I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 568 The Sky Has Collapsed Halfway

Far away in northeastern Greece, on a seaside balcony in the island city of Treasure Island at night, Chris was enjoying a rare moment of peace, sipping local specialty wine.

However, the next second, the crystal glass in his hand trembled violently, and the deep red wine spilled out, staining his white cuffs.

It wasn't because of an earthquake or a loud noise, but rather a sudden, intense pain and sense of imbalance that came from the depths of my soul.

He looked up sharply and saw the azure sky being violently torn apart by a pitch-black crack, with eerie purple lightning leaping at the edge, like the convulsions of a dying nerve in the world.

"Ugh..."

Chris let out a suppressed cry of pain, pressing one hand tightly against his throbbing temple, while the other hand braced against the railing, his knuckles turning white from the force.

The pain did not come entirely from the physical level; rather, it was more like a chain reaction caused by the sudden collapse of a crucial supporting structure that existed within him.

"A world tree... has fallen."

He muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and filled with pain he himself was unaware of. It wasn't that he had heard any news, but rather that the crack in the sky, the tremor in his soul, directly told him this cruel truth... one of the two pillars holding up the world's crystal wall had already broken.

The consequences would be catastrophic. Demonic invasions would become easier, the world's rules would gradually fall into disarray, and for him alone…

Chris lowered his head, looking at his slightly trembling hands.

Beneath his skin, a long-dormant light seemed to begin to flow uncontrollably. He could feel that the essence he had been carefully suppressing and binding deep within this human body was beginning to stir and try to break free of its cage because of the collapse of the world's pillars and the weakening of the crystal wall's restraint.

"What bad luck..."

He sighed, both about the sudden disaster and about the changes in his own body.

Chris now clearly senses that his body is changing.

It is not a distortion or corruption, but a sublimation.

Or rather, it is a return to its original, proper form.

His bones emitted a faint hum, and his blood flowed with a few particles of light. An ability far beyond the perception of ordinary people was awakening in his vision... He could even vaguely see the colors of fear and panic spreading among the people in the city, as well as the previously hidden streams of faith in the air.

His true nature is being revealed more rapidly due to the sudden reduction in external pressure.

This process is accompanied by intense pain from the forced fusion and adjustment of the soul and body, but it also brings an indescribable sense of power.

He took a deep breath, forced himself to stand up straight, and ignored the waves of dizziness and pain that washed over him on a spiritual level.

His gaze returned to the menacing crack in the sky, his eyes turning cold and resolute.

"We can't let another tree fall. If we do, I'll be in heaven."

he murmured.

The peaceful days in Taiwan have come to an end.

With the World Tree collapsing and the Crystal Wall shattered, demons will inevitably descend on a massive scale. Chris must now return to Waterladnoy to take charge and make arrangements for the aftermath.

Fortunately, in this world, Chris already has two offspring, one in Elena's womb far away in Waterladnoy, and the other...

Chris turned to look at the room behind him. Julie was fast asleep on the big bed, her slightly protruding belly indicating the new life that was growing inside her.

Chris could sense that this life was a girl, while the other offspring, far away in Waterladnoy, was a boy.

As for a third... it's impossible; Chris is no longer able to have a third child.

As Chris pondered, the scene in the sky changed dramatically once again.

From that dark crack that stretched across the sky, countless tiny meteors, burning with evil flames, suddenly burst forth.

Like a torrential downpour flowing backwards, trailing long, filthy tails, they poured out from the depths of the cracks, streaking across the daytime sky and falling to all parts of the earth.

Each meteor exudes a nauseatingly dense demonic aura, inevitably containing bloodthirsty demons, and possibly even concealing demonic teleportation arrays capable of establishing outposts.

The scale of this invasion far surpasses that of previous sporadic infiltrations.

Chris frowned slightly, not out of fear, but out of confusion and...trouble.

His gaze swept over the evil meteors that streaked across the sky, noticing that a significant portion of them were heading towards the vicinity of Treasure Island City, and even further afield.

This is very unusual.

Demons typically tend to attack areas rich in magic or teeming with life. The Greek continent, however, is like a desert to them. Although there is plenty of life to harvest, the lack of magic means that even if demons were interested, they would only come here last.

"They're not even sparing such barren places... Are they simply trying to spread chaos, or... do they have other motives?"

Chris muttered to himself, his voice revealing no tension, only a calm understanding of the changing situation and a hint of helplessness at his plans being disrupted.

He stopped looking up at the sky, turned and walked into the room, his steps still steady, as if the excruciating pain in his soul and the strange changes in the sky were just insignificant interludes.

He went to the desk, where a delicate silver bell was placed.

"jingle……"

The crisp sound of a bell echoed in the room.

Almost immediately, the expressionless clerk appeared silently at the door and bowed.

Despite the sight of the sky cracking open and meteors falling outside, a spectacle that would have terrified anyone, the clerk's face remained unchanged.

"I am here, Your Majesty."

The clerk's voice was calm and even.

Chris didn't even look up, as he quickly wrote on a notepad with a quill pen while giving the instructions.

"Some dirty things fell from the sky and landed in the suburbs and nearby wilderness. Have the Blue Flag Army outside the city mobilize to clean it up. Remember to have them bring explosives to destroy the meteorites as well, so as not to leave any hidden dangers."

His tone was as indifferent as if he were instructing a servant to sweep up fallen leaves in the courtyard, rather than dealing with an invasion of demons from another world.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Without any questions, the clerk accepted the warrant from Chris, bowed again, and quickly withdrew to carry out the order.

The room fell silent, save for the faint whistling of a meteor streaking across the sky outside the window, and the distant sound of horns that might have already begun to sound... With such an unusual phenomenon in the sky, the army should assemble even without orders.

Chris could sense that many meteors were falling towards the Greek mainland, and more than half of them were heading towards Bagnia.

Chris was not worried about the demonic meteor that fell on Bagnia.

The Kingdom of Bagnia has completed its national mobilization. The defense forces, the Blue Banner Army, and local militias have all assembled, with personnel, provisions, and weapons in place, ready to join the battle at any time.

Now that the demons have fallen, they've run right into the line of fire. The most crucial factor is the demon-free environment of the Greek continent. Demons would be extremely ill-suited to this environment. If we can kill them before they harvest countless lives, completely corrupt an area, and turn it into the abyss, then no matter how many demons descend, they won't be able to establish a foothold on the Greek continent.

Chris had confidence in Bagnia's mobilization capabilities. Even if the demons landed in some remote, desolate place, the nearest garrison and players would rush over without hesitation and wipe them out.

However, while the Kingdom of Bagnia will be fine, what about the other countries?
Chris sincerely hoped that his warnings to various countries through diplomatic channels would be heeded by their leaders and that they would take serious action.

Otherwise, players would have a great time, as they wouldn't need to travel far by boat; they could fight demons and complete event quests right at their doorstep.

I really hope this doesn't happen.

Chris sighed. He always felt that the more he hoped something wouldn't happen, the more likely it was to happen.

Oh, right, now that some of my own limitations have been removed, it's time to gradually remove some of the limitations on the players' bodies as well, so they can become more powerful.

Their current strength is sufficient to deal with low- and mid-level demons, but when they encounter high-level demons, they probably have no other choice but to rely on sheer numbers and sacrifices.

That's not good; it might get you yelled at by frustrated players.

……

Chief Lawrence tightened the reins, and his warhorse snorted restlessly, its hooves pawing impatiently at the scorched, blackened ground burned by fel energy.

Behind him, the Blue Flag Army soldiers had already deployed into battle formation, their flintlock muskets' cold muzzles aimed at the strange crater area ahead.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of sulfur and a certain... rotten, sweet stench, making one want to vomit. But what made Lawrence frown even more was the scene before him.

Based on the orders from the adults relayed by the clerk and the rough location provided, they quickly found the fallen "star".

It was not the burning boulder one might imagine, but rather a strange object about the size of a house, its surface riddled with twisted holes, as if it were a mixture of some dark metal and lava, half of it smashed into the ground, the surrounding soil turning an ominous purplish-black.

However, the expected swarm of monsters did not appear.

Hundreds of bodies lay scattered around the meteor.

They are hideous in appearance, with dark red or dirty green skin, twisted horns on their heads, and hind limbs that are bent like those of goats, complete with hooves... strikingly similar to the demonic images depicted in ancient legends and church murals.

Lawrence waved, and a group of soldiers cautiously stepped forward to inspect.

Soon, a report came, filled with disbelief and confusion.

"The centurions are all dead! ... No wounds, no signs of struggle, they look like they've been poisoned!"

Lawrence rode a few steps closer, his sharp gaze sweeping over the stiff demon corpses.

Indeed, there were no sword wounds or magical burns on their bodies, only messy scratches on the ground and twisted limbs, silently telling of the extreme pain and struggle they had experienced before their deaths.

This bizarre manner of death sent a chill down the spine of even the seasoned Lawrence.

"Stay alert, search for survivors!"

He gave the order in a deep voice, his voice particularly clear on the silent, scorched earth.

The soldiers searched carefully again and finally found three still-active figures on the back of the meteor crater.

They were taller and stronger than the dead lesser demons and horned demons, covered in dark carapaces, with bulging muscles, and emitting low, painful, and weak roars.

They tried to stand up, waving their deformed arms, but their movements were slow and weak, as if even maintaining their stance was extremely difficult.

These are Berserkers. Although Lawrence didn't know their exact name, his intuition told him that they were far more dangerous beings, even though they were in extremely poor condition.

"Aim at those that can still move!"

Lawrence didn't hesitate at all. A demon is a demon, and a demon in a weakened state is still a threat.

"First row, ready...fire!"

The roar of flintlock muskets shattered the silence, and a storm of lead bullets rained down on the three-headed berserker.

Normally, such an attack would pose a fatal threat to them, but at this moment, the weakened berserker demons couldn't even dodge effectively.

Clumps of foul blood burst from their bodies, they roared in defiance, and staggered to the ground.

"Second row, let go!"

"Third row, let go!"

After the three rounds of fire, no one remained standing at the edge of the crater.

The soldiers remained in firing positions, guns smoldering, watching the three massive, motionless bodies with bated breath.

Lawrence's gaze finally returned to the enormous meteor itself.

Within the holes on its surface, faint, flickering light, like breathing, seemed to be trying to activate something inside, yet it could never truly light up, giving one a sense of weakness and impending doom.

Regardless of what it was, Lawrence, based on his orders to "clean up thoroughly and leave no hidden dangers," and the eerie scene before him, made the most decisive decision.

"Sappers!"

he shouted.

"Plant the explosives! Blow this damn thing up!"

The engineers acted swiftly, carefully placing the high explosives they carried at the base and key points of the meteor. As the fuse was lit, everyone retreated to a safe distance.

"Boom..."

With a deafening roar, smoke and dust mixed with the glow of evil energy shot into the sky.

Logically speaking, an object that can travel through the sky and crash into the earth without shattering must be incredibly strong and cannot be destroyed by ordinary explosives.

However, to Lawrence and all the soldiers' surprise, in the shock of the explosion, the huge meteor's outer shell emitted a clear sound, like shattering glass, and cracked open with several huge fissures.

Through the cracks, one can see the intricate interior, but it is now dark and there are even some strange structures that are clearly melted and broken in some places.

As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, the shattered remnants of the meteor lay quietly at the bottom of the crater, and the faint glimmer of light completely disappeared.

Lawrence stared at the cracked meteorite, his brow furrowed. The demon's eerie death, the meteor's unusual fragility... all of this exuded a chilling sense of foreboding.

He waved.

"Document the scene and report the situation in detail. The rest of you, continue searching for the next crash site!"

He turned his horse around, the sense of relief he felt from successfully completing the mission long since replaced by deeper doubts.

(End of this chapter)