Chapter 215

Chapter 215: A Glimpse of Hope

Of course, some might argue that Midi, the genius commander, mattered more than the entire Hawk Brigade.

But Midi chose to act as bait not to sacrifice himself—he did so because he believed he could divert the Lord of the Light City while surviving.

More importantly, a level 50 peak-level fighter had no chance against an awakened expert. Neither courage nor miracles could tip the scales of victory.

Level 50 and level 51 belonged to entirely different realms of power.

To truly defeat the Lord of the Light City, awakening was the only path. Only by reaching the same level could Midi stand a chance.

To awaken, he had to remain in the Floating City without retreating—not even to the Dragon Tower. Any retreat would lead to total disadvantage, forcing him to repeat the Delos Empire’s fate from his past life: relying on magical formations, draining national resources, and sacrificing countless lives to achieve victory.

If that happened, Midi’s year-long effort to seize the Awakening Ground before the Empire would be wasted.

Driving out the Delos Empire only to be driven out himself by the Lord of the Light City? That meant failure.

He refused to accept such an outcome.

Thus, Midi had to stay in the Floating City, find the Awakening Ground, and become an awakened expert.

Since the Lord of the Light City would hunt him regardless, becoming bait from the start at least improved the Hawk Brigade’s survival odds.

Even Midi couldn’t guarantee his own survival against such a foe. But if the odds exceeded fifty percent, he’d take the risk.

After all, no reincarnator could know every detail of this life or predict every shift in the battle situation. Survival in this power-driven world demanded not just meticulous plans and caution, but the courage to confront challenges.

Without confidence to face enemies, even foresight would lead only to a life of avoiding conflict and missing opportunities.

If he’d been that “cautious,” Midi might never have claimed his demon god—not when even the Vengeance Worm in that mysterious cave had seemed unbeatable at first.

Only by snatching opportunities from the brink could he seize greatness.

This was Midi Asreks’ unwavering belief.

Another white laser, sharp as a blade, sliced silently downward.

The strike descended from the high skies like a massive sharp sword, its cold edge threatening to split the earth. Where it passed, the ground bore a hair-thin, bottomless fissure.

The edges gleamed smooth—rocks and sand melted and fused into glass, proof of the attack’s blistering heat and power.

Yet the Lord of the Light City’s effortless strike missed.

At the last instant, Midi—as if sensing danger—slowed the Vanguard ship. Its altitude dropped dozens of centimeters, narrowly evading the lethal sweep.

Before the next attack came, Midi forced the ship to accelerate wildly mid-descent!

The sudden burst of speed clashed with the deceleration, straining the lightweight vessel. Its frame creaked, wobbling like a leaf in rapids, yet it surged forward faster than any ordinary Vanguard ship.

Brute force paired with precise control bought Midi precious seconds and distance against the awakened expert.

The unbalanced ship raced toward Star Mountain.

Star Mountain’s labyrinthine terrain housed the Awakening Crystals—Midi’s sole chance to survive and strike back.

“Pathetic tricks!” Lord Segarth of the Light City scoffed. “You think you can flee, insect?”

The Lord of the Light City raised his right hand, gathering a glow in his palm. A pale green flame suddenly burst forth, flickering rhythmically as each sway sent ripples of magic pulsing through the air.

With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the flame forward. The fireball rapidly shrank mid-flight, condensing into a light sphere that tore through the sky at incredible speed, closing in on Midi’s Vanguard ship within moments.

Though the attack missed – for even this swift projectile couldn’t match the instantaneous white line’s speed – the Lord of the Light City clenched his fist the moment the sphere passed its target.

The compressed light suddenly ballooned like an overfilled bladder before detonating violently. Chaotic magic currents erupted outward as the shockwave rippled through the boiling air like invisible tidal forces. This was the awakened expert’s answer to evasive foes: overwhelming them with indiscriminate destruction.

The blast’s power surpassed even Queen of Magic Fina’s full-strength attack after ten minutes of magic vein channeling. Visible distortions rippled through the atmosphere, instantly crushing any Vanguard ships they touched into crumpled metal sheets.

Midi’s ship survived through sheer piloting skill, though not unscathed. The battered craft shed armor plating as malfunctioning components reduced its speed by half – effectively stationary prey for the hovering warlord.

Luckily, Star Mountain loomed close. Midi forced the failing ship into a gravity-assisted dive, coaxing one last burst of speed from the plummeting wreck. Dodging another laser attack left a trail of black smoke as the Vanguard ship disintegrated mid-fall, finally impacting Star Mountain’s cliffs in a mushrooming cloud of debris.

Midi survived through successive Demon Shadow Flash maneuvers, dispersing momentum through ghostly afterimages before landing safely in rocky cover. But such tricks meant little to eyes burning with Cold Flame – the Lord of the Light City’s azure cape flared as light enveloped him.

He crossed kilometers in seconds, hovering imperiously above the crash site. Without so much as touching the ground, his piercing gaze found the faint magic residue left by Midi’s escape skills. The golden-armored ruler of Arad’s combat hierarchy tracked his quarry’s desperate retreat into the mountain’s depths – a wounded rabbit fleeing through stone warrens.

"A stall tactic?" The Lord’s cruel chuckle echoed across the slopes. "You think distracting me helps those insects escape?" He gestured sharply upward.

Thousands of falling stars streaked down from beyond the Floating City’s height. Each impact revealed armored Exile warriors from the Seventeen Halls of the Azure Rock – greatsword wielders, tower shield bearers, and spear masters interspersed with gauntleted brawlers radiating magic.

These tireless metal hounds required only pure magic to hunt eternally. Against such pursuers, neither Hawk Brigade soldiers nor Three Towers’ denizens stood a chance.

As the Exiles began their systematic sweep, the Lord of the Light City turned toward Star Mountain’s shadowed crags. "Now," he murmured to the distant Midi, voice colder than void-space, "let’s play."