Chapter 168: The Betrayal Within

The battle started and even though it wasn’t long the fight felt like eternity.

The battlefield outside the Fortress had been transformed into a sea of blood, broken weapons, and countless bodies.

The roars of the Nightmares mixed with the constant sound of explosions echoed throughout the darkness.

Yet despite the overwhelming numbers of the Nightmare army, Edgar’s Soul Guardians were proving to be far stronger than anyone had expected.

The Elven Soul Guardians stood along the Fortress Wall with their bows drawn, their movements perfectly synchronized through the Soul Network.

They released their arrows at the same time.

WHOOSH!

Dozens of arrows flew through the darkness before suddenly splitting apart in midair.

Each one transforming into several smaller arrows that rained down upon the Nightmares below.

The attack struck entire groups at once.

Nightmares screamed as the arrows pierced their bodies, while some were struck repeatedly until their bodies collapsed into the mud.

The Elven Guardians immediately drew their next arrows.

Through the Soul Network, Edgar could see everything they were doing.

They weren’t simply shooting at individual targets anymore.

Using the Soul network as base they could working together and target hundreds of monster all at once.

Every volley was aimed at an area where the Nightmares were most concentrated, allowing them to kill dozens of enemies with every attack.

Elsewhere, the Asuran Soul Guardians were causing even greater destruction.

Their four arms moved with terrifying coordination as they swung swords, axes, spears, and hammers through the battlefield.

A single Asuran Guardian could fight several Nightmares at once, and whenever one monster tried to attack from behind, another weapon would immediately intercept it.

The four-armed warriors moved through the enemy lines like spinning blades.

One of them drove its sword through a Nightmare’s chest before using its second arm to smash another creature with an axe.

Its third arm thrust a spear into a monster approaching from the side, while the fourth brought down its massive hammer and crushed another Nightmare beneath it.

The battlefield had become chaotic just because of thier presence.

Nightmares and Soul Guardians were falling everywhere.

Some Soul Guardians were torn apart by claws, while others were crushed beneath the bodies of enormous monsters.

However, the number of Nightmares dying was far greater.

The Soul Guardians continued advancing despite their losses, while the Nightmare army was slowly being pushed backward.

Things weren’t looking good for the Nightmares and to make it worse something enormous entered the battlefield.

The Soul Guardian Giant created from the corpse of multiple giants charged into the enemy formation.

Its inherited talent, Nightmare Devouring, immediately activated.

The enormous guardian grabbed a wounded Nightmare with both hands and tore it apart before throwing the remains into its mouth.

Its crimson eyes brightened and the muscles visibly expanded.

The more Nightmares it consumed, the stronger it became.

The creature roared and charged into another group.

Several Nightmares attempted to surround it, but the Giant simply swung one massive arm and sent them flying through the air.

It grabbed another monster before it could recover and devoured it as well.

The sight caused chaos among the Nightmares.

Some attempted to retreat whenever they saw the enormous Soul Guardian approaching, while others attacked it together in an attempt to stop its advance.

But in the end none of thier futile attempt mattered.

Every Nightmare it killed only made it stronger. Edgar watched through the Soul Network. "Keep going."

The Nightmare Giant roared in response and charged deeper into the enemy army.

The battlefield continued expanding as both sides pushed farther away from the Fortress.

The ground shook whenever the Giants collided.

Several enormous Soul Guardians fought against Nightmare Giants almost twice their size, with each impact producing a thunderous sound that could be heard from inside the Fortress.

One Giant grabbed a Nightmare by the arm and attempted to throw it aside, only for another monster to leap onto its back.

The Soul Guardian smashed itself against the ground, crushing the Nightmare beneath its enormous body before rising again.

The battle had become a war of attrition.

Bodies continued piling up and the ground became soaked in black blood but the Nightmare army continued coming.

It was at that moment when the generals finally entered the battlefield.

The four-armed Nightmare General stepped forward, and the pressure released from its body caused several weaker Nightmares nearby to instinctively move away.

It raised its enormous sword. A massive wave of energy exploded from the weapon and swept across the battlefield.

Several Soul Guardians were struck at once and many Nightmares were also killed by it.

Their bodies were thrown backward, crashing into the ground with enough force to leave deep marks in the soil.

Edgar’s eyes narrowed. "Commander."

The Soul Network immediately responded.

His own Commander-level Soul Guardians moved forward.

The Headless Commander mounted its skeletal horse and charged toward the four-armed Nightmare General, its sword raised high above its head.

The Gorilla Commander followed behind it, pounding its fists together as it entered the battlefield.

The Nightmare Giant also turned toward the enemy general. Three powerful Soul Guardians surrounded the Nightmare.

At the same time, another group of Soul Guardian Commanders moved toward the second Nightmare General.

Edgar finally stepped down from the Fortress Wall.

His Heavenly Spirit Body activated as golden energy spread across his body.

He looked toward the battlefield and immediately moved.

BOOM!

Edgar shot forward.

The moment he entered the battlefield, a Nightmare lunged toward him with its claws extended.

Edgar caught its arm and wisted.

CRACK!

The Nightmare’s body spun through the air before Edgar struck it with his other hand, sending it crashing into several monsters behind it.

Edgar didn’t stop. He continued moving through the battlefield, using his Solar Energy to destroy every Nightmare that came within reach.

The battle had finally entered the true stage.

Yet, the Nightmare King still had the same bored look on his face like none of this mattered to him.

---

Inside the Fortress, the situation was very different.

The people could hear the battle raging outside.

Every explosion caused the windows to shake, while the distant roars of the Nightmares made many residents too frightened to even approach their doors.

Families moved deeper into their homes.

Some locked their doors while others gathered together in silence, hoping the Fortress Walls would hold.

Nobody knew how the battle was progressing. They could only hear the destruction happening outside.

Among all those frightened people, however, there was one person who didn’t seem frightened at all.

...Wavin.

The young man walked through the streets with a cold expression on his pale face.

He calmly moved toward the main house.

His eyes occasionally shifted toward the Fortress Walls, but there was no fear in them.

When he finally reached the house, he stopped.

Several Soul Guardians were stationed outside. They were protecting the building as Edgar had ordered.

Wavin took a slow breath before walking toward them. The guardians looked at him but didn’t attack.

He continued until he stood directly outside the house.

"Lady Hera!" His voice echoed through the quiet street.

A few seconds later, a window opened. Hera appeared behind it.

Her expression immediately changed when she saw Wavin. "Wavin?"

He looked up at her with a anxious look on his face. "Lord Edgar is injured."

Hera’s eyes widened. "What?"

"He was hurt during the battle." Wavin’s voice remained calm, but he made his words sound urgent enough to convince her. "He needs help."

Hera immediately became anxious. "Where is he?"

"He sent me to bring you."

Hera turned away from the window. "I’m coming."

Reeba, who had been inside the room, immediately grabbed her arm. "My Lady, wait."

Hera looked at her. "Let go."

"We don’t know if this is safe."

"I need to see Edgar."

Reeba shook her head. "But Lord Edgar specifically ordered the Soul Guardians to protect this house."

Hera pulled her arm free. "I don’t have time to argue."

She quickly left the room. Reeba followed her with a worried expression.

When Hera stepped outside, the Soul Guardians immediately moved alongside her.

Wavin turned around and began walking.

"Follow me."

Hera nodded.

She followed him through the street while the sounds of battle continued echoing in the distance.

The further they walked, the more isolated the area became.

Hera eventually frowned. "Where are we going?"

Wavin didn’t answer as he suddenly stopped.

Hera stopped behind him. "What happened?"

Wavin turned around and the coldness in his eyes was no longer hidden.

Before Hera could react, Wavin lunged forward.

His hand grabbed her arm and pulled her against him.

A knife appeared in his other hand as he pressed the blade against her neck.

Hera’s eyes widened.

The Soul Guardians immediately turned toward them.

Reeba froze several steps away.

Wavin held Hera tightly against his body while keeping the knife against her throat.

"Don’t move."

His voice was quiet and the Soul Guardians stopped.

Hera’s breathing became heavier as she stared at the blade against her skin.

"Wavin..."

The young man’s pale face remained emotionless.

"I’m sorry, Hera." He tightened his grip. "But you’re coming with me."