Chapter 280 : Simone

« Chapter-279 | Index | Chapter-281 » Sora was taken aback by the revelation. 'A planet that desperately longs to host life… only to die giv

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Sora was taken aback by the revelation.

'A planet that desperately longs to host life… only to die giving it. And the species born from it can grant any wish, but only by dying? That sounds more like a curse than a miracle…' He kept those thoughts to himself and stayed quiet while Minny slowly regained his composure.

'Poor kid.'

Even distracted, most of Sora’s focus was on the second wave of the invasion. On one of the screens, he spotted Sig and Katarina preparing to intervene in Norj’s raid against Enkidu and Gilgamesh.

Unlike before, Norj wasn’t watching others fight. This time, he was on the front line with a woman Sora had seen at his side before.

So, when high-level players join a raid, Enkidu steps in personally to defend the troops—just like he did with us last time. But if only low-level players show up, he hangs back. That’s something we could exploit in our next raid against them… he thought, watching Enkidu throw himself into the melee to block an attack from the dark elf chief.

The woman at Norj’s side was mercilessly slaughtering Uruk’s army, while the rest of the dark elves seemed focused on supporting and empowering their two leaders.

'A two-man army, fully buffed and supported by high-level skills. And pretty unique ones at that…'

A group of dark elves played strange instruments, accompanied by a singer. Two others danced with the music, while a final player floated above them, projecting an aura that enveloped the entire group.

'A band, dancers, and even a skill amplifier… I’ve seen setups like this before, but I didn’t expect it from the dark elves.' Sora analyzed the elite formation before turning his attention back to the two strongest players.

Both leaders were level 300, each with their own role.

On one side, Norj fought Enkidu with intelligence. His style was defensive, relying mostly on speed and technique, keeping Uruk’s protector at bay while keeping an eye on Gilgamesh, who was gathering energy. When Enkidu, tired of chasing him, turned toward his allies, Norj immediately switched to offense, forcing his opponent to defend himself.

On the other side, the dark elf, Simone, free of any restraints, dealt with the army defending the Mythic Bosses’ territory. With masterful control of wind, she unleashed blasts on groups of soldiers, shredding them apart with ease. In less than a minute, she exterminated every last one of Uruk’s soldiers.

When Enkidu saw the last soldier fall, he let out a sigh, and all the rage he had displayed until then quickly vanished. He observed his enemies holding three distinct positions on the battlefield.

The male elf in front of him, to his right.
The female elf in front of him, to his left.
The group of elves standing behind them.

Showing nothing that could reveal his intentions, he tilted his head to the right, then to the left, cracking his neck and started stretching his body.

Sora, experienced after countless successful raids, thought, 'They’re moving into phase two… For bosses with an army like this, phase two usually gives them access to most of their skill arsenal. Phases three and four should gradually lift the restrictions imposed by the system.'

He glanced at the second boss, who had yet to make a move.

The King of Uruk, Gilgamesh, slowly rose from his throne and flew toward his friend Enkidu. In front of them, Norj and Simone each took out an item from their inventory, preparing for what was to come.

A horn appeared in Norj’s hands, and a fan in Simone’s.

Sora frowned. 'World Boss Cores? They’re using them directly? How is that even possible?'

He noticed the giants of Uruk were also taken aback and understood that the real battle was about to begin.

Sora sent a message to Sig: “Get ready. At the first opening, sabotage their raid. But be careful with what they’re holding. Tell Kata to run if things go south.”

“Count on me.” Sig’s reply came without delay.

As tension grew between the two groups, Tian Long and Katarina drew their weapons and positioned themselves outside of the territory, ready to seize any opportunity.

Phase two didn’t take long to arrive. After a few moments spent stretching, Enkidu opened his eyes.

They had turned blood-red. Like a surge of electricity, a crimson wave spread through his body. Every inch of him changed under its flow—muscles trembled, bones cracked, and his perfectly proportioned frame swelled, becoming even bigger.

The pressure he radiated skyrocketed, and before his enemies could register the transformation, the giant leapt into the air.

Sora was shocked. 'Is he insane? He’s a Mythic Boss! There’s a barrier around his territory!! At that speed, he’s going to smash his skull open!!'

But while Sora questioned the giant’s sanity, Enkidu twisted midair, his head facing the ground, feet toward the barrier. With perfect precision, he struck the barrier and used it as a springboard to launch himself at the elves at blinding speed.

Surprisingly, Norj managed to track him with his eyes, and quickly realized the giant wasn’t targeting him. His gaze shifted to his partner hundreds of meters away, brows furrowing. He knew she was aware of the threat—her mental energy could keep up with all events—but he knew she couldn’t dodge without burning a massive amount of energy.

When he saw Simone looking east while he himself stood to her west, he stopped hesitating. He dismissed the horn in his hand, replacing it with a shield. Once armed, he extended his hand toward Simone, who was preparing an attack eastward… while her enemy loomed above her.

Before acting, he extended the other hand toward the allies on his right, and pulled a massive amount of energy from the group of players supporting him. Satisfied by the feeling of empowerment, he activated a skill targeted at Simone.

A massive fist was about to crush her head when she vanished, replaced by an elf raising a shield above his own.

For the first time, Norj took a direct hit from the titan. The blow was devastating, and the force stronger than any other attack used on that day.

However, against all odds, the dark elf withstood it. The blood flowing from his mouth, and the signs of his arms breaking hinted at how difficult it was to survive the attack.

“Why didn’t he dodge?” Minny was stunned by the elf’s decision, and shared his surprise with Sora. and Tian.

Sora frowned at the elf's actions and pointed to the left of the screen.

On the right, Norj was being driven slowly toward the ground, losing altitude. But as the giant prepared an attack with his other fist, he failed to notice the tremendous gust of wind rushing toward him.

“That fan must make attacks invisible, or something like that…” Tian Long offered his theory to Sora and Minny.

Sora added, “Sig and Katarina can’t see it either, despite being quite close… I don’t think even Gilgamesh can see that attack.”

Sure enough, Enkidu didn’t react as the gust, shaped into a crescent blade, closed in to slice him apart.

No supernatural reflexes, no intuition, no ally saved the giant as the wind blade struck him head-on.

It hit in two places. First, his outstretched left arm—the blade shredded through his armor with ease, carving deep into his flesh for several meters and even shattering the humerus.

The same strike landed on his right leg, hitting both the upper and lower parts. His calf suffered the same fate as his arm, though his quadriceps managed to shield his femur.

“Wow. I don’t know what’s more impressive. That he still has his limbs after that hit, or that Simone strikes hard enough to nearly cut him to pieces.” Aware the dark elf had fired in haste, Sora struggled to gauge just how terrifying her true potential was if given the time to prepare an attack.

“You think those pointy-eared creatures can actually finish the raid? Uncle Enkidu’s gonna struggle with a leg and an arm messed up… What’s Sig waiting for to jump in and help him?” Minny seemed worried for Uruk’s protector.

But Sora wasn’t nearly as concerned. “This is only phase two. And don’t focus too much on those three. What’s happening in the back is just as important—if not more.”

Following Sora’s gaze, Minny looked at the group supporting Norj and Simone with a puzzled expression.

The group hadn’t moved since the end of phase one. The singer kept singing. The musicians still played their instruments. And the dancers kept on dancing…

“Huh?” Minny still didn’t understand.

Sora opened another monitor, enlarged it, and split it into two sections. On one side, the tired and strained expressions of the dark elves appeared before the young Stellar Jinn. On the other, the location where Gilgamesh had been.

Confused, Minny asked, “Why is the right side empty?”

…

“Gilgamesh was there, wasn’t he?” he asked again.

…

…

After a moment of thought, he finally asked, “Did he die?”

Sora, who had hoped the young Jinn would figure it out on his own, gave up and replied, “He’s not dead… He’s somewhere, but I can’t sense him anymore. And ever since Enkidu’s strike on Norj, that group of elves has been under heavy pressure. Their energy consumption seems extreme.”

As Minny absorbed the information, the trio watched with interest as Gilgamesh suddenly appeared behind the group, arms outstretched on either side of them. Before they could even realize what was happening, he crushed them like mosquitoes.

Looking at the blood on his hands, he simply blew on them, making every trace of their existence vanish.

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We’re back!

The wedding ended five days ago, but I came down sick and needed some extra time to recover. Still not fully back on my feet—but who cares? Time to get back to work!

Sorry for the delay.