CHAPTER 125: AS THE SUN SETS ON THE HORIZON

[1,2,3rd city of the 3rd floor: ]

Being under the rule of the Holy swordsman, Dame Artheria Althea Alaric De Ambrosia, of the north and the [Principality of Ode], the three cities prepared for the war.

The forces of the north had integrated with the city guardians and were preparing for the Night ever since the Holy swordsman overthrew the governance of the Guardian Captains and established new power.

The city’s administrative structure was maintained, but the Principality had overwritten the positions of power.

The natives had not seen anything like this happening; the presence of a new power was new to them, but there didn’t seem to be any great differences between how things worked.

If anything, the atmosphere in the cities felt far less chaotic.

There was a unique sense of security in each one of the cities. The highly organized order of Dame Althea was something that gave a higher sense of safety and security that the citizens had not felt with the regular guardian captains.

The three cities weren’t too far from one another, so the Principality had established a direct and distinct communication link between the three cities.

The Dame operated this communication link directly, issuing absolute orders that the entire Order followed with utmost loyalty.

They trusted the Dame and her foresight as if a soldier was trusting the Orders of their queen. The Principality did not revolve around the senate made up of the old people, but the Holy swordsman who represented the entire north.

"Aide."

"We are ready, Dame."

"Send my word to all the cities with our people. Tell them I wish to see them after the conclusion of this battle. I will reward each one of them personally."

"Yes, M’lady."

The people who followed the Holy Lady did so willingly and with unconditional faith.

She did not follow any Gods within the tower or belong to a certain pre-existing faction.

She was never a player. She was a noble by birth; she was a kind of noble that the Tower’s native nobles will look up to in the future...

But for now, even this absolute figure was anxious.

"This is different." As she looked at the red-tinged sky above, as she observed the sun going down on the horizon with her entire army before her, she knew this battle wasn’t going to be anything easy.

She was not fighting this battle alone, and she wasn’t merely relying on words to her people.

Right now, even the natives of the tower were following her, so she was responsible for hundreds of thousands of lives.

She knew the weight every single one of her words carried right now, so she could not gamble anything.

One wrong word and it would cost her thousands of lives.

As a noble, it would be a stain on her very nobility.

Sacrifices were necessary, but the loss of unnecessary lives? She would not tolerate that.

"How does he deal with this much pressure?" She wondered while clenching the Holy Sword in her hand.

She had many capable people that she could rely on to maintain the three cities, but he was not the same.

"He has the guardian Captain in the 30th city, but..." She looked southward, a unique feeling surfacing in her heart.

[30th city, 27th city, 25,24,23rd city: ]

Thanks to his past performance and capabilities, the A2P2 had assigned four cities to Ziggy, aside from the 30th city that he was originally situated in.

He did not have to do everything by himself in these cities, but much like the Dame, he was responsible for more lives than he had ever expected.

This was just the 3rd floor, and he was feeling as if he was already fighting a war involving an entire noble house’s lands.

The scale of the 3rd floor was still not comparable to the upper floors that contained floors with the size of multiple continents.

Each floor that involved a civilisation was far larger than the floors involving certain floor quests and aims.

The tower floors did not necessarily expand as they went up, but there were certainly some floors that were larger than the others and some that had certain features that made a geographical measurement meaningless.

3rd floor, sadly, was not one of them...

"Tell me one thing, Zyon. How is it that you can handle such pressure so well?" Captain Rose asked him as she observed what he was doing.

Being in charge of five cities was not easy. Even though those cities had their Guardian Captains as well as individuals from the association, they weren’t the ones in charge.

If anything happened, the blame would be on Ziggy, and he knew it better than anyone else.

Still, as he gave his orders and made his judgements, he seemed as calm as a seasoned Guardian.

She could look after a few cities with her extensive experience, but even she wasn’t an omniscient general.

Even someone like her would experience some level of anxiety at a time like this, which she was, as a matter of fact, but as she watched her unique student, all she could do was wonder.

"It is a sad story..." Ziggy lamented without looking at his master. "I’ve learned much of it from great people, but the bitter experiences have been the hammer that moulded my skills in this particular area."

Ziggy left the Tower of Beginning after seeing the meaninglessness of his actions, after experiencing the dread that one could experience despite succeeding.

"There was a time I believed I could save others with what I had, by doing my absolute best." He closed the system window he used to give his final orders to the association members.

"I did my best, but it did not mean anything. Which shattered me, completely, I would say.

I agonised over it for a long time, never being able to recover from it until..." He looked into the warm eyes of his master, who seemed to be worried about him all of a sudden.

"Haaa. Until this tower appeared in our world." He still knew he wasn’t as good as people saw him as.

His threshold and boundaries were different because the worst he had experienced was different.

He was doing so well, not because he wasn’t anxious, but because the tragedies he had experienced were far worse than the destruction of a few cities.

"It’s not the time for talks like this, master." He took his Red Sword out and looked at the horizon.

The sun was setting, the sky was turning redder with each passing moment, the moon was visible on the other side, dim and translucent, still untainted by the curse.

But they knew that would change soon...

"Right. I’ll go now." Captain Rose nodded and jumped down from the wall.

She floated in the air before him with the help of the special blue cape item she was wearing, and looked back at Ziggy before flying away.

"I’ll see you on the battlefield." She said good luck to her student.

"I’ll be there to save you if anything happens." He said his greetings as well.

"Ptfff. Of course you will~. My dear student~." She chuckled and flew away from there.

The Night of the Red Moon was here. And she knew she did not have to worry about her student anymore.

He was pretty strong now. Almost strong enough to challenge her at her full strength.

She knew she could leave him be. So she did...

"It starts now." Ziggy looked northward and clenched his Red sword.

[12th city: ]

KiRA, Izzy, and the guardian captain of the city waited on top of the city walls, waiting for the night’s arrival.

They were done with all their preparations, and they had done with what they could.

Their army stood behind them, people in the safe areas, praying for them...

They were the beacons of hope for their city. And they had placed their faith in each one of these defenders.

[The 3rd floor: As the sun set on the horizon...]

The twins guarded the City captain, the strong mage.

The dark swordsman and a dragon’s inheritor, as well as the person who had reaped the most rewards from her city, stood at the forefront of her battlefield, ready to reap yet another set of rewards.

The Eastern Alliance was not worried either. The Four Heavenly Orders were holding more than a dozen cities. And they were sure to defend it for the sake of their future glory.

They couldn’t let the association have all the glory. They weren’t going to allow them to shine once again.

Aside from the Principality, they were the only dominant force that fought against the Association for dominance. But there were also some powerful individuals who held a great influence over the floor.

In the 16th city, it was the vice captain that one can compare to the Dame, in the 28th and 29th twin cities, it was the third greatest force on the floor, the one called the Barbarian.

The professor from the association and the party of Trailblaze were forces that held their own influence within the tower.

Some powerful governments also looked after a few cities, but they were insignificant in the eyes of the Eastern Alliance.

[Time left until monster waves begin: 01:01:34.]

The night had descended... and the moon had started bleeding in the sky.

Soon, the white-gold would turn Sanguine.

And not long after that, the nature that they had known until now would change its appearance...