Blackstone City, North Gate Wall.
Lilith stood in command, gazing intently at the battlefield beyond the walls.
Dark creatures were attacking, but given Blackstone City's greatly enhanced strength and the multitude of arrow towers, these dark creatures outside the city posed no serious threat. What worried Lilith, however, was the underworld beneath the bottomless abyss.
Because of this, Lilith had also sent Rendall to the underground fissure to help Lorelia guard the bottomless abyss.
High in the sky, an eagle's piercing cry rang out, followed by a cacophony of cawing ravens.
"This ti, we'll have to rely heavily on Rayden!"
To be honest, at this mont on the battlefield, Thunderhawk Rayden had already beco the sharpest blade of the Stoneheart Horde. Not only did Rayden and his flock of plague crows eliminate threats from the air, they also dove down from ti to ti to launch assaults on the dark creatures on the ground. With Thunderhawk Rayden in action, two Alpha-level dark creatures hidden among the monster hordes still refused to show their faces.
"Whitefur, you should go too!"
"Master, I must protect you!"
"Go. Only by fighting can you grow stronger—strong enough to protect ."
"But…"
When it ca to battle, soone from the warlike frost giant race like Whitefur yearned for the thrill of combat. Yet he also knew his duty was to keep Lilith safe.
"Go now. For , for yourself—hunt down more dark creatures!"
"At the mont, you're still not strong enough to protect ."
Those words stung, but they were the truth.
Whitefur hesitated for a mont, then jumped down from the city wall to join the hunting team, charging straight at the dark creatures. Lilith smiled as she watched Whitefur's broad back recede, feeling a trace of warmth and tenderness.
But that hint of tenderness was soon replaced by worry. A succubus-bloodline warrior approached and whispered in her ear.
"Elder Lorelia sent word that underworld defenses are currently holding, but both sides are locked in battle with no sign of victory for either."
"Elder Lorelia also said Orion's sister has run out of trump cards."
That bit of information made Lilith's heart jolt. She almost lost her composure.
"I see. You can head back now. Let
know if there's any further news."
"Understood!"
Once the succubus-bloodline warrior was gone, Lilith slowly let out a breath.
"Calm down… stay composed… I must remain calm!"
"If this happened, Orion surely knows about it."
"Since Orion hasn't passed any ssages to , it ans his sister's not in imdiate danger and he must have so plan."
"What I need to do now is focus on the task at hand—defending Blackstone City."
A freezing wind whipped through the air, stirring Lilith's hair. She forced herself to appear unusually calm, bestowing endless confidence and resolve on the bloodline warriors outside the walls.
The night was dark, the wind blew more fiercely, and snow began to fall.
"Your heart is uneasy."
All of a sudden, in the midst of that wind and snow, a cool, clear voice sounded at Lilith's side. The wind ceased, and the snow halted. Lumi, dressed in a white gown, appeared on the wall and stood beside Lilith.
"Is it because of them?"
With a wave of Lumi's hand, the wind rose, snow surged, and countless little snow monsters erged from the drifts, tearing into the dark creatures besieging the city.
Lilith turned her head and, seeing that familiar figure, felt the tension in her heart ease.
"Lumi, you ca—"
Before Lilith could finish, she furrowed her brow, eyes filled with shock. Why? Because in that very mont, Lilith couldn't sense Lumi's level of power at all, nor even detect Lumi's aura.
"Lumi, you… you…"
"Orion gave
a Lord's Stone. I've advanced."
Lumi regarded Lilith, speaking nonchalantly about her new Legendary-level power. To Lumi, an elental lifeform who had imdiate access to a Lord's Stone, ascending to Legendary rank was rely a matter of ti. Having succeeded now just ant her innate talent was decent, and she felt little need to make much of it.
It never crossed Lumi's mind to show off in front of Lilith. First, because showing off simply didn't suit Lumi's nature. Second, Lumi knew that once Lilith reached the Alpha peak, Orion would do the sa for her—helping Lilith advance to Legendary level as well.
"That's wonderful!"
"Lumi, co with !"
Lilith's shock lted into a surge of delight. She stepped forward, took Lumi by the arm, and led her along the city wall at a brisk pace toward the underground fissure. As they walked, Lilith hastily told Lumi about the current situation and the difficulties in the underworld.
---
Underground fissure, entrance to the bottomless abyss.
"What's happening down there right now?"
Lorelia couldn't recall how many tis Rendall had asked that very question.
She was patient with Rendall because when she was young, most of the Stoneheart Horde's resources had been personally delivered to her by Rendall. Rendall had placed great hopes on Lorelia, and in turn, Lorelia held deep respect and admiration for this giant elder.
"There was a huge explosion. Orion's sister got injured, and Master's will projection vanished!"
"Also, one of Clyne's subordinates is on the verge of death!"
"And most of my little spiders… so many of them died already."
"So far… we haven't detected any new will projection…"
As Lorelia went on, she grew visibly distressed, pouting her lips and looking close to tears.
Since the Stoneheart Horde's rise, they had provided countless resources to the cave spiders, and Lorelia had worked hard to hatch millions of spiderlings for the horde.
Because she personally nurtured those cave spiders, she knew better than anyone how many resources it took to bring them to life. Now they were dying in droves. As the broodmother of the cave spider clan, Lorelia mourned not only the loss of those resources but also the loss of her own children.
Hearing this, Rendall stamped his foot repeatedly beside the bottomless abyss. He desperately wanted to leap into the underworld and aid Clyne.
Once, Clyne had fallen in battle, and Rendall hadn't been able to rescue her. Confronted with the sa dire situation, he paced in circles anxiously. After hearing Lorelia's account of the carnage in the underworld, Rendall beca even more agitated.
Just then, a sudden gale swept through deep cracks beneath Blackstone City. Bitterly cold winds roared, bringing flurries of snow with them.
"Who goes there?"
Lorelia, who spent most of her ti sleeping in the underground fissure, was intimately familiar with the local weather and temperature. The blast of ice-cold wind imdiately put her on alert. Rendall spun around at once, spiked club already in hand.
"It's !"
"And Lumi!"
Lilith's pleasant voice arrived.
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