Kang Oh, Burkan, and Dion followed Valan, and safely made it out of Franco.

"Did you lose to Sraka?" Kang Oh asked.

"What?" Valan's expression seemed to say, 'What the hell are you talking about?'.

"Then why did we retreat?"

He couldn't understand it. Valan looked like the victor, so... Why did they retreat?

"I couldn't finish him off. My last attack was supposed to kill him, but he survived."

"So?"

"What do you mean 'so'? If I wanted another chance at killing him, then I'd need to fight him for a while. But you guys wouldn't last that long, now would you? That's why I backed off," Valan rebuked. 'Ugh, you worthless fools!'

Burkan and Dion looked away. After all, they had lost to Nemeth and Lubatchi.

"What's our next step?" Kang Oh asked.

"We wait until reinforcements arrive."

* * *

A giant altar lay within Franco's Marcione Square. Amak stood at the top of the altar, which stood more than 10 meters tall.

"Great Jaila!" He opened his arms wide.

Then, Jaila's three sacred treasures (Jaila's Bronze Knife, Ilunati's Snake, and Nemeth's Skull) glowed.

Whir!

The dark red light gathered at a single point, creating something akin to a black hole. It was still only about the size of a fist.

"Bring the offerings!" Amak yelled sharply.

"Yes, sir!"

The Evil God Worshippers brought over the criminals that'd been locked up in the Security Bureau's underground prison.

"You demons!"

"Ugh, please let me live..."

"M-Mom."

A long procession of people walked up the stairs that led to the altar. They were walking to their death.

The first victim was a man that possessed a rough beard and sharp, bright eyes.

"You'll pay for this!"

He was a daring man. Although death was all that awaited him, he stared at Amak and the Evil God Worshippers hatefully and said his piece.

The man seemed fearless.

"Hmph. Think of it as an honor to be sacrificed to the Supreme One!" Amak raised the bronze knife.

"Ptoo! You cult bastards!"

Stab.

The bronze knife pierced the man's heart.

"Ugh."

The man's body toppled over, and his pale soul popped out of his body. Then, the soul was sucked into the dark red black hole.

"Dispose of the body, and bring me the next offering without delay!" Amak yelled.

"Yes, sir!"

Two Evil God Worshippers dragged the victim's corpse away, and then threw him outside of the altar.

After that, more victims were brought before the altar.

How much time had passed?

More than 1,000 people were killed atop the altar. The fist-sized black hole had expanded to the size of a soccer ball.

Once the hole expanded, however, something Amak hadn't expected occurred. Jaila's wicked energy flowed out of the hole. He was essentially bestowing his blessing upon his followers.

Kyahaahk!

Kuhaahk!

The nearby demons were empowered. Their claws and teeth sharpened and elongated, their abilities were increased, and their overall appearance became even more hideous than before.

The demons weren't the only ones affected.

"Ooh, Lord Jaila!"

"This is Lord Jaila's blessing!"

The Evil God Worshippers brimmed with energy.

Amongst them...

"Heok!"

A new disciple was born. His name was Umtara. Jaila had bestowed him the power to destroy everything, Annihilation.

"Uhaahk!"

His hands secreted dark blue energy, which left behind nothing in its path like a swarm of locusts.

"Brother!" Amak said.

"High Priest!" Umtara kneeled.

The Evil God's followers had become even stronger. The bigger problem was that they would continue to increase their strength from this point on.

* * *

The Protectors of the Continent Brigade was gathering manpower.

First, the churches gathered their forces and joined the brigade. The free cities sent their troops as well, fearing that they'd meet the same fate as Franco. Soldiers and officers, aside from the absolute minimum required to keep peace within the cities, were sent to the brigade. The free cities also sent food and supplies.

The Tower sent their Battle Mages.

The Adventurer Guild put up a job to destroy the Evil God Worshippers. Countless players, assuming that this was a huge event, joined the Protectors of the Continent Brigade.

However, the large guilds didn't act hastily. They adopted a wait-and-see approach. First, they needed to ascertain how large the risk and return was...

So they decided to test the waters.

The Great Forest sent their bravest warriors. Although they didn't send that many, they made up for it in quality. Each and every one of them was extremely skilled.

Especially the Nedav Tribe, which was widely recognized as producing the Great Forest's most warlike, yet bravest warriors. They were led by their chieftain, Aman.

The non-humans that lived in the western grasslands didn't like humans. No, it was more accurate to say that they hated them.

However, they were united by the belief that the Evil God Worshippers had to be stopped. Thus, Kasten sent their mercenaries. Of course, they weren't sent for free.

The problem was the eastern kingdoms. The Arabas Kingdom, which was taken over by the Empire Guild, made it clear that they couldn't send a single soldier.

Thus, the Dellas and Baiyan Kingdoms stated that they couldn't either, as the Arabas Kingdom might attack them while their troops were away.

Because they were still monarchies, the three kingdoms possessed the largest armies on the continent. Plus, their troops were powerful and experienced.

Unfortunately, the brigade had to wage war on the Evil God Worshippers without them, which really hurt their chances. They had lost one of their most powerful cards.

Mahakan tried to persuade them himself, but it was for naught.

The Protectors of the Continent had, aside from the three kingdoms' forces, gathered all of the continent's forces under one banner. They then headed for Franco in order to destroy the Evil God Worshippers.

* * *

Valan, Burkan, Kang Oh, and the 100 Fighters decided to act as a detached force. They also gained some reinforcements.

First, Darion and the gladiators!

As soon as Darion had recovered, he left the Holiseum and led the rest of the gladiators here.

Next was the Small Sun, Saru! He led the Rakan Priests.

"I'm going to find my brother."

He planned on fighting the Evil God's followers while searching for Nazaran. If he managed to find him, then...

"I'll settle things with him," Saru said resolutely, and clenched his fist. He didn't want to do it, but it was his duty.

Finally, Sephiro, Bart, and Helena joined them too!

Kang Oh had called them. After all, they were the best of the best, who'd do their part without supervision.

"We'll make our move when the main force attacks," Burkan said. "As I'm sure you know, our goal is to stop the ritual. We also need to take back the sacred treasures too."

"Yes, sir!"

"Understood."

Darion and the gladiators replied immediately, while Kang Oh's party listened attentively.

Gyaa!

Only Waryong voiced its understanding.

Saru and his priests clasped their hands in prayer.

'Lord Rakan, please lead us to victory!'

* * *

The main force, which was under Mahakan's direct command, advanced on the city.

Luckily, Franco wasn't a city enclosed with walls, so the main force and the Evil God Worshippers engaged in a street battle.

Mahakan didn't lower his guard, but Barus, Odir, etc. believed their victory was guaranteed.

The Protectors of the Continent was made up of almost the entire continent's forces, so its size and power was tremendous.

However, things didn't go as expected in their first battle.

"Uheok!"

"You monstrous bastard!"

"Uaaahk!"

The demons were way too strong.

The vanguard was made up of the free cities' troops, but dozens of them couldn't even handle a single demon.

Plus, the ritual was still ongoing. Jaila's power would sometimes seep through the black hole, empowering the demons, the Evil God Worshippers, and the disciples.

Chomp.

A giant-mouthed demon devoured two soldiers in a single bite. And whenever the four-armed demon swung its arms, three or four soldiers would fall.

Even the players, who fought alongside the troops, had difficulty fighting off the demons. If they weren't at least a middle ranker, that is.

The Evil God Worshippers were becoming stronger and stronger, almost unrecognizably so. Their whips rent flesh, and their curses and wicked magic induced madness in their targets.

"Oh light!"

"Attack!"

"Arise, raging flames!"

The churches' paladins and priests, as well as the Tower's Battle Mages entered the fray. Only then was the balance of power somewhat evened out.

However, that didn't go on for very long.

Rumble!

Boom!

All of a sudden, the earth shook, and the buildings broke into pieces. Demons rushed out of the thick dust.

They looked to be around 30 meters tall. They were basically four-armed King Kongs. However, their faces looked more like dinosaurs than monkeys.

Kurahaaa!

They began going on a rampage. 'Rampage' was definitely the right word for it. The demons randomly swung their fists and feet, killing dozens of troops at a time.

Moreover...!

Bam!

They spewed dark red flames from their mouths.

The Metamorphosis Pool, which spawned demons, had also been affected by Jaila's seeping energy. As a result, it created five of these demons that boasted an unbelievable level of strength.

"Damn! What the hell are they!?"

"Shut up and run!"

"There's no way to run!"

"Uheok!"

The ordinary troops couldn't even faze them. Thus, the brigade's most powerful members stepped forth.

The Brilliant Paladin, Barus!

Judge Odir!

Weapon Master, Valdor!

Gold Mercenary, Dida!

Calamitous Mage, Lucius!

Etc, etc.

They worked together to fight off these 'super' demons. With their intervention, the ordinary troops and players were able to escape and fight enemies that were more suitable.

"Uheok, die!"

"Repel the Evil God!"

Fierce battles were scattered across Franco. However, Mahakan didn't look happy. It was only natural.

'The disciples haven't even shown up, yet we're only fighting them to a standstill.'

He was more worried about the disciples that'd show up later.

* * *

Once the main force engaged the Evil God Worshippers, Kang Oh's detached force made their move.

Contrary to the main force, which attacked the city from the south, they entered the city from the north.

The main force had drawn the Evil God Worshippers' attention, so they didn't see a single person in the streets.

"The altar is over there." Valan pointed with his sole remaining arm.

They could see the top of the altar from beyond the buildings.

"Let's go." Burkan took the lead.

However, it wasn't long before they encountered resistance.

"Hehehe, here you are, you rats."

It was Umtara, the most recent addition to the Evil God's Disciples. The Master Monk, Nemeth, as well as countless demons, had accompanied him.

Umtara wanted to try out his newfound power as soon as possible. However, Nemeth remained calm.

"We're backing off."

"Excuse me? Why?"

"Valan's over there."

"Valan... A Grandmaster!"

"That's right. We need Sraka."

But they didn't need to retreat. All of a sudden, a portal appeared, and out came both Sora and Sraka.

Sora and Sraka had been on standby, ready to teleport to another location at a moment's notice. They had been readying themselves for Valan!

What if Sraka were to fight on a battlefield without Valan? He would have slaughtered the enemy troops.

But in Sraka's absence, Valan may be able to kill Amak or destroy the altar.

Thus, the best way of utilizing Sraka was having him fight Valan.

"Let's finish this long fight of ours."

"That's my line."

Valan and Sraka fought once more.

The rest of the detached force engaged Umtara, Nemeth, and the demon army. The detached force consisted of powerhouses like Kang Oh, Burkan, Helena, and Bart.

In exchange, the demon army had way, way more numbers. Not only that, but they were empowered by Jaila's energy, making them much more powerful than usual.

Umtara and Nemeth had been blessed by Jaila too.

Thus...

It was anyone's game.