Athanasia: My Hacker System

That was clearly apparent by how weak the Dragons’ attacks fared against the ships in the sky. Despite the aerial bombardment, the silver hulls held firm against the breaths and attacks of the winged beasts.

On top of that, John saw more ropes coming down from the unaffected ships, with fresh reinforcements of red-skinned giants heading toward the ground to reinforce their embattled kin.

John didn’t linger any longer. Once he had collected enough rings, bracelets, and necklaces, he focused more on collecting the loot from the fallen winged commanders. He instantly turned around and ran. The moment he made his move, all of his friends followed suit, moving as a single cohesive unit.

Even Cissel and Elena jumped off the decks of the ships they had been terrorising, heading back toward the hill they had started from. The two kept spreading their deadly purple grenades nonstop, even during their hasty retreat, tossing them into open portholes and onto the black sails.

In the end, out of the forty ships the Pirates had brought, they lost almost one-third of their fleet, thirteen massive vessels brought down thanks to the two girls alone.

John watched the ships fall from the sky. They didn’t just crash; they landed on the ground and fiercely exploded. Each ship looked like it was a colossal vessel of explosives, detonating upon impact and releasing a scary-looking giant ball of fire that incinerated any demons or dragons caught in the blast radius.

Seeing this made him wonder what was truly stored inside these ships. Watching the explosions made him turn his head towards the intact ships up there, craving to get his hands on one of these and gain its riches.

At some point, the two girls found their retreat path blocked by empty air. The line of ships that had formed a bridge toward the hill had been decimated or already moved to welcome the incoming Dragons.

Part of the destroyed ships was thanks to their own grenades, part was thanks to the aerial traps John had scattered, and lastly, it was thanks to the continuous, rhythmic roaring of the aerial cannons John had left on the hilltop.

The lack of a fixed path toward the hill didn’t stop them. Instead of panicking, each girl grabbed a dangling chain rope and jumped off the high decks just as the Demons had done earlier. It was a super fun, adrenaline-pumping experience for them, and John led Ricky and Luke toward the spot where they landed in a cloud of dust.

"What are we going to do now?!" Ricky asked, his voice a mixture of battle-high excitement and lingering worry. "Shall we continue fighting or retreat?"

"We shall fight, of course!" Elena instantly barked, her face flushed from the heat of the purple flames. "The Dragons are here to help, and they are doing a great job distracting those alien jerks off our shoulders!"

"First, they are called the Demons," John corrected her, his voice cutting through the noise of distant explosions. "And secondly, the Dragons aren’t here to help us. They aren’t our allies. God knows what either of the two races will do once this battle is over. If the Dragons win, we’re just the next meal on their list."

His words landed like a cold bucket of water over the fervent heads of his friends. They had been taken by the heat of the moment and forgot to logically think the entire situation through. In the new world, there were no good guys, only different predators competing for the same pie.

"John is right," Cissel said, turning her head toward the far distance where the silver fleet still hovered. "And yet... It’s painful to see our defensive weapons being left behind on that hill. Those cannons and towers are valuable."

"I won’t leave them," John instantly decided on the spot. He looked at the looming hill where his defences were still spitting fire. "You three head toward that ridge in the south. Go now, and I’ll follow in a minute."

Without waiting for them to argue, he changed his path and ran back toward the base of the hill. Cissel rolled her eyes but didn’t stop him, recalling the many days in the pocket trial when he used to venture solo to complete high-risk tasks.

Yet this time, he went back not just to reclaim the defences, but to take the grandest piece of loot he had gained from this confrontation: the Demon he had taken under his wing with the golden scroll.

He found the puppet waiting at the base of the hill, standing motionless amidst the chaos. "Follow me," John ordered. He didn’t even look at the demon’s face before he began to climb the steep incline of the hill.

Using his highest speed, he spent several frantic minutes de-summoning his towers, cannons, and traps back into his inventory. He collected everything in sight, not caring who it belonged to, his fingers moving in a blur. Luckily, the Demon was a fast fellow, tagging along closely behind.

"This way," John said after the hilltop was cleared of his weapons. He led the Demon away from the ongoing slaughter.

John was very interested to see how this fight would end. He was curious to know what historical grudge or immediate provocation had forced the Dragons to step outside the protection of their bubble and join the fray. Regardless of the reasons, he knew he was blessed this time; the intervention had saved them from a total siege.

Yet, depending solely on luck wasn’t in his blood, and staying here for any longer would be a real test of that. He pushed his body to the limit, finally catching up with his friends and taking the lead to drive them away from the battlefield.

The twenty-hour march they had spent exploring before was crossed in less than six hours of frantic, sustained running. By the time they approached the massive white protection dome of their own zone, it was already a new day.

The orange sun of the new world was rising from the horizon, casting long, peaceful shadows over his zone and the vast stretch of lands beyond.

It wasn’t a smooth run by any stretch of the imagination. John and his friends were closely chased by the Demons from the sky, their silver floating ships haunting the horizon like vengeful ghosts.