortally wound Players like Vexa and Radur.

Right now, 2400 Principalities and 600 Powers were flying with heavy killing intent towards Radur and his men. The two Virtues may not have been there, but it was all the same.

"Scatter!" Radur shouted to his men as he threw a spherical artifact at the Schwazens' army.

The object exploded with a blinding flash and Powers and Principalities were momentarily stuck in the air, their wings flapping in slow motion. The flow of time had been locally altered.

Yet all of a sudden, from the Digestor temple, a black laser pierced the altered area and time immediately resumed its normal course. The Powers and Principalities, having noticed nothing, continued to charge towards Mirror Vanguard as if nothing had happened.

In the blink of an eye, the role of harasser and harassed was reversed, and Radur and his men fled in panic, fleeing eastward. However, an observant bystander might have noticed that their chaotic and terrified retreat was mere theater. Radur was constantly giving new orders and his men adjusted their flight accordingly.

Squinting, Jake and his group laughed as Lord Phenix cawed and sobbed each time a Schwazen attack vaporized some feathers. Crunch was bouncing around dodging all the attacks, seemingly in dire straits.

Then his tail suddenly stuck in the snow and retracted like a spring. A loud bang rang out as the bushy tail unfolded, and the next moment the shredded corpse of a Principality appeared in the black cat's mouth. Not only Jake, even Radur and the other Mirror Vanguard Players were shocked.

"Hmm, should I give up my place as the Alpha?" Mufasa grinned in amusement. The progress of this stupid cat was astounding.

Enya also retaliated with a scarlet fireball of her own design boosted by her True Will and almost as fast as a laser beam, but no luck a Power stopped the attack by casually setting up a light force field. After Crunch's masterstroke, the Schwazens were now vigilant.

Soon Radur and the thousands of Powers and Principalities chasing him disappeared into the distance and silence returned to the capital. Cradel was in ruins, but the two temples loomed unscathed over them from their full height.

"Fuck! How are we supposed to sneak in if all the buildings have been destroyed?" Lucia cursed madly. That Radur was just a big jerk!

Jake's face was also twitching and he was tempted to abort the mission. However, he soon changed his mind and his resolve became all the more unshakeable. He hadn't done all this for nothing.

"Who wants to fight a Virtue with me?" He asked grimly.

He expected them to hesitate, but with an excited laugh Lucia exclaimed,

"They're just gigolos with wings. I'll show them what the word Victory means."

" Can you eat a virtue? " Gerulf grunted, no one sure if he was serious or joking.