Chapter 1308 The 'Withering' (Part 4): Underlying Plots
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Atlas World
At the very edge of the land of the Aurora Continent, the first continent that was available for the players, a group of people were currently gathered.
At the forefront of the group, a man stood at the edge of a cliff while looking at the horizon. He was clad in a set of golden armor that highlighted the handsome features that he had.
His shoulder-long purple hair danced along the wind of the coast as he looked at the far end of the world. He seemed to be in deep thought as he gazed at the horizon.
His hands were crossed behind him while holding a golden mask with exquisite patterns. The patterns on this mask looked like a rune sequence that seemed to be a part of a magic circle.
He stood at that spot without moving an inch for a couple of minutes before putting the mask on his face. The moment when the mask was worn, his demeanor and the air around him suddenly changed. It seemed like he had become the center of the world at this very moment.
Standing a couple of meters behind him, a pair of players were patiently waiting for him to snap out of his thoughts.
One of the players was a tall and muscular man. He had the build of a true warrior of ancient barbarians. He was wearing a set of leather equipment that was barely able to hide those properly toned muscles, which indicated the powerful strength that they possessed, especially with the bloody tattoos that were drawn all over his body.
There was a white leather hanging over his shoulders that seemed to be made from the skin and furs of a beast. The same as the ones wrapped around his forearms, shins, and the belt around his waist. This indicated that they came from the same set.
He wore an orcish helmet that hid most of the features of his face but also gave him the impression that he was a humanoid monster rather than a player. Those pairs of rounds, huge, and bull-like horns attached to the helmet greatly enhanced this impression.
On his back was a huge, spiked club that seemed to come from the spine of a certain monster. It looked like this weapon was extracted directly from a powerful beast monster given the bloodthirstiness that it was emitting.
Beside this person was another player, who had a lean and slender body. Compared to the previous player, this guy seemed to be weak.
But that was only when someone focused on his appearance. It was because the threat level that this player was emitting was not losing to the other guy in the slightest. He might even be more dangerous than the previous player in comparison.
If the first bulky and muscular player was like a monstrous beast hiding in human clothing, then this person seemed to be the personification of death. He was releasing a dangerous threat on whoever was looking at him, which seemingly indicated that he would kill them once he caught them looking at him for more than a second.
He wore a set of light armor, which perfectly fit the swordsman and assassin classes. But given the pair of daggers sheathed behind his waist, it was clear that his class belonged to the latter.
There was a set of chains wrapped tightly around his forearms while emitting a mixture of black and jade colors.
He was also wearing a sleeveless coat that seemed to be made from the skin of a snake. It also had a hood that was hanging over his head to hide his face under its shade.
But when someone looked closer to it, they would be able to notice the creepy-looking mask that he was wearing that seemed to be made from human skin. It was frozen with a laughing expression, which resembled the face of a smiling clown without makeup.
The person in golden armor suddenly turned around at this point. He walked over to the two while asking. "How is the progress?"
The main assassin class bowed deeply before asking. "Paimon has just returned and currently meeting the other leaders."
As it turned out, this man in golden armor was Lucifer, the mysterious leader of the Pandemonium Descendants, while the other two were his closest and most trusted aides.
Lucifer slightly nodded his head before asking. "Did he bring the item that we are looking for?"
"He has brought it," said the latter while nodding.
"Then tell them to proceed as planned. I don't have the time to monitor everything since I have to do something in the real world," said Lucifer as he walked away.
"Are you not going to lead the meeting this time? But they are already gathered and waiting for your instructions!" the assassin suddenly raised his head and looked at the back of Lucifer.
His respectful attitude suddenly disappeared as it was replaced by a casual one as if he was talking to an old friend.
Lucifer did not mind as he waved his hand without looking back. "The matters here inside the game are important, but I also can't ignore our mission in the real world."
"Moreover, Master will be visiting in the next few days, so I must accompany him to make sure that he will not do something that will risk our mission. Given his temper, I am sure that he is very eager to see the guy from our report."
"We must be careful at this time since we are currently not on our home turf – we are inside the territory of our enemies. We can't be too reckless in our actions."
He then paused for a moment as he thought of something. "I will leave the matters here to the two of you. Make sure to prepare thoroughly for the opening of the portal. Once we have completed all the requirements to summon the first Demon Lord, the rest will smoothly follow."
"At that time, we can do whatever we want since the world will be plunged into chaos. We will have an easier time hunting for the information everyone is looking for while most players are busy with this war."
After that, he suddenly disappeared as if he had never been there.
The two players that were left behind stared blankly at the spot where Lucifer disappeared for a long time before turning to each other.
Even though they could not see the expressions that each other was making due to the orc helmet and clown mask, the two knew that they were feeling helpless.
At times, this leader of theirs was very responsible when dealing with everything, but there were also times when he was going off the rails, especially when his master had got involved.
"What can we do? It is the Palace Leader. We can't do anything about it," said the muscular guy while shaking his head in full helplessness.
"Tsk! This is why I don't want this position. It is better if I am just a member of the troupe members," said the assassin, complaining about their situation.
"I heard that Mephisto is throwing tantrums right now?" asked the muscular as they walked toward the tent where the meeting was going to be held.
The assassin groaned when he heard that before saying. "Let him do what he wants. It is his mission anyway. All we have to do is focus on the tasks that we are assigned to."
Then the muscular guy suddenly remembered something. "Do you think that the Sacred Light Kingdom is more than enough for the sacrificial ceremony?"
The assassin thought for a moment, before shrugging his shoulders. "I am not sure either. But it will be enough to fill most of the required lifeforce that we need."
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Sacred Light Kingdom
The guild leaders of the previous Big Three were currently holding a meeting in one of the corrupted nests that they had built, discussing their next course of action.
"I can't contact the representative of the Corrupted Cult. It seems like something has happened to him," said Fenix as he looked at the two.
Heckles did not seem to be bothered by it and just casually said. "Then let's proceed without him. I am sure that he has been targeted by the opposing side just like what Sir Paimon has said."
Fenix felt a little uncomfortable with this news and suddenly asked. "Are you not bothered by this? This can also happen to us. Thrown into the bin after being used."
"What can we do? We have already stepped into this trap right after we met that guy Paimon. Whether we are useless pawns or important pieces of the board depends on what are going to do next," said Heckles as he fully understood their positions.
All they had to do was follow the orders that were given to them and execute them well if they did not want to be thrown away by their new masters.
Kellin, who had yet to talk up until now, did not want to dwell on this topic and chanced it. "Enough with that. Let's talk about our next move."
He paused for a moment as he opened a virtual map in front of them before continuing. "We have already attacked and destroyed almost all the towns and cities around the Maze Forest. It is now completely isolated from the outside and will take some time before their reinforcements arrive."
"Given the distance that the nearest cities where the players from the outside of the kingdom can use as their starting point, our time will be more than enough to break the defenses of the Maze Forest. This is the best time to make our moves now."
Fenix thought for a moment before asking. "How about the Dragon Centipede? I heard that it has broken out from its cage and currently wreaking havoc somewhere. Have we found its location yet?"
"My people are already tracking it. They have already found the traces that it left behind, so it is just a matter of time before we locate," answered Heckles almost instantly.
Kellin thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I think we can give up on it for now since we don't have anyone who will be able to control it. Even if we try luring it toward the direction of the Maze, I doubt that it will blindly bite on it given that it has already regained its intelligence."
Fenix considered it for a moment before nodding his head. He agreed with this and did not pursue the matter. Instead, he focused on another problem that they were facing. "Then what about the mysterious people that kept on appearing in the kingdom one after another? How are we going to deal with them?"
"That is the tricky part. It seems like they are experts who heard about the event and want to join the fun for event points, which will earn them extra profits. Dealing with them will be troublesome," said Heckles as he remembered encountering a few.
"As long as they don't gather and form larger groups of people, we can pretty much ignore most of them. Our focus is still on the Maze Forest. If manage to take it down, then everything will be over," said Fenix.
But Kellin had a different thought and warned. "If we leave them be, it will be a matter of time before they realize our goals."
"They may be competitors in this event, but sooner or later, they will realize that they have to bond together to win this war," he added with a heavy tone.
"That is why we have to make haste and prepare our next move. We must attack the Maze Forest as soon as possible before those people gather around," refuted Fenix with a strong point.
"We still have the hordes of monsters on our side. We can sweep that base as long as we prepare a good sieging plan," he added, trying to convince the two.
"You should not underestimate the opposing side. I heard that Battle God Sickarius is there. That guy is famous for his battle prowess due to the recent battles that he has, but the intel clearly says that he is a skilled tactician as well," said Kellin.
He had thoroughly read the information that Paimon had given them, so he was familiar with the people on the opposing side.
The other two feel in deep thought before turning to Kellin before asking. – "So what do you suggest?" –
Kellin smirked before saying. "Forget about testing the waters. Let's go all-out from the start, but we are attacking from behind."
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