The army continued its offensive.
The army advancing on them was very different from the usual army: it consisted not of soldiers, but of summoned Helll beings.
At the very center stood an elderly man, covered in wrinkles, and slowly moved forward. Surrounded by the Hell creatures, he looked confident as he stared down the opposite side. He himself, as well as the Hell monsters surrounding him, radiated a brutal Magi. Even to the contrary, his Magi was so thick that it surpassed the strength of the monsters around him.
– Remarkable.
The gray-haired man, Anton Sidorovich, smiled faintly and his face became even more wrinkled. He looked around and nodded contentedly.
“It all worked out.”
This was the Hell Teachers’ first attempt to summon such a mass of creatures.
After practicing on summoning single monsters, they began to put their real plan into action.
And the mass summoning of demons was the first step in executing the plan, the test to pass before they could proceed to the next step.
Anton laughed, realizing that the test had more than passed.
“Gaia’s system continues to weaken.
Gaia’s system.
The planet’s protector, whose weakening the Hell’s teachers have been waiting for a long time. Finally, the defense mechanism that had prevented them from accomplishing what they had planned began to rapidly lose strength. Something that prevented them from completing what they had started was simply disappearing.
“It will make them stronger,” the man’s heart beat faster.
The elders of the Schools of Hell. The “tip of the iceberg” on Earth. The moment when they would take action would come very soon.
– Man.
– Hmm?
The creature moving beside him began to speak. It had bat wings, goat horns, red skin, and a terrifying appearance. Unlike the animal-like Hell creatures, it possessed a mind and demonic desires.
– What is it?
– There’s a human army right in front of us, isn’t there?
– Yes, that’s right.
– Ha-ha-ha, great,” uttered the insatiable demon Uther of the Five Thousand Circle of Hell.
Human.
Small and weak. A mortal whose life is so short, a pathetic bug crawling the earth. That’s what all the creatures in Hell thought. Uther didn’t like it very much.
– I’ll prove that man is not all the same to man! – Uther said cheerfully.
– You’ll have to save that for later.
– What?
– Now we have more important things to do,” Anton pulled out of his pocket a picture of a young man with sharp features.
The culprit of the vacation in Sapporo had not been completed.
“They say he will join this war.”
Word has reached him that he will fight on the side of the Chinese.
– Hmm…” Anton looked at the photo with interest.
“We need to talk to him.”
The man wondered why there was no information about such a powerful Player. He wanted to know how and why he had so brazenly derailed their vocation plan.
“This guy is nothing like Alex Osborne.”
He knew this for a fact, seeing everything through Akiyama’s eyes. There was no craving for truth in him, no pronounced animosity toward the Hell Teachers.
“That look…”
His eyes were filled with greed for power, madness, and a desire to kill. The man knew this type of man well.
“He looks like me.”
And if that was indeed the case, Anton could guess what he wanted.
“We need to get him into the School.”
The idea was simple.
The School had exactly what the guy needed: immortality and power. Those were the two things people were hardest to deny. It was quite clear that if it was possible to get him on his side, it would be a huge help in the further execution of the plan.
But if he refused…
“We’ll have to get rid of someone who’s bringing confusion to our plans,” Anton smiled grimly.
If there is even the slightest chance that he will ruin everything, it is necessary to eliminate him.
– What should we do?
– Meet with one man. He might be able to give us support.
Anton saw how Gang U took out Akiyama, and could assume that he had the strength of at least a World Ranker player. Getting ready to meet a powerful Player of whom there was absolutely no information would be a good idea to enlist his support.
– Ha!” Uther grinned and looked at Anton with burning eyes. – Just because I came at your call doesn’t mean you can overstep your bounds. I’m a demon, and you’re human. You have no right to give me orders.
– Hmm…
– I want to devour human flesh. Let’s pretend I haven’t heard of a human helping me,” Uther turned away.
Anton hesitantly called out to him:
– Mr. Uther, please forgive me, but it would be good if you would go on with this unpleasant business.
– By “unpleasant business” do you mean war with men? What on earth do you think of me, demon of five…
– No, that’s not what I mean. I’m asking you not to go against the Hell Teachers,” Anton said politely.
– What?” the demon asked in shock, and then a smirk appeared on his face.
He looked at Anton, who actually ordered him to obey the will of the man. It seems that something turned over inside him from such insolence.
– You really are out of your mind…” Uther swung his huge hand.
But before the huge fist could hit the man, Anton drew an old black book from his pocket.
And at that moment…
– Ahem! Wha… what?!
Dozens of black hands appeared from the ground, clawing at his body, beginning to pull him down with force.
– Aaah!
Wounds appeared on his skin, blood gushed from them. His hands began to crush his bones, causing the demon to fall to his knees. Uther’s eyes filled with pain.
– I think you will heed my words from now on.
Anton laughed, and a powerful Magi enveloped him.
The dark apostle Anton Sidorovich.
A man respected by the top of the School. He is so strong that even the demons of Hell cannot defeat him.
– You stupid man! – Wailed Uther.
– What a pity…
Anton slammed the book shut, and hands rising from the ground to tear the demon’s body apart, and then there was complete silence.
***
– Army, brace yourselves! – Young-joo’s shout spread across the plain.
There was a look of excitement on the faces of the Players who began to act according to the plan. They saw the monsters that would soon be in front of their noses.
– Shit…” one of the members of the Red Rose Guild’s hands trembled.
And he wasn’t alone.
An army of Hell creatures was rushing at the Players at breakneck speed, radiating the strongest Magee.
– Gather round! This is not Coup Day! In five years, we have grown stronger and can stand up to the demons!
Listening to Young-ju, the Players slowly swallowed.
Coup Day.
Unable to stand up for themselves, people just died, and most of the states were destroyed.
– W-we’re right!
– We can do it!
In order to overcome their anxiety, the Players began to cheer each other on.
Young-joo looked ahead. The Chinese Players appeared on the plane.
“There’s a hell of a lot of them.”
Of course, because of the high population, there were a lot of Players among them.
“I wonder if they feel the same way?”
Even though they were speaking in Chinese, it was clear by the look of them that Young-ju had guessed.
“Yeah,” Young-joo looked at the crowd of Hell creatures with a sharp look.
Ten thousand, twenty? Don’t be ridiculous.
Their numbers were at least two or three times that number. It would be strange if they weren’t afraid.
“And yet…” she clenched her fists.
The girl remembered Coup Day, and the defenseless people killed by the monsters.
But it was different now. This time she had the strength to stand up to them. So did everyone else present.
– Aah!
– Kiya-ya-ya!
The shrieks of the Hell creatures grew closer and closer. The players raised their weapons.
Young-joo pulled out a piece of paper from behind her groove, on which was a written plan of action from the past three days.
– First and foremost, prepare the magic!
This is the standard formation of forces: those who are able to deal damage to the enemy at a distance go in first, and then the melee fighters go in.
– Then came the… Oh, right. Tanks go first, blocking the first blows, and then they fall back. After that, we surround the Hell creatures with a “V”, squeezing them from all sides. And then…” Young-joo turned over a piece of paper and continued reading.
– Young-joo, if you keep talking like that, we won’t understand anything.
– А…
With a heavy sigh, Chang Hyun-jae, the commander of the Hwaran squad, approached her.
Now several Korean guilds had merged into one and were acting together. Although they didn’t have enough time to work together, they would be able to do their job well if they understood what they were being told.
– Ah… so…
A plan written in three days.
What to do and how to behave, the girl did not know. Or rather, she hadn’t even thought about it, which made her cringe.
“It’s definitely not mine.”
Guidance was not at all right for her. She would have done better by fighting and spilling the blood of her opponents.
– Hyun-jae, help,” she slipped the loudspeaker to the man standing beside her and smiled awkwardly.
As soon as she got rid of whatever was preventing her from acting, red metal chains immediately appeared in the girl’s hands.
– Oh, and one more thing,” she shouted into the loudspeaker in the man’s hands. – Don’t think of the fight in any particular way. Think of it as a hunt for bonus points! This is a great opportunity to get promoted!
Laughter began to come from all sides, and the tension that had built up by this point began to recede. Moreover, the eyes of some lit up at the mention of promotion.
– Oh! – Jang Hyun-jae grinned.
He had no idea that these kinds of words would help the Players cope with the excitement.
– Let’s go, guys! Let’s give it our best effort! Nobody dies or gets hurt!
Reckless leadership and no techniques or strategies. Even the Players listening to her chuckled.
But the effect was astounding. The suffocating atmosphere of horror receded in an instant, and cheers of exhilaration and passion began to echo among the Players.
Young-joo stepped forward confidently.
The ground beneath her feet shook, and the girl shouted to the entire field:
– Demasia!
And the fight began.