Pantheon Online

220  A Monster Among Gods (Part 1)

Clay glanced around helplessly. The creatures that Midas had held off had caught up with them, and the situation turned into a slaughter. 'Damn it!' Clay cursed as he looked at those creatures empowered by Divine Interest.

Tier 1 players were falling under the onslaught. Their power meant nothing against the boost the Deep Stalkers had received. Only the Ragnarok players survived a few exchanges since they had recovered using their religious artefacts. However, even that was not enough.

Soon only Noslin, Clay, Winter, Old Un, Beartooth, and a few members from other Pantheons were left. Clay shook his head at the thought of those devastating losses. It would take a long time to recover those stat points since the Deep Stalkers had eaten the orbs. They had not been able to save a single one of them.

Clay sighed as he prepared himself to struggle for as long as he could. The group of fewer than twenty experts shared a nod as their enemies prepared to pounce. They let out their war cries as the Deep Stalkers screeched. Clay watched as those beasts tensed their leg muscles and leapt toward them!

Time seemed to slow down in the eyes of those experts. They focused on their opponents, but something strange was happening. Noslin's eyes widened as she noticed grey stones with a flat surface falling among their enemies. 'What are those?'

Clay's eyes narrowed as a grin spread on his face as he saw golden lines light up on those same stones. It reminded him of when he had interrupted Exile.

"Brace for impact!" He screamed.

The world before their eyes turned red with shades of orange and yellow. Heat spread among the Deep Stalkers' rear lines as the players clashed with those in front of them. Pain-filled screeches filled the air as many of those creatures turned to ash. Those that survived saw their skin blackening and crumbling under the divine magical flames.

Walls of intense fire soon cut off the empowered Stalkers from their prey while fiery explosions cleared a path toward the temple. Clay and the others quickly finished off the few beasts that had escaped that bombardment and watched the scene with awe.

A sudden shadow darted over them, causing them to look toward the rooftops. However, there was no sign of their saviour. Clay cleared his throat as he glanced at the others.

"Don't waste this chance. Let's get to the temple!"

"What was that?" Noslin asked as she grabbed his arm. "You know something about this, don't you?"

Noslin had her doubts since the other living Ragnarok members appeared clueless. However, that did not mean that their Vice-Leader was not privy to secrets concerning their Pantheon. Clay shrugged at her question before fixing her with an arrogant gaze.

"If I had to guess, I'd say he's finally joined the battle."

Meanwhile, Mikari bellowed orders to the troops resurrecting in the temple. He swept the map with his gaze as he reorganised the available forces where they were needed the most to limit the invasion of the Deep Stalkers.

"Sir! The barricade at points E, K and O have been secured!" A runner yelled as he entered the temple.

"How?" Mikari asked as shock ran through his expression. He glanced at the map to make sure he was not mistaken. 'Those three points should be about to fall. I've already evacuated all but a small group of players from each of them!'

"Sir! Points A, C, D, and L have been secured!" Another runner yelled with joy in his tone.

Mikari's frown deepened as he studied the map. 'That's impossible! We don't have the forces needed for something like that!'

"Sir! The enemies at points B, F, and G have been eradicated! The commanders are reporting that they will begin a counter-attack!"

Mikari felt his legs go weak as he gripped the table so as not to fall over. 'What the hell is happening out there?' He glared at the map and noticed a pattern. 'Point H should be next!' It was a checkpoint close to the temple that was dealing with Deep Stalkers that had successfully breached deep into the city. Mikari rushed out of the temple and fixed his sight in that direction.

At that moment, the players struggling to hold checkpoint H felt a suffocating aura press down on them. The Stalkers that were attacking them suddenly whimpered and attempted to retreat. However, their movements were sluggish. As if something was attempting to force them to remain still. The players felt like they were going to puke under that aura, but they soon noticed it did not restrict their movements like their opponents.

"Who?" One of the players asked as he pointed with his finger. As the others followed the direction he was pointing in, they spotted a figure standing on a golden rune in the air above them.

Exile nodded when he saw their surprised expressions. He had chosen that approach to plant a memory in every player who had witnessed his actions. The memory was supposed to make him seem unreachable to those players. As if he were an existence far beyond them.

'Everyone will remember the first player they witness flying in this game.' Exile chuckled to himself as an arrogant smile appeared on his face. 'Though, I'll have to find a way to do it that's better than standing on this rune.' Technically speaking, he had failed to create a real flight spell. Instead, he had to settle for a levitation one.

The Stalkers beneath him whimpered again when they felt his gaze landing on them. 'I feel like I'm bullying them.' Exile sighed as he glared at those creatures. He had expected to feel joy when he unleashed devastation on them. However, it was as if a change had come over his mind. 'It almost feels like I've lost interest in matters beneath my level.' He sighed again as he waved his hand in front of him.

A silvery rune with sparks dancing on its lines appeared in front of him. He used his mental energy to make the rune turn horizontal and float just below him. He noticed the panic on the player's faces when they felt threatened by that rune. Exile smiled at them to reassure them before he activated the rune.

Lightning bolts flew downward, striking at the nearest Stalkers. The players flinched as those creatures exploded the moment those bolts touched them. Then those players inhaled deeply as more silver runes appeared where each enemy had died. It became a bloodbath as those runes shot more bolts, and the same thing happened. A lightning storm was being generated as more runes appeared with the death of each enemy.

Exile watched on with an aloof expression as he studied the effects of his custom spell. 'Hm, not bad.' He thought as the last remnants of the Stalkers exploded. The runes seemed to detect the absence of enemies and slowly faded into nothing.

Exile shook his head when he saw the awe on the players' faces. His left hand shot out as he scattered some runestones in the area. Walls of fire erupted to protect every approach to the checkpoint while golden halos pulsed among the players. They stared at that phenomenon with shock as they witnessed their HP recovering!

Exile ignored them at that point as his eyes moved to the walls of Valheim in the distance. He could see waves of those creatures still swarming them as they flooded into the city. His eyes narrowed as he made the rune beneath his feet move in that direction.

Mikari chuckled when he watched his brother speed off into the distance. 'I should've known. I'll need to get all the details from him later. It seems that fighting against Tier 2 players will require unique tactics. For now, we should use this chance to retake the city.' Mikari glanced at the players nearby who were cheering as new reports arrived.

"What are you waiting for!" Mikari bellowed as he glared at them. "Don't stand there celebrating! Get out there and win this war!"

The players revealed embarrassed expressions before they cheered again. A stampede occurred as they swarmed the streets, heading in the direction of the main gate. At some point, the crowd reached Clay's group as they exited the side streets onto the main one.

"What's going on?" He asked as he grabbed a player he recognised as being a member of Kaleidoscope.

"We're winning! That's what's happening! Come on, we're going to retake the gate!" The woman laughed joyously as she shrugged off his hand and continued her march.

Noslin felt her sanity crumbling when she heard that. Clay's earlier remark hinted that Exile had been the one to save them from a force that twenty Tier 1 players could not overcome. Now, with the way these players were acting it was as if a single player had turned the tides of a hopeless battle.

Her sanity could not imagine how that was possible. However, if it was true then she could be grateful that she had befriended him long ago.

That thought slowly kindled her ambition again. After all, it was not that long ago that they had both been on the same level. Where they stood together at the peak of Skardia's players. A glimmer appeared in her eyes as she thought about his figure. 'I'll catch up to you soon enough!'

A loud cheer filled the air as scorching flames lit up the sky. Fireballs rained down from golden runes above Valheim's walls. While the weaker players cheered at that sight, the other Pantheon leader silently gulped. They understood that a monster now walked among them.

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