Sky Wolf Guild Channel: "What the hell is this ice fog? Damn it, I'm frozen! No, wait, I'm gonna burn to death!" "What's going on, who's sneaking an attack? We're clearing monsters right now!" Sky Wolf-Black Moon, who had been surrounded by three Magma Lords, was dumbfounded. The Magma Lords smashed him down into the ground like a pile of dirt.
The ice fog indiscriminately froze and burned with Chaos Fire. More than half of Sky Wolf's nearly one thousand members began to drop dead.
The remaining players frantically used magic potions to resist or activated [Magic Dissipation] to defend themselves. However, the effects of potions and dispelling magic were limited, and less than two minutes later, more than half of the players were lying on the ground.
Under the devastation, all players were reduced to true equality.
Close to the exit, the SSR team stopped. Reaver suddenly turned around. Not far behind, the bodies of the Magma Lords had turned to ice statues. He solemnly said, "That guy is here too!"
DonutWizard: "It's Ice Prison Ring! It must be that bastard!"
Wedge's eyes narrowed as she raised her hand, "Prepare the Barrier Mages!"
Two A-rank Light Barrier Mages stood out from the team, raising their staffs. "Twilight Domain."
A small barrier that greatly weakened negative buffs formed, protecting the players of the SSR team within a thousand-meter radius of the maze.
"Prepare to handle cursed spirits that ignore physical attacks," Wedge said solemnly.
To be able to face Orson with some fighting chance, Wedge had made great efforts. According to information from SSR's allies in the UJ region, she had studied every skill that Orson had displayed publicly. With the help of analysts from the club, she recruited the best candidates to counter him. These two Barrier Mages were now her trump card.
The SSR team looked tense. The three major guilds in the UJ region, mobilized by Orson, were crushed by the overwhelming US player base, and ultimately returned in defeat. Both in terms of public opinion and battle power, this had dealt a major blow to the SSR team.
Moreover, after the bitter lessons from the past, everyone knew clearly that even with their trump cards, no one could guarantee they could defeat Orson.
However, the expected cursed spirit did not arrive. After all, it was only a passive aura of someone else.
After a long while, Wedge finally sighed in relief and began directing the team to enter the first layer of the maze.
"How's the Saintess voting going?" Wedge sent a message to Snow Dream.
Snow Dream had not joined the main attack on Celestial Fortress but had gone to a main city called [Miracle], which was the headquarters of the Light Church.
Snow Dream: "I bought five bishop's votes from players for a total of 400,000 gold. With the one I already have, I can secure the Saintess position."
"Very good! Nice work!" Wedge responded with a sharp look of approval.
Snow Dream was not the only one collecting Saintess votes. While most guilds were unaware of the benefits of becoming the Saintess, SSR was willing to spend so much money on buying votes, which clearly signified something important. Players who had the fortune to acquire a vote were receiving offers from various wealthy players across guilds.
However, SSR received support from the Dragon's Kiss Guild and was backed by the UJ consortium, giving them unparalleled financial power. Wealthy players were hesitant to make heavy investments without knowing the exact benefits of the Saintess position.
With Cardinal Karquil killed by Orson, the votes in Wedge's possession had vanished. Now there were only eleven votes left, and with six more, Wedge would secure the Saintess position.
"Don't mention it, this is what I should do." Snow Dream chuckled.
"If it's convenient, could you mail the votes to me?" Wedge asked after steadying her emotions.
A few seconds passed without a reply from Snow Dream, and Wedge furrowed her brows, a slight unease creeping in.
Just as Wedge was about to follow up, Snow Dream replied: "Hold on, I ran into a boss in the wild. I'll send them to you a bit later, Wedge."
With the assurance, Wedge relaxed slightly. Becoming the Saintess would be her greatest asset, and even if they couldn't conquer Celestial Fortress, it would give her the strength to stand toe-to-toe with Godslayer.
"That bastard is so despicable!!!" Sky Wolf-Black Moon screamed in frustration.
Meanwhile, seeing that the Sky Wolf players were about to be wiped out, a notification sound rang in Orson's ears: "Player Sky Wolf-Black Moon has invited you to join their battle group."
Orson was satisfied. The nearly thousand-strong battle group had lit up half of the maze's map.
True to his word, Orson tossed half of the loot to Sky Wolf-Demon Moon, nodding, "I really appreciate your guild. You guys know how to read the situation. I look forward to our next collaboration."
Collaboration…?
Work with this guy? Wasn't that like asking for death?!
Sky Wolf-Demon Moon and the others were pale-faced. They'd been mysteriously pummeled by Orson, turned into scouts, and had even lost health in the process.
Orson stood still, letting the Sky Wolf work for him, scouting the maze and reporting enemy movements.
"It should be around here." Orson's expression shifted slightly. Not long after, through the battle logs of his teammates, he discovered the location of a level 15 elite monster.
These low-level creatures were undoubtedly the ones that spawned near the entrance/exit of the maze.
Just after the SSR team had left, Orson appeared in the first level of the maze.
"Ding dong—" "Your 1/6 Celestial Fortress ownership has been cleared." "You have lost the guild skill [Divine Vision]."
The prompt echoed, and Orson's eyes sharpened.
The NPC legions were indeed formidable. With health reaching 100 million, they easily wiped out the magical crossbow watchtowers and surveillance posts. The force was broken.
"District Announcement: The Godslayer Guild has temporarily lost control of the [Celestial Fortress]!"
"Godslayer Guild has four hours to reclaim control!"
Madman: "What's the situation? Only four hours to get it back? You sure we can do it?"
On the first level of the maze, tens of thousands of Godslayer alliance players trembled. Even though everyone knew it was just a matter of time before the surveillance posts were lost, they still couldn't help but feel uneasy when it actually happened.
"I think we can," Orson replied calmly. Before he could finish, Nightshade suddenly spoke.
"We can? Don't make any rash conclusions!" Madman snapped, tossing a bag of roasted chestnuts at Nightshade. The latter rubbed his head, looking pitiful. "I can carry, I promise."
Ruby: "Wow, the more I see you, the more I like you~~ kiss."
"Maybe not…" Nightshade, sweating, quickly shrank away from Ruby's "bloodthirsty grin."
Bradley: "Come on, can't we keep some composure? Chill out."
"Damn it, every time we have to do these crazy stunts! I really want to knock that guy out!" Madman cursed, shaking his hands.
Because of a certain animal's crazy plan, they had been chased and beaten up three times at the Bone Dragon Stronghold. What's worse, they were still not allowed to deal with those looters!
Seeing Orson was silent, the team continued to rest in place.
"District Announcement: The Lord of Pondenorlin City has broken into the reserve warehouse guarded by the Holy Knight spirits, gaining 1/6 ownership of Celestial Fortress!"
"District Announcement: The Flame Dragon Nest Lord (Cain Alliance) has broken through the surveillance post defended by the Holy Archers, gaining 1/6 ownership!"
"District Announcement: The Six-Winged Inferno Dragon has broken through the city's siege machinery warehouse…"
Multiple district-wide announcements rang out, causing a thunderous stir among players!
Within just one hour, Godslayer had not only lost control of Celestial Fortress, but four key locations had also been taken!
At this rate, it seemed almost certain that Lord Cain would seize Celestial Fortress!
player135: "Are you serious? Godslayer is already falling apart so fast? Wasn't it supposed to be invincible? Hilarious…"
player874: "Could it be that the Triple Crown winner is just playing for everyone's favor to make a comeback? That's some deep scheming!"
...
The global channel's tone shifted drastically. The man who commanded the US's million-strong army, once revered by thousands, now found himself the target of scorn and ridicule.
However, the players who had fought alongside Orson and decimated the Bone Dragon Stronghold guards were no longer buying into the drama. Stepping over the bodies of those same guards, they immediately began engaging in passionate exchanges with the trolls on the world channel.
At this moment, Orson appeared outside the Celestial Fortress's power core.
This was an enormous magical construct, with a shell made of rare obsidian from Infinite Dimensions. It resembled a towering super V8 engine, with eight massive black energy transfer columns evenly distributed, reaching all the way to the bottom of the Sky City.
It was only through this mysterious construct that the entire island remained suspended in the air.
The golden barrier around the power core had already disappeared.
Orson stepped inside.
"You have discovered the Celestial
Fortress Power Core!"
The notification rang, and Orson's heart, which had been tense, finally relaxed.
With a faint smile, Orson issued a guild announcement: "Alright, everyone, prepare to close the net!"