piratefiction Chapter 391 Making an Enemy of the World
Chapter 391 Making an Enemy of the World
Chapter 391 Making an Enemy of the World
Orario.
The azure sky was crystal clear, and the golden sunlight shone down on the earth, bathing the entire city in a warm and languid golden glow.
A gentle breeze, carrying the fresh scent of flowers and grass, softly caressed the city's streets and alleys.
The streets were bustling with people, vendors were drinking enthusiastically, and a dazzling array of goods shimmered enticingly in the sunlight; children laughed and played, chasing and frolicking in the square; the gods were looking for new amusement, or perhaps trying to recruit newcomers; adventurers gathered in twos and threes in the streets and alleys, talking loudly about yesterday's gains, creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere.
Everyone wore relaxed and contented smiles, fully enjoying the peaceful and beautiful time.
There was not a single sign that disaster was about to strike.
Cassandra, who was out shopping with Astraea and Tiona, had a heavy, melancholic look in her eyes that seemed out of place with the bright sunshine.
"What exactly will happen?"
The images from the precognitive dream kept replaying in Cassandra's mind, and the sense of crisis that only she and Roy knew was like a death knell tolling on.
To guard against Dionysus and Philweis, Tiona, at level 7, is tasked with protecting Astraea.
Tiona looked at Cassandra's gloomy face, flashed a bright smile, and said, "Cassandra, when you're out having fun, you should try to be happy."
Astraea also had a smile on her face.
"but----"
Cassandra's face was contorted with worry. The leader had led the team north to resolve the "Dragon Visit Problem," and she was the only one left in Orario who knew about precognitive dreams. The heavy pressure felt like a mountain pressing down on her shoulders.
A princess who sings praises of a tragic world! The ability to foresee dreams comes from Cassandra, a miracle of the world. Its uniqueness cannot be deciphered, and even the name of the ability cannot be displayed in sacred script. Astraea usually refers to it as "something like this".
Unless a deity uses divine power, one can be affected by the curse of precognitive dreams—it's terrifying!
The three strolled through the commercial district on the upper level of the Tower of Babel, purchasing items needed by their clan. With the Star Garden destroyed, they needed to replenish their daily necessities.
While strolling around, I bumped into a goddess.
Unlike other gods, Freya not only resides in the Battlefield, her clan's home, but also at the top of the Tower of Babel. This was at the suggestion of many male gods, as the highest building in the mortal realm perfectly complements her ultimate beauty.
This special treatment drove Ishtar almost mad, and she tried every means to drag Freya down.
"Asteria".
Freya's figure strode in gracefully, her steps elegant and captivating, her swaying figure a masterpiece of creation, her undulating curves subtly revealed beneath her magnificent long dress.
Her long, flowing silver hair swayed gently behind her, and her violet eyes were as deep as a vortex in the starry night. With just a glance, she could make even the strongest warrior fall for her. She exuded a breathtakingly alluring aura, both sweet and dangerous.
"The Fierce One" Ota, with a massive body like a small mountain, followed closely behind Freya. His aura was bold and fierce, turning the surrounding area into a forbidden zone for strangers. Otherwise, with Freya's charm, she would have instantly attracted countless people.
Tiona and Cassandra looked wary; they had a long history of conflict with the Freya Familia.
In contrast, Astraea seemed much more relaxed. Over hundreds of millions of years, she and Freya had countless conflicts, their relationship somewhat like a love-hate one. "Freya, you're still so beautiful."
Freya's "beauty" transcends gender and race, captivating everyone.
"Cluck—cluck cluck cluck—"
A series of sweet, bell-like laughs rang out as Freya's alluring lips parted slightly. "Asteria, I like you very much. You, who uphold justice, have always been so upright and would never lie easily."
Freya's gentle breath brushed against Astrea's ear. "Astrea, it seems some of your lovely children have left Orario."
Astraea's gentle smile remained unchanged. "Are you going to take this opportunity to deal with us?"
"Hehe, how dare I! Your kid might just send me to the dungeon to be devoured by monsters, since no one can stop him!" Freya smiled sweetly, but her melodious voice carried a hint of apprehension. Through Ota and the others, she already knew that Roy had awakened spatial magic. That kid was a monster!
The two goddesses faced each other with smiles on their faces.
They appeared to be at peace, but it was as if countless unseen swords were clashing wildly between them.
boom!!
Suddenly, a loud roar came from afar.
A chilling silence suddenly descended, breaking the standoff between the two goddesses.
Looking around the city, people's expressions were frozen, their movements were stiff, and an instinctive fear from the depths of their souls gripped everyone.
The terrifying divine power fluctuations that made even the gods tremble swept in from the distant horizon like a world-ending tsunami, covering the sky and earth with unstoppable force.
"That is?"
Astraea and Freya gazed into the distance.
Not only them, but all the gods of Orario turned their heads in unison, their eyes filled with disbelief and horror.
Rumble!!
In the distant sky, the light was completely swallowed up, heavy, leaden clouds rolled and churned, and ferocious, pale lightning bolts danced wildly within them, emitting muffled and majestic thunder. The aura emanating from that sky was filled with the ultimate terror that could wither all things!
Cassandra's face turned pale. She seemed to understand something, foreseeing the destructive scene in her dream.
As everyone gazed at the strange phenomenon in the distance with confusion and bewilderment, Cassandra took the lead.
"Lady Astraea, Lady Tiona, come with me quickly!" Cassandra grabbed their hands and pulled them down to the lower levels, their destination the dungeon!
They bumped into Ais, who had just left the dungeon, along the way.
"Lady Astraea, Tiona, Cassandra." The naturally ditzy blonde beauty tilted her head, looking at the three hurried figures with a puzzled expression.
As neighbors, they knew each other very well.
"Ais, there's no time to explain!" Without waiting for a reply, Tiona, relying on her LV.7 power, hoisted the bewildered Ais onto her shoulder and hurried towards the dungeon.
"Lady Freya, we must follow them."
"Is this your intuition?"
"Then let's go!"
Ota's beast-like instincts keenly sensed the great terror approaching from afar; his only hope of survival lay with Astrea and the other two who were fleeing.
Rumble!
At the center of the boiling dark clouds and lightning, suffocating black mist gathered wildly, condensing, swirling, and twisting, eventually transforming into a colossal scythe that stretched across the heavens and earth, its entire body pitch black, exuding an aura of despair that devoured all light and life.
"This is—the power of Thanatos!"
Upon seeing the scythe, the gods' expressions changed drastically, and they fled in panic, but where could they possibly escape to?
Orario, known as the "center of the world," has a vast urban area, but compared to the overwhelming Death Scythe, it is as insignificant as an ant.
The terrifying giant scythe swung down, its seemingly substantial blade transforming into a black mist of death that swept across the entire city, unstoppable and easily piercing through buildings.
In an instant!
Countless faint fireflies emerged from every corner of the city, forcibly drawing out and sucking out the souls of gods, adventurers, and ordinary people.
They converged into a silent river of light, surging wildly toward the all-consuming scythe of death.
As the soul departs, the city, which was full of life just half an hour ago, dies instantly!
On the streets, in the squares, under the eaves—countless figures—whether powerful adventurers or ordinary citizens—lay lifelessly on the ground like felled ears of wheat, without making a sound.
In an instant, Orario became a dead city!
Only Astraea, Tiona, Cassandra, Ais, Freya, and Otto, who fled to the dungeon, and the other adventurers survived.
"So what exactly happened?"
Apart from Astrea and Freya, who seemed lost in thought, everyone else frowned, a great unease and fear gripping their hearts.
"It is the power of Thanatos, the god of death!" Fels' voice rang out from the shadows.
Everyone turned their heads sharply and saw Fels.
Fels took out the eye crystal and connected with Uranus, who then explained everything to everyone.
"The Ghost of the Guild".
Everyone looked at Fels again, recalling a certain urban legend about guilds training private soldiers. However, Uranus's words quickly diverted everyone's attention. According to him, the surface had been transformed into a death zone, where the Grim Reaper was harvesting souls.
"Rivia, Finn, Grace—"
Ais looked anxious and was about to rush to the surface, but luckily Tiona stopped her.
Astrea and Freya both looked extremely grim. Most of their family members were on the surface, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they should have been reduced to empty shells.
Comparatively speaking, Astraea was in a better mood. Before this incident, Roy had left Orario with nearly half of the girls in his Familia, which was undoubtedly a very fortunate thing.
Unbeknownst to anyone, this "luck" came from the delicate, blue-haired girl standing next to him.
"—We must defeat the monster deep within the man-made labyrinth, or Orario will lose all hope!" Uranus's deep voice emanated from within his eye.
Without Uranus needing to say anything more, Ota, Tiona, and Ais were all filled with murderous intent, wishing they could immediately kill that scorpion Andaris.
"Impossible!"
"Those high-ranking adventurers—the Astrea Familia, the Loki Familia, and the Freya Familia—have all been wiped out. What can we possibly do?"
The novice adventurers who happened to be on the first floor escaped the calamity. Listening to the description by the great god Uranus, they turned pale, their bodies trembled uncontrollably, their knees buckled, and they collapsed to their knees on the cold stone ground.
Despair and fear gripped their hearts.
"Hey, the Astrea Familia isn't wiped out yet!" Tiona interrupted them.
The newcomers turned around and were shocked. The Mighty One, the Sword Maiden, Tiona, and Cassandra were members of the three strongest clans in the world.
There are also the goddesses Astrea and Freya.
Let's go!
Those below LV.2 had no need to participate in the battle, so the group ignored these newcomers.
Guided by Fels, we proceed to the man-made maze, where the first level also has interconnected sections.
-
For the past decade or so, the Dark Faction has been capturing monsters and heretics. Fels and the heretics have been investigating each other and have essentially gained control of those entrances.
"Fierce one, this is probably the spot. It's up to you now." Fels pointed to a corner.
The gate is made of the hardest metal (ostrichite), but the entire man-made maze cannot be made entirely of ostrichite, as the cost would be too high and there would be no need to do so. Part of it is made of an ultra-hard metal (hard steel), which has a hardness second only to ostrichite, but it is not indestructible.
"Hildis Winnie!"
As Ota finished chanting, golden light converged on the greatsword he had snatched from the novice adventurer. Fine cracks immediately appeared on the weapon, which wasn't even a level two weapon, and he could only shrink his power.
Boom!
Ota swung his sword, using the residual light to unleash a golden slash that tore through space. The LV.7 slash ripped through the maze walls, extending for hundreds of meters, shattering the steel behind and revealing a deep abyss-like hole.
Ais's eyes flickered. Impressive! In terms of mastery of afterimages, Ota is even better than Roy!
Others focused their attention on the man-made maze.
"Tsk tsk!"
Everyone looked surprised. They didn't know there was such a place in the underground city. Before they could marvel for long, countless dark purple figures appeared wildly on the ground, rock walls, and ceiling as far as they could see.
The sheer number of scorpion larvae is terrifying.
The Dark Faction has been smuggling for years, sending the man-eating flower monsters bred in the dungeon to the Njord Familia. Naturally, the artificial labyrinth has entrances and exits outside Orario.
Influenced by Baka's curse, Scorpion Andaris entered through the external entrance, assimilating the man-made labyrinth and giving birth to endless monsters.
This place is essentially the enemy's base camp.
A large number of scorpion larvae piled up in the passage, their carapaces colliding, like a surging tide, crushing towards them, overwhelming everything.
The entire space was shrouded in the shadow of a terrifying swarm of insects, creating an unprecedented sense of oppression.
But they couldn't scare Ota, Tiona, and Ais, these battle-hardened adventurers. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the scorpion larvae were at most level 3.
Monsters of this level would be terrifying on the first floor, slaughtering novice adventurers. But Ota and Tiona are LV.7, and Cassandra and Ais are LV.6, the top group in the city.
Roar!
Ota let out a deafening roar, his massive body advancing instead of retreating, his fists like meteors shot from their barrels, accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, as he violently slammed into the swarm of insects!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With a terrifying burst of power, each punch from Ota blasted several scorpion larvae into countless purple-black fragments that flew everywhere, their carapaces shattering and exploding into bursts of blood and flesh fireworks in front of him.
"My beloved Urga is not by my side."
Tiona let out a regretful cry. Who could have predicted this would happen? She couldn't possibly bring her exaggeratedly large double blades with her when she went out shopping.
That annoyance only lingered on her face for a moment!
The next moment, a boiling fighting spirit appeared on that innocent smile. Even without that sword, she could still annihilate the enemy!
"drink!"
Tiona moved with lightning speed, deliberately crashing into the surging swarm of scorpions. Her right fist clenched tightly, she slammed it hard into the head of a giant scorpion that lunged at her. The hard carapace of the scorpion larva exploded, shattered by the force of the blow.
Tiona's attacks were completely unpredictable, full of the Amazon's most primitive and flexible fighting style. Wherever her fists and legs went, the fierce scorpion larvae were smashed to pieces, their shells shattered and their limbs flying everywhere.
Back in the days of fighting in Tyr Scylla, she had no weapons and fought only with her fists.
Therefore, the development of capabilities was chosen through "punching".
Even in hand-to-hand combat, Tiona displayed formidable fighting prowess.
"Awaken!" Ais uttered in a clear and cold voice, activating the magic "Wind Spirit Run," gathering magical energy, and a turquoise gale wrapped around her delicate body.
Having just returned from training in the dungeon, she was suddenly pulled back in by an accident. Her condition was not as good as the others, but she was the only one present who was fully armed.
Swish!
Ais transformed into a green whirlwind, charging forward relentlessly into the monster horde.
The "Sword of Despair," which had just been reforged by the god Gubnew, unleashed a chilling sharpness, its light flashing so fast that only blurry arcs remained.
scoff!
As Ais swept past, the ferocious scorpion larvae that pounced at her were torn apart and reduced to ashes.
Cassandra (LV.6) and Fels (LV.4) protect Astrea and Freya.
Without weapons, even though Astraea's swordsmanship is unparalleled, she has no use for it.
Freya's charm can control dungeon monsters, and even the floor master cannot resist it, except for the black monster—the God Assassin.
The God Assassins, created by the dungeon to take revenge on the gods, are immune to divine power and authority. When faced with a mad and murderous enemy, they attempt to seduce him with their beauty, which is tantamount to adding fuel to the fire.
Moreover, Freya had a strange feeling.
When these scorpion larvae rushed towards her, they were exceptionally fierce. What had she done to deserve this?
Little did she know, she was taking the blame for Roy.
Freya stole the man-made labyrinth, and Baka's curse carries with it a surge of hatred.
The two goddesses have been reduced to mere ornaments, and two combatants have to be assigned to protect them, otherwise, in the perilous dungeon, an accident could happen in no time.
Even if nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected is bound to happen!
Rumble!
The return of Scorpio Andaris, who devoured the two gods, caused tremors of varying degrees across the dungeon floors. His joy was undisguised, his emotions ran high, and monsters sprang up like mushrooms after rain.
Experienced businessmen running their businesses on the eighteenth floor, members of the Ganesha Familia maintaining the elevators, and novice adventurers forced into the battlefield all engage in a frenzied fight.
Meanwhile, inside the man-made maze.
The makeshift team of Ota, Tiona, and Ais unleashed astonishing combat power, carving out a passage through the terrifying swarm of insects.
While clearing out the monsters, the team continued forward, searching for the presence of Scorpion Andaris.
The man-made maze is not as large as the underground city, but it still has eighteen floors, and they have to check each floor one by one.
The workload is enormous!
"It's okay, we can just go from top to bottom!"
Fels said that the heretics would start their investigation from the eighteenth floor upwards, using a two-pronged approach.
Others might not understand what Fels meant, but Astraea knew perfectly well; she and Roy had received help from those children.
Astraea's beautiful face still held her usual gentle smile. Heretics, intelligent monsters, are all a group of kind children.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the group ventured deeper, the scorpion larvae that appeared before them showed significantly increased stats, ranging from LV.4 to LV.5, and even more terrifying were the specially enhanced species.
When they reached the fifth level of the man-made maze, the difficulty doubled, increasing exponentially.
"Eternal struggle, the Thunder Soldiers will never perish!"
Carlos Hilde!
The voice of Hedin Selland could be heard coming from the mouth of a scorpion larva.
The immense magical energy converged, forming hundreds of lightning spheres, each the size of a human head, with destructive electric snakes leaping across its surface.
Boom! Rumble!
The lightning balls fell like a torrential downpour, and with each explosion, the shockwave tore through the earth and swept in all directions!
Ota, Tiona, Ais, and the others, who were fighting a bloody battle among the scorpions, changed their expressions. Relying on their extraordinary sense of danger and reaction speed, they made a desperate dodge, but even so, they were in a very sorry state.
"Herdin Serland's magic!" Cassandra murmured. In Orario, how could anyone not know the magic of the "White Elf's Wand"?
The opponent's magic was used by a monster? The horror of this matter is beyond words.
"The power of death, using the harvested souls to recreate Sachiko's magic, that black monster is truly cunning." Astraea saw through the truth at a glance.
Listening to Astraea's account, everyone broke out in a cold sweat. Didn't that mean that Fang Cai could use the power of all the harvested souls?
To be an enemy of the world?!
Astraea shook her head, "No, they can't completely replicate Sachiko's fighting power. Their greatest strength lies in understanding people's hearts, allowing magic to reappear."
Hearing this, everyone felt a little better.
But being able to use magic is already a terrifying prospect; magic is known as the power of magic, possessing all sorts of bizarre effects.
All of this was seen by Hells and Uranus through the eye crystal in Fels's hand.
"—Blessings, blessings! I am made of gold, and with the light of revival, I summon endless strife to this place!"
Ling Gulweger!
After the scorpion larvae hidden in the corner finished their chanting, golden light shone down, and all the injured scorpion larvae rose again, fully restored.
This time it's the healing magic of Heiji Bellpert, the "Golden Witch" of the Freya Familia. Before Cassandra and others rose to power, she was known as the strongest healer in Orario, along with Amid. She could save people who were on the verge of death. But now she's using it on a monster. It's quite ironic.
"This is really unpleasant!"
For the first time, a deep disgust surfaced on Freya's stunningly beautiful face. Her slender, snow-white feet, clad in high heels, stomped impatiently on the ground, making a soft "thump-thump" sound. She coldly said, "Ota, get rid of these eyesores!"
Ota responded with a low growl.
Its massive, powerful body seemed to transform into a steel fortress, violently crashing into the swarm of scorpion insects and tearing all the monsters apart.
Upon learning that these scorpion larvae could use other people's magic, Ota and Ais no longer held back.
"Sweep away!"
Ais whispered, her voice cold and resolute, as the output of her magic "Wind Spirit Rush" increased further, unleashing blade-like cyan wind blades that tore through the air.
Afterglow!
In the eye of the raging storm, Ais swung her sword of despair. The sharp blue slash swept across the battlefield, instantly tearing apart a line of scorpion larvae and pulverizing the surrounding monsters with terrifying wind pressure.
Looking ahead, there was no obstruction; this slash had killed at least several hundred scorpion larvae!
It also benefits from the boost from "Revenge Princess".
However, this time the target was not a dragon. The residual light slash with "Wind Spirit Swiftness" was not as terrifying as before. It crossed a level and reached LV.7.