Chapter 384: Chapter 384: Group Battle
Time rewound.
Just when Han Dong shattered the barrier with a burst of tentacles, mortally wounded Dumps escaped.
A face, mixed among the stones of the wall, disappeared as well.
The man in the French-style mansion was privy to all events that transpired here.
Under the premise of barriers being sealed, nobody would believe the news that [Adelaide Rubble (Demon)] failed to capture the two Apprentice Knights.
At the same time, this man severed all connection with this demon.
He had prepared for this eventuality. No one could trace anything about this incident back to him… Even if someone found out that someone else had helped the demon infiltrate the city, a poor cadet would take the fall for him in the end.
However, after this event,
This mysterious man still found out about the weak defense of the Holy City Civilian Zone, basically achieving his primary objective.
At the same time, he was very interested in these two young people who had discerned the Secret Stone conspiracy and escaped from the demon…
“These two Apprentice Knights both underwent complex facial disguise procedures… One of them was drastically injured due to a surprise attack from Adelaide, which did not reveal much information.
From the shattered magic shield, one can only discern that he is a student of [The Library].
As for the one who could burn Adelaide’s face, utilize sand abilities, and even escape from the barrier utilizing higher tier contamination techniques, the disguise technique was cleverer, and it seemed the body type and height had been altered, the identity could not be determined… It’s definitely no simple matter.
Could it be that besides me, another ‘king’ has infiltrated as well?
Is it a new king or the old one? Interesting…”
…
The scene switches.
The Holy City Civilian Zone, a marketplace completely sealed off by the stone wall barrier.
Han Dong guessed accurately.
When [Adelaide Rubble (Demon)] failed to capture his target, he was thoroughly abandoned.
He could no longer connect with the ‘adults’, nor could he go to the French-style mansion directly through ‘Stone Sensing’.
The ‘reward’ promised by the adult was inaccessible now.
He attributed all these terrible outcomes to the two Apprentice Knights who escaped from him.
He was determined to kill both of them and turn them into stone sculptures, then escape through the beforehand arranged discarded sewer.
When Han Dong and his party surfaced from the underground bar,
The stone eyes Adelaide had planted in the Civilian Zone promptly located and locked onto Han Dong, determining from their path of travel that they would head for the nearby ‘node- market’ location.
Therefore, Adelaide moved all the residents of the marketplace to an area entirely of stone, summoning all the [Wild Beasts] he had placed there.
This included:
Thirty [Stone People] veiled under cloaks, their lower bodies completely petrified, and hence needing to move by rolling.
They appeared human-like but were essentially stone.
They had been polluted by the environment for many years, and so the contamination within the stone created a self-consciousness… and eventually, it morphed into a lifeform taking the shape of that stone.
Such [Stone People] could carry out various pollution-based stone secret methods.
They could masquerade as small stones that Adelaide carried with him during the day.
Additionally,
At the top of the market buildings, six [Gargoyles] were also placed.
Similar to regular magical creatures, possessing a pair of stone wings for flight, terrifying faces similar to skeletons, and four claws capable of tearing prey to shreds.
After suffering damage, Gargoyles could transform into ‘Full Stone Status’.
They would significantly increase their overall defense and quickly repair body damage in a short time.
Lastly,
The artificial mountain in the market, full of corals and aquatic plants, also began to move.
It pulled part of itself out of the ground, standing up to a height of five meters… it was known as the [Stone Giant].
It was a colossal stone creation that Adelaide took pride in… Outside the city, this Stone Giant served as his mount.
It only needed stones for sustenance, and it could operate indefinitely.
…
In addition, another batch of wild beasts under Adelaide’s command had been assigned to other nodes in advance but were too far away to arrive in time.
But… in Adelaide’s view.
The small stone army in the market was enough to deal with these pests.
Adelaide temporarily hid in the shadows, using a multitude of stone eyes on the ‘stone face’ to observe the bunch obstructing his grand plan.
“No wonder you had the audacity to come and destroy the nodes after escaping.
You have a formal knight backing you up in your team… but, what use will it be to have just one knight?
The main forces of the Knight Regiment stationed within the Holy City would take a while to arrive, plenty of time for me to kill you all off.”
Adelaide used the Stone Heart to make contact with all the wild beasts and the controlled civilians.
“Kill off these inferior humans. For every person you kill, you will be rewarded.”
As soon as Adelaide issued the command, life in the market immediately erupted into horrifying screams… The civilians who had been taken over by the stones ran around like mad zombies.
…
Team Han Dong, consisting of six members, had already moved into battle positions, their backs against each others’.
Knight Vino, holding a Light Shield and flail.
‘Holy Flame’ spread out in a form of halo.
The allies within a five-meter range could get a certain amount of fire enhancement, and the enemies within a five-meter range would periodically be burnt by the Holy Flame.
At the same time, all kinds of enhancement blessings were bestowed upon each team member.
During the test of strength, Vino had acknowledged these extraordinary newcomers, therefore, she provided assistance without holding anything back.
The changes in Cass over the past year were something Han Dong had never seen before.
A full-body armor that melded the mechanical tech of the Holy City started to automatically mold to Cass’ body as soon as he activated it.
The built-in steam power source provided the armor with ‘shape-shifting tension’.
Multiple high-pressure springs and gears were connected at key points, adaptable to any form of physical transformation, and they could provide additional impact during attacks.
The shoulder parts of the armor were designed as dark-gold ‘lion heads’, exuding an intense aura.
The deep black helmet was designed with a [T-shaped] breathing outlet and observation hole, solemn and majestic.
A wide-blade long sword enveloped in ‘golden firmness’ held in the main hand and the Shield of Power Lion held in the sub hand.
Just standing there gave off an incredibly reliable vibe.
Furthermore.
The other members of the team also prepared for battle.
Mia also summoned her Demon Sword, which hadn’t reaped any souls for a long time.
The dense demonic aura, coupled with the faintly appearing and horrifying woman’s phantom when unsheathed, even made Knight Vino pause.
When the first wave of ‘residents’ surrounded them.
Vino swung the flail in her hand.
A holy flame cross immediately smashed down from mid-air, scattering the residents.
“Nicholas… I need your eyes to observe the location of the [Demon] during the battle, and inform me as soon as you find it… Otherwise, if we let the demon occupy the nearby civilians indefinitely, our physical stamina will be tested.”
“Okay!”
