A couple of minutes have passed and nothing happened yet. They ordered the admiral to make an emergency takeoff but they were anchored to the ground so it would take too much time.
They were still on full alert, not daring to doubt his incredible intuition at all despite the time that has already passed. The atmosphere was incredibly tense as their forces were rushing to pack up and evacuate, some even leaving their things and cargo behind because of the urgency of the situation. Other factions noticed this, but it confused them at most so they only guessed that something urgent came up and they needed to leave.
Mercia was about to say something about notifying the other factions about this when Denmark made a violent shuddering while trying his best to stay standing, almost like a spasm. This happened when his intuition kicked in but it's never been this bad before.
Once he regained control, he yelled in a terrified voice, "FUCK, it's here!!! Rosalind, magical defenses now!!"
She's been chanting a large-scale defense spell for a while now and she finally released it. A massive blue forcefield formed around the whole fleet and their territory below in a split second as everyone braced for impact. She similarly created a separate barrier around them just to be safe. The ships also deployed their own shields to add even more thick layers to the defense, which were powered by behemoth cores.
*BOOOMM* *VWWOOOOOOOMMMMMM*
A tremendously massive invisible aura savagely burst from around the center of Kassio's southern Common District. It didn't take long for this aura to slam against the fleet and Rosalind's barrier, crushing it as though it were a cannonball driving through a paper-thin ice sheet. The trees swayed and the earth quaked under the extreme pressure the environment was feeling.
The aura wasn't even in physical form, yet it made every soul within countless miles of the source fall to their knees or the ground and prevent them from speaking or standing. The gravity felt like it was going to crush every one of them alive!
Not only that, but the killing intent was so intense that some vomited out of pure fear. Not only that, but it felt as though they were in the presence of an enormous dragon that innately made them want to run even more than they already did!
Within the aura's overwhelming might, the perpetrator's emotions were perfectly portrayed for all to understand. This person, who couldn't possibly have been a mere mortal, was truly enraged. They all cowered or trembled as they felt the immense disgust and fury infiltrate their hearts and scare them shitless.
If everyone had a good idea of what great strength looked like, it was shattered instantly..... This was true power.
Some of the more powerful individuals that were A~grades and above slowly lifted their heads after a massive effort. Even the Respected, who were hiding deep in the forest with their Templars, were overcome by this aura.
When they peeked their heads towards the aura's origin, they were flabbergasted. A human-looking figure wearing menacing black and purple dragon armor from head to toe was hovering above the city, looking down on all of them like they were a couple of bugs that attempted to invade his picnic. Everyone immediately guessed that he was the "superior" that they've heard so much about.
As if noticing their fearful stares, a disguised, angered, and thundering voice boomed from him for all to hear, "You insignificant worms dare act with such disrespect in the presence of his excellency! I can stand your childish fighting no longer... I shall introduce myself as a subordinate of Draconic Genesis and a bodyguard of the 'superior' you all keep gossiping about, but nothing else....."
Everyone flinched at the harsh content of his words, acting similar to scolded children against such a dreadful power. But then they realized in unison that he confirmed the fact that he wasn't the superior!! How big of a monster must this person be to have Transcendent Realm minions!?!
Before they could continue that thought, the man continued but with a darker and more threatening tone, "This unruly behavior will be tolerated no more, and if you all want to live long enough to do business with m'lord, I suggest you behave! This is your only warning..."
The pressure and aura receded and the man flew up a bit higher as he crossed his arms while he observed them all, acting like a sentry or a baby-sitter. He snapped his fingers and hundreds of [Gates] opened all over Kassio and within the mob outside.
Out of the portals came hundreds of humanoid figures dressed in elaborate black, purple, and silver armored combat uniforms. On their heads were matching draconic helmets that were of a similar style to the girl's dragon mask disguises which each radiated the faint pressure of an Elder Dragon. not a spot of skin was able to be seen on them as they were completely covered.
Their power levels were each completely disguised so only the [Semi-Draconic Prestige] and the [Faint Draconic Presence] were the only indicators of their strength. The masks were slightly smaller and less ornate than the ones meant for the girls and Kyren, but still plenty fearsome and domineering. Each of them had weapons that they were comfortable with equipped to their person but not drawn and with no hostile intent.
These draconic warriors hurriedly and methodically came to every person, helping them up and moving on to the next person. They all did this silently and professionally like a trained force as they aided all they could.
Their work was astonishingly quick. It was almost as if they had limitless energy, but there were too many people so it was taking far too long. Countless more mini gates appeared and small decorated letters fluttered down as they suspiciously dropped directly onto any important figures.
Draconic warriors even appeared on the Association's ships, easily getting past their already automatically reforming defensive shields and anti-magic circles while helping the affected crewmates, mages, adventures, and merchandise supervisors up.
One of these warriors appeared next to the grandmaster trio and wordlessly helped them up. The three had their energy drained when they confronted that transcendent aura earlier, so they didn't have the ability to stand up yet whatsoever. In fact, every mortal for miles had the same feeling so it was confusing how so many people were able to stand up so quickly after merely being helped up by these silent individuals.
When the warrior respectfully and gently took Rosalind's hand, she was suddenly filled with immense energy and she stood up, slightly bewildered at what just happened. Mercia did the same and found a similar feeling of an incredible life force giving her energy so she hesitantly stood up also.
When it was Denmark's turn though, he didn't let go of his helper's hand when he stood up, and he pulled the warrior in close. He whispered in a low and secretly threatening voice, "Who are you guys really?"
The draconic warrior paused for a moment as he looked at the A~grade little boy without a hint of emotions or fear. His free hand raised slightly and his fingers snapped. It wasn't loud at all, but it was loud enough for the mysterious transcendent bodyguard to hear it as clear as day. He sent a long-distance glare directed at the disrespectful wolf in children's clothing as a response.
Denmark flinched as he released him and reeled back. When he looked back at the mysterious bodyguard, he was gone from where he was previously and his heart dropped. He felt a hand threateningly grip his shoulders from behind and he froze while he became deathly pale. The two women also froze at what they saw, unable to help out because of the alarm they felt.
"Curiosity nearly killed this cat..."
After muttering those words in a low voice for only Denmark to hear, he vanished and reappeared back in his previous location hundreds of meters away and over Kassio, as though nothing happened.
Denmark dropped to his knees as though he just encountered the God of Death and escaped. This was the very first time he wasn't treated like a kid by someone other than his friends ever since he's gained this cursed body, and he couldn't say he liked it that much. He nearly lost his life just to obtain some information to quell his curiosity. He got too greedy and he questioned why he even did it in the first place.
The draconic warrior continued his work. He handed each of the grandmasters one of the slips and bowed before disappearing through a portal to continue his work elsewhere.
.....
There were too many people for the draconic warriors to help, so people started recovering on their own.
Everyone was far too bewildered and frightened to know what was going on so they all silently recollected themselves and gathered at their respective faction territories to receive instructions after such a conflicting spectacle.
Seeing as no one needed any help anymore, the draconic warriors vanished through portals, leaving as quickly and silently as they came.
The mysterious bodyguard continued to float there indifferently as the once rowdy mob licked their wounds in fear and shame.
Surprisingly, not a soul got hurt or injured after such an incident, with even the normal citizens who were F~grades being fine after a proper rest. Children, the elderly, the gravely sick, and mortally injured weren't affected by his tremendous aura, almost as if they were all singled out and exempted from the effects. This meant that the bodyguard held back by a startling amount, terrifying them even further.
While the NPCs planned the next course of action, the players were so flabbergasted, so astonished, and so amazed that they were literally frozen in place as they blatantly stared at the bodyguard with agape mouths. They noticed mention of a secret organization in the event description and they didn't think much of it. But now they've been enlightened of just how goddamn badass they were!! They should've been searching for them from the get-go, not helping and calming down these petty nobodies that weren't even half as cool! They've only been helping around for a couple of hours and they were already tired of the constant arguments that seemed to get nowhere as they just did it somewhere else.
Sure, some of them might get some minor PTSD(1) from experiencing that breathtaking aura, but who cared?! Seriously, who would give a damn when such a shocking turn of events occurred while they happened to be participating? Was this not the greatest thing they've ever witnessed in their lives? Was this not a hidden storyline mission that they happened to decide to join purely by chance? Were they not witnessing the birth of a major superpower for the entire continent of Lumeria?!
Just then, they all remembered something simultaneously and they checked the event details. They took one look and they all erupted with cheers! Millions of players yelped in joy and surprise in harmony, turning every non-player head as their voice momentarily roared.
"Holy shit!!! The event's severity jumped from exceptional, straight to unfathomable in one go!!"
"Wasn't it supposed to be maxed at extreme?! Isn't this the first unfathomable event to have appeared in the entire game so far besides the Immortal Invasion?"
"And look! The magnitude bumped up to interregional, with the potential to go national! How are we this lucky!?! Dear god, the rewards will be insane..."
"Huh, there's also another hidden objective discovered... Come in contact with the hidden organization. It increases the participation immensely but all the other rewards are question marks... Ho-ho, that's better than dealing with those aristocratic cry-babies! Did you guys also take a good look at those mysterious warriors?! They looked like a fricken elite team of shadow soldiers or something cool like that!"
"Speaking of that hidden faction, I heard that Transcendent Realm beings are extinct except for within the church. If just a subordinate has that much power..."
"Wait, so if they're on equal footing with the Archaic Church, who is known to be the storyline's main antagonist or evil faction, does that mean that they're the protagonists that will challenge the church?"
"Crap, this was probably a super huge main storyline event! If I missed this... I would have deleted my account out of anger!!"
"So is this truly the protagonist faction we've all been looking for?"
Each player bubbled with excitement which thoroughly ruined the tense atmosphere throughout the lands. Word of the event's most recent developments reached the ears of every player in Lumeria in no time at all, with it even becoming a hot topic for all.
There was one big question on everyone's mind that excited everyone. Was this the birth of the main protagonist faction they've all been searching for?
Triple release! I think this DESERVES your vote!!
Today is a triple release because it ended in a cliffhanger and I'm not evil! Moreover, didn't I have a day a while ago when I released only one chapter? Think of this as compensation or maybe even an early Christmas present if you celebrate that...