Alex sprinted through the snow-covered landscape toward the capital city of Stormward as his heart pounded in his chest, matching the rhythm of his footsteps.
The demon invasion in all three royal cities had started a few minutes ago, but thanks to Alex's interventions, the demons were clashing against the hordes of players and city guards while the army regiments were on the march and would be arriving for aid in just a few minutes.
But the cities were still in chaos and experiencing untold devastation, and the few minutes the army aid would take to arrive would be enough for the demons to cause the deaths of thousands, if not millions.
Alex felt some guilt over the death of thousands of inhabitants, but he couldn't do anything about the situation to change the outcome, and it gave him comfort knowing that without his intervention, the situation would have only gotten much worse.
After a few minutes of sprinting, Alex's breath came out in ragged puffs as he neared the city's outskirts, and the sight that greeted him was both breathtaking and horrifying.
The towering walls of Stormward stretched for hundreds of meters, their imposing presence covered in a thick layer of snow while the sky above was obscured by heavy clouds, blocking out the sun's warmth.
Snowflakes drifted down, adding to the breathtaking white landscape, but the tranquility of the scene was shattered by the cacophony of destruction echoing from within the city.
The air was filled with the booming voice of explosions, punctuated by the roars and desperate cries of those caught in the crossfire while a colossal dark fortress floated in the city's center, raining down destruction.
'I was hoping to be wrong,' Alex thought, seeing the new demon fortress.
Alex didn't waste a moment and, using the fantom walk and mana step, sprinted from above the crowd of civilians exiting the city, and as he entered the city, he was greeted with the sight of complete chaos.
The city had many sections engulfed in flames, smoke billowing upwards, while in the distance, the pride of the city, the white Royal palace, had its right tower crumbling to rubble engulfed in dark flames.
People were running in every direction, while some were armed and fighting back, with most of the fighters being players.
The players and the city's defenders were putting up a valiant fight, but the overwhelming number of stronger demons made it hard to keep them in check and stop them from slaughtering the civilians and causing utter destruction.
The demons were not here for a battle, but slaughter and weak civilians were on their priority list, so instead of engaging in battle, demons ran rampant, destroying homes and making the streets run red with blood.
Alex's heart ached at the sight of the ongoing slaughter, and without delay, he used the 'Ruler Pride' skill to elevate all his skills by one Rank before using the Summon Elemental Skill to summon a fifth Rank helper, hoping to be someone good.
After the summoning circle appeared, Alex stopped using the Ruler pride skill as its work was done while chugging down a mana potion and vanishing from the sky like a ghost.
'Doppelganger' 'Bell of Unholy Curses' 'Lesser Null Energy'
Alex arrived before a towering Scaldrons demon whose body was covered in raging flames as he swung his fiery axe around, but a moment later, his flames burned out, and his body fell to the ground while his decapitated head rolled to the side.
An ethereal bell appeared above Alex's head that he used to target five fourth Rank demons in the near vicinity before using the phantom walk and quick swordplay to claim their lives in their state of confusion.
Alex was a ghost on the battlefield as barely any demon noticed his presence, and those who did, didn't engage with him simply because he was a player and their target was to cause the death of as many as possible, and killing immortal adventurers was a waste of time.
Alex scanned his surroundings, picking the demon engrossed in the chaos as his target, slicing their head off like a silent assassin, and thirty seconds and fourteen kills later, he looked toward the location of the summoning circle and saw the summoned creature.
The circle was gone, and in its place stood a female belonging to the snow elf race, while her face was hidden under a half-face mask, and her eyes were shimmering like two cold white gems.
'After summoning Nyla, I am expecting to get lucky all the time,' Alex thought, and like seeing his disappointment, the elf vanished like a ghost and arrived before him.
"Please kill any demons you can and save any person getting attacked by them," Alex said with a smile, even though he could see her unhappy cold stare.
Alex sprinted toward the horde of demons and continued butchering them while waiting for the army aid to arrive and slaughter these pests, but what he didn't account for was how demons could have prepared some countermeasures.
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Meanwhile, near the city's core area entrance, Guild Leader Vlad stood alongside his vice guild leader, Mike, inside a half-crumbled building with grim expressions, the weight of responsibility heavy upon their shoulders.
Mike's brows furrowed as he observed the reports of relentless tides of demons tearing through their guild members, with each sector under their protection being a mess.
"Mike, this is turning into a fucking massacre. Our guild members are putting up a valiant fight, but we're losing ground rapidly." Vlad said as he watched the carnage unfolding on the various holographic screens.
"Our plan is working, but we just need to do more damage because these demon fuckers are too strong, and for your kind information, Frozen Flower guild is doing much better,"
"We need to use the Handheld Pulse Crossbows and the Demolition Bombs, and we need to make a decision immediately," Mike said, making Vlad's face harden for a few seconds.
"Using those weapons will cause a lot of destruction," Vlad said, giving his friend a knowing look.
"So will the demons if we fail to stop them," Mike said, like
"Fucking do it, But tell everyone that if they lose, they can forget getting paid for months," Vlad said, putting a smile on Mike's face.
"All Captains, hear me out," Mike opened the communication channel and shouted while simultaneously shifting various holographic screens.
"You are allowed to use the Handheld Pulse Crossbows and the devastation Bombs, but make sure that you utilize the bombs after the civilians are evacuated from the area,"
"Our priority is to minimize civilian casualties while dealing a significant blow to the demon forces, so make sure to act according to plan and remember,"
"Unleash hell on the Demon Fukers," Mike said as he closed the communication channel.
As the message spread across the guild members, they began executing the plan as Handheld Pulse Crossbows were taken out from the inventory, and teams of skilled marksmen took positions on rooftops and makeshift barricades.
While other members created barricades to hold off demons as their fellow members started raining down light bullets ripping through demon flesh, claiming their lives.
The tides of demons started to get slaughtered while the civilians were quickly guided to safer zones, their protection becoming a paramount concern.
A series of deafening explosions occurred, covering the resident sectors in flames and killing hordes of demons as the Demolition Bombs were detonated strategically.
Buildings crumbled, and the ground shook as shockwaves rippled through the streets while the city resident feared for their lives.
As the dust began to settle, Vlad and Mike watched the monitors, their expressions tense yet resolute, and like a seasoned general, Mike gave orders relocating members to various weak points.
"Mike, do you have any plan for the demon Fortress?" Vlad said as he cracked his neck, ready to leave and claim some demon heads.
"I sure do, but it is a suicidal plan with an extremely low chance of success," Mike said, holding a bright smile on his face like he already knew what his guild leader's answer would be.
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