Chương 64: [BL] 63. Two Rifts

Why do I deem the purge upon the Grand Abyss Rift necessary when the [Hero] has already made his intent known through the imperial message? I suppose there's one thing you're forgetting. I might be an outworlder, but now I'm a king. A king's duty is to protect his territory. How could I rest knowing a tier-six rift is just one island away from us? I'll do my duty as a Bright Star when the [Hero] Ser Guler invokes the Hero Call; I shall answer. But my duty is not to the world alone.

The Devil has been ignored for hundreds of years. While I understand the threat the tier-nine Blight Rat poses, I believe the Empire and their Bright Stars have turned a blind eye to other threats. Yes, the vile rats have taken the northern border, along with many cities all the way through Helipolis. But by turning a blind eye to multiple tier-six rifts, humanity will continue to suffer blindsided attacks. I'll prevent that. My kingdom and I will stand against it.

Under my command, twenty Bright Stars will carry out the purge upon the Devil that has stained our sea for far too long. I won't lie; I'm doing this so my people see me favorably. Though I married my wife, whose noble blood stretches back thousands of years, I am still just an outworlder who once worked a menial job. I'll prove myself worthy, and that will start with purging the greatest thorn of Tlanta.

We have received credible information that the Devil has tried to venture out to make contact with other Riftborns. Their Manalith boosts their Rift's Enhancer, and it terrifies me to think what they could do if the report is true and they attempt to make their Manalith mobile. I believe Ser Guler, the [Hero], made a mistake by prioritizing the Blight Rats. Only history will tell. But who can blame him? The Empire coddled their Bright Stars for years, only allowing them to purge tier-two portals for an entire year.

Of course, hearing about a tier-nine portal would boggle anyone's mind. We, the Bright Stars who have been fighting on the front lines, know what horror is, and we know its smell. So trust us. - King Nunez Theopis"Seriously, stop apologising," Josha groaned, and Willow didn't blame him. He'd been warding off her apology for the tenth time.

"But—""No 'buts,' Willow! Your mind got taken; it's not you. Let's leave it at that," Josha said firmly. Willow bit back a retort; she sighed and slumped in her chair, pulling her knees close.

"I can't believe I almost killed both of you. What kind of friend am I?" she sulked.

"When did you almost kill me?" Shera asked, then paused and nodded.

"Oh, yeah, you almost did."

"Shera," Josha groaned.

"I promise I'll try to find a way to resist those bloody mind attacks," said Willow.

"I'm not sure how you're going to achieve that except through levelling up," said Josha.

"Any of us can fall for that. Even Leynah fell to a tier-two mind control." Josha kept his voice low on that. He glanced at Leynah alongside Becks and other tier-threes who lined up in two lines across Kroos' throne room. They stood separated by the tables. A fresh group of tier-threes Willow didn't recognize stood on Kroos' side, including his Second Sword, an Ascendant-class Spell Blade called Modric. Krywen accompanied her grandfather, and she held Willow's gaze, sending a shy smile.

The girl was nervous since this meeting felt different. Kroos' house entourage wore grim faces. Willow peeked behind to see that the other tier-threes also shared similar stiff postures. She then looked beyond the arrow slits, where the grand green tree had stopped growing. And thank God it did, for if it kept growing, it might as well take over the sun. Willow had never thought that she would dread seeing something so normal, a green tree. Most seats around the table were unoccupied.

On the right were the representatives of Sheran Village, led by Erick—the tier-two Storm Warden. The man was obviously nervous, facing a Count of the empire with his family. Seated right beside Kroos were Krywen and a young man, his grandnephew. Evan, being the son of the emperor, sat at the head of the table. Finally, the door opened. Derrick—Kroos First Sword—entered with five of Kroos's house guard. Each carried the body of a dead treant.

They looked thin and humanoid, like the one Willow had seen back when she was sneaking around after the Lich's rift, although these treants had no crown on their heads. The guards dropped each body, and Derrick spread his arms.

"This is a nightmare. Half of them are tier-twos. They grow from a single jutting branch we missed. A single branch produces thirty of them," said Derrick. The First Sword left the obvious unsaid. Now they faced gigantic trees that could probably summon an endless horde of treants.

"Is this the consequence we got for ignoring the Grand Hunt?" Evan asked, then he pointed the question to Willow.

"My Lady?" Before Willow could answer, Kroos cut in.

"We did not ignore it. The sole reason we sent your sister was that she was the fastest option we had to warn the army." Derrick followed.

"And we held back three hosts to alleviate pressure upon the Duke's army."

"Still, there must be a reason the tier-five Sentinel did not get assigned to this Treant Rift," Evan said, chewing his lip. The boy's nonchalant, lazy attitude disappeared as he tapped his finger up and down with a worried frown.

"What makes you think the Duke didn't assign him to the rift?" Kroos asked.

"Grand Uncle, if they assigned the Duke's First Sword and he failed… that would be the most terrifying outcome," Kroos' nephew said.

"Yet, one we must consider," said Kroos as he stood, scraping his chair back.

"And now, we'll decide whether to march to this Hollow Knight Rift or to join the Duke's army." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"My lord, surely you're not thinking to abandon the Duke's army," said Evan, maintaining his calm.

"Besides, what of the three hosts?"

"They are fighting while retreating. Based on Champion Leynah's scouting, we deduce the Embers and Centaurs will return to their rift for now. As for the Devil… they are the ones we must watch for," said Derrick, then he gestured toward a golden servant that carried a stack of paper. The servant briskly shared it with everyone, not just those who sat around the tables, but also the tier-threes. Willow didn't need to read it as she knew what the paper in front of her entailed.

It was the information about her Divine Hunt. -- [Target: Devil Depth Spawn] [Rift: The Long Depth—Tier three] [Making a contract to grow stronger is a devil's forte. What is even more pleasant is the method to gain one; there sure are plenty. The big problem is knowledge. Yes. There aren't many Riftborn smart enough to make a contract with the devil. They need a creature who is smart under torture and who knows what's good for them. Truly, what a conundrum. On the one hand, a stupid creature would serve well, since this thing called resilience actually makes some rather die than submit. Luckily, though, the humans break upon the slight torture imposed on them, so that shouldn't be a problem. Humans' bodies were surprisingly nice, so comfortable that the longer a devil dons it, the more levels will be given. When the portal opened, all the devils could see was a never-ending source of power and food, truly a land of endless euphoria… Especially with their Manalith that they found, an incredible source of pure mana they could tap into. All it required was a soul, in exchange for a contract they could impose upon. Most devils had sacrificed their lives to grow a horn, raising their power even higher than possible. As time went by, their power would grow stronger and stronger. Yet gaining the third horn proved to be difficult and required so much sacrifice. Thankfully, the Manalith rewarded a stronger sacrifice, and the Devil would provide. They also learns that the Manalith acts as an enhancer for their rifts, empowering the Devils inside. The Horned Devil Lord was unbelievably pleased to know they had access to other creatures and could stop sacrificing other devils to the Manalith. Furthermore, he found something curious. Something exciting. One power the Manalith had granted was the power to fly—that's how the Cape Devils were born. Upon closer inspection, the Horned Devil Lord figured out he shared a deep bond with the Manalith. And he… he knew the Manalith wanted something. It can sense it. A Throne. A throne in the castle of night. In the lone castle built upon a long, deep fracture of dark earth inside a rift called the Hollow Rift, where the telepathic Dark Knights rule, serving their King of Knights. The Manalith wants to be fed the throne. It is hungry. It dawned on the Horned Devil that, just like the Manalith, the Dark Throne is also a dungeon core—the beating heart of both rifts. What would happen if the Manalith ate the throne? The answer came to the Devils when they were asleep. They saw a floating castle of black, built like two spires wedged against each other. They saw it split the clouds. They saw Devils flying down to rejoin the Grand Abyss Rift where the tier-six Devils reside. Such glory is theirs. It decided. The Horned Devil Lord prostrated itself to the Manalith. If the Manalith had legs, he would lick it. For the glory it promised the Devil's is never-ending! Now all they need to do is contact the telepathic knight. For that, he will need to prepare and destroy the human fortifications that surround the Hollow Knight Rift! [Hunt Target] [Horned Devil Lord—Level 56] [Reward: Devil Crown of Pain] [Puppeteer Devil—Level 28-43] [Reward: Devil String Glove] [Cape Devil x20—Level 25-35] [Reward: Devil Cape Glider] [Hunch Devil x 20—Level 20-35] [Reward: Blood Dagger] -- Willow remembered her limbs locking up as she read it. She peeked at Josha and Shera's reaction. The latter had tears running down her cheeks, while Josha stood abruptly. His hand clenched the paper." We saw the Devil take the form of a human," said Josha as his body quivered." They can easily contact the knight."" Communication between two Riftborns is rare," said Derrick." Let alone an alliance."" The Divine Hunt hint on their rift will become one," Willow said." If they have someone like the Jester Devil who can teleport around in its Iron Maiden, then who knows what kind of trick they will have. Also, to my understanding, this Horned Devil Lord did not need to stay inside the Rift since it is not the Dungeon Core, unlike the Kobold Half-dragon, right?" Willow looked around for confirmation, and her eyes naturally sought Leynah, who nodded." Then you can bet it will be the one that led the Devil's army to attack the Rift Farm." Willow leaned forward, locking eyes with Kroos." We have to go. To the Rift Farm."" My Lord, you told me I'm the representative of the Sheran. My village," Erick said as he rose and gave Josha and Shera a look. Both youngsters returned it, and Shera rose from her seat as well." We thank you for everything. And to you too, Willow. Now, each of us is tier-two. Regardless of your decision, we'll return to our rift farm and defend it." Kroos sat with folded hands, quiet as he met Erick's stare. For some reason, he smiled. Willow's eyes went wide. What was the man thinking? Was he planning something—Willow stopped her train of thought. Kroos had repeatedly shown how much he hated having to abandon the capital. And now the old man was seeing villagers wanting to defend their homeland. Admiration. The tier-four was admiring the tier-twos in front of him." Your Highness." Kroos looked to Evan, who was deep in thought. Her sister was in danger after all." The decision is yours, Count Lavence. While my sister is in danger and I want to save her, I recognise I'm powerless to do so. Also, we have faced one disaster already. I prefer that we do not face another one. If my vote matters, then I vote to march on this Rift farm," said Evan, pushing his monocle up with a weak arm." Your Highness…" Shera blinked a tear." Now it's Your Highness, is it? I recall you were calling me a noble prick." That was surprisingly very selfless. Willow had expected Evan to throw a tantrum and demand that the army save his sister. Maybe she should have thought better of the boy." All of you are forgetting something simple," said Kroos." My Lord, we will not—" Kroos raised a hand to shut Erick down." As Bright Lady Willow said, chances are the Horned Devil Lord will lead the Devil's host to the Rift farm. That means their rift will be vulnerable." The statement made the Sheran folk look at each other, and realisation dawned on what the Count had been planning." Derrick!"" My Lord." The first Sword bowed, hand on his sword." We will split into two hosts. Count Kroos shall lead the first host to reinforce the Rift Farm by placing his Lord Castle right beside the Hollow Knight rift. With this move, we'll kill any chance of both rifts combining. Meanwhile, I shall lead the second host and purge the Devil's rift for good." Derrick turned to Willow. He stepped around and stopped behind her, offering her his hand." My Lady, your Divine Hunt led you to the Hunt Target that the stars above point you to. I believe this will point you to the Manalith. Which is why, will you join me?"