Child of Destiny

Chapter 1691: Uninvited Guests

...…

The battle between the Plague Race and the Righteous Churches was in full swing. The side of the former was slowly losing its grounds due to the numbers advantage of the latter.

Even if some top forces chose to side with the Plague Race, their numbers could not be compared to what the side of the churches had. After all, not everyone wanted to take the gamble of coffee converting their races and fight against the major forces sides with the Righteous Churches, particularly those who had invested quite a lot in their respective faction.

But despite the shrinking territory of the Plague Lands, the quality of their forces was also becoming much stronger, especially when the Plague Energy was slowly getting more concentrated the more they got near the center of the region.

There were even a lot of appearances of Chieftain Rank Plague Monsters, making the competition more engaging.

There was even a single appearance of a Lord Rank Plague Monster, which had slaughtered quite a lot of experts during the battle. This forced the Righteous Churches to send a powerful Templar – a high-ranking Paladin and Holy Knight – on the battlefield.

It was just a pity that the monster was eliminated by the said Templar, causing much regret for everyone as it was supposedly a chance for them to earn such massive event points.

Regardless, the players who had fought and ʼassistedʼ during the raid had earned quite a lot of points after that battle, which still satisfied them.

…

During the entire process of this war, a lot of players finally uncovered the mysteries surrounding the Plague Race.

The players, who loved to investigate the different lore of the game they were playing, had discovered that this was not the first time that the Plague Race had emerged into this world.

A Plague Race was a type or a sub-race of a Cursed Creature. It was a race that was cursed due to committing some taboo or provoking a very powerful being that cast a curse on them.

There were quite a lot of Plague Races, but most of them were eradicated by the Righteous Churches or the Hall of Heroes while the rest had hidden underneath the banner of the Undead Race – which also became the reason why the churches were hostile against most of the Undead.

There were also some types of Plague Races, which had overcome their instinct of infecting or contaminating the other races and improved their image. Some of them even became an independent race and became very influential.

Such an example was the Vampire Families, who had seen their kin and formed a circle and their council.

They were an independent group that had a decent relationship with the Hall of Heroes due to their Vampire Lord and the Monarch of the Blood occupying a seat within the circle.

Through this connection, they had even built a good impression with the Righteous Churches, lessening the tension between their forces.

It was just a pity that they were unable to connect with the vampires of the Frozen Kingdom, particularly Dracula, the Vampire Primogenitor of that continent, much earlier due to the tension of that era – the Repelling Era against the invading demons.

…

Such backgrounds had been uncovered by the lore scholars of the game, increasing the understanding of the players about the Plague Race, which also increased the interest of the people about them.

But at the same time, the weaknesses of the race were also revealed one after another, making their side start to lose more footing during the war.

It was at this moment when the players and other forces participating in the event realized that the event was closing to its conclusion.

Those siding with the Plague Race started making preparations as they knew that their side was on the losing end.

Fortunately, the side of the Evil Factions had finally made their move, showing their intentions of inviting the Plague Race to side with them.

The Demonic Churches and the Corrupted Cult, which were the main enemies of the Righteous Churches, were actively participating in the war, throwing the situation into another deadlock.

The Evil Faction was still in a disadvantageous position due to the location of the event being near the Divinity City, which was the capital of the Human Race and where the headquarters of most churches were located.

But despite all these, the Evil Faction was quite calm in the situation as their main goal was not to wage an all-out war against the Righteous Churches. Their main purpose of coming here was to buy enough time for the Cursed Fallen King to be resurrected.

So long as they brought enough time for that king, their purpose in coming here would be worth it.

After all, another powerful being would be added to their ranks, fighting alongside them against the Righteous Churches.

…

As all these were happening, Axion, who was one of the main targets of the Righteous Churches, was currently forbidden to leave the tomb.

Due to the intensity of the battle and the rapid shrinking of their territory, the situation was gradually getting worse for their side.

Aside from the assassins sent by the churches, who had managed to sneak in their defensive formation, he also had to be wary of those opportunists from the Demonic Churches and Corrupted Cult that were eyeing him – or more specifically, the Plague Core that was planted into his body.

It was a cursed object that the soul of the Fallen King had forcefully injected into his body, which would ʼhelpʼ him transform into the perfect vessel once the fallen king had successfully resurrected.

At first, he was still hopeful about the secret quest that he currently had. He felt that there was hope for him to survive this predicament, especially when the side of the Righteous Churches was constantly pushing forward.

Unfortunately, the Demonic Churches and Corrupted Cult intervened and made the situation even more complicated.

Right now, he not only had to worry about his safety and survival, but he also had to be fully on guard against the schemes that the ʼalliesʼ eyeing him on their side.

Adding to the fact that the accumulated plague energies of the core had gathered during all this time, his only hope of escaping this fate seemed to be slowly slipping away from his grasp.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Sitting on the throne situated at the center of the Tomb of the Cursed King, Axion slowly opened his eyes as he looked at the floating cluster of Plague Energy right above the tomb hall.

He could not help but glance at the ticking timer from the corner of his eyes and saw that there was only a whole day (in-game time) before all the accumulated energy reached the desired level for the resurrection of the Fallen King.

With a sigh, Axion could not help but shake his head in bitterness. ”I guess I can only accept this fate ”

”I wonder how long I have to wait before I can recreate another character and start over again,” he mumbled as he lost hope.

As a professional gamer, he could not just give up his gaming career, especially when his family with the gaming workshop he had established were all relying on him to lead them.

”Itʼs just our terrible luck that led us to this situation,” he could not help but curse as he recalled how the chance that they thought would make them stronger became a terrible disaster.

At the same time, he also could not help but think of that monstrous guy, who was supposedly steamrolling his way in this event, suddenly stopped his tracks and disappeared altogether.

”How come he is still not making his move when the situation is already like this?”

”I know that they are quite busy with the ongoing tournament, but given their overall strength, it will not be hard for them to rival those top forces that are currently operating and participating in this event.”

He was quite confused as to why Shin and his friend were not seen in any parts of the Plague Lands despite how intense the war was. Especially so when Shin was actively participating in the event in its earlier stages.

Shin even occupied the number one position on the eventʼs leaderboards since he had hunted quite a lot of elite monsters and a couple of Plague Race Players on top of killing one of the main generals of their side.

While Axion was waiting patiently for his fate to come, he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice resounding from the tomb hall.

”Ah! It seems like am quite early. The ʼfruitʼ is yet to ripe.”

A shiver ran down Axionʼs spine when heard that voice, especially when no one could reach this place. Even those Elders sent by the Demonic Churches and Corrupted Cult were unable to break through the maze formation protecting this place!

”Who-…!?”

He was to ask who the intruder was when he suddenly swallowed his words after seeing the person walking out of the shadows in the corner of the hall.

As someone quite familiar with the circle of experts within the game, it was impossible for him not to recognize this uninvited guest.

”Lich God Immortal! What are you doing here!?” his face suddenly turned grim when he saw the latter.

But before he could hear any response from the other party, another personʼs voice reverberated within the hall.

”Tsk! Tsk! So the defective product is also here. You have disappeared after that ʼincidentʼ, yet here you are showing before ʼusʼ.”

At this moment, a hooded individual walked out of the coordinatorʼs office, right across the throne where Axion was sitting, and entered the hall in a laid-back manner.

Immoral did not have to guess who the other ʼguestʼ was as he replied. ”This is quite surprising. To think, Azazel, one of the strongest forces of that person, to be sent here.”

”It looks like the ʼPandemoniumʼ have put quite a lot of importance on this operation,” he then paused for a moment as he remembered that this guy loved to collect things.

He then pointed at the floating miasma and Axion, especially on the latterʼs chest, before asking. ”Or is it because of those things?”

Axion, on the other hand, felt an even stronger threat coming from the other person, which made his already grim expression even worse.

If it were just Immoral, then he would still have a chance. Even if he could not win, he was confident that he could buy as much time as he could – at least until the backup arrived or even until the entire ritual ended.

But if this guy, who just arrived was added, he was not sure if he could last that long.

”This is going to be dangerous,” he mumbled as he stared at the two uninvited guests, who seemed to be ignoring his existence.

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