Chapter 1868. Mana Purifier

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While Jack was doing his best slaying the goblin knights in droves, his nemesis was relaxing in his guild headquarters.
Master did not need to do anything. He was only waiting for time. He had just finished fusing with one of the two remaining divine treasures. The only one left was the Ice God Sphere. He only needed to wait for another month, and he would finally attain his goal.
All that he ever dreamed of was finally within reach. The only thing standing between him and his dream was time. He was a patient person, but this one month felt like it was too long. He felt restless. Aside from being patient, he was also rational. He didn't expect himself to become this nervous when everything was within grasp. This was unlike him.
He was now standing atop the balcony of the tallest tower in his guild headquarters. He was gazing at the Eastern horizon. His face didn't show any expression, but many thoughts ran inside his mind.
His train of thought was interrupted when he heard a voice from behind him.
"You called?" Sizhad Ruust asked.
"How is the advance of the underworld forces?" Master asked without turning back.
"They are halfway through Hydrurond, Aurebor, and Palgrost," Sizhad reported. Since his guild was under Master's leadership, his guild members were not treated as hostiles by the underworld forces. They were able to roam the area the underworld had conquered. Sizhad had tasked his members to track the demons' progress. Thus, he had precise information.
"The defenders are doing better than I expected," Master remarked.
"The demons advanced the furthest in Hydrurond. They are more than halfway in already. The capital of that country has been deserted. Maybe in one or two more weeks, the demons should have taken that entire country."
Master was silent after hearing the report.
Sizhad was about to ask if Master still needed anything from him when Master turned to him. "I have a task for your guild members," Master said.
"A task?" Sizhad was under the impression that all they needed to do was wait. Nothing could get to them with the underworld forces at large. Their enemies were too busy defending against the underworld forces to cause them any trouble.
"Mistress is right about one thing. If the underworld forces win, there is nothing left for us to conquer," Master said.
"Are you suggesting… We stab the underworld forces in the back?" Sizhad asked.
"It's not yet time for that. Not until I attain divinity," Master said. "But we can do something to slow them down, prolonging their conflict with our enemies."
"I thought we only need to wait one more month?" Sizhad asked.
"Many things can happen in a month. The corrupted mana had covered further than the demons' advance. The defenders may give up due to their constant losses. If their defense crumbles, the demons will speed up their march. I don't want to spend too much time rebuilding the world I rule."
"So… How do you suggest we slow the demons without antagonizing them?" Sizhad asked.
Master took out something that looked like a raw jewel and offered it to Sizhad. Sizhad accepted the jewel. He used his Inspect and learned the jewel's name was Mana Purifier.
"This thing can purify mana in a large area. This is a special weapon designed as a combat tool when the underworld forces invade. It only drops from monster kills after the main underworld portal is activated, and the drop rate is extremely low. It will also only drop from high-level monsters. In the original design of the game, some players might still afford to go monster-grinding even when the underworld forces invaded. They didn't have that luxury here. All the high-level players are required to fight the demon army."
"So, how do you get this one?" Sizhad asked. He hadn't seen Master leave the headquarters since the main underworld portal was opened.
"I already got this Mana Purifier long before the demons entered this upperworld," Master answered. "There was one certain method to get this item before the main underworld portal opened. I took it the first chance I got. This is another contingency I keep in case I need to go up against the underworld forces."
"You said this is a combat tool. How effective is it if we only use one?" Sizhad asked.
"I not only have one," Master said. He took out twenty more similar jewels.
Sizhad didn't ask how Master got all these Mana Purifiers. He knew about the divine treasures' abilities and knew Master had fused with the Book of Creation. They were not short on mana cores. Copying this Mana Purifier was not a problem.
"Spread your members to the three countries where the battles take place. Have them use these Mana Purifiers behind the underworld's main armies," Master said. "With the corrupted mana gone, the demons coming out of the underworld portal will have difficulty reinforcing the main armies. With their reinforcement halted, their aggression will weaken. This will also slow the corrupted mana spread. The corrupted mana will refill the purified areas before resuming their spread to the rest of the world."
Sizhad nodded.
"Make sure your members are not seen by the demons when they use these Mana Purifiers," Master warned. "If they do, they will no longer be considered friendlies by the demons. If that happens, the demons will come and ask for blood. I will have to throw your guild out then."
Sizhad frowned. Master was giving them a task with such a great risk? If they were caught, they would be the ones who got burned.
Master understood Sizhad's expression. "If your members are as expertly as you claim, this task shouldn't be a problem. Don't worry. I will make sure you are greatly rewarded once this world is mine."
Sizhad grunted. It wasn't like he had a choice to begin with. His and his members' future were entirely relying on Master by this point. He stored the Mana Purifiers and turned away. He walked past Mistress who was standing near the door. The two simply exchanged glances without saying anything.
Mistress walked to Master after Sizhad left.
"Did you find it?" Master asked.
Mistress replied by taking out two items that looked like strange compasses.
Master grinned while accepting the compasses. "Good! This should bring our timetable forward." He uttered.
He stored the compasses and returned to his thoughts while gazing at the horizon. Mistress remained there to see if Master had any further instructions. After a long silence, she decided to leave and let Master enjoy his solitude.
*
Jack and Four Winds returned to their respective capitals for the second time using Chris' Anywhere Portal. They repeated the heavy recruiting and organized the previous month's recruits to march toward the front line. After that, they used Chris' discs to teleport back to Chris' secret garden.
By then, most of the twenty-three had passed the trials as well. Purple Mist returned as the Keeper of Immortality, Blackhole was Ruler of Elementals, Freddie became World Warden, Nameless' class was now God's Champion, and Fierce Flame had become Deadeye Ace.
Only three people remained, who were still working through their trials. Those three were Giant Steve, Handsome Joe, and Will Corner.
Those who had succeeded in their trials were at first worried that those three had failed, but Chris assured them the three were still inside their trial spaces. When some expressed skepticism, Chris showed them the three using the image projection in his lake pavilion. Everyone could see the three were still in struggle.
Jet remarked that it was fortunate that all twenty-three trials were still available and weren't snatched by some random players. Chris reacted by telling him he should have more faith in his design. Jet responded by giving him the middle finger.
John went around to record the five new arrivals' special class abilities and skills. He had done so with Jack and the others who had passed the trials earlier. Chris had mentioned that the devils were not opponents they could defeat alone even after they obtained the special classes, so he needed to study their abilities to know how best they could cooperate.
Jack asked Chris to show him the situation on the front line while John was interviewing the five.
"What's the point of keeping on looking at the same thing? You might as well go back to train so you can level up faster," Chris said. "That being said, I'm impressed by how fast you level up. Even using my training dungeons, your level-up speed is nuts, especially since you have three classes. With your three classes being level 94, you may already face the devil."
"You think so?" Jack asked.
Chris shrugged. "I said face, not win. If you want to win, you will need to fight one devil with the help of many others. Don't expect to do it solo."
Jack nodded. "If you don't mind," Jack said.
Chris sighed and activated his spy machine. The projection came up and showed them the scene at the front line. Things didn't look great. Everyone was looking glum. Their number had decreased after the repeated battles. The six countries continued to send recruits to reinforce the troops, especially Themisphere and Verremor, but the rate at which they lost troops had become worrying. While the underworld forces continued to strike them with a number that seemed to never decrease, even when they killed more demons than the troops they lost.
Luckily, the six defensive lines received reinforcements not just from the main countries. Many native adventurers joined the war, but the biggest unexpected reinforcements came from the minor races.
The catfolk came to aid Hydrurond Southern Front. The eaglefolk came to Hydrurond Nothern Front.
The merfolk came ashore and helped the defense on Palgrost's Southern Front. Merfolks without amphibian skills also came, but they rode flying sharks that allowed them to move around the battlefield.
The Frogmen fled their islands after Liguritudum was overrun by the demons. They then swam to Northern Aurebor and aided the defense there.
Three other minor races yet to be encountered by players made themselves known. They were the nagas, the yetis, and the centaurs.
The nagas were lizard-like sea creatures. Their lair was under the inner sea between Liguritudum and Palgrost. Their hidden lair was spared when the demons crossed the sea, but they knew it was only a matter of time before the demons came to them. So, they too went ashore and aided Palgrost Northern Front.
The yetis were thick-fur giants who lived in the Northern part of the Sylvan region, where the land was always covered by ice. They joined the Frogmen and aided Aurebor Northern Front.
The centaurs were a hidden minor race that dwelled inside the Dorwyn region. They came to aid Aurebor Southern Front.
Despite the many reinforcements, the demons continued to push the defenders. They were forced to retreat repeatedly after several days of fighting.
Jack could see the despair from the defender's expressions. They were losing hope with each passing day. He turned without a word and headed to the training cave.
On the way, he changed his exp points distribution setting.
"You no longer want to increase your Beast Monarch's level?" Peniel asked after seeing what Jack did.
"Beast Monarch no longer gives me new skills, while the other two classes still have one more skill," Jack answered. "I want to get them to level 99 as fast as possible."