Chapter 632: The Second Judgment ( Bonus - )

Chapter 632: The Second Judgment ( Bonus Chapter )

Rindo spent most of his time in the route coordination section.

By checking geological reports and the locations of the cracks, he identified several routes that were more likely to become unstable.

Noah also moved around different parts of the base with the rescue team.

His combat umbrella was sometimes used to repel attacks from The Withered, but he spent most of his time moving vulnerable staff members to safety and helping the support forces.

Lian observed both of them from a distance several times.

Rindo was still the same organized and serious person.

Even during emergencies, he rarely raised his voice and preferred to give information in a clear and brief manner.

Despite his friendly appearance, Noah also showed great focus during combat, he could switch from talking to a worried staff member to fighting an attacking Withered in an instant.

And after the danger had passed, he could return to helping the person in front of him with the same calm attitude as before.

Lian smiled for a moment.

These two are doing their jobs well too.

After all, he had more important problems to deal with, and as evening approached, the activity of The Withered around the base decreased slightly.

Of course, this did not mean the danger had passed.

Reports from more distant areas showed that mutated creatures were still emerging from different cracks.

Some groups had even spotted The Withered at level 45

However, there were still no signs of any creature that could directly threaten his current strength, which gave him a good opportunity to gain EXP.

But considering that almost twenty-four hours had passed since the first Judgment, he preferred not to move too far away from the main base.

He still did not know what would happen during the next Judgment.

Would only one person be chosen?

Or would there be several?

And would the Judge only condemn humans, or were mutated creatures also included in its judgments?

These questions remained unanswered.

Lian was standing near one of the central positions when Rindo and Noah joined him.

After checking the latest reports, Rindo placed his spear across his back.

"Most of the groups have returned, a few units are still operating in more distant areas, but they’ve been warned, however, some of the Chosen haven’t returned, and it’s unclear whether they’re still alive or have gone too far away."

Lian nodded.

"Good." Of the ten Chosen, only one had officially died so far, and including them, five were currently at the base.

Four others were also away from the base, they had received information about two of them being in distant areas, while there was no news about the other two.

One of those two missing people was Roderick.

Noah looked toward the sun.

"Who do you think it’ll choose this time?"

"We don’t know." Rindo answered without hesitation.

The young Frenchman looked at him for a moment before turning back to Lian.

"What do you think?"

Vorhelm placed his hands behind his back.

"We don’t even know whether only one person will be condemned each time."

Noah remained silent for several seconds, then his gaze returned to the golden ring in the sky.

"Then I hope what we saw yesterday was the worst it can do."

Lian did not answer, because there was no clear reason to hold such hope.

During the first Judgment, the Hollow Sun had chosen only Amelie.

But none of them knew whether this was a fixed rule or simply the result of that particular Judgment.

On the other hand, Three’s reaction when it saw the sun was still on his mind.

An Unholy-rank monster had become so terrified just by looking at the Judge that it could not even stand properly.

If such a creature was that afraid of the sun, then the Judge’s true power was probably far greater than anything they had seen so far.

This made Lian even more cautious about the next Judgment.

At that moment, Alaric approached them from among a group of nearby guards, he was checking the status of the central positions one last time.

When he reached the three Chosen, he gave them a brief look.

"Is everything ready?"

"The defensive groups are in their assigned positions." Rindo answered.

"The medical section and the wounded transfer teams are ready, and the non-combat staff have also been moved into the central area." Noah continued.

Alaric nodded and then looked at Lian.

"Vorhelm?"

"The Rapid Response Unit is ready."

The commander nodded and looked at the Hollow Sun for a moment, then he turned back to them.

"We still don’t know how the Judgment chooses its targets, so for now, no unit is allowed to leave the defensive area without orders."

He paused briefly.

"If the ground starts collapsing, keep the evacuation routes open, rescuing people is more important than holding our positions."

Rindo nodded.

Noah also gave a brief reply.

After receiving the latest reports, Alaric returned to the central section, while the three Chosen remained in their positions.

The final minutes passed slowly.

A gentle wind moved through the golden trees.

Farther away, hot steam rose from several cracks in the ground and cast shadows over parts of the plains.

The guards stood at their assigned positions, some held their weapons tightly, while others kept watching the Hollow Sun without stopping.

In the central area, the healers stood beside their equipment, and the Association staff waited for possible orders.

No one knew exactly what was about to happen, but everyone knew the time was near.

Lian checked his status for a moment.

[ Name: Lian Vorhelm ]

[ Level: 30 ]

[ First Evolution: Completed ]

[ Total Stats: 20,000 / 20,000 ]

He took a quick look at the information.

Over the past day, he had managed to increase his level and gain better control over his Corrupt Sun talent.

But none of these improvements had given him a way to stop the Judge’s sentence yet.

He closed the window.

His gaze turned toward the sky.

Almost twenty-four hours.

The Hollow Sun’s black pupil was still open, and the golden rings around it continued to move slowly.

But then, the birds stopped making sounds.

Lian immediately noticed the change, the golden trees that had been moving in the wind just moments ago became still.

The leaves remained in the same positions, and even the sounds of small insects disappeared from the grassland.

Rindo raised his head.

"It’s starting."

Noah tightened his grip on the handle of his folded umbrella, and at that moment, Alaric’s voice came through the base’s communication devices.

"All units, hold your positions."

No one moved.

Even the guards standing on the temporary towers turned their gazes toward the sky.

The young Vorhelm let out a calm breath.

It’s time for the second round.

At the center of the enormous golden ring, the Hollow Sun’s black pupil slowly narrowed, for a moment, it seemed as if the eye was closing.

But then the golden rings began to rotate, one clockwise and the other in the opposite direction.

Strands of light moved along their surfaces, and a huge light spread across the entire land.

Lian watched the scene without moving, he still did not know how the Judge would choose its next target.

But this time, he intended to observe every change in energy and every detail of how the Judgment began.

Perhaps he could find a new clue, and even if he could not stop the sentence, he could at least learn more about how it worked.

At that moment, the black pupil opened completely once again, but this time, unlike the previous day, its gaze was directed straight downward.

Toward the golden plains, toward the cracks in the ground, and toward all the creatures trapped within the enormous walls of the Land Of First Dawn.

For several seconds, complete silence filled the area.

Then the same enormous, emotionless voice rang out across the sky.

"The Second Judgment has begun."