Chapter 264 Last Lifeline

"PROTECT HIM!" Dorbish shouted, striking his way to the young soldier. His shouts brought Moon’s attention to the sight while he was mid-air.

An arrow, red in colour, hovered above the soldier’s head, who was looking at it in disbelief.

Around 10 seconds were left for him, or so it was for most who happened to experience what he was experiencing now.

The invitation.

The soldier would soon become a second floor ascender if he didn’t die in the first trial.

For whatever time he had left, they needed to protect him from any instant death situations he might experience, and thus, Dorbish stepped forward.

As someone who had only failed to get his own weapon before ascending, he was more paranoid than others.

As for Moon, the sight soon began turning magical.

As the ten seconds passed, the arrow descended closer to his head, and as it did, a gate appeared, the same gate Moon had once seen, but smaller, just big enough for the soldier.

It swallowed him.

Dum~

And shut itself over him, before dematerializing as magically as it had appeared.

He fell, and before he reached the army, he let his Echo drop onto whatever was below, be it a soldier’s head or solid land, before bouncing off in a new direction.

Only then would Moon bend his knees slightly, with a bit of Spark Echo supporting them to prevent recoil injury.

This repeated cycle allowed him to soar once again.

He was trying to watch the full process that he should have experienced but never got a chance to see.

Moon, who was bouncing in the air repeatedly to see the full scene, found himself exclaiming, "So that’s how it works."

For normal people, that is.

The only thing Moon remembered of that day was his body getting cold beyond moving; he was no different from a corpse.

The moment he opened his eyes again, it was behind the gate.

And that gate was cracked.

Yet he underestimated the impact of that ascension on the battlefield.

"FOR STRAND!" Countless soldiers marched in maddened frenzy, seeking a chance of ascension. The young and old alike.

It was common knowledge that ascension happened to those between the ages of 16 and 22; the older one gets, the lesser the chances...

Even for those within that range, which explained why most of the ascenders were on the teenage side, with a few exceptions.

Yet, many dreamed of ascension, dreamed of the power it held, the better life it would provide them and their families.

Or just for the sake of being called Ascenders by others.

Longer lives, stronger bodies, greater Echo...

The ripple began to spread further and further, to the point that Joshua as well was throwing himself at the front lines.

Moon, right now, was back to his work, trying to break through till the end.

Meanwhile, Dorbish was doing his best to keep Joshua specifically, as well as the others alive while they went crazy by themselves.

On the castle walls, Talia watched. "If he’s lucky, he’ll rejoin us soon as an ascender," she commented.

It was common knowledge that those who ascend while part of a trial rejoin the trial. They don’t get transferred to the facility.

The ascension ongoing now was not part of the normal ascension cycle of the Tower, but a trial-induced ascension with a possibility of ascending twice within a short span of time.

The troops, counted as aspirants, in a peaceful nation that had never tasted war, were offered both war and a chance to ascend two floors at once.

Gustav, who had been watching silently since the beginning, smiled.

"It’s a great blessing to our kingdom," he said with more emotion than he had ever expressed; his gaze found Moon again, still wreaking havoc through the Fable side.

At the back of the battlefield, more wounded were being sent back by Raiju, who seemed both tired and determined at the same time.

The blue wolf ran without a word back to the battlefield while air was being chased out of his lungs.

"Someone ascended on the battlefield," a wounded soldier said.

"For real?" Another exclaimed, clutching his chest. "We can ascend?" he asked.

Some went silent, unable to tell for sure, while others were willing to take the chance.

"I’ll go and try." One smiled, using his sword as a cane to stand while half of his chest was full of blood.

"Please stay rested." A medic lady approached and advised.

"We can ascend at last," the soldier retorted.

The tale of the ascender began spreading among the wounded soldiers. Soon, it wasn’t just one trying to jump back for a chance.

A few of them even tried to get back into the battlefield.

Before long, Raiju returned with another wounded soldier dragged by his shoulder armor all the way there.

Watching the scene, "TAKE ONE MORE STEP AND I’LL RIP YOUR NECK OFF!" he growled once before moving out right away.

In a once peaceful nation, one that had never had a war since its establishment.

The bloodlust Raiju released was something they were feeling for the first time; sweat started beading over their heads, and their bodies involuntarily relaxed back down to rest.

If anything, Raiju didn’t seem to be joking.

For the efforts he’d put into rescuing them, for the battle to be concluded as a proper victory and for Moon, who was far within the enemy lines, surrounded from every direction.

"Greedy bastards," Raiju growled, stepping into the battlefield once again.

Yet, that one ascender didn’t seem to be the last.

Soon, more began to have the indicator float over their heads. Some had their weapons chipped, their shields cracked.

The moment the indicator appeared, they were always gathered around to be protected.

Some soldiers gave up their weapons to their ascending fellows.

A spirit of companionship was guiding the actions smoothly.

Still, ascension wasn’t exclusive to the Strand side, even though they had the better environment for it.

On the Fable side, the indicator appeared again on a soldier pushing through his own formation to reach the front lines.

Roars erupted.

"We can ascend too!" A Fable soldier shouted, running forward.

To them, under the current circumstances of the war, ascension wasn’t only a chance to gain power beyond what they had.

It was also a chance to escape the battlefield that had gone wrong and unjust for them, the invincible army that considered this war an easy win.

The army that was suffering now, thanks to orders they didn’t choose or approve, was stuck on a chessboard they couldn’t understand.

They were bigger in number, in landmass, in number of ascenders, and in number of strong individuals as well.

Yet, they were thrown like sheep driven to slaughter.

To them, ascension was a chance of living, to survive this accursed battlefield they were going to be sacrificed on.

They had no business knowing the reason behind this, nor could they oppose the military orders passed down to them.

Thus, ascension was the last lifeline they could do everything to hold onto by any means.

Still, they missed a small detail.

So small that it was negligible, until...

Stab~

The pike fell through perfectly without the slightest resistance.