LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 137: The Barrier Comes Down (1)
After several consecutive days of training and preparation, the last day before the Barrier came down, Aoni decided it was better to rest than try and force himself into doing anything.
Every preparation, every crafted item, all the training, it was all for tomorrow. After the little scare the night before, Aoni found himself sitting around the campfire with his Summons after a long day of playing around and relaxing.
If this was going to be the last time he could have a peaceful moment in Genovia, he didn't want to waste it bustling around and forcing his floof and birb to do meaningful tasks; instead, they'd been lazy all day, eating a little extra at each meal, playing games Aoni made up to pass the time, and just being together as a family.
He was nervous, sure, but if he let it show, it would no doubt affect his adorable summons, so instead of keeping them high-strung, he felt things were better this way.
'I've done everything I can,' he thought while watching Glacia snarf down bowl after bowl of chimera meat.
"gaooooo," sensing his gaze and automatically assuming her Lord was planning on going back on his word for unlimited food, Glacia scooted away from Aoni and eyed him carefully while munching away.
"Pffft, no one's gonna take it, you goober," rolling his eyes, Aoni propped his elbows on his knees and smiled before looking away from the glutton toward Nyria, who seemed to be enjoying some berries she'd found.
When it was time to go into the cave for the night, Aoni couldn't curb the feeling of dread that threatened to take over his mind; by the time the sun came up in the morning, the Barrier would disappear, and all bets were off.
Although the Barrier was soundproof when he had ventured down the day before to the edge, he could see them, thousands of monsters, all of which were pacing around the outer ring of his territory, waiting, biding their time, and upon seeing him, all of them were kicked into a frenzy.
To make matters worse, without stepping through and being physically near the monsters, the Lad had zero clue about their Grade; however, given the massive size of some, Aoni predicted there to be at least a hundred higher than Three-Star floating around.
And that was those he could see; there was no telling if stronger beings were lurking on the fringe of the forest; that thought alone scared him shitless.
'It will be fine; you have a plan, not a good one, but a plan nonetheless,' closing the door behind Glacia as she was the last to enter the cave for bedtime, Aoni cast one last glance at the Wall and took a deep breath before sealing off his home from the outside world.
The plan was simple, as he had tested it multiple times by now when the monsters outside the Barrier first began showing up, and it all revolved around a singular thing: Progress Points.
He'd long since found out that Glacia would earn him points for each kill she brought in, even if it were barely a trickle. Still, as it turns out, for each 1-Star he killed, it would give him a point, and amazingly enough, when he took down a single 2-Star with an ice bullet accidentally that had somehow gone past the Barrier, it brought him 5 points.
'Kill as many as possible, and spam upgrade the Rampart,' short simple, that was the plan.
Earn as many points in the short time it took the monsters to make their way up the mountain and immediately burn them; in this way, he could potentially maximize the durability of the Wall and increase the Barrier of warding.
That wasn't his only plot either; if things took a turn in the wrong direction, Aoni was fully prepared to burn the Terrain Manipulation Node he'd gotten out of his multi-summon, as it could potentially flatten hundreds of incoming enemies in an instant.
As he lay down with both his summons on either side of his body, snuggling together for their last night of quiet, Aoni closed his eyes and let go of everything. He'd done all he could, and now it was time to face the challenge that kills off a good majority of New Travelers.
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Early the next morning, before the DayCelest crested the horizon, Aoni stood atop the rampart, looking down the western part of the camp, where the gate was positioned.
Since both the Northern and Eastern sides of the camp had sheer cliff face drop-offs, he wouldn't have to worry about anything easily scrambling up to the Wall, so he'd stationed Glacia and Nyria to the south and took the western side for himself.
'Here we go,' earlier, before getting the two in position, Aoni had taken a moment to give them each one last hug and a kiss atop their heads before telling them he loved them both and how proud he was of them.
Since both knew how important today was, they were nervous, and while Glacia was happy to get attention while basically ignoring the tense situation, Nyria was very different.
Even so, they had been prepared for today for some time, and each had tasks to complete, missions if you will, with Nyria being a bomber of sort dropping rocks and attacking from the sky while calling out enemies for her Lord, while her sister…was going to run head first into battle like a barbarian.
Glacia was fast, VERY fast in the snow, so unless there was something above 3-Star chasing her, Aoni didn't believe they'd be able to catch his floof.
With the DayCelest creeping higher in the sky, Aoni's eyes stayed locked on the horizon, and that's when he saw it: a spider web of cracks materializing out of nowhere, and then…
Crack…CRACK…SHATTER!
| Warning |
Like a hammer being dropped onto a windowpane, the Barrier came down, allowing not only a tidal wave of Energia to surge into his territory but also the deafening roars of thousands of monsters, creatures, and beings.
| Warning, Warning |
"ITS STARTING!" Whipping his head to the far side of the camp, Aoni yelled as a signal, earning yells back from both summons.
| Warning, Warning, Warning |
"GAOOOOOO!!!!!" *NEW FOOOODD!* Barraling forward and launching her body off the Wall, Glacia entered Furry Missile mode and disappeared toward the woods.
"CHEEE!!!!"
'Good luck, brother,' Nyria said through their connection before leaping off the Wall and taking to the sky.
| Warning, Warning, Warning |
Smirking at her words and feeling his Birb's Gaze, Aoni held up his left arm and began charging a bullet upon picking up motion down the mountain.
However, since he was so focused on the tidal wave of Energia rushing into his territory and the movement in the distance, he didn't notice the flashing notifications zipping around in his peripheral vision.