Chapter 2189: Hidden Core Altars (Part 2)
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Illuminating Forest.
This region was one of the most popular maps near the Oath City due to the variety of high-level monsters residing in it.
It was one of the famous leveling spots even within the Lesser Kingdom of Juron, especially due to the special resources that could be found in this place, the Illumination Flower and the Bright Stones.
These two materials were unique products that could only be found in this place, which had a lot of uses.
The Illumination Flower was a special herb that could enhance the healing and regenerative properties of certain potions, especially Health Potions and Mana Potions, which were necessities players were supposed to have when adventuring in the wild.
If this rare herb were mixed with such potions, the effectiveness of those potions would greatly increase to the point that they could rival the ones that were a tier higher than them.
If a potion mixed with this herb was just an intermediate rank, then its effectiveness would rival an advanced rank potion if it contained an Illumination Flower with it. This unique feature was also effective even when used to master rank potions.
With such a special effect, this herb could be a unique product that could make the entire kingdom prosper, making it a target of top guilds and big organizations within the game.
Unfortunately, this herb was too scarce. Even up until now, there were just too few of them found, even though a lot of players usually grind in this place.
This was the reason why none of the top guilds had truly found any merit in investing in this herb.
The same could be said about the Bright Stones.
These stones were a special ore that could be found in this region, which was something that could be used to increase the success rate of Blacksmiths when they were forging weapons.
It could also increase the chances of producing higher-grade equipment during the forging process, directly increasing the rank of the said equipment.
Such a peerless ore was something that could make a lot of people crazy, especially those from the Blacksmith Profession.
Unfortunately, mining these ores had an extremely low chance, making it almost impossible to get.
These two resources were one of the reasons why the Illuminating Forest was famous to the players residing at the Oath City.
Even though the chances of finding them were pitifully low, a lot of people were still willing to try their luck.
Moreover, the monsters within the region were quite high level, so they would not lose that much in the process.
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The monsters of this map had a special feature as well. All of them possessed a light attribute, which was clearly reflected by the name of the region.
Aside from that, the trees and plants in this place had a unique feature: the ability to illuminate the surroundings at night.
Even though they could not be processed as a special material, this unique feature alone was more than enough to make the people want to visit this place.
Along with the light properties of everything with this map, all kinds of dark creatures were unable to step into this place, which included the Undead Players.
The light-attributes filling the region were the perfect counter for dark creatures, so it was not that surprising when they entered an extremely weakened state once they stepped into the vicinity.
The monsters of this place were also prioritized, attacking them once they had entered their range, even swarming at them from all sides.
They took such actions as an invasion of their territory, which could even cause a monster horde in most serious cases.
This was common knowledge for all the players residing in the Lesser Kingdom of Juron, which was why no players from the Undead Race dared to hunt in this place or even roam around its vicinity.
This was also the reason why almost no players roam in this place when the war against the Demonic Churches had broken out.
They all had thought that it was a death sentence once a demonic player had stepped into this place.
"This is why they have overlooked a certain fact," said Henrick while looking at the massive sacrificial altar that was being built right before him. "They have forgotten that the so-called can also be the darkest once it has been corrupted."
Agata, who was standing beside him, shook her head before saying. "Stop being so dramatic. This is just one of the five core altars."
Henrick sighed when he heard her before asking. "Have the other core altars already been completed?"
Agata nodded her head. "They are also at the final stages, just like this one. There should be no problem along the way."
"Who are the others guarding them?" asked Henrick, along with a deep frown.
"I am not sure either. But Master has already arranged everything along with Leviathan, so there should not be any problem on their side," answered Agata despite the deep frown that she was wearing.
She then paused for a moment, recalling the current state of the battle, before continuing. "There is no need to concern ourselves with them. This is the main core, anyway. All we have to do is to protect this place properly until the Grand Sacrifice has started."
"The only problem is the lack of sacrificial energy that will supply all the core altars due to those bastards destroying all the minor altars," she added, cursing Diablo and his people.
"It is fine~!" said Henrick in a playful tone before continuing. "The altars are just backups anyway."
"The real sacrificial ritual is when enough blood has been shed within the Grand Formation."
"Once enough blood has been shed, the core altars will naturally react and gather all the slaughter energy."
"It does not matter whether all the minor altars are destroyed or even if the other core altars are. So long as this main core remains intact, the grand formation will find its way to gather all the slaughter energy and finish the entire ritual by itself."
"It may be slow, but it is better than failing our main objective. Gathering enough slaughter energy is our main goal. What follows after that is the bestowment of the Blessing of Terror from the โExalted Oneโ of our Demonic Church."
"Everything else is irrelevant," he added while overseeing the people building a massive altar before them.
He paused for a while before continuing. "The ongoing war is more favorable for us since it will let us gather more slaughter energy. The longer this war continues, the better for us."
"So long as the NPCs from the Righteous Churches will not get involved, everything will be fine~!" he chuckled while adding. "So long as we keep this war between players, the NPCs will not interfere with us."
Hearing this, Agata could not help but frown deeply. "But I heard that Master has brought quite a lot of Demonic Bishops along with the ones from the Demonic Church of Envy."
"That must be for the final stage of the Great Sacrificial Ritual," answered Henrick before adding. "It is meant for the slaughter of the Oath City itself."
He then paused to look at the progress bar meant for this mission before knitting his brows quite deeply. "Still just a little over 20% percent? It is indeed quite slow."
"Should we pick up the pace and increase our aggression?" he mumbled, considering their next course of action.
Swoosh!
However, before he could even make the decision, someone had suddenly entered the formation isolating this place and walked toward them.
Turning his head, he immediately saw that it was Dragulia, who had finally shaken off all the tails that were trying to follow him and erased all his tracks.
"Master!"
Henrick and Agata immediately walked over to greet him, bowing at him with great respect.
Looking at his two disciples, Dragulia slightly nodded his head, acknowledging them, before turning to the massive altar before him. "Not bad. It is already 70% to 80% finish already."
"It seems like you two have been working quite well, huh?" he added while turning the two, seemingly praising them.
"This is what we must do, Master," said Henrick while keeping his bow.
Dragulia thought for a moment before asking. "How is the progress bar going?"
"We are only about 21%, Master," replied Henrick almost immediately.
Hearing this, Dragulia could not help but frown quite deeply. "Hmm? It is quite slow, isnโt it? It looks like the destruction of the minor altars has hurt our progress quite significantly."
"We had somewhat expected this, but it seems like the other side has moved much faster than we had expected."
"It seems like we have underestimated Diablo a bit too much," he added, instantly pointing to the main problem at hand.
He then went silent for a moment before continuing. "We do not have a choice, then. Letโs proceed with the second plan."
"We will initiate a full-scale war," he added, along with a devious grin.
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