MMORPG: The Elementalist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"They're here!"

"They're finally here!"

Darius and the other nine Guardians of the Eternity Peaks were overjoyed when they saw the Winged Champions that flew out of the Eternal Portal. It was as though they had just seen the first flicker of dawn. They were fervently eager to spread their wings and fly down to join the battle, getting rid of all the hateful Underworld Creatures from the Buried City once and for all.

Qin Ruo and his friends, on the other hand, were completely relieved…

After the hundreds of Demigod Elders' collaborative assault on the Buried City, not only over thousands of Underworld Creatures evaporated in an instant, the Liches were also spooked and fled—saving the lives of countless players that naively stepped into the Buried City.

The intervention of the Angel Faction's Champions was obviously not expected by the Underworld. These Demigod Champions were combatants who had been through countless wars between good and evil—much stronger than the Liches in any way. Therefore, the Liches all flocked back into the Tower of Hades.

"Look at Hades!"

Vibrant Blizzard, still sharp as ever, pointed toward the top of the Tower of Hades. The bulky silhouette suddenly turned and faced the green scorching Eye of Hades.

"Oh no!"

Darius let out a cry of horror. "The Spawn of Hades is preparing to forcefully activate the Eye of Hades!"

"What? But it's still in dormant state!"

Although Qin Ruo had already guessed that this huge bulky figure on top of the tower was the ultimate boss of this Buried City, the Spawn of Hades, he was still surprised when he heard it.

Darius quickly explained, "That would be correct under normal circumstances. However, Hades has the blood of the Underworld's Royalty running in his veins. So, he has the special privilege to forcefully activate the Eye. This would prolong the cooldown time for the Eye's next activation. Nonetheless, it can be activated right now! We're in deep trouble!"

The Spawn of Hades had completed the activation process as they spoke. The Eye of Hades suddenly opened up, beaming out eerie green beams from its giant eyeball!

Darius was right. The Spawn of Hades indeed wanted to use the Eye of Hades to handle the intervening Angel Factions' Champions…

However, the area that the Eye was covering was too wide. Thus, it required a long time to be fully activated.

The Winged Champions that were flying over the Tower of Hades had also noticed what Spawn of Hades was attempting to do. In a blink of an eye, they all quickly teleported to the back of the tower—an area where the Eye was not aiming at.

Only a few Winged Champions and several hundred players were hit.

The Spawn of Hades realized that his attack had missed its targets. He swiftly waved his massive sleeves in the air and sent a souffle of black gloomy cloud down, engulfing the Tower of Hades entirely. A second later, the bulky black silhouette rose up to the skies of Buried City and vanished into thin air. The Eye of Hades was also nowhere to be found. There was nothing else on top of the tower, leaving only the lonesome Tower of Hades standing in the middle of Buried City.

As soon as their Boss was gone, the Liches that were still floating around started to fly back into the Tower of Hades and return to the Underworld via the tower's portal.

As for the rest of the Underworld Creatures, they were all instantaneously defeated by the Demigod Champions and scattered all over the Buried City.

***

Finally, the Buried City had returned to its usual quiet state.

Qin Ruo looked away from the city in relief and turned to the NPC next to him "Darius, now that the forces of Mythical Continent have arrived, it won't take long before Buried City is returned to its former glory. Your duty and responsibilities on the Eternity Peak is now over. So, are you heading out to seek your nemesis, Dalais?"

Everyone turned and looked at Darius.

"No. If only it was that easy…"

Darius smiled bitterly and sighed. "It's impossible for the Buried City to return to its former glory. So, I am not leaving here. Not even after you've gotten rid of every Underworld Creatures in the Buried City."

"Why?"

"Firstly, there are only very few of Underearth Race like us. We can never be able to reclaim the Buried City anymore at this rate…" Darius continued explaining this bitter truth that he must admit.

Everyone also felt a weight in their hearts as they heard this.

It was indeed the truth. Even if the Underearth race had the strength of Demigod, they could not reclaim their glory with their near-extinct race anymore.

"Besides…"

Darius looked at Qin Ruo and his crew. "Do you really think that the Underworld will let go of Buried City that easily?"

"Hmm?"

Qin Ruo and his crew looked at each other then turned to Darius. "But Hades has run back to Underworld with the Eye of Hades. Is this not a victory?"

Darius shook his head. "You've underestimated Hades…"

"In this century, every single corner of the Buried City has already been visited by the Liches. They have been doing one single thing every single day."

"The single-direction warp portals!"

"They have been constructing countless of single-direction warp portals in the last entire century all over the city. We have no idea just how many portals are there. But we do know that when they noticed their minions' number is depleting, they would send more over through the portals."

"Unless the Demigod Champions destroyed the millions of portals one after another, there is no way we could rid the Buried City of the Underworld Creatures."

"It's such a shame…"

"Just now there were already some Liches infiltrating your lands. They must be constructing their warp portals all over the Mythical Continent by now. You have your own problems to deal with. We can't make you forfeit your homes to help us chase away all these pesky Underworld Creatures."

It was then Qin Ruo and his friends realized that it was going to be a long journey for the Buried City to reclaim its glory.

Rome was not built in a day, after all.

Darius sighed. "We have no choice but to stay here and defend the Eternity Peaks and Eternal Portal…"

"Oh, and one more thing."

"The one that ran away earlier… that was just one of the Spawns of Hades. Remember. There are many other Spawns of Hades. And every one of them possesses only one-tenth of the actual Hades' strength. If the real Hades were here, the Demigod Winged Champions would not have attacked the Tower of Hades earlier. They might not even enter the Buried City…"

"Hades is absurdly powerful, so powerful that he could crush the sky and earth if he wanted. He's not someone that just anyone from the Mythical Continent could handle head-on. If he were to leave the Underworld, he would have sent endless turmoil throughout the continent above…"

"…."

"You don't believe me?" As he saw the frowns on Qin Ruo's and his crew's faces, Darius could not help but sigh. "It's alright… perhaps only the ones who faced Hades himself know how terrifying he is. Still, please do listen to me this once. If you could, do not ever search for Hades. Don't even step into the Underworld!"

"Why?"

Qin Ruo was curious; what made a Tier 6 Demigod like Darius so scared of the Underworld.

"The Underworld is the darkest, most horrifying place in the world. Every Underworld Creatures is protected by the curses of Hades. Their souls would always live and never die. And any living being that dies in the Underworld is doomed to become an Underworld creature. A long time ago, there were many Demigod Champions who found the entrance into the Underworld in the Graveyard of the Gods. However, no one came back. Perhaps they were lost eternally in the Underworld. Or perhaps they had turned…"

"That's quite interesting."

Subjugator whispered in Qin Ruo's ears. But, Darius had heard it.

"This is no joke!"

"Then, does anyone know the situation in Underworld?" Qin Ruo continued asking, defusing the situation.

Darius shook his head. "I don't know." He continued after a pause, "No one knows since when the Underworld existed. And to this day, no one really ever knows anything that happens inside. No one lived to tell the tale."

"…."

"Although I do hope you can venture into the Underworld and acquire some information about the place, or even help me slay Dalais who had escaped to the Underworld. But I can't allow you to throw away your lives like this."

Darius continued earnestly, "I know you're the strongest warriors in the Mythical Continent. However, please don't ever consider entering the Underworld before you become as strong as the Demigod Champions."

Qin Ruo and Majestic Hero looked at one another in surprise.

That was a jackpot.

Dalais had escaped to the Underworld?

As strong as the Demigod Champions?

Perhaps the opportunity for them to finally advance to Tier 6 had arrived?

***

Still puzzled by many questions, Qin Ruo and his friends left the Eternity Peaks and returned to Savis Town.

"Qin Ruo, what's your plan?"

Ignoring the massive crowd of players that were storming into the Buried City, Majestic Hero turned to the frowning Qin Ruo.

Qin Ruo shrugged. "I haven't got one. My head is still overwhelmed by the massive information and expositions earlier. Tsk, I thought the Buried City would be a great place to farm for Divinities and leveling up. Yet, I didn't think that even the entire Mythical Continent could end up like Buried City too…"

"Just now the Mercenary Guild had sent a word. They had posted a mission that yields 10 Honor Points and 1000 Gold. They want us to smoke out the Liches that are hiding in Mythical Continent."

"Hmm."

Qin Ruo had received the message earlier too. It would seem that the Angel Faction also understood the gravity of the situation like Darius. Therefore, they opted to take the initiatives by utilizing the wealth of the Mercenary Guild to defeat the Underworld forces before they were able to gather more of their army on the continent.

"So… do you intend to descend to Buried City and take a spin around the Tower of Hades or to locate the Liches on the surface?"

As Majestic Hero pushed for an answer, Qin Ruo finally decided.

"I'll pass. I'm not good at finding people. I'll head to the Underworld."