Chapter 525: Heading Toward the Requiem Guild [1]

Leon had absolutely nothing to fear from the Requiem Guild at this point.

His combat power had increased dramatically since their last encounter, and the girls had also grown much stronger.

Even if the Requiem Guild managed to inflict fatal injuries, the girls had ways to return from death, and Leon was confident that the enemy could not easily overcome their defenses.

"Once we find them, try to restrain them until Celeste and I can shatter their souls," Leon instructed. "That way, even their Resurrection Stones won’t save them."

Ordinary attacks would not be enough to guarantee the deaths of the guild members.

However, shattering their souls was a different matter entirely.

Leon and Celeste both possessed abilities capable of attacking the soul directly after all.

"Yes!" the three girls answered together.

With their plan settled, the group immediately rushed toward the destroyed sections of the wall.

As they approached the fortress, the surviving soldiers finally noticed them.

Panic spread through the remaining defenders as they recognized the four figures advancing toward their position, and several soldiers immediately abandoned their posts to reach the defensive machines that had survived the destruction.

They knew that allowing the attackers to approach the walls without resistance would be disastrous, so they hurriedly activated whatever weapons were still operational.

Mechanical parts began moving, and the remaining cannons and lasers turned toward Leon and his companions as the soldiers desperately tried to prepare a counterattack.

Unfortunately for them, their efforts were already too late.

Inferno Breath!

Violet released her power, unleashing an enormous torrent of flames.

The inferno spread across the walls, engulfing the surviving defensive positions and burning through the stone and steel that remained standing.

The flames were so intense that even the metal components of the defensive machines began to melt, rendering the weapons useless before the soldiers could fire them.

Several machines collapsed under the heat, while others exploded as their damaged mechanisms failed.

The soldiers panicked even more when they realized that their defenses were being destroyed faster than they could use them.

Some attempted to retreat deeper into the stronghold, while others abandoned their weapons and ran toward the nearest exits, desperately hoping to escape the approaching attackers.

However, Celeste had already taken to the sky.

Her phoenix wings spread behind her as she flew above the walls, looking down at the scattered soldiers below.¹

Darkness Embers gathered around her body before spreading outward, covering the remaining defenders in a wave of dark energy.

The embers swept through the soldiers, killing them almost instantly.

Their deaths were painless, at least for the most part.

These soldiers were natives of the world rather than members of the Requiem Guild, and Celeste had no particular reason to prolong their suffering.

Once her embers reached them, their lives ended before they could properly understand what had happened.

Leon, however, had no intention of showing the same mercy to the people he had come to eliminate.

The Requiem Guild had believed that their backing from a god would protect them from the consequences.

With Violet’s flames clearing the remaining defenses and Celeste eliminating the soldiers who survived the initial destruction, nothing stood in their way.

The four of them passed through the enormous breaches in the walls and entered the Requiem Stronghold.

Ding!

[You are trespassing.]

"Fuck off."

Leon dismissed the panel without a second glance, continuing forward as the girls gathered around him.

Immediately afterward, another notification appeared before them.

[You want war, human? So be it.]

[We will annihilate you.]

"Whatever."

Leon’s grin widened as he stepped into the Requiem Stronghold, showing no concern for the threatening notifications that had appeared before him.

He turned toward the girls and explained the situation while they followed him through the entrance.

"We’re in battle now, which means we can’t teleport away using the [World Map]. However, I set up an abyss rift just outside the city before we entered, so we still have a way to escape if things go wrong."

"Alright," the girls replied, nodding as they prepared themselves for the battle ahead.

The group soon arrived at the entrance square, where hundreds, if not thousands, of players and natives had gathered.

Most of them were staring at the enormous breaches in the outer walls, unable to hide their shock at the destruction that had occurred within such a short time.

Leon paid little attention to their reactions and focused on explaining what they needed to do.

"Attack anything and anyone that tries to kill you, but try not to destroy too much of the stronghold itself or kill innocent players and natives. We might still have a use for this place even after the Requiem Guild is gone."

"But how?" Violet asked, glancing at the surrounding buildings. "We don’t own the stronghold!"

"Just focus on killing the Requiem Guild," Leon replied with a confident smile. "Once we eliminate them, we’ll be able to claim it..."

Before he could finish his sentence though, Emilia suddenly gasped in shock, clutching her head.

"D-Danger!"

Leon looked up, and saw that a massive beam suddenly rushed toward them from somewhere within the stronghold.

Leon’s expression changed as he sensed the attack approaching.

The beam was moving too quickly for the girls to avoid it, and its overwhelming energy made it clear that attempting to block it would be a terrible idea.

Without wasting another moment, Leon grabbed all three girls and activated [Abyss Teleportation].

Fwoosh!

The group disappeared just as the beam struck the entrance square.

BOOM!

An enormous explosion erupted in the middle of the plaza, releasing a wave of destructive energy that swept through everything nearby.

Buildings vanished beneath the blast, the ground was torn apart, and the players and natives caught within its range were vaporized before they could even react.

The attack left nothing behind in the area it struck, turning what had been a crowded square into a devastated crater surrounded by ruins.

Leon and the girls reappeared outside the stronghold, safely outside the explosion’s immediate range.

As Leon looked toward the destruction, his eyes narrowed, and the smile on his face faded slightly.

’Such power... That doesn’t make sense.’

Leon had witnessed the Requiem Guild fighting during the Monster Tide, so he had a fairly good understanding of their strength.

He could defeat the entire guild by himself if necessary.

Yet the attack they had just witnessed was powerful enough to destroy everything around it without giving anyone a chance to defend themselves.

In fact, it would have likely killed all of them except him and Emilia.

What the hell was going on?

’Did they already get more power from their god?’