Chapter 1333  Guilds War

The war between the two guilds, Ascent and Dragonir, took the world by storm. Each guild had at least a hundred thousand members, far more than any other guild in the world. Not even kingdoms had armies as large as these, so this became the next world war. Glory List, the website that gathers data about guilds worldwide, was considered the catalyst of this catastrophe. It started because of the ranking it imposed, which claimed to push the guilds to compete but resulted in nothing but bad blood between them. Ascent was a rising guild in the world. Even though the world refused to acknowledge it as legitimate, most people realized that the guild’s sole purpose was to save as many lives as possible. This made them loved and idolized globally. Dragonir had its reputation and status stolen by Ascent, who conquered one dungeon after another. It quickly rose to A-rank and pushed Dragonir down, an S-rank Guild, solely based on their dazzling performance in recent months. Kaius Firebrand, the son of the empyrean that Arthur fought, was the current guild master of Dragonir. He came forward and declared war against Ascent for kidnapping his people. No one understood what had happened, but everyone agreed this was a rash decision. War was unforgiving for both sides. The current state of the world made it hard to defend oneself against monsters, let alone other humans. Infighting might even result in the extermination of the human race. In the following days, countless battles broke out between the two guilds. Dragonir appeared in every dungeon that Ascent was attempting to conquer, attacking their members. Casualties rose from tens to hundreds between the two guilds until they reached the point of no return. Dragonir did not stop there and even mobilized a giant army of beasts to attack Ascent’s headquarters. The Runic Dome stood as a symbol of authority inside Mountain Range Rovero before it was swarmed by a million beasts. The beasts were obliterated in an hour without leaving a dent on the dome. This result was so shocking that Dragonir retreated without another word. However, Thiria had already awakened a sleeping giant. Ascent began counterattacking after this incident, and an all-out war soon began between the two guilds. A battle that shook the heavens ensued, with two hundred thousand awakeners participating. It began with a small skirmish before each side began sending reinforcements until the two guilds were at each other’s throats. Kael Firebrand, the Empyrean of Thiria, did not participate because Arthur Netherborne did not make an appearance. If Arthur had attacked Thiria, not even the entire world could protect the nation of beasts. But his son, the guild master of Dragonir and the astra-ranker with a draconic astral beast, did make an appearance. In the beginning, Ascent had the upper hand. Their armies were equipped with runes, strengthening them and giving them a vast arsenal of abilities. But Dragonir stood its ground with countless monsters fighting alongside their masters. Once Kaius made an appearance, the scales tipped in Dragonir’s favor. His astral dragon breathed solar storms that killed thousands of Ascent’s guild members, bringing hell to earth. No one could stand against him as the battle had a clear victor. In the midst of their despair, someone rose to fight against Kaius. A figure once called a genius of Thiria but now fought for Ascent. Lian met the draconic spirit head-on as he used strange magic to summon an astral creature of his own—Leviathan of Destruction, Nihilathos. The two giant creatures stood in the sky above what would later be called the Marshlands of Hell. Lian faced Kaius alone as the rest of the guild members cleared the area to avoid the collateral damage. What ensued was a battle of monsters that shook the heavens. The ground was obliterated while the sky was torn in half. Mountains were leveled to the ground as the two beasts and their tamers wrestled. Kaius had more control over his monster, even allowing them to exchange mana and abilities. In the end, Kaius used his superior control to defeat Lian the Tamer. The aftermath of the battle was nothing short of hell, hence the name Marshlands of Hell. Kaius was about to finish his enemy when a masked man appeared. The man spoke no words, even after Kaius threatened and provoked him. His wooden sword and small frame seemed insignificant compared to the astral dragon’s might, but he stood between Kaius and his comrade. Kaius did not show mercy as he attacked with his astral dragon. The hellfire lunged toward the masked man protecting his friend, acting as a barrier. Those witnessing the fight believed it to be over. And then, the unthinkable happened. The man dropped his sword to the ground and reached toward the void. Cracks spread across space as his hand reached into a place of immense power, pulling out a black sword with a chain attached to its hilt. Kaius seemed to recognize the man and the sword, even labeling the man as a monster. The masked man slashed with his black sword as he suffered the flames, splitting the world in half alongside the dragon. Then, the man uttered the name of his sword as Kaius fell to the ground, a giant wound appearing across his chest—Stars Reaver. The battle ended after that, as the guild members of Dragonir retreated in a hurry once their master was defeated. Ascent did not give chase but focused on healing their wounded. Although they emerged victorious, they lost countless members in the process. This war between the two guilds became the focal point of the news around the world. The level of power was unbefitting of astra-rankers, and the scale of destruction turned the land between Thiria and Shon impossible to cross. Everyone believed that this would be the end of this war, but they couldn’t be more wrong. A storm was slowly brewing as everyone vied to control this torn world of theirs. This battle became the beginning of a long series of wars between calamities, nations, and guilds. *** Julia was standing inside the Central Hall where they held their meetings. She had never believed that she would lead the main forces in a war of this scale. In front of her was a giant screen showing her what was happening. In the beginning, Dragonir attacked them, so they had to retaliate. But soon, the two guilds found themselves in an all-out war. The stronger members did not participate for two main reasons: First, the members would leave their headquarters vulnerable. Second, their participation would result in more damage. Although Ascent had countless powerful members who chose to serve Arthur, the same could be said about Dragonir. If these members fought alongside the common members, the two guilds would be exterminated. Therefore, no one dared to push forward these weapons of mass destruction. Once Kaius appeared, things changed. Lian was the first to rise and demand to fight him. Arthur had already mentioned the man’s obsession with vengeance against Kaius, so Julia allowed him to find closure. Their hopes that this would be a short battle were crushed when Lian, against their expectations, suffered a defeat. The tamer had countless monsters in his arsenal, but it seemed that his control was lacking compared to Kaius. Lian would have met his end if not for a member entering the battlefield without asking for permission. Li appeared between the two fighters, against the wishes of Lian, who demanded that no one save him even if he almost lost his life. Julia watched the scene together with the rest of the members, who found themselves unable to control themselves. Lian had become their comrade in these past few months of fighting. Seeing him fall to the ground but refusing to release his astral monster, who was also gravely wounded, made their blood churn. Before the vice-master could order someone to save him, a man had already appeared on the scene. Li summoned his astral weapon, which was too powerful to be wielded in their world. However, because the two worlds merged, the astral weapon managed to manifest in the world. “We should help them!” shouted Rae as she turned to Julia. “What is the point of gathering us here if we are just supposed to stand idle?!” “Do not engage,” said Julia while gritting her teeth as she stared at the screen. She knew that they would win this fight if she deployed her members, but what would happen next? The extermination of one of them. The casualties were in the thousands now, but they would reach the hundreds of thousands if it became an all-out war. The members disapproved, but no one knew that she wanted to jump into the battle herself and save him. “Everyone should listen to our Vice-Master!” shouted Oriole while crossing his hands, glaring at the screen. “She is making the right call here! If the empyrean of Thiria also appears and Arthur is not here, we will be the ones exterminated!” Julia appreciated the support, but she needed more than that to stop herself from intervening. It was at that time that the hellfire rained on Li and Lian before the Stars Reaver tore through the world and killed the dragon and its owner. The audience froze at the monstrous display of power before they erupted in cheers. Li appeared from within the smoke as they cheered for him. However, Julia felt her heart drop when she saw that his robes had burned, and so had his arms and shoulders.