Chapter 59 -59-The Supreme Powerhouse: Missing?

Chapter 59: Chapter59-The Supreme Powerhouse: Missing?

Each sector possessed its own barracks, warehouses, gates, and command structure.

Even if one sector was breached, the Dark Realm army would not be able to sweep through the entire city immediately.

The other defensive sectors only needed to close their partition gates to continue resisting.

This design greatly improved the city’s defensive capabilities.

It also meant that Dawnstar City had long been prepared to abandon parts of itself at any moment.

"You’re new here?"

A hoarse voice suddenly came from behind him.

John turned around.

Large piles of damaged armor and sandbags had been stacked in a corner of the wall.

A filthy young man was sitting among them.

He appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen years old.

His hair was covered in dust.

The mage robe on his body was so badly torn that its original color could no longer be identified, and half a set of ill-fitting leather armor had been worn over it.

Had the young man not spoken first, John would never have noticed that someone was sitting among the debris.

What drew even more attention was his left leg.

Everything below the knee was gone.

The stump had been crudely wrapped in thick cloth and leather straps.

Dark-red bloodstains were still visible across the outer layers.

Noticing John’s gaze, the young man did not attempt to conceal it.

Instead, he raised the severed leg and waved it slightly.

"A Dark Realm vanguard cut it off when they climbed onto the wall."

"Those things fight like they don’t care whether they live or die."

"They can have three or four arrows sticking out of them and their stomachs blown open, yet they’ll still keep charging forward."

The young man grinned.

"But it’s fine."

"We held the wall in the end."

He shook the severed limb again.

"The price was just a little painful."

John examined his status.

[Nero]

[Level: Lv24.]

[Class: Battlefield Mage.]

[Status: Severely Wounded, Missing Limb, Dark-Matter Residue.]

[Remaining HP: 37%.]

That level would already be considered extremely high among players at the current stage.

In Dawnstar City, however, he was merely an ordinary soldier who could die at any moment.

John withdrew his gaze.

"Endbringer."

"Mage."

"I arrived today."

The young man searched around beside him for a moment and found a staff with a chunk missing from its tip.

Using the staff to support himself, he stood up on one leg.

"Nero."

"Also a mage."

"Survival record: two weeks."

John froze slightly.

"Survival record?"

"Oh."

Nero slapped his forehead.

"I forgot you were new."

"Your survival record is how long you’ve managed to stay alive in Dawnstar City."

"I arrived two weeks ago, so my survival record is two weeks."

John looked at his missing left leg.

Nero had already grown accustomed to it.

"If you survive here for two full months or accumulate ten thousand Military Merit, you can apply for retirement and return home."

"Two months?"

"That’s right."

Nero laughed.

"Doesn’t sound very long, does it?"

"But for ordinary soldiers like us, earning ten thousand Military Merit is basically a fantasy."

"As for surviving two months..."

He raised a hand and pointed below the inner wall.

Rows of densely packed black stone tablets stood there.

Every tablet was covered in names.

"Whenever a new group of recruits arrives, they’re all thinking about earning achievements, receiving promotions, and returning home."

"After a few days, the only thing they care about is how much longer they can stay alive."

"If you survive a month, you’re already considered a veteran."

"I’ve only seen three people genuinely survive for two full months."

Supporting himself with the staff, Nero hopped forward twice.

"As for ten thousand Military Merit, I’ve never seen anyone reach it."

John’s brow gradually furrowed.

He knew the front lines were brutal.

However, he had not expected the mortality rate to be this high.

Sunset City continually sent young soldiers to Dawnstar City.

Dawnstar City then used those soldiers to fill the gaps in its defensive line.

One group after another.

The defenses surrounding this cross-realm passage were maintained entirely through human lives.

Nero noticed his expression and raised a hand to pat John’s shoulder.

"Don’t think about it too much."

"Everyone looks like that on their first day."

"After a few battles, you’ll get used to it."

"Come on."

"I’ll show you around Defensive Sector Seven."

Supporting himself with his staff, he hopped forward on one leg.

Although the movement was inconvenient, he was not particularly slow.

John walked beside him.

Hundreds of large ballistae were positioned along the walls of Defensive Sector Seven.

There were also elemental cannons capable of launching spells onto the battlefield.

Every hundred meters stood a supply station containing magic crystals and arrows.

Inside the wall were rest areas, treatment zones, and emergency evacuation passages.

Traces of battle remained in many places.

Deep claw marks had been gouged into the bricks.

Near one of the artillery platforms was a patch of scorched black blood that could not be cleaned away.

Nero introduced everything as they moved.

"See those red towers?"

"When the Dark Realm attacks, mages should enter them first."

"The formations inside the towers can increase the range of your skills."

"Even after the wall is breached, you can close the stone doors and continue resisting."

"But don’t remain inside for too long."

"Once a tower is surrounded, it always ends up becoming a tomb."

John looked toward the Eternal Night Gate in the central battlefield.

"Do particularly powerful Dark Realm creatures appear on the front lines often?"

One of his main reasons for coming to Dawnstar City was to search for Bosses and trigger [Reality Merge].

If only groups of ordinary monsters appeared each day, his efficiency would be much lower.

Nero shook his head.

"Truly powerful ones are relatively rare."

"Legionbreaker-Tier commanders appear occasionally."

"But beings above the Citybreaker Tier never enter the Dawnstar City battlefield."

John stopped walking.

"Why?"

"It’s an unspoken rule between both sides."

"What kind of bizarre rule is that?"

John pointed toward the central battlefield.

"The war has already reached this point."

"Why don’t the Human Realm and Dark Realm simply send out their strongest fighters and decide the outcome all at once?"

Nero looked at him strangely.

"You really don’t sound like someone who grew up in the Human Realm."

John did not respond.

Nero did not pursue the subject either.

"The Dark Realm invaded the Human Realm mainly for land, resources, and population."

"They want to occupy our cities and enslave humanity."

"Once Citybreaker-Tier powerhouses fight at full strength, there’s no way to control the range of their attacks."

"After only a few exchanges, the entirety of Dawnstar City would be reduced to ruins."

"Even if the Dark Realm won, all they would obtain would be rubble."

"Humanity is equally unwilling to let its high-ranking powerhouses enter the battle directly."

"Once that rule is broken, the war will rapidly escalate."

"Today, the Dark Realm sends one Citybreaker-Tier fighter."

"Tomorrow, the Human Realm might send three."

"The day after that, even stronger beings from both sides would enter the battlefield."

"In the end, far more than a single border city would be destroyed."

Nero looked toward the Eternal Night Gate, his expression somewhat weary.

"Humanity has no ability to completely eliminate the Dark Realm."

"The Dark Realm is equally incapable of swallowing the entire Human Realm with ease."

"Both sides can only maintain this disgusting balance."

"Ordinary soldiers continually die below."

"Meanwhile, the true powerhouses watch one another and prevent the other side from crossing the line."

John recalled the history Rudy had told him.

"Didn’t a human powerhouse once appear and reverse the entire course of the war?"

Nero froze for a moment.

"You mean that person?"

"It’s only a legend."

"They say that several hundred years ago, humanity’s battle lines were on the verge of complete collapse."

"Then a mysterious powerhouse whom no one had ever seen suddenly appeared."

"He entered the Dark Realm alone and destroyed more than a dozen large teleportation formations in succession."

"The Dark Realm armies were forced to retreat because of him."

John’s eyes shifted slightly.

"What happened afterward?"

Nero shook his head.

"He disappeared."

The wind swept across the city wall.

In the distance, the Eternal Night Gate that pierced into the clouds rippled once again.

Behind the curtain of black light—

Something colossal appeared to slowly open its eyes.