983 A Nightmare
Varian's words jolted the dumbfounded crowd out of their shock.
The abyssals looked at him like he was a ghost while the humans looked up to him as a hero.
"W-Why?" The Archduke of Neptune, a very powerful peak level 9 and one of the few people that witnessed Varian slaughtering entire abyssal planetoid armies by himself in the last war, stepped forward and asked in a voice that was almost close to despair.
His odd question resonated with all the abyssals present. After all, he didn't ask the obvious question of how Varian returned after his obvious death—How did you not only escape certain death but also managed to return?
Considering Varian survived by luck, it's impossible for him to return to the solar system after being lost in some faraway space. But they couldn't deny the reality.
"Why?" Varian raised a brow and his lips slowly curled up into a devilish, icy but strangely serene smile.
His smile sent chills down the spines of the abyssals and their bodies screamed at them to flee.
"You are destined to lose, and that's why I returned." Varian's words were filled with so much conviction that they felt prophetic.
"Destined to lose…" The abyssal army's morale dropped noticeably and a seed of doubt was planted in their hearts.
It's not like Varian was invincible. But his words somehow made them feel like they were facing a tall wall. A wall that's so tall and tough that they couldn't climb it, break it, or pass it.
No matter how much they tried and what they did, they're destined to be blocked by the wall.
"What a joke!"
As the morale continued to drop, a resounding roar sounded from the distance like a thunderclap.
A bright golden light up and formed a golden sphere, as if it were a second sun.
"Varian, you think you're lucky to return. But that very luck will ensure you'll witness the destruction of your race. You'll wish you died instead of having to watch what's about to unfold." Thunder King's words shook the space and the golden sphere grew even brighter.
Even though they're almost a few hundred miles away, the abyssal army could feel their skin tingle from the lightning sparks. And that light pain crushed the fear of Varian.
The archduke also noticed this and continued. "Well said, my lord. What can Varian do when there are so many high awakeners? He's just a level 8. The reason Varian was even able to fight the Undead Leader was that the latter hadn't fully recovered by then.
Now he's almost fully recovered and is just a step away from the Sovereign state. What can Varian do? He can't stop the inevitable."
The abyssal army's morale skyrocketed and returned to the former state.
The eyes of the warriors in the army burned with excitement and a
frantic desire.
They stared at Varian again, but this time, in addition to fear, there was surging killing intent.
Varian crushed them every time they fought. But this time, he wouldn't be able to do anything. This time, he'd lose. And this time, he would be helpless to stop them!
The tall wall that stopped them seemed to be full of cracks at this moment, giving peeks into the road ahead.
"Descendants of Dallar Plains, Arise!"
"Let the blood of enemies bathe our lands!"
"Our destiny is victory!"
The war cries of the abyssal legions shook the space and resounded throughout Venus.
Each of these war cries was considered sacred in the abyssal tradition, used only during the most important wars of the abyssal race.
According to even the most knowledgeable abyssal in the solar system, Sin King, these war cries were only used four times.
This should be the fifth.
It's sixth. The fifth time was by the abyssals in the emperor abyss since the fairies began their assault.
"Kill! Destroy! Conquer!"
"War is the holiest ritual!"
"To protect, we destroy!"
As they slapped their weapons against their chest and chanted the war cries, the abyssals morale hypercharged and reached a sort of fanaticism.
Thunder King smiled in relief watching this and ducked down. A lightning needle thinner than hair passed by. If he didn't dodge, it'd have struck his eye and even pierced all the way to his brain.
Ares gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath. But without any hesitation, he summoned a lightning spear and charged at his archenemy.
He's worried about Neptune. The hypercharged abyssal army only increased his worries.
But…
'That boy will do something.' Ares trusted Varian.
A few months ago, Varian wrecked chaos on Pluto, teleported to Thunder Abyss, and was chased by Thunder King. He would've been in trouble had Ares not stopped Thunder King.
After that incident, their relationship grew and Ares was able to talk to Varian on several occasions. Ares was impressed with Varian's character and his track record.
So, even though things seemed dire now, Varian's presence had the highest possibility of creating a miracle.
It wasn't just Ares that thought like that.
Evander was the same.
"Hahahaha—cough cough," He coughed out blood as punches landed on his body but he couldn't stop laughing.
"Stop. Your. Laugh!" The Undead leader growled as he attacked Evander at a rate of a hundred punches per second. His arms blurred as each punch hit Evander like a racing truck.
Evander was pushed back again and again, proving he was significantly weaker than the Undead.
But he kept taking the punches and occasionally was able to land a punch of his
own.
The Undead kicked the space and his figure shot toward Varian. But his foot was grabbed by Evander who ruthlessly yanked him back to place.
"Fuck off! I need to kill him!" The Undead growled.
"No." Evander squared his shoulders and glanced at Sarah, Sia, and Varian with a loving smile before turning his full attention to the Undead. "You shall not pass. Not today."
The sounds of bones popping resounded as the Undead clenched his fists and attacked Evander with his fullest power.
The dynamics reversed in just a few minutes.
Rather than holding Ares and Evander, Thunder King and Undead Leader were held back by them respectively.
The abyssal leaders didn't panic too much and were confident in their army. But in a corner of their hearts, unease began to creep in.
The source of the unease was the smile on Varian's face. It remained the same from the beginning.
A devilish, icy, and creepily serene smile.
