Ch. 311: Chapter 311-320

Chapter 311 Return To The Domain Of The Fallen [Part 1]

311 Return To The Domain Of The Fallen [Part 1]

Four days after Lux made his declaration…

"The Six Kingdoms and our allied factions in Elysium are very annoyed at how this matter escalated so quickly," Alicia reported. "I'm afraid that Lux will have a hard time staying within our faction's territories after he has made his decision."

Alexander took a sip of his coffee before signing one of the documents that laid on top of the table. When he heard Lux's declaration, he couldn't help but shake his head because he understood that the Half-Elf wanted to retaliate for the bad treatment he'd received as of late.

This was a daring move on his part, and Alexander ordered Alicia to keep him up to date on what the result of the "auction" would be.

In the end, the Skystead Alliance and the Xynnar War Pact had no choice but to meet with Lux and negotiate. The Domain of the Fallen was an ideal place for gathering unique resources that wouldn't be found anywhere else in Elysium.

Also, all of them were curious about the kind of rewards that conquerors would gain after conquering another gate. They didn't think much of the Pseudo-Legendary Items that Lux and his comrades acquired after clearing the dungeon.

For them, the Sacred White Lotus was the real prize in the Gate of Death, which allowed them to create a medicine that would cure the Purple Plague that had been ravishing the borders of their territories.

No amount of treasure could cure the plague, and even High-Rankers were not safe from its deadly grasp. Now that the Sacred White Lotus had been acquired and was currently in the hands of Maximilian for him to create a cure for the Purple Plague, the Kingdoms and Empires set their eyes on exploring the Domain of the Fallen, as well as the Sacred Dungeon, once more.

Due to the strength of the Monsters inside the Domain, no one had a chance to explore it. However, those with keen abilities or artifacts that could detect very rare artifacts, herbs, fruits, and other consumables that would grant great benefits to whoever acquired them, had sensed their presence within the Domain.

The Sacred Dungeon was just one of the many things that the Domain of the Fallen possessed, and this was why the Skystead Alliance, who had only come to learn about its existence recently, was adamant to send their own representatives inside it.

The only thing that was preventing them from doing so was the restriction that they could only enter it once a year, during a specific time.

Now that there were slots within their reach that would allow them to enter it at will, they would definitely jump at the chance to do it.

Lux understood this as well. The Law of Supply and Demand allowed him to get the upper hand in the negotiation.

"I'm sure that Lux knows that the Skystead Alliance will go all out to acquire these precious slots to enter the Domain of the Fallen," Alexander said as he placed the document he just signed to the side. "He sure is making things difficult for everyone."

Alicia could only smile bitterly because "made things difficult for everyone" was an understatement.

The Six Kingdoms of Solais, as well as the Kingdoms where their factions thrived in Elysium, were very displeased that the Half-Elf chose the offer of the Skystead Alliance.

They thought that since Lux belonged to the faction of the Barbatos Academy and Wildgarde Stronghold, he would surely choose their side, so their offers weren't as lucrative as the other side.

That was their mistake because Lux was someone who had already figured the delicate geopolitical balance of power in the region where these kingdoms were at.

"Cai is untouchable because Maximilian is a powder keg that can explode anytime, making the Kings' unable to find fault in its decision, in fear that a Saint will jump ship," Alexander commented.

"Lux, on the other hand, understood that they cannot be too unreasonable with him as well because he is under my umbrella. That brat really knows how to make trouble, taking advantage of the fact that no one would dare to make things difficult for me."

Alicia covered her lips as she suppressed a smile.

"Even so, he still planned things meticulously and dragged Einar, Vall, and Xander into his plans," Alicia commented. "If it wasn't for that, he might have become the Xynnar War Pact's public enemy number one."

Alexander sighed because the entire situation was a really close call for the Half-Elf who had decided to stick to his declaration that the one with the highest bid would win.

Just like Alicia said, Lux had met with Einar, Vall and Xander to discuss how to market their limited slots to gain maximum profit.

In the end, this was what happened.

Lux, Cai, and Keane sold their slots to the Skystead Alliance because they were the highest bidder in the auction.

This made the Xynnar War Pact scramble for the remaining slots, and raise their offers as well.

In truth, even if they didn't raise their offers, Einar, Vall, and Xander would still sell their slots to the Xynnar War Pact.

Lux knew that Einar's and Vall's area of operation was within the regions of their faction's territories, so they couldn't really antagonize them.

The Rowan Tribe didn't have this problem because they were a Nomadic Tribe. They didn't have a fixed settlement, and would pack up and leave whenever they felt like it, making them immune to the restrictions of geography.

But since Lux didn't want to offend the Six Kingdoms too much, he asked Xander to agree selling his slots to their faction's side, in order to balance things out.

In the end, fifteen slots went to the Skystead Alliance, and fifteen slots went to the Xynnar War Pact.

Lux, Cai, and Keane won big time in the auction, while Einar, Vall, and Xander, received a decent payout after the Half-Elf's shenanigans, forcing their factions to take them seriously.

"They should be there right now," Alexander glanced at the window of his office. "The Skystead Alliance had taken this matter seriously and had sent the Elite Members of each of their Kingdoms to explore the Domain of the Fallen."

Alicia nodded. "From what our intelligence gathered, they sent their best Pseudo-Initiates under the age of twenty five as their representatives. Because of this, our side also did the same thing. All Pseudo-Initiates from our faction were filtered until only the best were chosen to participate in the expedition."

"So everyone is finally taking this seriously."

"Yes, Sir. Lux and the others conquering the Gate of Death was like a wake up call to everyone. They didn't want to fall behind their competitors."

Alexander closed his eyes. Now that Vera's life was no longer in danger, and Iris was currently inside Barbatos Academy, two of his family members were safe. The only problem was the Half-Elf, who would once again venture inside a dangerous place, in order to finish his Coming of Age Quest, jsut so he could create a guild of his own.

—-----

Entrance of the Domain of the Fallen…

"So, this is the fabled Hidden Domain," a teenage boy with dark-blue hair and eyes eyed the door in front of him.

He let out an indignant snort when he saw the letters inscribed on its surface. He believed that if they had been the ones to find out its existence, the first conquerors would have been his team, and no one else.

He was Malcolm Robles, the son of the Grand General that commanded the army of the Vahan Empire. He was nineteen years old this year, and was forced by his father to wear a Sealing Bracelet, which prevented him from stepping into the Initiate Rank since his eighteenth birthday.

Malcolm was a true prodigy, and because of this, his father was afraid that his arrogance would make his head too big, so he sealed his progress to make him "a little more humble". Unfortunately, this didn't do anything to lower the prodigy's arrogance.

The Sealing Bracelet only prevented him from breaking into the rank of a Grade-A Apostle. However, that didn't stop him from acquiring stats that he could freely distribute as soon as his seal was undone.

In a stroke of luck, the whereabouts of the Domain of the Fallen was discovered, and Malcolm immediately volunteered to be one of the people that would explore the new domain for the kingdom.

He thought that this was a perfect way to gain more merits, as well as to force his father to break his seal once he had successfully accomplished his mission.

Emperor Andreas had long known how talented Malcolm was, so he agreed to his request. He even made the teenager the leader of the expedition forces, as a way to encourage him to do better.

Malcolm was also the Guild Master of the SIlver-Ranked Guild, Chaos Oath, which was one of the Top Three Guilds in the Vahan Empire.

"According to the agreement, once you guide us to the Sacred Dungeon, we will go our separate ways," Malcolm said. "You better not drag us down."

Lux ignored Malcolm's taunt because he had already gotten used to it. The first thing that Malcolm did when his team arrived at the entrance of the Hidden Domain was to challenge Lux to a fight, which the Half-Elf rejected.

Several Rankers from the Skystead Alliance and the Xynnar War Pact were present to prevent any trouble from breaking out.

They were all treating this expedition seriously, so even Malcolm couldn't force Lux to fight him. After all, the latter was the one who called the shots as to who would be going inside the Hidden Domain.

Einar, Vall, and Xander were standing on Lux's opposite side.

Behind them were the representatives of the Xynnar War Pact who would venture inside the Hidden Domain for the first time.

The Solaians, with the exception of Lux and his comrades, weren't allowed to join the expedition. The Kingdoms in Elysium adamantly demanded that the expedition party must only be composed of their members, since the Foreigners had monopolized the Domain of the Fallen for several years.

In the end, the Six Kingdoms compromised. Einar's, Vall's, and Xander's role was to only be the guides in the expedition, allowing their faction to reach the entrance of the Sacred Dungeon.

"Since everyone is ready, let's go," Lux said as he walked towards the giant gate that would lead them inside the Domain of the Fallen.

He and his comrades had made plans beforehand, so he didn't give a hoot about what happened to the representatives that were coming with them.

Since they would go their separate ways once they arrived at the Sacred Dungeon, he didn't have to worry about other people getting in the way of his own Dungeon exploration.

Chapter 312 Return To The Domain Of The Fallen [Part 2]

As soon as the representatives of the different kingdoms got inside the Domain of the Fallen, their confidence disappeared, leaving only solemn expressions on their faces..

All of them were Pseudo-Initiates, which meant that they only needed around a hundred stat points before they reached the Initiate Rank. Because of this, their senses were more acute compared to others, and their senses were telling them that this Domain was teeming with creatures of greater might than themselves.

"I don't know what kind of orders you received from your superiors," Lux said as he faced the thirty people that they would guide towards the entrance of the Sacred Dungeon. "But if any of you don't want to die, you will have no choice but to cooperate with each other if you want to reach our destination."

"Starting from here, the Monsters you need to deal with ranges from Rank 5 Monsters up to the Deimos Rank, excluding their lackeys. However, there is a possibility that a Pseudo-Argonaut or an Argonaut-Ranked Monster exists. If we happen to bump into one of those, everyone better start running. We are just insects in the eyes of such beasts."

The Leader of the Xynnar War Pact's representatives, Ellis Roth, stepped forward to voice her opinion.

"I've heard about your exploits, Foreigner, and I am looking forward to working with you," Ellis said. "However, I would greatly appreciate it if you take us down the shortest route to the Sacred Dungeon. This place is… crawling with monsters whose rank surpasses ours. I don't think that staying in this place is a good idea."

Lux nodded. "That's the plan. But know this, even the journey towards the Sacred Dungeon is very perilous. On our last expedition, we lost over a hundred lives just to get to its entrance. So prepare yourselves."

Ellis smiled. Although she wasn't breathtakingly beautiful, she was still attractive enough to make the boys look at her with interest. She was in her early twenties and, just like Malcolm, she was also wearing a Sealing Bracelet.

Lux didn't know what was stopping her from breaking through the Initiate Rank, but since it was none of his business, he decided not to pry.

"Just stick close to us," Lux said before he started walking. "As long as we work together, we can minimize the number of casualties we have along the way."

Lux summoned a dozen Skeleton Fighters to act as Scouts, and another dozen to act as Vanguards.

There were only thirty-six of them, so splitting up was not an option. Back then, they had traveled towards the entrance of the Sacred Dungeon numbering in the hundreds, and all of them had to work together in order to not be overwhelmed by the Diabolical Doom Mosquito, which was a Rank 5 Field Boss, and its cronies.

The long and tension-filled journey ended after two hours.

Lux's Skeletons had encountered several powerful monsters that left the Half-Elf no choice but to halt their advance in order to find other routes to take to evade these beasts completely.

Thanks to his cautiousness, they were able to reach their destination safely without losing any lives along the way.

Malcolm, who had been silent the entire trip, breathed a sigh of relief in his heart because he had truly underestimated the Domain of the Fallen which Emperor Andreas coveted.

He had been given strict orders to challenge the Gate of Conquest, and gather any treasures that could be found inside it.

The young man didn't know why the Emperor specifically chose that particular gate to enter. But since it was the order of his Liege, he had no choice but to obey it no matter what.

"This is where we part," Ellis said as she pressed her palm and fist together as a sign of gratitude. "Thank you for bringing us here safely. Let us talk more after we've finished our mission."

"Of course," Lux replied with a smile. "Be careful and may fortune smile upon you."

Ellis smiled back before leading her team to the entrance of the Sacred Dungeon to choose a gate.

All of them had come to know what the Gate of Death was like, and none of them wanted to deal with thirteen Death Tyrants at the same time. Although the Sacred White Lotus was a tempting prize, the Kings of the other Kingdoms were more interested to know what could be found beyond the other gates as well.

Ellis and her team chose the Gate of Famine in Normal Difficulty.

Their superiors planned to take things at a steady pace, so they weren't in a hurry to jump into Hell Mode right away. Ellis' mission was to analyze what kind of teams would be needed in order to clear the Gate of Famine, so the next time they returned to the Domain of the Fallen, they would be more prepared to conquer it.

Malcolm gave Lux a side-long glance before he led his team to the Gate of Conquest.

Unlike Ellis who had been ordered to challenge the Normal Difficulty, the son of the general was ordered to pick Hell Mode.

Emperor Andreas believed that the Key that would lead to the Legendary Empire of the Dragons could be found behind the Gate of Conquest. Although the records kept by the first founder of the Vahan Empire were vague, the word Conquest had been mentioned several times in his biography.

After the thirty people had disappeared, Einar, Vall, and Xander approached Lux, who was standing beside Cai and Keane.

"Should we get going as well?" Einar asked.

"Okay." Lux nodded. "So, who wants the honors of choosing a gate for us?"

"Me! Me!" Cai shouted. "Let me choose!"

Lux glanced at Keane, asking for his opinion, but the latter just shrugged. Einar, Vall, and Xander did the same. For them, it didn't really matter which gate to enter because none of them knew what lay behind the four remaining doors of the Sacred Dungeon.

Cai pointed its hoof towards the three doors while singing.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,

Catch a tiger by the toe.

If he hollers, let him go,

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe."

Einar, whose transformation turned him into a Tiger, was very tempted to kick the annoying Boar who had used a nursery song to choose the Gate that would decide their fate.

Knowing what the Barbarian was thinking, Lux chuckled, but he didn't stop Cai from playing its little game.

"Okay. I choose this one!" Cai pointed at the Red Gate that bore the Runes "War" on it. "Let's go!"

The Boar excitedly walked towards the Gate of War, while Lux and the others followed behind it.

All of them decided that whatever door they chose to go to, they would only choose Hell Mode and clear it to the best of their abilities.

—--

Outside the Gate of the Domain of the Fallen.

All the Rankers, as well as the other influential people of each Kingdom, had gathered to watch the expedition of their representatives.

The artifacts that were given to Malcolm and Ellis allowed everyone outside the dungeon see what was happening inside the Sacred Dungeon in real time.

Jeers sounded from the side of the Skystead Alliance when they saw that Ellis chose the Normal Mode of the Gate of Famine. For them, this was a cowardly act, which made the side of the Xynnar War Pact glare at them with hostility.

But deep inside, they had to agree that the Skystead Alliance's bold move to challenge the Hell Mode of the Gate of Conquest was more intriguing than the one that their faction had chosen.

None of them even bothered to think about what happened to the six individuals that were left outside the Dungeon. Since their attention was all focused on their own representatives, they were not aware that Lux and his comrades had also entered one of the Gates of the Sacred Dungeon.

A Gate that would teach them that the concept of War was bloodier than they originally thought it would be.

Chapter 313 The Warring Kingdoms

The sounds of warcries, screams of pain, and clashing of weapons were the first thing that Lux and his comrades heard as soon as they were teleported inside the Dungeon.

"W-What's going on here?!" Cai, who almost got hit by a fireball, squealed as it hurriedly jumped to the side, just in time to dodge the fireball by a few inches.

A loud explosion took place, sending everyone flying in different directions, followed by a rain of spells all around them.

It was complete and utter pandemonium as they found themselves at the center of two warring kingdoms, who were going all out against each other.

"Everyone, regroup!" Lux shouted after propping himself back up. "We need to get out of this place. Now!"

Everyone had the same thought, so they hurriedly regrouped and tried to run away from the battlefield.

Unfortunately for them, they were smacked in the middle of the frontlines, sandwiched on all sides by two armies, who had now noticed their arrival.

"Which Kingdom are you affiliated with?!" a Knight wearing black armor asked as he and his subordinates pointed their weapons at Lux and his party.

"We are not affiliated with anyone!" Cai replied. "Someone tell us what is going on here!"

"Hah! You think we will fall for that? Nice try, Yelan scum!" a Knight wearing white armor shouted. "Men! Kill these Yelan collaborators! Show them no mercy!"

Einar fearlessly grinned as he immediately blocked a sword strike from their rear. As a Barbarian who was no stranger to war, being in the battlefield was second nature to him.

"I guess we don't have to worry who we are affiliated with for now." Vall sneered. "Just kill those who try to kill us first!"

Lux, Cai, Keane, and Xander all nodded their heads and immediately turned around to fight the Knights wearing white armor who had all ganged up to them.

They were clueless about whatever was happening around them, but the current situation didn't give them enough time to assess their situation. They were left with no other options but to either fight or die, and their choice was obvious.

As soon as they decided to take action, Lux immediately summoned Orion and Pazuzu. The Jade Golem attacked those around them, while Pazuzu shielded them from harm.

Although they were being targeted by the Knights wearing white armor, Lux was still in the right state of mind and did not summon Diablo and the rest of his Skeleton Minions.

The reason was simple.

He didn't want to affect the on-going war too drastically without knowing who was the defender and who was the aggressor between the two armies. If they helped the invaders get the upper hand, then the Defenders would surely find it difficult to hold their ground.

Perhaps, the others also understood this logic, so they only attacked those who were attacking them, and just hid behind Orion and Pazuzu after they had finished off their respective targets.

After seeing the Jade Golem's might, the White Knights no longer took the initiative to attack Lux's and his party. They only focused on attacking the Black Knights who were suddenly inspired by the Half-Elf's appearance.

Ten minutes later, a horn sounded in the distance, and the White Knights all retreated like a tide.

The Black Knights didn't follow them and simply raised their weapons high up in the air, while cheering for their victory.

"Is it over?" Cai, whose furry body had been littered with arrows, asked.

"For now," Lux replied. "Let's get out of here while we still can."

Nodding their heads, everyone followed Lux as they ran towards the side of the battlefield. The Black Knights didn't stop them because, in their eyes, the Half-Elf's party had fought for their side earlier.

If not for that, they might have stopped them, thinking that they were their enemies' hired mercenary group, whom they paid to fight their war for them.

After running for nearly half an hour, Lux and his comrades finally found a hill overlooking the battlefield. Both armies had returned to their main camps, and it seemed that the fighting for the day was already over.

Suddenly, as if waiting for that moment, Lux heard a familiar notification sound as rows of text appeared in front of him.

—---

< The Warring Kingdoms >

Mission Rating: S

– The Yelan Kingdom and the Ammar Kingdom have been at war with each other for the past four hundred years. Because of this, constant wars break out between the two kingdoms, but this time it is different.

Both Kingdoms have invited third parties as mercenaries in this fight for supremacy. Choose a side and reap great rewards that are exclusive to each of the Kingdoms!

< Main Quest Objective >

– Choose which Kingdom you want to support in this war.

– Kill the General of the opposing army.

< Subquest Objective >

– Capture the Main Flag of the opposing army.

– Kill the Mercenaries that have been hired by the opposing party.

– Quest Duration: 1 week

– Quest will automatically fail if you fail to complete the quest and kill the opposing army's General.

– Quest will automatically fail once your entire party has all been killed.

< Rewards >

– Rewards will be calculated depending on your performance. The greater your merits, the greater the rewards.

– If you manage to complete the two side quests before the quest is finished, you will gain the maximum rewards available for this quest.

< Choose the Kingdom you wish to ally yourself with! >

Option 1: Yelan Kingdom

– This Kingdom specializes in gnome technologies. All of their soldiers are equipped with inventions that are exclusively made by Expert Gnome Inventors.

Option 2: Ammar Kingdom

– This Kingdom is supported by Dwarven Blacksmiths. All of their weapons, and armors are crafted by the finest Dwarven Blacksmiths in the land.

—------

"Um? What is this Warring Kingdom Quest?" Cai tilted its head in confusion. "Where the heck did this come from?"

Lux, who was standing beside Cai, had to do a double take because the boar's sudden announcement surprised him.

"You got it, too?" Einar asked. "Weird. This is my first time seeing something like this. Maybe it is a Dungeon-exclusive thing?"

"Could be," Vall commented. "I've entered many Dungeons in the past, but this is the first time I'm seeing something like this. Hey, do you think this has something to do with us clearing the Gate of Death first?"

Xander nodded. "That's highly likely. I mean, the people who cleared the Gate of Death are all here. Maybe this is something exclusive to us. Also, I'm quite curious about the rewards. Will we get some Pseudo-Legendary items again like what we did in the Gate of Death?"

Having no opinion about the matter, Keane simply stood with his arms crossed over his chest. He was still trying to get used to how things worked in Elysium, so almost felt so new and exciting at the same time.

Lux had always received this kind of mission in the past, so he was already used to it. After listening to what his comrades were saying, he thought that maybe it did have something to do with the Gate of Death.

Since all of them were granted special privileges as the Sacred Dungeon's first conquerors, this kind of setup might also be included in the mechanics of the Sacred Dungeon.

'I guess I need to verify if they can get the same quests that I do in the future,' Lux mused. 'Maybe they are only getting it because we are in the same party. I will have to do some experiments after we leave the Gate of War.'

After finally organizing his thoughts, the Half-Elf glanced at his comrades and asked them the most important question.

"So, which side do you guys want to join?" Lux asked.

He knew that if they truly wanted to succeed in the mission, they must all choose the same side. Otherwise, they would end up fighting amongst themselves, and that was the last thing that all of them wanted to happen.

"I'll join My Daddy's side," Cai replied.

"Me, too," Keane stated.

"I'll go wherever Cai goes," Xander commented.

Einar and Vall glanced at each other and smirked.

"I'll let you decide this one, Lux." Einar crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm fine with either Kingdom."

"All for one and one for all, is what I'd like to say, but since everyone has chosen to let you decide our fate, I'll go along with the flow," Vall smiled. "Afterall, I'd hate to kill all of you when I join the opposing side."

Lux closed his eyes as he weighed the Pros and Cons of the two choices before him. Finally, after ten minutes, he raised his head and glanced at the battlefield with a determined look on his face.

"I choose to join the Kingdom of…"

Chapter 314 I’ll Show Them The Might Of The Skystead Alliance.

"Welcome to the Yelan Army."

A two-meter tall bald man who looked like a pro wrestler said with a smile.

"I am the General who oversees this battle, and I go by the name Watson Reid," Bruce said. "Just refer to me as General Watson. So, you guys are the mercenaries that are planning to fight against those invading Ammarians? Mmm, you kids don't look too shabby. What do you think, Sherlock?"

A gnome who was nearly four feet tall adjusted the glasses on his face and gave Lux and the others a side-long glance.

"Tell me, mercenaries," the Gnome named Sherlock raised his chin in arrogance. "What is better? Dwarven Armor or Gnome Technology?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Cai replied. "Naturally it's Dwar–mph!!"

Lux transformed his arms into that of a dragon and shut Cai's snout tightly, so it couldn't say another word.

"Gnome Technology is superior," Lux answered. "With the gnomes helping the Yelan Kingdom defend its territories, victory is assured."

The Gnome once again adjusted his glasses before giving Lux a nod of satisfaction.

"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact," Sherlock replied with a smile. "Welcome to the winning side."

"Thank you. I look forward to working with you."

"I like you. Here, I made a Pseudo-Legendary Item a day ago, you can have it."

Cai, who was struggling to break free of Lux's hold earlier, froze when the Gnome casually handed the Half-Elf a metallic ball, after the latter had mentioned that the item was a Pseudo-Legendary weapon.

Lux examined the ball firmly in his hand as he released Cai's snout and his partial dragon transformation, then he tossed it to his other hand. It was around 2 kilos in weight, and if one were to observe it closely, it just looked like an ordinary metallic ball, with no redeeming features whatsoever.

However, after using the Elysium Compendium to appraise it, Lux's jaw almost dropped because of the information that was written on it.

—---

< Map Projector >

Rating: Pseudo-Legendary

– Once activated, this artifact projects a map of the area that is three miles from where the user is standing.

– This artifact will detect friendly and enemy forces within the map, key locations, as well as landmarks that might be useful.

– Can be upgraded to Treasure Map Projector once the requirements are met.

< Treasure Map Projector >

– Shows locations of treasures on the map that are no further than a mile from the user.

(Requirements to Upgrade)

– Beholder's Eye (0/1)

– Cyclop's Eye (0/1)

– Arimaspi Eye (0/1)

– Balor's Eye (0/1)

– Likho's Eye (0/1)

– Snallygaster's Eye (0/1)

– This artifact is Soul Bound to Lux Von Kaizer.

—---

'Wow!' Lux thought when he saw the information of the Map Projector in his hands.

Unlike other people, Lux had a special map of his own. However, its range was only up to five hundred meters. It was nothing compared to the Pseudo-Legendary weapon in his hands, that were casually given to him by the gnome named Sherlock.

"Master, I also think that Gnomes are better than Dwarves." Cai scooted next to Sherlock and tried to butter him up with praises. After seeing the Pseudo-Legendary artifact in the Half-Elf's hands, the shameless and thick-skinned Boar decided to try its uck and sang praises for the Gnomes until its spit was flying all over the place.

"Those smelly Dwarves are no good. From the start, they didn't stand a chance in this war. How can they be so delusional? Gnomes are the best! Gnomes are amazing! Viva Gnomes!"

Lux was about to tell Cai that it was pushing its luck. Frankly, he felt embarrassed by how the Boar was acting, who originally wanted to say that Dwarven goods were better than the Gnomes' Technology.

However, to his surprise, Sherlock chuckled and gave the Boar a nod of approval and handed it a red metallic ball.

"I like honest people and beasts," Sherlock said. "Here is the Pseudo-Legendary Artifact I made two days ago. You can have it."

"Yay!" Cai immediately stored the red metallic ball inside its storage ring before Lux could even blink. "Don't worry, Sir Sherlock. As long as I, Cai, am here, this war is already in the bag."

"Hahaha. I look forward to your performance, Cai."

"Leave it to me, Sir! I'll smash them good!"

Keane, Einar, Vall, and Xander, were also tempted to follow the shameless Boar's example, but they were too prideful to do it. In the end, they bit their tongues and glanced at Cai who was still buttering Sherlock with words in the hope that it could get another freebie.

Watson laughed before clapping his hands together.

"Well then, let's get down to business first," Watson said as he made a gesture for everyone to follow him to the giant table, where the map of the battlefield was laid out.

Several markers, and wooden figures could be seen on top of the map, representing the armies, as well as the position of the generals of the Yelan Kingdom.

"To tell you the truth, we are hard-pressed to win this war," Watson stated. "After the clash earlier, we have estimated that a good chunk of our army was slain by our enemies. Right now, we have a little over four-hundred thousand troops, while the enemy has more than six-hundred thousand. Also, according to our scouts, they have recruited a group of strong individuals who might turn the tide in their favor."

Watson sighed before pointing to key locations in the enemy's main camp.

"We have the territorial advantage, so we can hold out for a while. But, with a strong army, strong weaponry, and strong mercenaries helping them in this war, it is only a matter of time before they overwhelm us with their forces."

Sherlock nodded in agreement before voicing his opinion.

"In this war, brawn will not be enough to overturn our obvious disadvantages," Sherlock stated. "We need to use brains, and every trick in the book to turn the tide in our favor. Also, we have a time limit…"

The Gnome sighed before pointing at a location on the map that was marked with a wooden structure.

"The Ammarians are currently in the midst of casting a high level spell that can instantly obliterate our soldiers into meat paste," Sherlock explained. "However, they need exactly a week in order to gather the needed magical energy to unleash their grand magic.

"There is no point in targeting that location because that place is heavily guarded by Rankers. So, our priority is to kill their army's general to lower their morale. Once we have taken their general's head, all of our forces can decimate their army, allowing our own Rankers to engage the Rankers of the opposing side."

Watson then tapped the location of the Main Headquarters of the enemy to show their allies how difficult it was to Assassinate the enemy's general.

"Both sides have sent their best assassins in order to take the life of the commanding general, but it was all in vain," Watson lamented. "I can't count the number of times that I was attacked by Assassins while I was taking a dump. Those dirty bastards, can't they leave me alone when I'm sh*tting?"

Everyone ignored Watson's grumbling and returned their attention on the layout of the map. The battlefield they were fighting on was quite diverse.

There was a plain, a forest, mountainous regions, and even a marshland.

Since it was a large-scale battle, every part of the map could be used to tilt the battle in their favor.

While Lux and his comrades were discussing their strategy with Watson and Sherlock, three wagons arrived at the Main Camp of the Ammarian Kingdom.

"This quest sure is interesting."

"I know right? We are actually being sent to war and our side is the invading party. Feels good."

"I can't wait to go all out tomorrow. According to our quest, the more people we kill, the more Merits we gain."

"Yes. The items we can exchange for those Merit Points are insane! There are even Pseudo-Legendary weapons, artifacts, and armor in the list. The only problem is that I need to kill at least a thousand of them in order to buy one of those items."

Malcolm, the leader of the representatives of the Skystead Alliance, looked in the direction of the Yelan Camp with his arms crossed over his chest.

Right after they chose the Gate of Conquest, they found themselves in one of the border cities of the Ammarian Kingdom. There, they received a quest allowing them to exchange Merit Points for valuable items, and one of those items was a golden key, with a Draconic design on it.

The Merit Points required for it was a whopping One Million Merit Points, and he could only gain that amount once they had cleared the mission with flying colors.

"Everyone, rest properly," Malcolm ordered before turning around to go to the temporary tent that had been made for their arrival. "When morning comes, we will start our conquest of this Dungeon."

""Yes!""

Malcolm and the members of his team were confident of their strength. They believed that as long as they all worked together, the mission they'd been given would be as easy as a walk in the park.

'Just wait for me, Father, Your Majesty,' Malcolm thought as he looked at the map of the battlefield that was given to him by one of the general's aides before they arrived at the main camp.

"I will definitely conquer this Dungeon for our Empire," Malcolm vowed as he placed an "X" mark on the enemy's camp, where Watson, the commanding general of the Yelan Kingdom was stationed.

"I'll show them the might of the Skystead Alliance."

Chapter 315 Divide And Conquer [Part 1]

When the sun was rising to the East, the armies of the two kingdoms started to stir.

Another day of fighting was about to begin, but things were about to change drastically due to the appearance of the two mercenary groups on each side.

,m Malcolm and his team had entered the Gate of Conquest, while Lux and his comrades had entered the Gate of War.

The meaning behind these two words were almost the same, but there were major differences between them.

The Sacred Dungeon was a special Dungeon that allowed the other Gates to link with each other during special circumstances. Meaning that Famine and Death could interlink, and so could Conquest and War.

But, this would only happen if both parties chose "Hell Mode". Also, there could only be one group entering each of the gates at almost the same time in order for this phenomenon to happen.

"Make sure you do your job well, Mercenaries," the General of the Ammar Kingdom, General Moriarty said coldly. "Any means are allowed. This is a War. Only the victors have the right to write the pages of history."

The General of the Ammar Kingdom was an extremely tall and thin, clean-shaven, pale, and ascetic-looking man, whose mere presence was enough to make even the most experienced of soldiers feel intimidated.

"What a coincidence," Malcolm replied. "I think the same way. Don't worry, General. My members are all Elites. We will move freely throughout the battlefield and slowly chip away their ranks, eliminating the captains and the commanders along the way."

"We'll see if you are really capable of doing that, Human," a Dwarf wearing a Mithril Plate commented. "I've seen people like you who are all bark and no bite."

Henry, the Dwarf Crusader, snorted. He was Moriarty's right-hand man and commanded a legion of Heavily Armored Dwarven Riders who were known to break any kind of defensive formation with their overwhelming charge.

Malcolm smiled and no longer bothered to reply to the dwarf because he understood that no matter what he said, the other person would just find ways to ridicule him.

'I'll just let my actions do the talking,' Malcolm thought before giving General Moriarty a respectful bow before leaving the tent.

When they were no longer in the vicinity of the main camp, Malcolm crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the mountain in front of him. T

'Although it will be a bit difficult breaking into their stronghold, it is not impossible,' Malcolm mused. 'I just need a good opportunity and this will end in no time."

—------

Meanwhile in the Yelan Camp…

"We just need a good opportunity and this will end in no time!" Cai said as it aimed its glare at the distance where the Ammar Kingdom's army congregated. "Um, I'll ask for another Pseudo-Legendary Item after we win this war. If only I knew that getting rare items was this easy, I would have entered the Hidden Domain two years ago as well."

"If you had come, you'd probably be dead by now," Lux replied. "Get serious, Cai. We are up against an organized army and not a ragtag mob of fighters."

Cai raised its hoof and moved it left to right as if to make a point.

"I am always serious, My Daddy!" Cai stated. "I promise you that I'm gonna smash them like crazy later. But, before that, let's have breakfast first. I'm hungry. Oh… they have roasted pork. Very nice!"

Lux sighed internally as he watched the Boar lined up alongside the soldiers for breakfast. They had already discussed the strategy that they were going to execute today.

Since they didn't know how strong their enemies were, Lux decided to use the strategy divide and conquer by summoning his skeletons in the middle of the night, and sending them to travel to the destinations he had marked on the artifact he had been given by the Gnome, Sherlock.

Keane, who was standing not far from Lux, suddenly voiced his opinion, which made Einar, Vall, and Xander glance in his direction.

"Everyone, please be careful," Keane commented. "I have this very bad feeling at the back of my mind. Whenever I get this, my life will always be in danger. Right now, it is telling me to be extra careful, like a premonition about what is to come."

"Actually, I also feel the same way," Einar scratched his head. "Yesterday, when we were surrounded and suddenly attacked by the soldiers, I didn't feel anything dangerous. But now, it seems that my instincts are telling me that the chance of dying today is very high. I just can't explain it. I just know that something bad is going to happen."

Lux, Vall, and Xander frowned after hearing Einar's explanation. If it was only Keane who was feeling anxious, they could still shrug it off as something that was normal. But, even if the battle junky Einar was telling them that something bad was going to happen, they were forced to seriously heed their warning.

"At the start of the battle, I propose that you guys don't join the initial clash," Lux proposed. "Just observe the battlefield for now and take note of anything that looks suspicious."

Keane and Einar nodded their heads in understanding. All of them had nominated Lux to become the temporary leader of this mission because they knew that it would be hard if they acted separately.

Also, during the battle in the Gate of Death, Lux had gained Einar's, Vall's, and Xander's recognition, making them feel that it wouldn't be bad if the Half-Elf was the one that called the shots.

Although they were rivals during the Lionheart Tournament, they'd become comrades in a battle of life and death, making them share the same sentiment with each other.

"My Daddy, are you sure that you don't need someone to go with you on your mission?" Cai inquired. "Spider Boy here moves fast. As long as you use him as a mount, you will be able to perform your mission perfectly."

Lux and Vall had already given up in reprimanding Cai to call them by their names instead of My Daddy and Spider Boy. Since the annoying Boar had no intention of changing the way it addressed them, the two teenagers decided to accept their fate to prevent friction from happening in the group.

"I will be more at ease knowing that Vall is with you guys to hold the fort," Lux replied. "Also, I will be more mobile if I travel alone. I can just summon my minions to fight for me if I encounter any difficulties."

Lux hadn't told anyone that he had the Teleportation Boots, which allowed him to teleport to the location of an ally on the map.

This was why he had ordered the Skeletons to spread out across the map, in the middle of the night, and go to the places that he had asked them to go.

The Half-Elf was planning to use his Minions as relay stations to teleport to in order to more effectively backstab his enemies.

The element of surprise played a crucial role on the battlefield, and Lux was planning to harass the Army of the Ammar Kingdom, by sneaking past their defenses. Naturally, he could also retreat at any time as long as the cooldown time of the Teleportation Boots ended.

Since Sherlock said that they were already at a disadvantage at the start then Lux planned to hit his enemies where they least expected it, and summon his Skeleton Minions, to deliver a decisive blow to their enemies.

This was the beginning of a battle of schemes between Malcolm and Lux, who were both unaware that the other, as well as their comrades, were about to face off against each other in a battle that was being observed by the High-Ranking officials of the Skystead Alliance.

Chapter 316 Divide And Conquer [Part 2]

"It already started," Lux said as the two armies clashed with each other. "I already told Sherlock that we'll move independently during the battle. However, since we need to have a temporary Vice-Leader, I'd like to appoint Xander as the Vice-Leader of our Party, so he can lead while I'm away. Is that fine with everyone?"

Einar and Vall frowned upon hearing Lux's words. They only recognized the Half-Elf as their temporary leader because of his performance during the battle at the Gate of Death. Both of them were very proud individuals, and they didn't want others ordering them around.

"Xander, it's not that I don't trust you, but I just don't feel like following any of your orders," Einar said. "I hope you don't take offense."

"Same for me," Vall commented. "No offense."

"None taken," Xander replied.

He and Lux had already expected this to happen during their secret talk the night before. Both of them knew that the other two teenagers might not agree to listen to Xander's orders, so the Half-Elf prepared a Plan B just in case.

"Very well. If that is how you feel then I will respect both of your decisions." Lux smiled before raising his hand. "Come out, Asmodeus."

The Archlich appeared beside Lux with an amused expression on his face.

"I've intended to keep this a secret from everyone, but since we need to clear this mission, I will come out clean," Lux stated. "The truth is, I have a very strong connection with my Named Creatures. Whatever they see in their surroundings, I can see all of it as well.

"I'm sure that all of you are already familiar with my Archlich, Asmodeus. I will leave him here so I can observe the battlefield and give orders through my connection with him. Is that acceptable to both of you?"

Einar and Vall both nodded their heads. They had heard tales about Necromancers having a strong connection with the Higher-Undead. Although they were still a bit doubtful, they'd rather obey Asmodeus' orders than obey Xander's.

"Diablo, obey Asmodeus' orders as if they were from me, okay?" Lux said to Diablo, whom he had summoned earlier. "You are much needed here in the main camp because the power of the Dead will serve you greatly."

"Understood." Diablo nodded. "Be careful, Master."

"Don't worry. I have Ishtar, Pazuzu, and Orion with me." Lux patted the Death Knight's shoulder to give him some form of assurance. "Make sure to perform your duty well."

"As you command, Master!"

"Mmm."

Lux then took out the Map Projector that was given to him by Sherlock and observed it for two minutes, looking for a good place to start his ambush. However, while looking at the map, he noticed that there was a group of people that had detached themselves from the enemy camp's main force, and was heading towards the Southwest.

"Strange, there are over a dozen individuals that broke away from their main camp and are traversing the forest in order to reach our rear," Lux commented as he pointed at the map where over a dozen blinking red dots were moving in an organized formation.

Cai, who was chewing on some beef jerky, glanced at the map and voiced its opinion.

"Maybe they are assassins?" Cai stated. "Sherlock mentioned that both sides would send assassins at each other in order to target the commanding officers."

Vall, who was also observing the suspicious group of individuals in Lux's map, pointed at the path that they were taking.

"Look," Vall said. "They are now about to engage the sentries that are positioned in the forest to ensure that they will be able to take the main camp by surprise."

When Lux's comrades saw the function of the Pseudo-Legendary Item that was given to him by the Gnome, Sherlock, all of them became green with envy, with the exception of Keane.

Such an artifact was priceless in large scale wars because it allowed its user to spy on the movements of their enemies in real time.

However, there was a drawback. The map's fuel was High-Grade Beast Cores.

A Deimos Beast Core would allow it to remain active for an hour.

An Argonaut-Ranked Beast Core allowed it to function for four hours.

And an Empyrean-Ranked Beast Core would allow it to work for half a day.

It was truly a core-consuming artifact, but its effect was second to none. Fortunately, Sherlock had already charged it with an Empyrean-Ranked Beast Core before giving it to Lux, allowing him to use it for half a day.

Everyone looked at the over twenty green lights that represented their allies on the map. Lux and his comrades thought that as soon as the red lights discovered that there were defenders guarding the path, they would immediately retreat.

However, they were wrong.

Once the two forces engaged each other, the green lights representing their allies disappeared from the map one by one, until none were left.

"All of them are elites," Keane muttered as the red dots continued their advance deeper into their side of the forest.

"One of my skeletons is there," Lux immediately sat cross legged in Lotus Position in preparation to connect with his Skeleton Fighter that was currently on standby nearby the route that their enemies were taking. "Give me a moment."

—----

'Commanding an elite unit surely is truly different from commanding deadweights,' Malcolm mused as he ran in front of the formation. 'Those defenders didn't even know what hit them.'

The forces of the Yelan Kingdom that they had taken down were all Grade B Apostles, which were led by a Grade A Apostle.

For Malcolm and his allies, who were at the peak of Grade A Apostles, dispatching their enemies was not anything difficult. They were only a step away from the Initiate Rank, and all of them were battle-hardened individuals.

They were personally handpicked by the Kingdoms and the Vahan Empire, both of which belonged to the Skystead Alliance. Naturally, they sent only the best in order to ensure that the success of their mission was guaranteed.

As they were passing through the trees, they saw a dismembered skeleton along the way, but they paid it no mind. They thought that it was just part of the setting of the dungeon, so they didn't stop their advance and continued at a steady pace.

Meanwhile, back at the Yelan Main Camp…

"Impossible!" Lux gasped after breaking his connection with his Skeleton Soldier. "Why are they here?!"

"Who's here?" Cai asked before throwing the last piece of beef jerky inside its mouth.

"Malcolm."

"Malcolm who?"

Keane, who was standing beside the Boar, jabbed his elbow into the side of Cai's body, making the latter squeal in pain.

"Little Swordy, you bastard!" Cai glared at the skinny swordsman. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Shut up, Idiot!" Keane glared back. "You don't even know the name of the leader of the representative of the Skystead Alliance?"

"Leader? Are you talking about that annoying blondie who challenged My Daddy earlier?"

"Yes. That's him."

It took Cai roughly half a minute in order to connect the dots before its eyes widened in shock.

"F*ck!" Cai cursed loudly. "I-Isn't that bad? Aren't they supposed to be in the Gate of Conquest? What are they doing here?!"

Einar, Vall, and Xander, all had grim expressions on their faces. As much as they wanted to say that Malcolm's group was no big deal, the reality was different.

They were a BIG DEAL!

"Calm down," Lux said as he assessed their situation. "They still don't know of our existence. We have the element of surprise on our side. If we play our cards right, we can hit them where it hurts and stop their advance."

"Then what about your earlier plan?" Keane asked. "Are you going to abandon it?"

Lux shook his head. "I'm not going to abandon it. I'll just put it on hold until we repel Malcolm's forces. However, if we are going to do this, we can't let our identities be known by them."

"Um, why?" Cai asked. "Shouldn't we tell them who beat them up to a pulp?"

Lux glanced at the clueless Boar with a fed-up expression on his face.

"Do you really want the Skystead Alliance to know that you attacked their representatives while they were doing their mission?" Lux commented. "Don't forget. We just got our names removed from the Blacklist of their Kingdoms. Do you want to get blacklisted again?"

"I have an idea," Einar, who had been keeping his silence since earlier, voiced his opinion. "It will be best if we all wear masks, or anything that can cover our faces. Also, the Boar has to stay here. It is impossible to hide such an obnoxious creature, and although our fighting force will go down by a bit, it will be safer if we kept our identities anonymous."

Everyone nodded in agreement to Einar's plan with the exception of Cai, who felt as if it was being singled out of the group.

Still, Cai wasn't completely stupid and grumpily agreed to the plan to remain inside the camp. A few minutes later, they went to the Main Tent to tell Sherlock and Watson about the danger that was slowly making their way to the rear of their encampment.

Chapter 317 Let’s Catch Ourselves A Field Boss

Malcolm and his group, who were traversing the forest, suddenly came to a complete stop.

The reason for this was that the Oracle in their party, who had the gift of Clairvoyance, suddenly told them to stop their advance.

Oracle was a rare profession, similar to Lux's Necromancer, that branched out from the Cleric profession. They were blessed with great foresight, which allowed them to sense dangers that were personally targeted at them.

"They know we are coming, and they are currently setting up an ambush ahead," the Oracle warned. "They have over fifty Individuals, and six of them have the ability to threaten us. If we don't change our plan, we will definitely fall into their trap."

Malcolm and his comrades hesitated, wondering whether they should continue their assault or not. Although they were confident in their strength, fifty individuals with six of them able to threaten them was a risk they didn't want to take.

All of them were behind enemy lines, and if they weren't careful, they could be surrounded with no path of escape.

"What do you propose?" Malcolm asked. "Should we retreat?"

"Yes," the Oracle replied in a heartbeat. "We can only accomplish our mission if we have the element of surprise. Once that advantage is taken out of the picture, our group will have a hard time escaping if they manage to surround us completely."

Malcolm nodded his head in agreement. "Everyone, fall back. We will resume our mission at a later time."

Without another word, Malcolm's group retreated. They didn't have any intention of sacrificing any of their comrades in a battle if it was not favorable to them.

Lux, who was watching their enemies head back to their Main Camp, clicked his tongue in annoyance.

He had asked Sherlock to lend him some of his elite soldiers to help them ambush Malcolm and his group, but due to the current state of the battlefield, the Gnome only managed to gather over forty veterans to accompany them in their mission.

Unfortunately, for some unexpected reason, their enemies decided to turn back, leaving the ambush that Lux had prepared just for them useless.

In the end, Lux was forced to return the men back to the Main Camp and leave the Map Projector to Asmodeus.

Although it was quite inconvenient to rely on the eyes of his skeleton minions that had been spread over the different parts of the battlefield, the possibility of Malcolm's group returning was high.

This was why he didn't have a choice but to leave the Map Projector to Asmodeus and ordered the Archlich to activate the map once every ten minutes, and only use it for a minute every time to check the locations of their enemies on the map.

—-----

"This place is boring," an Ammarian Soldier wearing his white armor said. "I wish I was on the battlefield. I could have been killing hundreds of Yelan Soldiers out there, but I'm stuck here doing guard duty."

"Shut up," the soldier commented. "Can't you just focus on your mission? We still have a job to do, so no more whining!"

The soldiers manning their post resumed the observation of their surroundings. They were the sentries stationed on the outskirts of the battlefield, and their main role was to light a smoke signal to inform their General if there were enemies attacking their outpost.

From within the shadow of a tree, a Nighstalker emerged.

Ishtar carefully observed the camp in front of her and memorized the layout of their defenses. A minute later, she disappeared, turning into a black mist that flew in the direction of her Master.

Lux was currently hiding under the cover of several trees in order to prevent the sentries from seeing him.

"There are over fifty of them, and a surprise attack is not going to work," Ishtar reported. "Shall we proceed, Master?"

"Yes," Lux replied. "Since we can't take them by surprise, let us just take them head-on."

Lux summoned Pazuzu, and Orion as well as his Skeleton Grand Archers.

After sharing his connection with Asmodeus, the Half-Elf was aware of the current situation of the ongoing war.

He wanted to have the enemy think that a detached force was attacking them from the side, and send some of their manpower in his direction in order to divert some of their attention away from the main battlefield.

The Sentries on duty suddenly found themselves staring at what seemed to be a very chubby Knight who was flying in their direction.

Seeing that the Knight wore silver armor, they initially thought that it was someone from their side. However, once the lone knight came closer, they could instantly tell that he wasn't one of their allies.

"Madlad Rush!" Pazuzu roared as he flew towards the outpost like a cannonball, smashing the small watchtower with his shield.

"Enemy attack!" the Captain of the outpost shouted. "Light the signal pyre! Everyone, with me—ack!"

A dark blade, coated with deadly poison, pierced through the captain's throat before he could finish his command. Ishtar, who had been lying in wait to take down the leader of the soldiers, immediately went for the kill right after the man made his presence known, leaving his subordinates without a leader.

At that moment, the ground trembled as Orion broke through their encampment, thrashing everyone that stood in his way.

Lux didn't join the battle and simply commanded his troops from afar. He was currently wearing a black robe and a mask to hide his identity.

He didn't know if the Skystead Alliance knew about his abilities, which was his primary concern. However, since there was no turning back for him and his group, they really had no choice but to fight against Malcolm and his comrades if they wished to clear this mission.

Rains of arrows descended upon the soldiers as the Skeleton Grand Archers fired volley after volley. Ishtar, Orion, and Pazuzu, played their roles well and scattered the enemy's forces, making them flee like wild ducks that had heard a gunshot.

Lux and his forces didn't even bother to extinguish the flames that had started to burn brightly, creating smoke that acted as a signal, alerting the main army that their outposts were under attack.

When the Half-Elf became convinced that they had caused enough mayhem, he decided to teleport to the next location and bring down another outpost to cause confusion in the Ammarians' strategy.

An hour later, Lux had managed to destroy three outposts of different locations, tricking Moriarty into thinking that the Yelan Army had managed to slip through their defenses. Because of this, he ordered the main force to retreat, while he sent a detached force to scour the forest and marshlands that were within their line of defense.

—-----

In one of the outposts that Lux had destroyed…

"What is it?" Malcolm asked as one of his comrades examined the destroyed camp with a critical eye.

"Wait," a young man with sharp features replied. "I need to confirm something."

Picking up one of the arrows on the ground, he used his nose to sniff its tail feather. A moment later, he pointed towards the East side of the forest.

"The scent is coming from that direction," the young man said. "Follow me."

Malcolm nodded his head and the rest of the group followed the young man as he tried to understand what kind of enemies took down three of the outposts that were deep within their line of defense.

"Here, there are footprints," the young mah pointed to the ground. "Archers, all of them. Although faint, there are footprints that were headed in this direction. But this is where the trail ends. None of them moved past this point. Also, I smell the stench of the Undead…"

At the mention of the word Undead, a frown appeared in Malcolm's face.

"What do you think?" Malcolm glanced at the Oracle who had also crouched down on the ground, chanting something that was barely audible to the ears.

"What he said is true, I can sense traces of Necrotic Magic in the surroundings," the Oracle replied. "It is possible that we are fighting against a Lich, or a Necromancer, both of which could summon the Undead."

A moment of silence descended upon the group as they assessed the mysterious enemy that they didn't expect to encounter in their mission.

"What do you suggest that we do?" Malcolm asked the Oracle.

The Oracle smiled as Divine Energy surged in his hands. "What else? We just need to find it and kill it. Who knows? This might be a Wandering Field Boss that the dungeon has created for us. We faced something similar to this in the Assyrian Catacombs. Have you forgotten? That monster even dropped a Pseudo-Legendary Item that is now in my hands."

The Oracle summoned a golden staff with a crimson skull adorning its tip.

"I don't take this out casually because I am an Oracle," the Oracle replied. "It is not… something an Oracle can use in public, right?"

Malcolm smiled after seeing the golden staff in the Oracle's hands.

"Indeed." Malcolm smirked. "I guess we now need to hunt the wandering Field Boss. Who knows? It might just drop another Pseudo-Legendary Item if we kill it."

Malcolm's comrades chuckled after his declaration.

The Oracle smiled and chanted an incantation. A moment later, a purple beam of light escaped the crimson skull that adorned his golden staff and flew towards the East.

"He's there," the Oracle said after finishing his tracking incantation. "Let's catch ourselves a Field Boss."

Malcolm and the rest of his members no longer wasted their time and traversed Eastward through the forest.

All of them had greedy looks on their faces, as if the precious loot that the "Boss Monster" would drop was already in the bag.

Chapter 318 The Art Of War [Part 1]

Lux had completely destroyed another outpost within the defensive lines of the Ammar Kingdom.

This was the fifth outpost that he had destroyed, giving the defenders of the Yelan Kingdom a breather because their enemies retreated in order to deal with the hidden forces that had managed to infiltrate the territory they occupied.

Just as Lux was about to head to another outpost, a purple beam of light suddenly descended from the sky and hit his body.

At first, Lux thought that this was an offensive spell, so he immediately took a defensive stance, with Pazuzu, and Orion, shielding him from all sides.

However, nothing happened.

Lux immediately checked his Soul Book to better understand what just happened to him. After checking his status page, he read something that made him frown.

"Tracking Spell Active," read Lux aloud. "I'm… being tracked?"

Lux was well-aware that there were many kinds of tracking spells used to locate certain targets. Just like his Nightstalker, Ishtar, who had the ability called Hunter's Mark, there were other professions, which specialized in tracking targets, like Rangers, Hound Masters, and Druids.

After making sure that there was no harm done to his body, he immediately contacted Asmodeus and ordered him to check the Map Projector and see if any forces were headed in his direction.

'Master, over a dozen red dots are heading straight towards you from the West,' Asmodeus reported. 'Based on their movement speed, they will reach your location in about half an hour if you don't retreat now. I have reason to believe that this is the group led by Malcolm.'

The frown on Lux's face deepened as he summoned his mount, Jed, to take him back to the main camp of the Yelan Kingdom. He could have just simply teleported to where Asmodeus was, but he didn't do it for a simple reason.

He didn't want his enemies to know that he could teleport anywhere on the map.

'Monitor them for five more minutes,' Lux ordered. 'If they are still following me after five minutes, I will summon you to my location.'

'Understood, Master,' Asmodeus replied.

Since the tracker that was marked in Lux's body was spell-based, it would only work for a short period of time and within a specific range. Right now, he wanted to know just how far their tracking ability could reach, and how long the spell would last.

If Malcolm's group could repeatedly track his movements, then it would be hard for him to continue infiltrating the enemy's outposts as he was doing a while ago.

'Not even a day has passed and I am already a target,' Lux sighed in his heart as his mount, Jed, increased its speed, wanting to take his Master to safety as soon as possible. 'We need a change of plans.'

—-----

"He is moving," the Oracle reported. "He is retreating and seems to be heading to the Yelan Kingdom Camp."

Malcolm raised his hand signaling that they would stop their pursuit of their target.

"I guess our enemy is not stupid," Malcolm commented.

"What now?" the Oracle asked.

"What else?" Malcolm turned around. "Let's go back to the Main Camp and report our findings, maybe Moriarty can help us lay a trap for this wandering Field Boss."

—------

"How can we kill their commanding general, Moriarty, in six days?" Watson laughed. "You're such a joker, Lux. If we knew the answer to that, then we would have done it already! That person is protected by an elite team of soldiers. Why do you think our assassins failed to assassinate him?"

"His Elite Team is all composed of Initiates?" Lux answered.

"Exactly. It's almost impossible to kill him even with sneak attacks unless we also send an elite team to handle his guards."

"But aren't you and Sherlock also protected by Elite Soldiers? This is why their assassination attempts have failed as well, right?"

Watson smiled and nodded his head. "In this regard, the strength of our security personnel is equal. Why do you think we recruited mercenaries to help us fight? The stronger our allies, the stronger we become. I don't want to say this, Lux, but in the end, the outcome of this war might be decided by the quality and quantity of the mercenaries we hired in this war."

Watson's usually happy-go-lucky expression turned serious as he rested his hand on Lux's shoulders.

"We're counting on you and your comrades to break the stalemate," Watson replied. "If there is something we can do to help, as long as it is not excessive, we are willing to do what we can. As for troops… since we are greatly at a disadvantage, the maximum number of soldiers I can assign to you is three hundred. Do you wish to become a Company Commander?"

—---

< Watson has deemed that it is necessary for you to increase the number of personnel under your command in order to accomplish your mission. Will you accept his offer? >

( Yes / No )

—--

"I accept," Lux replied in a heartbeat. "Can you make all of them Initiates?"

"Hahaha! Of course not." Watson laughed. "But, I assure you that all of them will be Grade B Apostles. I will even allow you to choose them personally."

"Can I choose them now?"

"Of course. Follow me."

"Also, General, there is something that I want to talk to you about," Lux said. "It's about our strategy tomorrow."

Watson smirked before using his thumb to point at Sherlock who was looking on the map of the table with a solemn gaze.

"I don't make the strategies," Watson stated because he already knew what Lux wanted to talk about. "I just execute them. If you want to talk about strategies, that is the person you should talk to. As long as Sherlock approves of it then I'm in."

—----

Ammar Kingdom Main Camp…

"Malcolm, I will assign you to be a Battalion Commander in charge of a thousand men," Moriarty stated. "I don't care what methods you use in order to achieve your goal. What I want is results. Can you make that happen?"

"I can," Malcolm replied and bowed his head politely. "Thank you for your trust."

Moriarty rested the side of his face over his closed fist as he eyed the young man with dark blue hair. He was quite satisfied with Malcolm's performance at the start of the war. Knowing that a Necromancer or a Lich was currently causing havoc on the left and right flanks of his army, he decided to take the initiative and create a task force that would get rid of it as soon as possible.

"Earlier, our opponents suddenly decided to be a turtle and focused on defending," Moriarty commented. "Although I am confident in the might of my army, I still find their strategy quite troublesome. If you were in my place, what would you have done?"

Malcolm didn't answer right away, and instead pondered about what was the best thing to do. His father was the Great General of the Vahan Empire and was responsible for leading his men to battle.

There had been more than one occasion when he had taken Malcolm to war to serve as his aide, so that his son would learn all about military tactics at an early age. Because of this, the young man learned a thing or two about tactics, and a few ways for how to bring down a fortress and the people that manned it, who only specialized in defending.

"I have an idea, but I don't know if the General is willing to accept it," Malcolm replied.

"Well, the most I can do is hear you out first," Moriarty replied. "If it's decent, I will consider it."

"General, what I want the army to do tomorrow is…"

Moriarty listened to Malcolm's explanation with a calm gaze. However, after hearing the entirety of the strategy, even the Great General of the Ammar Kingdom found it to be an ingenious move.

"Good." Moriarty grinned. "If this strategy of yours worked, then I will reward you handsomely."

That night, both camps made their own moves under the cover of darkness in order to gain the upper hand in the battle that would happen the next day. Both sides wanted to gain the upper hand against the other, and tilt the battle in their favor.

Just as Watson had said earlier, the outcome of the war could tilt based on the performance of each mercenary group that the two Kingdoms had hired.

The Yelan Kingdom had Lux and his comrades.

The Ammar Kingdom had Malcolm and the Elites of the Skystead Alliance.

These two teams, alongside their newly acquired troops, would determine whose side was going to win before the duration of the quest was over.

Chapter 319 The Art Of War [Part 2]

The next day, just before sunrise, the war drums of the Ammar Kingdom reverberated across the battlefield.

Tens of thousands of troops steadily advanced towards the Mountain Fortress of the Yelan Kingdom with the intention of breaking their defenses apart.

"Archers, aim!" Watson ordered.

Tens of thousands of archers all nocked an arrow on their bows and aimed upwards. Their enemies were still outside of their firing range, so they all held their arrows steady and didn't shoot any of their arrows.

'This is bad. The wind is blowing towards us,' Watson frowned. 'This will reduce the effectiveness of our ranged attacks. I need to wait until they are close enough to order the attack.'

But, to Watson's dismay, the army of the Ammar Kingdom stopped just before they entered the range of his archers. It was as if they knew exactly where the safe spot was, and stopped before their formation could suffer a rain of arrows that would have taken countless lives.

"Prepare to start the operation," Moriarty ordered from his raised platform. "Mages, wait for my signal!"

Immediately, the soldiers that were at the front of their formation parted, and several people wearing white robes with magical staffs and wands in their hands stepped forward.

The soldiers once again parted as several large wooden wagons were carried to the very front of the formation. When all of them had been positioned properly, Moriarty gave an order that took the Yelan Kingdom by surprise.

"Light them all!" Moriarty ordered. "Mages, you already know what to do!"

As soon as the soldiers threw their torches inside the wooden wagons, the grass, as well as wooden branches in them started to burn.

The Mages then chanted and used their wind magic to blow the smoke towards the mountain where the Yelan Kingdom's first line of defense was stationed.

Immediately, the entirety of the army of the Ammar Kingdom disappeared from view due to the thick smoke that was flying in the direction of the mountain.

Lux, who had watched many documentaries in his past life, remembered something after seeing the smoke that was being sent in their direction.

His face immediately paled after thinking of that possibility.

"Sir Watson! Order everyone in the front lines to retreat!" Lux shouted. "That smoke might be poisonous! Tell everyone not to breathe in too much as they run away!"

Watson was startled because he never thought that their enemies would use this kind of strategy in order to force them out from their advantageous position

He immediately relayed Lux's orders to the rest of his army, while sending a few of his Elite Soldiers to take Sherlock away.

Unfortunately, the orders weren't relayed fast enough, and the thick smoke reached the location of the first line of defenders.

Half a minute later, screams spread in the surroundings as the soldiers on the front lines writhed in pain after being immersed in the thick smoke for half a minute. Their eyes, and skin started to itch at first then the burning sensation followed.

It was already too late when they realized that they could no longer escape the thick smoke due to zero visibility. Their condition worsened overtime, and soon, some of them became blind completely.

Others started to cough and wheeze heavily due to the irritation that was caused by inhaling the smoke through their noses.

Some of the Mages, who specialized in using Wind Element started to summon gusts of wind to blow the smoke back, which let them succeed in saving the lives of their comrades. However, some locations weren't lucky, and many people died because they weren't able to escape fast enough.

"Excellent," Moriarty commented as he watched the entire mountain slowly being covered by smoke. "Killing thousands without sacrificing any of our men. This is indeed a good plan. You did well, Malcolm."

"This is but a simple trick, General," Malcolm replied. "It is not worthy of such praise."

"Don't belittle your efforts, Malcolm," Moriarty crossed his arms over his chest as he listened to the screams that were coming from the mountain. "Because of you, none of my soldiers have died. This is a complete victory on our side."

Malcolm smiled and didn't comment any further. He wanted to say that this strategy was quite common during the wars between the Vahan Empire and its enemies. His father made sure that he understood how these methods were used in the past wars, and the ways to increase their effectiveness during critical moments.

An hour later, the fires in the wagons stopped burning, and only wisps of smoke emerged from it. The mages used water magic to completely drench the remains of the wagons to ensure that none of their own troops would be subjected to the same horrors that their enemies had encountered.

"Let's wait for two more hours before climbing the mountains," Malcolm proposed after using a telescope to check the mountain. "By then, most of the smoke will have already dispersed, and we can take over the enemy camp that is bereft of defenders."

Just as he expected, the only thing he saw were countless dead bodies that littered the entirety of the mountain.

Two hours later, Moriarty commanded his army to traverse the mountain. Without the defenders stopping their advance, their climb was smooth and unhindered.

Some of the soldiers of the Ammar Kingdom even spat on the dead bodies that they discovered along the way, while others started to loot their possessions.

Moriarty and Malcolm turned a blind eye to these barbaric acts because this was the privilege of the victors.

As they went higher up the mountain, they were astounded to see just how much death their smokescreen had caused to the Yellan Kingdom.

"With this, we have struck a decisive blow to their army's morale," Moriarty said with a very pleased look on his face. "I think we managed to take down a quarter, or even a third of their army. It is only a matter of time before they surrender."

—---

Meanwhile, at the base of the mountain, located at the rear of the Ammarian Army.

Lux teleported to one of his skeletons that had buried itself among the piles of the dead soldiers.

A moment later, the Half-Elf summoned his Archlich beside him, who stood straight and looked at the one-sided genocide that transpired not too long ago.

"This is quite an unfortunate turn of events for the Yelan Kingdom," Asmodeus replied. "But it also created an opportunity for us, Master."

"Indeed," Lux commented as he stood beside his Archlich. "I believe that the one who thought of this strategy is Malcolm. He even succeeded without even breaking a sweat."

"Yes," Asmodeus smiled. "He is an interesting specimen. Unfortunately, I will not get a chance to dissect him. At least… not yet."

Lux smiled wryly at his Archlich's comment.

"Let's start, Asmodeus," Lux stated as he raised his hand to channel his Necrotic Powers. "Let's use the gift that Malcolm had given us to the fullest."

"Humans have a way of fighting against Humans, and us Necromancers have our own way of fighting against the living." Asmodeus chuckled as he raised both of his hands high up in the air. "In Death, we find opportunities. I think it's about time they understand that it is not only them who can use schemes to perform a one-sided massacre."

The Archlich grinned as he channeled the necrotic energy in his hands.

"I'm ready when you are, Master," Asmodeus said after he finished his preparations.

"Understood." Lux sneered. "It's time to give them a taste of their own medicine. Happy Deathday to all of you!"

""Corpse Explosion [EX]!""

The entire mountain trembled as the corpses exploded one after the other, creating a chain reaction that detonated right under the Ammarian Soldiers' noses.

Shouts of pain, surprise, anger, and disbelief spread throughout the surroundings as another one-sided massacre took place.

Malcolm and Moriarty, who were at the center of the formation, no longer looked smug after everything around them started to blow up, sending bone shrapnel, blood, and pieces of flesh flying in every direction.

Those who were already dead killed the living, and those who died because of them killed more people. This unstoppable cycle was similar to a burning match that was dropped into a chest of fireworks.

A single spark was all it needed in order to set off an explosion that rocked the entire mountain, making Malcolm and Moriarty's faces pale from fright.

Chapter 320 The Art Of War [Part 3]

< Corpse Explosion [EX] >

– Detonate a corpse, or corpses, dealing AOE damage to everyone within a forty-meter radius.

– Deals 2,000 Necrotic Damage to enemies within range per corpse.

– You will have the option to detonate any corpses within a thirty-meter radius of the first body that you detonate, forming a chain effect of explosions, dealing greater damage.

– If you detonate a corpse within a 20 second interval of each other, the damage will increase by 50% per corpse. This effect stacks, and the maximum damage that could be dealt by the corpse explosion skill is 2,000%. Damage dealt can't go any higher than this for single corpse explosions.

– If you detonate 10 corpses at the same time, damage will increase by 500%

– If you detonate 20 corpses at the same time, damage will increase by 1,000%

– If you detonate 50 corpses at the same time, damage will increase by 2,000%

– If you detonate 100 corpses at the same time, damage will increase by 3,000%

– If you detonate 200 corpses at the same time, damage will increase by 4,000%

– If you detonate 500 corpses at the same time, damage will increase by 5,000%

The maximum damage dealt by Chain Corpse Explosion [EX] can't go higher than 5,000% stacked damage increase.

Note: If you use this skill in the battlefield, the chances of wiping out entire armies is high. The only problem is that this ability doesn't recognize friend from foe. Make sure that your allies have retreated a good distance away to prevent them from getting wiped out by this skill as well!

—-----

This was the skill Lux and Asmodeus unleashed at the same time, creating a devastation that even they didn't expect.

Lux knew that using Animate Undead to revive the dead soldiers of the Yelan Empire would be futile.

The Ammarian Army had sent around four hundred thousand of their soldiers to scale up the abandoned Yelan Encampment, leaving only two hundred thousand of their men to guard their main camp.

Over a hundred thousand Yelan Soldiers had died in the Poisonous Smoke Warfare that Malcolm had used.

But this was a tragedy that no one could have predicted beforehand, forcing Watson to order a hasty retreat, leaving their encampment behind along with their supplies.

Before leaving earlier, Asmodeus told Half-Elf to send his skeleton fighters to descend down the mountain while the smoke was still active. Although Lux didn't know what the Archlich was planning at that time, he still decided to do what his Named Creature asked of him.

Now that the enemies were making their escape, the Archlich finally told the Half-Elf about his plan, which made Lux feel as if a pale of cold water was spilled on top of his head.

It was such a nefarious plan, no less than what Malcolm had done. Just like Asmodeus had mentioned earlier, Humans had a way to fight against Humans, and Necromancers had their own way of fighting against the living.

The entire mountain shook as if it was being bombarded by cannonballs from a distance. Clouds of red mist, carrying the scent of blood, erupted over the entire mountain, drenching it in crimson color.

Lux had detonated the corpses at the rear of the army, while Asmodeus detonated the ones in the front. These simultaneous explosions created a chain reaction that sandwiched the Ammarian Army, leaving them nowhere to escape.

The Chain Corpse Explosions was truly horrifying, making Lux understand that this wasn't something that can be used lightly. If he used this ability when two warring kingdoms were duking it out with each other in close combat, the consequences would be an all out genocide of friend and foe alike.

"Diablo, Ishtar, Pazuzu, Orion, Charge!" Lux ordered and his named creatures began to scale up the base of the mountain.

Diablo's entire body glowed crimson red, due to the overpowering boost that he was getting from Bloody Fervor.

This skill was one meant for war, and whoever had it would gain an incredible advantage on the battlefield the longer it was. Now that the number of the dead had climbed up to more than two hundred thousand, the Death Knight's damage had reached a staggering one million.

Although this was not enough to one-shot Pseudo-Deimos Ranked Monsters, anything below that Rank would be easily annihilated!

"You guys join as well!" Lux summoned all of his skeleton minions, including his golems, in order to scale up the mountain. "Find the enemy's general! Once you see him, notify me at once!"

Asmodeus chuckled as he, too, summoned his Undying Army.

"This has gotten quite exciting, hasn't it, Master?" Asmodeus commented as he continued to use Corpse Explosion to trap the Ammarian Soldiers, who had nowhere to go.

"Indeed!" Lux agreed. "We just need to find the enemy's general and end this once and for all!"

While Lux and Asmodeus were busy detonating corpse after corpse and sending their minions to look for General Moriarty, Malcolm and his comrades were trying to look for a safe place to hide.

Explosions surrounded them, and the screams of the dying reverberated in the surroundings.

Moriarty, who was being protected by his Elite Soldiers, was also looking for an escape route, but Lux and Asmodeus' strategy to encircle them with detonating corpses, ensured that there was no place for them to run into.

"General, we need to get out of here and fast!" Malcolm, who was nearing the end of his rope, yelled as he approached the Ammarian General, hoping the latter could think of a solution to their problems.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Malcolm," Moriarty replied. "But that is easier said than done, however, we are not out of options just yet. All mages, aim your spells at the ground in front of us and create a big, and deep enough hole for us to hide in."

Malcolm and his comrades, who hadn't even thought about that solution, immediately sprang into action and bombarded the ground in front of them, creating an ever expanding hole, which was their last resort.

—---

Entrance of the Domain of the Fallen…

"Malcolm is still too green," one of the high-ranking officials of the Skystead Alliance commented as they watched the war that was happening in real time.

"Indeed." a commander nodded his head in agreement. "Still, if it weren't for that Lich or Necromancer, this battle should have been won already. Him using smoke tactics was brilliant."

"Well, I can't refute that. Perhaps this war would allow him to grow to new heights. Are we perhaps witnessing the birth of yet another great general?"

"The youngins really carry the hope of our nation."

The members of the Xynnar War Pact and representatives of the Six Kingdoms from Solais all had solemn expressions on their faces as they snuck glances at the projection on the wall by their rivals.

They were also surprised when Malcolm had used such a strategy to thin out the forces of the Yelan Kingdom, which made them feel that he was a threat that must be disposed of while he was still young.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to do that anytime soon because, if any of the representatives of the Skystead Alliance died after during this joint exercise, an all-out-war would start, which was something that their side wasn't too keen to see happen.

Among the representatives of the Six Kingdoms was a High-Ranker that belonged to the Rowan Tribe.

He was none other than Xander's father, Hector, and he had come to ensure that his son would return home safely.

While he observed the Corpse Explosions that caused the entire mountain shake, the image of the Half-Elf with red hair suddenly appeared inside his mind.

He knew that it was impossible for Lux to be there, but for some reason, he couldn't remove this idea from his mind.

'I'm just overthinking things,' Hector thought. 'That boy, Lux, couldn't possibly be in the same Instance Dungeon as Malcolm, right?'

The reason why no one thought of this possibility was because Instance Dungeons, as the name suggested, were created on a different plane. Meaning, even if people were to enter the same Dungeon, they would not see each other because they would be brought to different "replicas" of the dungeon.

However, the Sacred Dungeon was different. It followed its own rules, and right now, it had made it possible for Lux's party and Malcolm's party to face each other in a war that was getting more intense with each passing minute.