The faint silhouette of the moon peeked through the dense, broiling clouds bloating over the raging battlefield.

Turrets and cannons on Aegis had begun shutting down — some collapsing from severe overheating, others from internal jams. By now, only about 30% of the systems were functioning at full power.

Apart from the six occupied squad captains, the other soldiers did their best to resist the rampant, unending tide of corrupt creatures. At the east side of the battlefield, the Abrams Tank was firing at full throttle — a force of decimation that made up for the lost turrets and laser cannons.

This battle had long surpassed the calamity of a territory. It was a world-level extinction threat. Even the World Spirit was alarmed. Naturally, all Lords across Arcana had long sensed the wrongness.

At the far edges outside the northern borders, a robust man stood on a levitating platform scaling high ground, giving him a clear line of sight into Roy's territory.

His skin simmered like bronze, his eyes deep gold — matching his scattered golden locks and thick beard of the same hue. He was plated in full regal armor, and strapped to his back was a massive halberd engraved with azure inscriptions, echoing mystic prowess.

Beside him stood two others on the wide platform — a man and a woman.

The man wore casual clothing: a simple shirt and leather trousers. His hands were adorned with rings of various colors, his hair vibrant green, his chin cleanly shaved, and his eyes a sharp amber hue.

The woman had a masculine frame — stocky arms and legs, her height dwarfing the other two. She was dressed in full heavy armor like a walking tank. Strapped to her arms was a massive spiked shield. Her hair flowed red, her eyes matching its light.

The woman spoke, her voice surprisingly delicate and melodious. Her eyes squinted as she scanned the battlefield, taking long glances at the six facing the Six Fingers.

"Lux, these guys are strong… too strong to be newcomers."

The man beside her replied, his voice lax and unrestrained. "But they are. There's no way we could've missed such individuals during our early campaign…"

His expression shifted, becoming more intrigued as he gazed at the massive rift.

"What I'm more interested in is what sort of calamity they're facing. One of this magnitude would definitely yield unimaginable rewards…"

The woman's eyes flashed grimly at the statement.

The truth — as Vera once said — was that the true obstacle in Arcana wasn't monsters. It was themselves: fellow Lords and fellow humans.

And the thought of a potential foe having so much potential — not only the Lord but also his subordinates — and the further thought of what level of rewards they would be getting from such a cataclysmic calamity… it unnerved them.

They had faced their second calamity, and they could say for sure — it wasn't anywhere near this apocalyptic.

The woman's eyes glinted dangerously. "We need to have such an individual on our side… either that, or…"

She didn't finish her sentence, but the dense murderous intent flowing around her said it all.

Finally, the man before them — Lux — spoke, his cold gaze scanning the raging battlefield.

"To think being occupied with those pesky fools could derail our attention from the real threats…"

He frowned, his eyes flickering as he rested his gaze on the distant silhouette of Roy.

"We were so focused on fellow earlycomers and trying to surpass the Nine Supremes that we neglected these new arrivals…

They might be late to the party — that doesn't mean they can't dominate it. We have to put them in check."

He raised his arm and slowly stroked his thick beard, his eyes streaking with calculated light.

"Once we get back, stop all aggression with the Merchant and Luck Territories. We focus fully on improvement — and taking as many newcomers as possible under our wings.

And Larry, Lana — signal your subordinates. I'll signal mine. We might be taking possible action today."

His gaze hardened as he saw the eventual defeat of the immeasurable Fingers.

The talent being shown in this territory was too frightening to leave be.

They would wait patiently until the vile battle was over before attacking. By then, the opponent would be too exhausted to put up much of a fight — and they would be left with no choice but to choose death or submission.

Just as he was having these thoughts, a whistling sound rang out. Sensing the presence of incoming individuals, his expression twisted in annoyance. The others scowled as well.

He muttered under his breath, "It's a given they would've sensed the commotion. Perhaps we can come to a conclusion."

The new individuals came into view, gazing at Lux and company with light, taunting smiles.

Three Lords stood on a dragon-like beast mount — two women, one man spearheading the trio.

Standing at the left of the three, a familiar figure took bold steps forward — her wavy pink hair fluttering in the wind, her seductive, slender waist moving in rhythm.

"Sorry, Lux. But this one is ours…" Vera claimed boldly.

Lux met her gaze coldly, his figure straight, his aura fierce.

"Here I thought we could come to an agreement. In that case, we'll let our fists do the talking."

The two beside Lux straightened their stances. On Larry's end, a sinister bronze kopesh appeared in his grasp. Lana held fast to her massive shield.

The atmosphere grew tense between the two groups…

---

Meanwhile, back on the battlefield — at the very forefront of the madness.

Roy stood, his surroundings littered with corpses of corrupt creatures and black, rotting pools — remnants of Thousand-Face Soul-Stealing Wraiths.

Roy stared vacantly at the air, his expression shifting erratically as he read the system's notification.

[New Quest Issued: SURVIVE!!!]

Despair budded from the depths of his heart.

The system had given him all kinds of quests during the past week — going against fate, fighting above his grade and level.

And during all these absurdly dangerous events and quests, not once had the system given him a quest of survival.

For the system to do that… it meant it had scanned all accounted and unaccounted variables — and still found zero probability of him winning. Meaning the best he could do in this case… was survive.

He stared, his heart beating heavily, blood flooding his system unnaturally as a sickening, pure primal terror seeped into his pores.

The atmosphere grew darker. All colors dulled. A thick, nauseating smell of corruption oozed from the writhing rift, gliding into his lungs, burning his throat on passage.

His arms glittered as his Legendary Gauntlets of Justice were summoned — followed by a glistening shotgun, his only legendary gun.

Right now, he could tell — there was no time to worry about painful recoil. Only survival.

His eyes trembled as a slow bulge appeared in the rift — something was forcing its way through.

His guts shivered. His hair stood on end. Goosebumps rose beneath his armor as he gulped hard, reacting to the sheer pressure of the looming disaster.

[Arcana Wails… The Ether Plane senses a vile threat!]

[Hand of Gluttony — Belzebub — is slowly making its way to your plane!]

[Protect Arcana at all cost and banish the evil spawn from Arcana!

The World Spirit pleads to Lord Roy Vanders…

Rewards from the World Spirit are guaranteed on success!]

The screen that popped up was blood red — showing that this was direct from Arcana itself, having nothing to do with his Order.

But despite the promise of rewards, Roy's mood wasn't pleased in the slightest. Instead, his expression turned grimmer.

"Even Arcana is scared out of its wits… who am I?"

The presence of the looming threat was so suffocating, even the six Lords present at his borders had to halt their confrontation — all turning to stare at the building rift, expressions varying.

Vera was filled with worry. But outsiders couldn't step into a territory undergoing a calamity…

Meaning Roy was on his own for this one.

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