Chapter 2014

[Stop the Erosion Ritual]

There were only four days left on the time limit for the world quest that had been causing a lot of turmoil. Failing this quest would have dangerous consequences, but no one was alarmed.

On the West Continent, the Overgeared members used the Tomb of the Gods as their base, while on the East Continent, the rankers who had received the blessings of the old dragons destroyed a Full Moon Fortress. Both sides had destroyed most of the fortresses.

There were now only two Full Moon Fortresses left, one on each continent. People were watching the events unfold on various media platforms and through rankers' livestreams. Some drank beer at a pub, some ate popcorn, some ate with their family, and some drank tea quietly while watching. They enjoyed the final battle that could change Satisfy's fate like it was a sports event since it was very likely that humanity would win and that the cultivators would lose.

The cultivators were discussing what to do.

"This is the last bastion. For four days, we must do our best to stop the enemy's offensive."

"Most of our enemies are mortals. Even those who are cultivators have only recently condensed their spiritual roots. They are below the level of the foundation building realm. There is absolutely no reason for us to be pushed back. We will surely win."

Of course, the cultivators gathered in the Full Moon Fortresses were formidable. There were those who couldn't participate in the construction of the Full Moon Fortress because the size of their sect was too small, those who didn't belong to a sect in the first place and wandered the world alone, those who had committed serious sins and had therefore been expelled, and so on.

All the cultivators scattered across the world gathered at the two Full Moon Fortresses. The cultivators had nowhere to retreat, so they abandoned their selfishness and united with a common goal in mind.

There weren't that many Overgeared members.

"These cultivators are really putting up a fight. I wasn't expecting that."

"They recover their HP so quickly with elixirs and mystical arts that attrition warfare isn't very effective. Why don't we log out for a while and log back in when other groups are active?"

Because players couldn't access the game for longer than twenty hours, the Overgeared Guild was forced to split into groups so that they could launch attacks on the fortresses twenty-four hours a day.

The guild members were split into two groups and spent half the day trying to fill in the gaps of the troops as much as possible. Thanks to this, the players had been working over the past ten days without pausing and destroyed the Full Moon Fortresses across the continent. However, this was now a hindrance.

For an all-out war, it was necessary for the Overgeared members to be logged in at the same time.

The executives of the Overgeared Guild were sharing their thoughts.

"The enemy has a lot of Absolutes. Can the Apostles and Tower members survive without us?"

"If we all log out for about an hour so we can all be online at the same time... But if we do that, this will cost us a lot of troops..."

"You think one hour is enough? Even if we launch an all-out offensive, do you think we can capture that place in one hour? Why are you so optimistic?"

"The sheer number of formations set up around the last Full Moon Fortress seems enormous."

Jishuka entered the barracks and offered a suggestion. "The enemy doesn't have infinite elixirs. Besides, we still have four days to go. We will continue fighting following the rotations we have set in place while adjusting the connection time of each group little by little. On the third day, there will be an hour when all guild members will be logged in at the same time."

Her fingertips were red like touch-me-not flowers, bruised from shooting so many arrows. Even after drinking potions and elixirs to restore the fingertips to normal, her fingers were still bloodied because of how strong the recoil of the bow was. She was surely in pain, but she didn't show it.

The executives nodded. They respected Jishuka because she was a natural leader and very skilled. "That is the ideal method. I agree with Jishuka."

"By the way, are your hands okay?" Chris asked.

Chris also played the role of captain in most missions. Since he didn't often work with Jishuka, he only now noticed her red-stained fingers.

"It's hard to develop resistance to the same wounds. In fact, in many cases, the injury can become permanent."

After becoming Tzudan's Successor, Chris became an even more aggressive tyrant. He jumped into fights no matter what and had constant wounds all over his body. He knew very well that people didn't develop a resistance to pain. This applied especially to high rankers who had set the synchronization rate to the maximum amount. Thus, he understood how Jishuka felt.

"This? My fingers bruise every time I shoot an arrow. It's not a big deal," Jishuka said indifferently.

She thought of the times Grid had fought until he couldn't move anymore. She had recently watched a video of the battle between Grid and Garam, and her heart felt very heavy. She wouldn't find it weird if Grid suffered from PTSD. Until now, he had overcome all the hard trials he'd been through thanks to his unwavering mental toughness, but there had to be a limit to that.

"The last Full Moon Fortress... Let's make sure we deal with it ourselves before Grid comes back."

Jishuka hoped that Grid, her one and only lover, would get enough rest. Therefore, she planned more thoroughly than usual and deployed aggressive tactics, greatly pressuring the cultivators hiding within the Full Moon Fortress.

"That woman with red fingertips knows how to strategize and is a great leader. That's why the enemy forces don't lose their momentum."

"I understand. Let's focus on her."

The cultivators realized how much Jishuka was doing in the ongoing battle and came up with a plan.

In the deepest part of the Full Moon Fortress where complex formations that connected dimensions were unfolded, fifty high-ranking cultivators gathered to complete a single mystical art. They had to pay with their lives for this incredibly powerful art.

"Die."

[An invisible killing intent has flown in and destroyed your heart.]

"......!"

Jishuka didn't even get a warning beforehand. She was commanding the troops when she suddenly stumbled. Blood spilled from her nose, mouth, ears, and eyes.

"Jishuka!"

The people in the Overgeared Guild's camp freaked out. Jishuka always knew what orders to give out, so it was really bad that she wasn't telling them what to do even for even a moment. The momentum of the Overgeared members suddenly dropped.

"Now!"

The cultivators went on the counterattack. They jumped from the walls of the Full Moon Fortress and launched an all-out attack. The empire's soldiers were taken by surprise and scrambled. The knights tried to calm them down while the Overgeared members went to the frontline to meet the enemy's advance.

"Bah!"

The low-level cultivators were in the frontline. They used all of their spiritual energy into their shields and blocked most of the skills of the Overgeared members. The cultivators charged into the battlefield, gaining a lot of distance. They had their sights on Huroi, Toban, Laella, Zirkan, and many others who had been helping Jishuka commanding the troops.

Vantner chuckled when he noticed what the enemy was planning. "As expected, aren't tanks the best?"

As Jishuka's deputy, Vantner was also on the same level as a commander. However, no cultivators targeted him. He believed this was because they weren't confident enough to break through his thick shield.

Pon told him the truth. "Pretty sure they think it's better to keep you alive since your tactics are so terrible."

"You should swing your spear more and talk less. Stop being jealous."

Vantner and Pon were always in the vanguard. They couldn't go help Jishuka, who was in the backline. Therefore, there was no gloominess on their faces as they focused on the enemies in front of them.

Jishuka was the second in command when Lauel was gone, and she had a shadow ruler next to her, protecting her.

"This ghostly bastard...!"

The Transcendent-level cultivators had tried to launch a secret attack by targeting Jishuka, who was tenaciously holding on despite being struck directly in the heart. The cultivators' faces suddenly turned pale.

There was a ghost lurking in the shadows. It was none other than Death God Faker, who had become notorious in the cultivation world at some point. He blocked the attacks that the cultivators were hurling at Jishuka. Faker leapt out of her shadow and swung his sword, catching the cultivators off guard.

Faker combined shadow magic and dark magic with his dragon weapon, so his attack power was high enough to shatter the cultivators' shields.

He told Jishuka, "Don't worry about the rest. Just focus on recovering."

"Thank you."

Jishuka was a legend and a Transcendent. Even though she had been seriously wounded, she didn't die immediately. Instead, her invincibility passive triggered and she entered the immortal state. She wanted to recover.

Where there is light, there must be shadow.

Faker created hundreds of shadow soldiers. He protected Jishuka and pointed spears and swords at the cultivators. He was truly a one-man army.

The cultivators couldn't break through Faker's defenses. The fact that there was no Absolute-level cultivator present really hindered them. The most powerful cultivators were currently on the outskirts of the Full Moon Fortress dealing with Braham, Hayate, and the other Apostles and Tower members.

"No one will come to help us. We must break through."

The Absolutes on both sides were keeping each other in check. No one was losing, no one was winning. Neither party would leave their positions because they risked losing this balance.

Victory had to be achieved without relying on Absolutes...

"We will launch the Profound Autumn Formation."

"......!"

The cultivators were worried since they couldn't deal with the shadow soldiers that kept rising no matter how many times they were killed. Suddenly, the eyes of the cultivators widened when the elders of the Taemun Sect declared that they would use a forbidden formation.

"Are you willing to give up your lives?"

"If this is the only way to protect the only remaining Full Moon Fortress, yes. Are our lives valuable considering how old we are?" the elders said solemnly. They seemed very determined to go through with this plan.

It made sense why the cultivators of the Taemun Sect respected their elders.

"We won't let your sacrifices be in vain."

"So be it. Be sure to complete the Full Moon Fortress. Once our allies arrive from the mainland, we will get our hands on this world."

Cultivators considered that nothing mattered more than their lives. But now that they had their backs against the wall, they cooperated as if they were mortals.

"Of course."

A multitude of mystical characters flowed from the elders' hands. The formation of the Taemun Sect elders was gradually perfected. Faker sensed something was up and tried to stop them, but even with the shadow movement technique, it wasn't easy for him to shake off multiple Transcendents.

"Destroy them, Faker."

Jishuka gave up on trying to heal back up. She threw away the potion in her hand and grabbed her greatbow. She drew back the bowstring to the point where it seemed like it would break. All the shadow soldiers were destroyed by the light emitted from the arrow of divinity gathered at the tip of the bow.

"Profound!"

"Autumn Formation!"

After the elders cried out—

Flash!

—random, complex shapes appeared at Jishuka's feet.

Jishuka twisted like a pretzel, but she let go of her bowstring in time.

As she turned into ash, three of the cultivators who had created the formation collapsed, coughing up blood.

"Aghhhh!"

Six cultivators got hit by the arrows of white light and were seriously injured. Faker didn't miss the opportunity that Jishuka had created. He attacked the cultivators who suffered the most injuries and decapitated two of them.

In return for killing Jishuka, a total of five Transcendent cultivators died. This had only been possible because of Jishuka and Faker. The cultivators had suffered greater losses than the Overgeared members.

"Huhu."

The cultivators laughed. They expected the collapse of the enemy's chain of command. Even though they had sacrificed a lot, they believed that they had greatly helped their allies.

The cultivators were aware that Jishuka could resurrect since they knew players could do that. A number of cultivators skilled in stealth were waiting near the resurrection point, and they would attack Jishuka as soon as she returned. Her invincibility passive would be on cooldown, so she was bound to die.

[Whisper to Knight: Knight, Soul Resurrection.]

[Whisper from Knight: You know that the death penalty is doubled if you do that, right?]

[Whisper to Knight: Yes, that's fine.]

Jishuka was aware of the cultivators' intentions. With the help of Knight, who temporarily postponed his mission in hell to join the battlefield, Jishuka resurrected at a completely different location from the cultivators' predictions.

[The player Knight wants to resurrect you. Would you like to accept?]

[You have accepted.]

[You will resurrect next to the player Knight. Your ruined mortal flesh is guided by the soul and regenerated.]

The hidden class, Death God, specialized in tracking and killing souls. He only had one buff or cooperative skill that helped his allies. This was the Soul Resurrection skill, which summoned the souls of his dead allies to his side. It wasn't bound by any saved resurrection points, and was a very valuable skill to have. It was especially powerful when used in areas where it was impossible to resurrect or re-enter after death. It had the serious disadvantage of doubling the death penalty, but it was worth using in a situation like this.

[Whisper to Zibal: Zibal, close the entrance to the Tomb of the Gods.]

Jishuka respawned near the front lines where only low-level cultivators with protective shields were present. She began giving out orders again.

A huge blue veil surrounded the Tomb of the Gods. Now, the last battle would take place on the Tomb of the Gods.

This meant that most of the high-ranking cultivators who had attacked key personnel, such as Jishuka, ended up trapped in the Tomb of the Gods. This would only last for a few minutes, but it was an advantage that was worth using.

"Good. In the meantime, we will destroy the protective mechanisms that have been set up around the Full Moon Fortress."