Second World
chapter-1859

The second fastest to return to Chris' secret garden was Spring Crown. He passed his trial in one week. Chris was again surprised by the feat even when he said one week was the fastest. He expected everyone to take at least two weeks.

The others who passed the trials before two weeks passed were Jeanny, Leavemealone, Four Winds, and Red Death. The others gathered here returned after two weeks. David and Anotherday were the latest among the group. They only returned two days ago.

The other nine were still in the trials. Luckily, none of the trials had been completed by random players like Jack did with the Time Sage. Still, everyone was worried. If even one of these nine failed, they couldn't complete the twenty-four classes. Chris regularly monitored the ones who were still inside the trial spaces. Even though they had not yet passed, they were also not considered failed.

Jeanny's class was now Dragon Lord. Grace was Divine Knight. Paytowin was Heavenly Mech Warrior. Leavemealone was Supreme Fist. Four Winds was King of Fury. Spring Crown was Weapon God. Red Death was Death Executor. Wilted was Grim Reaper. Arthur was Primordial Punisher. Jet was Beast Conqueror. David was Celestial Commander. Anotherday was Veiled Demon Slayer.

Like Jack, they lost all the skills from their previous special classes, if they had ones, but gained new skills. They all agreed the skills from these pinnacle special classes were more powerful than their previous skills. They also gained potent passive abilities.

The regrettable thing was they gained these special classes at their current high level. They couldn't enjoy stat increases as much as if they gained these classes at level 50, as Jack did with his Time Sage.

All of them used Chris' training dungeons after returning. They all wanted to increase their levels quickly. They weren't training now because Chris informed them the underworld forces had initiated contact with the defenders. Hence, they all came out to look at the situation.

"How are the situations in the other countries?" Four Winds asked.

"The defenders in Aurebor and Palgrost have not yet encountered the enemies. The underworld forces are still on their way. They will probably enter battle in a few more days."

"We should just focus all our defenses in one place," Four Winds said. "They might lay waste to the countries that are not defended, but we have a better chance of taking them down one by one if we combine all our forces."

John didn't refute. He was contemplating. He knew the plan to slow down the underworld forces was not an ideal winning plan.

"I disagree," Chris said. "This setup is better. Let's say you concentrate your forces and somehow defeat one of the devils by luck. You will just invite the other devils to come together and hunt you down. They do not need to stay their course if there is no resistance. They can simply let their armies advance while they head elsewhere, like where your forces are concentrated. I can assure you, if those devils are together, you will face a whole different level of difficulty."

"What's the point? From the look of it, we will still lose," Paytowin said. "What's the point of us staying here and getting stronger when everything is already destroyed by the time we leave?"

"You truly have no faith, eh? Did you forget already I said I have modified some things for contingency?" Chris asked.

"What do you mean?" Wilted asked.

"I said I set it so all the league factions will join the fight against the underworld forces," Chris answered.

"They are already fighting there, and they are losing," Paytowin protested.

"My friend, I said ALL league factions. Those over there are not all," Chris said.

"Wait, do you mean…," Wilted appeared to realize something.

"I don't think they will keep themselves hidden for long. Any minute now," Chris said.

*

At Hydrurond's Southern defensive line, both the armies of the upperworld and underworld stood by the sides. None of them took any action. The only ones still in battle were the two titanic figures representing each army. Satan and Eoranth.

Calling it a battle was misleading. It was more like a beatdown. Satan was evidently stronger. He was also more advanced in mana manipulation. He didn't even use many skills to overpower Eoranth. He just relied on his physical superiority.

Eoranth refused to admit defeat, though. His pride as the lord of the dragon pushed him to keep fighting, even when his HP kept falling. His ferocity only intensified with time, but it wasn't enough.

"We have to help Eoranth!" Tip said.

"No, stand down!" Linda commanded.

"We can't just let die without doing anything!"

"Right now, the demon army is standing down. If we move, they move!"

"She is right, Tip. We will just make matters worse by joining the fight," Saint Jonathan, who stood beside Linda, said.

"So what? Are we going to just stand back and watch our greatest protector die without doing anything?" Tip protested.

Linda couldn't answer. She was running her brain to think of a solution, but she couldn't think of one. Even if they acted, it was unlikely they could save Eoranth. The army Satan brought was more powerful than the one they fought earlier. It had more numbers with plenty of high-grade and high-level demons.

They should retreat. They would waste the defensive structures and siege weapons here. More than two-thirds were still intact. Retreating was always the plan. She just didn't think they had to do it so early. It was not even a full day yet since the battle started.

The question now was how to separate Satan and Eoranth. Eoranth seemed to have been blinded by rage and pride. She doubted the dragon would listen to her. She could sacrifice troops to draw Satan's attention, but Satan had the Soul and Chaos Chain Reaction. He could lay waste to the sacrificial troops she sent in an instant. Right now, she had been pulling the army back to a certain distance from Satan.

While thinking, she continued to arrange the troops in a position that allowed them to retreat at a moment's notice. She also sent messages to the guild leaders to ready their members. All the while, the duel between Satan and Eoranth kept on going.

*WHAM!*

Eoranth was forced to his knees from a massive impact from Satan's flaming hammer. Wounds were visible on his body. One of the bones in his left wing was broken. He couldn't fly properly even if he tried. His HP bar was down to half.

Satan, on the other hand, still had his HP bar above 90%. The contest was pretty clear-cut.

"Harharhar," Satan laughed. "You might think you can fight me because we are only one level apart, but let me tell you. Even if you have the same level as me, you still won't win. There is a big gap between a dragon's bloodline and a devil's bloodline. We devils are the pinnacle of existence. Now, face your fate, dragon!"

Satan lifted his fire hammer. It enlarged to a mythical proportion. The hammer became as large as him. He then brought this hammer down at Eoranth. Its size was now enough to cover Eoranth's entire body.

Eoranth gritted his fangs. He was about to push himself up to clash with the hammer when suddenly the hammer changed trajectory. It veered just in time before colliding with a massive silver beam heading to Satan. A massive explosion resulted from the collision. This explosion caused Eoranth and the demons in the vicinity to fall to the ground.

Satan remained in his position. He didn't budge from the explosion, but his flaming hammer was no more. It was destroyed in the explosion. He didn't mind, though. The hammer was not a real weapon. It was a weapon crafted from his energy. He could make another one anytime he wanted. He turned his head to the one who had fired the beam.

Everyone on the battlefield did the same. What they saw was a host of people floating in the air. Leading these people was an old man with a long white beard. He carried with him a long golden cane that ended with a bird-shaped head.

Players recognized this old man. He was the one overlooking the end of the tutorial phase, Honuren.

Behind Honuren were the members of the league faction that worshipped the God of Hope, the Council of Elpo. The same one Jeanny and Paytowin had visited.

"Probably we can still hold this place for a while," Linda said after seeing those people in the sky. She also knew about Hope's faction, courtesy of the information she gained while serving under Master. Among the divine factions, this one was the strongest.

"Hmph! Another loser joining the fray?" Satan mocked. "Doesn't matter. No matter how many you are, I will squash you all!"

Honuren wasn't intimidated by the declaration. He watched from above while brushing his long white beard. He responded with a declaration of his own. "Denizens of the underworld! You will regret stepping onto this land blessed and protected by the mighty God of Hope. We are impartial to worldly matters. But for you, demons, we make an exception. We will not let you taint this world further. In God Hope's name, you will be vanquished!"

With that declaration, the host behind Honuren uttered a thundering war cry. They then charged forward.

Linda and Tip didn't stay idle. Following the Council of Elpo's lead, they also sent a command to the army to resume the battle.