While the situation on the eastern and western sides of the fortress was gradually heating up, something unexpected happened at the fortress’s command center.
BOOM!
A massive explosion suddenly erupted from the command center, demolishing its roof and several of the surrounding rooms.
Amid the falling debris produced by the explosion, an enraged shout suddenly reverberated throughout the fortress like thunder.
"FIND THAT BASTARD AT ALL COSTS!!!"
It was Donato’s voice, commanding everyone within the fortress.
At this moment, the powerful Fortress Master was kneeling on one knee while gasping heavily for breath.
A noticeable wound could be seen on his back, where a black dagger was deeply embedded.
The dagger continuously pulsed with a sinister black light while dripping an inky-black substance that seeped into Donato’s body through the wound.
The injury itself wasn’t enough to threaten someone like him.
After all, Donato was already at the peak of the Tier 3 Realm and infinitely close to crossing the boundary that separated an Enlightened Being from those beneath that realm.
However, the dagger lodged in his back contained a potent poison capable of continuously eroding his strength and interfering with his body’s movements.
He had to devote a considerable amount of energy to suppressing the poison and purging it from his body.
Neither the injury nor the poison posed a mortal threat to someone of his level.
The humiliation, however, was something he found far more difficult to endure.
He had never expected to be ambushed within his own territory and pushed into such a predicament—especially inside the very fortress he was supposed to control.
What made matters even worse was that he had been affected by another substance he had accidentally consumed during the ambush.
The thought of what had happened caused Donato to seethe with rage.
Nevertheless, he had to admit that the assassin possessed extraordinary abilities. Even someone at his level had failed to detect the assassin until the very last moment.
That realization only made the ominous feeling in his heart grow stronger.
He might not be in any immediate danger, but he was currently in a situation where he had no choice but to focus on treating himself.
That alone was enough to infuriate him.
The fortress was under attack by unknown enemies, yet the person who should have been commanding its defenses was now forced to remain in place and heal himself.
There was nothing Donato hated more than being rendered incapable of taking action.
...
Shin, who was currently standing on one of the Mana Towers supporting the Mana Dome, naturally noticed the commotion, especially given how loud the explosion had been.
He immediately understood what had happened after hearing Donato’s enraged shout.
He quickly opened the party channel and asked.
Sickarius: Shadow, Status.
His simple words were immediately understood by the other side.
Diablo: I managed to poison the Fortress Master with my most potent poison and even make him consume the Knockout Potion you gave me, Vice Commander.
Diablo immediately replied but quickly added a word of caution.
Diablo: But I doubt it’ll affect him for very long.
Diablo: That guy is quite tough.
Shin immediately understood that Diablo must have gone through considerable danger just to complete the task.
Sickarius: How’s your condition?
Diablo: I received a serious blow from that NPC Boss. I’m barely in a condition to run.
Diablo: But I should be fine.
Diablo was currently hiding not far from the command center, but the NPCs within the fortress would still have a difficult time finding him given his stealth abilities.
It was also currently nighttime, making it even more difficult for them to track him down.
He was doing his best to recover from the blow he had received in exchange for completing his task, currently downing the Master-Rank Potions he had brought with him.
Fortunately, he hadn’t been one-shotted by the Fortress Master.
Diablo: Any other instructions?
He asked, already planning what he should do next.
Seeing this, Shin thought for a moment before sending him the map of the fortress he had drawn, along with several marked locations.
Sickarius: Can you reach any of the marked places?
Diablo glanced at the map for a moment before falling into deep thought.
After a while, he immediately replied.
Diablo: It won’t be a problem.
Shin then gave his next instruction.
Sickarius: Get to one of the main towers.
Sickarius: Tell me immediately when you’re ready. We’ll coordinate our attacks and destroy two of the main towers supporting the Mana Dome.
Diablo instantly understood what Shin was planning.
Diablo: Understood!
...
The entire fortress was currently in chaos following the assassination attempt against their Fortress Master.
The Commanders of the NPC guards stationed throughout the fortress were directing their units to search for the assassin, who was still lurking somewhere within the shadows.
The entire fortress had been placed on full alert, with multiple units patrolling the streets and thoroughly searching the surrounding areas.
Unfortunately for them, their target had already moved on to the next phase of the plan.
BOOM! BOOM!
Two deafening explosions suddenly resounded throughout the fortress, each no weaker than the one that had erupted from the command center earlier.
However, these two explosions came from two different directions, almost from opposite sides of the fortress.
"What was that!?"
"They’re coming from the inner district!"
"Move! Quickly! Investigate what happened!"
The NPCs immediately rushed toward the sources of the explosions.
Unfortunately for them, the scene that greeted them far surpassed their expectations.
"That... that’s one of the Mana Towers!"
"Two of the Main Mana Towers have fallen!"
"Quick! Report this to the Fortress Master!"
"But the Fortress Master is still recuperating!"
The chaos spread even further, causing the NPC soldiers and guards to panic.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
To make matters worse, the powerful bombardment coming from the eastern side of the fortress intensified once again, relentlessly pounding the Mana Dome as though trying to shatter its defenses.
"Quick! Move to the Mana Towers! Protect them at all costs!"
The Commanders within the fortress immediately understood what their enemies were trying to accomplish after seeing two of the Main Mana Towers collapse.
Unfortunately for them, Shin and Diablo were already moving through the fortress without encountering any notable resistance.
They were no longer hiding their presence.
Anyone who stood in their way was swiftly cut down as they advanced toward the two remaining Main Mana Towers.
Given their current abilities, the ordinary NPCs within the fortress posed no meaningful threat to either of them.
The Commander-ranked NPCs might have been capable of delaying their advance to some extent if they managed to intercept them.
However, both Shin and Diablo were deliberately avoiding the stronger defenders, slipping through the fortress’s defensive net whenever possible.
They had no intention of engaging in any prolonged battle against powerful NPCs yet.
Their priority was to destroy the remaining Main Mana Towers first and force the Mana Dome protecting the fortress to collapse.
The Commanders quickly realized that trying to catch Shin and Diablo directly would be futile, so they decided to concentrate their forces around the two remaining Main Mana Towers supporting the Mana Dome.
However, the moment they made this adjustment, Shin and Diablo suddenly changed their course.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Instead of heading directly toward the remaining Main Mana Towers, they began destroying the lesser Mana Towers scattered throughout the fortress, which also served as supporting foundations for the Mana Dome.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Under the overwhelming might of these two god-level experts, one lesser Mana Tower after another collapsed, further weakening the foundation of the Mana Dome.
Not long after, multiple cracks began spreading across the surface of the dome as it lost a large portion of its energy supply.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
At the same time, the continuous bombardment from the artillery positioned on the eastern side of the fortress intensified, relentlessly pounding the weakened Mana Dome and pushing it closer to collapse.
Shin suddenly stopped and looked up at the massive dome covering the entire fortress.
"That should be enough," he mumbled.
He then flicked his sword upward, launching a condensed sword wave into the night sky.
Swoosh!
BANG!
The sword energy exploded like fireworks, briefly illuminating the dark sky.
The scattered sword energy lingered in the air for quite a while, attracting the attention of almost every NPC within the fortress.
However, the people this signal was actually meant for immediately understood what it meant.
...
Sitting atop a huge boulder on the rock formations along the eastern side of the fortress, Owen slowly stood up and stretched his body.
"Finally! It’s our time to shine!" he chuckled before turning toward Samael, who was still observing the members of Deicide.
"Hey, brat! Are you coming with me or what?" Owen asked, interrupting Samael’s thoughts.
"Ah!" Samael snapped out of his daze before turning toward Owen. "Of course! I’m coming along!"
Countless ideas were currently running through his mind after observing how the members of Deicide operated.
He wanted to test those ideas in actual combat and see how they would work for him.
Owen smiled before hopping down from the boulder. "Let’s go!"
......
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