Chapter 78: Visible Despair and Audible Hope

In front of the Guild Hall stretched a long avenue, hundreds of meters in length—a straight road now packed with monsters. Here, nothing could be more effective than area-of-effect spells. To put it bluntly, Zhao Nan alone was worth several ordinary mages of the same level. Mounted atop Eurysseus, he swept back and forth above the avenue, launching a relentless onslaught.

With the Source of Mana, he had no need to worry about his mana reserves for a short time. As a level-20 mage, every area attack skill—except for those of the Light element—burst forth along the avenue, painting the night with brilliant fireworks of every hue.

Weaker monsters were blasted apart by these spells, and those stunned by the shockwaves were quickly finished off by fighters on the ground. Already, a gap of some twenty meters had been cleared before the entrance to the Guild Hall.

Yet, despite their efforts, monsters continued to pour in through the city gates in an unending tide. No matter how mighty their resistance, compared to the horde that had already invaded Dongyuan City, it was a mere drop in the ocean.

When Zhao Nan had ridden Eurysseus in from outside the city, he’d noticed that several city gates of Dongyuan were already devoid of any defensive force—as if someone had left the faucets running and now the city was flooding unchecked.

Eurysseus rose higher. Beneath the night sky, countless lights flickered across Dongyuan—not the peaceful glow of households, but the urgent blaze of battle raging everywhere. Zhao Nan narrowed his eyes, peering ahead. Near the city’s teleportation node, the radiance of spells all but dyed half the sky, making it clear that most players had gathered there for a desperate stand.

“It’s bad—the Soul Crystal’s health has dropped below four thousand!” Jiang Lun suddenly shouted.

“We can barely hold out ourselves,” Gao Mingyang muttered, pressed close behind Jiang Lun. After a round of fierce fighting, he needed a brief respite to recover.

“But this won’t do! The message said that if the Soul Crystal is destroyed, Dongyuan City’s safe zone will fall!” Jiang Lun frowned. “The monsters only get stronger as more pour in. The longer this goes on, the worse our chances become!”

“Jiang Lun, do you have any intel from the teleportation point?” Zhao Nan asked.

“I’ve got a few friends stationed there,” Jiang Lun replied.

“What’s the situation?”

“Wait a moment...” Jiang Lun fell silent briefly, then continued, “There are enough people on the ground to hold the monsters off for now, but it’s chaos over there. Many are already starting to retreat. The biggest threat, though, is the flying monsters—they’re the main force attacking the Soul Crystal, and our spellcasters’ range is far too limited to fend them off effectively!”

We can’t just sit here and wait for the end... Zhao Nan thought grimly.

In the original timeline, Dongyuan’s first monster siege was not supposed to succeed. History recorded that the city was saved by the guild who first conquered the level-10 standard dungeon and obtained a legendary artifact called the “Sphere of Skyban.” That treasure turned the tide against the flying monsters. Yet when Zhao Nan’s group cleared that dungeon, the artifact hadn’t appeared.

The Sphere of Skyban was a random drop—or perhaps, if not for their intervention, it might have dropped for someone else already.

But history is changing! Zhao Nan reminded himself.

“I have an idea,” he said.

“Let’s hear it! Anything’s better than sitting here waiting to die.” The others looked at him with curiosity.

“Dongyuan City has four entrances. Most ground monsters are flooding in through those. If we can cut off their access, the defenders at the teleportation point might get some relief.”

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“Just the eight of us? How could we possibly block all four gates at once? We couldn’t even hold one by ourselves!” Gao Mingyang exclaimed in disbelief.

Indeed, Zhao Nan was strong—far stronger than before, even surpassing his close brothers, and Jiang Lun practically worshiped him as some kind of deity. But even Jiang Lun knew Zhao Nan was just a man, not a true god—his strength had limits.

“The surface is impossible... but the underground isn’t.”

“The... underground?”

...

...

Beneath Dongyuan City, in the underbelly—the city’s sewer system.

“How did you find a place like this?” Xu Feng asked, wrinkling his nose at the foul stench and dim surroundings.

“Don’t forget, my secondary class is Explorer,” Zhao Nan replied calmly. “It lets me know a little more than most.”

The others had witnessed the advantages of Zhao Nan’s “Explorer” class many times. They could attest—his knowledge always went a step further than others.

“Enough talk,” Zhao Nan said quickly. “This area is part of the safe zone—monsters don’t spawn here, so we can move freely. We’ll split up. If we can sabotage all the entrances at once, all the better.”

“Is that really possible?” Gao Mingyang asked, skeptical.

“The tunnels run beneath all four gates. If we destroy the foundations, the nearby walls will collapse. It won’t stop monsters that can fly or climb, but at least it’ll block ground monsters for a while—give the defenders on the surface some breathing room.”

“Then what are we waiting for? How do we split up?”

“Mingyang, you and Gao Xiang are one team. Jiang Lun, you and Xu Feng form another. Finnina, Xu Yang, and Xu Fei are a third. I’ll go alone.”

As he finished, Zhao Nan quickly added, “This is the best arrangement. Finnina, you have the highest attack power, while Xu Yang and Xu Fei are support classes—their offense is lacking, so they’ll need your protection.”

“I understand,” Finnina nodded, stepping forward to give Zhao Nan a tight hug. She whispered, “Be careful.”

“Let’s get moving. Stay in contact—I’ll guide your routes.”

...

...

12:05 a.m.
Dongyuan City teleportation node.

“Damn, the Soul Crystal’s health just dropped below 2,500! In just half an hour we’ve lost 1,500 points! Only one hour left... and now the monsters attacking are level-20 fliers!”

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Xi Menyu sighed, surveying the wounded scattered everywhere, morale at rock bottom.

After hours of battle, exhaustion had set in. At first, when they organized the defense, everyone’s spirits had been high. But as ten, a hundred, a thousand comrades fell and vanished without a trace, no one could say if they would survive the night.

The monsters had already broken through every entrance below the teleportation node. The defenders fell back, clustering into a shrinking circle.

Was it time to abandon the city? Xi Menyu narrowed his eyes. The flying monsters overhead were the real problem. The ground monsters could be held at bay for another hour, even if it meant heavy casualties.

Xi Menyu didn’t care how many died. What he cared about was that, after so many losses, if they still failed to hold the city, it would all be for nothing. If there was one monster siege, knowing this game’s style, there would surely be another.

Duan Tianlang seemed to have reached the same conclusion. As the two fought side by side against the airborne monsters, he said, “We need to start pulling people back from the front line—this isn’t going to hold. We have to think about what comes next.”

Retreat—how to preserve as much strength as possible, and how to survive after the withdrawal—there were many problems to consider. Xi Menyu nodded, agreeing almost instantly.

Just then, his left hand began to tremble.

Who would be messaging him at a time like this? Xi Menyu felt a flash of irritation. Why not just speak in the guild channel?

“Who is it?” He didn’t even glance at the notification, just pressed his left hand to his ear.

“It’s me... Don’t think about retreat. It won’t do any good. We can hold the city.”

...

Watching Xi Menyu’s shifting expression, Duan Tianlang sensed something had changed.

“Duan Tianlang, don’t pull back just yet—we might be able to hold.”

“Hold?” Duan Tianlang sneered. “And who gave you that faith?”

Xi Menyu exhaled, meeting Duan Tianlang’s gaze with absolute certainty. “The strongest man in Dongyuan City.”

...

PS1: A bit busy this Friday, so no updates every six hours today. There will be two—or maybe three—chapters tonight.

PS2: Also, I’ll be featured on Sanjiang this Sunday... Please vote for me in advance.

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