Summoning the Holy Sword

Rhode wasn’t aware of what was going on in the Dragon Soul Continent right now. He put his hands behind his back, stood quietly by the side, and gazed at the sacred palace ahead. At that moment, everyone had arrived at the central plaza of the first floor and were examining the area. This place was rather similar to the center of Rhode’s Grandia with its stairs paved with white slates, encircling the entire round plaza. The verdant plants that grew on both sides hadn’t decayed as though time hadn’t passed at all. The stone pillars surrounding the plaza were engraved with the shapes of all sorts of mysterious creatures. But a single glance from Rhode made him recognize most of them as creatures of the Dragon Soul Continent. They also portrayed the story where the Void Dragon and other four Creator Dragons joined hands to create the Dragon Soul Continent amongst the chaos. With the person involved (his younger sister) here, Rhode wasn’t interested in admiring the murals, but began to ponder on the information he had received from her instead.

In general, this wasn’t considered anything serious. All the murals described and recorded was the day when the Void Dragon and her subordinates encountered monsters and had gotten into a clash. However, they couldn’t defeat the monsters and had no choice but to retreat. On the other hand, Marybelle stepped up and eradicated the monsters effortlessly. After she returned, not only did she reprimand the subordinates who roamed around freely, but she also strictly prohibited them from wandering to dangerous places. But come to think of it, the murals in sacred places were meant for one to praise, so it would be ridiculous if one were to record every embarrassing detail on them.

Rhode wouldn’t be surprised if this were to happen in the Dragon Soul Continent. But it was entirely different here. This was Earth and according to his younger sister, the subordinates that Marybelle led were level 70 at minimum. At this level, not even dealing with devils would require much effort, not to mention eliminating dinosaurs like Tyrannosauruses, who were nothing more than oversized chickens. Rhode felt strange no matter how he imagined Celia and Celestina fleeing desperately from the chase of a group of dinosaurs. Moreover, even though Marybelle defeated the monsters quickly, she strictly prohibited her subordinates from wandering too far away. This also astonished his younger sister because among the deity wardens, Marybelle was the most prudent, which was why the Void Dragon had chosen her to lead the team. But for this Presence Deity Warden to act so cautiously against dinosaurs that were a flock of oversized chickens, something must be wrong somewhere. Considering that situation, the latter was more possible than the former.

But it was a pity that the murals didn’t provide too much information regarding this matter. It simply mentioned a few details and the latter began displaying records of how the Void Dragon’s subordinates arrived here, built the sacred palace, and established territory. This was why even though Rhode and his younger sister felt suspicious, they couldn’t gain much with the information and could only advance patiently.

On the other hand, Erin and Lydia were fascinated by this place. They admired the murals leisurely along the way. The two Mini Bubble Gums became uncharacteristically obedient as they stood by the side with a fake smile, apparently intending to become the final BOSS of this ‘sci-fi thriller film’. Rhode observed as they whispered into each other’s ears and was sure that they were up to no good. Meanwhile, the two Canaries sat by the side in the distance, appreciating the beautiful scenery of this sacred palace.

At that moment, Thomas and the rest apparently didn’t care about Rhode’s group. Everything would be fine as long as they didn’t wander off by themselves. Even though they were moved by this magnificent palace, they weren’t familiar with this place, after all. After some examinations to ensure nothing was dangerous, Thomas discussed with the people around him. Then, he waved his arm and said, “Alright then, we will stop here for today. Let’s get ready to begin our exploration.”

Upon hearing his order, Rhode puckered his brows. This sacred palace was a replica of Grandia, and the first floor was the size of several plazas. There were many rooms around so if this group of men were to search each and every room, perhaps it would take more than half a year to finish exploring them. Rhode had intended to sneak in after they left, but it seemed like they had the intentions to ‘live and work together’ with him. It was apparent that Thomas wasn’t assured in leaving Rhode’s group alone and definitely didn’t want them to roam about freely.

It seems like…

At this thought, Rhode couldn’t help but turn to the two Mini Bubble Gums ahead who were whispering into each other’s ears.

Maybe we’re really stepping into the plot of a sci-fi thriller film.

“Ahhh!”

Before Erin completed her sentence, a scream from the front interrupted her. Everyone was taken aback immediately. They lifted their heads and looked at where Thomas and the others were. Right there, a soldier who was holding up a flashlight and shining the path ahead shuddered as though he were bitten by something and quickly dragged away. Everyone merely witnessed the radiance of his flashlight flitting across the darkness and he vanished to nowhere.

Looking at this scene, the others were flabbergasted. Before Thomas was able to give a command, he heard yet another blood-curdling scream. Three to five of the soldiers who escorted the civilians were immediately dragged away by some mysterious presence from the darkness. After several screeches and gunshots, there were no more movements. At that moment, everyone tensed up instantly. The captain of the soldiers waved his arm and the soldiers quickly surrounded Thomas, Rhode, and the rest in the middle. Then, the well-trained soldiers tossed flash bangs ahead one after another upon the captain’s orders. In an instant, the dark surroundings lit up like daytime, but no mysterious presences were seen. Apart from the surrounding walls, there was nothing. Rhode’s group witnessed several shadows dart across the place the instant the flash bangs burst, but didn’t get to witness their true identities.

Shortly after, the blinding radiance of the flash bangs faded away. At the same time, Rhode keenly sensed the eruptions of death aura from all directions as they ambushed his group.

“Attack!”

At this moment, Rhode was no longer interested in putting up an act anymore. He didn’t wish to become the protagonist who was chased by monsters in sci-fi thriller films. In fact, the reason why Rhode and his group put up a disguise was to prevent other countries from figuring out what they were up to. But now, his goal was considered achieved after entering the ruins. That was why he didn’t disguise himself anymore. He dashed forward and a burst of light erupted from his hand where a dazzling sword appeared. At the same time, Lydia, Erin, Canary, and Mini Bubble Gum also made their moves, launching attacks on the enemies from all directions!

First to attack were the two Mini Bubble Gums. As clerics, their first move was undeniably to set up strong defenses. They had held back for so long after abiding by Rhode’s command and now, they couldn’t tolerate it any longer. As soon as they heard his command, they cheered and tossed aside the self-restraint of a BOSS, attacking at the same time. A golden radiance flickered in an instant. White runes scattered in an explosion to form two barriers that protected everyone. Meanwhile, the dark aura of death arrived, pouncing on the spiritual barrier before retreating swiftly after.

At the same time, Rhode, Erin, and Lydia carried out their attacks.

Even though the aura of death was deadly to ordinary humans, Lydia wasn’t afraid of it at all as an archangel. She laid out her blades in a crisscross stance where several golden blade rays flickered, slicing and shredding the dark mist effortlessly. Shortly after, in the sound of anguished wailing, the death aura rolled back, desperately fleeing from her holy brilliance.

But they didn’t expect Erin to be waiting patiently at the side. She didn’t release her aura, but drew in the air with a finger instead. The scattered dark shadows around her transformed into razor-sharp blades with this action of hers and clinched the death aura, devouring them entirely. As the princess of the Country of Darkness, Erin wasn’t any less experienced than Lydia in dealing with undead creatures. In a few moments, a huge mass of the peculiar dark shadows disappeared.

Meanwhile, Rhode’s hand flashed in a white radiance. A white card appeared out of thin air and flew toward the enemies ahead!