Second World
chapter-1898

At Southern Palgrost Front, four players materialized behind the defensive walls out of nowhere. These players were Paytowin, Wilted Tree, Handsome Joe, and Anotherday.

The soldiers around the place were startled by their appearance. They were tense for a beat, thinking enemies had somehow broken through their defensive line, but then they saw the four were no demons. They returned their attention to their task. A battle was ongoing. They had no time to deal with these unknown intruders.

"Wilted, is that you?" A voice called to them. Paytowin and the others turned and saw a makeshift workshop where many dwarven blacksmiths were repairing the soldiers' equipment.

It took a while before Wilted found the one who called her.

"Hedite?" She called back.

A dwarven woman was walking to them. Paytowin and the others didn't know this woman. But if Jack, Jet, and Grace were here, they would. Hedite was the one who had helped Jack and Jet craft the armor for their pets. She was, however, not the weak level 20 elite when Jack met her. She was without disguise here. She was a level 70 rare elite. She didn't join the fight, though. She preferred to use her blacksmithing expertise to contribute to the war.

"What are you doing here?" Hedite asked after she arrived.

"We are here to help with the war," Wilted replied.

"That's good. We need all the help we can get," Hedite said. "This is the last line of defense for Palgrost. Most of this country had fallen to the underworld forces. Even the Sangrod army at the Northern Front had been defeated a couple of weeks ago. If we retreat again, Palgrost is lost."

There was sadness in Hedite's voice. She was no longer this country's citizen. Her home was the Village of Peace. Even so, she was a dwarf. This was where her ancestors came from. She didn't want this country to vanish.

"Don't worry. We will no longer retreat," Wilted said. She turned and looked far away in the sky, in the direction where two behemoths were contesting for strength.

When Hedite saw Wilted's gaze, she couldn't help but ask, "You are not thinking about engaging that devil, are you?"

"That is exactly what we are going to do," Wilted uttered.

Hedite couldn't believe what she had heard. She thought Wilted was joking, but Wilted's face was serious and her voice firm. So, Hedite used her Inspect.

"Le… Level 95…?" Hedite stammered. "How do you get to that level so fast? I know you outworlders have crazy leveling speed, but even the outworlders who have survived the war until now don't have a level so high."

"Hehe, he is not the only one, you know," Joe chuckled.

"You shouldn't sound so proud. You have the lowest level here," Anotherday said to Joe.

"Ugh… Do you have to point that out?" Joe complained.

Hearing that, Hedite used Inspect on the rest of the three. She was speechless at her findings. Paytowin was even level 97.

"First, we need to talk to the commander of this army," Wilted asked. "Where is the mobile fortress? Thelgrun should be inside the fortress, shouldn't he?"

"The mobile fortress is no more," Hedite answered. "It was destroyed on the defensive line before this one. Leviathan got too close to the defensive walls, so Thelgrun brought the mobile fortress to try to stop him. Not a smart move, if you ask me. It wasn't a match for Leviathan's raw strength. Luckily, its destruction didn't affect the people inside it. Some were wounded, but they survived. Thelgrun issued a retreat after that."

"Such a pity," Paytowin remarked. "Jack spent a lot of resources to build that mobile fortress."

"We lost a lot of things in this war, kid," Hedite said. "Not to sound pessimistic, but we will lose even more if things don't change."

"We will make the change," Wilted said. "So, do you know where Thelgrun is on this battlefield?"

"He should be at the center part of the defensive walls," Hedite answered while pointing in a direction. "Thelgrun didn't want to stay at the back while his soldiers fought, so they moved the command station there. They could organize while defending the wall."

"I can't see how that is effective," Paytowin said. "The war table can easily be destroyed if it was placed so close to the front line."

"There is no more war table. It is also destroyed with the mobile fortress," Hedite informed. "Not like it matters, anyway. There are more Themisphere soldiers fighting here than Palgrost soldiers."

Palgrost troops were already few when the war started. The speed by which Palgrost drafted recruits also couldn't be compared to Themisphere, who had an outworlder sovereign. Thus, the proportion between human and dwarven soldiers defending this front continued to shift toward the human population. If not for the many dwarven outworlders and native dwarven adventurers, people might've mistaken this place for a Themisphere's front.

"We have little time. Let's go," Wilted said. To Hedite, she said, "It's good seeing you again, Hedite."

"Likewise," Hedite replied.

The four spread the wings from their wings tool and flew away. Hedite watched them for a while. She was wondering if they were truly serious about going up against Leviathan. They might have high levels, but the devil was not an opponent who could be defeated with just a high level. Yet, something about them gave her the bravery to hope.

It didn't take long for the four to find Thelgrun. With his royal guards, he fought to fend off the demons climbing the wall. While above, Arther and other defenders who could fly fought the demon flyers.

"President Thelgrun!" Wilted called.

Thelgrun turned to Wilted after hearing the call. "Do I know you, miss?" Thelgrun asked. He then noticed Paytowin.

"George! It's good to see you again. Does King Jack come here as well?" He asked.

Paytowin shook his head. "No. Jack goes and aids the defensive front at Hydrurond. Don't worry. We will take care of this place."

"Uh-huh. Do you bring a whole f*ckload of an army?" Thelgrun asked sarcastically.

"Hey. Come on, dude. You should have more confidence in us. Jack is not the only one who can be relied on."

"I'm not complaining. Whatever you can help with, it is welcome," Thelgrun said. He ran over and used his hammer to bash a demon about to climb up the wall.

"If it is an army you want, I can give it to you," Wilted said.

"You can?" Thelgrun asked.

"We can?" Paytowin also asked.

Wilted answered by taking out a pipe. It was the Pipe of Monster Control given by Goddess Serenity. After the appearance of the underworld forces, the description of the restriction changed. It could now also be used against the underworld forces. Additionally, if it was against the underworld forces, the AOE of the pipe increased to a fifty-kilometer radius, and the number of monsters that were controlled was one million.

Wilted didn't know how the change happened. She figured it was because of Serenity's will.

She blew the pipe. Afterward, she told Thelgrun, "This is why I want to see you first before doing what we come here for. Please inform the army not to panic or attack the monsters that will be rushing here."

"Monsters?" Thelgrun asked, confused.

Wilted nodded. "This pipe summoned one million monsters from the surrounding area. It would choose the strongest monsters available. These monsters will be your reinforcement, so don't attack them."

"Good lord. Is that real? This is great!" Thelgrun turned to the side and yelled, "Broban! Viking!"

The two dwarves he called were fighting a distance away. The two ran over after hearing the summon.

"What do you need, my liege?" Broban asked.

Thelgrun introduced the two to Wilted. He then told them about Wilted's monster reinforcement and instructed them to inform the army. They had skeptical expressions when hearing that an army of monsters would be coming to their aid, but they carried out Thelgrun's order.

Broban started to go around barking orders while Viking sent out messages. The message was also sent to a player who stayed near Arther. That player informed Arther so he could inform the Themisphere army as well.

After Broban and Viking left, Wilted told Thelgrun, "We will be helping the fight against Leviathan."

"Sure, go for it," Thelgrun said nonchalantly.

"Please ask your army to be ready," Wilted said. "I know Leviathan mostly stays in the sky and away from his army, but the battle might end up on the ground. When that happens, we will need ground support from your army to fend off the demon army from interrupting our battle with Leviathan."

Thelgrun stopped and turned to Wilted. It took him a few seconds before saying, "Wait, you are serious about going for Leviathan?"

"Dude, do you see our faces like someone who jokes around?" Paytowin asked.

"Yours, yes… Well, his also," Thelgrun pointed at Joe.

"Ouch, man," Joe uttered.

"Mister President. We are serious. We will face Leviathan," Wilted repeated. "You should have heard about Jack going somewhere to find a way to defeat the underworld forces. We were with him on that journey, and we are now ready to do our part. I might give you monster reinforcement, but we are the true reinforcement you have all been waiting for."

"Miss, I want to say you don't look it, but then again, I've learned to trust King Jack. If he sent you here. All right, you will have the army's support when the time comes," Thelgrun said before adding, "But I need to say something first. If you fail to do what you said you can do, do know it will be a disaster for us. To give you the support you need, I will need to task a lot of troops away from these defensive walls. We are already stretched thin as it is. Do you truly have the confidence to complete this insane mission?"

Wilted looked at the three next to him. Their faces showed resolution.

Wilted answered Thelgrun, "Have faith in us, Mister President. This is what we outworlders are here for. It's time we show you our worth and prove that we earned our right to share this world with you."