Chapter 130: The dilemma of the World Sovereign
A few minutes before the war exploded...
After the conversation with Seraphina Duskveil, Samson no longer had the desire to return to his underground cave to sleep.
As a Fairy, his longevity was almost infinite and he was one of the current oldest S Rank Sovereigns in the world.
He’d witnessed multiple eras, he’d witnessed the rise and fall of Sovereigns.
And in terms of his personal combat power, even among S Rank Sovereigns, he was one of the strongest in the world. Afterall, he was among the few 4-fold domain S Rank Sovereigns in the world.
It was because of this power that he was able to create the Druid Society, a neutral organization that was unaffiliated to no one and relied on no one.
And it was because of this power that he was able to claim a resource-rich region like the Midnight Forest for himself. Afterall, in the grand scheme of things, the Midnight Forest was one of the most resource rich and a powerful training ground to groom powerful Awakened.
Yet, the Druid Society claimed it despite being an organization with mostly pacifists who dedicated the forest to bettering the lives of weak Awakened, townsfolk, and villagers that were living in the surrounding.
Since the Druid Society became a thing hundreds of years ago, the constant wars that always plagued the Midnight Forest became a thing of the past.
And all of this was because of Samson’s power as a World Sovereign.
But even with all his power, Samson couldn’t stop the war that was coming simply because of the identity of the person that was behind it... Zaratul.
Like most Awakened in the world, that was a name that struck anxiety and fear into even him.
He’d witnessed different eras, he’d witnessed the rise and fall of S Rank Sovereigns, but in all his years of living he’d never witnessed anything quite like the storm called Zaratul.
He met the Sovereign of Debauchery only once, and though they didn’t fight Zaratul left such a deep impression in him that Samson could never forget. The Demon was like a bottomless well that simply had no concept of depth.
His power was like an endless ocean, boundless and insurmountable.
This was part of the reason why despite the fact that he didn’t approve of Zaratul’s ways, when half of the entire world turned against him and came together to assassinate him, he stuck to his neutral stance and refused to mobilize.
When the news of Zaratul’s death spread, he was one of those who was most shocked despite the fact that he also knew the power and caliber of opponents that combined their powers to hunt the Demon down.
And when the news of Zaratul’s return spread, though he slumbered, through the roots of the earth in the Midnight Forest, he also heard the rumors.
And this was exactly why he no longer had the desire to return to his underground cave to sleep.
Afterall, Zaratul may be coming to his territory in less than an hour!
’Can I even stop an S Rank battle if he comes?’
’Seraphina, that vixen!’
He was vexed.
If an S Rank battle happened here in his territory, the S Rank Sovereigns would not be the one paying the price, the forest would pay the price and may likely result in a disaster that’ll kill majority of the life here.
As the protector of the forest, he simply couldn’t let that happen, but the question remained. ’Am I ready to confront Zaratul?’
Though the news said he was weak now, he still was not confident.
Samson clenched his hands tightly and looked outside.
Outside, the forest seemed to hold its breath as fireflies drifted like scattered stars between the trees, their soft glow weaving through the mist.
Within the crooked hut at the heart of the forest, the World Sovereign stood at a cluttered wooden table with his long brown hair falling down his shoulder in waves even as his emerald eyes gleamed with silent worry.
Then his gaze hardened. "I’m going to make sure that no S Rank battle happens here. At least, they should take it outside".
His emerald eyes gleamed like burning green flames.
But then he grimaced and cursed. "I’m too old for this!"
Samson walked out of the hut as he decided to visit one of his wives to have sex and let off some steam in preparation for battle.
’It’s been a while...’ he thought.
...
At the same time that Samson prepared himself to stop an Awakened disaster in his territory, the High Priestess of the Demoness Sect also prepared in her own way for war.
She would never show it but having fought against Zaratul in that war 10 years ago, Seraphina Duskveil had PTSD and it lingered even 10 years later.
Despite being a catastrophe herself at the peak of the Witch Class hierarchy, facing Zaratul in battle, she was forced to learn and admit that even among catastrophes, there were levels.
This was why she dared not infiltrate Dreadmoor despite confirming the news that he was weakened.
This was also why she sent Theodore instead of going herself.
And this was why she was also unwilling to face Dreadmoor alone after sensing the fate threads of an impending war in the Midnight Forest.
The problem was that unlike most Kingdoms in the world, the Demoness Sect was no Kingdom. They were a Sect of Witches and infamous Villainesses who were hated around the world just like Zaratul and his subordinates were hated.
The only difference was that they were likely hated less than Zaratul, but that didn’t change their identity as an evil sect.
This was why Seraphina didn’t have a lot of options to ask for help. Unlike the Kingdom of Falaniondor, she couldn’t ask for help.
She can’t ask the Good factions for help, and she was unwilling to face Dreadmoor and Zaratul in a head-on war especially now when her co-High Priestess was dead, and now Samson the neutral figure just rejected her plea for help.
The only other neutral organization in the world with the power to aid her is the Church of Divinity, but she didn’t even try to ask.
She knew that the prideful Clerics wouldn’t help her.
This was the reason why her preparations for war entailed sending a signal to all the Witches in and outside Ravenhelm to return to the castle.
She already made the decision to call all affiliated Witches back earlier because logically, she knew that Samson would refuse to help.
She simply went nonetheless to try her luck with her natural Succubus charm to see if she could bend fate to her will against such a powerful S Rank Sovereign and just like expected, she failed.
Within minutes, all the Witches in the Midnight Forest and beyond returned. And as for those who couldn’t return, they went into hiding before the war started.
And then, it was time.
BZZZ!
A rift tore open in the sky and Dreadmoor descended into the Midnight Forest unseen like a ghost.
But despite emerging like a ghost, its presence couldn’t be hidden as the qi signatures of a behemoth emerging in the forest spread far and wide as millions of Qi Beasts were terrified and forced into hiding.
They couldn’t pinpoint where the aura was coming from, but they all hid.
Not Seraphina though. Having been ready for their arrival since hours ago, with the nature of her skills, she already predicted where Dreadmoor would appear and already went there to wait for them ahead of time.
She prepared an ambush!
And the moment Dreadmoor appeared, it happened...
Misfortune Drift!
Minor Hex!
Silencing Hex!
Puppet Curse!
Catastrophe Hex!
BZZZZZT!
The moment Dreadmoor appeared, 1000 of the most elite Witches in the Demoness Sect assaulted the castle at the same time in a bid to start the war by causing multiple casualties on the enemy side.
If they could injure the strongest subordinates of the Demon Lord within the first minute of the war, they would gain a massive advantage.
But Seraphina was not the only war strategist in the world.
Dreadmoor had its own war strategist in their War Commander, Paragon Elena. The Harpy Elena already predicted the possibility of an ambush, knowing fully well the nature of high-ranking Witch powers.
The moments the Witches attacked, a shimmering blueish black shield materialized around the invisible castle, and it warded off all the curse spells immediately after they were unleashed.
None of them hit the surface of the castle and no soldier inside the Demon Castle suffered a single attack.
The Witches dealt zero damage and in exchange, the enemies now set their sights on a thousand Witches.
GONG!
Everything happened like clockwork.
Elena hit the gong of war and instantly, Dreadmoor boiled as countless Harpies launched themselves into the sky while Demons marched out of the castle, spreading along the thick forest like a carpet.
They didn’t attack immediately though, they simply went into battle formation like Elena instructed.
Instead of them attacking, Ms. Puck was the one who attacked.
The moment all the Demons and Harpies went into formation, Puck loaded her Spear Artifact with dozens of arrows and aimed at the Witches before unleashing her payload at once.
Her qi flared like a tsunami, imbuing every single arrow with mystical power.
Explosive Arrow!
BOOM!
Every single one of the arrows detonated, spreading thick flames that engulfed the 1000 Witches standing around Seraphina Duskveil but before they could devour them, all the Witches disappeared!
Bzzz!
Just like Elena, Seraphina Duskveil was a strategist and respecting Elena, she already prepared for the possibility of her planning to counter the ambush.
This was why she counter-planned for that possibility, securing a safe route to ensure her soldiers’ retreat.
The density of Puck’s qi was the trigger for a teleportation rune formation that the Demoness Sect’s runic experts already drew ahead of time.
Once the runic formation felt the trigger, it came to life, teleporting all the 1000 Witches straight back to Ravenhelm, leaving behind only Seraphina Duskveil who singlehandedly faced Dreadmoor and its dreadful army.
Her eyes glowed with gray qi as she glared at the invisible castle and all the powerhouses standing on the balcony whose dense qi she felt.
She felt the aura of multiple powerhouses, yet she didn’t sense his aura.
She frowned. "Where is he?"
"Dogs, where is your master?"
There was silence for a few seconds, then...
Teleportation!
Sir Alfred, the Demon Butler of Dreadmoor appeared in front of her!