Chapter 473: Senseless Destruction
The Guardian’s core dispersed into particles, vanishing without a trace.
Michael let out an internal sigh. He had been worried that the tower would require each Lord to present a core individually. Which would have caused quite the headache.
Fortunately, his worries had been unfounded.
With him at the front, the squad stepped inside the structure.
Francesca was positioned at the very back, Michael’s words still burning in her mind.
Having served the Emperor for so long, she had been preconditioned to believe he was invincible and would remain so forever. Almost like the laws of the universe, which would have been foolish to deny.
Only now did Francesca begin to grasp how ignorant she had been all this time.
Blindly trusting humanity’s ruler to the point it could be considered obsession could only end badly for her in the long term.
The unpleasant sensation of helplessness made Francesca recall why cultivators were so driven in their pursuit of strength. Power was the surest form of reassurance for when things turned astray.
Partially convinced, she decided to give it her all for the battles that were about to come.
When everybody entered inside the tower, the gates behind them disappeared in a flash.
"Did our escape route just get cut off?" Elina trembled slightly.
"It sure did! Isn’t that great news?!" Persephone visibly rejoiced.
Surprisingly, the inside of the structure was dark, unlike its shiny exterior.
Notably, Michael realized that the gravitational pull they had been tormented by was nowhere to be found. He and the others could easily fly upwards should they wish, without draining their spiritual reserves at an unreasonable rate.
It also had the benefit of allowing them to move freely with no restrictions.
Soon after, the whole place lit up, temporarily blinding the Lords.
When their vision returned, the interior of the tower came into its full glory. Had it not been for the thick walls that rose impossibly high, the Lords would have assumed that they had been teleported.
Enormous hills stretched onward farther than the eye could see.
"Don’t tell me we’re supposed to search for the Titan..." Noctis grumbled, already fed up with aimlessly wandering around.
Before anyone could answer, Ember’s body began to glisten. Particles materialized around her and began to cluster around her figure.
HOWL!
The fox let out a long, deafening howl. The sheer intensity of her uproar was so immense it made the golden grass flourishing upon the hills to falter in a radius of dozens of kilometers.
The spiritual barriers that the Lords had enacted proved insufficient. One by one, they shielded their ears with their palms.
While Ember’s actions were puzzling, they didn’t interrupt her, considering that she was the only illusion among them.
After several grueling seconds that seemed to span hours, her howl began to diminish before fading into obscurity.
Michael blinked slowly, his ears still ringing, and glanced at the marvelous fox.
"What was that about?" He asked, a trace of irritation in his voice. At the very least, he would have appreciated a warning beforehand.
Ember met his gaze and tilted her head to the side, unable to grasp why the Lords were staring at her with grim expressions.
"A call." She answered calmly.
"What is that even supposed to mean?!" Emanuel snapped. He found the idea of teaming with an alien creature unpleasant, so he didn’t miss the chance to lash out the first moment he could.
Nevertheless, the man got the answer to his question a heartbeat later.
Thud!
A powerful tremor spread across the surface of the earth. The fields shook violently, momentarily startling the Lords.
The vibrations did not stop there.
THUD!
Like a rippling wave of force, the echoes of innumerable footsteps headed towards them.
"Fortunately, the trials are simpler than I imagined." Ember exclaimed with contentment. "We just have to kill the incoming enemies."
Michael arched an eyebrow, taking a higher vantage point in the skies. The others exchanged glances before following suit.
Rising higher than any mountain loomed on Earth, Michael got a better view.
His breathing hitched.
Out in the distance, there was an approaching army of illusions. More than he could possibly count.
Individually, none stood out. Most of them were roughly equal to a Master cultivator. However, what they lacked in quality, they made up for in sheer quantity.
There was no doubt in Michael’s mind that such a force could easily conquer any planet in the solar system, with Earth being the sole exception, for their home planet bore the highest defenses.
Once that realization settled, a system window flashed before his retina.
[Quest: Tower of Ascension - Floor 1]
[Difficulty: Hard]
[Task: Like many, you strive to achieve ascension by confronting the Iskra Titan. The Tower of Ascension bestows equal opportunity to all life forms. Climb to the pinnacle, reaching MSAP-8, and challenge the rule of the Almighty. Floor 1 represents the unworthy illusions who have fallen in their pursuit of setting foot inside the Tower. Liberate them from their suffering!]
[Total slain illusions: 0/1,000,000]
[Reward: 5,000 Skill Points, you are granted an entrance to Floor 2 of the Tower of Ascension]
"That’s a lot... borderline excessive even." Gloria made no attempt to hide her displeasure.
"Actually, this is just a small portion of the illusions residing in the tower." Ember elaborated, her fur swaying along with the wind. "We are quite fortunate that we are pitted against so few."
"Fortunate, alright." Persephone licked her lips in anticipation.
"It doesn’t matter how many there are. In the end, they will all fall." Nicole remained unfazed.
The sister Lords flew side by side, taking extra caution not to be separated from each other.
Everybody steeled their resolve before collectively descending downward like falling stars toward the upcoming tide of illusions.
Boom!
A crater formed at the point of impact. Unable to withstand the momentum, the closest creatures were blown off their feet, flung aside like powerless ragdolls.
Michael emerged from the rubble, clad with Angel and wielding Devil. He slashed in a graceful arc.
Pinpointing the exact location of the cores, he had no trouble killing several with a single blow.
[Total slain illusions: 12/1,000,000]
"This will take a while..." He mused.
