Ch. 451: Chapter 451-460

Chapter 451 The Penalty For Breaking A Contract [Part 1]

When Lux opened his eyes, he found himself inside a tent with Diablo, Ishtar, and Asmodeus standing beside him.

After acknowledging his Named Creature's greetings, the Half-Elf shifted his gaze to three other people inside the room, who were wearing military uniforms.

Judging from their looks, Lux assumed that one of the two older Military Officers was the one calling the shots in the defense against General Phobus' offensive in the Marshlands.

Aside from them, there was also a young man, whom Lux believed to be in his late teens, and serving as one of the assistants of the older military officers in front of him.

'Two Rankers and one Initiate,' Lux thought. 'It seems that the distribution of power between the high-ranking combatants of both sides are almost equal.'

While the Half-Elf was observing the three people in front of him, the three people were also appraising him.

It was Diablo who broke the silence and introduced the three Military Officers to his Master.

"Master, let me introduce to you General Fahad Durnham," Diablo said as he made a gesture to introduce the middle-aged man with blonde hair and blue eyes who stood in the middle of the three people standing in front of him. "He is the highest commanding officer in this camp, and is the one responsible for keeping the Ammarian Army at bay."

Lux smiled before giving the General a brief nod in greeting.

"I am awed by your tactics on the battlefield, General Durnham," Lux stated. "Because of you, the soldiers in the Ammarian Camp are always feeling anxious, fearing that their commanding officer, General Phobus, might order them to hang themselves due to his frustration for the successive losses he's had over the past few days."

The corner of General Fahad's lips rose ever slightly after hearing that his opponent was having a bad time as of late.

"Likewise, Sir Lux. I am also awed by the accomplishment you made for the defense of our Kingdom many months ago," General Fahad said. "Great General Watson and Great General Sherlock had nothing but praise for you. Because of this, I was quite interested in meeting you face to face and, after seeing you in the flesh, I find that you are younger than I expected. Please, just call me Fahad, or General Fahad."

The young man beside General Fahad was surprised after hearing his words. He didn't expect one of the most fearsome Generals of the Yelan Kingdom to treat the Half-Elf in a courteous manner, making him feel a little jealous.

Because of this, he stared at Lux as if he was seeing his Rival for the first time, which the Half-Elf completely missed because his attention was focused on the General in front of him.

"The circumstances back then were quite dire, General Fahad," Lux replied. "I only managed to turn the tide by sacrificing the bodies of those who have died in battle, leaving nothing behind to give them even a proper burial."

The corpses that were detonated using his skill, Corpse Explosion [EX], would explode similar to a grenade, dealing Necrotic Damage, as well as sending their body parts flying like shrapnel, injuring and potentially killing those around them.

"I'm sure that our brave men and women who died back then would have been more than happy to have their bodies used for a greater cause," General Fahad stated. "The soldiers of the Yelan Kingdom are prepared to die in battle, so do not think that their sacrifices were in vain. In fact, what you had done saved countless lives. Meeting you here today is truly a great honor."

Lux was quite impressed by how eloquent General Fahad was. The middle-aged man was a true example of those that were expert in the way of the blade, as well as in the way of words, using both of them to their advantage on the battlefield.

"As much as I'd like to have a proper chat with you General, I can't stay for long," Lux said. "I only snuck out of the Ammarian Camp and if they realize that I am gone, they might find trouble for me later on."

General Fahad nodded in understanding.

"Before we start our talk, I want to introduce my right-hand man, Sir Benjamin Olsen," General Fahad said as he patted the shoulder of the man standing on his right.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sir, Olsen."

"Benjamin is fine. We're all friends here."

Lux and Benjamin exchanged courteous greetings before General Fahad rested his hand on the shoulder of the teenager boy by his side, who had features similar to him.

The only difference was the color of the young man's eyes which were green, instead of blue.

"This is my second son, Leo." General Fahad smiled. "He's here serving as my aide in addition to getting some field training."

Leo took a step forward and reached out his right hand towards Lux for a handshake.

Naturally, the Half-Elf accepted the gesture and shook the young man's hand twice before letting go.

'How childish,' Lux mused as he felt the slight pain in his hand after being squeezed by the Initiate in front of him.

Clearly, Leo's strength stat was higher than his, allowing the latter to have more gripping power.

Leo's mood became a bit better as he looked at the Half-Elf with a smug look on his face.

For a brief moment, Lux was tempted to summon his Jade Golem, Orion, and have the latter smack the blonde-boy silly for trying to crush his hand.

However, this thought lasted for only a brief moment because something else happened.

Eiko, who saw what Leo did to her Papa, glared at the blondie with annoyance before summoning a blast mine.

If not for the fact that Diablo had reacted quickly and snatched the bomb from Eiko's hand, things might have escalated quickly, and a misunderstanding might have occurred.

"Eiko, calm down," Lux said through telepathy as he tried to pacify the baby Slime who summoned another blast mine that she was planning to throw at Leo. "I'm not hurt, okay?"

"Mumumumu!" Eiko replied through telepathy, which showed how annoyed she was after seeing someone hurt her Papa.

In the end, Lux was able to pacify the baby Slime, but Eiko continued to glare at Leo, which the latter ignored completely.

General Fahad gave an awkward chuckle as he tried to salvage the situation. He saw what his son did to Lux, but it was too late for him to stop it.

Also, seeing how Lux reacted, he understood that the Half-Elf didn't want to make a big deal of it, so he decided to set this matter aside for the time being and chastise his son after his meeting with their guest had ended.

"Let's get down to business, Sir Lux," General Fahad said as he took out a box from his storage ring.

He then placed it on top of the table and opened it.

Inside the box was a purple gem, which was the size of an adult fist.

General Fahad chanted in a language that Lux wasn't familiar with and the purple gem glowed faintly.

A moment later, a projection appeared in front of the Half-Elf, showing two familiar faces, who looked at him with amused expressions on their faces.

"Long time no see, Lux," Watson said with a smile. "We've read your letter and found it quite interesting."

"Indeed," Sherlock commented from the side. "So, have you decided to kill the two of us in return for fame and glory? If so, you're selling your services dirt cheap, my boy."

Sherlock smirked at the Half-Elf who also had a smile on his face.

Lux's mission was to kill Watson and Sherlock.

Depending on the outcome of their negotiation, he might have to fight against his two acquaintances in order to clear his mission.

 

Chapter 452 The Penalty For Breaking A Contract [Part 2]

Lux looked at his mission objectives in his Soul Book before glancing back at the two people that were currently looking at him with a challenging glance.

Clearly, Watson and Sherlock found this whole situation quite amusing, so they decided to have a talk with Lux to know what he wanted to talk about.

When they received the letter that was sent by General Fahad through a Fast Rider, the two Great Generals almost didn't believe their eyes.

The same person who allowed them to win the previous war had now established a Mercenary Group and joined the Ammarian Kingdom's side.

The two Great Generals decided to treat this matter seriously, so they sent their own Fast Rider, carrying a letter and the wooden box, back to General Fahad with their reply to Lux's letter.

After reading the two Great General's coded messages, General Fahad went to look for Diablo, who had become their temporary guests in the camp, and told him that the two Great Generals wished to have a chat with his Master, Lux.

"I sent the details of the contract, as well as the rewards that they have promised me," Lux said as he looked at his two acquaintances with a calm expression. "What I want to know is how you both feel about me fighting against the two of you. Right now, we stand on different sides. Although I consider both of you as friends, business is business, and there is nothing I can do about it."

"Ohh? Business is it?" Sherlock arched an eyebrow.

The Gnome looked at Lux with half-lidded eyes, as if trying to discern the Half-Elf's true intention.

Watson, on the other hand, only shrugged and waited for Sherlock's decision. Between the two of them, Watson—who was a two-meter-tall human—served as the brawns, while the Gnome was the brains.

Together, they had managed to defend against the Ammarian Kingdom's invasion and launch a counterattack, allowing them to conquer some of the Ammarian Kingdom's lands.

They were not afraid to face anyone, but knowing that Lux was on the opposite side of the field didn't sit well with them.

The fact that he could use the skill, Corpse Explosion, was enough to make the Two Great Generals feel a little wary in their hearts.

Silence descended inside the tent as both sides waited for Sherlock to make a decision.

Lux checked his quest to see if there were any changes in it, but to his dismay, it remained the same.

—---------

< War of the Lions >

Mission Rating: S

< Mission Objectives >

– Kill the Two Yelan Army Great Generals, Watson, and Sherlock.

– Destroy the Yelan Main Headquarters and capture their flag

< Rewards >

– Each member will receive 150,000 Gold Coins

– Each member will receive one random Mythical Equipment

< Bonus Rewards >

– Bonus rewards can be obtained depending on your performance on the battlefield. Great rewards await those who managed to excel in this military campaign.

—---------

Ten minutes later, Sherlock sighed before closing his eyes.

Suddenly, his shoulders started to shake which lasted for a few seconds before he roared in laughter.

"I see. So this is what you're after, Little Lux," Sherlock said after he finished laughing. "Business, is it? Very well. Let's conduct business. Let's see… according to your contract, you and each member of your mercenary group will receive 150,000 Gold Coins as well as Mythical Equipment… What do you think of this, Watson?"

"Utter garbage," Watson replied in a heartbeat. "Our heads are only worth 150,000 Gold Coins and a measly Mythical Weapon? It seems that either the Ammarian Kingdom's war funds are so pitifully low at the moment, or their Great General, Rafael, is treating Lux and his Mercenary Group like ordinary swords for hire."

Sherlock nodded his head in agreement.

"Tell you what, Lux, how about the two of us make a deal?" Sherlock said. "For every General you and your Mercenary Group kill, I will give you 1 Million Gold Coins and one Pseudo-Legendary Equipment of your choice.

"If you manage to kill Great General Rafael, I will give your Mercenary Group an Additional 1 Million Gold Each, and two Pseudo-Legendary Equipment of your choice. How does that sound?"

Before Lux could answer, he heard a notification sound inside his head, and rows of text appeared in front of him.

—--------

< Ding! >

< Sherlock had given you an offer to change your allegiance in the War of Lions >

< Will you accept his conditions? >

< Yes / No >

< Important Notice! >

– Once you have chosen to accept this Quest, the Ammarian Kingdom will immediately become hostile with your Mercenary Group.

– If you accept this Quest, you will no longer have the chance to switch sides between the two Kingdoms.

– The Ammarian Kingdom will always be hostile to you, and treat you and your group as Public Enemy Number One.

– You will also receive a Penalty for breaking the contract.

< Penalty >

– You and your Mercenary Group will lose 2,000 Stat Points immediately, which will be evenly taken out of your current stats.

– You and your Mercenary Group will each lose 1,000,000 Gold Coins for breaking your contract.

—--------

'Sh*t…' Lux cursed internally after seeing the information in front of him.

Originally, he thought that Sherlock's offer was simply too good to be true.

And he was right. His joy immediately disappeared after seeing the penalty that would come if they broke their contract with the Ammarian Kingdom.

Right now, Lux was in a dilemma. For him, he didn't mind losing a million gold coins, because he had the Draconium Ore.

However, a million gold coins was simply too big of an amount for ordinary teenagers like them. Cai and Keane certainly didn't have this amount of money.

Einar, Val, Xander, Henrietta, and Enlil (the Elven Prince), might be able to shoulder this amount, but, even then, they would be very irritated about it.

Lux knew that he could pacify them by giving them one or two Draconium Crystal, which they could auction for money.

The problem was the Xynnar War Pact, Skystead Alliance, the Six Kingdom Faction, and the Storm Dragons.

Lux didn't believe that they all had the money to pay for the penalty. But, that wasn't his biggest concern.

It was the stats.

2,000 Free Stat Points was a very big deal.

After hunting all of those Monsters for their quest, Big Game Hunters, Lux had finally been able to increase his stats and break through to the Initiate Rank.

If he accepted this quest, his Rank would drop back to Grade A Apostle, making his earlier progress disappear.

Of course, his skills that he gained after upgrading his profession to Lord of the Dead would remain. However, the loss of stats would definitely be very painful, not only for him, but for his guild members as well.

Watson and Sherlock noticed that Lux's face had suddenly become pale and they thought that their offer wasn't big enough.

However, they had no intention of raising the rewards they had just offered because they also had a budget in their military spending.

The only reason they offered such high rewards was due to Lux's previous performance against the Ammarian Kingdom.

"I can't give you an answer right now because I need to talk to my members first." Lux decided to put the quest on hold until he had a proper talk with the others. "Tomorrow, the Ammarian Camp may not launch any attacks because their morale is quite low. I will use that opportunity to take your offer into consideration."

Sherlock nodded. "Very well. We will wait for your decision for two days. If you didn't give us a reply within that time frame, we will assume that you've decided to side with the Ammarian Kingdom. At that time, we really will be enemies."

Watson crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the Half-Elf with a steely gaze.

"Lux, I don't want to meet you on the battlefield because we have fought together," Watson stated. "But, I have to consider the lives of our people, so if you choose to stand against us, I will show you no mercy the next time we meet each other."

Lux sighed in his heart because this decision was simply too great for him to decide alone.

After saying his parting words to Watson, Sherlock, and General Fahad, the Half-Elf teleported back to his tent, where Lazarus was waiting for him.

The Great SKull Flame told his Master that some of the Guards under the Vice-General's command had peeked inside his tent a couple of times to see if he was there or not.

This information made the Half-Elf feel a little anxious because he now knew that the second highest commander of the Ammarian Camp had finally set his eyes on him.

 

 

Chapter 453 Unexpected Turn Of Events [Part 1]

The next day…

Lux asked to bring his entire Mercenary Group with him to look for "food supplies" and left the Ammarian Encampment after breakfast.

Once they were two miles away from the camp, the Half-Elf told everyone that he had something very important to tell them.

When everyone was properly seated and ready to listen to him, he told them about his attempt to contact the Yelan Encampment, which surprised everyone including Lux's circle of friends.

The red-headed teenager then told them that the two Great Generals of the Yelan Army gave him a very generous offer to switch their allegiance and jump to their side of the battlefield.

When Lux showed everyone the bounties and the rewards that they would get once they completed their mission, all of them were ecstatic.

Some of them never imagined that they would get a Pseudo-Legendary Weapon just by doing a quest, and it made them look at the Half-Elf as if he was an idiot for not accepting such a generous offer right away.

Lux knew that now was the time to tell them the bad news, and just as it did to him, the bad news wiped the smiles and excitement from everyone's faces.

—-----

< Penalty >

– You and your Mercenary Group will lose 2,000 Stat Points immediately, which will be evenly taken out of your current stats.

– You and your Mercenary Group will each lose 1,000,000 Gold Coins for breaking your contract.

—-----

"One million gold coins just for breaking the contract… this… isn't this too much?"

"I don't even have 100,000 gold coins. How can I possibly pay that penalty?"

"Hiss…. 2,000 stat points. This is so brutal."

Just as Lux expected, after seeing the penalty, everyone felt very conflicted about whether they should switch sides or not.

Nero, Malcolm, Henrietta, as well as the leader of the representatives of the Xynnar War Pact named, Jasper, felt that this was simply too much.

"I will not force you guys to switch sides because I understand that the penalty is simply too much," Lux said after several minutes had passed. "However, I've decided to switch sides to the Yelan Camp because I've fought with them once. Also, there is one more reason, aside from my personal bias, why I want to switch sides. They are very generous when it comes to rewards."

The members of the different factions couldn't refute Lux's words when it came to the rewards, their offer was truly too good to be true. If not for the penalty, they would have been begging him to accept the quest of switching allegiance at once.

"I'd like to switch sides, but the penalty is simply too much for me. I only have 150,000 Gold Coins in my storage," a member of Nero's Guild said with a pained expression. "I can't pay for the penalty."

Lux nodded in understanding before crossing his arms over his chest.

"You know, I've been thinking about this problem all night, and I have come to one solution," Lux stated. "I decided to make my Father, Alexander Von Kaizer, shoulder the gold penalty for the Storm Dragon's Guild, as well as my friends Henrietta, Cai, Keane, Einar, Val and Xander."

After hearing this news, the members of the Storm Dragon Guild looked at the Half-Elf as if he was an angel.

As for Cai and Keane, they couldn't stop the corner of their lips from twitching because they knew how filthy rich the Half-Elf was due to his hoard of Draconium Ore. And yet, he still used his own Step-Father to pay for the penalty for them.

—--------------

Barbatos Academy…

Alexander calmly set his teacup on top of the table as he looked at the projection in front of him.

If one were to look closely, they would be able to see that the corner of his lips was twitching a bit.

Iris, on the other hand, covered her lips as her whole body trembled. She was doing her best to not laugh out loud at how bold her fiance's action was.

Even Alicia, who was always on Lux's side, couldn't help but pinch the bride of her nose because of the Half-Elf's declaration

Pay the gold penalty of the Storm Dragon's Guild and Lux's friends?

That was twenty-one million gold coins!

Although Alexander could afford it, that didn't mean that he would simply take out that amount of money just because Lux said that he would shoulder it.

"S-Sir… you don't have to–," Alicia was about to say that the Headmaster of Barbatos Academy didn't need to agree to Lux's shameless declaration.

However, before she could finish her words, the Saint raised his right hand, and gestured for her to stop whatever she was going to say next.

"It's fine," Alexander replied. "I'll shoulder the penalty."

Alexander looked at the Half-Elf with a critical gaze.

Lux had never been willful in the past and never dared to ask him for anything. Since the Half-Elf decided to use him to pay the penalty, it meant that the latter was confident that he could pay him back for the money that he would lend him.

Iris looked at her father with a smile of satisfaction. Just like Alexander, Iris also knew that her fiance wouldn't do something so shameless unless he had something of equal value to exchange.

For now, they just continued to watch the projection and see how the discussion with the rest of the group would play out.

—--------------

"What about us?" Malcolm asked. "Can't you pay the penalty for us?"

"Don't worry, I also thought of a good way for you guys to bypass the gold penalty issue," Lux replied with a smile. "Actually, this is not really a problem. You'll just need to ask Emperor Andreas to pay for your share. Simple, right?"

"W-What did you say?!" Malcolm's face immediately became pale after hearing the Half-Elf's words. "A-Are you insane? That's Emperor Andreas. He's not some kind of generous merchant that will throw away five million gold coins for the likes of us!"

Lux nodded in agreement because he also believed that the Emperor of the Vahan Empire wasn't that generous.

However, the Emperor was ambitious.

Lux knew that what had happened in the Vahan Empire was something that Emperor Andreas had staged in order to make things difficult for him.

Although it was not the Emperor who had ordered the farce to take place in the Coliseum, he gave it his silent approval, making him guilty in Lux's books.

Because they cornered him to the point that he almost got seriously injured, Vera was forced to show up despite the fact that she was still recovering from her injury in order to save Lux. Because of this, she suffered from a backlash and had to rest for an indefinite period of time.

"Don't worry," Lux said. "If your Emperor is given the choice between failing this mission or getting a higher chance of success, then five million gold coins is nothing to him. My Father is going to toss twenty-one million gold coins for my sake, and your Emperor can't even take out a measly five million? Is he that much of a cheapskate?"

Malcolm and the other representatives of the Skystead Alliance looked at the Half-Elf as if he was suicidal. They were wearing artifacts that allowed the outside world to hear and see what they were hearing and seeing.

They were sure that at this very moment, everyone outside the Domain of the Fallen had heard the Half-Elf's words by now.

"The same can also be said for the Xynnar War Pact and the Six Kingdoms," Lux stated. "If they can't even shoulder one million gold coins then you guys can stay in the Ammarian Camp and declare that your Mercenary Leader decided to switch sides.

"Naturally, although you remain on their side, they might treat you as spies, and you will always be under suspicion for every wrong thing that happens in the camp. I'm sure that General Phobus will be more than happy to use you as target practice for his throwing knives."

Everytime quieted down after hearing the Half-Elf's words.

After the successive losses of the Ammarian Camp, General Phobus was like a ticking time bomb. No one wanted to be around him, and the only one that could stay by his side was the Vice-General, who had been sent by his family to aid him in the war.

Nero then cleared his throat to catch Lux's attention, and the latter glanced in his direction, telling the Guild Master of the Storm Dragon Clan that he had his attention.

"Now that the million gold coins are resolved, how do you plan to settle the 2,000 stat points decrease?" Nero asked. "Most of us stepped through the Initiate Rank after absorbing the Beast Cores we gained from the mission. Once we switch sides, we will lose those points and regress to being Apostles. How do you plan to deal with this problem?"

Everyone also perked their ears as they looked at the Half-Elf who still had a calm expression on his face.

"Actually, the answer to that is simple. All we need to do is…"

 

Chapter 454 Unexpected Turn Of Events [Part 2]

"Actually, the answer to that is simple. All we need to do is... do nothing."

If the members of the Storm Dragon Guild had been looking at Lux as if he was an Angel earlier, now they all looked at him as if he had gone crazy.

"What do you mean do nothing?" Nero asked. "That is 2,000 Stat Points. You can't just get those points just because you want to. Do you know how much effort it will take for every person here to regain the stat points that they will lose if we switch sides today?"

Everyone nodded their heads to support Nero's statement. Even if they started hunting Monsters, it would take a lot of effort to collect that many Beast Cores at once. Also, there was a possibility that not everyone would receive their fair share of Beast Cores before the main mission was over.

Even during Guild Dungeon Expeditions, they could only get one to three high-level Beast Cores at most. These Beast Cores would then be sent to the Guild Treasury and would only be awarded to Guild Members that had made great contributions to the guild.

This was why when they got the 2,000+ Free Stat Points due to the Beast Cores they gained from the Big Game Hunter Quest, all of them were ecstatic because those Beast Cores belonged entirely to them without needing to share them with others.

"Isn't it just 2,000 Stat Points?" Lux asked. "All of you should just ask your respective Factions to compensate you for the loss of your stat points. I'm sure that Sir Gerald will be more than happy to give all fifteen of you the Beast Cores that will allow you to regain the stats you lost today.

-----------

Outside of the Domain of the Fallen...

Gerald almost spat blood then and there after hearing Lux's shameless words.

Rainer, who was by his side, shook his head, while Natasha chuckled.

"I guess he is still holding a grudge about the Guild Creation Quest we imposed on him," Natasha said. "What do you think, Rainer?"

Rainer nodded. "He is definitely holding a grudge. I guess we should loosen our treasury a bit and compensate our juniors this time around. What do you say, Commander?"

"I say we grab that little brat when he gets back, hang him upside down in the plaza of Wildgarde Stronghold, and beat him up with a wooden stick!" Gerald wanted to curse the Half-Elf so badly, but due to the fact that they were surrounded by the various representatives of the various Kingdoms, he lowered his voice, so that only his two companions could hear it.

The Rankers of the Xynnar War Pack, Skystead Alliance, and Six Kingdoms all gave Gerald smiling glances, which made the Commander of Wildgarde Stronghold give all of them the middle finger in his heart.

'What are you bastards laughing at?' Gerald sneered. 'Just you bastards wait! If Lux has decided to make things difficult for me, he will certainly do the same thing to you guys as well!'

-----------

As if confirming Gerald's words, the Half-Elf then glanced at the rest of the group and gave them a devilish smile.

"The same can be said for everyone here. You can let your Elders, or your Kingdoms, compensate you by having them give you Beast Cores. All of them are Rankers, right? Can't they give you a few Rank 5 Beast Cores from Alpha, Field, and World Bosses to raise your stats again? I find it hard to believe that a Ranker can't even handle those small fries."

"You're insane!" one of the members of the Xynnar War Pact exclaimed. "We're not allowed to get special treatment from our Elders!"

"That's right!" A young lady from the Skystead Alliance glared at Lux. "Emperor Andreas will not compensate us with Beast Cores unless we succeed in this mission!"

Lux wagged his finger at the young lady from the Skystead Alliance and smirked.

"Then, did you come here to fail?" Lux inquired.

"O-Of course not!" the young lady replied. "We came here to clear the mission and return victorious!"

"Then what's the problem? All we need to do is complete our mission, then all of you will get your stats back. Everyone will be happy, right?"

"T-This..."

After thinking all night, Lux couldn't find a good way on how to compensate everyone for the massive loss of their stat points.

Even if they started hunting Monsters and shared the Beast Cores equally among them, it would still take a lot of effort in order to return everyone's stats.

He simply didn't have the time to do this, and it would just prolong their current mission. After realizing that he had hit a dead end, the Half-Elf decided to stop caring and toss the problem to other people!

That was the solution he came up with. Since he didn't want to deal with the problem, let others solve it instead.

--------------

Domain of the Fallen...

An awkward silence descended inside the Domain of the Fallen as all the Rankers, Ambassadors, and other representatives of the various Factions glanced at each other in dismay.

This silence was broken when one of the representatives of the Kingdoms muttered the words that everyone was thinking at that moment.

"Is this Half-Elf crazy?"

Gerald, who heard this, had a calm expression on his face, but deep inside he was gloating at everyone inside the Domain of the Fallen.

He was one of the people that raised the Half-Elf in Wildgarde Stronghold, and one of the things that he both loved and hated about Lux was the fact that, when he decided on something, he would become quite stubborn about it.

Since the Half-Elf decided to switch sides, he would definitely switch sides regardless of what others thought.

"The Skystead Alliance will compensate our representatives for their loss in this mission," Aron said.

He was the right-hand man of Emperor Andreas and had the authority to decide things on the spot. A few lowly Beast Cores didn't matter to him, and he would gladly use his own funds to cover the gold loss of their representatives as long as they had a higher chance of succeeding in their mission.

Because Aron had already made his declaration, the other Factions voiced their agreement as well.

However, deep in their hearts, they were cursing at the Half-Elf for doing something high-handed.

Naturally, the Half-Elf and the other teenagers inside the Sacred Dungeon weren't aware that all of their Superiors had grudgingly agreed to compensate them for their losses.

Since they were not aware, they were still feeling anxious as they contemplated whether to switch sides or not.

----------------

Lux looked at everyone in front of him with a determined expression.

He had already made up his mind to join the Yelan Camp, so even if the others didn't come with him, and decided to stay with the Ammarian Kingdom, he would just go alone and that was final.

"Make your decision now," Lux stated. "Those who want to join me in switching sides to the Yelan Camp, come to my side."

As soon as the Half-Elf said these words, Cai immediately walked towards Lux and stood by his side.

"I'm always on the winning side, so I'll go there," Cai commented.

Keane and Cai moved at the same time, but the Boar was first to stand beside the Half-Elf, making him the second.

He had complete trust in Lux's decision, so he didn't mind joining his side. As a member of the only Mythical Guild in the world, it was only normal for him to join his Guildmaster.

Xander was the third to go. Whatever side Cai joined, he would also join that side.

Einar was the fourth.

Val was the fifth.

And the last was none other than Henrietta.

Aside from the fact that she was ordered to remain by Lux's side, she also had a nagging feeling that joining the Half-Elf was the right decision to take, despite the fact that the losses she might gain from this mission would make her Rank deteriorate.

Seeing that no one else was planning to join them, the Half-Elf nodded.

"From now on, all of you are freed from the Ars Goetia Mercenary Group," Lux stated. "Whatever side wins this war, no hard feelings, okay?"

Just as Lux was about to leave, he heard a shout from an unexpected person.

"Wait!"

Malcolm clenched his fists tightly as he walked towards the Half-Elf.

"I am going with you," Malcolm stated which shocked his comrades from the Skystead Alliance.

"M-Malcolm are you sure about this?" the young lady who made an outburst earlier asked. "If you fail this mission, you might miss the chance to get promoted to a higher position in the Vahan Empire. Are you really willing to take that gamble?"

"Yes," Malcolm stated through gritted teeth.

The only reason why he was joining Lux's team was because the latter had managed to defeat him in their battle several months ago.

Malcolm originally thought that the Half-Elf had managed to win by sheer luck, but after hearing his explanation about switching their allegiance, he understood how bold a decision it was.

Although the chances of success were uncertain, he decided to take a gamble and join Lux. If he failed the mission, then he would just leave the Vahan Empire in order to not stain his father's reputation.

"Are you really sure about this?" Lux asked Malcolm who was looking at him with bloodshot eyes.

"No, but I already made a decision. All we need to do is to win, right?"

"Yes. All we need to do is win."

The Half-Elf smiled as he took a second glance at the fuming young man in front of him who was older than him by several years.

"Okay, so this is where we all part," Lux said as he looked at the people who decided to stay behind. "May the best side win."

Half-Elf turned around in order to walk in the direction of the Yelan Camp, but his step froze when he saw someone standing a few meters in front of him.

"You're right," the Vice-General of the Ammarian Camp, who everyone referred to as "Second", said as he looked at the Half-Elf and his group with a sinister smile. "May the best side win."

Before the Half-Elf could even react, the Vice-General's sword pierced his chest, killing him instantly.

The last thing Lux saw before his world descended into darkness was the Vice-General's sneering face, which made him realize that he had truly underestimated the man who was the true General that commanded the Ammarian Army in the Marshlands.

-----------

Iris, who was watching the projection through Henrietta's artifact, almost screamed out loud when Lux was killed in front of her.

However, it didn't end there.

The one next to die was Cai, followed by Keane.

Henrietta, Einar, Val, Xander, and Malcolm tried to defend themselves from the attacker, but they were simply no match against a Ranker.

They were like newly hatched birds that were strangled by an adult human's hand, ending their lives before they could even grow and spread their wings to fly.

 

 

Chapter 455 The Real Battle Starts Here!

When Lux opened his eyes, he found himself staring at the ceiling of a cavern.

A moment later, the face of a baby slime appeared in his vision, and the two looked at each other for a few seconds before a bitter smile appeared on the Half-Elf's face.

"We died, right?"

"Pa!"

After hearing Eiko's confirmation, the Half-Elf sighed before propping himself up in a seating position. This was the first time he died in a Dungeon, and frankly speaking, it wasn't a very nice experience.

Around him, Cai, Keane, Einar, Val, Xander, Henrietta, and Malcolm also started to stir.

"Are you alright, Fei Fei?" Cai asked the teary-eyed golden slime who immediately buried her face in Cai's neck, crying her heart out.

That was the first time Fae Fae witnessed her Master die, so she didn't know what to do. Fortunately, when Cai died, Fei Fei was also teleported out of the Dungeon because she was the Boar's Contracted Beast.

Cai coaxed the baby slime, and told her that it was going to be fine. The Boar then opened its Soul Book and half a minute later, it started to cry as well, making Fei Fei cry louder.

"My 2,000 Stat Points!" Cai wailed. "My one million gold coins! Gone! All gone!"

"Weeiiiiiiiiiii!" Fei Fei also wailed because Cai's raw emotions were affecting her as well.

Upon hearing Cai's words, everyone also opened their Soul Books and found out that they had also lost 2,000 Stat Points and a million gold coins.

The funny thing was that Keane's current gold coin count was in the negative. Meaning, every gold coin he would gain later would automatically disappear as payment for his debt.

Einar, Val, Xander, and Henrietta were also in the same boat. As for Malcolm, he was quite well off, so his gold didn't go in the negative. Even so, the loss of both stats and gold coins made him feel depressed.

After seeing that nothing else was lost after his death, the Half-Elf checked his quest log and saw that its information had now changed.

—----------

< Your Contract with the Ammarian Kingdom is now terminated. >

< From this moment onwards, you and the Ammarian Kingdom would be hostile to each other. >

< 2,000 Stat Points have been deducted from your current stats >

< 1,000,000 Gold Coins have been deducted from your inventory. >

< If you enter the Gate of Conquest again, you will immediately be teleported to the Yelan Army Main Headquarters. >

< If you wish to continue the mission, the "War of Lions", you will need to accept a new quest from the Great Generals of the Yelan Kingdom. >

—----------

'I see, so that was the penalty?' Lux thought as he connected the dots together. 'But I still hadn't accepted the quest to switch sides with the Yelan Army.'

Originally, Lux planned to only accept the quest when he had reached the Yelan Camp, so that he wouldn't be immediately hunted down by the Ammarian Kingdom.

He just didn't expect that the Second in Command of the Ammarian Camp in the Marshlands would appear while he was having a meeting with the members of his Mercenary Group.

After a few minutes had passed, everyone had managed to regain their calmness and think objectively. Just like Lux, they thought that this was the penalty of switching sides to the Yelan Camp, which made sense because the stats and gold coins they lost were exactly the same as the penalty for breaking the contract.

Malcolm confirmed his suspicions as well.

"The Sacred Dungeon is quite different from the other Dungeons we have visited in the past," Malcolm explained. "Usually, when we die in other Dungeons, we will receive a penalty similar to what we have experienced now. There was a time that my rank dropped down to the Apostle Grade after becoming an Initiate because I was killed by a boss during a Dungeon Raid.

"However, this Dungeon is different. Even if we die inside, we won't get a penalty. After discussing this with my Guild Members, we all agreed that this was this Domain's way of compensating those who risked their lives to journey towards the entrance of the Sacred Dungeon.

"Since the trip to reach this place is perilous, and the chance of dying is high, the one who made this Domain probably thought that it would be too unfair if the punishment for failing the Dungeon is too high also. After all, if we were to die on our trip to this place, it would be a permanent one, and there would be no second chances."

After hearing this explanation, Lux, and his friends, who hadn't died inside the Sacred Dungeon before nodded their heads in understanding.

Henrietta only smiled bitterly because she had died inside the dungeon more than once in their attempt to clear it.

After hearing this explanation, Lux gazed at the Gate of Conquest with a solemn expression on his face.

He could still remember the sneer on the Vice-General's face after the latter gave him the killing blow.

'Rankers are truly scary,' Lux mused as he subconsciously rubbed his chest, where the sword had pierced him earlier.

"What now?" Henrietta asked. "Are we going to leave the Dungeon?"

Malcolm bit his lip as he looked at the back of the Half-Elf who was still staring at the Gate of Conquest. He wanted to say that they should just go back, but the image of Emperor Andreas looking at him as if he was a failure made the words he was about to say stuck in his throat.

At that moment, the Half-Elf turned around and looked at Malcolm with a determined look on his face.

"We're going to challenge the Dungeon again," Lux said. "Of course, if you do not wish to go, I will not force anyone. So, who wants to go with me?"

"I will go!" Cai said with the "never say die" attitude. "That bastard. I won't be able to rest easy until I pierce my tusks into his gut!"

"Da Waeeeeee!" Fei Fei also shouted. Clearly, she also wanted to get revenge on the one that killed her Master.

"I'm going too," Keane said calmly, but his gaze carried a sharpness that could cut through steel.

"I won't be able to sleep soundly tonight if I back out now," Einar shrugged. "Besides, we only got the penalty we deserved for breaking the contract. The real battle starts here!"

Xander, Val, and Henrietta all nodded their heads in agreement. Right now, the only thing they wanted to do was to take revenge on the Vice General who killed them without mercy.

"I'm going as well," Malcolm declared as he stared at the Half-Elf with a glare. "You said that all we need to do is win, right? Do you feel the same way? Can we win?"

Lux nodded. "We can."

The Half-Elf then turned around as he walked towards the Gate of Conquest and pressed his right palm over it.

"Let's go back and kill that bastard," Lux stated.

A moment later, all the teenagers disappeared as they stepped into the Gate of Conquest once again with renewed determination and resolve to get their vengeance, not only to the Vice General, but to the entirety of the Ammarian Kingdom.

 

Chapter 456 I Accept This Mission

Outside of the Domain of the Fallen…

'That kid sure has guts,' Aron thought as he looked at Lux's back from Malcolm's artifact.

He was not the only one that had this thought as almost everyone, who had seen how Lux and his team were killed by the Vice General, looked at their group with solemn gazes.

When Lux died, everyone was shocked at first.

​ However, after the shock receded, all of them started gloating because they felt that the Half-Elf deserved to be knocked off his high horse for a change, to make him more humble.

Gerald, Rainer, and Natasha had the opposite opinion because they knew what kind of person Lux was.

He was someone who persistently tried to challenge the trial in order to gain the right to enter Elysium.

In the past, the Half-Elf would always be seen training alone in order to increase his stamina, endurance, as well as his willpower in order to pass the test every year despite his weak body.

Now that he had stepped on the same playing field with his peers, his growth had not only shocked them, but also made them wonder how Lux changed from a zero to a hero.

"Gerald, it seems that your boy still thinks he can turn this situation around," one of the Rankers that belonged to the Six Kingdom said in a teasing tone.

"Oh? You think he can't do it?" Gerald asked in a challenging tone.

"What if I said that he can't do it?" the Ranker asked back. "What are you gonna do?"

"How about we start a wager?" Gerald proposed. "Twenty-one million gold coins. I will bet on my boy clearing the Gate of Conquest, do you dare to wager against me?"

"Hah! Who's scared of whom? Twenty-one million? How about we raise the stakes 50 million!"

"Okay. Let's ask that pointy-eared Elf over there to be our guarantor, and everyone else here to be a witness. We will pass the money to him."

The Ranker laughed because he thought that Gerald was just trying to save face due to the mishap that had happened to the Half-Elf.

The "Pointy-Eared Elf" that Gerald referred to was the Ambassador of the Elswyth Kingdom.

He and Gerald had known each other for a long time and could be considered good friends. Because of this, he didn't take offense at his friend's words and happily collected the gold coins from both sides.

Although he was skeptical about Lux's chances of winning, he decided to stay neutral and wait to see how things would play out.

"I also want to bet fifty million gold coins," Rainer declared. "Who wants to bet against me? Naturally, I will side with Lux."

"Hahaha! I will not reject free money," one of the Rankers of the Skystead Alliance said and agreed to take on Rainer's offer.

This time, Rainer chose Aron to be a Guarantor because he was a big name in the Vahan Empire. The Ranker of the Skystead Alliance had no objection and agreed that the right-hand man of Emperor Andreas would hold their wager.

Similar bets started, prompting even the always calm Natasha to bet on Lux's side.

If only Lux knew that the adults were making a wager against each other, he would have definitely joined in the fun and wagered the remaining gold coins in his possessions as well.

—----------

Yelan Army Headquarters…

"How did you manage to pass the sentries around our camp?" Watson asked Lux, who was calmly drinking some tea in front of him.

"Business secrets," Lux replied after placing his tea cup on top of the table. "So, will you allow us to join your campaign, General Watson?"

"Before we answer that, what happened to the rest of your Mercenary Group?" Sherlock interjected as he stared at Lux with narrowed eyes. "I believe that this isn't even half of your force, am I right?"

The Half-Elf lightly cleared his throat before answering Sherlock's question.

"Actually, it is embarrassing to say this, but they decided to stay with the Ammarians," Lux replied.

"Oh? Why did they stay?" Sherlock arched an eyebrow after hearing Lux's answer.

"Let's just say that they think that joining you will make them lose more than the rewards you promised them."

"I see. Truly unfortunate."

The Gnome Great General smiled at the Half-Elf as if weighing his words. A few minutes later, Sherlock took out a scroll in his hand and passed it over to Lux.

As soon as the Half-Elf touched the scroll, a series of notifications appeared in front of him.

—-----------

< Ding! >

< Do you want to retake the Quest, War of the Lions? >

< Yes / No >

—-----------

Lux chose yes in a decisive manner as he unfurled the scroll in his hands, prompting more text to appear in front of him.

—---------

< War of the Lions >

Mission Rating: SS

Although the Yelan Army had managed to thwart the repeated attempts of the Ammarian Army to retake their territories, the Generals of the Yelan Kingdom had a feeling that this battle of attrition would not go in their favor if the fighting was prolonged.

Because of this, they were trying to find ways to strike a decisive blow to their enemies, preventing them from increasing the number of their troops on the frontlines.

—---------

< Mission Objectives >

– Help the Yelan Kingdom break the stalemate and allow them to get the upper hand in this war.

< Rewards >

– Rewards will depend on your performance on the battlefield.

—---------

< Secondary Quest >

– Killing Lions

< Killing Lions >

– For every General you and your Mercenary Group kill, you will be awarded with 1 Million Gold Coin Each and 1 Pseudo-Legendary Equipment of your choice.

– If you and your Mercenary Group kill Great General Rafael of the Ammarian Kingdom, all of you will be awarded an additional 1 million Gold Coin Each, and 2 Pseudo-Legendary Equipment of your choice.

< Secondary Quest Additional Rewards >

– Rewards will depend on the contribution you made in killing the Generals of the Ammarian Kingdom.

—---------

< Bonus Rewards >

– Depending on your overall performance in the war. You will receive an exclusive reward just for you.

—---------

Cai, Keane, Einar, Val, Xander, Henrietta, and Malcolm's eyes widened in shock after seeing the information that appeared before them.

Compared to the rewards of the quest they had accepted for the Ammarian Camp, the Yelan Quest was much better.

However, they also noticed something different in it as well.

The first one they took notice of was the Mission Rating.

The Quest from the Ammarian Kingdom had a Mission Rating of S, while the Yelan Kingdom had a Mission Rating of SS.

The Mission Rating showed how hard a mission was, with SSS as the hardest of them all.

After personally dying in the hands of the Vice Commander, all of them understood that this mission was not going to be a walk in the park.

"I accept this mission," Lux said as he signed the contract that was given to him by General Sherlock.

"Good!" Watson laughed. "Having you around puts my heart at ease, Lux."

"I feel the same way as well," Sherlock smiled before making a gesture for Lux to follow him to the table where the map of the battlefield was spread out.

Now that Lux and his team were on their side, it was only normal for them to be briefed about the overall situation on the battlefield.

The information made Lux, and the others, realize how hard their current mission was going to be.

 

Chapter 457 Borderline Madness

A few hours before sunrise, Lux was woken up by Keane in his temporary tent within the Yelan Main Headquarters.

The face of the skinny swordsman was quite grave, which chased away the drowsiness that Lux was still feeling at that moment.

"What happened?" Lux asked.

"The Camp of General Fahad in the Marshlands has been overrun," Keane replied. "Go to the Main Tent. All the commanders are being gathered right now. Great General Watson and Great General Sherlock asked me to wake you up. Go. I'll wake up Cai and the others."

Lux nodded and hurriedly ran to the Commander's Tent to get a better understanding of what just transpired.

They had just accepted the Mission to support the Yelan Kingdom a few hours ago, and now, the situation had suddenly escalated to something that caught the Half-Elf completely by surprise.

Five minutes later, Cai and the others also arrived in the Commander's tent. Just like Lux, all of them had grim expressions on their faces because they didn't expect the circumstances of the Yelan Kingdom to change overnight.

"Everyone, I'm sorry for waking you up, but I received a report that the Marshlands' first line of defense has been breached," Watson said in a calm manner. "Because of the rapid development, General Fahad was forced to abandon their headquarters and regroup at the second defensive line, ten miles away from their Main Camp.

"If the Ammarian Kingdom manages to break past their second defensive line, then they can easily reach the Town of Larnwick, which is only an hour away by horseback. According to General Fahad's report, it is estimated that the enemy had mobilized over 80,000 troops when they assaulted their camp.

"Many of our soldiers sacrificed their lives in order to allow our comrades to escape. Currently, General Fahad only has a little more than 30,000 troops defending our Eastern Flank."

Gasps of shock were heard inside the tent, and some of the Commanders' faces became pale after coming to understand how dire their current situation was.

Right now, the Yelan Kingdom was fighting on four battlefields.

The Marshlands, the Forests, the Great Plains, and the Mountain Regions.

The Great Plains, which had easy access towards the territories that were being conquered, were being guarded by Great General Watson and Great General Sherlock. They were the heroes of the previous war, and because of this, they were assigned the hardest place to defend.

The Marshlands were their eastern front, and if over fifty thousand soldiers managed to break past their defenses, they could easily attack the defenders that were guarding the second battlefield, which was the Forest Area.

"General Carran who is the General in charge of defending the Glouswell Forest has already sent ten thousand of his men to help General Fahad hold their position," Great General Sherlock stated. "However, this is exactly what the Ammarian Generals are hoping for. We are already stretched thin, and the more men we send to reinforce General Fahad, the less we have to defend our own strongholds.

"I assume that their reinforcements are the soldiers that have just finished training after their recent recruitment campaign. My only fear is that more are coming, and once that happens, our defensive lines will become thinner from the repeated attacks until our weakest link breaks apart. By then, we will have no choice but to order a full retreat and return to the Fortresses along the borders of our Kingdom."

The Gnome Great General paused before heaving a sigh.

"I'm afraid that once they have retaken their lands, they will regroup and launch an all out attack against our Kingdom," Great General Sherlock said. "With our morale at an all time low, it is possible that they will be able to win this time around. Everyone, we can't let this happen. We must find a way to turn this situation around."

A deafening silence descended inside the tent as everyone looked at each other, hoping that someone had a good idea for how to turn the situation around.

The silence continued, until the Half-Elf raised his hand to offer a suggestion.

"I have a plan, but it is not an honorable one," Lux said. "It is rather a deplorable one. If you can accept this method, then there might be a way to turn the current situation to our favor."

"What do you have in mind?" Sherlock asked. "If it doesn't go below our bottom line, we can consider it."

Lux nodded and told the Great Generals the plan that he had thought of.

Immediately, the commanders inside the tent looked at the Half-Elf as if he was a cold blooded monster who didn't care what methods were used as long as he won.

"Y-You! Don't you even know the meaning of remorse?" one of the Commanders glared at the Half-Elf who had proposed such a nefarious plan.

"This is borderline madness! Unacceptable!" another commander shouted. "How can you even propose such a thing!"

"Great Generals, please tell this brat that what he said is madness!" one of Watson's closest Aides pleaded. "Even if we win this war, the cost is something that our King and our people will not be able to accept."

Watson and Sherlock exchanged a glance before shifting their attention back to the Half-Elf who was looking at the two of them with a solemn expression on his face.

"We will carefully consider your proposal, Lux," Sherlock stated. "Do you have other ideas?"

The Half-Elf nodded. "My Mercenary Group and I will go to the Marshlands and help General Fahad defend their camp. Also, I will leave my subordinates Diablo and Asmodeus in your care. Allow them to act freely in your camp and in the battlefield. Please, don't restrict their movements because they will play a crucial role in this war."

"I accept this proposal," Sherlock nodded.

"You heard that, right?" Watson asked the Commanders inside the tent who were glaring at Lux. "Don't touch his subordinates in the camp. Believe me when I say that you don't want to get on the bad side of these peop– I mean, persons."

​ Watson and Sherlock knew what Lux was capable of. If they were to really throw their morality and pride into the gutters then the Half-Elf could really reverse their current situation.

However, just as their Commanders had said, they might win the battles, but they would lose the war.

Their King, and their people, would not accept such an outcome.

 

Chapter 458 Wars Didn’t Prove Who Was Right Or Wrong

"You are free to pass," one of the guards that was managing the checkpoints said. "All of you be careful, the skirmishes happening in the Glouswell Forest are just as intense as the battle that is happening in the Marshlands at the moment."

"How long will it take us to arrive at the Second Defensive Line of the Marshlands from here?" Lux asked.

The guard pondered for a while before answering Lux's question. "Two to three days, give or take, if you travel without taking too many breaks."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. All of you are still too young to be on the battlefield. If things turn for the worse, don't hesitate to escape. You kids still have bright futures ahead of you."

After bidding farewell to the guards at the checkpoint, Lux and his Mercenary Group once again continued their journey, following the shortest route that his Elysium Compendium had picked for them.

Henrietta, who was present when Lux made his proposal, couldn't believe that the sickly Half-Elf, whom everyone treated as a kind-hearted person, would even think of doing such a thing.

It was as if the Lux that she had known long ago was very different from the red-headed teenager who was currently leading their group to reinforce General Fahad's army in the Marshlands.

And Henrietta was not the only one who was shocked by Lux's proposal back in the Yelan Main Camp.

Even Gerald, Rainer, and Natasha, who were watching the projection near the entrance of the Domain of the Fallen, felt that this new "Lux" was quite different from the one they raised in Wildgarde Stronghold.

As for Lux's original team, they had been with him ever since the battle in the Gate of War and had witnessed how the Half-Elf decimated nearly half of the Ammarian Kingdom Army when Malcolm's team committed Biological Warfare against the Yelan Kingdom.

He used the dead bodies of the Yelan Soldiers as bombs in order to kill people, and the result had completely exceeded everyone's expectation.

Naturally, this way of fighting was looked down by others because the corpses that he would use for his Corpse Explosion skill would almost disappear completely, leaving only bits and pieces of flesh without any way to identify who they were, so they could be given a proper burial.

Malcolm, who had experienced this firsthand in the past, remained silent during the entirety of their journey.

Flashbacks of what happened back then still appeared in his dreams, and he would wake up in the middle of the night at least once or twice a week, drenched in sweat and shaking all over.

Perhaps, this was also one of the reasons why he subconsciously chose to side with Lux.

If possible, he didn't want to be on the opposite battlefield as the Half-Elf when he used this genocidal ability of his.

Several hours later, Lux asked everyone to rest for the night.

They had been traveling non-stop in order to reach their destination as fast as possible, but the Half-Elf knew that if they kept their current pace, the others would be exhausted before they could even arrive at General Fahad's new Outpost.

"I'll go and hunt," Einar said after doing a few stretches. "What do you guys want to eat?"

"Roasted Mountain Boar!" Cai replied. "I brought a lot of spices with me. Xander, you handle the seasoning later, okay?"

Xander nodded his head. "Understood."

The Barbarian closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. He was standing so still, making Cai wonder about what he was doing.

Two minutes later, Einar opened his eyes and sprinted towards the North East.

Lux glanced at the Map in his Elysium Compendium and saw the green dot that was representing Einar, running towards a gray dot on the map.

'Interesting, he has some kind of high-level detection spell," Lux mused as he looked at the green and gray dot colliding against each other in the map. Less than a minute later, the gray dot disappeared.

Lux assumed that the Barbarian had already killed his target, so he decided to set up the fire pit where the Boar would be roasted.

An hour later, the fragrance of roasted boar permeated the surroundings, making Cai salivate.

Xander was the one handling the cooking, and one could tell that he was very experienced in cooking freshly hunted beasts.

Another hour passed before the boar was properly cooked, and everyone had dinner together.

Just as everyone had almost finished eating, they heard the sounds of explosions in the distance.

Lux glanced in the direction the sounds were coming from and confirmed that it was at least several miles away from their location.

"We will rest for four hours before we continue our journey," Lux said. "Don't worry about the watch duty. I already have that covered."

Lux summoned Ishtar and a dozen Skeleton Gang Bangers, who immediately left their camp and spread out in every direction.

After making sure that his Undead Sentries had positioned themselves, the Half-Elf looked around to look for a place to sleep.

The Half-Elf yawned before taking out a thick blanket from his storage ring and placed it on the ground. He then took out a smaller blanket, rolled it up and used it as a pillow.

"Let's sleep, Eiko," Lux called out to the baby Slime who was having a chat with Fei Fei on the log near the campfire.

"Pa!" Eiko said. "Night Night Fei Fei."

"Night Night Eiko." Fei Fei said.

Eiko then crawled towards her Papa and snuck herself inside his robe, around the chest area.

​ Soon, the two of them fell asleep, despite the fact that the sound of explosions reverberated in the dark night.

"Let's also sleep, Fei Fei," Cai said as she laid on the ground.

"Yes!" Fei Fei nodded and positioned herself near Cai's neck, and closed her eyes to sleep.

A moment later, the loud snoring of the Boar spread in the campsite, making Henrietta sigh helplessly.

"You guys sure don't feel the tension," Henrietta muttered before she took out her improvised bedroll from her storage ring, and tried to sleep.

Surprisingly, she fell asleep just a few seconds after her head touched her rolled up blanket, proving how tired she really was from their journey.

One by one, everyone in the camp also took out their sleeping gear to rest.

Lux said that they would resume their journey in four hours, so they planned to get as much rest as they could.

When everyone inside the camp was asleep, Lux opened his eyes and summoned two of his Doppelgangers. They immediately went deeper in the forest, heading in the direction of the battle that was happening between the Ammarian Army and the Yelan Army.

The Half-Elf fully understood that they wouldn't win the war using conventional means, so he decided to prepare for the inevitable clash that would sweep through the Yelan Camp like a tide.

As for what was wrong or what was right, Lux didn't think in black and white.

He had learned from his past life that although wars were limited in certain parts of Earth, only those who had the ability to wipe out entire nations with a push of a button could dictate what was right or wrong.

Simply put, wars didn't prove who was right or wrong.

It only showed who was left.

 

Chapter 459 A Lesson They Would Never Forget [Part 1]

After getting their short rest, the group once again resumed their journey.

They came across anxious soldiers manning the checkpoints, and there were times when they were almost attacked due to how tense they were.

If not for the fact that they were carrying the banner of Generals Watson and Sherlock, whom everyone recognized as their Great Generals in this war, these sentries would have definitely attacked first and asked later, due to the intense skirmish that happened a few hours ago.

'Not good,' Lux thought. 'It looks like after the General commanding this forest sent several of their men to reinforce the Marshlands, their defenses have grown weaker, leaving these soldiers feeling jittery.'

Although the Yelan Army guarding the forest area managed to fend off their enemies, that didn't mean that there wasn't a possibility that they would be breached when the Ammarian Army attacked again.

All the sentries were on high alert, and if they saw anything suspicious, the alarm for battle would immediately be sounded. A delay in warning could result in their entire camp being overrun by their enemies, so there was no room for error.

Finally, a day later, Lux and his team arrived at the new camp of General Fahad.

Only a few days had passed since he saw the General, but his looks and temperament had become completely different from the first time that Lux had met him.

The general looked exhausted, but his eyes were still sharp, as if he could fight at any given second.

General Fahad's son, Leo, had dark circles under his eyes and looked less smug than the last time Lux saw him.

Clearly, the Marshland Defenders had their backs against the wall and needed all the help they could get.

Seeing that they were busy, Lux just asked the question that mattered to him.

"When was the last time you fought against them?" Lux asked.

"Half a day ago," General Fahad replied. "We managed to fend them off, but it came at a steep price. Almost three thousand men died, and even with the reinforcements, it is only a matter of time before they manage to whittle our manpower away until none remain."

Lux nodded. "Did they take their dead bodies back to their camp? Or did they just leave them there?"

General Fahad looked at Lux before a dawn of understanding came upon him.

"Actually, they didn't. They are still down there," General Fahad pointed at the base of the cliff where they were at, which made Leo look at his father with a doubtful gaze.

'Why are they talking about dead bodies?' Leo frowned as he looked at the Half-Elf who had a relieved expression on his face.

"Can I have them?" Lux asked.

General Fahad nodded. "I don't mind. We already took our dead from among them. Everyone down there are all Ammarians."

The more Leo heard, the more he didn't understand what was happening, which made him wonder what was so special about the dead bodies under the cliff.

Just as he was pondering these thoughts, Lux addressed his team members and asked them to get a proper rest.

They had been traveling for a very long time, and they were already at their limit.

The Half-Elf on the other hand, didn't rest.

He simply summoned his Skeleton Army and his Rock Golems, ordering them to bury the dead bodies in the ground.

The soldiers of the Yelan Camp didn't see anything wrong with this. In fact, they welcomed it. Dead corpses could attract insects, as well as other beasts, that might attack their camp if they were not careful.

Having someone do the dirty work for them gave them some peace of mind.

Naturally, they weren't aware that Lux was not burying the dead soldiers out of respect. For him, they were valuable resources that he could use in a pinch to overturn their current situation.

Two hours later, Ishtar appeared beside Lux and whispered something in his ears.

The Half-Elf frowned after hearing the news, but he still nodded his head to tell his Nightstalker to continue her mission of monitoring the movements of the Ammarian Army.

'They might try another night attack if my hunch is right,' Lux thought. 'But this is also good. They won't see what is going to hit them.'

After finalizing his plan, Lux raised his hand and called upon two of his most trusted subordinates to join him in this battle.

"Honor your Oath as part of my Covenant!" Lux ordered and a magic circle appeared on the ground in front of him. "Come forth, Bedivere!"

The magic circle glowed brightly and half a minute later, Lux's Dragon Knight appeared in front of him.

"I have come, My Liege," Bedivere said as he and his Dragon Mount bowed respectfully to their Master.

Lux gave them a brief nod before summoning Blackfire, the Coffin where his Grandma Vera was currently resting.

"Sid, I need your expertise," Lux stated. "Hear my call!"

The lid of the coffin opened and a second later, the Dwarf Assassin appeared on bended knees, paying tribute to his Master.

"My blade is yours, My Master," Sid said respectfully.

Lux also gave Sid a brief nod, acknowledging his allegiance.

"I have work for the two of you." Lux looked at his Dragon Knight and Assassin with a solemn expression on his face. "Right now, we are fighting a large-scale war. What I want the two of you to do is…"

Bedivere and Sid listened carefully to Lux's words. After their master finished speaking, both of them nodded their heads in understanding.

"Lazarus, come," Lux ordered.

A moment later, a burning skull appeared in front of the Half-Elf, surprising the Dragon Knight, as well as Sid.

"This is my new comrade, Lazarus," Lux introduced the flaming skull to the Dragon Knight as well as the Dwarf Assassin. "He will be participating with you guys in this operation. The three of you are to coordinate with Ishtar and carry out this mission without fail. Do I make myself clear?"

"""Yes, Master!"""

Lux nodded. "Go. I will wait for the good news."

The three bowed their heads to the Half-Elf once again before all three of them climbed onto Bedivere's Dragon Mount and descended from the cliff.

After landing safely, Sid and Lazarus moved together on land, while Bedivere and his mount, once again took off towards the sky.

Behind Lux, Eiko, her Doppelgangers, and Fei Fei were busy creating one Bone Bomb and Blast Bomb after the other until their Mana ran out.

The Skeleton Bombs could last for a day or two as long as Eiko didn't use the Skeleton Make skill to form other things.

However, she could only create 200 of them at a time.

Because of this, she needed to summon her Doppelgangers to add 200 more Skeleton Bombs in order to increase their stockpile.

Blast Bombs, on the other hand, lasted for only four hours, but that was enough.

Eiko happily made one bomb after the other as she chugged on some mana potions that Lux had placed beside her.

The Yelan Soldiers just watched this scene with amused expressions on their faces. They never thought that the Slimes would be capable of bomb creation.

After the two baby Slimes finished their job, Lux placed all of the finished bombs inside his storage ring.

He then flew down the cliff and hid them in places which he deemed would be the best place to hide them.

Now, all he needed to do was wait for the Ammarian Army to attack. He was sure that when this night was over, their enemies would have learned a lesson they would never forget.

 

 

Chapter 460 A Lesson They Would Never Forget [Part 2]

When the Yelan Army made their retreat, they had positioned themselves on top of a cliff overlooking a Woodland, which had countless trees that the Ammarian Army had used as cover during their night battles.

Since their original camp was stationed in the Marshes, they had only made a temporary camp at the rear of the woodlands.

A tenth of the Ammarian Army was busy taking down their former camp as per General Phobus orders and was currently on the way to their new one in order to bring along their resources and food supply.

Because of this, scouts were sent out to look for food for the army as well as to keep surveillance on their enemies.

Since the Yelan Army was short on manpower, they didn't dare to send their scouts to the woodlands and only assigned some soldiers to keep watch to make sure that they would be able to sound a timely warning if their enemy chose to attack.

In the area located between the camps of the two armies, several Ammarian Scouts noticed a dragon flying above the trees.

"A young dragon. But it looks like it has a rider..." the leader of the scouting party muttered.

"Should we shoot it down?" one of his subordinates asked.

"Let's do it!" Another one of his subordinates insisted on the idea because this was a good chance to show off to their peers. "The General might reward us if we give him the Dragon as a gift. We might even get promoted!"

"That sounds like a good idea!" The Leader nodded his head in agreement. "Let's spread out and try to shoot it down."

Everyone in the army could get promoted depending on their contribution on the battlefield. A young dragon was a very rare creature and, if they were able to catch it alive, they would certainly get great rewards from their General, whose mood had improved after their recent victory.

The Leader of the Scouting Party had a greedy look on his face as he eyed the creature from the shade of the trees.

He then crouched down and knocked his bow with an arrow, prepared to shoot the young Dragon down when it passed overhead.

However, before he could do that, a hand covered his mouth, and a dagger pierced him in the back.

Everything happened so fast that the Leader of the scouting party died not knowing how he died.

Sid carefully stored the body of the dead scout inside his Bounty Ring, which Bounty Hunters used to store the bodies of their dead targets in order to present them to their clients.

Unfortunately, the ring had a limit and it could only store twenty dead bodies at most.

Even so, it was enough as Sid went to look for his other comrades who were sneakily killing the other members of the Ammarian Army's scouting party, using Bedivere's Dragon Mount as bait.

Sid had only taken five steps, when Ishtar appeared in front of him with a finger over her lips.

"Master's former comrades are headed in this direction," Ishtar said. "Retreat for now. All of them are of the Initiate Rank. Even if you can kill five of them, the others will get you. It's not worth it."

Sid nodded his head in understanding and stealthily retreated, leaving not even a footstep behind.

"Bedivere, they are almost here," Lazarus warned his comrade through telepathy. "Fly to the western side of the valley. Master said that we shouldn't fight them right now."

"Understood," Bedivere replied as he commanded his Dragon to change their flight path.

They had already killed three scouting parties and had their corpses with them. Their goal was to cause confusion among the ranks of the Ammarian Army and make them feel uneasy at the disappearance of their scouts.

Although this wouldn't affect their morale by a longshot, it was enough to make General Phobus and his Second In Command rethink their earlier assumption that the Yelan Army was not bold enough to send their soldiers down into the valley to fight them.

Nero and the members of his Storm Dragon Guild arrived at the location where Sid had just killed the Scout Leader.

However, since nothing looked out of place, they continued to walk forward, constantly monitoring their surroundings for enemies, as well as Beasts, so that they could hunt for food.

"I've been thinking a lot lately," one of Nero's subordinates said as they walked past the trees where the members of the Scouting Party died. "After becoming an Initiate due to the rewards we got from that quest, I realized that I am lucky to be part of this expedition. However, I have this nagging feeling that we might have chosen the wrong side."

One of the girls in their team glared at her friend who had spoken negatively about the side where they were currently on.

"If you had chosen to side with Lux, you probably would have died just like him and the others who joined him," the young lady stated. "I don't have any ill feelings for Lux. In fact, I am very happy with his achievement, but after seeing how he died, I realized that every decision we make can easily end our life if we are unlucky."

The young man who spoke earlier sighed because he also liked Lux. If not for the fact that their Guildmaster, Nero, decided not to join the Half-Elf in his plan to switch sides, they might have died alongside him.

"I know that," the young man replied. "But, are they really dead? What if they decided to challenge the Dungeon again? Will they respawn in the same field as us?"

The young lady who chastised her friend didn't know how to answer this question. Unlike them, Lux and his party could enter the Domain of the Fallen at any given time.

It was highly possible that they returned and reentered the Gate of Conquest and were currently in the same field as them.

But, this time, they were no longer allies but enemies.

"It doesn't matter," Nero commented as he continued to walk. "Even if they challenge the Dungeon again, our goal doesn't change. We will kill anyone that stands in our way and clear this Dungeon once and for all."

Everyone in the Storm Dragon Guild looked at their Leader and agreed with him in their hearts. Since they could no longer go back, all they could do was move forward and complete their current mission.

What they didn't know was that on one of the branches of the tree, Lazarus saw and heard their discussion.

He even shared his senses with Lux, allowing the Half-Elf to hear their conversation.

"You're right, Nero," Lux muttered as he looked in the direction where the members of the Storm Dragon Guild were currently at. "I will also kill anyone that stands in my way of clearing this Dungeon. Since you and I are now enemies, you are one of my targets as well."

Lux didn't know whether he and Nero were truly fated to be enemies or not.

He thought that the two of them would become allies in this mission until the Dungeon was cleared. Unfortunately, they didn't share the same vision.

Lux chose the Yelan Army because he had fought with them once, while Nero chose the Ammarian Kingdom because they had the advantage in the war.

Both of them believed that they had done the right thing, and the outcome of the battle would prove who made the right decision that day.

Just as the sun was about to set, the Ammarian Camp started gearing up for another night raid.

None of them knew, aside from the commanding officers, that all of their scouting parties had been killed several hours ago.

General Phobus rode a Tiger in the center of the formation.

His Vice-General, who went by the name Second, was right beside him, seated on a warhorse.

As they made their way near to the Yelan Camp, all the soldiers formed their ranks in preparation for the battle.

"Tonight is the night that we will annihilate this side of the battlefield," General Phobus said. "I can't wait to see Rafael's face once he finds out that I was the first among the Generals of the Ammarian Kingdom to break through the final defensive line of the Yelan Army, allowing our forces to attack their main force from behind."

Second nodded. "It is as you say, General. I'm sure that your Grandfather will be proud of this achievement. If we win this war, you will be the one who will get the highest merit."

General Phobus smirked after hearing his Vice-General's words.

"Is everyone in position?" General Phobus asked his Aide at his side.

"Yes, Sir!" the Aide replied. "We are simply waiting for your orders to advance."

General Phobus raised his right arm as he gave the order to attack.

"Kill!" General Phobus commanded. "Show these lowly Yelanians no mercy!"

Currently, he had over 80,000 troops because more reinforcements were sent to their camp earlier that day after the higher-ups heard that he had made significant progress in his campaign.

Because of this, he was confident that he would be able to overwhelm their enemies with sheer numbers.

The moment the Ammarians broke through the cover of the trees, the battle began. Both sides exchanged spells and ranged attacks, breaking the quiet of the night.

The Ammarians advanced steadily as their barriers resisted the barrage that came from the top of the cliff.

After breaking past their first hurdle, the Ammarian Soldiers started to scale the cliff, while those with flying mounts baited the Yelan Soldiers into targeting them instead.

Eiko and Fei Fei, who were perched on top of Lux's and Cai's heads, watched the chaotic battle from on top of the cliff with calm expressions on their faces.

"Do we do it now?" Cai asked.

"Not yet," Lux said. "Let them get in deeper first."

Lux's eyes were calm like a viper's, waiting for his prey to come within his striking range.

The moment when most of the Ammarian Soldiers had scaled halfway up the cliff, Lux finally gave the two baby Slimes the go signal to start making things blow up.

"Boom Boom Boom!" Eiko shouted as she glared at the Soldiers who had stepped on the Blast Bombs that Lux had buried earlier.

"Boom Boom!" Fei Fei also shouted along with Eiko, as she also activated the Blast Bombs that belonged to her.

Suddenly, the ground under the Vanguard of the Ammarian Army, who was responsible for keeping the barriers in place, suddenly exploded, taking them by surprise and causing them to lose their concentration, dispersing the barrier that was keeping the rest of the Army safe.

The Blast Bombs weren't strong enough to kill, but they were able to injure most of the Soldiers on the front lines. However, something happened that made General Phobus, and his Vice-General gasp in surprise.

The cliff gave way and an avalanche of rock and rubble crashed down upon the Ammarian Soldiers, burying them alive.

The Yelan Camp had already been informed about this part of Lux's strategy, so the moment the Half-Elf gave the signal, all of the range fighters and magicians hastily retreated from their posts and ran a good distance away from the edge of the cliff.

At the same time, they prepared the deadly bombardment they would unleash the moment the Ammarian Formation went into disarray.

"Open Fire!" General Fahad ordered a deadly rain of spells and arrows to descend from the sky, which landed on the retreating Ammarians who had escaped being buried alive by the avalanche.

As the dead bodies piled up, Lux spread his arms as he channeled his spell throughout the entire battlefield.

He was like a mastermind that grasped the entire battlefield on the palm of his hands, and it was time for him to show the Yelan Army, as well as the Ammarian Army, just what he was capable of.

"Corpse… Explosion!"

As soon as these words left the Half-Elf's lips, a nightmarish scene took place.

All the dead bodies that he had buried earlier exploded under the Ammarian Army's feet, sending flesh and bone fragments flying in every direction.

This deadly chain reaction killed people, and those who died killed more people, creating a cycle of carnage that only a Necromancer was capable of creating on the battlefield.

General Phobus looked at this scene with horror as his subordinate's bodies exploded like grenades one after the other.

"Retreat!" Second ordered. "All forces, fall back!"

After hearing their Vice-General's orders, all the Ammarian Soldiers ran back towards their camp as if their lives depended on it.

Lux, who was watching this development from on top of the cliff, slowly curled his fingers into his palms as he looked at the retreating tide of people.

"Who gave you all the permission to leave?" Lux asked once his hands had finished closing into fists.

"Corpse Explosion!"

The bodies that had been buried at the rear of the Ammarian Army started to explode, instantly killing those that were the first to retreat… including some of the members of the Storm Dragon Guild, who were immediately sent back to the entrance of the Domain of the Fallen.

All of them gasped for air as they lay on the ground and tried to calm themselves from the nightmarish experience that they just encountered.

The young man and the young lady who were chatting in the forest earlier raised their heads and looked at the projection that most of the people were looking at.

In that projection, they saw the back of the red-headed teenager, who had his arms spread wide as if embracing the entire world, and killing all of those who stood in his way.