Chapter 687: Chapter 687 - The Capital’s Frozen Hope


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    As the massive zing behemoth emerged in the sky, the entire battlefield froze. Panic and uncertainty gripped everyone, halting the once-ferocious shes.


    But the shock wasn''t limited to the yers or NPCs defending the city-the demons themselves began to scream in terror. Their bodies ignited with mes, writhing as though the very fire descending from the sky was consuming them.


    "Why are they burning?!" a yer shouted. "Isn''t that their own attack?! The meteor ising from their side! It shouldn''t hurt them!"


    The chaos was overwhelming. Some yers hesitated, unsure whether to press forward or retreat, while others resumed fighting in smaller, scattered skirmishes. Yet, the once-brutal intensity of the battle had diminished, reced with a chilling sense of dread.


    "This isn''t a fight anymore," one yer muttered, his weapon trembling in his hands. "This is a goddamn nightmare!"


    "We''re doomed..." a nearby archer whispered. "It doesn''t matter what we do anymore. Nothing will stop that thing!"


    From the sidelines, an NPC soldier screamed in despair. "We''re all going to die! That fire... it''ll consume everything! RUN!"


    "Is this what defeat feels like?" another soldier asked as he fell to his knees. "No... this is worse. This is the end of the world."


    A knight in heavy armor bellowed in rage and despair as he charged headfirst into a demon swarm. "IF THIS IS THE END, I''LL DIE SWINGING!"


    "What''s the point anymore?! We can''t win against that! No one can!"


    The sky glowed brighter with the zing behemoth, casting an apocalyptic light over the battlefield. For the first time, hope was no longer just dwindling-it had vanished entirely.


    The battles at each gate descended further into chaos as uncertainty gripped the battlefield.


    Western Gate.


    King Bm let out an earth-shaking roar, his massive voice reverberating through the battlefield. Without warning, he unsummoned his greatsword, his hands tearing through the very fabric of reality itself. A massive rift appeared before him, pulsating with dark energy.


    "That traitor... I''ll kill him!" King Bm bellowed.


    Fokil saw the opportunity and leaped high, bringing his hammer down with tremendous force onto the back of King Bm''s head. The massive demon roared in pain, his body erupting with fiery energy that sted outward in a violent shockwave.


    Optimus, undeterred, continued his assault, striking relentlessly in an effort to keep the demon from escaping.


    "Where''s all that arrogance now, huh? Face us!" Fokil bellowed, hurling his hammer again. It smashed into King Bm''s back, eliciting another furious roar from the demon.


    But despite theirbined efforts, King Bm pushed forward. With a guttural growl, he tore his way into the rift that he had summoned.@@novelbin@@


    "Stop him!" Ivana shouted, throwing her shield with all her strength toward the demon''s retreating form.


    The shield hurtled through the air, but it struck only empty space as King Bm''s colossal form was fully absorbed into the rift.


    At the other gates, simr scenes yed out.


    At southern Gate, Duke Alloces deftly parried an attack from Booba before spreading his massive wing. With a single powerful p, he propelled himself high into the air and disappeared into the distance, his speed far too great for anyone to catch.


    At another gate, Eastern Gate flew upward with blinding speed, her form vanishing into the sky as she retreated from the battlefield.


    Meanwhile, at Northern Gate, Marquis Orias calmly unsummoned all his spectral lions. Their forms dissipated into shadow as the Marquis took to the air, soaring swiftly away, beyond the reach of his pursuers.


    One by one, the Named Demons abandoned the battlefield, leaving their defenders stunned and disoriented. The once-coordinated defense was left in disarray, and questions began to bubble to the surface.


    Why were the demons retreating? And more importantly, where were they going?


    The battlefield descended intoplete chaos. yers and soldiers alike struggled to hold their ground, torn between fighting or fleeing. Those who chose to run often collided with others, creating more confusion and panic.


    Demons, too, were gripped by the same frenzy. Once a coordinated force of destruction, they now pushed and trampled one another in desperation, their panic fueling even greater disarray. The air was filled with ovepping cries of confusion and terror, an overwhelming wave of fear spreading across the battlefield.


    "Move! Let me through! I don''t want to die here!"


    "We can''t run. We can''t fight. There''s nothing left to do!"


    "We''re all going to die! There''s no escape! NO ESCAPE!"


    Nearby, a group of mages huddled together, their spells faltering as one of them cried out, "It''s toote! The sky is falling, and so are we!"


    Demons, too, were sumbing to madness. A hulking demon knocked over several smaller ones in its path, roaring in frustration.


    Another wed at the ground, its voice shrill, "Why is this happening?! This isn''t how it''s supposed to be!"


    Some demons turned on each other,shing out in wild, chaotic fights that only added to the carnage.


    Amid the chaos, Vensalor Guild members stood in stunned silence, their faces nk as they stared at the zing sky above. They didn''t say a word, their weapons ck in their hands.


    Some yers were trying to regain control, shouting orders in vain.


    "Group up! Don''t scatter-stick together if you want to live!" a tank bellowed.


    A cleric, her mana drained, fell to her knees. "I can''t heal anymore... I can''t do this anymore,"


    she sobbed.


    The system notifications taunted them all:


    [You cannot log out duringbat mode.]


    [Warning: Escape unavable within activebat zones.]


    Desperation turned into rage and despair.


    "This is hell!"


    "This isn''t a game anymore!" shouted an archer as she fired an arrow wildly into the crowd. "It''s over! We''re done for!"


    In the distance, the zing meteor loomed in the sky, lighting the chaos below in an eerie orange glow. The mes crackled, and the oppressive heat began to creep down onto the battlefield, suffocating all hope.


    A child NPC, holding a broken wooden toy, stood in the middle of the chaos, staring nkly at


    the sky.


    Nearby, a wounded soldier dragged himself across the ground. "There''s no future... there''s no tomorrow..."


    The battlefield had be a stage of despair, chaos, and doom-none knowing what fate awaited them, only that it would be catastrophic.


    Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble violently, as if the very earth was protesting the cmity descending upon it. The vibrations surged into a powerful quake, and everyone froze in terror, realizing the true catastrophe was no longer merely looming-it was


    here.


    The heat from the zing behemoth above, which had been suffocating moments ago, suddenly dissipated!


    The air shifted, and an unnatural chill swept across the battlefield. The temperature plummeted rapidly, and a thinyer of frost began to spread across the ground, crackling as it


    expanded at an impossible speed.


    The trembling of the earth grew even more intense. Massive boulders began to rain from the sky. yers and soldiers alike scattered in every direction, screams of panic ringing out as the


    icy ground beneath them made footing precarious.


    "This is the end!" someone shouted.


    "No! It can''t be!" another cried.


    "No!" Elincia said, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her face. She shook her head


    fiercely. "This isn''t over yet! He''s here, He has arrived."


    "Broken! Broken has arrived!" Booba''s roar erupted across the battlefield.


    "Broken!" Jovina eximed. "That asshole... why did it take him this long to show up?"


    "Khi khi khi... Don''t forget, we have Frostedge here too."


    "Let''s go! We can finish this!"