Chapter 0376—The Shadow Man
Hades, with his Diabolos' Horn equipped, left behind a trail of black mist as he lashed out towards the enemy with one of the strongest single-target assassin skills, All-out Strike. His sword hammered and rocketed the poor paladin who took his blow backwards, and the paladin soon disappeared in a flash of white.
As always, the Diabolos’ Blade formation relied on unrelenting offence and unparalleled sharpness, and Hades was the sharpest point. Players of Evergrand were in high spirits to see their leader and commander storming the battlefield.
“Kill them all!” they shouted as they charged.
Bloodless Bladester revealed a gentle smile. With the Crimson Bladed Curved Jade in his hand, he reaped life after life with the crystalline sword.
“Get out of my way!” Everlastor swung his greatsword while his body was doused in red, clearly under the effect of Blood Ritual skills.
Meanwhile, Soulsmith hid behind Hades like a sceptre with his bow in hand, picking off enemies attempting to attack Hades.
This was Diabolos’ Blade; once an opening presented itself, it could pierce deep into the enemy lines and tear it apart from the inside. However, things seemed rather abnormal as they delved deeper into the enemy ranks. The enemy was retreating, not disorderly, but with great discipline. As the Western players retreated, their comrades on the flanks began pushing forwards in an arc as well.
Their intention was obvious—to surround and annihilate the Eastern players. Still, it was easier said than done when the formation involved hundreds of thousands of players.
“Hades…”
“I know.” Hades had been keeping an eye on the overall situation despite leading the charge. He lacked the cheat-like skills Drako Yau possessed, but his strength lay in his plentiful experience in battles. Putting aside his vision for the bigger picture, he was even a better commander than Chau Yu in individual battles. He had been vital in defending Yoda back during The Siege, after all.
“Charge on!” Hades commanded. “Their central forces will be thinner when they’re circling around us. Proceed with our plan!”
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“Continue to retreat. Once the two flanks have bypassed the enemy backline, immediately encircle them!” The shadow snickered. “The undefeated record of Diabolos’ Blade will end today!”
Mira attempted to voice out something, but she suppressed herself in the end. Olympus had a strict social stratification, and players who rose rapidly through the ranks like Grumpyteen were far and few between. The highest-ranked officer wielded the greatest command and accepted no disobedience, especially in war. If her words were considered offensive, she might even lose her position as the Water Palace master.
As the game developed over the past year, being the Water Palace master was reminiscent of a managerial role in a multinational corporation. Along with the position came authority and decent income. Mira couldn’t afford to lose both, so she kept her mouth shut.
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How brutal was a battle between several hundred thousand players? Take a glimpse at the battlefield, and you’d see countless flashes of white. Every flash indicated a lost level that took the player weeks to level up. All deaths combined, the tally of man-hours might even rack up to half a century.
Despite being known for its penetrative power, even the Diabolos’ Blade formation could hardly penetrate through such a large army within a short period. No matter how many enemies they killed, only more enemies awaited them.
The shadow stood up from his seat, wearing a grin on his face. “It’s about time. Mira, pull in the net. You know what to do.”
“Yes sir.” Mira bowed and began dishing out orders.
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Countless spells activated around the Evergrand players, who suddenly found themselves slowed down by a massive swamp that appeared out of nowhere. The elementalists hidden in the rear cast their Toxic Swamps while the tormentors used all sorts of control skills such as Shadow Tentacles to contain the attackers.
The defenders were well-prepared. Right when the Water Palace elites began their operation, the players belonging to the two chambers on both flanks wrapped around the Evergrand formation and completed the encirclement. The central defenders also halted their retreat and launched a charge.
Surrounded by enemies, the Evergrand attackers had battlefronts on all sides. A figure also appeared in front of Hades at the same time. It was shrouded by darkness and concealed in a layer of mercury, reflecting all light that crossed its path.
“Hades, it’s been a while.”
The shadow slowly faded; it was apparently the effect of an identity-concealing item. Beneath the disguise was a slightly pale face and a familiar ID: Satan.
Indeed, he was the same Satan who had tried to usurp when Hades had yet to adapt to the brainwave technology, the same Satan who had existed as Hades’ shadow since the War of the Daemons. Who would’ve thought that he, who vanished after suffering defeat at Hades’ very hands, was part of Olympus?
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The defeat almost crippled Satan. Thoughts of abandoning the game sprouted. However, he was just like Hades; hardcore gamers who were used to living their lives in games could hardly break free from their alternate identities.
Coincidentally, Satan’s family emigrated to the Tenth Western City soon after. Unable to hold back the urge to log in, Satan finally returned to the game, albeit on the Western server. Much to his surprise, the server provided a completely different experience, one that he enjoyed greatly.
On a fateful day, he met that man. He felt bitter about being Hades’ shadow, but this man was so dazzling and gave off such brilliance that Hades could never dream of attaining. Unlike Hades, this man was indomitable and invulnerable.
Satan once again became a shadow. This time, he was the shadow of a brilliant sun, the Divine King of the West. Despite being a shadow, he could shroud the world in darkness, something that Hades couldn’t provide. Even so, his hatred for Underworld and his former leader never waned. He was always advocating for war because he wished for Underworld’s downfall, and fate answered his wish by having Underworld march towards the Dark Elven Village, which was under his control.
This is a chance from the heavens.
As a former core member of Underworld, Satan was very familiar with Diabolos’ Blade. It was an all-out offensive formation that had unrivalled destructive force and a fatal flaw. Just like a pebble, it could tear through everything at extreme speeds, but it was no more than a pebble when stationary.
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