Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Chapter 732  The Players' Rise

As Blood Lily and Zylok fought in the center of the Royal Capital of Mibothen, the game finally seemed to be about to turn on the advancing army of players.

Kaizen, exhausted from having spent so much MP, stood firm on the dusty ground. His gaze, firm and determined, met Azrakthar's.

"I'm not going to fall for your little demon talk. If there's someone stronger up ahead, all I need to do is defeat you now and run to help the others!" Kaizen exclaimed.

Azrakthar's confidence had all but vanished. "You are more cunning than I imagined, human. However, to face Belial is certain death. He is the personification of ruin, the only demon capable of manipulating the eternal flames. If you dare defy him, you will be consumed by the fire that has been burning since the foundation of Hell." warned Azrakthar, his grave tone echoing across the devastated landscape as he tried to stand up without his left arm and half of the left side of his chest.

Kaizen smiled, a fearless smile that defied fate itself. "I've faced death several times, and here I am. If Belial is as powerful as you say, then it will be another epic battle for my collection."

The King's Sword, although still pulsing with a golden aura, had begun to lose some of its luster. Of course, the ability <Touch of Death> had already been used, and although it had dealt a lot of damage, this was Kaizen's ability that dealt the most damage and even then it wasn't enough to kill Azrakthar, meaning that now all Kaizen could do was try to accumulate this damage.

The desolate landscape of the battlefield was tinged with the spilled blood of the demon on the ground, and dawn was beginning to break over the horizon.

The cutting wind of the battlefield stirred up the dust in the air, creating an atmosphere of tension as Kaizen and Azrakthar glared at each other, each breathing hard after the devastating clash. The demon, even wounded, kept his penetrating gaze on Kaizen, as if trying to probe the human's soul for weaknesses.

Azrakthar saw the first lights of the sun appearing in the distance and said:

"I don't need to kill you, Psyker, I just need to delay you long enough. When the sun rises, the contract will finally be finalized, then there will be no turning back, all the souls that were in Mibothen will be ours forever." grunted Azrakthar.

"I didn't come all this way to lose, and neither did you, right?" Kaizen replied, only his words weren't directed at the two demons, Azrakthar and Delgron, but at the army of players behind him.

Most of them had been paralyzed with fear until then, but when Kaizen looked back with a confident smile on his face, they felt for the first time that it was possible to win. If one player alone was able to fight the demon, all together they had even greater strength and of course no one wanted to come to such a battle to lose.

Kaizen's confidence spread like wildfire among the army of players. Inspired by the Psyker's example, they began to recover their spirits, raising their weapons and preparing to advance.

"Kaizen is fighting to protect us, but he's human like us..."

"Why are we standing still in fear? They're just pixels in front of us, and if we die we'll just lose a few items, but if we lose, everything will change."

"I have zero kills, so I don't want to die, but I also don't want to see Kaizen defending my ass, so I need to be strong."

"Mages, stand by and heal the wounded! Archers, you'll provide cover for the Tanks!" Xisrith began to organize them.

Azrakthar growled, realizing that he hadn't managed to break the humans' fighting spirit enough. "That being the case, I think some of them need to die so that they come to their senses and realize what they are." He said, extending a hand forward.

However, before Azrakthar could act, Kaizen stepped forward with his determination renewed, and the King's Sword shining brightly, but now with a purple glow.

"I won't allow it!"

In the blink of an eye, Kaizen advanced. His feet moved nimbly, leaving trails in the dust of the battlefield. The King's Sword suddenly sliced through the air from below, seeking out the demon's flesh. Azrakthar reacted with surprising speed, narrowly dodging and counterattacking with his dark claws. Kaizen spun around, deftly dodging the claws, before countering with a downward blow in a diagonal motion. This move came as a surprise, and the golden blade found Azrakthar's skin, cutting shallowly. The demon growled and retaliated with a blast of energy, creating a shockwave that knocked Kaizen away.

The two warriors stared at each other for a brief moment, before throwing themselves back into the conflict. Every move was a display of skill and dexterity from both of them.

Kaizen leapt backwards, which gave Azrakthar the opportunity to launch a series of powerful blows, his demonic strength resounding with each movement like cannon shots that crackled through the air.

Kaizen shielded himself, but saw his life bar dropping rapidly all the same, so he tried a surprise counter-attack, but when he swung his sword, Azrakthar seemed to have seen it coming, because he was already moving away. And then Azrakthar summoned a series of sober spears around him.

The Psyker's eyes widened. He was outmatched this time, but he couldn't just give up and die, so he raised his left hand to at least try to create a barrier to protect himself.

However, to his surprise, as the black spears advanced through the air, someone stepped in front of him and it wasn't just one person, but several.

"Kaizen, let us help you for once!" One of the people shouted and Kaizen finally distinguished their armor.

They were all Tanks from the Sentinel Guild and, at that moment, they activated their shields simultaneously, creating a huge blue, translucent barrier.