Chapter 199 Checkmate (Part 1)
Exile stared at the departing Sommerdan army as it entered the mountain chain with the Skardian forces harassing them. ‘Guess I should prepare for the next part.’ His gaze went on Aeri, and the Royal faction players gathered around her.
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The air grew tense as Ragnarok, and the rest of the rebel faction, gathered together to stare at their civil war opponents. Exile used that distraction to absorb the stats from the orbs he had collected during the battle.
“Here,” Midas whispered as he nudged Exile and handed him a share of the orbs from the other battles. “This could get messy, and we know our best chance is for you to get stronger.”
Midas winked as he stood aside to let Noslin take her place next to Exile. The two powerhouses of the rebel faction wore stern expressions as Aeri approached them with a smirk on her face. However, Exile did not stop absorbing the orbs in that period.
Soon, his aura exploded, and a surprised expression appeared on everyone’s face as they stared at Exile. Aeri’s expression turned ugly as she studied him as she continued her advance. However, she felt a trace of fear appear at that event. Exile failed to notice the reaction he had caused as he studied the notifications he received.
[You have absorbed multiple Divinities!]
[You have received +18 Strength, +18 Endurance, +5 Speed, and +5 Authority!]
[You have gained more than 150 points of Divinity!]
[Congratulations, you have reached Tier 1 Level 10]
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[Aura of the Gods now affects any player below Tier 1 Level 5!]
[You have learned the Divine Spell: Wrath]
[Wrath: Release your anger with this Divine Spell! Dark clouds gather overhead for a radius of 200m. Every 15 seconds, five lightning bolts will strike a maximum of five enemies within the spell’s radius with damage equal to your Authority. Duration: 5 minutes. Cost: Half of your remaining DP.]
‘Five levels!’ Exile grinned like a madman at his gains. He knew a war had the best chance for him to level up quickly. However, what he had experienced went beyond his expectations. ‘I have Parthus to thank for this. Most enemy players were on the cusp of reaching the first tier! No wonder I could gain so many stat points!’
The sudden advancement caused Exile to regain his lost health and DP from the battle. An intoxicating feeling of power spread through his body as his cold gaze landed on Aeri. He watched her lips move, although he heard nothing. He could only guess she was cursing this development.
As she continued her advance under his hostile gaze, Exile turned his attention to his stats. If a fight were to break out, he had to understand his new limits before it happened.
[Tier: 1]
[Level: 10]
[HP: 385/385 (260+125)]
[DP: 77/77 (35+42)]
[Strength: 44]
[Endurance: 77 (52+25)]
[Speed: 30 (23+7)]
[Authority: 77 (35+42)]
Noslin could only shake her head as she stared at Exile. She understood from his aura that he had to have gained several levels. After all, even she suffered from the dangerous feeling he gave off. She immediately recognised that he most likely stood at the peak of the skardian powerhouses.
Exile cocked an eyebrow in her direction as she took a step back. That action alerted everyone that Noslin no longer believed herself to be his equal. That meant the fate of the rebel alliance rested entirely on Exile’s shoulders and how he dealt with Aeri.
Aeri showed a forced smile as she stood in front of him. At that point, Exile’s gaze went on the players who had accompanied her. ‘They must be Pantheon leaders. The ones who survived the battle.’ Exile grinned as he studied their faces. He could tell they were uncertain about starting a battle now.
After all, they could all sense that Exile had reached some milestone in the game. With that came the uncertainty of what he could do. Not only that, but nobody was in their peak condition, except for Exile. They were busy trying to evaluate his power, the losses and gains from experiencing another battle so soon.
Heavy sighs escaped Aeri’s entourage as they decided they did not like that situation. Exile’s grin widened at that sight, and a cruel glint appeared in his eyes as he received another series of notifications. The time had come to deliver the final nail in the coffin of Aeri’s plans.
“Before any of you try to threaten us. Or seek compensation for coming to our aid. I have an announcement that everyone should hear.” .
Deep frowns appeared on Exile’s enemies and allies alike when they heard that. After all, he had gone to extreme lengths to keep the details of his plan from everyone. Only now did he receive the notifications he had been waiting on.
[Congratulations! Milestone: Followers 800/800 completed.]
[New Milestone: Followers 800/1600]
[Awarding +1 Stat Point]
The notifications continued along that line until it finally stopped.
[Congratulations! Milestone: Followers 25,600/25,600 completed.]
[New Milestone: Followers 48,972/51,200]
[Awarding +1 Stat Point]
In the end, he gained six free stat points and received King Bargrux’s message that the dwarves had completed their mission. It was the signal they had agreed upon beforehand. Every dwarf in Bargrux’s kingdom would worship him once they captured the Oracles and the territory of Stormcrown.
“Any of you who have an Oracle in the territory of Stormcrown!” Exile bellowed as everyone’s attention fell on him. “You shall surrender to our rule. Or be eliminated from the game!”
of their Oracle’s safety. However, the march and the battle with the Sommerdan forces required all of their attention. So none of them Chaos descended as the players shouted abuse at him. Nobody would react well to such a threat, especially when they were sure of their Oracle’s safety. However, the march and the battle with the Sommerdan forces required all of their attention. So none of them had bothered to accept their Oracle’s attempts to communicate with them.
They had assumed it was frivolous reasons they could not be bothered with when they were about to face such a crisis. Nobody could blame them for that. After all, as far as everyone was aware, all of their enemy’s forces were on that battlefield too. So there should not be any army capable of threatening their Oracles in a secure location!
“I’ll give you a few minutes to confirm my words!” Exile roared over the crowd as he exuded arrogance and confidence in his announcement.
A chill ran down the spines of the players who would be affected by what Exile had said. Beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads as their complexion paled when they made contact with their Oracles. Exile nodded when he saw them stare at him with horrified expressions.
“For those who don’t have an Oracle in Stormcrown, let me explain the situation,” Exile said when he saw the confused expressions of the Royal faction players who had no idea what was happening.
“The region of Stormcrown is under my control! My army has invaded it and captured all the Oracles stationed there!”
Incredulous expressions stared at him before they looked to their allies to confirm if what he had said was true. However, those in their ranks only confirmed the situation before staring at the ground. The Pantheon leaders of the Royal faction could not believe they had been outmanoeuvred in such a way.
Exile could tell they were attempting to figure out how large the army had to be for him to have accomplished that feat. ‘They don’t get it. They have no way to win now.’ Exile sighed when he saw some of them contemplating whether to sacrifice those Oracles and the players to gain the upper hand.
“So you know, you’re now trapped between us!” Exile roared as he waved a hand at the players behind him. “And an army of twenty thousand dwarves ready to execute those Oracles and invade the surrounding territories!”
Ugly expressions appeared on the players when they heard that. Those players would take many losses to deal with the rebel faction here and now. If they added to that the threat of a great dwarven army to face after them, then they knew they would lose far more than they would gain.
Exile grinned when he saw their defeated expressions. Even Aeri could feel the tide turning against her. Her plans had been dashed by Exile before she could even put them into play. Aeri hung her head when she realised she had lost the support of the Royal faction in that situation.
Exile nodded when he saw he had their full attention again. He knew they were expecting him to demand a ransom to return their Oracles. However, he had something else in mind.
“The civil war ends here!” Exile exclaimed as he glared at the enemy players. “We will push the Sommerdan army from these shores together! After that, we will convene to declare a new High King of Skardia! Naturally, I expect those whose Oracles I have captured to vote in my candidate’s favour! Once the vote is over, I will return your Oracles unharmed! If this foreign invasion has shown us anything, it’s that Skardia can not remain divided!”
Many heads nodded to his speech in agreement. The cold glares from before had become tinged with respect and admiration. Once everyone agreed to those terms, they gave orders to chase down the Sommerdan army. Players departed from there in flashes of light as they sought locations closer to the Sommerdan ships.
Exile nodded to Clay to give him the signal to lead the force on the other side of the mountain chain. ‘There’s still a lot to do. But this will definitely draw a crowd.’ Exile sighed in relief when he thought about the stream that was sure to come. ‘Now I just need to finalise everything with Rebel Energy.’