Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Kingdom of Colossus was in the southwest corner of the Swirl Continent. It was a small orc kingdom with a small population. The total population was only up to a little over one million after decades of development, and an influx of immigrants. The kingdom had survived by its relationship with the Mermaid Kingdom and the subsequent marine trade. The Colossus Kingdom, the Mermaid Kingdom and the Hailuga Kingdom formed an alliance and fought together against external enemies.
These three kingdoms with different races, civilizations, languages and cultures were united together for various reasons. Among the three, the Kingdom of Colossus had the least power, the shortest history and no profound culture background. It had developed and grown stronger only because of special reasons and outside factors.
Nevertheless, in its remote corner of the Swirl Continent, far from the southern land of Alen Continent, the Kingdom of Colossus was peaceful and stable. It was like a safe haven, far away from the troubles of other lands. It almost felt as if the kingdom was at the southernmost tip of the whole world.
The Kingdom of Colossus was a little slice of paradise in this remote corner of the world. Nothing ever went wrong. Suddenly, a rumbling sound like that of an earthquake spread across the City of Colossus. It was as if a bull was roaring from the center of the planet. The people started to panic.
“What was that sound?” they shouted.
“Earthquake! It’s an earthquake!”
The street descended into chaos. Pedestrians were flustered and coach horses were startled, both were running wildly out of control. A few ladies wearing luxurious dresses and holding sunshades collapsed to the ground. Workers wearing uniforms gathered together, looking around cautiously.
“Earthquake? The water in the cup did not fluctuate a bit!” said one.
“The sound came from underground!” said another.
A crowd rushed out of the shops on both sides of the street. A blacksmith holding an out-of-date hammer shouted furiously. The sound grew louder, as if something was about to break out of the ground. Even though the ground was not shaking, everyone started to feel uneasy. They all felt like something horrible was about to happen.
The sound was getting closer and louder. The dark brown soil all around them turned black as if it were being dyed by ink.
“What’s going on?” the people asked, confused.
“The ground! The ground is turning black! It’s…it’s turning…”
The crowd was frightened. They dashed away to seek shelter and escape from the blackened earth which reminded them all of their deepest fear. The darkness spread across the entire City of Colossus. It oozed from the ground like ink, turning the city black.
A shrill whinny pierced the air.
A war horse with flaming hooves, blood red eyes and frightening white teeth leapt out of the black ground, catching everyone’s eye. A headless Death Knight sat on the horse, reeking of something putrid and foul. The monster’s head was hanging next to the neck of the horse. It turned to the orcs on the street with ruthless, flaming eyes.
Thousands of ugly, undead corpses, screaming spirits and succubi rose from the ground following the Death Knight, along with countless monsters who’d been transformed by the power of the abyss, and terrifying demon species.
A giant bone dragon rose out of the darkness and hovered over the city. The clear sky was now haunted by gray clouds and darkness. The peaceful city had been turned into a living hell.
“What is that?” shrieked the orcs.
“Monsters! There are monsters everywhere!”
“Help!”
“Open the door! Open the door!”
“Guard! Guard!”
Thousands of orcs ran for their lives and screamed at the top of their lungs, only to be killed and devoured by the countless monsters rising from the ground. At the same time, a gigantic fortress made entirely of bones rose up from the darkness.
The bone city spun and rose from the ground, smashing the statue standing in Colossus Square. It was a statue of an old-fashioned boar-people wizard, wearing a robe with a stern expression. The statue, which was tens of yards high, broke into pieces instantly. The square was now in ruins. Countless buildings were destroyed. The bone city devoured everything around it like a gigantic monster.
As the bone city appeared in the City of Colossus. Thousands, or maybe hundreds of thousands of creatures of death escaped from the Death Underworld Sector, and filled the streets. They raged in the city, celebrating their escape with a grand feast.
“Two hundred years! Finally, I can see the sun after two hundred years!” they shouted, and laughed.
“The smell of living creatures!”
“Sky! Ground! Air! Life! This is life! This is the beautiful world that belongs to us!”
“Fear, mortals! Face your death!”
Quite a few powerful creatures of death ran away the moment they escaped from the Death Underworld Sector. They knew that such a huge number of escaped monsters was bound to cause a stir. The gods would no doubt get involved and by then it would be too late for them to leave.
In the twinkling of an eye, the City of Colossus turned into a nightmare. The large number of orc wizards inside the city finally started to react. Rays of witchcraft light beamed across the battlefield and the alchemy colossus was activated. The defense of the city began. The enemies began to appear inside the city instantly, however, taking everyone by surprise. The situation on the battlefield changed immediately.
Witchcraft lights shone on the streets, smashing groups of corpses and the undead. The Death Knight attacked the orc wizards using Ghost Witchcrafts. Thousands of skeleton archers shot arrows into the sky, raining them down onto the city. Skeleton masters waved their wands, dropping fireballs from the sky and turning the City of Colossus into an ocean of fire.
The alchemy colossus that was close to the city walls joined the battle. Under the control of orc wizards, the 60-foot colossus fought against the army of ghosts, the giant bone dragon, and the screaming succubi.
Divine light flashed, armies of corpses were squashed and the Death Knight was smashed into pieces, but the situation could not be saved. The attack from the creatures of death could not be stopped. The gigantic bone city stood in the square, and dozens of figures floated above it, looking down on the City of Colossus.
Each figure reeked of death. Lights of the power of death covered the entire city.
“Devour! Kill! We are the embodiment of death, harvesters of souls, disasters of ghosts!” called out the monsters.
Their mission was to devour all the lives in the City of Colossus, transform them into armies of ghosts, and escape to the rest of the world. After fleeing from the Death Underworld Sector, as long as they did not encounter gods, no one could harm them.
At the same time, rays of light beamed from the divine palace in the center of the city. Felix, who was inside the palace and about to make a breakthrough, sensed the crisis and awoke from his slumber.
The Divine Shadow rushed out of the palace and witnessed the cruel and gruesome scene. The city created and constructed by Felix and the Colossus College with tremendous effort, was now on the edge of destruction.
Countless living creatures screamed and died, becoming a part of the army of death. Most of them were his students, friends, family, believers. If he lost the support from his followers before becoming a god, he would lose his power and even perish.
No matter how this battle ended, the City of Colossus was already destroyed. After armies of creatures of death and monsters flooded into the Kingdom of Colossus, the population decreased drastically. The fading power of belief meant that Felix’s power faded as well. With another competitor for the god’s name, every plan and effort were now in vain. With no possibility of becoming a god, he was destined to perish.
The path to becoming god had no return. One could not quit half way, it was life or death.
“Damn! Damn! Damn! You filthy ghosts! Odious creatures of death!” Felix yelled in rage.
Looking at the city covered in blood and fire, and the giant bone city controlling all the creatures of death, the Divine Shadow lifted up his hand and smashed it into the giant bone city.
The huge palm beamed out yellow lights, which covered everything as it passed by. Countless creatures of death were petrified.The clouds turned a fiery red as flaming boulders fell from the sky and smashed into the bone city.
“Damn you! Go to hell!” Felix roared.