Child of Destiny

Roar! Roar!

The siege of the Oath City seemed to be already reaching its most climactic stage. Both sides knew that this would only be a battle against time.

The players defending the city were trying their best to hold for as long as they could until their reinforcements arrived, while the demonic players sieging them wanted to flatten the city before it could happen.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The battle continued to rage on. The NPC General leading the city guards of the Oath City was already somewhat exhausted due to constant battle, which was not giving him any time to recover.

He was about to give one of the sides a helping hand when he suddenly sensed something.

However, before he could even make his move, the expression on his face suddenly contorted as he directed his gaze at his chest. It was then that he realized that a black spear was stabbing his back and piercing through his chest.

Cough! Cough!

He then started coughing blood while black patterns started to appear on the surface of his skin, which quickly spread throughout his body.

”Ba-… sta-…” he was unable to complete his words when his body suddenly burst with black flame that swallowed his entire body.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Not long after, this NPC General’s body turned into a creature seemingly made entirely of black flame.

Roar!

Along with a powerful and deafening roar, the surroundings exploded with violent flames that swallowed everyone, both NPCs and Demonic Creatures alike.

The players, who were defending the city walls with the best they could, saw this event transpire before their eyes. Their pupils immediately contracted, especially after realizing that they had just lost one of the strongest pillars that they had for this battle.

Roar!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As if it was not enough, more and more explosions erupted in different parts of the battlefield, especially those players where the NPC Guards were fighting.

They died one after another, killed by the same method as how their leader had been killed.

*Ding*

It was at this moment that everyone throughout the Lesser Kingdom of Juron and its neighboring countries had received a system notification almost instantly.

SYSTEM REGIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Demonic Church of Terror is terrorizing the Lesser Kingdom of Juron and initiating an evil sacrificial ritual. All believers of the light are tasked to protect the kingdom from the fanatics of the demonic church.

SYSTEM REGIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Demonic Church of Envy is invading the Lesser Kingdom of Juron and trying to awaken an extremely evil being. Believers of light! Charge through the demons that are trying to invade your home!

SYSTEM REGIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Churches of Light, Sun and Moon, and Altas will be sending their Judiciar and Cardinal to lead the crusade to reclaim the land back to light.

SYSTEM REGIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Temple of the Moon and the Temple of the War God are to send their Inquisitors and Champions to lead the charge against the heretics of the demonic churches.

SYSTEM REGIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT: All players registered as members of the Adventurer Guild are tasked to lend a hand to the Lesser Kingdom of Juron. Universal Merit Points will be granted to all the players depending on their contribution in the battle.

…

A long string of notifications immediately rang in everyone’s ears, making them stop what they were doing and stare blankly at it.

The last time that something like this happened was during the opening of the demonic portal at the Dark Cloud Kingdom, which initiated a huge war between the two major factions within the game, the Righteous Churches and Evil Faction.

If there was something slightly bigger, then it was when the two major updates were launched: the World Metamorphosis and Descent of the Thousand Worlds.

The fact that such a huge announcement was given to all of them could only mean one thing. The current situation was much bigger than what it seemed to be on the surface, especially when almost all the churches belonging to the righteous faction were sending their forces in that direction.

Having this in mind, all the players immediately caught the scent of a huge event.

Those who had already accepted the initial quests released by the Righteous Churches increased their speed, especially when they were already quite near the vicinity.

Everyone who could come to the Lesser Kingdom of Juron immediately moved, wanting to see what kind of big event was waiting for them.

…

In the meantime, the players, who were already defending the Oath City, could not help but stare blankly at the string of notifications before them for quite a while before snapping out of it.

At this moment, they all had realized that there must be something more to it with the current situation. This city might be hiding something more than they could see on the surface.

With a newfound reason to fight and defend the sight, their fighting spirit that was already dying after seeing the NPC forces die before their eyes was suddenly reignited once again.

Picking up their weapons, they started fighting more desperately once again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Naturally, the next battle would be much harder than the previous ones. After all, they had not only lost the most powerful NPC forces in their ranks, but the opposing side had also revealed their NPC forces, which were clearly not your regular Demonic NPCs.

If they wanted to survive this situation, then they needed more miracles to happen.

BOOM!

As if hearing their prayers, the center of the Oath City suddenly released a pillar of light, attracting the attention of everyone.

Looking over, the players saw two individuals floating in the air, being bathed by that holy light. The players did not need to guess that much about the identities of these two NPCs since it was already obvious to see.

These two were the King of this Kingdom, King Juron, while the other was the Mayor of the Oath City, who was also the brother of the king, Mayor Sheba.

Even if these two were not as absurdly strong as those overpowered NPCs of the game, they should still be quite enough to solve the current situation.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Moreover, the royal guards of the kingdom had also finally revealed themselves, marching toward the walls to repel the invading demons.

Under all these conditions, the next wave of battle immediately broke out between the two sides.

***

In the meantime, Shin, who was waiting for his elemental spirits to finish their inspection of the dimensional portal, suddenly received the regional announcement alongside the twin with him.

They then exchanged glances with one another, seemingly realizing that the situation in the city was much greater than they had initially thought.

”It seems like the situation on that side is getting worse by the second. Should we also lend a hand?” asked Felix, falling into deep thought.

Since Shin seemed to be capable enough to handle this side, he was thinking of earning some Righteous Church Merit Points for himself, which he had never had the chance to get since he was always stuck in this small kingdom.

Felicia glanced at him but did not say anything. They were also in the most crucial part of their Empire Quest, so they couldn’t leave right now.

On the other hand, Shin was currently frowning quite deeply behind his mask. It was because he was currently looking at another system notification that was solely meant for him.

System: The Sun and Moon are calling! As the Envoy of the Church of Sun and Moon, you are obliged to answer their call!

System: As the nearest high official around the area, you are to act as soon as possible and punish the heretics of the Demonic Churches.

These were the only two additional notifications that he had just received from the system, but the weight they had was clearly asking him to make his move.

He could not refuse it either since he was indeed an Envoy of the church. Possessing such a title naturally came with responsibility and consequences along the way.

He had benefited quite a lot from the church, especially when he was establishing branches in their city, which also had patrolling paladins that helped them guard the city. He also had gotten quite a few quests from them in the process, which also contributed to his strength a lot.

The items that he possessed alone, which also mostly came from them, had helped him on multiple occasions and directly contributed to his strength.

Pursing his lips, he decided to inform the twins about his situation. ”It seems like I also have to move. My position within the Church of the Sun and Moon is quite high, so I am obliged to participate in this battle.”

He then proceeded to explain a few more things, which the two immediately understood.

”It can’t be helped then,” nodded Felix, understanding the situation, but also finding it quite a pity that he could not move from this place.

Shin then thought for a moment before saying. ”I must say that you have to be extra careful. Immortal is still around, and we do not know what he is plotting, so being guarded against him is a must.”

Felicia also nodded and took out a bunch of scrolls from her inventory. ”I have quite a few arrays with me, which we can set up around the portal. This can at least help us guard against any unexpected incident that may come along the way.”

The three then worked to set up the arrays that Felicia had. Solus and Hanzo had also contributed to this, even enhancing the effectiveness of the arrays for extra protection.

It was only after making sure that everything was set that Shin left for the Oath City.

...