Chapter 1309 The 'Withering' (Part 5): Sudden Dread
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Sacred Light Kingdom
At the entrance of the Maze Forest, the place had become a true battlefield as the players and NPCs fought against the continuous horde of monsters flooding at them. They were doing their very best to protect the base behind them.
Owen and Ithilien stood at the far back of the defense formation as they oversaw the entire battlefield. They were tasked with this job to make sure that everything was going according to their plan.
They had to keep the proper order in this chaotic battlefield and a clear chain of command.
The players gathered here were mostly independent players or people from a small guild or organization or an adventurer team. Due to this, controlling everyone was quite challenging, especially when some of these groups used to be rivals or even enemies with each other.
With this kind of conflict, working together would not be easy, especially when every expert had their pride.
Fortunately, dealing with this kind of problem was also quite simple. Putting these rival groups away from each other and stationing them at the far end of the formations would do the trick.
Moreover, using the pretext of defending the land where they reside was the perfect encouragement for most of them.
The players that belonged to certain guilds, adventurer teams, and other organizations were to stay in their respective groups to avoid any more conflict and to make it easier for them to control.
The leaders of these groups had joined the group chat for commanders, where Ithilien and Owen were the main admins and were responsible for passing the commands that Shin was giving them.
Every adjustment in the formation and other forms of commands that came from Shin were immediately sent to the two before they issued it to the leaders through this chat group. Then the leaders would tell their respective groups to execute it.
It was a simple chain of command, but it would be the best for the current situation.
The larger groups were stationed at the very front of the formation while the most elite members were leading these groups to fight the incoming horde of corrupted monsters and demonic creatures.
While the smaller ones were stationed right behind these groups to take down the monsters would be able to break through the defenses of the frontline players, and to fill in the gaps in their defense.
Behind them was another line of defense that would be formed by random players who joined the event. They were to help the second line of defense if the people in front of them were unable to hold on.
The Corrupted Monsters were hard to deal with, but with this kind of formation, where the players could lure them inside their formation and swarm at it or bombarded it with skills and spells, taking it down would not be a problem.
The stronger monsters were to purposely break through the inner defenses one at a time, while the elite group under Ithilien's and Owen's direct command took them down.
These elite groups were composed of elite players and experts who did not belong to any kind of group or organization. They were independent individuals, who liked to work alone.
They were the lone wolves of the kingdom.
These players were to form a small party with a team composition that would perfectly complement each other. The class composition of this team was very balanced with a small number of members.
These teams would be the special operation units that were tasked to move around the battlefield to help the places that were having the hardest time in the battle. They were to relieve the pressure from those places before moving to another.
They were to have a small number of people so that they could move as fast and as freely as possible. It was for them to have a very flexible maneuver within the battlefield.
Aside from this, some of these small units were also tasked with hunting down the stronger Corrupted Monsters and Demonic Monsters that could not be taken down by the others in the defense formation.
This kind of arrangement was quite simple, but it was very effective and efficient. They were able to hold their ground without having much pressure.
Aside from the special operation unit that was arranged by Shin, the ones who were the busiest among everyone were Lorraine and her adventurer team, the Secret Society.
Along with her three vice commanders, Lorraine was running around the whole eastern part of the Maze Forest, hunting down the strongest monsters that were able to break through the formation.
They were the bigger version of those special operation units, and the area that they covered was also larger.
Fortunately, the eastern side of the Maze Forest was assigned to the people of the Titan Guild. They were to guard the entrance on that side. Given the size of the guild, they sent quite a lot of people as a reinforcement, which was more than enough to hold one of the entrances of the Maze Forest.
The force on this side was being led by one of the commanding generals of the Titan Guild. It was very clear that these people put a lot of importance in this operation, especially when the guild leader of the Hand of Midas Trading Firm had contacted them personally.
How could they refuse the offer of this guild leader when she had laid a lot of benefits that they could get by helping this falling kingdom?
Aside from that reason, they were also here to see how the famous Battle God of the Empyrean Talons would solve this problem. They were quite curious about this particular Godlike Player, who was gaining fame recently.
They were also to see how strong a player with a Tier 3 Class could be.
Unfortunately for them, Shin stayed at the center of the Maze Forest to oversee the purification ceremony and make sure that there would be nothing wrong with it. It was also to avoid any form of accidents. After all, they still had to guard against the traitor hiding in their ranks.
Samael and Huahua were also there, guarding.
Aside from the Titan Guild, there were also the other 'reinforcements' that Shin had invited.
After a serious discussion among themselves, the higher echelon of the HeadHunter Guild had also sent their people to help the kingdom. The benefits and other things that Shin had listed were very alluring to the eyes of the HeadHunter Guild, particularly the thing concerning the reputation of the guild.
Due to their members mostly being ex-convicts and gangsters from the real world, the image that they had in the eyes of the public was not the best. It was even the worst since there were a few criminals in their ranks.
This was the perfect opportunity to at least lessen that image and make everyone see them in a new light.
Of course, they were also doing this so that they could get the slice of the pie that Shin was offering. Being one of the overlords of this kingdom once they successfully defended it also played a large part in coming up with this decision.
To make sure that the people see their 'sincerity', the main headquarters of the guild even sent a couple of their elites, who would also be left behind to be stationed in this place once they were successful.
Due to this, the number of people that they had sent was larger than the ones that were sent by the Titan Guild. They did not even need any help from the special operation units that Shin had prepared because of this, making those units to be stationed in another place.
The entire western part of the Maze Forest was under their protection as well as the entrance in that part.
To make sure that there were no accidents, Cruelty even arrived here to personally lead the defense. Amanda, the Bewitching Goddess, was also with him to lead her group that came from the branch of the guild in the Saint Heaven Kingdom.
With all these defenses, the entire battle was currently in their favor. Even the continuous horde of corrupted monsters and demonic creatures were unable to completely break through it.
But everyone did not let their guard down despite this being the case. It was because the forces of the previous 'Big Three' of the Sacred Light Kingdom had yet to make their entrance.
Their forces seemed to have vanished in thin air after attacking the final city that completed the isolation of the Maze Forest from the outside help.
Everyone knew that this battle would last for quite a while. It would be extremely draining.
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In the meantime, Shin, who was guarding the elven seer and the purification ceremony, was currently in deep thought.
He just finished all the arrangements needed for the base defense. Unless there was an extremely serious threat that would be impossible to be solved by the others, he did not have to do anything or issue another command.
Right now, his responsibility was to ensure the safety of this elven seer. He had to protect him from any outside harm that would disrupt the purification ceremony.
Samael and Huahua were also to help him with this task, and they were seriously scanning the entire place with their sharp eyes.
While there was still nothing big was happening, Shin started to contemplate the current event that was happening.
After his previous experiences with similar huge events, he knew that there must be a trigger or at least an underlying reason that started this event.
He understood the reason for the 'Corrupted Cult' since all they wanted was to spread the corruption. It was all similar to the past events that he had experienced.
The problem was the Demonic Churches. After his previous encounters with these people, Shin knew that they had a certain 'purpose' in every operation that they had.
Just like what happened in the Elven Kingdom, Beast Glades Kingdom, and the Dwarven Kingdom. All the commotions that they had created in these three kingdoms were just for the sake of that huge sacrificial formation.
If Shin and the others had not figured it out, then at least one of these kingdoms would be erased after being sacrificed.
There was also the encounter with the people of the Pandemonium Descendants in the Frozen Kingdom.
All the events in the Saint Heaven Kingdom were just a distraction as the main purpose of these people was the 'corpse' of Dracula, who was supposed to have a contract with a certain Great Demon King.
From the clues that Shin and the others had gathered at that time, it was for the sake of awakening the Great Demon King and opening a portal that would connect the Atlas World to the Devildom and Underworld.
If not for Shin and the others' interference, and Dracula's sacrifice to free the kingdom from its curse, then everything would have already become ugly. The current update of the game might not be the one that they were experiencing.
Thinking of this, and aligning his line of thoughts with it, Shin seemed to have been enlightened. He seemed to have realized the scheme that the Pandemonium Descendants was plotting.
"The event is called the 'Withering'. At first glance, it seems like the corruption is spreading in the entire kingdom. Given the appearance of the monsters and the dark miasma that the forests are making, it is not strange for the people to think that this is some sort of corruption."
"But if we think about the state of the plants and trees, we can see that all of them are rapidly being dried. They are in a state of draining, shrinking, wilting, and fading. It is as if they are being in the middle of extreme drought rather than being corrupted."
His thoughts slowed down as he mumbled. "It is as if their life force is being drained by something."
When he reached this point, his eyes suddenly turned wide as he finally realized this oddity. "That is right! The entire Sacred Light Kingdom is rich in this form of power, the lifeforce of nature."
"This is the main reason why the natural minerals are rich here and there are a lot of magical plants and herbs in the kingdom! It is because of the life force of the kingdom!"
"What if the main target of the Demonic Church is the life force that the Sacred Light Kingdom has?" Shin asked himself, a sudden thought flashed through his mind.
"F*ck! They must be planning to use such an overwhelming amount of energy to open a dimensional portal!"
He then suddenly turned to the ongoing purification ritual and cursed. "F*ck! We have been duped! Their main target is the lifeforce indeed!"
"If the purification ceremony is successful, then the World Tree that is going to grow and the Spring of Life that is going to be built along with it will release a rich and pure lifeforce that will purify the entire land of the Sacred Light Kingdom!"
"With that, they will have an endless supply of lifeforce! It will be more than enough for what they need!"
Shin suddenly felt a sense of anxiety when he realized this. The problem was they had already fallen too deeply into the trap, and it seemed like it was already too late to stop it.
"No wonder the traitor did not make any movements up until now. It is because everything is going according to their plan," he now realized why everything seemed to be going too smoothly for them. It was all part of the plan all along.
Shin was now caught in a dilemma. He did not know if he had to stop this ceremony or not.
If he did the latter, then the horde of monsters outside the Maze Forest would run them down destroy the final fortress that they had, and everything that they had done up until now would be going to waste.
But if he let the purification ritual continue, then the Demonic Churches would harvest enough life for their underlying plot.
He was left with a choice whether he had to let the Corrupted Cult succeed or give the Demonic Churches what they wanted.
Shin had to decide fast since he knew that his time was already ticking by, and it was in his favor. He knew that once the purification ceremony reached its peak, there was no longer hope of stopping it.
But he was still stubbornly holding onto something. "There must be another way out of this! There has to be a solution somewhere."
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