novelraw Chapter 261-1: The Outer Demons Arrive, How to Improve Personal Ratings (1)
Chapter 261-1: The Outer Demons Arrive, How to Improve Personal Ratings (1)
[Seven ethereal celestial palaces encircle the Demon-Subduing Altar. The palaces are not connected to each other. Only a single long cloud bridge, fairly spacious, links each palace to the altar.]
[The Seven Stars return to their places!]
[The Star Lords leave the Demon-Subduing Altar and proceed to their respective palaces to defend…]
[You stride forward, heading straight for the First Celestial Palace, Celestial Pivot Palace!]
[Please choose your defensive position…]
[1. The front end of the cloud bridge: This is the section connecting the bridge to the Demon-Subduing Altar. To enter the palace, the Outer Demons will surge forward in unending waves like a tide. Apart from your relatively safe rear, enemies will be attacking from the front, left, and right!]
[2. The far end of the cloud bridge: This spot is where the bridge meets the boundary of the celestial palace. Not far behind you stands the grand, illusory palace itself. The bridge is narrow and can serve as a natural chokepoint, a single warrior can block a thousand foes. As long as you hold this bridge, you can keep the Outer Demons out!]
[3. The palace’s main gate: Between the cloud bridge and the celestial palace lies a small buffer zone. The main gate is the final favorable terrain for resisting the Outer Demons. The palace gate is narrower than the bridge, and here you will face the fewest enemies at once.]
[4. Before the Heavenly Gates: This defense point is within the palace itself. Behind you towers the Heavenly Gates, seemingly cast from jade and glass, the only gateway from the Celestial Realm to the human world. The vast palace can contain countless savage Outer Demons. Here, there is no retreat, only victory or annihilation!]
[You lift your gaze to the six other celestial palaces. Through the drifting mists, you see the six Star Lords each standing at the front of their bridges, fully alert…][Please choose your defensive position…]
Lin Xun drew a deep breath. He did not pick the front of the cloud bridge as previously agreed.
Instead, he chose the fourth option, inside the palace itself, before the Heavenly Gates!
This was the place of no return, the final line of defense before the Heavenly Gates!
[You stride across the cloud bridge, stepping onto the palace’s domain…]
[You walk into the celestial palace, taking up position before the Heavenly Gates, leaving the astonished gazes of all the Star Lords beyond its threshold!]
“Lin Xun?”
“Master…what are you…?”
“Kid, why are you going off-script again…wait, why did I say again?”
In the meeting room, everyone turned to look at Lin Xun, their expressions filled with confusion and shock.
They had planned everything in advance: everyone was to defend at the very front of their cloud bridges. If they couldn’t withstand the Outer Demons’ fierce assault, they could fight while falling back, preserving a buffer zone.
This also made it easy for the other Star Lords to finish off their own monsters and then come to help.
They didn’t even have to fully clear their fronts, if they had spare energy, they could simply lob a ranged spell over for support.
This entire tactical setup had mostly been designed with Lu Caiyi in mind.
Lu Caiyi was stationed at the seventh celestial palace, Shaking Light Palace – Breaking Army Star. Not only did this grant the best buff bonuses, but it also sat right next to the first celestial palace, on Lin Xun’s flank.
The arrangement was meant to ensure she could benefit from the palace’s strong defensive boosts and hold the line until Lin Xun could assist her.
Li Xingyue was an Intelligence Division Team Leader. Wang Zong was the Armed Division Team Leader, both held rank and real power.
Among the three supporting Apostles, Yin Linlin was the ace of Hang City’s Heavenly Punishment Unit. Another Apostle from Yun Capital was part of the Apostle Council’s direct combat agency, Kunlun.
As a Kunlun roving enforcer, she not only handled the Council’s assigned missions but also provided support to Heavenly Punishment Units across regions. Being able to secure help from such a powerhouse was a testament to Li Xingyue’s skill.
If Lin Xun hadn’t been here, that enforcer alone would have been the team’s most formidable pillar.
The final Apostle, from Jinling, was not only the Surveillance Division Team Leader but also a seeded talent with serious backing.
His Shell was the extremely rare necromancer class, and within this chapter, his strength would likely surpass even the Kunlun enforcer. Word was he was about to ascend to sixth difficulty, and the Council intended to recruit him as a member once he did.
Even among fifth-difficulty Apostles, there were clear tiers of power and status.
Compared to this group of heavyweights, Lu Caiyi did look like she was only here to cling to the strongest.
That was why she’d been placed beside Lin Xun, to enjoy the strong defensive buffs of Shaking Light Palace – Breaking Army Star and simply hold on long enough for Lin Xun’s support to arrive.
Everyone’s eyes turned odd, and a few even suspected Lin Xun had retreated into the palace to avoid having to babysit a weak link.
Several of the visiting elite Apostles glanced at Lu Caiyi, their eyes gleaming with ambiguous meaning.
Lu Caiyi, always the Armed Division’s darling, had never faced such a situation. Those three elite Apostles’ sharp, needling stares made her feel she wanted to crawl into a hole.
She clenched her fists tight, biting her lower lip, wanting to explain but unable to find any words.
Lin Xun patted the back of her hand, silently telling her not to mind it. Then he glared at the three elite Apostles and declared in a clear voice, “You just worry about your own positions. You don’t need to fret about Little White. Even without my support, she won’t lose her line.”
Wang Zong also realized what was happening. His bull-like eyes widened, and he was about to slap the table and erupt.
“The Outer Demons will appear any moment now, everyone focus!”
Li Xingyue stepped in at just the right moment to smooth things over. In their tactical planning, she had deliberately chosen to defend the second celestial palace, Celestial Sphere Palace – Great Door Star, right beside Lin Xun, to spare Lu Caiyi any embarrassment.
She knew exactly how strong Lu Caiyi really was.
But among the Apostles, they had only shared information about their Shells, skills, and equipment, no one had revealed their soul talents.
Such ace-in-the-hole abilities were never disclosed to outsiders. They were only partially declared upon entering official service.
If those elite Apostles knew just how powerful Lu Caiyi’s talent was, their expressions right now would have been very different.
Lin Xun was well aware of what the soul talent Endless Strength meant: the Shell’s Strength attribute would be increased by 100%. For every enemy killed, it would gain a temporary 25% Strength boost. The stacking limit and duration scaled with the talent’s level.
As far as he knew, when Little White was under full buffs, she could already boost her Strength attribute to four or five times its normal value. Once she unleashed her full power, the only word to describe it was terrifying.
In truth, the three elite Apostles didn’t harbor any real malice. In their eyes, if a powerhouse didn’t want to carry a rookie, it was the rookie’s own fault, who could blame the powerhouse for that?
[The Demon-Subduing Altar began to tremble faintly, making the cloud bridge and the celestial palaces quake without end…]