Chapter 154

“Where are we going?” Sap Trang asked with a frown while looking at his traveling companions.

The world had truly turned crazy. It was just absurd that he was currently walking through a forest with a group of demons. He still wasn’t used to these horned beings, even after a month of living together.

“Zac is attacking the Undead Leaders in a bit, we need to cause a distraction,” Ogras answered tersely as the small group pushed forward.

“With only the four of us?” Sap asked skeptically.

It was just him and three demons. Of course, these particular ones were amongst the strongest of the bunch. The poison user could likely kill the whole human squads on their island alone, and he had personally felt the might of Janos’ illusions when the demon trapped him and the other refugees for days in the infirmary.

He hadn’t even realized that days passed in the illusion, or that he was trapped. He had thought they were back in his little village before the world got integrated. He had sat in on his small boat with a handmade rod, watching the sunset.

When he got home from his trip his grandson was there, visiting during a break in his university studies. Duc was truly his pride and joy, the first one in the family who was getting a proper education. Yet he hadn’t forgotten his roots and visited home every chance he could.

Sap had almost been reluctant to be released out of the illusion, as what more could an old man wish for than what he received in there. However, reality waited for no man.

“All these questions,” Ogras retorted with a frown. “Yes, just the four of us. We’re heading to the cultists to create some chaos. If possible gain some contribution points.”

“I just don’t understand how this old man fits into the picture,” Sap hesitantly said. “If the three of you can’t handle it then a poor fisherman won’t make a difference.”

“Do you think I had you train with my toy just for fun? It’s time to provide some assistance,” Ogras said with a small grin.

“The sniper rifle? I’ve only trained a few days,” Sap said, his long brows rising in alarm.

“You were a soldier before, you’ve held a gun. That’s more than what can be said about those little chicks Lord Zac brought back the other day. Besides, Lord Zac likes you, so I’ll keep you safe,” Alea said with a charming smile, which only served to make the old man more nervous.

Sap didn’t know if his new Lord and this woman were in a relationship, but she gave him the creeps. It wasn’t right how she could kill someone with just a light touch, her whole body being poison. Then again, that was none of his business. His goal was to become indispensable to the island, which would eke out a path to the future for his village, which was especially important now that the youngsters were back.

He had a strong feeling that even if Lord Zac went head to head against that so-called World Government, Zac would walk out the victor. Between Zac’s monstrous power and the wily demon whispering in his ear, Port Atwood was nigh unstoppable. They needed to get through the current situation though.

“Fine. But if I start shooting their soldiers I will be spotted after a few shots, it won’t cause much trouble,” Sap finally acquiesced.

“Let us worry about that,” Ogras only said with a small smile as the small group pushed into the woods.

They kept moving through the woods in blazing speeds, and Sap was barely able to keep up with the others. He had worked his old body to the bone since he arrived here, but sometimes it felt like there was an unbreachable abyss between himself and these monsters.

Of course, slow and steady wins the race. Sap was aware of that, unfortunately his time was limited. If possible he would strive to reach E-Rank Race and gain new longevity. He was content with the life he had lived, but if he could watch over his descendants in this turbulent new world for hundreds of years, he would.

Duc was a bright young man, but he was a bit soft. Sap wasn’t sure if he would be able to survive on his own in this world that was far more ruthless compared to the old one. They currently enjoyed the protection of Lord Zac, but who knew what the future might hold. One must always be responsible for his own fate. 

Sap saw the huge sinister pillar in the distance, blazing in red and gold. The colors were normally quite auspicious, but the feeling the pillar gave out was horrifying. 

The old fisherman started as his shadow suddenly grew and wrapped around him, and quickly looked around to see the same thing happening with the others as well.

Soon they were covered in shadows, at which point Janos waved his hand and another shimmering layer superimposed on them.

“Only speak if necessary from now, and always a low volume. Our spheres will mask us, but the sound dampening is limited,” Ogras whispered. “The three of us will be responsible for the main attack. Old man, your job is to pick off anyone who looks like a leader or is trying to organize a response. We want utter chaos.”

“What if they find me?” Sap asked with a frown.

“Then start running. Hopefully our actions will keep them occupied,” Ogras answered.

The group finally arrived at some thick bushes that were just a few hundred meters away from the clearing with the zealots. They had already snuck past one group of sentries with the help of the combination of Janos’ and Ogras’ skills.

“Stay inside these bushes. Make no movement or sound, but get ready. The second Janos comes back to your side, start picking off targets. Remember, leaders and people organizing a resistance,” Ogras said to Sap.

Sap really didn’t like hiding alone in some bushes surrounded by crazed enemies who were far stronger than himself, but he also knew he didn’t have much of a choice at the moment.

“What will you do?” he asked hesitantly.

“We’ll oh, you’ll see,” Ogras said with a malicious grin.

Soon the three scuttled away, leaving Sap alone with his thoughts.

Leaving an old man like this, these youth have no manners, Sap grumbled in his head, but still gingerly readied the huge sniper rifle, careful to not make any sound.

They didn’t have things like this back in the day when they were fighting in the jungles, but only old soviet-era guns, if even that. Sometimes the shipments had “gone missing”, likely fattening the pockets of some general.

Still, guns weren’t complicated. It was point and click. Sniper rifles were a bit harder to handle since one had to take into account things such as wind and elevation. But since he had started to gain his class he felt himself getting reinvigorated. The arthritis in his hands and knees were long gone, and his mind was sharper than it had ever been.

While he waited for the demons to finish up whatever madness they were planning Sap opened up his attribute page to take his mind off things. 

Name             Sap Trang

Level              28

Class               Wave Whisperer (F)

Race                Human (F)

Alignment     Human (Earth)

Titles               Adventurer,   Giantsbane, Disciple of David, Full of Class

Dao                  Seed of Waves - Early

Strength         31

Dexterity        16

Endurance     26

Vitality            27

Intelligence  28

Wisdom          26

Luck                 8

Free Points      0

 Nexus Coins  18 653

Every time Sap opened his menu he felt like a man reborn. He still remembered the scant 4 points in strength he possessed when he first found out about this screen. He was seventy-two years old, and before the fall he felt death looming close. But by now, between the medicine bath he took and the improved attributes, he felt as strong as a bull.

It made him think of his young lord. Zachary was only twice his levels, but his powers were out of this world. Sap even suspected that the young man long passed 100 points in multiple attributes. He didn’t know how that was possible though, as Sap only got 5 points per level since he got his class. There were many things he didn’t understand about the man he chose to follow.

How did he defeat an incursion singlehandedly? It was such a monstrous accomplishment that it was mindboggling. Unfortunately, he would never get the answer, as neither the Lord or the demons spoke a single word about anything that happened before he and the spoiled brats arrived at the island.

Second was the mysterious shipyard. He had asked to work there multiple times, as that was where he felt he could provide the most help. But every time Zachary rebuffed him without hesitation. Those who worked there also never left their area, and Sap hadn’t seen them since they kept him and the other refugees at the docks.

Finally the attributes of the Lord himself. He had seen the other elites of the world at the auction and instinctively knew that Zachary was almost a different species when he compared and contrasted them. That was why none of the other two mysteries mattered. He was betting on the terrifying power that the lord of Port Atwood kept showing.

Sap didn’t feel it mattered if he himself died, if his sacrifice could create a debt that Lord Zac would pay forward to his grandson and fellow villagers.

With that in mind he put his eye next to the scope, and slowly scouted the camp for promising targets. He was careful to not let the scope rest on any of the warriors though, as he knew some had extraordinary senses and could sense threats.

The camp consisted of reddish aliens who looked mostly human, and there seemed to be two groups where neither seemed superior to the other. Sap thought it mainly meant they were different squadrons. He also spotted three suspicious tents where leaders might reside. Those tents would be his targets as soon as the mute demon returned.

Sap kept wondering what the trio would do, and his gut told him it would be something sinister. Ogras, in particular, was a bad influence on Lord Zachary, though it were always the evil ones who stayed alive.

Suddenly he saw something odd. The camp itself looked normal, where the people were minding their business, mainly preparing their weapons and gear. However, above the fortified camp a scary purple gas rose out of nowhere. Sap frowned, not being able to understand what was going on, but his instincts told him it was related to the plan of Ogras.

He was soon proven right as a terrifying roar echoed through the camp.

“POISON!” followed by an equally loud roar. “PURIFY!”

The next moment it was as though reality cracked, as the view of the camp and incursion distorted and was replaced with a similar, but slightly different reality. The soldiers and monks were still there, confusedly looking around.

However, there was also a gas that spread through the camp, and Sap realized that crazy woman must have let something out. He knew it was his time to contribute in a bit, and he was proven right as the reticent demon appeared next to him also carrying a sniper rifle.

“Get ready,” Janos said as he plopped down while panting.

The illusionist looked extremely pale, like he was completely wrung out. Still, he waved his hand a bit and a shimmer covered the two of them.

“Shoot leaders,” the demon said next and after that ignored Sap, who hurriedly looked back into the scope.

At first glance through the scope, he thought the battle already over, as almost all of the church-members were covered in a blazing golden flame. However, soon he realized that was some sort of defensive skill that was likely protection against the poison covering the area.

A bang next to him made him refocus, and Sap quickly localized a monk with a slightly more elaborate gown, and without hesitation pulled the trigger. The man seemed to realize something was up, but it was too late as his chest and heart blasted open into a huge hole from the high caliber rifle.

Sap had no time to lament he wasn’t getting any Cosmic Energy from the kill and quickly moved his scope to his next target. In this manner, he picked off various warriors one by one. It was an odd feeling, as he knew that each and every one of those he killed were even stronger than the average demon on his island, and normally would consider him an ant.

Still, he knew that it wouldn’t have been possible without the chaos the trio had created. The demons seemed to realize they were attacked from somewhere as well, but something that Janos had done made it so they couldn't pinpoint the origin of the bullets.

The fire seemed to be an effective barrier against the poisonous winds, as it covered the priests in a cocoon. However, was already too late for many. Quite a few were stumbling around, a few even passed out.

The demon lord and the poison mistress weren’t just sitting around either, as more waves of poison kept appearing across the camp, and Sap saw quite a few soldiers get killed by shadow spears suddenly rising up from nowhere. Sap couldn’t localize Ogras himself but knew he was hiding somewhere to pick off the targets.

He finally had cleared everyone around one of the suspicious tents and moved his scope toward the next one. There he found a clear target for assassination. It was a richly decked priest in a unique gown. He was angrily glaring around, with a shimmering mace in his hand.

Sap slowly exhaled his breath, and when he was completely steady he quickly moved the scope to hover over the man’s chest and instantly pressed the trigger. 

It was a special technique he was using to give the powerhouses as little warning as possible. He remembered how his Lord had seemed to know the bullets were coming before the bang even arrived, and wanted to avoid that situation. He didn’t know if his tactic worked, but it should be better than nothing.

However, the bullet didn’t work on this man, as the high priest roared and a wave of golden flame exploded out from him, covering almost half the camp in an instant. Saps bullet was scorched into nothingness, and all the poison was incinerated. 

A few hundred dead or dying lay on the ground, but a large group were still battle-ready, though none looked completely unscathed.

“Conviction!” the man shouted while pointing to the west, letting Sap know the high priest was the one who roared the initial warning.

Multiple priests and monks immediately turned toward that direction, and suddenly it was as though the heavens itself punished the whole area to the west of the camp. Blazing golden beams slammed into the ground from the skies, creating seas of fire that covered hundreds of meters.

Sap guessed the two remaining demons were located in that area, and immediately reloaded his gun and in quick succession fired off two bullets toward the high priest. 

The demon shot at the same target, as Janos likely also realized the mace-wielding high priest was the largest threat to their operation and Port Atwood.

Unfortunately the bullets didn’t work any better for the illusionist either, as every shot disintegrated before they hit the man.  Waves of billowing heat kept wafting out from the priest, making Sap wonder just how much Cosmos Energy the man contained. Interestingly enough the fire didn’t seem to ham the priests, but rather strengthen them.

Sap didn’t have time to mull it over as the high priest’s head suddenly snapped right toward Sap’s direction, and it felt as though the priest looked back at him through the scope. A great fear flooded Sap’s heart, and it felt as though reality went into slow motion.

“Illusion broken, he knows,” Janos said and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Sap desperately shot another bullet at the man, but it was to no avail as the high priest lifted his mace toward his direction, seemingly giving out a death sentence. 

A great light shone down on Sap, who looked up to see a boundless fire descending upon him. It felt like the fire didn’t only want to burn his body, but even his soul. Sap completely froze, unsure what to do apart from pray to Buddha.

However, shadows suddenly gathered above him, and the fire was blocked right above him, while the forest around their bushes turned to cinders.

Out of the darkness Ogras and a three meter tall hideous monster stepped out. The monster was full of thorns and vines, and multicolored gases wafted out from it, making it look like something out of a horror story.

Before Sap had time to react the monster slowly transformed into the female demon. She was burned and bruised at various places, just like Ogras, but it was undoubtedly her. Sap even forgot the battle as he stared at the woman who frowned as she saw his gaze. 

Before Sap could do anything else shadows started rushing toward Ogras, and it looked like they were becoming a second layer of skin on him.

“Split up and flee,” Ogras said with a voice that sounded as though it came from the depths of hell as his body turned completely black.

Sap unhesitantly followed the order, as this battle was not something someone like him could intrude upon. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Janos do the same, and further in the distance he saw a squad of furious-looking priests start moving toward them. A primal fear pushed Sap's legs forward, but curiosity made him throw one last look at the battle.

Ogras looked like a god of darkness with two huge black wings on his back as he hovered facing the high priest who radiated a blazing glory. A gigantic sun burned behind the priest’s back, and the mace in his hand seemed to feed upon the celestial fire.

Sap almost thought he was back in an illusion, but knew he wasn’t so lucky. The world had truly turned crazy.

----

Author note: By far longest chapter I've put out until now, with over 3k words. Will perhaps split and turn into two for RR release, but for now it will count as one. Hope you enjoyed!