Parallel Vol. 5

Chapter 40: Cheat

A few minutes before Kashi's trump card, Absalon rubbed his face as he recalled a conversation he had over the Rink with the draconian a few days ago.

"Are you certain this will work? We will suffer disastrous losses if your gamble is off by one second."

"Hehe, don't worry. If my estimates are off, we'll have much bigger things to worry about."

Absalon pulled up the system menu to look at the in-game clock. 11:59 pm. Well, it was now or never. Absalon steeled his heart and then relayed a command. "It's time! Implement Operation Devil's Gambit!"

Absalon's order sent a chill through the coalition army's bones. To say that the battle's outcome hinged on this one order was not an overstatement. Thankfully, Absalon had trained his forces to calmly carry out orders regardless of their misgivings or thoughts.

A knight at the head of the army suddenly grabbed a lowly undead. He could crush this small fry with ease, but he only knocked its sword out of its arm, spun in place, and then flung the undead toward the coalition's rear with everything he had.

The undead panicked as it flew into the coalition's anti-aerial bombardment used to prevent the undead from using these exact tactics to circumvent their army. Shockingly, however, the undead sailed through the salvos without so much as a scratch. It was like the bolts and magic attacks willingly parted ways to let it pass. The undead was even more shocked because it saw several of its brethren get skewered or obliterated by the aerial bombardment.

The Drugher landed at the army's rear, but another knight picked it up before it could process its survival, and launched it with all her might toward the distant Oni Hill.

Whoosh! The Drugher could not understand what was happening as it sailed through the air, but its instincts took over once it saw Oni Hill's massive doors. It did not care if the humes had lost their minds. It would gain unimaginable power once it touched that door!

Bang! The Drugher crashed into the ground just before the doors. Without a second thought, it rapidly shot off the ground and reached for the door.

Far away, Absalon's knuckles whitened as he tightly gripped his staff. The general's heart rose to his throat as the brief second stretched into several thousand eons.

'Was I too hasty?' Absalon wondered if he perhaps put too much trust in Kashi's words. Without any means of communication, he could not confirm whether Kashi completed his side of the gambit. 'Whatever. We'll deal with it if anything goes wrong.'

Absalon strengthened his resolve. Kashi had always pulled off the impossible. It was time for the rest of them to pull their weight. Even if Kashi somehow failed this time, they would clean up the mess. With those thoughts, Absalon's staff began to glow as he closely monitored the Dugher's bony finger.

Tak! The world went silent as bone met stone. Unbelievably, nothing happened. No great power descended from Oni Hill and the Drugher did not undergo any major transformations.

"GROOAR!"

A terrible roar snapped Absalon's attention to the sky. The embattled general broadly grinned he saw Belrug bite into Gunder's back. "That mad man. He actually did it!"

"Everyone! Our crazy Guildmaster completed his promise!" Absalon's eyes blazed with flames as he glared at the undead army. "You have endured for so long. It is time! Go Crazy!"

"UOOO!" Excited roars exploded from the coalition army as their eyes burned with naked bloodlust. These soldiers had felt stifled for so long. Despite their overwhelming strength, the nature of the battle forced them to adopt a defensive posture that absorbed relentless beatings. Without the threat of Oni Hill's transformation, the Maggots could finally go all out!