Chapter 1233: Broken Fortress (Part 2)

No matter how hard the mission department tried to monitor the development of all points and assign the Phantoms only those missions they were capable of completing, sometimes unforeseen situations arose.

For such cases, both in the Citadel and in any Bastion, there were always soldiers or Phantoms on duty, ready to rush to the aid of the nearest regions.

Sure, even the K0 squad was within Frida’s field of vision, but she was literally too strong to help someone so weak.

It wasn’t even that it was irrational; Frida’s energy would have reduced such weak creatures to nothing. The Phantoms were too close to the monsters, far beyond a safe distance.

Thus, all that was left for the golden-haired guy and his mates to do was hope that help would arrive quickly enough to save them.

Although… with every step the skeletons took, their hope for a favorable outcome grew smaller and smaller.

None of them had a personal Operator, which was rare at the K0-Level, but since they were a squad, they had one Operator who helped them complete their missions.

“Damn, ten minutes?” The young man with the axe exclaimed, stepping back. “That’s too long! Skeletons, where did they even come from, and why did they suddenly become so strong?”

The girl narrowed her eyes, staring intently at the skeleton with the staff.

“It’s all because of him!”

She was right. The bright light emanating from the staff made the other skeletons stronger, as evidenced by their eyes burning red, although they had been empty before.

Even if their allies hadn’t died, they still wouldn’t have stood a chance. Dozens of monsters were moving towards them, and the Blue Threat Level skeleton could handle them all by himself.

The golden-haired guy turned toward Bastion Opard, hoping to see the fighters flying toward them, but it was too early.

Not even a minute had passed when their Operator sent a request for help. Soon, the request would be processed and help would be sent, but that would take at least a few minutes, which they might not have.

Whooooooosh.

Arrows flew over the skeletons’ heads, piercing the shoulder of the young man with the axe.

“Shit!” He groaned in pain, falling to one knee.

The golden-haired guy narrowed his eyes.

‘Maybe if I rush forward, I can get to the main skeleton? Tsk, I have to try or they’ll just slaughter us right here and now!’

His legs twitched as he was about to take action.

As if reading his mind, the skeleton raised its staff high above its head, creating an orb of dense red energy.

The youths’ faces paled as their eyes widened in fear. They had never encountered such power before, and it sent shivers down their spines.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

At the same moment, the ruined fortress was covered by an aura that was more powerful and terrifying to both the Phantoms and the monsters.

“What the hell is going on?!” The young man with the axe exclaimed, looking around.

The girl bit her lip until it bled, trying to understand what had caused the new aura. She didn’t want to believe that their failure was so great and that an even more dangerous monster had appeared.

Only the golden-haired guy was able to maintain his composure, staring intently at the skeleton with the staff.

Whoooooosh.

Suddenly, several silver threads appeared out of nowhere behind the skeleton. With the same ease as a red-hot knife passing through butter, the threads cut through the skeleton’s bones, turning the terrifying monster into nothing in a heartbeat.

A pile of bones crashed to the ground with a loud bang, accompanied by the whistling sound of the threads returning to their owner.

Then, the figure behind raised its hand, and a bright white disc quickly hovered above it, like a skein of threads.

BAM. BAM.

Like a cruel whip, a cascade of threads rained down on the bewildered skeletons, smashing their bodies into fragments and powder from the sheer force of the impact.

Several monsters, archers who were far enough away, tried to flee, but before they could do anything, red flames burned them, leaving not even ashes behind.

A bright flash appeared at the Bastion Opard as two fighters flew to the rescue. They would arrive in just a few minutes.

Fortunately for the young Phantoms, it was no longer necessary.

The golden-haired young man, the young man with the axe, and the girl looked at each other. Each of them was shocked, as was their Operator, who was trying to understand what had just happened.

It didn’t take long, and within seconds, Silvana and Arayna appeared in their Operator’s channel, taking control of the operation.

They had once been in the same situation, and now it was their turn to be on the other side. They couldn’t hide their delight at this.

Step. Step. Step.

Stepping among the dead skeletons, a young man with blue eyes and black hair covered in blood from the recent battle slowly strode forward. Next to him walked a young man with the same blue eyes but crimson hair.

“Hi,” Adam’s voice rang out as he stopped in front of the three youths. “Looks like you’ve got a problem with these skeletons, right?”

Silence.

No one said anything.

“Hahaha!” Fromund laughed out loud. “Just look at their faces! Hahaha, they don’t know what to say!”

The girl glanced at Adam’s right arm as horror reflected on her face. She had never seen such gruesome wounds.

‘What…? How can he stand with a wound like that? And… why is there no sign of pain on his face? What… What is going on here?!’

Step.

The golden-haired guy stepped forward first.

He gulped before asking uncertainly.

“Who are you?”

He understood that the two in front of him were Phantoms, as well as the monstrous difference in strength between them.

“Well, let’s see…” Adam glanced at them. “My name is Adam Vinter, I am a K4-Phantom.”

“Me too!” Fromund exclaimed so they wouldn’t forget him.

The golden-haired guy shuddered.

‘K4-Phantoms…? Here? That can’t be true!’