Defiance of the Fall

advantage after another that put him far above what was expected of a newly integrated world.
And with how strength worked there was limited use of large numbers in trying to stop people such as himself, so unless the invaders had leaders who could match him they were in trouble.

But then again, that simple fact worked the other way around as well.
The existence of beings even stronger than any humans on earth was a huge potential risk, since if Zac wasn ’t able to handle them, perhaps no one could.
That was one reason he wanted to find the methods for the War Arrays the Medhin used but he, unfortunately, couldn ’t find anything of the kind after rummaging through the possessions of Tyrbat.

“But I believe the Dominators are the real threat, apart from the few top tier Incursions like the Undead Empire.
I’m not sure you’ve met other Anointed apart from this one, but they are extremely strong even without levels or titles.”

“The Marshall Clan is situated somewhat close to a large hive.
But we haven’t made any headway with them.
After a few intense battles we have formed some sort of unspoken truce where we stay at our own land,” Thea said.
“But one of these giants never emerged during the battles.”

“The Anointed are both their spiritual and actual leaders.
I still don’t know if they’re another species or some equivalent of a queen ant, but they are far stronger than the normal ones,” Zac said.
“I am trying to forge an alliance with the Zhix to prepare ourselves for the clash with the Dominators.
It doesn’t seem they are content to stay hidden forever if they are amassing forces.”

’

“Since we’re on the subject we should discuss a few other things,” Thea said with some reluctance.
“You’ve already spoken with my grandfather before about an alliance.
It has already been formed, and we have been looking for you to join it.”

“Oh?” Zac only said.

“Since you’re planning on closing the Incursions anyway, you should join us.
Indeed, we do not possess your raw power, at the moment at least.
But I believe you lack a proper support system for things such as information gathering and logistics,” Thea pushed, obviously uncomfortable with presenting a sales pitch.

She had likely been urged by her grandpa to seek allies during the hunt, but Zac had learned the past day she might be even more introvert than himself.
His mouth couldn’t help curve upward at seeing her forcing herself to advertise the alliance, and Thea immediately caught on to his glee.

She immediately closed her mouth and shot him a glare.

“What’s so funny?” she spat out.

“Nothing, nothing,” Zac laughed as he sent her a prompt for becoming an ally, finally connecting Port Atwood and the Marshall Clan.

Since they had dealt with the Zhix the two kept going toward their mountain, and the evening was pretty uneventful.
One thing that was worth noting was that Salvation was kicked off from the top position after a couple of hours, the two Dominators once again passing him or her.

Salvation seemed to have gained a good boost that was somewhat unique to himself during the night, but he couldn’t keep up with the carnage of the two E-Graded monsters during the day.
That hopefully proved that he wasn’t as strong as Zac just yet.

Night soon came and the two decided to stay by the foot of a mountain, hiding in a small courtyard of what should have once been a disciple ’s cultivation cave.
They vigilantly looked into the darkness, but this night they didn’t sense the insidious oppression from yesterday, which was a huge relief.

Around three a.m.
they could pretty much confirm that the darkness wouldn’t descend today and were finally able to somewhat relax.
They still decided to stay for the night though, and only resumed their journey in the morning.

’

It was only two days later that the Darkness once again descended, but its arrival proved that it wasn’t a one-time thing.
Zac and Thea were barely attacked this time, though their minds were still a bit scrambled by the penetrating wail that seemed to spread through the whole zone.

The trick of staying at the foot of the mountain was extremely effective, and it seemed that most people still around had learned their lesson since only roughly 800 people left the trial during the night.

It was nothing compared to what happened the day before.
It was the Arena battle.
In just an hour over four thousand names were removed from the ladder, proving that there were quite a few who had tried to stay under the radar as they searched for treasure.

Neither Thea nor Zac were called of course, since both had both battled and killed a fair amount since the start.
Zac also breathed out in relief when he saw that Salvation didn ’t gain any levels this time, meaning that it might have been a one-time event that happened during the last darkness.

Advertisements

The hunt was starting to become a routine as the two went from mountain to mountain, cleaning the summits from all its valuables.
Thea had fully healed after three days thanks to the ginseng and her healing pills, but they chose to stay together both for safety and company.

There were a lot of things in Zac’s pouch by know that he couldn’t understand, but excluding these odd treasures he estimated his gain to be well over a hundred million Nexus Coins.
Thea’s gain wasn’t small either, and she was currently in the fourth position.

Zac himself lost the lead of the Gatherer ladder after the second day, getting surpassed by Emperor Nenothep.
Thea had a theory that the emperor utilized his large army to gather treasure from multiple mountains simultaneously, and Zac wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.

The two could only increase their efforts, and every night they only slept for around an hour, and after a week of hunting, it was starting to take its toll.
However, something odd changed the normal flow of the hunt, as they saw a group of three humans and two Ishiate desperately fleeing down the mountains.

And right on their heels was what at first glance looked like very life-like robots.