Free Web NovelChapter 284: Chapter 165: Trump Card, Waiting for the Harvest
"Everyone, flee!"
"Five Holy Crowns from the Legendary Demon Cities are coming to kill us!"
The turbulent roar, mingled with the tremors of the Demon Tree, boomed like thunder and swept across a vast area. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Andy, Asmi, Brenda, and the others were pressing their advantage when they heard the report from Zorn.
They couldn’t help but freeze.
Zorn had unleashed his Evil Spirit Calamity, carried out a massacre, and even set the Demon Tree ablaze. This had forced the Demon Tree Knight to attack them, creating the perfect opportunity.
The injured Demon Tree Knight hadn’t shown itself in a long time.
It had most likely fled.
With the terrifying flames about to completely consume the Dark Demon Tree, victory was within their grasp.
But just then, the Evil Spirit Wizard’s roar swept over them.
And now they had to give up the victory that was so close at hand.
For a moment, none of the top-tier, Upper Rank geniuses were willing to accept it.
Asmi, who was in the lead, was as impassive as a cold machine.
After a brief moment of thought, he immediately gave the order.
"Everyone, full retreat!"
After broadcasting the message to all Captain Level Transcendents via his Ritual Bracelet,
Asmi glanced in the direction Zorn’s voice had come from.
"Move out!"
He led his people in a decisive retreat.
Before he came here, his Holy Crown Tutor had told him.
Zorn Corick’s Resurrection ability was incredibly potent.
And in this battle within the Exotic Demon City, Zorn’s contributions had been nothing short of miraculous.
Both his Evil Spirit Calamity and the powerful flames incinerating the Dark Demon Tree were formidable.
Now, his warning about the impending Holy Crown attack would save the lives of most of the expedition force.
They were only just approaching the Holy Crown Level; compared to true Holy Crown powerhouses, they were worlds apart.
As everyone began to retreat...
BOOM...
BOOM...
BOOM...
In the distance, the auras of the Holy Crown powerhouses erupted like towering volcanoes, one after another, as they hurtled in this direction with all their might.
Sensing the rapidly approaching Holy Crown powerhouses, Zorn rubbed the bridge of his nose.
’Good, none of them are from the Wanderer Sequence. Otherwise, I fear few from our expedition would have made it back alive.’
’I’ve already done this much. How many make it back now depends on the timeliness of their retreat and their own abilities.’
If Holy Crown powerhouses hadn’t rushed to their aid, the plan would have been for our forces to seize the Dark Gate, expand it until our own Holy Crown powerhouses could cross over, and secure a complete victory.
But with their Holy Crown powerhouses arriving as reinforcements, the plan could basically be declared a failure—if it weren’t for Zorn!
As large groups of Transcendents continued their retreat, Zorn stood quietly atop the burning Dark Demon Tree, watching the scene unfold.
He then began sending a message to Asmi through his Ritual Bracelet.
"My flames can incinerate this Dark Demon Tree, and my Evil Spirit Calamity can easily destroy their smaller cities. It won’t be easy for them to catch me. I intend to stay in the Dark Cosmic Realm and secretly cause some havoc."
"Don’t worry about my safety. If it gets too dangerous, I’ll just use my Resurrection to return!"
After sending the message, Zorn exhaled softly.
After all, his main objective this time had been to enter the Dark Cosmic Realm.
Now that he was in, there was naturally no reason to return.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Zorn quickly began making various arrangements.
At the same time, he carefully sensed the five approaching Holy Crown powerhouses.
Anyone else would not have recognized these five Holy Crowns who were rushing to provide aid.
But Zorn did.
Not only did he recognize them, but he had also questioned several Upper Rank Wandering Souls to learn the general direction and location of a few distant Dark Demon Cities.
’So you like coming to aid the Dark Demon City here, do you?’
’Then I’ll just sneak into your own Dark Demon Cities and burn your Dark Demon Trees.’
’By doing so, I might be able to draw away the Holy Crown powerhouses from here, creating an opportunity for Lord Orwell and the others.’
’Besides, once word of our success here gets back to the Divine Kingdom, they will surely send reinforcements.’
’In the normal course of events, the future battles at the Dark Gate are supposed to be incredibly brutal.’
’But if I cause some destruction here in the Dark Cosmic Realm beforehand, or even advance to the Holy Crown Level and help them from the shadows, then things will be completely different.’
As he mused, Zorn carefully sensed the projections he had left behind in the Half-plane Floating Island region.
’There’s still a connection, even across the dimensional barriers of two universes. Thankfully, my Divine Kingdom has already sunk into the Cosmic Demon Pool and absorbed a vast amount of its source.’
’Otherwise, the dimensional barriers between the two universes would have severed the connection completely, leaving not a single trace.’
’As long as I can still control my projections and continue to contact Lady Reya, there shouldn’t be any major problems.’
While lost in thought, Zorn assessed his own condition and watched the Dark Demon Tree as it was continuously consumed by flames.
By now, the ritual flames had devoured most of the Dark Demon Tree.
Although the flames had already burned down to its source, there was still a chance it could be extinguished if those Holy Crown powerhouses joined forces.
So, Zorn planned to stand guard here for a while longer.
He had just been killed once by the Demon Tree Knight.
Now, he had entered his second boss form.
His Level had reached 15, and his comprehensive strength had reached the upper-middle tier of a Level 16 Holy Crown.
If he died one more time and entered his third boss form, he would reach the peak of Level 16, approaching Level 17.
Zorn estimated that his final form, the sixth boss form, would be able to touch the threshold of a Level 18 Holy Crown.
Although Zorn had plenty of trump cards, there was no need to waste them by fighting the enemy to the death.
What Zorn needed to do was delay the enemy from extinguishing the fire for as long as possible.
Once the flames had completely ignited the source, he could retreat.
He just needed to wait a little longer for the perfect moment to reap his rewards.
Besides!
Those Holy Crowns might not even be willing to come put out the fire.
By the time Asmi and the others were about to reach the Dark Gate, the five menacing Holy Crowns had just arrived at Black Teeth Demon City.
Upon arriving, they paid no mind to the state of Black Teeth Demon City. They charged straight for the Dark Gate.
They were slightly taken aback by the powerful might erupting from the many Upper Rank powerhouses.
Once these top-tier geniuses from the Exotic Realm broke through, they would undoubtedly become extremely difficult opponents at the Holy Crown Level.
So... it was best to kill as many as they could.
As for whether Black Teeth Demon City lived or died, it had no significant bearing on them.
If not for the order from the Middle Rank God of the Legendary Demon City, they wouldn’t have been willing to come.
Many powerhouses from the Exotic Realm had descended upon the Sea of Dead Stars and Demons.
Their own Demon Cities were already under threat from those Exotic Realm invaders, so they had little capacity to worry about others.
Although Zorn had given an early warning and urged the Transcendents to retreat as quickly as possible, a considerable number of them still failed to do so in time.
With the arrival of five powerful Holy Crown powerhouses at Level 16, Level 17, and Level 18...
A one-sided slaughter began!
Before, it had been Zorn and his allies slaughtering their enemies.
Now, it was the turn of the Holy Crowns from the Dark Cosmic Realm to slaughter their Transcendents.
...
「In the deep and vast Star Realm.」
After large groups of Transcendents returned from the retreat with detailed intelligence from the battle, the many Holy Crown powerhouses, as well as the Middle Rank God, Lord Orwell, all wore expressions of regret.
"What a terrible shame!"
someone lamented.
"It truly is."
"I could have gone over and slaughtered all five of those Holy Crowns myself."
"Unfortunately, their reinforcements arrived, so we can no longer expand the Dark Gate."
"If only their reinforcements hadn’t arrived."
"With just a week or so, we could have finished upgrading the Dark Gate."
The crucial step of expanding the Dark Gate to allow Holy Crown powerhouses to enter had been right within their grasp.
What a pity!
The opportunity was lost.
The various powerhouses sighed in frustration.
"What about Zorn?"
Reya, standing in the crowd, frowned slightly as she looked toward Asmi at the head of the group.
Asmi, already prepared for this, immediately showed Lady Reya the message Zorn had sent him.
"He stayed behind?"
Reya’s long, slender eyebrows knitted together, but after a moment, they slowly relaxed.
"Zorn has always been cautious in his actions."
"Since he’s willing to stay behind to act as a sleeper agent and provide support, he naturally has his reasons."
"Besides, he left a projection in his residence before he left. I’ll go question it thoroughly in a moment."
"Also..."
Reya paused before continuing.
"Did Zorn... really set the Dark Demon Tree ablaze?" freewebnøvel.com
"Yes!"
Asmi replied gravely.
"Zorn’s abilities are truly astonishing."
"By the time we returned, the Dark Demon Tree was already completely consumed by his flames."
"His Evil Spirit Calamity had also expanded over a massive area."
"He will have no problem advancing to Level 15 after this battle."
"Once he advances to Level 15, his power, already at the Holy Crown Level, will increase even further."
"With Zorn’s various powerful abilities, we really don’t need to be too worried."
"Mm."
At his words, Reya nodded slightly, and the worry in her heart eased considerably.
Still, she wouldn’t be completely at ease until she had spoken with Zorn herself.
High in the Star Realm Void.
The Middle Rank God Orwell began to speak slowly.
"Zorn’s performance in this battle was indeed superb."
"The rest of you also performed admirably, meticulously probing the enemy’s general situation."
"Furthermore, the higher-ups have approved a great deal of resources and manpower, and have given us their full support."
"As long as we can find a way to raise the Dark Gate to Holy Crown Level..."
"...then a large number of Holy Crown powerhouses will be able to come to our aid at once."
"Therefore, we must find a way to launch multiple attacks to tie up the enemy’s forces."
As he finished his explanation, the Middle Rank God Orwell looked at Reya and said.
"You must also contact Zorn and coordinate with him as much as possible. We need to attack from both the inside and the outside."
"Only then can we effectively capture the Dark Gate."
"Yes, Lord Orwell!"
Holy Crown Female Blade Master Reya replied in a solemn voice.
