Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye

On the way to Morning Star Headquarters, Luca had already received the news that the outermost defensive lines on the outskirts of Imperial Capital had been breached.

He sighed heavily, reflecting aloud, “They probably didn’t manage to reach a safe place.”

“You shouldn’t blame yourself. You’ve already said everything you needed to say. They didn’t listen to your advice; it was their own choice.”

Sophia sensed what Luca was thinking and directly offered him comfort.

“It’s not guilt,” Luca replied. “I just think their deaths were meaningless. Whether they retreated or stayed, that defense line was bound to collapse rapidly. They would have only been useful if they’d pulled back to the Imperial Capital’s core district.”

This time Sophia didn’t respond. Both of them were burdened by their heavy thoughts.

Fifteen minutes later, Luca finally arrived at Morning Star headquarters.

By now, the interior of the Morning Star base was a scene of utter chaos.

Drumph was anxiously directing his subordinates, desperately trying to track down the whereabouts of Morning Star’s missing members.

Over the past period, only a handful had managed to return to headquarters. Most of Morning Star’s operatives remained unaccounted for.

Even Logan, Morning Star’s highest-ranking leader, had vanished without a trace.

Now, Drumph and Zovland were left to run the entire Morning Star operation.

Zovland had returned to headquarters just an hour earlier, accompanied only by Evelyn. That meant the vast majority of Zovland’s men had likely perished.

“It seems Morning Star greatly underestimated the scale of this monster horde,” Luca commented quietly, observing the disorder around him.

Initially, he’d assumed Morning Star would be well-prepared even for the worst-case scenario. Who would have thought that even the always cautious Morning Star had failed to fully brace themselves for what had come?

“We should hurry and find Drumph!” Sophia reminded him urgently.

Luca nodded and moved swiftly towards Drumph’s location.

Drumph was stationed in Morning Star’s central control room, where he could coordinate all Morning Star members who were still reachable.

“You’re finally here!” Drumph exclaimed with visible relief upon seeing Luca.

“Our situation is extremely dire! Most Morning Star members have lost contact with headquarters. I urgently need your help—you’re our only hope now!”

His voice trembled slightly as he pleaded desperately for Luca’s assistance.

Luca stared at him with a grim expression.

“I can help you, but that’s not the most important thing right now.”

Luca’s words left Drumph deeply confused.

“What do you mean by ‘not the most important’? Are you suggesting that in our current situation, Morning Star should risk going out with you to directly confront the monster horde again?” Drumph retorted incredulously.

“Of course not!” Luca could sense Drumph’s mounting anxiety, so he decided not to beat around the bush any longer.

“The most critical thing right now is ensuring the security of the Imperial Capital’s core district. Just a short while ago, the outer defenses around the Imperial Capital’s urban areas were breached by the monster horde. The remaining forces in Imperial Capital won’t be able to hold back the monsters at any defensive line outside the core district. Our only chance of stopping the monster horde is to pull all available forces back into the core district immediately.”

Drumph was utterly stunned by Luca’s words.

He stood frozen, staring blankly at Luca, speechless.

After a long moment, Drumph finally recovered enough to respond.

“Are you serious?! Has the outer defensive line around Imperial Capital really been breached that easily?”

Drumph was still stuck in denial, unwilling to accept the grim reality Luca had just described.

At that moment, a Morning Star member rushed hurriedly over to Drumph.

“Sir, the monster horde has already broken into Imperial Capital! The city’s outer defenses have completely collapsed! The federal leadership has ordered us to concentrate all available forces to ensure the security of the core district.”

Only now had the federal leadership finally made the correct decision.

Hearing this news, Drumph nodded solemnly.

“I understand! You go handle your tasks! Everyone else can leave as well—you must prepare yourselves for the fierce battle that’s about to break out.”

He dismissed everyone immediately.

Now, only Drumph and Luca remained in the central control room.

“Do you think we can really succeed in protecting the core district of Imperial Capital from being destroyed by the monster horde?” Drumph asked Luca gravely after everyone else had left.

Luca did not immediately give him an answer.

After pondering for a moment, he slowly shook his head.

“The strength of this monster horde is simply too overwhelming. Even if we concentrate all our forces in the core district of Imperial Capital, I still can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to prevent it from being destroyed.”

These words plunged Drumph into a state of extreme panic.

“Then what should we do? Imperial Capital is the Federation’s most important city! We absolutely cannot abandon it!” Drumph shouted hysterically.

“We’ll just have to do our best and leave the rest up to fate. I’ll stay with you and help however I can.”

In the end, this was all Luca could say.

It wasn’t just Drumph and the members of Morning Star who were lost and directionless. Every other major force in Imperial Capital was in a similar state of confusion and despair.

The remaining forces of the Imperial Capital’s Guard were in complete chaos.

Both the captain and the vice-captain of the Imperial Capital’s Guard had been killed during the monster horde’s assault, leaving no one qualified to take command of the remaining guard members.

As a result, the guards had no choice but to fight individually, further weakening the city’s defensive capability.

Meanwhile, the Federation’s senior leadership had gathered in the core district’s administrative building. Though they occupied the safest place in the city, they too were gripped by panic.

They continuously held meetings, frantically discussing their next course of action.

Some proposed fleeing Imperial Capital immediately.

In their view, even though Imperial Capital was under heavy attack by the monster horde, the city’s remaining defenses were still strong enough to provide them with an opportunity to escape.

If they continued wasting time, they feared they’d lose even this chance.

However, this proposal was strongly opposed by others.

For their escape to be successful, they would need to abandon all existing defensive lines.

Such a course of action was far too risky.

They feared a scenario where the monster horde completely destroyed the city immediately after they fled.

Amidst continuous arguments, they couldn’t reach any consensus whatsoever.

At the same time, members of Imperial Capital’s prominent families had also gathered, deliberating their own next moves.

Initially, they had believed the arrival of the monster horde presented an excellent opportunity for them to expand their family influence.

The stronger members of each major family eagerly threw themselves into battle when the monster horde first arrived.

However, they quickly realized that this monster horde was vastly different from the previous ones they had faced.

Ultimately, the powerful members from each family suffered severe losses, with only a few lucky survivors managing to escape back from the frontline.

The intelligence these survivors brought back made the family leaders even more nervous.

At this moment, the heads of the major families were gathered anxiously in a conference building located in the core district of Imperial Capital, heatedly discussing their next steps.

Each family leader had their own agenda and ideas.

Just like the federal leadership, they found themselves unable to reach any consensus in the short term.

Eventually, they decided to call upon the great sage.

Councilman Devitt appeared before the gathered family leaders.

His expression was surprisingly relaxed.

“You don’t need to worry at all,” Devitt said calmly. “This monster horde is indeed extremely powerful. But with me here, there’s nothing to fear. I’ll stay right here in this building with you. If the monster horde does manage to break through all the defenses of the Imperial Capital’s core district, I’ll find a way to lead you safely out of here.”

Councilman Devitt’s words finally brought some relief to the family members.

They were no longer as panicked as before, and some even began suggesting taking advantage of this opportunity to deal with Luca.

However, in the end, they refrained from taking such action.

After all, the pressure brought by the monster horde was simply too overwhelming.

Once the members of the major families had calmed down, they stopped paying much attention to Councilman Devitt.

As a result, they failed to notice the subtle shift in Devitt’s expression.

In reality, Councilman Devitt was extremely anxious himself.

Up until now, he still hadn’t found a reliable way to safely escape Imperial Capital.

His only hope now was that the core district of Imperial Capital would withstand the monster horde’s assault.

“How ironic,” Devitt muttered bitterly to himself. “To think I’d now be hoping Luca manages to repel the monster horde, thus preserving the opportunities I have left.”

He and Luca were already mortal enemies.

Yet now, in the face of the monster horde’s threat, he had no choice but to rely on his worst enemy for survival.

Devitt had even mentally prepared himself to assist Luca in the battle if it became necessary.

If Luca failed to hold back the monster horde, Devitt was ready to step in and help.

With all the forces inside Imperial Capital lost and directionless, the city’s defenses collapsed almost entirely.

Survivors were desperately fleeing toward the core district of Imperial Capital, with no one even considering trying to halt the advance of the monster horde.

Thus, in just half an hour, the monster horde completely engulfed all areas of Imperial Capital outside the core district.

When the monster horde reached the defensive perimeter of Imperial Capital’s core district, an enormous defensive magical formation was activated.

Countless beams of blue light shot toward the monster horde, obliterating large numbers of monsters, but this was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.