Cooperation

With the Abyssal Rift wide open, nearly every professional in the royal capital looked up at the sky in unison as an immense pressure descended from above.

Dumbfounded by the bizarre sight, many froze in place. Caught off guard, they were easily exploited by the rebellious enemies, causing casualties to spike instantly.

But Hogg had no time to be distracted. He stared intently at the rift above, his mana surging rapidly.

His grey robe billowed without any wind, and the mana erupting from his body was several times more intense than when he had fought Gorman.

The current situation left him no room to hold back. He had to buy as much time as possible for the evacuation of the entire royal capital below.

Though he didn't know how long he could hold out, he could only do his best.

Beside him, Venus was secretly astonished by the aura Hogg was exuding. This mana was extraordinary—not only did it perfectly fuse four elements, but it was also incredibly pure.

Even if she exerted her full strength, she might not be able to match this level of power.

With a soft sigh, she looked at Hogg with a solemn expression.

“Are you planning to risk your life?”

Without turning back, Hogg kept his eyes glued to the slowly expanding rift. His aura had nearly reached its peak, and his entire body was bathed in a four-colored light.

“Lady Sage, please take the empire's delegation and leave while you still can. I won't be able to see you off.”

“Are you joking with me?”

Venus sighed. Her dragon nudged slightly forward to stand beside Hogg, and she drew the knight's broadsword from her waist.

“How could I tuck my tail and run at a time like this?”

As she spoke, an aura that nearly rivaled Hogg's erupted instantly. Pale blue mana surged through her body, and several illusory figures materialized behind her.

Within a few breaths, the illusions solidified, transforming into dozens of silver-white knights armed to the teeth. They stood in a neat, orderly formation, hovering in midair.

This was Venus Basal Polivik's signature battle technique—【Fearless Knights】.

Each of the silver-white knights, condensed from her own immense mana, possessed strength of at least Rank 7.

Venus's actions took Hogg by surprise. He had never expected her to choose to fight alongside him. Yet, it was easy to understand—the Abyss was the common enemy of all mankind.

Under the onslaught of an abyssal invasion, no one could remain safe.

“Here they come!”

The rift was fully formed. The first wave of abyssal monsters crossed the boundary and began to plunge downward. The sky began to rain abyssal monsters.

They were grotesquely twisted, with no distinct limbs or facial features, their bodies covered in tentacles and fangs. Appearing dark purple or black, they possessed no reason, driven solely by an instinctive thirst for blood and slaughter.

Leading the charge on her dragon, Venus dashed toward the falling abyssal monsters. The silver-white knights spread out to her left and right, following close behind in a straight line.

Hogg raised his staff high. The four-colored light converged, and the elements of ice, fire, wind, and lightning erupted violently. Spells of all kinds rained down toward the rift like a tempest.

For a moment, he managed to block more than half of the monsters right at the edge of the rift. As for the ones that slipped through, Venus and her silver-white knights intercepted and slaughtered them in the air.

Thanks to their coordination, less than one percent of the monsters actually reached the ground.

Even so, this fraction was still enough to bring catastrophe to the royal capital. The capital was already semi-paralyzed, and the remaining City Guard and Palace Guard were not enough to control the situation.

Coupled with the rebel forces and the loss of high-level professionals, organizing an effective counterattack was nearly impossible.

Furthermore, there were over five million ordinary citizens in the royal capital. If they were corrupted by the abyssal monsters on a large scale, the entire city would turn into a living hell.

As time ticked by, more and more monsters poured from the rift, growing stronger and slipping past their defense in increasing numbers.

With the chaos escalating, Hogg naturally felt the shifting power of the Abyss, but he had no spare energy to think about anything else.

He didn't dare leave any gaps in his magical coverage, forcing himself to cast even faster.

Yet even as a Heroic Spirit rank expert, his mana was not infinite. Under such high-intensity casting, he began to feel the strain.

Beneath the Abyssal Rift, Venus, who was darting back and forth to harvest the monsters, was also facing mounting pressure. The bodies of her silver-white knights were beginning to grow translucent.

She glanced back at Hogg, her heart sinking slightly.

“Is this the limit? Tsk...”

It was indeed unrealistic to expect just the two of them to completely block a fully opened Abyssal Rift.

Historically, the standard response involved tens of thousands of organized troops forming a perimeter and constructing defensive fortifications.

They would coordinate with high-level professionals like knights, mages, and warriors, but even then, the price of fighting the Abyss was always extremely high.

Only nations like the empire or kingdoms, which had Heroic Spirit rank experts backing them, could keep their losses within an acceptable range.

Right at that moment, dozens of figures suddenly soared into the air, surrounding Hogg to protect him. The leading mage offered a brief salute and said,

“Lord Royal Preceptor, by order of His Majesty the King, the Court Mage Guard has arrived to reinforce you.”

With those words, everyone raised their staffs in unison and began pouring spells toward the rift, instantly painting the sky in a kaleidoscope of colors.

Though their strength was far inferior to Hogg's, their addition drastically reduced the pressure on him.

Not only that, but over a dozen figures also flew out from the embassy to join them—they were mages from the empire.

With the pressure easing once more, Hogg gained a brief moment to breathe and asked in confusion,

“If you are here, what about the palace? What of His Majesty?”

“Rest assured, Royal Preceptor. His Majesty is currently leading the Royal Knight Guard to clear the enemies on the ground.”

“What? The old King is—”

As he spoke, he caught a glimpse of the palace in his peripheral vision. On King's Avenue, the old King, clad in full armor, was leading a guard of several hundred in a charge against the stray monsters.

Furthermore, small armed groups had sprung up in other parts of the royal capital, spontaneously organizing counterattacks.

They were the private guards of the nobles!

Those pot-bellied noble lords who usually did nothing... had actually taken up swords and staffs at this very moment, leading their guards onto the streets to join the counterattack.

This sight caught Hogg somewhat off guard, but mostly, he was astonished.

After all, for so many years, his impression of most nobles had been poor, viewing them as little more than parasites who wasted the people's tax money.

But now—even though some of them looked terrified, some could only close their eyes and blindly fling spells, and some couldn't even hold their swords steady...

At the very least, they were standing up to defend the kingdom and protect the people. This drastically changed Hogg's stereotype of them.

As long as they could hold their ground up here, the situation below would be brought under control in a short time. Even factoring in the evacuation of certain areas... two hours would be enough.

Everything was turning for the better. Now, they just had to wait for the kingdom's army to arrive. Once a perimeter was established, the threat of the Abyssal Rift would be greatly mitigated.

Combined with the high-level professionals in the army, if they could hold out until the rift closed, the royal capital would be saved.