Chapter 213: Countdown to the End! Bloody Dawn!
Just as the heavy canopy of night was about to lull the adventurers to sleep, a thunderous piece of bad news ripped through the night sky!
The Ishtar Familia, collapsed!
The Blessings inscribed on the backs of those battle prostitutes collectively failed!
There was no War Game, no Heavenly Light Pillar; Ishtar, had fallen so silently!
Dead silence, followed by an inexplicable terror, spread like a plague from the bustling Pleasure Quarter.
A strange phenomenon then visited the surface.
At first, there were only inconspicuous red light particles.
They struggled to ascend from the cracks in the flagstones, the bases of buildings, the dark sewer mouths… dancing wildly.
The city, which should have been enveloped by the dark night sky, was instantly completely covered by a deadly, crimson mist.
At the same time, a faint song drifted into the ears of every resident.
That distant sound was both a lullaby that put everything to sleep and a requiem that purified all things.
And Uranus, sitting on the underground altar, was the first to perceive the will contained within that melody—
Ominous and pure destruction.
The old god summoned his subordinate, ordering him to entrust his last remaining trump card to his only apprentice.
Subsequently, Arthur, without a moment's hesitation, charged into the Dungeon alone, with grim determination.
Facing this rapid anomaly, chaos had already clogged and boiled in the streets and alleys.
The Guild Headquarters, as the city's hub, abandoned any pretense of concealment and operated at full power at an unprecedented speed!
"Is this the anomaly Uranus mentioned earlier? …Heh, it really is, nothing to laugh about anymore."
In the hall illuminated by magic stone lamps as bright as day, the Magus Fels's bitter and suppressed sigh echoed.
This was the thirtieth floor of Tower of Babel, a luxurious room with a wide round table, usually only used for God Meetings.
Now, at the behest of Uranus and Chairman Royman, it had opened its doors to Orario's true elites.
Or rather—the Righteous Faction!
"The 'Ring Poem'… allows six divine avatars to generate cyclical resonance, releasing an attack powerful enough to annihilate the Black Dragon?"
"I really hope Hermes is telling one of his boring bad jokes again; this sounds too exaggerated no matter how you think about it!"
"Though I don't want to praise him… my Lord God would never joke about something like this."
Shakti, Captain of the Ganesha Familia, Tsubaki, Captain of the Hephaestus Familia, and Asfi, Captain of the Hermes Familia, were gathered together, trying to process this suffocating situation.
Although Hermes had not revealed the source of the intelligence, the poem about "Nidhogg" had indeed been found.
Six divine avatars formed a powerful barrier, wove a song, and finally unleashed a great secret art, unknown to others, burying the ferocious dragon.
The Dark Faction planned to use the Filth Spirit as a medium to summon a Heavenly Pillar and completely destroy the Hero City.
Currently, their Lord God was busy with another matter, leaving only the Familia representatives gathered to finalize the strategy.
Finn, arriving late, entered the God Meeting hall, and a brief silence instantly fell over the entire space.
The many representatives present all stood up, their gazes uniformly fixed on him.
The Pallum hero accepted all the gazes without changing his expression, and with a resolute and clear voice, shattered the oppressive atmosphere.
"Everyone, there's no time for small talk; the battle meeting begins immediately!"
The adventurers nodded heavily, listening to his subsequent deployment.
"The basic situation of the artificial Dungeon has been scouted by our Familia beforehand, but it seems this action forced the enemy to choose to go all out."
Finn did not deny their own misjudgment but laid out all the circumstances, and, combining the clues provided by Hermes, went straight to the crux of the matter.
"As the intelligence states, the enemy's plan has six core points. Our primary task is to destroy all these Filth Spirits that serve as the array eyes!"
Tsubaki folded her arms, raising an objection.
"From your tone, you intend for us to split our forces and attack all six points simultaneously?"
"And the power of those Spirit avatars should be comparable to the Death Lord Flower on the 59th floor, right?"
"Now is not the time for cleverness, Tsubaki! If we don't decide the outcome here, we, Orario, and even the entire world will be finished!"
Hearing Finn throw her doubts back at her, the usually carefree Tsubaki pursed her lips tightly and said no more.
Shakti pondered for a moment, then raised her hand to signal.
"Wait a minute, the enemy needs six Spirit avatars to complete the ritual, right? So if we concentrate our forces and prioritize eliminating one…"
"It won't work."
Fels, still covering his face, shook his head from the Guild representative's seat, his hoarse voice mercilessly destroying this naive idea.
"Once the ritual begins, it will never stop."
"Even if one is missing, the other five Spirit avatars will continue the chanting progress; at most, it will only delay the time of death by a few minutes."
Finn nodded, agreeing.
"Moreover, considering the uncertainties of the artificial Dungeon, if a solo action is targeted by the enemy, the success rate is extremely low."
Asfi, who had been listening until now, pushed up her glasses and let out a long sigh, not knowing how many times she had done so today.
"Just when we need manpower the most, the Freya Familia is on a collective expedition… what on earth are they thinking?"
Finn rubbed his temples, which were throbbing from overthinking, and waved his hand.
"We have some bad blood with the Kali Familia from the Dou Country; they are currently staying in the port city of Meren and can be immediately deployed as fresh forces."
Shakti couldn't help but click her tongue: "Do we even need to borrow the strength of Familias outside the city?"
Finn nodded gravely: "Things are that serious. So, no more complaints; the battle plan is as follows!"
"First, we don't have time to evacuate everyone; guiding residents out of the city would only cause greater chaos and unnecessary casualties."
"The Guild will take over the Daedalus Street map we prepared beforehand and prioritize evacuating the slums!"
Finn and Fels exchanged glances, then looked at the worried Shakti.
"The Ganesha Familia, which also functions as the military police, will assist. The sooner this is completed, the more main personnel you can free up!"
Shakti forced herself to calm down and nodded, accepting the task.
The hero then turned his gaze to the one-eyed dwarf craftsman, a hint of reckless abandon curving his lips.
"Tsubaki, empty out all the Hephaestus Familia's assets for me! Weapons, armor, magic swords… as long as they can be used, give me as many as you have!"
Tsubaki quietly narrowed her single eye, representing her Lord God, and accepted this high-stakes gamble with no hope of return.
"And then there's the 'All-Purpose User'."
Finn pulled out the only Daedalus Orb from his pouch and showed it to Asfi.
"Right now, you need to replicate the key to the artificial Dungeon, and Fels will also help."
Both nodded in unison, and Finn drew five thick lines on the simple map, speaking confidently.
"After the preliminary preparations are complete, the annihilation operation will officially begin."
"The Ganesha, Hermes, Hephaestus, Kali, and our Loki Familias will invade the artificial Dungeon simultaneously from both the surface and the Dungeon, forming a total of five teams!"
"Wait! You said the Dungeon?"
"Five teams? Why five? Aren't we going to mix forces and reorganize into six teams?"
"Is it still due to insufficient combat power…"
Incredulous expressions appeared on the faces of the representatives; before Finn could answer, Fels, his cloak fluttering, spoke for him.
"The Guild previously concealed some things. Everyone can regard the sixth team as Uranus's private army, with the Holy Sword User fully responsible for its deployment."
Phantom troops?
A private army hidden in the Dungeon?
Normally, everyone would never easily let go of such a suspicious topic.
But now, the dead silence lasted only a moment, and the representatives successively nodded, agreeing to the matter.
Time quietly slipped away amidst the intense discussions, and the song echoing on the surface grew louder, penetrating the walls and reaching everyone's ears.
Just then, a Guild employee, drenched in sweat, stumbled in, slamming a newly deciphered chant onto the table!
Fels, with his profound magical expertise, snatched the paper, scanned its contents, and with his hoarse voice, revealed the cruelest reality.
"At the time of sunset… that is when the 'Ring Poem' will fully detonate."
These words instantly twisted the expressions of everyone present.
And at this moment, the rising sun, which should have represented hope, slowly climbed out from beyond the city walls.
A new day began.