Mornn
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Chapter 653 - Temporary truce
🕑 Added 2025-04-14 16:00:21 +0000 UTC[EVENT: Collosal boss - Attack of titan]
[You have stolen the amulet of Yardjak, in his rage, the shaman summoned an abomination from another world. Without losing the amulet, compete to be the team who kills the abomination the fastest and with as few casualties as possible. Yardjak’s abomination’s power will be adapted to your team’s power.]
[EVENT: Wasteland Expedition - The frozen city]
[You have been sent to explore the newly discovered frozen city of Yardjak in the northern wastelands. During a snowstorm, you were separated from the scientists sent with you. Can your group still find the city, survive the unforgiving environment, and discover the secrets hidden in the city’s depths? Ranked by time to complete and number of team casualties.]
[EVENT: Last group standing - Demonic invasion]
[The holy kingdom of Yardjak is under attack by the demonic forces of the underworld. Many heroes were summoned to defend the kingdom, can you hold your own against the income hordes? TvT enabled (Trialees may attack and kill each other). Ranked by relative survival time and number of demons slain.]
Mornn arrived last to the room. “So? You guys picked an event already?”
“We were waiting for you,” Sofia told her, “though we already have our preference.”
“I’m down for anything, the events all sound pretty favorable to me, so what is it going to be? The titan so I can try to kill it in one strike of my signature skill?”
“Neeeeh, that’s an idea that was thrown around, but no, we are more inclined to take the demonic invasion,” Kuli explained, playing with a knitted radish plush.
“To the frontlines, then? I am quite used to that… The others are going to go after us if we go there. Why this choice, by the way?”
Sofia stood up to explain, “Simple elimination process. The titan is disadvantageous, because we are a very strong team, with the creature’s strength going up to meet our level, we lose the edge we have on the rest of the competition. The frozen city is not terrible, especially since I am immune to cold damage, and you have plenty of fire spells, but it’s essentially a speed competition. When it comes to speed, I don’t think we are the strongest group overall, it would be hard to get the first place if Ezerid goes there. That leaves us with the last one.”
“I understand…” Mornn said, “Any planning necessary or are we just going?”
Kuli chimed in there, “I am not very suited to large scale battlefields. So while you three kill the demons, I will pace myself. If another group comes too close, I will handle them myself.”
“Fine by me. Depends on the size and strength of the ‘demons’ though, I somewhat doubt it will be like actual demons. Doesn’t sound like it,” Mornn responded.
“Certainly not only real demons, at least. There wouldn’t be ‘hordes’ of them,” Sofia said, “But lesser demons are a thing, I’ve learned recently. So perhaps a lot of weak lesser demons and a few true Apostles mixed in?”
[The second wave events will start in 05:00 minutes, do not forget to cast your votes]
“As long as it’s not phageids, I’ll be happy!” Sun’s saintess said, being the first to cast her vote, “Let’s get it!”
[You have voted for: Last group standing - Demonic invasion]
From their room, everyone was teleported to a new place. Hundreds of participants appeared in a throne room, overlooked by a greying old king surrounded by soldiers and a priestess of some kind.
[EVENT: Last group standing - Demonic invasion - Prologue]
[Survival Timer : 00:00.000]
[Demon slain : none]
[TvT : disabled for prologue]
That’s it? Not even a tenth of the groups chose this event? Hmm… I might be the reason why, actually. If I was one of the victims of my soul attack in the previous test I would also try to avoid events where that could happen again.
Let’s see… I don’t see Ezerid anywhere…
Seems like the only real contenders this time are Saria and Happy cloud? Ah, no, Sen is here too.
I guess at least we avoided Tartaros.
Sofia threw identifies left and right to asses the other groups, though everyone was level 299, some special classes like Emperor could stand and, and so did groups with strange party composition like the ones with only mages or the one group of four dwarven artisans.
Her heart stopped when her eyes landed on a middle-aged man wearing layered white robes in a style that she knew all too well.
[Oracle - Lv.299]
Ahah….
Ahahah…
Sofia’s hand clenched tightly around her scepter, and blue sparks started coursing around its shaft. Without even consciously wanting to, she was slowly starting to channe a bolt, before getting interrupted by a heavy hand landing firmly on her shoulder. She looked back, Pareth was behind her, his skull slowly swaying left and right.
Wh… What am I doing…
Sofia cancelled her cast before drawing too much attention, and tried to steady her breathing.
Calm down Sofia… He’s not real.
It’s a fake.
The real bastard is long gone. Scripture took over his body.
Killing the fake would bring nothing.
Nothing…
“Sofia?” Mornn called out, “Are you alright, you’re shaking.”
Sofia turned around, finally managing to rip her gaze from the Oracle’s toothy smile as he joyfully laughed with his teammates. “Ahah… Sorry. It’s nothing…”
“It doesn’t look like nothing…” Mornn noted. While Kuli climbed up Pareth’s ribs to try to see what had disturbed Sofia like that.
“Oh… That’s not a face I’m ever happy to see,” the guildmaster said with a disgusted expression as she spotted the oracle.
“It’s fine. I’ll be fine. We have to focus on the event…” Sofia told the others, mentally thanking Pareth for his support at the same time.
“It’s about to start,” Kuli noted, standing on top of Pareth’s shoulder, “Sorry, I hope you don’t mind? I can’t see otherwise,” she asked Pareth at the same time.
Pareth answered with a half nod and a thumbs up.
Finally the even was starting to unfold, the king gave a short and boring speech about how everyone present were heroes summoned by their saintess to face against the forces of evil. He tolde them that they were free to wander the kingdom until the next attack that could come anytime, but that he encouraged them to stay and defend the capital first and foremost.
There was no extra explanation for a Seraph or system messages this time, not even a timer until the end of the prologue. All they had was the knowledge that the attack could start anytime, anywhere in the kingdom, and that it would be ‘impossible to miss’.
While this unfolded, Sofia only listened from one ear. She had summoned her rats and sent them to scout the castle on Kuli’s request.
“I think they found him,” Sofia told the others.
“Then let’s move fast.”
While a welcome banquet for the heroes started in the throne room, Sofia and her group quietly excused themselves, before sinking into the ground as soon as they were out of everyone’s sight, brought to the spiritual plane by the graveyard nymphs. They were heading for a specific part of the castle, and left the spiritual plane in front of a clsoed room.
“He’s in there,” Sofia told the others, “But first… We have to deal with our tail.”
To think someone could manage to follow us throug the spiritual plane…
“I’ve been found already... I’m impressed,” a voice answered after a second of silence while everyone looked in the direction Sofia did. The person’s invisibility wore off, revealing a scrawny elf with messy hair. Everyone recognised Happy Cloud, Sun’s executor.
“My left eye is an artifact that can detect invisibility”, Sofia told the assassin, which was not a complete lie, though she had really noticed him through her mana senses first.
“Well. You’re looking for the kingdom’s commander to torture him for intel, right?” Happy cloud asked, sounding quite relaxed, putting his hands in his pockets.
Torture?!
“That’s more or less it,” Mornn answered, “What are you going to do, you’re alone.”
Cloud shrugged, “We cannot fight yet,” he reminded Mornn, tilting his head to the side, “I intended to secretly listen in, but since I was found out, I guess I’ll have to settle for doing it openly.”
“And share the information with you for free?” Kuli asked, “It only takes one of us to keep you here.”
“If you’re all ready to bet that I cannot kill the poor weakling in this room before you can make him talk then feel free to try that,” Happy cloud retorted with a smug smile.
“Fine, we’ll share,” Mornn decided for the group.
“We will?” Kuli asked with a frown, looking back at the saintess.
Mornn nodded, before looking at Cloud dead in the eyes, “If you swear on Sun’s name that you and your group will leave us alone for this event. A temporary truce. And any demon we engage is ours to kill.”
Happy cloud looked at Sofia’s entire group with narrowed eyes.
“Hmm… I’m fine with that.”
Comments
Tejing
Definitely the right choice. It plays to the party's strengths well. Ouch. Seeing the Oracle isn't pleasant. I do have one question, though: does this mean the Oracle isn't the orphanage director after all? The name matching was just a coincidence? I assume Sofia would have commented on it if his face matched. (Though he could have changed appearance, it would be very strange to do that and not change name...) ... Ok, Happy Cloud. You're extreme in a rather less fun way than Sofia... You do you, we'll be somewhere else. Corrections: can you hold your own against the income hordes? income -> incoming some special classes like Emperor could stand and and -> out she was slowly starting to channe a bolt, channe -> channel Finally the even was starting to unfold, even -> event He tolde them that they were free to wander tolde -> told There was no extra explanation for a Seraph or system messages this time, for -> from left the spiritual plane in front of a clsoed room. clsoed -> closed
Wensber
Thanks for the chapter!
E
The only way I see this ending is with Oracle's own rib cage strangling him while his bones explode into needles. One question still needing answered is: how are the fake people with "externally influenced" powers (oracles receiving visions, Cinthia receiving chat messages, etc.) impacted in this trial? Real Cinthia would receive real Recessed messages while in her trial. Would fake Cinthia receive real or fake Recessed messages? Would the System even be capable of simulating the minds of deities? We also don't know what sort of "connection" an Oracle has with a Saintess of the same deity. Perhaps that will be revealed within the next couple chapters.
Cyclone001
Happy Cloud must also know now he's a fake. Mornn is not Sun's Saintess in his time, and she's on Sofia's team, someone he would have heard of if she was a character in the past.
Matt Grayson
Try to kill the demonstrably hardest to kill lvl 299 in history - the one wearing the “I was attacked 7 times by the Annihilator and all I got was this ring for consuming dead gods” T-Shirt. Sounds like a bad strategy. 😆
ArtTheGreat
I wonder if the ghosts are allowed to figure out that they are fake? Because for the same reasons that Sophia and others are able to tell, it shouldn’t be impossible for the fakes to figure out that they are one. Like Saria possibly knows that Sophia didn’t make it in time to take the trial at the same time and could thus reason out that she herself is a fake. I bet Saria is watching Sophia take the trial like the gods are and I hope to get a few moments to see Saria in the audience fan girl over her Sophia’s success.
Mornn
Well, she won't go out of her way to kill the oracle if she doesn't have an easy opportunity to do so, the trial is much more important
Cyclone001
Nice to chat with Happy Cloud. So while disposing hordes of demons, Sofia has to fend off Happy Cloud, Sen and Saria, while trying to kill Jeffery. Not the simplest task. I'm also a little worried we might not get a chance to see the new skill if the invasion happens anywhere near the populace.
Tom Asciola
Oh sweet, I was hoping we'd learn something about Happy Cloud!
Quentin Cozzi
Thanks for the chapter!
Lazy Monster
TFTC. Interesting an alliance that is incredibly shaky. I feel like Happy will push one of his teammates in one of Sofia’s AOEs and claim she broke the truce. With Saria probably kinda has a truce with Sofia by default until she gets too many gold stars so with the truce the only big problems are Sen and the oracle. I wonder is this one of the times the demon king rallied the apostles to do something as a group?
joey
Thank you for the chapter
