ACT 1 Descent of the Goddess

Waaahhhh!

Kwa kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwa kwang!

The thick castle walls were nestled between high cliffs.An intense battle between monsters and humans was taking place in front of the castle wall.Monsters armed with thick leather, fangs and claws collided with warriors armed with armour, shields and swords.Meanwhile, the spells of the magicians and monsters clashed and shook the area filled with death.Chaos..the tens of thousands fighting turned it into a chaotic battle.And the chaos also affected the headquarters.

The Heavenly Knights unit on the right side has been isolated among the enemies!

The spear troops who have been supporting the Heavenly Knights have been caught by Tallons!

The 3rd defense battalion in the centre is being destroyed by a giant!

The 7th division commander is requesting wide area magic support!

A bloody messenger reported the military situation in a breathless voice.

Move the cavalry to the right to support the Heavenly Knights unit. Have the 11th reserve battalion move to the centre and built a defense line while rescuing the survivors. And we cant grant the 7th divisions request at the moment.Presently the support magicians cant be moved to that area. Have them retreat to the strategy area and join with the magician unit on the left side of the hill.

But the 7th division will find it difficult to retreat without the support of the magicians.

There are no units that are free right now!

Ill communicate the orders.

The messenger sighed painfully and jumped back onto the battlefield.Haverstein also sighed as he looked at the disappearing messenger.

The monsters are stubbornly resisting.

Haverstein looked at the castle walls with the black fog floating around it.Right now Haverstein was leading the Schudenberg expedition while they were trying to invade Pabiun Fortress.Pabiun Fortress was blocking the only passage into the Sinius Principality from Schudenberg kingdom. Over the last 100 years, Pabiun Fortress never fell despite the repeated attacks from Schudenberg.It was the same even with Pabiun Fortress occupied by monsters.Despite the Schudenberg army having 30,000 troops, they hadnt been able to capture the fortress despite trying for 10 days.There were two significant reasons.

One reason already mentioned was that Pabiun Fortress was an impregnable fortress.And the second reason was the Black Obelisk Forest.Thanks to the Black Obelisk Forest, the monsters that died were resurrected after a scheduled amount of time passed.If the dead kept on being revived, it was the natural that the battle would come to a standstill.But a few days ago, the situation had worsened with the news that the Bristania expedition had already crossed the border and was marching towards Silrinad.If the Bristania expedition reached Silrinad first then they would become in charge.If control was taken away by the Bristania expedition then Haverstein would be divested of the commander position.Despite that, Haverstein couldnt attack aggressively.If the Black Obelisk Forest still existed then the expedition would only receive more damage by being reckless.Then a few hours ago Haverstein received some good news.

Hik hik hik! O-operation..success

Racard had flown from the canyon and passed on the message while panting.After crossing through Smugglers Pass, Ark had succeeded in the <Blow up the Black Obelisk Forest> operation.The most troublesome problem was gone!Haversteins voice immediately resounded through the camp.

The problem that is blocking us is gone! The Black Obelisk Forest has been destroyed and the demonic monsters are in a state of confusion so this is the perfect chance to capture the Fortress!

Haverstein rallied all the troops and headed to attack Pabiun Fortress.Just like Haverstein expected, the demonic monsters were rushing back and forth as the obelisk was blown up.They would be unable to respond properly to the expeditions attacks.Therefore the military expedition penetrated the canyon and reached Pabiun Fortress within a few hours.

If we continue pressing like this then it will be possible to capture the fortress by the end of the day!

For the first time in days, the expedition army was convinced of their victory and they cheered.Of course, the biggest challenge of the castles walls still remained.But organization rather than numbers were needed in a siege.While the demons were more systematic than ordinary monsters, it wasnt to the extent that they could endure a siege.It was the reason why the demons left the fortress and battled in the canyon.On the other hand, the expedition members were familiar with sieges and had large weapons able to break the walls.Now that the black obelisks were destroyed, the number of demons couldnt be reinforced anymore.They were able to take advantage of the demons confusion to penetrate the canyon and reach the fortress.At this point, the expedition army were already half way to victory.Yet they still had to cross a mountain in order to win.

Commander-nim, theyve appeared!

A desperate voice was suddenly heard from the supporters camp.Haverstein turned around and saw that huge monsters had appeared in front of Pabiuns gates.They were giant monsters 20 metres big with chains circling their body and holding a large pillar.Tension filled Haversteins eyes.

Gripper!

Thats right. The Grippers!The mountain standing in the way of the expeditions victory was the Grippers.No, to be exact it was the Grippers Earth Blast skill!When the Gripper used Earth Blast, all monsters within 2 kilometres had their abilities increased by 50% while the soldiers had theirs reduced by 50%.For example, if the expedition and monsters were both level 100 then the 50% increase meant the monsters abilities were equivalent to level 150.On the other hand, the expedition forces received a 50% penalty and were reduced to level 50.Therefore there was a 3 times difference in abilities.That difference was huge in a war.If it was used then the military situation would be instantly reversed.The expedition had failed to capture Pabiun Fortress many times because of the Grippers Earth Blast.

But this time the situation is different!

Armoured troops, all at the front gates with the large weapons!

After receiving Haversteins order, the catapults and Fire Barrage Crossbows aimed towards the gates.Haverstein had discovered a weakness in the Grippers Earth Blast skill during the days spent trying to capture the fortress.It was that they needed a certain amount of space in order to use the skill.If there were any structures within the area of the skill then it would offset the impact through the earth and it wouldnt work properly.The space required was approximately 100 metres.In other words, the Grippers needed to be 100 metres away from the fortress before they could use the skill.

So the Grippers had to go through the gates.This was the reason why Haverstein hurried towards Pabiun Fortress after receiving Racards message.If the Grippers went outside and scattered then it would be impossible to handle all of them.However, the situation changed if they were still exiting the fortress.They could intercept every Gripper when they exited the gates.So although the sacrifices werent small, Haverstein rushed to reach the fortress.He arranged the large weapons and made sure they were aimed at the gates.Their one objective was to intercept the Gripper.

.Launch!

Tu tu tu tung, tu tu tu tung!

Hundreds of artillery flew across the battlefield at the Grippers.The Gripper who was exiting could barely take a few steps before kneeling down and becoming tattered.

-Kuaaaaah!

As soon as one collapsed, another Gripper exited through the gates.But the large weapons were already aimed at the gates!

.Launch!

Tu tu tu tung, tu tu tu tung!

Large weapons fired again and clouds of dust appeared.When that repeated a few times, the bodies of dozens of Grippers were piled up like a mountain.Then another Gripper once again appeared in front of the gates.

Lord, Lord, its the last one!

Racard flew towards Haversteins head and exclaimed.Ark hadnt unsummoned RacardArk had also moved to Shangri-La so they couldnt communicate wirelessly.so he helped Haverstein using satellite mode.Anyway, if they dealt with one more then they didnt need to worry about Earth Blast!After receiving Racards report, the last Gripper was hit by the crossbows and catapults.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwa kwang!

Thats it! Now all the obstacles in front of us are gone!

After watching the explosion which occurred in front of the gates, Haverstein was convinced of their victory.The Earth Blast played a huge role so the monsters would become even more confused! But that sense of victory soon turned to shock.

U-unbelievable..!

-Grrrrrrr.

The growl of the Gripper could be heard.The Gripper hadnt died despite being hit by all those artillery.

H-How on earth?

Haverstein murmured with an incredulous voice.

Tuduk, tuduk, syu syu syu

Something suddenly emerged from the body of the Gripper.After seeing what it was, Haverstein could now understand the reason behind the Grippers incredible defense.It was a demonic monster which emerged from the body of the Gripper.The tattered demon had arrows piercing it.Thats right. Before the siege weapons had attacked, the Gripper had used the surrounding demonic monsters as armour.Therefore the Gripper managed to survive the hundreds of artillery shots.

No way! Such a thing

It takes 1 minute to charge the large weapons.

We cant just wait until then. Magic and arrows is also fine. Just stop it!

The expedition troops fired magic and arrows after receiving Haversteins order.However, the response of the demons also couldnt be underestimated.Thanks to the demonic monsters creeping up the Grippers body as armour, it was able to travel 100 metres.And the Gripper finally plunged the stone pillar into the ground.

-Kuaaaah!

The Gripper then roughly pulled out its heart.The Grippers body exploded like a bomb and a huge shock wave spread in all directions.Then a hopeless information window floated in front of the expedition members.

-The Gripper has invoked the Earth Blast!

The Gripper has sacrificed its life and used the huge stone pillar to spread the impact of the curse through the earth.Sacrificing its life will give a more powerful impact. Those who receive the impact will be deprived of their power and wont be able to oppose any more evil spirits.Those within 2 kilometres who receive the impact with take 24 hours to recover their power.Meanwhile, the evil curse will strengthen the demonic influence within 2 kilometres and the monsters will become stronger.

<NPCs and users will have their abilities decreased by 50%. Monsters with the demonic influence will have their abilities increased by 50%.

Duration:24 hours>