Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 908: Preparing for the Worst

"The Kingdom Of Ra'Lashar? What the hell are they doing over there?" Zac frowned."Nothing good, I assume," Ogras said.

"Are you sure there's nothing left there?" Zac asked.

"Shouldn't be," Ogras said, but he didn't look too confident. "After my quest there finished, the whole thing collapsed. A Spatial Rift swallowed the central tower. I

Level

150

Class

[E-Epic] Edge of Arcadia

Race

[D] Human - Void Emperor (Corrupted)

Alignment

[Zecia] Atwood Empire – Baron of Conquest

Titles

[...] Grand Fate, Blooddrenched Baron, Connate Conqueror, The Second Step, Singular Specialist

Limited Titles

Tower of Eternity Sector All-Star - 14th, The Final Twilight, Equanimity, Heart of Fire, Big Axe Gladiator

Dao

Branch of the War Axe - Early, Branch of the Kalpataru - Early, Branch of the Pale Seal - Early

Core

[E] Duplicity

Strength

20876 [Increase: 143%. Efficiency: 287%]

Dexterity

8674 [Increase: 103%. Efficiency: 206%]

Endurance

15727 [Increase: 134%. Efficiency: 287%]

Vitality

14192 [Increase: 127%. Efficiency: 273%]

Intelligence

3763 [Increase: 97%. Efficiency: 206%]

Wisdom

6940 [Increase: 104%. Efficiency: 216%]

Luck

712 [Increase: 121%. Efficiency: 229%]

Free Points

250

Nexus Coins

[D] 933 647

A single glance at his status screen confirmed what he'd already learned; a full 250 Free Attribute Points were waiting for him rather than just the ten. It was an even greater boon than the 20 Attribute Points he got when reaching level 75. And that was just the start. Not only did peak E-grade provide a full 250 Free Points, but also a new title called The Second Step. There was even a second title waiting for him, one that Zac hadn't been able to confirm but had hoped for.

[The Second Step: Reach the peak of E-grade Reward: All Stats +10, Base stats +90]

[Singular Specialist: Reach 20,000 points in a single attribute before reaching D-grade. Reward: All Stats +10, Strength +5%, All Attributes +5%.]

As expected, it was related to the old 'Promising Specialist'-title Zac got when reaching 1,000 Endurance in F-grade. He hadn't gotten anything when reaching 10,000 Strength, but he had learned Ogras got one during his stay in this Mystic Realm. The mention had made him wonder if it was a tiered title, and his status screen proved it was.

The combination of hitting level 150 and the title that came with it had narrowly pushed him over 20,000 Attribute Points, double the level of the first checkpoint of the skill. A quick check confirmed Promising Specialist was gone, replaced with the new title rather than him having both. It was a bit of a disappointment, but the old title had only provided +5 All Attributes and +5% Endurance. So the new one was a pure upgrade, especially for his Strength.

Still, it made Zac wonder if there was actually an Apex title as well, one that would provide Attribute Efficiency. Perhaps if you reached your attribute limit?

Since he had already passed 20,000 Strength and gotten the title to match, Zac poured all of his free points into Dexterity. Altogether, the three levels had given him almost a 5% increase in his attribute pool, and they were mainly targeted at Strength and Dexterity. That was exactly what Zac wanted - anything that would allow him to hit a bit harder and a bit faster at this stage was a welcome addition.

It was a shame he didn't have a quick way to gain the last five levels to his undead side as well, but the boost still gave Zac some confidence when the trio set out again six hours later. Of course, he still hoped he wouldn't find himself face-to-face with a whole army of infiltrators, possibly led by hundreds of Hegemons. A few levels and titles wouldn't help against that.

But some things were simply unavoidable.

Four days after his breakthrough, Ogras had proclaimed they were within the official borders of the Kingdom of Billy. They had already left the Badlands behind, and had now entered a much more familiar type of environment - large tree groves with grassy plains between them.

There were also signs of human intervention - enormous but simple trenches and traps designed to deal with beast tides. However, just as the group was about to pass the battlements, Vai suddenly stilled.

"Enemies!" Vai whispered, and the air around them started to glimmer as Ogras powered up his domain before they jumped into the trench and dug a temporary hideout.

"How many?" Zac frowned after they'd erected an isolation array.

"Thirty, they are moving fast," Vai said. "Looks like a scouting party."

"Do you think it's Billy's people? Those Gnivelings you mentioned?" Zac asked.

"Doubtful," Ogras said with a shake of his head. "Billy doesn't need any scouts. The Realm Spirit is more effective than any scouting unit."

"If there are scouting parties this close..." Vai hesitated.

"Then they definitely know about the Kingdom of Billy," Zac sighed. "We might be in for a fight. Do you want to stay here?"

"N-No," Vai said with a shake of her head as she gripped her bowl tighter. "I am coming with. I can still help, we are days away from the settlement, and you need a scout."

"She's right," Ogras shrugged. "I can't guarantee my methods will work against all types of scouts, and it just takes one set of sharp eyes to expose us."

"Alright, we'll keep going like this," Zac agreed. "We avoid enemy squads as long as possible until we figure out Billy's situation. He might have relocated already."

The three waited an hour for the scouting party to leave the area before they set out again, but they met another group just three hours later and a third scouting party after another five. Even Ogras had a somber expression by that point. There was still a chance for it to be a coincidence with one group. With three, it was all but certain the infiltrators were carrying out some big operation in the area.

And that operation was definitely related to the Kingdom of Billy.

Not only that, but the infiltrators seemed to be expecting trouble judging by the parties, but the three still managed to creep closer and closer to their destination over the next three days. Until Vai's bowl almost lit up like a bonfire, prompting both Zac and Ogras to look over with confusion.

"S-Signals," Vai stuttered. "So many. Thousands."

"Shit," Ogras said. "Billy's castle is not far from here."

"Let's go," Zac said with a frown, and they kept moving until a powerful energy wave swept past them.

"There's a battle," Zac said with relief.

"The brute is actually holding out against an army?" Ogras added, confusion written all over his face. "How is that possible?"

"The Void Gate," Vai said, her eyes glimmering. "I bet they are here fighting against the bad guys. Where else would they have gone but here?"

Zac finally understood why Vai was so adamant about joining them for this final stretch. She believed there was a good chance the elite Void Gate warriors would be found with Billy. And perhaps she was right. Twenty minutes later, they managed to sneak a peek at the battlefield.

A lonesome Mountain peak stood within a barricaded crater. The whole cavity was protected by a bubble that reeked of powerful spatial energies, and outside, a mighty army was laying siege. Over thirty enormous towers had been erected, and Zac could sense how they were accumulating power. If he had to guess, the earlier outburst came from these things firing simultaneously.

"What are we supposed to do now ?" Ogras sighed. "Fight our way inside? The castle is sealed shut - they are not fighting back at all. I don't know if we'd even manage to get through the barrier. And if we do, then what? We'd be stuck inside just like Billy."

Zac wasn't sure what to do either. Eventually, he turned to Vai, who looked at the scene wide-eyed. "How many Hegemons are there?"

By this point, E-grade cultivators didn't really matter to him. The only difference between fighting ten and a thousand was how long it would take to win. The problem was the Hegemons hidden within their ranks. A defensive Hegemon could almost completely nullify his attacks, while offensive ones could unleash powerful barrages at him.

So if there were too many, there was simply no chance he could take on all these people himself.

"Over eighty," Vai grimaced. "Eighty Hegemons."

"Impossible," Ogras resolutely said with a shake of his head. "There is no way I'm fighting that. I'm not dying like this after I finally have a shot at getting out of here."

"How about we send a distress beacon to the Void Gate to confirm if they are inside?" Zac hesitated, but he froze when there was a sudden change.

A substantial spatial bubble had started to grow on the barrier in the distance. In just a moment, it was half as big as the barrier itself, while the shield seemed to have lost some of its luster. The new bubble bulged out ominously toward a flank of the infiltrator army, who immediately started to run for their lives. But it was too late. The bubble popped, and over a hundred cultivators were torn apart as a beam of spatial chaos shot out.

Right toward them.

"Hurry, Gemmy is making a path!" a childish voice echoed in their ears just as Zac was about to turn tail and run for his life.

Zac glanced at Ogras, who looked positively nauseated. But it was clear he recognized the voice, so it was obvious to Zac who it belonged to. There was no hesitation as he grabbed Ogras with his left hand and Vai with a vine as he rushed straight toward the incoming chaos.

"I knew it," the demon groaned. "I knew there'd be trouble when I heard that voice."