Chapter 529: Fighting The Requiem Guild [1]

Their only options were to defeat their enemies or find another way to survive.

One member wearing heavy plate armor quickly turned around and ran, hoping to escape by putting as much distance between himself and Leon as possible.

Eventually, when far enough from the fight, the system would assume he wasn’t in combat anymore.

Seeing him take the initiative, several others considered following his example.

But before the armored man could get far, the ground beneath him exploded.

BOOM!

A massive spike made of countless silver shards erupted from the ground, reaching the size of a building before impaling him.

The attack pierced his body and shattered his soul, killing him permanently despite the power given by the God of Souls.

The guild members immediately turned toward Empress, who had launched the attack.

"From the very beginning, since this guild was created, you’ve followed our orders and gained power," she said coldly. "We’re comrades, but I will show no mercy to anyone who abandons their duties, the God of Soul told us that all those unwilling to push through are to be dealt with."

Cavin seemed slightly pained by the death of another member, but he didn’t stop Empress.

They needed to set an example, especially when the rest of the guild was considering abandoning the fight.

’The more I look at servants of the gods, the more pathetic they seem,’ Leon thought, ’Killing and abandoning your friends for a god that is only there to use you.’

"C-Couldn’t you have just killed him normally since he has a [Resurrection Stone]?!" another member shouted. "Y-You actually killed him for real!"

"Wouldn’t be much of a threat if he were still alive," Empress replied, her expression growing colder. "He might have escaped, and the only person who matters here is Lord Cavin."

Her words made the remaining members understand that they couldn’t escape by running away either.

With the system preventing them from leaving and Empress willing to kill anyone who deserted, they had little choice but to face Leon and the girls.

"Come on, people!" Cavin roared. "How many years have we been together? It’s just four players!"

Despite his attempt to encourage them, the guild members still looked terrified.

They had witnessed Leon’s overwhelming soul attack and Celeste’s ability to destroy their souls, and they knew that their increased combat power didn’t guarantee their survival.

’I thought they were like one big family, but they’re willing to abandon one another and even kill their own members so quickly,’ Leon thought as he watched Empress. ’Well, I think she’s the only one who truly doesn’t care about the others.’

Empress had shown almost no concern whenever one of her comrades died, and she had even killed one herself without hesitation.

The only person she seemed to genuinely care about was Cavin.

While the Requiem Guild members were distracted by their argument, Emilia had already finished preparing another attack.

She raised her scepter toward the remaining enemies, releasing the powerful magic she had been gathering.

Divine Wrath!

Emilia’s [Divine Wrath] descended from the heavens once more, crashing directly into the Requiem stronghold with enough power to shake the entire building.

"Damn!" Leon exclaimed, caught off guard by the sheer force of the attack.

He hadn’t expected Emilia to unleash such a powerful spell while they were still standing so close to the enemies.

When he turned toward her, however, he found her staring at the Requiem Guild with a determined expression, showing no hesitation about using her strongest ability.

Leon immediately grabbed the girls before activating Abyss Teleportation.

Even though Emilia was on their side, her attack was powerful enough to harm them if they remained within its range, so he had no choice but to move everyone to safety.

As for the Requiem Guild members, only six of them reacted quickly enough to escape.

Empress, Cavin, Mortis, Granite, Blaze, and Ember immediately moved away from the incoming attack, but they had no time to save the others.

Fwoosh!

A terrifying wave of energy descended upon the stronghold, engulfing the central building and everything surrounding it.

BOOM!

The attack struck the middle of the area, annihilating everything in its path.

The Requiem Guild’s building was destroyed almost instantly, and the surrounding ground was torn apart by the immense force of the explosion.

The eleven guild members who had been left behind were struck directly by [Divine Wrath], their bodies disintegrating under the overwhelming power before they could even attempt to defend themselves.

Once the attack finally subsided, the area where the building had stood was nothing more than a devastated ruin.

Leon reappeared at a safe distance with the three girls, looking toward the destruction Emilia had caused.

"Good job," he complimented her. "Taking them by surprise was smart."

"Hehe~" Emilia replied with a pleased smile.

Of course, the eleven members who had been caught in the blast weren’t necessarily dead for good.

Most of them still had their [Resurrection Stone], which meant they could return after being killed.

There was one exception, however. The man with the mechanical limbs had already used his [Resurrection Stone], so he had no protection left.

Having been caught in Emilia’s attack before, he had finally met his end.

’Sixteen left.’

Meanwhile, the six members who had escaped the attack were still trying to comprehend what had happened.

"Isn’t that a bit too much?" Granite asked, his face pale as he looked at the ruins. "How did they become so strong?"

He had known that Leon and his companions were dangerous, but watching Emilia destroy everything in a single attack was far beyond what he had expected.

Even with the blessing they had received from the God of Souls, they were struggling to deal with four opponents.

"Did a god help them?" Mortis suggested, looking increasingly worried. Unlike Granite, he seemed more concerned about his own survival than the fate of the guild. "I can’t think of any other explanation."

"I’ve heard that some gods hate each other but avoid acting against one another directly," Empress replied thoughtfully. "It’s possible that another god is trying to interfere with the God of Souls’ plans. However, if that’s not the case, then they’re simply an anomaly, and their existence is mostly irrelevant."

Mortis raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"What do you mean, irrelevant? This is the biggest threat we’ve ever faced!"

Empress didn’t bother answering him immediately.

Instead, she glanced toward the ruins, seemingly more interested in the aftermath of the attack than in Mortis’s complaints.

"But what about the eleven who were just killed?" Granite suddenly asked. "Shouldn’t we be worried about them running away after they revive?"

"No," Empress replied, shaking her head. "They’re already dead too."

Her answer confused the others, who couldn’t understand what she meant.

After all, most of their fallen comrades still possessed their [Resurrection Stone], so they should have been able to return after dying.

However...

"The resurrection point we set beforehand was inside the meeting room of our building. We assumed nobody would be crazy enough to attack our stronghold directly, let alone destroy the entire building."

He paused briefly before looking at the ruins.

"And, well, you can see how that turned out."

"Holy shit!"

The realization immediately struck the others.

None of them, including Leon and the three girls, had considered what would happen if the fallen members revived inside the destroyed building.

Their resurrection point had been established in the meeting room, but that room was now directly within the area Emilia’s attack had devastated.

Even worse, [Divine Wrath] had not completely disappeared after the initial impact.

The moment the eleven members revived, they were exposed to the remaining power of Emilia’s spell.

Before they could even understand what had happened or attempt to escape, the lingering attack killed them again.

They had been resurrected only to die almost immediately afterward, they got spawn killed.

It was only when Emilia showed Leon the notification she had received that he finally understood the situation.

[+11 Slaughter Meter.]

Leon couldn’t help smiling as he looked at the panel.

"Six left," he said as he looked toward the surviving Requiem Guild members.

With so many of their enemies eliminated in such a short time, the battle was approaching its conclusion much faster than he had expected.

However, the remaining guild members were far from pleased.

"WHY?!" Ember cried out, staring at the destroyed stronghold. "T-They’re gone! All because of these four!"

She could barely contain her anger and grief after watching almost the entire guild disappear.

Even though they had been prepared to fight Leon and his companions, she had never imagined that so many of her comrades would be killed in such a short time.

Blaze immediately tried to comfort her twin.

"Calm down," he said, placing a hand on Ember’s shoulder. "As long as we’re alive alongside Lord Cavin, everything will be fine. They simply weren’t strong enough to serve the God of Souls. That’s all."

Although Blaze tried to sound confident, the situation was difficult to ignore.

Almost everyone who had accompanied them was gone, leaving only the six of them to face Leon and the girls.

Cavin remained silent for a moment, his expression growing increasingly cold as he surveyed the destruction.

The guild he had built and commanded had suffered a devastating loss, and the remaining members were clearly losing their will to fight.

He had hoped that their newly acquired power would allow them to defeat Leon, but the battle had become a disaster.

Finally, Cavin turned toward Empress.

"Empress," he said coldly. "Just end this."

She immediately nodded, accepting his order without hesitation.