Transcendent Resurgence: Regressing on an abandoned Earth

[Commencing the final round]

*Ruuummble*

The platforms started to move around like the pieces of a Rubik's cube. Both of the zones started to merge with one another and formed a large battlefield in the sky. It looked almost as if someone had pulled out the roots of the mountain and spread it flat above the surface. The height of the mountain was reduced to less than a tenth as its sides were stretched apart. Now, it had become a hill that separated the two sides.

[Terrain has been changed]

[Fire poison debuff has been applied]

[Minor volcanic eruptions will occur every 10 minutes]

[Major volcanic eruptions will occur every 100 minutes]

Neither the players nor the imps were surprised by the changes. From the start it had been very obvious that the environment would get worse and worse as time went by. What they had to do right now was still the same as the beginning– kill the other side as fast as possible.

-Once all battles are over, the second phase will commence where players and imps of the corresponding role will battle in an all-out brawl. All battles will commence at the same time.

-After 3 hours have passed on the second phase, the battle between two kings will commence and the final outcome will be determined.

These were the rules of the second round. The key lay in the second part because this meant that no matter what they did, neither side could win or lose before three hours had passed. This didn't mean that this time wasn't important. On the contrary, the side that gained an advantage during this time might be able to help their king and change the final outcome.

The volcanic eruptions were generated to hinder them from going all out. Three hours meant a total of 180 minutes.

<Kill as many imps as you can, as soon as you can. The first 10 minutes will be your one and only chance to go all out. After that, it would take all you have to just survive the volcanic explosions>

Zyrus's voice addressed the thoughts in the player's heads. Noone knew how powerful the flame poison and the volcanic eruptions would be, but still, just their numbers were scary enough. They would have to whether through at least 20 minor and 2 Major volcanic eruptions.

It would've been impossible at the start, but now, both sides had obtained a fair amount of buffs from the previous rounds of holmgang.

-Fire resistance +50% after the occupation of a platform (lasts till the end of this round)

-Fire affinity +5% for each role vise victory (Counted by % of win for each role) (lasts till the end of this round)

There was a significant difference between both sides when it came to these buffs. The low-level imps had won against the players, so all of them had a full recovery and +50 fire resistance. What made the difference more obvious were the thousands of players who were barely hanging on by a thread of their HP. Even if the imps didn't touch them, it would be a miracle if they survived in this harsh environment.

The situation was the exact opposite when it came to higher roles. Mammoths, Knights, Bishops, Vajeers…all of them had earned the role wise victory. It gave the players a 20% fire affinity buff whereas the imps only got a 5%. Thanks to most of the top-level players having won their holmgang they had also gained full recovery and fire resistance.

'Finally, it's time for the mages to shine.'

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Zyrus who had memories of before his regression had paid special attention to the mages. As the strongest arcanist, there was no better leader when it came to developing mages. If he wanted to then he could've helped the mage players learn some rare skills and even paved a way for them to get good professions like pyromancer or stormbringer.

Why didn't he do so then? Because for a mage, research was very important. A swordman or a spearman could focus on only one style and reach the peak of their profession, but the same wasn't true for the mages. Every one of them had to learn the basic elemental skills and figure out the ones that suited them the most.

There were items that could check their dormant affinity and talents in magic, but it wasn't something that could be found in the second ring. The sole option to find the right path for them was via the system. Having a 20% increase in fire affinity meant that even the mages who had no talent in fire magic could become mobile turrets. Their devastating power would be further amplified due to the environment of this round.

'If they try hard enough, then it's not impossible to get the 1000 chain kills achievement.'

It was an achievement that separated newbie mages from the veterans of war. The system wouldn't reward them based on the fire affinity because it was a temporary buff and giving rewards related to that would be unfair. Thus, it would only mark their feats and give them suitable skills after sufficient accumulation.

"Ria, your job is to stop the imps from playing any tricks. Leave the battlefield to me."

"Got it."

"Kyle, Strongfist, Babi, you three will be in charge of attacking individually. The rest will use army formations."

Zyrus gave them their tasks one after another. With his high intelligence he didn't need much time to redistribute the tasks based on the player's current status. Their advantages and disadvantages were clear.

The players would absolutely crush the other side when it came to the top 10%. They were already stronger to begin with, and having a subclass was skin to giving wings to the tiger. The issue was the players who had lost their holmgang.

What Zyrus wanted right now was a crushing victory. It would be too much of a loss if the players died after going through the hellish training. Their decade of suffering would be meaningless if they died before reaching the third ring.

"Use them from the start," Zyrus gave Jacob a scroll that was shimmering with boundless mana.

[Scroll of Meteor mirage]

An army buff spell made from the skin of the Star marked tyrant. It carries the monster's desire to bring down despair and destruction.

Usage left: 5

Effect: For 10 minutes, all allied attacks will accumulate 'Meteor Charge'. Set an attack target/area once the duration is over to activate 'Fallen Stars'

Meteor Charge: Each attack from the allied faction will increase the counter by 0.00001

Fallen Stars: Fragments of the fallen stars will descend upon the designated target/area. The damage dealt will be calculated by average attack power of the allied players multiplied by the meteor charge.

Unaffected by all defense, resistance, and immunity.

It was one of the rewards they acquired after defeating the star marked tyrant. With this, Zyrus's message was clear to everyone.

Don't hold anything back in the first ten minutes.

[Ding! Time left for troop deployment- 00:01:00]

[Turns left for the Imp King: 17]

[Turns left for Zyrus Wymar: 9]

The imp king hadn't used a single turn from the start, so it was no wonder it was ahead when it came to remaining turns. Zyrus, on the other hand, was left with only one move. The double consumption of turns on the same day was still effective. 1,2,4, and 8. This time, he planned to rely on the Vajeers to better mobilize the troops at the start of the battle.

Zyrus's eyes met the imp kings', and from the latter's gaze, he could gauge that his 'future subordinate' still didn't plan to use its turns. Its target was him from the very beginning. Neither the imps nor the players were of significant importance in its wizened eyes.

More than fifty thousand players and the same number of imps stood on the opposite sides of a gigantic stage. The air was trembling with mana as each and every one of them was warming up to release their greatest combat powers.

30…20…10…

Seconds passed by and a dark miasma rose at a steady rate. The previous rocky ground was instantly replaced by a two-foot-high fog of flame poison. It didn't do anything to the players or the imps, but it made them even more nervous.

The flame poison was like a layer of flammable gas. Its true color would be shown when the volcano at the center erupted.

*Crrrckck*

*Dum*Dum*Dudududu*

The ground cracked from impact as both sides marched towards the hill. The first ones to clash were naturally the goblin riders. They tore through the imp vanguard like a knife and made a full circle before both sides even met.

[Barrier]

Shield warriors and trolls used their subclass spells to form a blockade while the rest of the players started deploying their formation. These first few seconds were the most crucial, because more than half of the players were in no position to take even a single hit.