C235
"What? Can't they catch him? They said even if we just watched from behind, they would automatically catch him, right?"
In the rear of the field.
Spectators in a situation similar to mine whispered among themselves.
No wonder, since the leaders of the main attack in the Raid were quickly retreating.
Each of them turned the bow and headed towards the opposite side of El Cid.
I sighed.
'It's not that there's no strategy.'
The leaders had not yet deployed all their strength.
Those present were, at best, third and fourth-tier heroes.
Surely, among the leaders, there was some master with heroes capable of facing those three. The problem is that the benefits don't match up. Even if a special reward is offered, established leaders already possess almost all rare materials. Therefore, they don't need to expose all their strength in a bloody fight against El Cid.
"I have nothing to do with you. Everyone go their own way."
El Cid's voice echoed low across the field.
That alone made the heroes lose their fighting spirit.
They're probably all suggesting retreat to their masters.
"What I want to find is…"
El Cid's gaze turned here.
He was looking at me.
'Well, if interference power is needed, there's no better place than Niflheim.'
Even if he absorbs everything here, it wouldn't compare to Niflheim.
Especially the interference power he could obtain by absorbing the members of Group 1 would be enormous, given that each one possesses abilities comparable to 7-star heroes. Therefore, I'm probably the one he's looking for.
'Is it time to go back?'
I didn't expect El Cid to kneel in this Raid anyway.
Besides, it's not like there hasn't been any benefit.
I thought it would be lucky if I could at least see his cards during this Raid, but I ended up learning more than expected.
He's a tough opponent.
That's for sure.
If we only look at objective strength, he might be superior to Niflheim.
But it's also clear that he's not invincible.
His greatest ability, summoning forces, comes with a deadly penalty. The level decreases as much as he summons. In this battle, he compensated for that amount with the forces absorbed from the hunting squadron...
'It won't be easy.'
If I form a team mainly with an elite capable of not easily dying against those types and provoke a war of attrition, I can continue the battle from a much more advantageous position. Even if El Cid has powers I don't know about, if I can avoid casualties, it's definitely worth trying.
Group 1 was expert in enduring.
If they endure and exhaust his strength, and then concentrate all their power when El Cid is somewhat weakened, they can definitely take the advantage.
I'll show the endurance skills I perfected on floor 80.
"......"
Turning my head, Wiryung was biting her lips until they bled.
She probably realized the gap between her and her opponent.
Probably, even if there were a hundred Wiryungs at their peak, they couldn't defeat El Cid.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of the revenge."
I turned the ring on my left hand five times to the right.
It was a signal for Yurnet to come out to meet us. Speed is essential for proper handling. If I return to Taonier now, I'll miss the opportunity to respond. I had already asked Iselle to manipulate the records in advance. If the assault squadron fails, she must make it look like I returned safely.
Probably, Iselle is struggling right now with Anything's game screen.
I snapped my fingers.
[Master, hero Han (★★★★) requests withdrawal from the field.]
[You can exit the event area and re-enter at any time, and there will be no difference in rewards obtained. Do you really want to withdraw?]
[Yes (Select) / No]
Anything didn't hesitate.
Those watching the battle beside me were also fleeing.
The airship Lucette also turned its bow, preparing to withdraw.
El Cid did not interfere with the fleeing assault squadron.
He seemed to be focused on absorbing the fallen heroes on the deck.
The wind flowing from his cloak swept over the entire airship as he engulfed the bodies.
He seemed to have consumed about half.
If he absorbs the rest, he will regain all the interference power spent in this battle.
'Is he in perfect condition again?'
Tsk.
I turned my back.
I have no more business in this Raid.
"This shouldn't be like this."
Suddenly, the sky darkened.
And a familiar voice echoed across the field.
'......'
A female voice, almost enchanting.
I know very well who owns this voice.
"We've prepared this with so much effort, but as soon as things get a little difficult, everyone runs away. The old masters weren't like that. I don't know where they've all gone."
I looked up to the right.
On Anything's control screen, a message tinged with red appeared.
[Loading……]
[An error has occurred on the server and the connection has been lost. Please wait a moment.]
Then I looked to the side.
Wiryung, who was trying to tell me something, had stopped with her mouth open.
The Lucette, and the airships moving far behind, were also stopped.
Everything in a frozen world.
"Don't you think so, number one?"
A wooden desk and a leather chair floated in the air.
A young woman with black hair, elegantly dressed in a black women's suit, looked at El Cid.
The young woman had her legs wrapped in black stockings over the desk.
Her name tag floated slowly.
[SS▩SH黑⊙∈※ Lv.999]
Crackle.
A static noise sounded.
[Mobius Inc.]
[T E L Lv.999]
"So, are you enjoying a wonderful adventure as you wanted?"
Tel looked at El Cid and smiled brightly.
A very refreshing smile.
"......"
El Cid didn't respond.
"Why did you reject my offer? I offered you a position in Mobius management. It would have allowed you to live comfortably for the rest of your life. I even said I would send you back to Earth if you preferred. I also said I would give you all the money you wanted. You could have lived peacefully on Earth. So why?"
Tel tilted her head with a smile.
El Cid didn't open his mouth.
'He...'
He's not frozen.
He's listening carefully to what Tel is saying.
"Have you become attached to the Dorado guys? Couldn't you leave because it hurt to leave them? You're not saying something so ridiculous, are you? Compared to you, they're worthless trash."
El Cid's eyebrows moved slightly.
Tel covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
"Oh, I accidentally revealed what I really think."
I opened my mouth.
Or rather, I tried to open it.
It seemed like my body had stiffened, and I couldn't move.
All I could do was watch the conversation between the two of them.
'I didn't break the contract. If you conquer the tower, I'll give you a position in Mobius' leadership and send you back to Earth. You were the one who broke the promise first, El Cid. Do you know that? This is clearly a breach of contract.'
'......'
'I'll give you another chance now. Join Mobius. I'll get you a good position. With your skills, it's more than enough. Originally, I was going to give it to someone else...'
Tel turned to me and smirked ironically.
'It seems it's been delayed a bit.'
Tel turned his gaze back to El Cid and shrugged.
El Cid still said nothing.
'You're exercising your right to remain silent. There's no such right in Mobius.'
'......'
'Maybe compared to Loki, he's a defective product. He was just the first to clear the game, but it seems his skills are lacking, and his brain doesn't seem to work well either. Maybe he can't read the atmosphere? I don't like people like that. If I had known this would happen, I should have taken all the kids from Dorado when he cleared it. It would be fun to make them my toys. Or maybe they already are like toys? That girl with the dagger, every night she...'
At that moment.
Crack!
Tel's face, who was carelessly murmuring, exploded like a firecracker.
Whoosh.
Whoosh, whoosh.
From the cut surface of his neck, black blood like coal gushed out like a waterfall.
'Shut up.'
El Cid murmured quietly.
Then, as El Cid lowered his hand to the right, Tel's convulsing torso tore apart.
'Huhuhuhu......'
A pair of eyes appeared in the air.
'Hahahahaha! How foolish, how foolish! Do you really think you can stand against me? Are you coming to Server 1 to finish us off and revive Dorado? Not even an elementary school kid would think that!'
The boy's eyes turned red.
'Look closely. This is the end of a fool. The end of someone who dreamed ridiculous dreams. This is a warning to you, Loki. Think carefully, think well!'
[Complete recovery!]
[Reconnecting to the server. We apologize for the inconvenience.]
A flashing blue window appeared in the center of my vision.
The edge of the holographic window shimmered with rainbow colors.
[Dimensional channel (GM only) - 3 participants]
[GM Largo - Masters, it seems you're having trouble with El Cid's attack. Seeing our dear masters being mercilessly attacked by El Cid hurts us all in Mobius a lot. Oh ㅠㅠ, it hurts so much!]
[GM Sendain - For those Masters, our three cute GMs have prepared a special buff!]
[GM Ueryl - Also, we've prepared a very rare extra reward! Please don't give up. Come on everyone!]
The rainbow dimensional channel, used by Mobius staff to communicate announcements to the masters.
[Dimensional channel (Advanced only) - 28 participants]
Eclios> I knew they would be here.
The conversation of those three will surely be visible to all masters present in the field.
The airships preparing to retreat stopped.
Anything too.
[A divine blessing descends upon the entire event area!]
From the entire sky, a white light began to shine.
[Ding!]
[Death protection applied to all heroes on the field!]
[In battle with El Cid, if a hero dies, they will not extinguish. However, a hero with death protection applied will revive after a specific period, and their level, abilities, and powers will generally decrease. Please keep this in mind!]
The bodies of the assault squad suddenly disappeared, and the wind flow battering Ximena's aircraft bridge stopped.
'Death protection.'
In PVP battles below floor 40, even if a hero dies, they will not extinguish.
It was a system that had disappeared as Anything leveled up.
They brought that here.
'This is... excellent.'
I looked at El Cid again.
It's not about a hero dying and resurrecting. The problem is that even if a hero dies and then revives, it will take at least a week to do so.
However, with 'Death Protection' applied, there are no hero corpses left. That means El Cid can't absorb any more heroes from the assault squad, even if he kills them.
[※ Special Reward Announcement]
[To whoever defeats El Cid, Mobius will offer a very special ★gift★!]
[Reward Item - The Book of the Inverted Sky]
And then.
Not even 10 minutes passed, and the number of participants in the advanced channel, which only masters level 70 or higher can enter, changed.
[Dimensional channel (Advanced only) - 279 participants]
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