Chapter 1639 1639. Charging into the Fiery Hell
Jack reviewed his army which was still fighting inside the capital. There were only a few left. Aside from the common soldiers, they lost quite many high-ranking officers. Meryl and Dytess were still alive, he was thankful for that.
He called Meryl over but left Dytess to continue defending the palace. He doubted that lord dominator would listen to him, anyway.
Aside from Meryl, he also called all his surviving royal agents. Eyrene, Elayne, Duke Alfredo, Laurent, Howard, and Robinson. Jonathan, Lindsey, Amy, and Nerd had fallen. If he hadn't built the Soul-securing Shrine and the Revival Pool, he would be crying right now. The war this time had a very high fatality rate.
Even seven out of the eleven past Themisphere Kings had been defeated. Only four were still fighting the zombie army within the capital.
Jack left these four past kings to continue defending the palace with Dytess and the remaining army inside the capital. He brought Meryl, Therras, and his surviving royal agents and headed outside, where the fierce battle with the Liguritudum army was still ongoing.
*
"Broidrireg!!!" Tiemezzys shouted when he saw the ancient dragon getting swallowed by the insanely huge fireball.
He wanted to rush over but several wood tentacles came and entangled him.
"Rarrgh…! Release me…!!" Tiemezzys grabbed one tentacle and violently ripped it apart, but there were still plenty that coiled around his body.
A torrent of force assailed his back. He roared in pain. He felt as if a thousand sharp blades sliced his back.
Eurdrasill had used divine wind breath on him. Eurdrasill now jumped onto Tiemezzys' back and used his weight to pin the yellow dragon down forcefully.
Tiemezzys was winning the battle, but the sight of Broidrireg in peril caused him to lose his cool and allow Eurdrasill to gain an advantage. HP-wise, Eurdrasill was already below half while Tiemezzys still had around eighty percent. This was owing to Eurdrasill couldn't use mana manipulation while Tiemezzys could. Their battle was not an equal match.
With Tiemezzys being pinned, Eurdrasill cast a spell that conjured multiple wind saws. These wind saws tried slicing their way through Tiemezzys' rock armor, which he had cast previously. The rock armor already had many cracks on it.
"You, despicable tree! Get off me…!!" Tiemezzys yelled. He slammed the ground and several sharp pillars pierced from the ground at slant angles. These pillars stabbed into Eurdrasill, but the wooden dragon ignored the attack. He continued to apply all his weight to hold the yellow dragon down.
When Tiemezzys was still struggling to break free from Eurdrasill, he saw a dark shadow crossing through the sky at high speed. This shadow was heading toward the fireball that trapped Broidrireg.
*
The shadow was Arlcard flying at high speed. Before he reached the periphery of the capital, he cast a spell on his way. This spell placed a dark oval thing that just hung in the air. After casting that spell, he continued flying toward the fireball.
Suzaki noticed this incoming shadow when it came out of the capital. She just looked at Arlcard without taking any action. She was surprised to find another high-level eternal being on the field but if this vampire wanted to throw his life by entering the fireball created by her fire domination, she wouldn't stop him.
As Arlcard got close to the fireball, his large bat wings produced a speed boost similar to Wind Jet. He then cast Ghost Form. While being intangible, Arlcard's ghost-body shot into the fireball.
"Huh? Ghost form can be used that way?" Jack uttered when he saw the scene. He was heading out with his royal agents. He was riding Pandora, so he was able to catch up to Arlcard who had set out earlier.
Ghost form reduced one's speed, but the speed reduction was based on the user's ongoing speed when it was cast. Since Arlcard was already fast when the spell took effect, the ghost form was still fast.
Additionally, Jack noticed that Arlcard's speed didn't reduce in the slightest when he became intangible. Peniel explained that must be because Arlcard's ghost form was already ten stars. At this maximum upgrade, the ghost form didn't suffer any speed penalty.
Jack asked how was that possible considering Arlcard had only learned the spell. Peniel reminded Jack that Cain mentioned giving his powers to Arlcard before Arlcard turned into a cocoon state. This ghost form was probably one of Cain's spells which was already fully upgraded during Cain's lifetime.
Arlcard's ghost form not only had full ten stars but it was also at level 20. It lasted thirty seconds. The extreme speed allowed Arlcard to travel a great distance in that time frame. While being intangible, he was not harmed by the intense flames around him.
The diameter of the fireball was so great that Arlcard still didn't reach its center when the end of the ghost form was approaching. When he hit the thirty seconds, he finally saw Broidrireg through the flames.
He used Focus Sight, another new skill he gained, the instant his ghost form ended. With the increased perception of time, he cast Teleportation. The spell blinked him away before he suffered too much damage. He reappeared inside Broidrireg's protection sphere. He was allowed in despite Broidrireg's powerful mana defense because of his link to Jack. He was considered an ally.
Even so, Broidrireg didn't recognize Arlcard. They had never met. During the previous battle in Hydrurond, they fought separately so they never crossed paths.
"Who are you?" Broidrireg asked in amazement. Who in their right mind chose to come inside this fiery hell?
"We have a common friend. My name is Arlcard Maxius," Arlcard introduced himself. At the same time, he made a gesture and the same dark oval thing he had placed above the capital appeared here.
Even though Broidrireg didn't recognize Arlcard, he knew the name. He understood who this common friend Arlcard was mentioning. He also recognized the dark oval Arlcard had conjured.
"Dark portal?" He uttered.
"This is our ticket out," Arlcard replied.