The faces of Malcolm and the High-Ranking officials of the Skystead Alliance, who were observing the battle from the projection on the wall, were all contorted in anger. They had gotten a clear view of the Half-Elf's face when he was about to kill the Oracle, making them cry out in anger.
The image on the wall disappeared as soon as the last surviving member of Malcolm's team was killed, which also signified that their mission to conquer the Gate of Conquest had ended in failure.
"Just what is going on here?!" the Ambassador of the Vahan Empire shouted as he pointed his finger at the members of the Xynnar War Pact. "Is this part of your ploy?! You dare scheme against us?!"
"Preposterous!" one of the High Ranking Nobles of the Six Kingdoms shouted back. "We have no idea what you are talking about! Also, I don't see anything wrong with what happened. Your kids are fighting against our kids and lost. Or are you saying that you bastards can't accept a loss, huh?!"
"What did you say, you bastard?!"
"Hah! Are you deaf?! I'm saying that your kids are weaklings! What? Do you have a problem? Come and bite me!"
Tension started to spread outside the gates of the Domain of the Fallen as both parties unsheathed their weapons. Clearly, all it needed was one more push before a scuffle started.
"Everyone, sheathe your weapons!" Xander's Father, Hector, shouted to calm everyone down. "We still have no idea what is happening, so it will be best if we wait until Lux and his comrades come out of the dungeon. Once they are out, we can all ask them what happened."
"Ask them?" the Ambassador of the Vahan Empire sneered. "Why is there a need to ask them? We're not blind. Clearly, they are sabotaging our empire's representatives even after we paid the price to gain the slots to enter the Sacred Dungeon!"
"That's right! You double crossers!"
"How dare you cheat us?! Do you think we are soft persimmons?!"
"Do you really think that we will take this lying down? If you want to fight, let's fight!"
Hector crossed his arms over his chests and emitted a Lion's Roar, which drowned out the complaints of the Skystead Alliance.
"I'm telling you to wait!" Hector shouted. "This needs to be investigated properly. The Sacred Dungeon is an Instance Dungeon. It is unusual for two parties to exist on the same plane! We have entered other Dungeons of the same kind for several years already, and this has never happened before. We must know what triggered it to prevent something similar from happening in the future!"
Hector didn't want to fight because he knew that if he made his move, the Rankers of the Skystead Alliance would also make their move.
If Rankers started to fight each other, a bloodbath would ensue, which would cause the loss of many lives. Although the Skystead Alliance was their rival, they weren't their enemy, at least not yet.
In order to prevent the worse case scenario, he needed to use the voice of reason in order to calm everyone down.
Fortunately, he succeeded, making the members of the Skystead Alliance question their counterparts if such a thing really hadn't happened in the past.
"It's true, this is the first time this has happened," one of the Rankers from Barbatos Academy commented. "Just like Hector said, the Sacred Dungeon is an Instance Dungeon. It is impossible for two teams to be present in the same Dungeon at the same time. This has never happened before!"
There were Dungeons in Elysium which they referred to as Open World Dungeons and Boss Raid Dungeons.
These Dungeons allowed many people to challenge it all at the same time, and everyone would be fighting on the same plane of existence. It was different from Instance Dungeons which would separate the challengers into different copies of the Dungeon, and allow them to challenge it on a team by team basis.
Malcolm and his comrades were forced to rein in their anger because this matter was simply unheard of. Also, they had fought against Lux's team and lost. If they whined about it, they would simply become the laughing stock of everyone.
Losing in a Dungeon Raid simply meant that they didn't have the skills to win, or luck wasn't on their side.
Malcolm and the other representatives of the younger generation didn't want to make it look like they couldn't take a loss. However, that didn't mean that they weren't angry about it.
'Bastards, let's see how you face the wrath of our Emperor when you come out of that dungeon!' Malcolm cursed internally.
He knew that Emperor Andreas was someone who carried a grudge. The price the Skystead Alliance had to pay to obtain the fifteen slots from Lux wasn't really a big deal.
The problem was that they had "paid" for the entrance to the Sacred Dungeon, but the one who received their payment was the same person that killed them inside it.
It's like paying a Bandit Leader for protection money to allow them to pass, but after receiving the payment, the Bandit Leader still decided to kill them, making them feel aggrieved.
While the tension outside of the Domain of the Fallen had somewhat gotten under control, Lux and his skeleton soldiers were going all out to try and deal the last blow to Moriarty, who was defending perfectly against all of their attacks.
Suddenly, the ground trembled as the warriors of the Yelan Empire appeared with Watson leading the charge.
"Hah! Moriarty we finally meet!" Watson shouted as he made a beeline towards the General of the opposing army. "Your head is mine!"
It was not only Watson whose eyes had turned Bloodshot. All of the soldiers of the Yelan Army shouted as they urged their mounts to strike the General who was fighting a desperate battle on his own.
"Watson, do you dare to fight me in a duel?!" Moriarty shouted. "Or are you telling me that the General of the Yelan Kingdom is a cowardly dog who only knows how to hide behind his army's back?!"
"Desperate cries from a desperate person!" Watson replied. "But sure, I will humor you! Men, do not interfere!"
Jumping down from his mount, Watson held a great sword in his hands and engaged Moriarty in a duel.
As if watching a cut-scene from a game, Lux watched as the two repeatedly clashed their weapons against each other without backing away.
Moriarty looked exhausted, which was probably because of the battle he'd had with Lux's forces. But the determination in his eyes gave him strength and allowed him to stand up against Watson, who was at the peak of his prime.
Blow after blow, the ground under their feet crumbled as their attacks, which carried the might of their respective armies, clashed against each other.
Then it happened.
Moriarty saw an opportunity and managed to successfully trick Watson with his feint, allowing him to stab his bastard sword on his opponent's shoulder, breaking his form.
"Die Watson!" Moriarty's frenzied gaze was filled with killing intent as he pulled his sword from Watson's shoulder to deliver a killing blow to the Yelan General's neck, to chop it off completely from Watson's body.
But before his blade could land on his target, a mighty, and defearning roar reached his ears.
"I'm Charging!"
Caught off guard, Moriarty wasn't able to dodge the deadly tusks that pierced through his armor.
—-
< The Opposing General's protective charms are all completely destroyed. You may now directly attack his body and deal damage! >
—---
Cai, who had also heard the notification, was currently slamming Moriarty's body into the trees that were blocking its way. Its tusks were firmly embedded on the General's body, making the latter unable to break free from it.
"I'M CHAAAAAAAAAARGING!"
Cai, who only knew how to charge, did what it did best and simply dragged the General on a ride of non-stop suffering.
The Boar smashed the aggrieved General into everything available—trees, boulders, trees, boulders, across the ground, more trees, more boulders, and anything else that it could use to inflict pain on the enemy, whose bloody lips were repeatedly releasing curses.
"Filthy coward!" Moriarty spat a mouthful of blood on Cai's face. "How dare you get in the way of a duel?!"
"Shut up, Uncle!" Cai shook its head side to side, and slammed Moriarty's body on the ground repeatedly. "Just go die already!"
Finally, after a couple agonizing minutes, a notification sound reached Lux, as well as his comrades' ears, signaling that the Great General of the Ammarian Kingdom, Moriarty, finally died in Cai's hands.
—-----
< Congratulations! You have finished the mission: The Warring Kingdoms! >
Mission Rating: S
< Quest Objective >
– Kill the General of the opposing army.
< Subquest Objective >
– Capture the Main Flag of the opposing army.
– Kill the Mercenaries that have been hired by the opposing party.
– Quest Duration: 1 week
—--------
Suddenly, rows of text appeared in front of everyone, stating that the mission was only partially completed.
—--------
< Important Notice! >
Although the Mission has reached its Main Objective, the Subquest, Capture the Main Flag of The Opposing Army, is still unfinished. If you wish to get the maximum reward for this mission, you must finish all the quest objectives.
< Would you like to continue the Quest, The Warring Kingdoms? >
( Yes / No )
If you choose No, the mission will be graded on the respective contributions of each Party member.
—---
Contribution Ranking List
Lux Von Kaiser
Cai…
Einar Mordosk
Vallaki Meitar
Keane…
Xander…
—--------
Einar, and the others who saw the rankings almost spat blood after seeing that Cai was listed as the second. The Boar did nothing but simply "Kill Steal" the Army's general, yet it was second in the rankings from that mere contribution.
"Let's charge at the main camp and capture the flag!" Einar shouted! "Vall, let's go!
This time, Vall didn't hesitate and transformed into a giant spider. However, instead of allowing the Barbarian to jump on its back, it spat a mouthful of sticky net on Einar's body, pinning the barbarian on a tree.
A moment later the Alpha-Ranked Elegant Golden Jumping Spider descended the mountain in a mad rush. Clearly, its aim was to capture the enemy's flag in order to gain some merit points and get higher in the rankings.
"Vall you traitor!" Einar roared in anger. "I'll get you for thissssssssssss!"
Cai, who saw this scene, simply snorted and raised its chin arrogantly.
"Peasants fighting for a few coins," Cai said, making the Barbarian glare at it in anger. "Bitter much? Better luck next time, Brah."
Keane and Xander glanced at each other and just shook their heads helplessly. Although they didn't contribute much to the mission's completion, they were still satisfied that it was finally over.
In truth, the chances of the Yelan Army losing was quite high. If Lux wasn't a Necromancer, their loss would have already been assured.
"Corpse Explosion… such a frightening thing," Xander muttered. "I can never look at a corpse the same way ever again."
Keane nodded his head in agreement. If Lux truly had used this ability without care for morals, then the outcome would be truly devastating.
Both teenagers didn't dare to think about what would happen if Lux decided to use this ability outside of a dungeon.
Once again, the two teenagers felt relieved that Lux was on their side.
If he was their opponent, then they would have to seriously consider eliminating him first, given the high level of threat that he could bring on the battlefield.
Fortunately, they were good friends, so they didn't have to worry about this. Even Einar, who had treated Lux as his rival, decided to not be on bad terms with the Necromancer, whose abilities had far exceeded his expectations.
These teenagers were not aware that the moment they left the Gate of War, a new kind of War would be waiting for them in the real world.
A war that would not be fought with weapons, or words, but a cold war, that would make the Half-Elf the center of everyone's attention.
