688-693

Chapter 688: Rhythm Catcher

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

After proposing the challenge, John and Orchid Heart came to the underground space projected from the Sphere of Mystery. Orchid Heart had chosen the ground troops made up of mercenaries and garrisons while it went without saying that John led his Cavalrymen. Of course, Orchid Heart had just arrived to this world and had no knowledge if the people under her. Therefore, the practical commander of this unit was Marfa while Orchid Heart was responsible in giving orders for him to implement. But even so, John was confident in running them over with his Cavalrymen. His team was clad in impressive equipment and had been through difficult challenges and training and was completely disciplined in abiding by his orders. On the other hand, Orchid Heart had nothing. Even though Marfa could provide some assistance, her troops were only ordinary garrisons and mercenaries. If John were facing Marfa and Sol's elite squads, perhaps he might feel some tension. But he totally disregarded the garrisons and mercenaries. So what if they ensured strict obedience? A single assault would shatter them entirely with such a huge difference in strength.

"Mr. Rhode, is this really fine?"

Lize asked out of concern as she gazed down from the valley.

"Should we let Miss Heart familiarize with her team first and start the battle a few days later? She doesn't have any rapport with her team. What if..."

"Don't worry, Lize."

Mini Bubble Gum waved her hand with an airy gesture from her cross-legged posture. Then, she pouted and looked at the battlefield in discontent.

"Don't be fooled by Sister Heart's looks. She's the baddest of us all. Hmph. Even though she looks to be in her own world, she has many evil tricks up her sleeves. Besides, compared to the newbies who will scramble in panic as soon as the situation turns messy, the quality of these soldiers are still rather decent. As long as they are willing to listen to orders, John will be a goner."

"Sigh..."

The group expressed confused looks. They glanced at one another with doubt, puzzlement, and even some anticipations. After all, Marfa and Sol were old, experienced warriors and they were long used to commanding and battling on the battlefield. On the other hand, Joey and Randolf were basically considered experienced mercenaries after the long amount of training. As for Lapis, she was simply here to watch a show.

But no matter what, the gazes directed at Orchid Heart were filled with anticipation. After all, Rhode appeared to be confident in Orchid Heart's capabilities and she was praised highly by Mini Bubble Gum, which proved that she must have some abilities. But... how would she go about commanding a unit she had never met and secure the win against John?

Everyone observed attentively while Orchid Heart was still in her same old sleepy self. She swayed from left to right while riding on a short, thin warhorse. At the same time, the thick, gorgeous book in her hands was spread out before her. She held the book in one hand while the other gently rubbed the page corner. Her downcast eyes hid her thoughts from everyone.

John's Cavalrymen had formed an assault formation on the gentle slope of the valley. Sun rays shone from behind him illuminated the entire plains and valleys. This was the best terrain for the Cavalrymen and this triangular assault formation was apparent of John's abilities in commanding his subordinates.

"How should we go about doing it, Miss Heart?"

Marfa narrowed his eyes as he gazed toward John's majestic group of Cavalrymen on the other end. However, the glaring sun made it impossible for him to carefully observe their every movement. Even though he had gathered the mercenaries and garrisons together, the young lady sitting casually on the back of the warhorse remained silent. Although the mercenaries and garrisons were abiding by orders strictly... This wasn't a test for them, after all.

"... Hmm..."

Orchid Heart didn't immediately respond. On the contrary, she lowered her head and fiddled with the page with her right hand. After a few moments, she let out an indistinct hum.

"Defensive formation. Spread out on both sides."

"Spread out?"

Marfa was taken aback by her answer. He turned around and gazed at the clutter of a hundred soldiers. Then, he shifted his narrow eyes to the neatly-grouped and heavily-equipped Cavalrymen in the distance. He couldn't understand what Orchid Heart was plotting. A hundred infantries against Cavalrymen was already tough enough and she still wished to spread their positions out?

"Let's start."

Before Marfa could fully understand the situation, Rhode gave his order and Canary extended her hand forward. She shot a dazzling fireball into the sky to signal the start of the battle.

"Everyone! Attack!"

John lifted his pike with a proud smile. Then, he swung the pike down before taking the lead and charging forward. The Cavalrymen behind him screamed a battle cry in unison, leaped down the slope like a mountain torrent, and aimed for their targets on the other end.

"Defensive formation. Spread out!"

Marfa raised his sword and commanded loudly without any hesitation.

Even though the troops under him weren't as powerful as players, they perfectly displayed their strict discipline. Without any delay or question, the troops split into three rows to form a narrow line of defense. At this moment, John's Cavalrymen were within close range.

"...!"

The bystanders held their breaths. John took the lead while the Cavalrymen behind him were inseparably close. Their united formation was as though a sharp blade slicing forward.

On the other end, Orchid Heart sat slanted on the tiny warhorse as though she was just a passerby while the flustered Marfa appeared more like their commander.

"Hmm?"

Perhaps due to Marfa being unable to accurately understand Orchid Heart's command, John's Cavalrymen had already charged forward when he got his troops to put up a defensive formation. John was astonished as he had experienced many battles and this was the first time that he witnessed last minute changes to formation and in such a slow speed too. What was the purpose of putting up a defensive formation when he had arrived in their faces?!

"Charge!"

John swiftly gave a command and his Cavalrymen accelerated! Both sides finally met!

Boom!

The Cavalrymen mercilessly ripped through the defensive formation that was formed in a hurry. In the blink of an eye, more than 30 troops in the defensive formation flew off upon impact. Even though they wouldn't suffer from lethal damage and die in the mirage, injuries were still unavoidable. And now, the system had labeled them as 'Dead' as they lay unconscious on the ground.

John's ruthless assault was as though a razor-sharp blade slicing through a gauze. Not only did the defensive line crumble, the surrounding troops also panicked and their formation turned into a terrible mess, where another assault from the Cavalrymen would leave them in a dead end. Marfa turned to the young lady beside him hurriedly and she lifted her head and swept a glance forward.

"Advance. Forward."

Advance?

Marfa felt that this command was incredibly strange. The opponents have punctured a hole in our formation so what's the point of us charging forward?

If Marfa was a player, perhaps he would have ridiculed Orchid Heart for having a lagging Internet connection. But Marfa wasn't in the mood to mock her judgment. He bestirred himself desperately and yelled for the troops to charge forward. Even though Marfa's orders were senseless, the troops eventually abided. Orchid Heart watched leisurely from the back while Marfa shook his head and let out a hopeless sigh. Although the formation was messy, the troops managed to maintain their formation with their long hours of training and experience.

"I guess this is asking too much of her."

Marlene let out a subtle sigh. She had led the Mage team in Flourishing Blossom, fought against the Reformist Party several times, and more or less understood situations on the battlefield. Currently, it appeared that the troops under Orchid Heart were a spent force. Even though they managed to maintain their neat formation, Marlene was sure that they would crumble completely as soon as John led another assault. The Cavalrymen had the upper hand against infantries in the first place, and it didn't seem possible for Orchid Heart to turn the situation around.

Indeed. As though proving Marlene's prediction, John led his Cavalrymen around the plain and regrouped into an offensive formation to deal the final onslaught through Orchid Heart's troops from the back. This time, Orchid Heart would be utterly defeated if she didn't come up with any adjustments.

"Stop. Gather. Turn around."

Even though the situation was incredibly tense, Orchid Heart didn't show any signs of nervousness at all. She lowered her head and scanned the page in her hand before giving another command. Marfa hurriedly urged the troops who were charging forward to stop and regrouped them. At this moment, Orchid Heart gave another command that left Marfa speechless.

"Form a triangular assault formation."

Assault?

Marfa grew increasingly suspicious of her capabilities. In fact, from the start, he felt that this young lady performed like a newbie and had slow reactions. Not only that, but she also misjudged the situation, which led to the loss of over 30 troops on their side. So what if they gathered into an assault formation? They were infantry while the opponents were Cavalrymen! There would still be a chance to win if our men have pikes, but what can they do against the Cavalrymen's assault? Isn't this asking for death?

Even though Marfa cursed inwardly, he could only follow Orchid Heart's orders since Rhode had instructed him beforehand. This time, Marfa reacted swiftly, but the result was almost the same as before: John's Cavalrymen had arrived before them when they finally regrouped.

"Sigh..."

Many of them sighed as they believed that the conclusion had been made. John's first assault had shattered Orchid Heart's troops and it went without saying that she would surely fail if he were to penetrate her troops once again... There were no two ways about it.

Even at this crucial moment, Orchid Heart nodded her head as though she was about to fall asleep on her warhorse and forced herself to stay awake like a student nodding off in class. The furious gallop of the warhorses had arrived before her. At this moment, she lifted her head suddenly.

"Charge."

That was all she said.

"Charge!"

Even though Marfa couldn't read her mind at all, he charged forward with an intention to end this battle with alacrity! It was better than not retaliating at all! Marfa raised his sword and brandished forward!

The two triangle formations collided heavily. The Cavalrymen crushed the troops below them with no difficulties and everything would end as soon as they punctured the opponents before them. But...

"Eh?"

Anne widened her eyes in astonishment. The crowd surrounding her also had a change of expression.

John didn't gain the victory as the bystanders had expected. Instead, the Cavalrymen panicked and their inseparable formation stirred like a pot of hot soup. In order to maintain the speed of their assault, the Cavalrymen maintained a certain gap between them. But now, they had totally lost the 'safety distance'. The Cavalrymen from the front and back crashed into one another. Some tried to avoid, but lost their balance and fell to the ground. The luckier Cavalrymen weren't any better. They lost their threat after losing their acceleration. In addition, the Cavalrymen couldn't even turn around among the chaos, during which the infantries took advantage of the situation and dragged the Cavalrymen down from their warhorses.

Simply speaking, it was like two triangular blocks crashing together and in the sound of a crash, the blocks mixed together as one.

In a short instance, the outcome of the battle was reversed. The strong warhorses and heavy armor of the Cavalrymen were completely useless in this tight, chaotic warfare. On the other hand, the nimble infantry unleashed their biggest potential and dodged the attacks of the Cavalrymen.

"How did this..."

No one could decipher what had just happened. They couldn't understand why John's Cavalrymen failed to exploit and penetrate through the defensive formation that was hurriedly arranged. At this moment, Rhode extended his hand and gestured to Canary.

"Alright. That's the end."

A fireball flew into the air and exploded, capturing everyone's attention. The chaotic battlefield abruptly came to a stop. Rhode strode down the gentle slope while everyone followed closely and observed with confused looks.

John was no longer as mighty as he was. On the contrary, he appeared perplexed. His helmet had been struck off during the battle and his hair had messed up into a bird's nest. Even though he was still riding on his warhorse, his expression showed that he had taken a huge blow.

How did this happen?

The bystanders might not understand why John had lost, but he knew the reasons clearly. Indeed. He had similar thoughts as Marfa when he broke through the defensive line for the first time. Orchid Heart's simple commands had no meaningful purpose in assault. But John finally realized the true reason of her hiding in the back when she ordered the infantries to clash against his Cavalrymen.

On the surface, the strength of both sides were on a totally different level, but Orchid Heart did something that left John incomparably frightened.

She broke my rhythm!

Everyone knew that there was rhythm in the battlefield, That was a kind of aggression, an imperceptible and unexplainable presence. Just like John's Cavalrymen, perhaps they were still a group of separate men when they began their assault. But slowly, they merged together as one. Breathing, galloping, and moving in unison. It was this rhythm that glued them together as a whole.

Even though Orchid Heart's assault was gruff, she captured the timing to perfection. The instant both sides collided, John sharply sensed that the cohesiveness and rhythm were instantly broken like how a dancer was in his zone and someone stepped in to interrupt his wonderful moves. This was what happened to John's Cavalrymen. The camaraderie between them and consistent rhythm were disrupted and replaced with complete chaos. Moreover, the glaring sun had caused them the chance to regroup instantly. Not only that, but the sun also snatched John's chance to observe his opponents' movements clearly, which led to them sinking into this sticky puddle of mud. The result had been determined a long time ago.

John shivered at this thought. He gazed at Orchid Heart blankly. He finally understood the meaning behind her strange commands. From the start, it wasn't due to her slow reactions that he could break through her defenses easily. Instead, she was using the chance to probe and analyze his attacking rhythm! Then, she ordered the troops to charge forward and turn around in order to use the glaring sun to her advantage in preventing his Cavalrymen from regrouping instantly. Moreover, it wasn't due to her incapable commanding skills that her troops regrouped so slowly. Come to think of it, for both times, her troops put up their formation just when he had arrived at their faces and it was too late for him to come up with any changes!

Even though the sun shining on him was so warm, he felt as though he had fallen into a dreadful ice cave. If this was a true battle, perhaps he wouldn't even know how he died. Just some troops without special training and a few ordinary commands could actually lead to such achievements? Moreover, even though it appeared simple, it was extremely difficult and almost impossible to perceive the opponent's attacking rhythm and search for an instantaneous gap to disrupt it. But this young lady actually did it so effortlessly...

"How was it, John?"

Rhode said and John just realized that the former had arrived before him. He hurriedly flipped down from his warhorse and bowed respectfully. Then, he shot a glance at Orchid Heart fearfully before lowering his head deeply.

"I've lost, Sir Rhode."

Apart from John, no one knew exactly what happened except for Sol and Marfa, who spotted the gateway to Orchid Heart's victory. Their respect for Orchid Heart grew deeply as they knew how difficult it was to achieve this. But the most important point was that they couldn't see her intention of interrupting John's attacking rhythm at all. Her reckless assault blinded everyone from her true motive and just this reason was enough to leave them exclaiming in admiration.

Since John had no more objections, the matter naturally came to a closure. The Sphere of Mystery deactivated and returned Rhode and the others to the underground and they spotted Agatha.

"Is anything the matter, Agatha?"

Rhode said curiously while Agatha lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed.

"Yes, Master. Miss Gillian and Mr. Walker have returned."

"Oh?"

Rhode's eyes glinted.

Chapter 689: Skynet Plan

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The first thing that Rhode saw when he entered the room was a fluffy, swaying tail that he hadn't seen for a long time.

"Ah... Master, I'm back~!"

The fox-eared young lady threw herself into Rhode's arms. She rested her head on his chest. Her soft body trembled in comfort.

"Boohoo. This trip has been really hard, Master. I've been to so many places and met with a lot of dangers... You have no idea how many baddies eyed me. I was almost kidnapped and sold away by them. Not only that, but I'm also no longer pure. Mr. Old Walker... Boohoo. He looks to be a decent man, but he's a terrible, crafty pervert at night. My body has acclimatized to a promiscuous slave even without him around. Along the way, Mr. Old Walker sold me for my body more than once and I was manhandled by the filthy men. Master, sorry... I've been stained. From now onward, my body and heart belongs to Mr. Old Walker..."

Rhode listened with an emotionless face. On the other hand, Marlene and the others raised their heads and looked dubiously at the old man sitting in the corner. Old Walker stood up hurriedly with the alcohol bottle in his hand and waved his arms in denial.

"Hey hey hey, don't listen to that little rascal. I'm already so old. Where do you think I'd find the energy to mess around? Also, she would've been burned me to death if I tried to do anything!"

Gillian unrolled a vibrant smile on her beautiful, tear-stained face. "Heh heh. Sure enough, it's still the most fun to do this when I'm back. But Master..." she paused and gazed meaningfully at Anne. Then, she gave a chortle. "It seems that you've found the solution to help little Anne."

"Alright, that's all for the jokes."

Rhode patted on Gillian's head. Of course, he knew that this sly, little fox was kidding. She was his Core Card, and if she were to get into any trouble, he would be the first to know. Besides, she had a crafty personality and she might even be the one bringing trouble to others.

"Welcome, Miss Gillian. Long time no see."

Everyone returned to their senses from Gillian's characteristic greeting and sent their regards to her. But they were dubious about her return as they weren't aware of what she had been up to. All they knew was that Old Walker and her left together shortly after the end to the Paphield battle. Rhode didn't provide further explanations on their departure and all he said was that they were off to execute a special mission. Now that the duo was finally back, it was time to know where they had been to.

"Alright, let me in on the results of the Skynet Plan.

Rhode sat by the table and said. He also beckoned to Marlene and the others.

"Join us. This is essential to us."

"Alright, Master. Leave it to me."

Gillian stuck out her chest, lifted her head proudly, and swayed the fluffy tail behind her from left to right. She retrieved a map from the fold of her clothes and unrolled it above the table. Marlene and the rest had gathered around curiously. It was a map of the Dragon Soul Continent, drawn with several circles in scarlet and labeled with all sorts of symbols.

"Following Master's orders, Mr. Old Walker and I have settled our preparations in most regions of the Light Mainland, which include the Country of Light. Currently, there are about 30 pubs in this area... Meh. Even though we weren't able to set up pubs in every region, we've picked out the traffic hubs. The scale of the pubs aren't huge. In terms of the manpower we've recruited, Mr. Old Walker has a name list. They appear to be trustworthy and were mostly born in Munn Kingdom, as per Master's request."

Gillian took over the name list from Old Walker and handed it to Rhode. Rhode scanned the names and included them into his system data. Most of them didn't have high prestige. They were mostly hovering between 'Friendly' and with some minorities in 'Respectful'... But this was within Rhode's expectations.

"Did you attract any unwanted attention?"

Rhode scrutinized the map and said. Gillian shook her head.

"Don't worry. As most of the pub owners that we've gotten were honest chaps, there were no major problems apart from having some local ruffians and rogues coming to their doorsteps and asking for death."

"Pub?"

Lize gazed at the map with suspicions. She looked at Rhode and couldn't figure out the meaning behind them.

"Mr. Rhode, I don't understand... Why do we need to run so many pubs? Besides... What is that Skynet Plan..."

"Aiya, Little Lize, those pubs weren't opened for nothing, okay?"

Gillian revealed a sly smile. Then, she extended her finger.

"Master has decided to use the pubs to form an intelligence network. With the pubs in place, we can easily obtain intelligence no matter from within or outside the Munn Kingdom as long as there is any activity. The intelligence will be sent to us using the long-distance transmission device produced by Little Lapis. We've divided the entire Light Mainland into ten regions and there is a person in charge in every region who collects and collates all the intelligence before sending it to us."

"How often will he be sending us the data?"

"This isn't the Internet age, after all, Master. As long as you're willing to put up with it, I will get him to send a report once every three days. It would be another matter if there are any emergencies."

"I will need more manpower, Kid."

Old Walker interrupted.

"I'm getting old. Perhaps my weary old body will give way soon if you don't provide more manpower for me."

"Don't worry about that, Mr. Walker. I will get the candidates ready."

"In other words, we're gonna have an intelligence network in future?"

Joey jumped up in exhilaration. As a Thief class, he knew how crucial an intelligence network was.

"Boss, since that's the case, we are gonna be the first to receive news if anything happens on this continent. That's awesome!"

"That's only a small part of it, Joey."

Rhode swept a glance at Joey.

"Gathering intelligence is only the start. Our ultimate goal is to disseminate the information with purpose."

"Send out?"

Everyone looked in astonishment while Rhode nodded firmly.

"That's right. You guys still remember the behavior of the civilians in Golden City after we defeated Liberty Wings in the Midsummer Festival, right?"

Many of them nodded in agreement. Among the high-ups around Rhode, most of them had participated in the Midsummer Festival and they were aware of the civilian's reactions in Golden City. Rhode spread his arms apart and shrugged.

"Back then, most of the crowd who witnessed the competition hurled abuses at us, accused that we had an unfair advantage, and called us scheming, right?"

"That's because they are sore losers. Hmph. Leader, those scaredy-cats only dare to hide in the back and find excuses for themselves!"

Anne grumbled and let out a snort. But Rhode shook his head in denial.

"In fact, what they said were true. You guys still remember my plan before the battle commenced, right? I had intentions to diminish Rosen's battle desires through Lize, Joey, Anne, and Randolf, while I took him out on the battlefield. As long as Rosen was dead, the Liberty Wings would be down without any threat. Therefore, they weren't wrong about their accusations in this aspect. Honestly speaking, even our supporters didn't deny this. But unlike the opposition, our supports didn't see that as being scheming and shameless. Instead, it was a well-planned strategy. Besides, you guys may not know it, but there weren't too many of our supporters who witnessed the competition personally and yet, they supported us unwaveringly. On the contrary, those who witnessed the competition hated us to the core. Hmm... Of course, perhaps some of the overly brutal scenes were one of the causes."

Rhode swept a glance to Anne and the latter was baffled as she didn't know that Rhode was referring to her. At this moment, Lapis spoke hesitantly.

"But why, Sir? Why did those people who didn't watch the competition support us..."

"This is just an issue of perspective, Lapis."

Rhode shook his finger.

"You guys witnessed from the competition that most of the audience came from the South and were supporters of Liberty Wings. This was why we were their natural rivals and as a result, they definitely wouldn't put in good words for us. Furthermore, Rosen died a miserable death and they couldn't accept the truth. On the other hand, the people of Golden City were mainly Northerners. They hated the South, detested the Reformist Party, and loathed the Liberty Wings. If we lost, they wouldn't speak up for the loser. But since we won, they have all the reasons to support us. Besides, most of them didn't witness how terribly Rosen had died and they couldn't sympathize with the emotions of those in the audience. It was like a war. I guess you guys are aware and have heard of how devastating wars could be. But it is entirely different when you step into one and experience everything personally."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Therefore, those who didn't witness the competition couldn't imagine how bad Rosen's death was and we were the representatives of the North who have defeated the South. As a result, they naturally didn't have any reasons to humiliate us and chose to defend us instead. In fact, there was only one truth: we carried out the tactic of having several people take turns to tire Rosen out and eventually murder him. Then, we defeated the Liberty Wings Guild and gained the victory. This was the truth. But the truth was otherwise for others who viewed it from another perspective."

Rhode spread his arms apart.

"Lize, Marlene, and Anne. You girls still remember the show I brought you to watch in the Country of Light, right? That was the same. Standing from the perspective of the Country of Light's people, they definitely wouldn't dig their own graves and mention the historical background as this would sway their claim to legitimacy. Would you still think that the town residents who defended against the 'Red Demons' were putting up a battle of justice after you knew that the land under their feet actually belonged to the 'Red Demons' who they slaughtered? On the other hand, the 'Red Demons' wouldn't think that the town residents who confronted them were righteous because they were the violent, cruel invaders who stole their homes. The town residents were the true Demons instead."

"I think I get what you mean now, Rhode."

Marlene nodded. After all, she was considered the only person who was in the noble circle among them and she understood the harmful effects of lies and slanders. But...

"But... They are only civilians. So what if they received such information? They will merely perceive the information as a leisurely pastime since this incident has happened a long time ago. Shouldn't they focus on living their lives, instead of getting involved in the rumors and slanders?"

Rhode let out a sigh to Marlene's doubts. Frankly speaking, Marlene's thoughts represented the thoughts of most of the nobles in the Munn Kingdom. They believed that life was about working hard in their daily lives and paying taxes since they couldn't go to war and it wouldn't threaten their statuses. There were no reasons for them to be concerned about what the people listened to all day. It would be sufficient as long as they managed their affairs properly and ensured that they could live a decent life. Rumors and slanders were vulgar and in poor taste for the nobles, where they weren't willing to get involved and even hear about them.

"I understand, Marlene. Indeed, for most people, it would only be a chat and pastime for them after meals. But as a matter of fact, the information will gradually infiltrate their minds deeply and become a fixed opinion."

Rhode lifted his head and revealed the trace of a smile to everyone.

"I know a whole lot of you loathe the Country of Darkness. Why?"

"This..."

Everyone gazed in astonishment. Then, Lapis answered.

"Because... Because the Undead Creatures rule that country..."

"Right. Humans are only slaves and serve as meals in there..."

"Besides, their corpses will even be summoned by Necromancers to become materials for the Undead Army..."

Everyone broke out into discussion at this topic. No matter what, the reputation of the Country of Darkness was resounding on this continent. As the people of the Light Mainland, they heard no few stories about the Country of Darkness.

Rhode smiled.

"Alright then. Which one of you have been to the Country of Darkness and seen it personally?"

"..."

In an instant, everyone fell into silence. They looked at one another and shook their heads.

"None of you have seen it for yourselves, so why are you sure that it's a living hell in there? Even though Humans are slaves in there, they might be well-fed and living in luxurious houses. Perhaps they are living a better life than most of us here apart from serving the Undead Creatures. Isn't that possible?"

"B-But... Everyone says that."

Anne explained despite being unable to put forward any convincing arguments. Rhode twitched his brows.

"That's right. Everyone says that... Now, do you understand?"

"This..."

Most of them finally understood the meaning behind the words that Rhode conveyed.

"It's the same for the Country of Light. We say that the Country of Light's people are arrogant and opinionated, while they believed that they are the symbol of freedom and justice, the protectors and representatives of Humans. They overthrew the Light Dragon's rule and established a nation ruled completely by Humans. This was why they are prideful of their achievements and contemptuous toward the people of other nations and territories. In the Country of Light... Everyone says that, and that is why they believe so."

"..."

Marlene frowned and pondered in silence.

"Same goes for the South's armed rebellion. Why did the people support the group of idiots in the Reformist Party? That's because the Reformist Party did well in this aspect. They magnified and twisted Lydia's views and actions for their own benefits. For example: a group of bandits attacked a group of merchants. If the guards didn't provide assistance in time, people would accuse the guards of being vermin who get paid to do nothing. The people worked so hard to pay taxes for the guards' services while the guards can't even chase the bandits away. On the contrary, if the guards arrived on time and defeated the bandits, the people could accuse the guards for not informing them earlier of the lurking bandits since they were already aware. This led to them losing some of their men and resources. Was that a self-directed show put up by the guards to increase their presence?

"In any case, the people would still be the ones in the right. That's just shoving false arguments down others' throats."

John shook his head helplessly. As a commander of the Southern Legion in the past, he knew what Rhode said wasn't fabricated, but the truth instead. Joey grumbled in discontentment on the other side.

"That's right, there is only one truth. Whether the guards received the report and arrived on time or not, and whether they managed to defeat the bandits or let them escape, that was the truth. But this is meaningless to the Reformist Party. They had to weaken the legitimacy of Lydia's rule, so they stood with this position and re-described the whole situation. This way, the people would believe that Lydia's Royal Family was incapable of protecting them and they couldn't rely on the greedy, weak, sinister officials, and could only trust their own hands to change everything. This was why the Reformist Party received so much support from the people when they began their rebellion. Everyone was speaking ill of the Royal Family and believed that they failed to handle proper business, wasted their money, and threw their weight about. On the contrary, the Reformist Party who claimed to be representing the people was naturally the popular choice."

Rhode stood to his feet.

"This was why I proposed the Skynet Plan. Through various intelligence reports, not only could we gather information from various regions, but we can also manipulate them into being in line with our standpoint and disseminate them out in our benefits. At the very least, we can't allow our potential allies to be suspicious and resistant to us due to slanders and rumors."

Almost everyone nodded in agreement. In fact, what Rhode had mentioned was a common matter in the information age, where people understood the importance of grasping public opinion and right to speak. But it was different here. The information dissemination on this continent wasn't developed yet and could even be considered lacking. In general, the channels in which people obtained information were either from rumors heard in pubs, or from stories told by travelers. The Country of Light was the best in manipulating public opinion on this entire continent. Of course, words couldn't defeat blades and firearms. Even though the Country of Light could manipulate public opinion, defame, misrepresent, and vilify the Country of Darkness, words wouldn't aid them in being victorious when the Undead Army flooded into their country. Failure would still be failure while death would still be death.

"But Rhode..."

Marlene scanned the map before her and said dubiously. Almost half of the intelligence hubs Rhode had set up were located in the Country of Light. What does this mean? Why would Rhode do that if he's only gathering information? Besides, these places are strategic locations for military affairs. Could it be that... Marlene gazed at Rhode and shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

"No... Nothing."

She lowered her head in silence. But she puckered her brows and scrutinized the map.

Could it be that... this Skynet Plan which Rhode came up with is designed to target the Country of Light?

Chapter 690: Storm Clouds Approach

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Rhode completed his final piece of the puzzle with Gillian's return. It could also be said that a complete system had been established. Marlene would be in charge of the territory, controlling the finances, internal affairs, and diplomatic works of Grenbell. On the other hand, Ann Clark had officially become Rhode's subordinate and worked for him. Also, as Marlene's assistant, Ann was responsible for business negotiations with foreign trade associations and merchants. According to Marlene, this young lady had great potential. Even though she lacked experience in dealing with people, she was sensitive to economic changes and business negotiations. She could sharply catch the loopholes and traps in discussions and contracts. Although she was still too immature to be an 'evil businesswoman', Marlene believed that she would be a capable assistant in the near future.

Orchid Heart was put in charge in terms of military. She was responsible for the recruitment of soldiers, training, and mobilizing, which could also be considered the busiest department in Rhode's territory. Currently, Rhode didn't have a specific military concept and he left John in charge of administering it for the time being. As John had to manage his Cavalrymen, he didn't have much time to put in enough attention on the Infantries. Therefore, even though Rhode's subordinates appeared seemingly impressive, there weren't a lot of private soldiers under him. Moreover, John had about a hundred Cavalrymen under him and fortunately, Rhode only had to maintain the social order in the Fortress and Canary and Mini Bubble Gum were around to watch over things. If not, the small number of private soldiers under him would be in complete chaos.

But the situation took a huge turn after Orchid Heart took office. She only had one requirement for the soldiers under her: obedient. It didn't matter if they lacked an arm or leg; it would be sufficient if they fulfilled the requirements, could battle, and display their loyalty.

Under such 'loose' terms, the vigorous recruitment work began instantly. The Fortress was much livelier than before, with the massive migration from the people of nearby regions. Now that people had heard of the overlord's recruitment to his private army, there were a whole lot of people who signed up and most of them passed the interview. However, even though they were recruited, they didn't have rich battle experiences. This was why Rhode promoted a group of experienced mercenaries from Starlight and with the support of the Reputation System, he could easily pick out those who were loyal and respectful toward him to manage and train the newcomers. Among the mercenaries, many of them were kicked out of the military and were extremely familiar with the military style. Besides, they were skilled at their jobs, which resolved a huge trouble for Rhode. The mercenaries welcomed this decision with opened arms. The reason why they had joined Starlight earlier was because they hoped to be valued highly by Rhode to eventually become his henchmen. And now, not only did they join Rhode's army, but they also received various titles such as captains or instructors.

With the prestigious titles, statuses, and wealth, the other mercenaries were naturally envious. They also wished to perform outstandingly to capture Rhode's attention and eventually become his henchmen. Moreover, many mercenaries had also joined the guild and hoped to develop themselves, which started Starlight in the orbit of a virtuous cycle. Within a few days, the strength of Rhode's private soldiers had grown to about 3,000 men. Thereafter, Orchid Heart had also temporarily stopped the recruitment works in order to keep the stability. But even so, there was still an impact to the Fortress with that sudden increase of soldiers, which led to more burden on another person: Lapis.

Even though the alchemy department under Lapis had become much more stable with an increase of members, they had to focus their energy in concocting more alchemical potions and equipment with the drastic increase in private soldiers, temporarily suspending the research. Lapis had some grumbles over it, but she understood that Rhode lacked the resources to support her creations. After all, they required a lot of materials and even though Rhode had extorted a whole lot of materials from the Alchemist Association, those were only sufficient for creating equipment. Perhaps even double that amount of materials wouldn't be enough to research and develop newer products.

Although Lapis's production speed had become much quicker with the help of Marlene's schoolmates, there was still a limit, after all. In this aspect, Rhode took reference from the in-game players with the Production Class and gave Lapis a suggestion. In the game, there were no lack of Alchemist players. Even though they concurrently searched for ingredients once in awhile, it was too demanding for them to also be responsible for engraving to producing a series of arts and crafts. Not only would they need to spend a lot of time, but they also had low efficiency. Therefore, the Alchemist players often purchased required ingredients and semi-manufactured goods in order to assemble and sell them instead.

Due to this, Rhode proposed a reform plan for Lapis' alchemy department. In the past, he didn't suggest it as Lapis was the only Alchemist around. But now, she had helpers who were more or less proficient in alchemy. He would be dividing her helpers into groups. The ones weaker in alchemy would be responsible in gathering magic herbs, creating vessels, or perhaps working on carving and casting shells. On the other hand, Lapis could gather some blacksmiths, herbalists, and craftsmen to complete the design plans, before handing them to Marlene's schoolmates for supervision. The schoolmates would assemble after the production process and Lapis could also use the chance to select some talents and groom them into being disciples who could speed up the production of alchemical equipment.

Lapis objected to Rhode's suggestion from the start. In fact, it wasn't only her, but Marlene and the others also didn't understand it either. Got to say, the people in this age were rather conservative in their thoughts. They universally believed that one couldn't engage in the production of alchemy products without sufficient knowledge because one didn't understand the essence of the items at all. What if there was a problem during the production?

However, Rhode wasn't mindful of their objections as he saw it as the responsibility of the creator. In fact, it wouldn't affect one's ability in producing tires even if one couldn't operate a vehicle. Of course, it would be another issue if one decided to design new tires.

Got to say, the strength of tradition was formidable.

Even though Rhode had tried his best to convince Lapis and Marlene, they were still dubious of his suggestion. Although they admitted that Rhode's plan was workable to a certain extent, they still thought that it was impossible to produce a list of equipment with magical powers that required alchemy knowledge. Rhode couldn't do anything about it. No matter what, he was just a player and not a game designer. Besides, in the game, even though the Alchemist players' semi-manufactured goods were also made by other players in the Production Class, that didn't require them to create it just like in reality, after all. Instead, the players simply needed to place all the materials before him and activate his skill would do. This way, even though there was a certain failure rate, it would become a 'qualified product' that met the system specifications if it succeeded. But that was in the game, and there might perhaps be some differences in this world...

In the end, both sides took a step back. Lapis and Marlene agreed to hand the less important duties for them to fulfill and leave the important equipment embedding and engraving works to themselves. Of course, if everything worked out, they would consider taking Rhode's suggestion further... After all, Lapis was an Alchemist Master in terms of magical technology while Marlene's Senia Family was a well-known magical family. Both of them were experts in this aspect and he had done what he could. He could only slowly observe the effects in the future.

Among all these issues, Christie was the one who left Rhode the most gratified. She had completely become Lapis' important assistant. Not only were the drawings and drafts that she had come out with beautiful and elegant, but they were also practical, where even Lapis, whose entire head was filled with the alchemical knowledge of the Behermes, couldn't help but praise.

But Marlene had expressed some concerns to Rhode privately. According to her observations, not only were the magic circuits designed by Christie pleasing to the eye, but they also appeared to be designed according to the laws of some alchemical techniques. It was almost impossible for one without rich knowledge and experience in alchemy to design it. But Christie... She didn't seem to know any alchemy at all. Besides, she wouldn't have reached such heights even if she started learning since she was born. Moreover, Marlene and Rhode knew clearly what sort of life Christie had been leading before. Under such circumstances, how was it possible for her to learn the designs for magical technology? Furthermore, Marlene was perturbed when Christie didn't understand what she was asking about the designs. Christie merely thought that the design looked pretty and that was all. It would be a coincidence for a blind cat to catch a dead mouse once or twice. But, it had always been the case for Christie. Wasn't that strange enough?

Rhode didn't provide any explanation to the situation and he comforted Marlene to not worry too much. In fact, even though he didn't know why Christie could understand these, he vaguely had an answer in his mind. Everything Christie had done subconsciously perhaps had something to do with the 'other Christie' from his dreams. Even though he had met the 'other Christie' twice, she had always given him a lot of help. She aided him in repairing Madaras and Gracier before showing him the location of the two Holy Sword Cards. That 'Christie' surely wasn't an ordinary character. Not only that, but what also left Rhode baffled was that he seemed to have seen that scenery in his dream somewhere before... But he just couldn't recall it.

There wasn't any regular pattern for the appearance of the 'other Christie'. Although Christie often slept with Rhode, the 'other Christie' had only appeared in his dreams twice.

Recently, Rhode didn't allow Christie to spend the night with him anymore. The reason was simple. He was entangled by Anne.

Ever since the start of her estrus, Anne had been fulfilling her sexual desires. She looked for him practically every night, which left him intolerable. Even though Marlene and Lize also had such behaviors after giving their first to him, they had the reservation of young ladies, after all, and would at most provide some subtle hints. However, Anne was completely different. As long as no one was around and no matter if it was day or night, Anne would always take the initiative. On the other hand, Rhode responded without the slightest hesitation to the meat that was delivered to his door. Not only that, but Anne would also look for Rhode every night, which he had no choice but to stop Christie from sleeping in his room at night, just in case she saw something unsuitable for children.

Fortunately, Rhode's constitution was beyond Human values. If not, he would've long been dried out by Anne. But, even so, sometimes he felt as though the lower part of his body had become numb without any perception... He only hoped for Anne's estrus to end quickly. If not, he would need to sneakily and shamefully get Lapis to concoct a few potions to cure Anne.

Of course, it was just an anecdote for his leisure time. Apart from mixing with Anne all day, he naturally had other important matters.

Ever since the launch of the Skynet Plan, first-hand, useful information from various regions of the Light Mainland had been flowing in constantly. Even though Rhode could be said to have experienced everything that happened in this continent as a top-rated player who had transmigrated to this world, he wasn't a history record, after all. He could remember large-scale and personal history, but he had no idea on the specific day and time of happenings that were rumored. And now, according to the 'Skynet', he could thereby determine the clues and use his memories to form a picture as to what was about to happen.

He was most concerned about the news regarding the Country of Light.

After the Dragon Soul Ceremony, he slipped back to the Munn Kingdom while leaving things in a mess. The Light Parliament had sunk into chaos. The news of the Parliament Chairman half-kneeling and kissing Lydia's hand and the devastating loss of the Magician Knights had spread throughout the entire Country of Light. In an instant, the Light Parliament got caught in the heart of the struggle with many people bawling out on them for humiliating the ancestors who had given their all for the sake of freedom and beliefs. Some groups of people had even named that day as a 'national humiliation day' and thought that the Light Parliament had fallen from grace and betrayed their freedom and righteous beliefs. The lower chamber of legislative body represented the people in proposing a serious protest to the Light Parliament. Not only that, but the people also organized demonstrations before the Light Parliament and resisted their incapability. Moreover, judging from the situations of the territories around the Country of Light, most of them who supported the Light Parliament remained silent and kept a distance away from the Light Parliament. It seemed that they were also worried that the Light Parliament wouldn't stabilize the situation.

On the other hand, Lilian had taken actions.

It could be seen that she was an idealist. She dispatched men to Dalkest to speak to the people there and made a series of decisions to transform the place in order to ensure the people there could live ordinary lives and hold jobs. But these solutions definitely weren't thought of by Lilian. The people of Casabianca had a different appraisal on this decision. They had huge opinions about Dalkest and it would be for the best that Lilian was willing to resolve this problem. But on the other hand, many of them were worried that this was the first step of the Light Dragon in recapturing her sovereignty.

The Light Parliament's prestige was swaying. The Light Dragon Soul had gotten involved in the internal affairs of the country. The country was in a complete mess. The people were feeling a mix of emotions which included worry, anger, and restlessness. According to the intelligence, people from other cities apart from Casabianca were also putting up demonstrations and protesting the Light Parliament. Furthermore, the Light Parliament didn't receive the funding from the Munn Kingdom this year. Even though Lilian used the funds for internal affairs, she definitely wouldn't use them to fill the Light Parliament's financial deficit. It was imaginable of the crisis if the Light Parliament failed to make ends meet by next year.

Rhode knew that the five largest financial groups definitely wouldn't take actions immediately. If they truly wished to manipulate the Light Parliament, they had to allow the financial holes to expose themselves and when the Light Parliament were incapable of resolving the problems, they would emerge with the identity of the savior.

Why were heroes always popular and well-liked? That was because they often emerged during the worst scenarios. When the Demon ravaged the surface. When the ruler oppressed its people tyrannically. When blood flowed to form a river. When the world was suffering from war and deaths. — Only under such circumstances where a hero stepped out and defeated the bad guy was respected. How many people would respect the hero if the hero immediately slaughtered the Demon King who had just emerged to the surface and burst into laughter, saying, "Hahaha. I'm going to destroy this world!"? No one.

The Light Parliament also knew that this was the five largest financial groups' scheme. But Rhode knew that they wouldn't let the five largest financial groups take advantage of this situation. The reasons why the Light Parliament dared to snatch the authority from the Light Dragon Soul was because of themselves. Even though the five largest financial groups often applied pressure on them, the Light Parliament held political rights, after all. If the Light Parliament were to fall into their tricks and become their puppets, they might as well rely on the Light Dragon Soul, since the Light Dragon Soul was still one of the Creator Dragon Soul—much greater than a group of Humans.

Rhode was sure that things wouldn't end so easily. Besides, the more miserable the Light Parliament was as stated in the intelligence report, the more Rhode couldn't force out a smile. Even though he couldn't wait for the Light Parliament to perish, he had a premonition as though one was standing on the plain and watching thick, dark clouds rolling over and covering the entire sky. It was apparent that a huge storm was brewing without the need of a weather report.

Indeed, things were slowly changing.

The Light Parliament had kept quiet all these while. However, another problem was slowly growing and that was regarding the rumors of the Country of Darkness. The rumors of the Country of Darkness launching ambushes on the Country of Light's border guards were spreading within the Country of Light and its people were slowly shifting their attention away from the Light Parliament's embarrassing situation and discussing about this issue.

Everyone was aware that the Country of Darkness was a nation dominated by Undead Creatures and some Humans had tried all sorts of ways to cross the border and arrive at nations dominated by Humans like the Country of Light or the Munn Kingdom. The defectors had various reasons. Some did it for their research on undead spells and some were spies, or for whatever reasons. Of course, the Country of Darkness definitely wouldn't admit that they were the ones at fault. The Munn Kingdom and the Country of Light didn't count on them admitting that either. It was just like how the Eastern Plains had always been the front line of a war between the Munn Kingdom and the Country of Darkness, where it was common for Humans and Undead Creatures to get into conflicts.

But now, the rumors of Country of Darkness' ambushes and that they were about to invade the Country of Light were spreading. The people weren't too aware of such rumors as they were mostly stopped at the borders. But now, there was an obvious problem with the speed of spread for these rumors. It would still be unavoidable if only a few regions were spreading the rumors as there were bound to be loopholes. However, the situation was completely different if the entire Country of Light was spreading them.

These rumors had left the Country of Light's people in a state of unrest. Moreover, there was also a rumor that mentioned that the Light Parliament had lost every scrap of reputation, the Light Dragon Soul tried to snatch its authority back, and the Country of Darkness had the intentions of attacking the Country of Light!

Got to say, such opinions were popular among the people and based on the intelligence report, many of the Country of Light's people agreed with this view too.

At this moment, the Light Parliament who had been maintaining silence had some activities.

They formally protested to the Country of Darkness through diplomatic channels, requesting them to hand over the murderers who killed their border guards!

The Country of Darkness definitely wouldn't regard their words highly. They expressed that it was merely an accident and there was no evidence which proved that it was the Country of Darkness' regular army that attacked the guards. They believed that it was the doing of some fleeing Undead Creatures, sent their condolences for the mishap of the guards, and announced that they would investigate the case. But the Country of Light actually asked for them to hand out the murderers... That was impossible because the murderers didn't exist, so how were they able to hand them over?

The Light Parliament was oddly stubborn on this matter. They provided a massive number of evidence and witnesses to prove that it was Country of Darkness' regular army that had attacked and once again issued unyielding arguments that requested for the Country of Darkness to provide an explanation.

In the end, Country of Darkness was no longer interested in playing games with the Light Parliament. They expressed that there must have been some misunderstandings in the situation and they could communicate with the Light Dragon Soul... It went to show that the Country of Darkness knew the situation happening in the Country of Light inside out and they wouldn't mind messing with the Light Parliament.

But the situation took a turn thereafter.

The Light Parliament was still unwilling to forgive the Country of Darkness. They definitely wouldn't allow Country of Darkness to communicate with the Light Dragon Soul. As a result, the Light Parliament once again requested for Country of Darkness apologize and compensate them for their losses. But this time, the Light Parliament weren't only speaking. They had mobilized several of their troops to the rumored border region where their guards were ambushed and announced to the public that this was the military exercise of the new year. However, everyone knew what they were up to.

Rhode understood from the intelligence that war was inevitable.

Chapter 691: Undercurrent

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The Light Parliament mobilizing their troops to the border had captured the attention of the entire continent. However, the people refused to believe that the Country of Light and Country of Darkness would go into war. After all, they knew that such clashes had always existed and were well aware that the Light Parliament would be so unyielding. Therefore, the Light Parliament mobilizing their troops was only making a tough stand. Sometimes, international politics were like two people pointing at each other's nose and taunting: "Hit me if you dare!", "Touch me and I will kill you!", or "Come on, I'm not afraid of you!"...

Even though both sides cursed while spitting saliva across, neither would do anything even if the situation escalated. Therefore, everyone was only concerned about the clash between them at a general level. They believed that the Light Parliament was only expressing their tough stance to regain support from the people and wouldn't send out their troops to attack the Country of Darkness.

Indeed. That was their intention. But the Country of Darkness might have other ideas!

Unlike the Country of Light with an accumulation of contradictions and internal and external problems, the Country of Darkness could be said to have expanded in strength and thrived under the guidance of Dark Dragon, Ion. They possessed formidable military forces, wealth, and apart from the four largest families led by the four legendary generals, various smaller family forces were also rising. Ion was clear that there was only one path to take on if the Country of Darkness yearned to unleash all their potential. If they didn't expand their forces, they would inevitably get into a conflict with the four legendary generals as the emerging families rose in forces—there were possibilities of internal wars and disputes. The Dark Dragon was neither Lilian nor the Light Parliament, so he definitely wouldn't allow such calamities to happen under his watchful eyes. Starting a war, dominating the territories, and expanding their forces was the inevitable ending.

Rhode had gotten ready as soon as he heard of the possible upcoming war. The Country of Darkness didn't retaliate up until this point while the Light Parliament continued to clamor for attention, and that was all. Neither did the Country of Darkness mobilize their army nor sternly warn the Light Parliament. Therefore, everyone saw this as only an ordinary international conflict.

But Rhode was clear that the Country of Darkness had no need to mobilize their army. All they were doing now was concealing their true motive. This was what they did in the game: paralyze the opposition before launching lightning swift raids in one swoop.

The undead properties of the Country of Darkness's undead army proved that there were no flaws in their blitzes. As Undead Creatures, they didn't need to replenish their health on the spot and could mobilize their army beforehand. Besides, they wouldn't feel exhausted and could travel day and night constantly. As long as Necromancers were present, the corpses on the battlefield would be awakened by them to become a part of their forces. In addition, the corpses were tireless and fearless of death, which decided that almost no one could resist their attacks whenever the undead army mobilized.

This was one of the reasons why the Country of Light fell a thousand miles in the game. After all, they were humans with lives and would naturally feel fatigue, exhaustion, and fear. Facing such a tactic from the Country of Darkness, the Country of Light had no means of resistance at all. It was only until later, after they sacrificed a large portion of their territories and manpower to rely on the mighty fortress and defensive line, that they defended against the Undead Creatures' attack. However, as any solid defenses would crumble from the inside first. Rhode led the players from the rear and seized the chance to wipe out the Light Parliament before the Country of Darkness managed to.

Even though the Light Parliament would still be destroyed by the Country of Darkness even if Rhode didn't take action, that didn't mean that the strategy to defend to their deaths was useless. Most importantly, although the Light Parliament was a group of good-for-nothing, adopting the strategy to defend to their deaths could slow down the Undead Creatures' attack to a certain extent. This was proven to be an effective strategy against the Country of Darkness. After all, blitzes were to catch enemies off guard with a surprise attack and it wouldn't be too effective if the enemies were ready for it.

Of course. Rhode didn't forget about sending reports to Lydia to warn her of the possibilities of the Country of Darkness launching an ambush. This time, he didn't bother to disguise his knowledge and had written the report based on the analysis of players on the forums about the cause of this war. He had also expressed to Lydia that he was 100 percent sure the Country of Darkness would take advantage of the situation to invade the Country of Light and Munn Kingdom. After all, it would be hard for the Munn Kingdom to avoid getting caught in the crossfire based on its geographical location.

However, Lydia's response left Rhode dumbfounded. This eccentric Royal Highness didn't mention her opinion in her reply letter. Instead, she sent an internal meeting record on this matter regarding the Country of Light. It could be seen from this document that most people believed that this conflict was as per usual, where the Light Parliament had embarrassed themselves during the Dragon Soul Ceremony and used this chance to recover. Even though they also agreed that there were risks and didn't believe that the Country of Darkness would launch an ambush, Rhode could see that instead of believing that the Country of Darkness wouldn't start a war, the people were 'wishing' that the Country of Darkness wouldn't. No matter what, the Country of Light and the Country of Darkness were the largest nations on this continent. The instant a war broke out between them, the consequences would be devastating. Besides, as both countries were powerful, it wouldn't be as simple as a large country devouring a smaller country or a short-lived war between two weak countries. Speaking in exaggeration, this war might last for years, decades, or even centuries—and this wasn't a groundless fear. Come to think of it, back then, many races went extinct in that devastating Creation War that fought for centuries. Moreover, some races also split up like the Elves and Dark Elves, and Angels and Fallen Angels. This time, no one knew if this war between both nations would become another Creation War.

Everyone's concern was not just out of fear of this imaginary war. They believed that as soon as the Country of Darkness went all out, there would be disastrous consequences and perhaps the Country of Darkness might develop some misunderstandings or ill intentions toward them. Rhode snorted disdainfully. But he had to admit that these sayings weren't all dependent on weakness.

Other countries had a huge weakness against the Country of Darkness and that was that they couldn't receive any information regarding the higher-ups of the Country of Darkness. The reason was simple. The higher-ups of the Country of Darkness were mainly Necromancers, Vampires, Death Knights, Dark Elves, and others who were capable of reading and manipulating minds. Vampires could extract information from the blood of their preys. The Necromancer could exploit every intelligence from the brains of the dead. Dark Elves had a unique spell to judge if the other party was lying. In this dark country, they would use these skills almost without any moral restrictions and no one would despise them for it. The Country of Darkness was a formidable nation and as long as one was capable, one would be right no matter what one did. Even if one wasn't strong enough, one could still be made use of as long as one was loyal. But those who weren't strong and were always daydreaming would become the prey of others.

It was due to this that it was harder for people to gather intelligence in such a country than climb to heaven. Even if they could get their hands on thought-provoking artifacts or had immunity against mind-reading spells, they would still be captured by the Undead Creatures and locked up for research as soon as they were discovered. When that happened, not only would they not attain any intelligence, but they would also reveal absolute classified information after the Undead Creatures extracted them from the blood and brain.

It was due to this that there were basically no countries on the Light Mainland that dared to send spies into the Country of Darkness. The best that they could do was to send Humans to mix with the underclass. But there was limited information in those places and it wouldn't be effective. On the other hand, many nobles and high officials in the Light Mainland were willing to betray their souls and intelligence to the Undead Creatures in exchange for false, eternal lives.

Unable to receive accurate intelligence meant that one couldn't have accurate judgment of their enemies. Therefore, many people judged the Country of Darkness based on what they had done. But everyone knew that this sort of evaluation wasn't reliable.

However, not everyone thought so because there was one person who had a clear-cut stand on Rhode's side in this meeting record: Gaya.

She had clearly indicated that according to the report from the Eastern Plains, there was a massive decrease in the number of Undead Creatures and invasions, where many times were just routine businesses. Although they were usually doing routine business, it felt more like they were putting up a show now and they weren't true battles. Therefore, she had reason to believe that the Undead Creatures were planning a huge event. Besides, as one born in the Eastern Plains, Gaya would perceive the Undead Creatures' intentions in the worst way possible, so she wouldn't believe that the Country of Darkness was being sincere no matter what they said. This happened to be the same view as Rhode's. How foolish would it be to believe that the dead could live harmoniously with mortals...

The parties with different opinions struggled endlessly in the entire meeting while Lydia didn't mention a word. In the end, the final record consisted of opinions which indicated that they wouldn't take public precautions, but would be on guard privately instead. Rhode realized that even though Lydia didn't openly announce that she would mobilize the Battle Angel Army for defense, it was ambiguously expressed.

Rhode shrugged. In fact, the results were somewhat better and worse than he had expected because he didn't know how effective the private preparations would be. But fortunately, at least the Munn Kingdom was mentally prepared for the Country of Darkness's attack after this meeting. Therefore, they wouldn't crumble instantly even if they were ambushed. As for the Country of Light, Rhode had no interest in minding their business. He also wasn't aware if Lydia would warn Lilian about it. Although Lilian was trying her best, Rhode knew that she was too weak. Such weakness wasn't merely her age and strength, but more of an ability to command such a large-scale battle. In the end, the Light Parliament would still take authority over her.

He might as well count on himself than count on the Country of Light.

Within this period, Rhode had been working with a low profile. He used the excuse of an increased number of private soldiers to purchase foodstuff through the Silver Libra Trade Association and also decreased the production of magical potions to the public. Rhode also remain tight-lipped within the fortress. He had discussed this with others, but Marlene and Lize thought that such a massive war wouldn't break out anytime soon. On the contrary, Old Walker agreed with Rhode's views. But the latter didn't mention much and merely got them to manage their individual duties.

The days went by.

The harsh winter appeared to go by extremely slowly for Rhode. He felt that this winter was incomparably long as though it lasted a decade. He was clear that if the Country of Darkness were to launch an ambush on the Country of Light, winter would be the best time. Their Undead Army wouldn't be affected by the harsh weather conditions and the severe winter could even be their best camouflage. The Country of Darkness definitely wouldn't wait for spring. They weren't any upright gentlemen who would announce the start of a war before they attacked.

The huge snowstorm fluttered wildly and dark clouds covered the sky densely almost everyday. Goose feather-like snow descended and enveloped the surface into a silver-whitish place. Winter had become the main melody of this world.

Night fell.

The pitch-black night sky devoured every inch of brightness. The thick clouds concealed the high-hanging moon and spread the shadows of darkness like slow-moving dark ink and venom...

***

"Argh...!"

The little girl opened her eyes wide, clutched her chest tightly with both hands, and her petite body trembled constantly on the bed. Her weak, painful groans resounded in the spacious, warm bedroom. Shortly after, a few Battle Angels rushed into the room and to her side.

"Your Majesty! What's wrong? Your Majesty!"

"Argh... Ahh..."

Lilian gritted her teeth. Her adorable face was as pale as a sheet of paper. She widened her mouth and panted for air. There were no traces of radiance in her eyes as though her consciousness had left and drifted to a faraway land.

"Step aside."

A deep, calm voice sounded. Then, Archangel Serene emerged beside Lilian and placed her right hand on the latter's chest. A spotlessly white brilliance emanated from her palm and shrouded Lilian completely. The little girl's painful expression softened and her tensed up body relaxed.

"Ha... Ha... Ha... Ah..."

Lilian laid paralyzed on the bed. She widened her eyes and was drenched in cold sweat. She lifted her head and gazed Archangel Serene worriedly.

"Serene... I-I think... someone... has invaded my territory!"

"...!"

Archangel Serene turned around hurriedly and looked at Archangel Boulder who stood by the door. She nodded slightly and said with a stern tone.

"Gather the Light Parliament immediately!"

***

The snow continued to flutter about.

"This goddamn weather."

The guard captain gazed at the snowy scene from his tent, but he wasn't in the mood to admire the magnificent view. He picked up an alcohol flask placed on a brazier, opened the cap, and gulped the warm content down. He let out a comfortable shiver.

"Those bastards from the parliament actually made us suffer in this border wilderness. I would've been having fun with wifey if I were home! I don't understand why must we be in this ridiculous place. When are we going back!"

"Alright, alright, cut the crap."

His companion curled his lips and passed another alcohol flask to him.

"We're here to put up a show anyway and we can go back after those guys finish speaking their piece. Alright, shut your mouth and get ready to patrol. Be prepared to stay here even longer if the chief hears your complaints. Look around you, damn it. It's just night duty, so cut the crap and save your energy. Drink a little less. There's not much alcohol left!"

"I know, I know. I was just complaining. Those bastards... Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"That's strange..."

The guard captain knitted his brows and listened carefully to the surrounding. He shook his head.

"Why do I hear some 'swish... swish...' sounds like the waves?"

"Have you drank too much? There isn't any river around, not to mention an ocean... Argh. It's freezing. How can the weather be so cold. I'm about to freeze to death... Damn it. My armor has frozen together! Why is this winter..."

Boom!

At this moment, a soldier barged into the room from the snowstorm.

"R-R-Reporting, Captain! We've been attacked! Ambush! Ambush!"

"Calm down! Where're the enemies?!"

The guard captain berated and drew out his sword. He strode out of the tent was instantly stricken into silence.

A steady stream of white waves whizzed in like waves that engulfed the land. The strong snowstorm was as though powerless breezes that weren't worth any mention. In this vast white ocean, vague, greenish-white radiance resembling candle flames could be seen dancing in the distance.

The guard captain felt his blood freeze up completely.

"Undead Army..."

Chapter 692: War Against Fate (I)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Boom!

Rhode pushed the doors to the meeting hall open and gazed at everyone who had gathered around the round hall. Not only were his subordinates present, but even the representatives of the Church, Elves, and Merchants were also here. Everyone gazed worriedly at the young overlord because they didn't know why he had gathered everyone in the middle of the night. Canary, Mini Bubble Gum, Gillian, and Orchid Heart looked on with calm expressions. As Rhode's summoning spirits and subordinates, they had already received this news from him earlier on.

Rhode sensed the doubt and curiosity in everyone. He walked to the center in large strides and looked at everyone sternly.

"I know everyone must be feeling strange as to why I've gathered you here. Time is pressing. I will cut the nonsense and get straight to the point."

Rhode paused and gave them some time to mentally prepare themselves.

"I've received news that the Undead Army has crossed the border and is heading toward our Fortress under the Dark Dragon's protection. There are about 50,000 of them in total."

"———!"

Everyone was rooted in their place. They gazed at one another blankly as they were confused and disoriented by this overwhelming news. After a few moments, they broke out into panic discussions and even Lize and Marlene were pale in complexion. The two young ladies had discussed with Rhode regarding the chances of the Country of Darkness dispatching their army. But back then, they believed that the Country of Darkness wouldn't take actions so quickly. And now, the truth had given them a tight slap and left them speechless.

"Quiet. I hope everyone can keep quiet."

Rhode's voice pierced through the clamors in the hall. At the same time, an invisible, ice-cold chilliness enveloped the hall, which shut their mouths instantly. They turned to Rhode altogether and felt a firm sense of security from his expressionless face. In the past, they had always inwardly cursed him for being unsociable and often putting up a long face. But now, everyone felt so much more at ease. Even though they didn't know what this young overlord had in mind, it seemed that he did have some tricks up his sleeves.

"You guys should know what this means. The Undead Army is only 30 minutes away from us and we have to get everything ready by then."

Rhode turned around and roll called one by one.

"Senior Heart, get all the soldiers ready for Category A battle. Also, set up defenses, seal off the entrance doors, and pull up the drawbridge. Lapis, you're in charge of preparing all the alchemical armor and weapons. I want everyone equipped in the shortest time possible."

"Yes, Sir."

Lapis stood upright and responded with a trembling voice. On the other hand, Orchid Heart pondered in silence and nodded slightly before letting out a yawn. It seemed that she really hadn't woken up yet. Rhode turned to the others upon hearing their affirmations.

"Joey, from now onward, the Fortress will be sealed off entirely. Anyone is prohibited from heading out unless granted permission. I want you to lead your men to patrol the area. John, I request that you gather your Cavalrymen to maintain order within the city in the quickest time possible and ensure that there is no chaos among the people. I will get Agatha and her Ocean Elves to assist you on that. If anyone creates trouble or wreaks havoc, kill them without hesitation! Also, dispatch a squad out of the Fortress to gather the villagers and prepare them for evacuation."

"Yes, Sir Overlord!"

"Got it, Boss."

John replied urgently and even Joey, who usually put on a cheeky smile put up a stern expression. Time was of essence now and Rhode wasn't in the mood to care about such details. He even felt that giving commands were a waste of time. If only he could use his cursor and click on everything that he had to do, just like in the game...

"Anne, stay in the Fortress and protect Christie and the rest. I will assign a team to assist you too. Mr. Walker, I want you to head to the Golden City and Deep Stone City and issue an emergency notice. You have to inform them of our situation immediately."

"No problem, Kid."

"Leave it to Anne! Leader! Anne will protect everyone well!"

Old Walker drank a gulp of alcohol and nodded with might. Anne jumped up energetically and brandished the shield in her hand, which scared the others into cowering. They were afraid that their heads would be crushed to death even before the battle started.

"Marfa and Sol. Both of you are still directly under my command. Same goes for Lize and Marlene. Gather the men immediately and wait for me on the city walls after the preparations. Listen to all my commands. Don't act without permission. I will let you know what to do."

After ordering all his subordinates in the quickest possible speed, he turned to another group at the corner. Those weren't his subordinates, but the representatives of various forces within his Fortress. But now, they were all companions on the same boat.

"I guess you're aware of the situation now. 50,000 Undead Creatures are coming, but they aren't heading here for teatime. You should also know how far away our Land of Atonement is from other areas. In this Fortress, I'm confident in protecting your safety. But I can't guarantee your safety if you leave the Fortress. You can only depend on yourselves."

Rhode puckered his brows slightly. Then, he turned to the Moon Elf young lady.

"Miss Corina, I hope to receive the Church's and your support. The Undead Army has crossed the border and we don't have sufficient manpower now. I hope to receive any assistance that you can provide. Even though it isn't my intention to implicate your kingdom, this is all that I can do for now."

"..."

Corina didn't respond immediately. She represented the Country of Law and the Church, and she wasn't a citizen of the Munn Kingdom. If she retaliated against the Undead Army and was found out, it might implicate the Country of Law. Therefore, it wasn't easy for Corina to come up with an answer. She might even need to discuss further with the Country of Law before she could make a decision. But Rhode quickly turned around before receiving her reply as time was pressing and he couldn't wait. Anyway, Corina was in his territory now and he had a lot of ways to make her join this battle 'willingly'.

Rhode ordered with a solemn expression.

"Let's move out."

The pitch-black curtain drew in and shrouded everything.

Rhode stood on the tall city wall and gazed into the distance. Even though everything had been covered in darkness and snowstorm, it wasn't what it seemed to be in his eyes. In fact, the reason why he received news of the Country of Darkness' invasion was credited to the system. As soon as the Country of Darkness' army stepped into his territory, he instantly received a system prompt, which gave him time to respond.

The Fortress was as though a sleeping giant that had awakened and flew into operation. As Rhode had trained the soldiers specially for such events, they didn't appear to be flustered at all. They had gotten ready in an orderly fashion and stood on the city wall, gazing sternly into the distance. The archers on the towers were also ready with their bow and arrows, aiming at the dark border.

"Hu... Ha... Hu..."

Standing at the peak of the city wall, Rhode breathed deeply. He felt his body trembling subconsciously, where even his right hand was trembling. That was a mix of nervousness, thrill, excitement, and fear, like snow water flowing in his body. He had prepared a long time for this moment. Now that the Undead Army was approaching, could he change the fate he wished to?

This was just the beginning.

Swish... Swish... Swish...

This faint sound echoed in the whizzing snowstorm.

It sounded like waves splashing on the shore.

Rhode lifted his head and gazed into the distance. He wasn't able to see through the darkness, but he knew what was behind it.

Thousands of skeletons swarmed forward uniformly like computerized robots. They were fearless as they silently harvested every life in their path with the Death Knights, Vampires, and Necromancers following closely behind.

Lightning raid.

Rhode perked up the corners of his mouth and revealed a smile. Raid was to catch an enemy off guard with a surprise attack, which was similar to Rhode's 'backstabbing' tactic. So, would he allow himself to be ambushed by others?

Now's the chance.

He narrowed his eyes. Shortly after, a dazzling golden radiance emerged before him and a line of system prompt appeared before his eyes.

[Activated Holy Maiden Statue]

Silver-whitish, holy radiance blasted abruptly into the sky.

The crystal Holy Maiden Statue erected in the middle of the plaza blasted a beam of radiance that was as dazzling as the sun. It rushed into the sky and ripped through the clouds. As soon as it reached the highest point, it expanded in all directions to form a divine barrier that shrouded the entire Fortress. Then, the whizzing snowstorm gradually weakened, dark clouds faded, and shadows enveloping the land retreated like the tide which revealed everything that was hidden beneath.

The Undead Army camouflaged in the darkness was instantly exposed by the divine brilliance. Everyone clearly witnessed the burning spiritual flames in their eyes and blades shimmering in ice-cold radiance. The Undead Army slowed down to the abrupt environmental changes and it was apparent that they didn't expect to be discovered.

Good.

Rhode looked down at the Undead Army with an ice-cold expression. The Undead Army was so close to launching their ambush, but now, the situation had been reversed. Since they had barged into Rhode's turf, they could forget about turning back now.

Rhode raised his right arm and swung forward with all his might.

"Attack!"

Chapter 693: War Against Fate (II)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Saiborn lifted his head and gazed into the sky with his eyes burning in spiritual flames. Even though the dense dark clouds had concealed his vision, he could clearly sense the pitch-black, pure, powerful force pushing forward. Although it wasn't fast, it devoured everything steadily as if a dark abyss.

Everything's going smoothly.

Saiborn unrolled a smile. Perhaps the pathetic mortals didn't expect us to attack at this juncture. They are timid, foolish, and only fit to live as slaves. The Light Parliament's false bravado means nothing to Undead Creatures who have lived for one to two centuries. The Undead Creatures deemed the Light Parliament as unqualified to interact with them and they were only a group of immature, egotistical rascals.

But now...

Saiborn lowered his head. He looked forward and rubbed his chin with his hand covered in steel armor against his white skeletal jaw. It let out a sound of friction and that was Saiborn's favorite sound. The sound that would leave his mind calm and peaceful, which wasn't easy for Undead Creatures, especially for presences like Death Knights, like Saiborn. As warriors with returning souls, their hearts were filled with either vengeance, murderous intent, or endless wars. Peace of mind was as rare as an oasis in the desert, where it could be discovered but not sought. As for Saiborn, the sensation and sound of the friction between his jaw and steel armor was able to temporarily calm the surging flames in him. He liked it this way as this momentary peace meant that there would be much more violent eruptions ahead. He couldn't wait to charge forward, lead his subordinates against the enemies, and trample them into ashes.

"S-Sir Commander."

A feeble voice sounded.

Saiborn came to a slight halt and turned to the flustered young man, who appeared to be no different from the short-lived slaves. He looked miserable, skinny, and had messy long hair sticking to his face. A pitch-black cloak wrapped his body and the red substrate could be vaguely seen. The young man hugged a white cat in his arms, nodding, and bowing to Saiborn. His name was Schrodinger, a Vampire who was sent here just before this war. Death Knights had always been annoyed by the Vampires who used crafty plots and machinations behind their backs, which was why Saiborn let out a snort in disdain.

"W-We're reaching our destination soon."

"Oh."

Saiborn replied in a perfunctory tone. He shifted his gaze forward and spotted a silhouette of a pitch-black, imposing structure. That was their destination: the Land of Atonement's Fortress and the most important defensive line in the western Munn Kingdom. As long as they broke through the defenses, they could penetrate the Paphield Plain and slaughter their way to Golden City. At this moment, Saiborn pondered for a moment. He randomly recalled the report regarding a dangerous young overlord in this territory. Besides, according to his companions, Vulture and Darke had died by his hands. Not only that, but he had also eliminated the entire secret army that executed the mission with Vulture. This achievement itself was enough to make Saiborn view him in a new light.

I didn't expect that there would be such an interesting fella among the Humans.

Saiborn let out a grunt. He wasn't interested in Vulture's death. Even though they were all Death Knights, friendship between Undead Creatures was only a joke. On the contrary, he was amused by the young overlord. He heard that the Fortress was built in half a day. No matter if the rumors were true or false, that young overlord must be truly capable. If there was an opportunity, Saiborn wished to turn him into his own subordinate...

I'm thinking too much.

Saiborn kept his thoughts and shook his head slightly. The spiritual flames in his eyes flickered. It was in total darkness at the Fortress, apart from sporadic dancing flames. It seemed that the people hadn't sense the dangers yet and this night was nothing more than an ordinary one.

But it would be a different story soon.

"Dispatch the Bone Griffins to check on the situation ahead."

Saiborn ordered and Schrodinger nodded. He turned around and made a few hand gestures. Shortly after, four Bone Griffins flew into the sky and headed for the Fortress.

"Sir, you're too careful."

Schrodinger turned to the Death Knight with a pleasing smile.

"It's impossible for the shameless mortals to detect our arrival. Everything that they have done will be for naught. In just a few moments, we will shatter their peaceful and blissful dreams of fantasy and present everything to our supreme His Majesty, the Dark Dragon."

"Hmph."

Saiborn let out a snort. He lifted his hand to give another command...

However, at this moment, a dazzling, bright light column soared into the sky.

Saiborn instinctively shielded his eyes from the blinding, divine brightness. The silver-whitish light column burst through the dark sky and lit up the clouds. The dark clouds dispersed, and a white radiance spread throughout all directions. In an instant, a translucent barrier was formed over the Fortress and the sporadic flames suddenly changed.

The flames on the city wall blazed as though responding to the silver-whitish light column and the bright radiance revealed soldiers lined densely on the city wall with their raised torches, shields, and bows, staring forward with determined gazes. Heavy, enormous ballistas aimed forward on the towers on both ends.

Saiborn sulked instantly and glared forward. Even a dummy knew what the situation was/ Those Humans were ready and waiting for our arrival! Damn it! Damn it! How did they know? Our plan should've been perfect!

"H-How is this possible..."

Schrodinger shrieked and yelled in horror. Then, at this moment, the annoyed Saiborn swatted Schrodinger's cheek, which sent him falling to the ground.

"Impossible for them to detect our arrival? You worthless trash!"

Saiborn glared fiercely at the shuddering young man. Even though he wasn't aware of how the Humans found out this top secret which only top commanders in the army knew, he had no choice but to face it since there was no other way out!

Saiborn raised his hand at this thought.

"Att—..."

"Do it."

Rhode swung his right hand down and said coldly.

Countless arrows streaked across the sky. Saiborn let out a grim laughter. Ordinary arrows were harmless against Undead Creatures and the most common method that the mortals used to eliminate them was by shooting arrows wrapped in burning clothes. However, even though the omnipresent arrows in the air appeared threatening, they weren't lit with flames, after all... Then, Saiborn realized that something strange with the arrows.

They were entirely scarlet.

At this moment, the rain of arrows struck and engulfed the Undead Army.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of loud explosions filled the air with rolling flames spreading among the Undead Army. The powerful explosions and scorching flames raised the snow surface and crumbled the Undead Army. Many of the Skeleton Soldiers were blasted into midair and they shattered into bits as soon as they crashed into the ground. Although the Skeleton Soldiers lacked the emotions or fear, the force of impact had stopped them from advancing forward. In an instant, their front line was left in a complete mess.

"Damn it!"

Saiborn let out a bellow. He just realized that the arrows were unusual. Those weren't ordinary arrows. Those were magic arrows! Damn it. Why would there be so many magic arrows in this ridiculous place? Even a regular elite army doesn't possess so many of them!

"Necromancers! Strengthen our defense! Bone Griffins, attack!"

Saiborn ordered instantly. Several Necromancers stepped forward in large strides. They raised their white bone staff and chanted the evil curses. In the blink of an eye, barriers of pitch-black halos spun, expanded, and enveloped the Undead Army.

"It's 'Lion' Saiborn. Dang it."

***

Rhode gazed at the flag with puckered brows. Then, he turned to the rest beside him and shrugged.

"This is trouble. He's the subordinate of Balende, 'The Spirit Chaser'. Damn. I just hope that old bastard won't treat us as the main target of assault... Forget it. Fortunately, it isn't Ashvril, 'The Blood Countess'. At least we don't need to worry about Vampires backstabbing us. Marlene, Canary, you two know what to do next, right?"

"Of course, Rhode. Don't worry."

Canary smiled and turned to Marlene.

"Marlene, I will dispel their defense curse. You will take charge of retaliation and attack. You've fully grasped the 'Flawless Casting technique', right?"

"Yes, Miss Canary."

Marlene nodded and both of them turned to the Undead Army with raised arms.

***

"Sam, Kukuleczka kuka, chiopiec panny, szuka."

"Gtupi ten kawalir co z majatkiem."

The young ladies chanted spells while their fair, slender fingers streaked across the air. flickering magical runes flashed across them and transformed into invisible powers that spun and coalesced.

"Grr..."

The Necromancers' raised staff trembled. They gritted their teeth and the spiritual flames in their eyes blazed. Their defense barrier formed by pitch-black, sinister runes shivered violently and gradually shrunk as though an invisible, large hand was crashing it. The magical undulation grew increasingly chaotic and frantic.

At the same time, Canary elegantly gave a final swipe of her finger in midair. Her fingertip emanated a radiance that traced a perfect circle.

"—!"

The disorderly protection barrier crumbled instantly. The twisted, dark runes collided with one another and shattered into nothingness like fragile bubbles. On the other hand, the Necromancers maintaining the barrier were blasted away as though they were hit by a powerful punch. It seemed that they wouldn't be getting back on their feet anytime soon.

"Trash! Nothing but a pile of worthless trash!"

Saiborn exclaimed in exasperation. Then, he witnessed the soldiers on the city wall raising their bow and arrows once again.

Rhode looked down at the Undead Army without any change in his expression. His gaze was stone cold, determined, and had some traces of berserk.

"Second wave of arrows. Get ready."