Battles raged between the Sovereign's Islands and the Void Monster Rock Island in every direction.
High above, a 100 x 100-meter island was merging with another of the same size, both suspended in the sky.
Several defense towers dotted the island, and dozens of Nest Soldiers were stationed to protect it from the relentless attacks of the Void Monsters.
"Hilmi, stay with the others!"
A man with an unkempt face and a large shield shouted to a young man who had ventured too far ahead.
Hearing his father's command, the young man quickly retreated, rejoining the two women who were fighting off a horde of Void Monsters.
He dashed through the swarm of creatures, striving to reach his mother and sister.
Unbeknownst to him, a powerful arrow was already in flight.
In the distance, hidden among the monsters, a creature with long ears, large eyes, and a grey bow smiled wickedly.
[Gou Gou - Protector]
Level: 20
Species: Archer
Attributes: Str 186, Int 102, Ag 138, Res 108
Abilities: (Arrow 3 Layers) Each arrow that strikes an enemy gains a layer of poison and then a layer of dizziness when frozen. Each layer lasts 5 seconds.
As the young man sprinted forward, he sensed something was amiss, but he couldn't quite grasp what it was.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment, weighing his options in his mind. Suddenly, he vanished from sight, replaced by a massive elephant-shaped Void Monster that materialized from thin air.
A powerful arrow shot straight through the elephant monster's body.
"That was close..."
The young man reappeared beside his mother and sister.
"Hilmi, you were reckless this time," his mother chided, her voice firm as she held her staff.
"Sorry, Mum. It won't happen again," Hilmi replied, remorse washing over his face as he prepared to rejoin the fight.
Has Essim saw this, his fears would have been confirmed; despite his formidable talent, others also possessed remarkable abilities.
"Get ready! Fire!"
A loud shout echoed from the top of the towering city wall.
Rows of soldiers stood in formation, bows at the ready, unleashing a barrage of arrows.
Swoosh... swoosh...
Thousands of arrows rained down upon the attacking Void Monsters.
Suddenly, a Void Monster rose higher than the rest, extending its hands wide. A transparent, convex barrier materialized, expanding to a diameter of 100 meters.
"Sh*t..."
"Cannon Squad... Ready... Fire!"
A stern, wrinkled man barked orders once more.
This time, the cannon troops positioned on the wall and throughout the cannon towers sprang into action.
Hundreds of cannonballs were launched toward the advancing army of Void Monsters.
In response, a humanoid Void Monster appeared, making a hand gesture before bringing its palms together.
A massive chunk of earth, measuring 100 meters in length, was lifted from the ground, rising until it surrounded most of the incoming cannon fire.
"Damn... These Protector-level monsters are quite clever."
Indeed, the Void Monsters countering the assault from the archers and cannons were all Protector-level creatures.
There were over 100 of these formidable foes, a number that reflected the vast size of the Void Monster Rock Island, which measured 1,500 x 1,500 meters. The Sovereign Island, in contrast, was nearly 5,000 x 5,000 meters.
"Everyone... Attack!"
The wild man shouted again. But this time, the troops moving forward were completely different.
They were all Sovereigns, brimming with spirit and strength.
"Hey, come on... It's our time to shine."
"Yeah, I can't wait to rack up some points!"
These Sovereigns exchanged casual banter before charging out of the city toward the wave of Void Monsters.
Some flew, some vanished, others ran, and a few burrowed underground. Only the system and they themselves knew the full extent of their abilities.
…
Essim's Island
[Successfully killed: Dark Mask - Protector, exp +4600, kill points +2000].
To Essim, Protector-level Void Monsters were no different from ordinary creatures.
After 15 minutes of intense combat, all the Void Monsters were finally vanquished.
Essim Island was littered with the corpses of Void Monsters, and the outer buildings of the city were nearly half destroyed.
"Brother... we can salvage the monster corpses," Aisha suggested.
"Five thousand more corpses will take an eternity to deal with," she complained. Just think about it: extracting one corpse takes at least 2-3 seconds. With 5,000 more to process, it would take almost three hours.
Hearing Aisha's words, Essim felt a wave of fatigue wash over him.
"It seems we don't need to extract them for now."
"Let's let the soldiers handle the bodies later. Our top priority now is to repair the island."
Essim sacrificed the materials and energy crystals gathered from the monster corpses. Their priorities were shifting.
He even planned to increase the number of towers to over 200.
"Okay, brother."
"By the way, three group members have already created a teleportation portal."
"Should we go ahead and open our teleportation portals?"
During the battle, some members of the group, including Princess Aisha, had sent messages inquiring about the Portal ID for Essim's Island.
Connecting to the portal was simple—only the Portal ID was required.
"Yes, please take care of everything. I'll check the Rock Island," Essim replied.
Essim hurried toward the Rock Island where the Void Monsters had emerged.
Up close, the surface of Rock Island appeared rough and stony, devoid of any soil.
Every 20 meters, a hole with a 3-meter diameter marked the landscape. Essim stepped into one of the holes to investigate.
It was quite dark inside, making it difficult for his eyes to see far ahead.
He pulled out a torch powered by an energy crystal. With the light illuminating the space, he could see that the walls were made of rough rock, leading to a long passage that presumably led to the core of the island.
Along the passage, he spotted what resembled a large cocoon. The fishy slime and foul odor made the walls of the passage slippery and unpleasant.
The cocoon was torn open, indicating that something had recently emerged from it—likely a Void Monster.
Essim ventured deeper into the passage. As he progressed, he encountered a fork in the path. Regardless of which branch he chose, they all appeared to lead to the core of the stone island.
He pressed on, navigating through the twists and turns until he reached the innermost part of the island.
At the core, there was nothing but a few larger cocoons and a Black Orb, cracked at its center.
Essim approached the orb and examined its description panel.
[Alpha Orb]
Remaining energy: 92
There was no useful information about the Alpha Orb.
Unlike the Ruler Orb, which could be taken over or destroyed, the Alpha Orb provided no such options.
Just as Essim was about to close the panel, he noticed the energy level drop from 92 to 91.
"Is the Rock Island drawing energy from this black orb?" he wondered to himself.
"Then it must be destroyed."
Essim felt a strong urge to obliterate the Rock Island. If this black orb was indeed the source of its energy, then destroying it would lead to the island's rapid demise.
Without hesitation, he slashed at the black orb with his sword.
[Destroy Alpha Orb. Exp +91]
"What?" Essim exclaimed inwardly, surprised by the result.
But he had no time to ponder further.
A massive rumble reverberated through the ground, and Rock Island began to tremble ominously.
"Damn it... I'll die if I fall from this island!"
Essim cursed his rash actions, then sprinted with all his might to escape Rock Island.
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