Chapter 259

RMSBS – Episode 259 . Divide and Conquer (9)

The Palace of Divide was located in the center of the capital, and it had both a northern and southern entrance .

After defeating the Flying Dragon Division, Desir and his crew quickly came into view of the southern palace gate .

It had been smooth so far, but Desir felt like something wasn’t quite right . The growing sense of incongruity continued to bother him ever since they defeated the Flying Dragon Division . No one else one had tried to stop them .

Considering how Divide had been employing a strategy of constant ambushes and traps, the situation seemed very suspicious .

“Surely they haven’t given up… … ?”

There was no way that Skull Mask had not realized what Desir was aiming for .

It was clear that Skull Mask would use every means at hand to resist Desir from interfering with his plan .

“And if he decided that we couldn’t be stopped… … ”

Desir’s crew easily broke through the Flying Dragon Division, Divide’s most elite squad .

Then there was only one thing left for them to use .

“They would mobilize the chimeras . ”

Due to the lack of any rationality, chimeras attacked everyone in sight regardless of their status . Obviously it was impossible for them to be deployed along with regular soldiers, since the odds of them causing significant trouble was high .

If they wanted to release chimeras, it made sense that Divide’s soldiers were nowhere to be seen .

“Romantica, I know it might be difficult but could you please increase the detection range as much as you can?”

[-Got it . ]

Having traveled at a quick pace until now, Desir’s group slowed down their march to make sure they wouldn’t be caught off guard .

‘Chimeras couldn’t possibly be more powerful than the Flying Dragon Division… ’

Desir immediately chastised himself . Looking down on Skull Mask was an easy way for them all to die . If he believed chimeras stood a chance where their wyvern army did not, then there must have been a reason .

These members that Desir had gathered were precious talents who would play an active part in the Shadow Labyrinth in the near future . He could not afford to let his guard down and make any mistakes that would lose anyone from his crew .

“Everyone halt!”

As they were slowly moving forward, Desir suddenly stopped his crew . He had detected an irregularity in the flow of mana .

*Crash*

A noise similar to a piece of glass breaking echoed .

And at that moment, they could feel an incredible amount of mana flowing out of the Palace of Divide .

It was the same reaction that would be felt when a Shadow World was cleared .

“Seems like they finally succeeded . ”

Desir recognized that the phenomenon was likely the result of the Shadow World containing the power source being dismantled . This meant that all four towers responsible for the barrier had finally been broken .

Everything was proceeding according to plan at this point .

The problem arose from here on out .

Up until now, they could proceed perfectly using the information they gathered . But from now on out, there could be unexpected situations .

Of course, that hadn’t stopped Desir from preparing for a multitude of possible situations .

He opened his mouth and spoke to Adjest, who stood right beside him .

“Adjest, prepare the spear so we can use it when we need . ”

“Got it . ”

The Spear of Longinus .

The artifact that may end up being the core of this entire operation . He nodded as he again confirmed its existence .

As they progressed forward once again, they soon arrived at the entrance to the palace .

The gate was firm, but not enough to withstand Desir’s magic .

*Boom*

They stepped through the rubble, striding as if they owned the place .

Suddenly, Romantica called via a communication spell .

[-Desir, something’s approaching . ]

Desir could feel its movements just as she finished the sentence .

*Thomp*

*Thomp*

*Thomp*

Something with a large figure was approaching them at a rapid pace . Each step it took shook the very ground they stood on . And it wasn’t just one . They numbered in the dozens .

[Light]

*Pzzt*

A few dozen light spheres appeared, revealing the balls of flesh running towards them . The sight of them conjured a deep feeling of disgust . These misshapen creatures looked like the parts of various monsters mashed together .

Desir’s prediction of the appearance of chimeras was correct .

But they were not regular chimeras .

“U-Unbelievable!”

“That’s aura!”

Aura flowed out of chimeras’ arms and legs .

Desir squinted his eyes .

“Kruaaak!”

Among the clumps of flesh mixed with all kinds of monsters, there were human bodies screaming like beasts .

Desir realized exactly what the chimeras in front of him were .

The Starling Party had fought against one of these chimeras in the Nordin Territory .

“Aaron… … ”

Divide had formed one of these chimeras using the Janissary’s former captain, Aaron, as a key material . Though it was unskilled, the raw quantity of aura it could wield was astronomical . Even with Desir’s meticulous planning and excellent command, the Starling Party had struggled against it .

The power of chimeras lay in their overwhelming basic physical ability, which far exceeded that of a typical knight . When their potential was heightened by giving them the ability to wield aura, a truly terrifying monster was birthed .

“They were really able to mass produce something like that?”

Desir bit his lip .

Aaron was probably only the beginning for an experiment like this .

“Damn it . ”

Not a single thing was likable about this situation .

Desir was furious at Skull Mask for sacrificing humans like they were nothing .

“I will soon relieve you of your pain . ”

Their bodies were already impossible to revert . The only thing he could do for them was to minimize any further sacrilege .

Desir shouted while staring down the charging chimeras .

“Raise your shields! Do not ruin the formation!”

As the knights quickly shrouded their shields in aura and raised them, the clumps of flesh and sheets of metal collided .

*Thwump*

As the two sources of aura battled, a loud noise emmenated .

“We’ve somehow endured it . ”

Chimeras repeatedly charged at them, but Desir’s team did not give up any ground . By slowing down the march, Desir was able to arrange his troops in battle position before they actually encountered the chimeras .

While the knights with shields and aura at the front blocked the chimeras, mages at the back invoked spells and did their best to clear them out, one wave at a time .

It was the most effective strategy, lifted straight out of a textbook .

“They’re charging in from the west!”

“Frontline, don’t push too far and maintain the formation!”

The problem was the number of them .

The location of the battle was in a wide open garden . The only silver lining was that they did not need to worry about their rear . Behind them lay the ruins of the palace gate . However, the chimeras simply swarmed in from the palace itself . Their numbers seemed endless .

Under Desir’s leadership, the crew was able to make it this far without any losses . But this situation was different .

*Thump*

*Thuuummpp*

The chimeras were not only threatening in number, but every one of them was also powerful .

They constantly transformed their bodies in response to the situation, and they could use aura, making them incredibly difficult to handle .

Just as they were slowly getting exhausted, someone broke formation and stepped out from the frontline .

“Please step back for now . ”

“What?”

Countless silver sword strikes rained down on the chimeras .

*Slash*

“Kyaaaakk!”

With Pram taking the lead, Adjest and Romantica were able to step up and assist in turning things around . Their abilities, refined through individual training over the last six months, were overwhelming compared to the other Hebrion Academy students .

Chimeras that could utilize aura were surely strong, but the knights that were used to make them were terribly weak compared to Aaron .

King-Class knights like Aaron did not grow on trees . It was impossible for Divide to get its hands on many of them . To mass produce these chimeras, it was inevitable that the skills of the knights used had to be of lower quality .

‘They really got stronger . ’

For others, these chimeras posed great danger, but for main party members in the Starling Party, who narrowly escaped death many times during their growth, were not a completely unmanageable threat .

They now had the capability to compensate for each other’s weaknesses without much trouble .

Just as Desir was thinking that and looked at the situation .

*Crack*

A noise similar to a piece of glass breaking echoed .

[-World inversion detected . ]

The communication pad that was handed out by the Hebrion Academy made such alarms when a certain situation occurred close to its owner .

And that certain situation could only be that…

‘They plan to create a Shadow World here… !’

Skull Mask used the four towers to create a Shadow World in order to hide the source inside the Divide Palace .

This meant that it was also possible to create Shadow Worlds with both its location and range accurately specified .

‘This is the worst possible outcome . ’

The worst possible situation Desir had thought of was Skull Mask creating a Shadow World that covered the entirety of Pittsburgh .

Even if the Shadow World was created, clearing it should not be particularly difficult .

But to clear the Shadow World would consume a large amount of time, meaning the plan would fail .

Desir glared at the chimeras charging in nonstop and thought .

‘These chimeras are merely to keep us in place for the Shadow World . ’

No matter how strong these chimeras were, there was no way that they would be able to completely stop the continent’s elites, including Desir . The chimeras were simply mobilized to delay them from advancing until the Shadow World appeared .

Desir hurriedly called back Adjest who was fighting fiercely at the front line .

[-Adjest, you and I will break through their assault . ]

Adjest swiftly approached him upon his call .

Following up on his order, a spell formed in front of Desir .

[Fire Storm]

A huge storm of flame roared in the middle of the garden .

*Boom*

The surroundings were dyed crimson red .

There was no need for holding his firepower back here, unlike back in the city . An impressively large area of the garden was turned into ashes in the blink of an eye .

“Rawrr!”

The scream of chimeras echoed painfully .

Chimeras directly in the range of the spell completely vanished without a trace, while the ones swept up by the residual heat had parts of their bodies melted, rendering them motionless .

Because the chimeras used aura to protect themselves, they were not completely wiped out . However, the number of them had gone down significantly .

That was enough .

Desir and Adjest walked toward the road that was now completely empty .

“Pram, I’ll leave the command of the army to you . ”

“I won’t let you down . ”

Pram quickly caught on to Desir’s intentions and nodded his head .

“Sorry but I don’t think I can let you pass that easily . ”

*Clang*

Two swords collided and created a sharp echo .

Adjest glared at the attacker who aimed for Desir, while holding her sword firmly . It was a man wearing a pierrot mask .

Desir shouted, realizing the man’s identity from the side .

“Pierrot Mask… … !”

Pierrot Mask backed off, the edge of his visible face scrunched up from what was likely an impossibly large, sinister grin .

“You gotta hang out with me for a while . ”

—-

Chapter brought to you by The Patrons .

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ED: Purplemen101

TLC: N/A

QC: Nhan