Orson quickly repositioned his Mirror of Folding above the God-Emperor's Palace, keeping a close eye on Cain's movements. He frowned. Cain, consumed by rage, had not pursued him. Instead, it seemed the bloodline heir was focused on restoring his strength through the God-Emperor's Combat Arts.
Meanwhile, Cain's NPC army had suffered massive losses after the bloody skirmishes and Godslayer's relentless counterattack. It was only a matter of time before the remnants were wiped out. But Orson remained cautious—Cain likely had more tricks up his sleeve.
Madman: "Something's not right! A huge fleet of magic warships just appeared over Pondenorlin City! I don't know if they're headed for us or not!"
Orson's brow furrowed as he quickly asked, "Whose fleet is it?"
After a few seconds, Madman replied: "Looks like Archer's Guild and Priest's Guild—I'm sure of it. I saw their crests."
Orson felt a sinking feeling in his gut.
When he had retrieved the Heavenly Fire Set from the gray dwarves earlier, he had noticed these two professional guilds had not chosen to retreat.
With less than twenty minutes left before the fortress defense mission ended, the sudden appearance of the fleet felt ominous. There was a high chance they were coming for Celestial Fortress!
Though the fortress was currently sealed, preventing entry by players or NPCs, the chaotic state of Celestial Fortress meant anything could happen.
SSR-ICEMAN: "Winning for now means nothing. Once Godslayer shows any weakness, every guild in the region will come down on you like a pack of wolves!"
The few remaining SSR players were being ruthlessly hunted by Bradley, who seemed unstoppable. With the Stewart's Curse boosting all his stats, he cut through SSR's top players like a storm.
"Annoying," Bradley muttered coldly. His Reverse Light Triple Slash flashed like lightning, taking down SSR's last elite fighter.
Absolute Kid: "Damn, Bradley, you're insane! That knight took down over twenty of our guys!"
Bradley: "Less talk, more work—revive our fallen brothers!"
Just as Bradley spoke, the ground beneath everyone's feet began to tremble violently. The fortress quaked as though it were on the verge of shattering into countless fragments.
"Orson, what's going on over there? My hair's standing on end!" Bradley glanced instinctively toward the God-Emperor's Palace.
Golden ripples radiated from the palace, obliterating dozens of already-damaged buildings. The shattered debris floated eerily in the air, held aloft by an unseen, terrifying force.
"Holy crap! That mountain just got leveled!"
"Golden battle aura? What kind of warrior is strong enough to shatter mountains with just a hint of aura?"
The players turned pale. They felt as though a massive boss was awakening, one whose power dwarfed even the mightiest dragons.
Orson: "It's nothing serious. Cain's bloodline awakened, and now he has the strength of a Royal-tier entity. He's just preparing to come after me."
Madman: "Royal-tier?! Are you kidding me?"
Madman: "A single Saint-tier dragon nearly destroyed half our Titan Mechs. You're telling me a Royal-tier entity coming for your head is 'nothing serious'?"
Iron Cavalry: "Boss, please, stop acting so nonchalant! We're already out of funds to pay severance!"
System Notification:
"The Celestial Fortress defense mission has been updated!"
"You have been locked onto by God-Emperor Bloodline Cain. If you fail to defeat or repel him within 20 minutes, control of Celestial Fortress will be lost!"
Orson's expression darkened. This was the downside of chasing maximum rewards in Infinite Dimensions—greater risks always accompanied greater gains.
Defeating Cain in 20 minutes? The game had some nerve thinking so highly of him.
"We'll have to gamble everything!"
Orson's expression sharpened as a six-pointed Chaos Star lit up around him. Behind him, a projection of the Earth Elemental Primordial God materialized.
Golden flames rippled along his Heavenly Fire Robe, his staff floating steadily before him.
Raising one hand, Orson clenched his fingers into a fist as if crushing the air itself.
"Awaken: Grip of the Underworld!"
Dragon Curse magic triggered.
The ground around the God-Emperor's Palace cracked open as a gargantuan elemental hand emerged from the earth. Its massive fingers closed around the palace like a vice.
"My God, this is insane!"
"I'm an Earth-element mage, and pulling out a tree stump takes all my mana. This guy's uprooting a whole palace?!"
"If Orgod wins Celestial Fortress, how the hell are the rest of us supposed to survive in this game?"
While it appeared grand and awe-inspiring, Orson knew the reality—it was all a distraction. The goal was to stall until Cain's invincibility wore off.
In Infinite Dimensions, invincibility skills rendered one immune to damage but couldn't bypass physical limitations. Cain couldn't phase through buildings or debris, meaning terrain could be used to slow him down.
Crash!
The Grip of the Underworld crushed the palace, leaving behind a towering five-fingered mountain.
Orson maintained a grim expression. Raising his other hand, he summoned a second elemental hand to smash down onto the ruins.
Boom!
The two hands combined their strength, reducing the palace to rubble. The shards of the once-great structure scattered like fragments of a divine mountain, burying the God-Emperor's Palace entirely.
But when the dust settled, a massive MISS appeared above Cain's status bar.
"Are you kidding me? All that effort, and it did nothing! Ha! This is hilarious!"
"Orgod might be strong, but thinking he can take on an Infinite Dimensions super NPC? He's out of his depth!"
Enemy players burst into laughter, their faces filled with schadenfreude.
For them, it didn't matter who claimed Celestial Fortress, as long as it wasn't Orgod. If the fortress fell into NPC hands, it would reset the playing field and give everyone another chance.
"Just give me 20 seconds to stall..." Orson thought, counting down in his head.
Boom!
Barely five seconds passed before golden battle energy erupted from the rubble, flooding the surroundings like a tidal wave.
A thunderous roar echoed as Cain burst forth, riding the Guardian.
The newly awakened God-Emperor Cain stood like a golden sun in the heavens, radiating a light so blinding that players couldn't keep their eyes open.
Madman: "Oh my God! Guild Leader, you're going to get us all killed! Who the hell can beat that?"
ShatteredCrown: "This is ridiculous. Nine layers of super buffs and still in invincibility mode? How do we fight this?"
Cain: "I will reign supreme in Infinite Dimensions."
With a cold sneer, Cain held up an ancient magical scroll.
"Gate of the Celestial Gods!"
The scroll ignited, unleashing a column of holy light that pierced the heavens.
From the void, a massive golden gate emerged, and through it came dozens of black magic warships.
Cain: "By the will of the God-Emperor, I swear: those who serve me shall be immortalized in the epic songs of bards!"
"You will gain eternal life!"
He raised his sword high, golden battle energy blazing like a star.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Roars erupted from the magic warships as waves of high-level NPC troops poured out, composed mainly of archers and priests, interspersed with elite imperial soldiers.
These fanatics, brainwashed into worshiping Cain as the God-Emperor's heir, had no idea that Cain himself had called their "god" a false deity.
The sight left the Godslayer Guild players dumbfounded.
Ruby, nudging Bradley, said, "What are you staring at? Scared already?"
Snapping out of it, Bradley clenched his fists, a fiery resolve burning in his eyes.
"I may not have done much to help Orson... but I have a reason to never lose. Godslayer is invincible. Orson is invincible!"
The players' confusion turned into determination.
Dynasty Old Yin: "Hell yeah! We haven't lost yet. Forget what they are—roll up your sleeves and fight!"
Heartbroken Loli, usually timid, shouted with newfound courage: "This is Godslayer's territory! This is our home! No matter the cost, we fight until the end!"
Over a thousand Godslayer players roared in unison, their fighting spirits ignited. Their eyes burned with the flames of war, ready to face whatever came their way.