Those time travelers that year

——————————Divider Line——————————

Beyond this world lies an endless starry sky, with countless fragments of celestial bodies floating in this boundless darkness. The light source here is not the sun, but many strangely shaped crystals. These crystals vary in shape and size, some resembling dust, others as large as a mountain.

In this silent environment, faint green light gathered from this seemingly inhuman place and eventually formed a half-human, half-beast creature that looked like it was made of crystal. This strange creature held a long staff that looked like it was made of the same material as its body, and the top of the staff shone with a dazzling light.

The creature hovered in this dazzling world, silently gazing down at the world below.

"The endless war has ultimately attracted more and more visitors from other worlds!" After a long silence, the creature spoke in a stiff tone, "And now, the gaze of destruction is drawing ever closer to this world. Perhaps one day in the future, everything will come to an end..."

"If I were you, I wouldn't have come here alone to lament such unrealistic things!" A distorted light flashed beside the creature. A being entirely purple, appearing as if from a phantom, stood before the crystalline creature. "【Death Realm Devourer】, your lamentations are utterly meaningless..."

"【Void Mask】, even as a visitor to this hyperdimensional world, a projection of something in this world..." The crystal creature known as the 【Death God Eater】 cast its green-glowing eyes at the visitor. "You're far too engrossed in this endless war..."

"We are all just [heroes]..." [Void Mask] said sarcastically, "Therefore, we must abide by the eternal and unchanging rule of this world, which is: war!!!!"

Dota has only a few chapters left, it'll be over soon.

139. Peeping from Beyond the World - Continued

"You and I both know that some heroes are special, just like you and me..." said the [Dead God Eroder]. "Heroes among mortals, no matter how glorious, cannot escape the changes of the world, but... there are always some heroes who are exceptions."

“You, me… in our complete forms, the Ancient Ice Soul, the first Invoker, Zeus, the Enigma, the Ancient Titan with a fragmented soul… and the monkey that came to this world in recent years.”

"Rather than saying that what we leave behind is the legacy of heroes, it would be more accurate to say that what we leave behind is ourselves."

"What are you trying to say, [Death God Eater]?" [Void Mask] asked. "If it's just boring philosophy, then I suggest we return to the material world and continue participating in our eternal war of the ruins."

"War is no longer eternal..." [Death God Eater] maintained his stiff tone, "I can sense the visitor's ambition and the anomalies in the world beyond the stars in the sky."

"He has power, but he is too young and too self-centered. It is very likely that he will bring destruction from outside the crystal wall before he gets what he wants."

"You want to kill him?!"

"No! I want to banish him from this world completely, especially to destroy the coordinates he left behind in this world." [Dead God Eater] said, "He was guided to this world by others, and now, only by banishing him completely can this world be protected."

"You might as well just kill him and be done with it!" [Void Mask] mocked. "Since it's a threat, then just kill him!"

"However, the pass he carries will release an unstoppable amount of information upon his complete death, and that information will attract the Legion," said [Death God Eater]. "The demons of this world, and the demonic [Hero] power, will likely turn against us when faced with the same source. At that time, no one will be able to stop the army of destruction from descending..."

"That object capable of traversing different crystal walls will fall into the hands of the sovereign who spreads destruction, at which point all realms will be engulfed in flames!!!!!!!!!"

"So, what do you want to do?"

“Just like the being that brought him to this world did!” [Death God Eroder] turned his gaze back to the vast continent beneath the starry sky, “to drive him out completely and ensure that he can never return to this world.”

"And all we have to give is some insignificant sacrifice..."

"You're going to trade our physical bodies and a portion of our power in the material world for this?!" [Void Mask] said. "Besides, with our physical bodies and power in the material world, we're only on the same level as that outsider. What makes you so confident that you can drive him away instead of killing him?"

"No! It's not just me!" [Death God Eater] declared, "There's also this world, the primordial beings, compared to those who also came from the outside world and took root here. Those who have lived in this world since its inception are not those who only treat this world as a war game..."

Which ones?

“I, [Ancient Titan], [Io], [Phoenix], [Enigma], [Ancient Ice Soul]… [Erosion of the Realm] uttered one hero's name after another. “So, now. Will you come, [Void Mask]!?”

"Hahaha... Alright, alright, buddy, I'll have to see if he's even qualified." [Void Mask] laughed loudly. "But are you sure you're just going to banish him from this world permanently, and not completely annihilate him?!"

“I’m sure! Because only in this way, under duress, in order to temporarily leave this world, that human will definitely use the pass that brought him to this world to forcibly leave this world…” The voice of the [Death God Eroder] was full of certainty. “Only then will I have the opportunity to sever the link between the pass and this world, and let him leave forever.”

"Then I'll wait and see!"

——————————Divider Line——————————

"Hmm~?"

Charles, who was running along a road, suddenly paused and stopped. Just moments before, a wave of unease had washed over him, as if something threatening him was approaching. However, after looking around and using his reconnaissance spells to scan his surroundings thoroughly, Charles found nothing that could pose a threat.

Some wild beasts or magical creatures, no matter how strong they are, are only at the fourth level. It would be strange if these monsters dared to attack a newbie who has no equipment or skills.

"Is it just my imagination?" Charles muttered, frowning. "Could it be some forbidden spell or something coming at me? But that can't be right! Could it be Zeus's ultimate or Invoker's Heavenly Fire?" Among the heroes of the Radiant and Dire, there are spells that could threaten him, especially Invoker's Heavenly Fire, which can only be withstood by oneself. Charles didn't want to try that.

"Am I overthinking it?!" After standing still for a while, Charles didn't find any danger. Keeping a watchful eye on things, Charles continued forward.

After leaving that town, even though he knew he had no chance to gain anything more in this world at this point, Charles wasn't entirely willing to just leave. So he planned to look for opportunities to pick up scraps on the battlefield where war was about to break out.

Charles didn't ask for anything; he just wanted to find an opportunity to make a final killing before leaving this world. If he encountered a lone "hero" and had a chance to kill them, Charles wouldn't mind taking the initiative.

Soon, Shire arrived at the edge of a battlefield, where the armies of the Radiant and the Dire faced off, numbering in the hundreds of thousands and stretching as far as the eye could see.

Of course, a large portion of these were mercenaries and adventurers. After all, as excellent cannon fodder, these people with no rights were sent in to wear down the enemy before the battle even began. However, the opposing side thought the same way. So, before the Radiant and Dire armies officially clashed, mercenaries and adventurers from both sides were already engaged in a fierce battle. Similarly, fighting to the death with familiar comrades was better than being caught up in a battle between armies, wasn't it? Besides, there was no chance of encountering a single "hero" fighting against an entire army. This greatly increased safety, and killing comrades from the opposing faction also counted as a merit.

So when he arrived on the battlefield, the first thing Charles saw was the 'cannon fodder' of both sides fighting to the death...

140. Let's kill those barbarians one more time!!!

Not far from the Sharl, a lone barbarian, shield in one hand and battle axe in the other, was brutally beating a standard five-person adventure party. The barbarian, fighting five against one, roared and charged, locked in a fierce battle. Then, in just a short while, the adventure party suffered its first casualty. The member of the party, who appeared to be a newly-minted mage apprentice, was killed by the barbarian's battle axe, his head split open by the blade.

Although the barbarian lost his battle axe and was shot by an arrow from the squad's archers, the arrow didn't hit his knee but rather his shoulder, where it was clamped down by his rock-like muscles. So the archer also died instantly. The barbarian then hurled his steel shield, held in his left hand, at the archer like a discus, and the archer was disemboweled. The edge of the barbarian's shield was a sharp blade…

The remaining melee fighters were completely overwhelmed by the situation. One warrior wielding a two-handed greatsword was knocked to the ground by a single punch from the unarmed barbarian; judging by the caved-in chest, it was clear he wouldn't survive. Another sword-and-shield warrior, however, had his neck bent 360 degrees by the barbarian after the barbarian dodged his counterattack.

The last one wielding a spear collapsed, dropped his weapon, and turned to run, but the barbarian caught up with him in a few steps and beat him to a pulp with his bare hands... After slaughtering all the enemies, the barbarian laughed as he retrieved his equipment and began to collect his spoils with great skill. Judging from his practiced movements as he looted the corpses, he was clearly a veteran.

However, Charles only glanced at him before looking away. He was just a barbarian. In The Elder Scrolls, he had killed countless Nord barbarians and bandits. This barbarian was just a little above the fourth tier, but not yet a high-level fifth-tier professional. He was just a bit of cannon fodder.

In fact, during the war between the Radiant and the Dire, anyone who hadn't reached the [Hero] level was nothing but cannon fodder. After all, once [Heroes] started fighting, there was practically no room for lower-level characters to intervene. Like that night, the treant soldiers summoned by the [Prophet] were merely cannon fodder created by activating a forest. And even those cannon fodder-level soldiers crushed a huge number of soldiers; even high-level mage spells were forcibly neutralized by the treant soldiers' magic resistance. And then, [Ice Crystal Blast] struck, directly obliterating the entire city and affecting a large area, turning a vibrant region into a deathly ice cave.

This also demonstrates the sheer destructive power a hero can unleash at will. Especially those heroes with wide-area destructive spells. Before arriving in this world, if it weren't for various spells and his own enchanted field, Sharl wouldn't have been a match for the heroes of this world. A single constant magic resistance and defensive field would have been enough to make Sharl cough up blood. However, after this world usurped the inherited power of the Demon Wizards, Sharl is confident he can face the heroes of this world alone, and even defeat them.

Even if he only managed to snag some good deals before, it's undeniable that Ciel, now fully engaged in combat, could be used like a human walking mushroom bomb. The only thing still limiting him is his damage output ceiling; after all, Ciel, unwilling to completely transform his body into a demon using fel energy, is still at a physical disadvantage. Although he was strengthened during his time in Type-Moon due to Medea's Noble Phantasm, his physical strength, capable of fighting Heroic Spirits, has decreased significantly since leaving Type-Moon. Without the blessing of legends, Medea's "Urn of Youth" is largely rendered useless. However, Ciel isn't the type to rely solely on physical prowess… well, a melee mage (PS: Gandalf: Eat my Great Flash, eat my Charge Whirlwind Slash…)

"Huh? Get lost..." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the barbarian, after collecting his spoils, fiddling with the battle axe in his hand, looking at Sharl not far away with a malicious gaze. Knowing that he was being spied on because he was too close, Sharl didn't even turn around and told the barbarian to get lost.

The barbarian's face immediately darkened, but after hesitating for a moment, he turned to leave. Charles didn't intend to waste his energy on such a perceptive fellow…

A sharp whooshing sound interrupted Charles's thoughts. The barbarian who had turned to leave had somehow hurled his battle axe, aiming directly at Charles's head. It seemed this barbarian had a natural talent for throwing weapons, using them like hand-launched cannonballs. The supernatural, red-glowing force clinging to the blade of the thrown axe could instantly obliterate an ordinary person upon impact.

It seems this isn't the first time this barbarian has used such a feint. Is this guy really a barbarian who can be killed by the rainbow spray? However, even if a barbarian has intelligence, that's all he has; it can't mask the difference in strength.

When Charles saw the battle axe being thrown at him, he sneered and let it come crashing down on his defensive barrier without looking back.

The battle axe landed on the ground. This blow, like a cannonball, couldn't even shake Charles's defensive stance when he was standing still. Its only effect was to blow a cold wind on Charles.

The barbarian who had launched the sneak attack was stunned for a moment, then roared, his eyes instantly becoming bloodshot, and his entire body suddenly growing larger. It seems that barbarians from any world can go berserk, and this extremely decisive barbarian activated his berserk mode immediately, increasing both his size and speed several notches. Then, with his feet firmly on the ground, he turned and ran away as if flying.

Then, a fireball, launched after the initial attack, struck the fleeing barbarian directly in the back. Even a barbarian in a berserk state was helpless against the explosive flames. Although this barbarian in this world seemed to be slightly more intelligent than his counterparts back in Toril—at least he had learned to ambush and to activate his berserk mode and run when things looked bad—he was still reduced to ashes by a single fireball.

141. The Beginning of the Battlefield (Part 1)

After dealing with the foolish barbarian who had dared to attack him, the surroundings became much quieter. Through the feedback from his reconnaissance spell, Sharl discovered that many of the ill-intentioned individuals who had been hiding nearby had now consciously retreated from the area.

After all, these were just mercenaries and adventurers, primarily seeking wealth rather than getting themselves involved. The dead cannot enjoy wealth; only the living can. As for these astute battlefield vultures, Sharl didn't have the time to deal with them, letting them leave. For Sharl, the true target had always been the heroes of both the Radiant and Dire factions. Only on the battlefield, in a chaotic melee of tens of thousands, could he find an opportunity to strike at the heroes. Otherwise, surrounded by a large number of soldiers, Sharl had little confidence in taking down a hero amidst a sea of ​​enemies. This wasn't a hack-and-slash game; even if ordinary soldiers were nothing to Sharl, there was a concept called strategic positioning…

Using the familiar spell, Sharl conjured countless birds and small animals, scattering them throughout the area to keep watch. Of course, these birds and animals were all actually made of black mud, requiring neither rest nor food. Their only flaw was that these familiars were too straightforward; unless Sharl manipulated them, they would remain completely still.

However, he didn't intend for these familiars to play a significant role; their ability to effectively monitor the area that was about to become a battlefield was sufficient.

Now, all that's left is to wait patiently...

——————————Divider Line——————————

War, war...

For two or three days, the 'cannon fodder' hired by both sides effectively wore down the enemy's 'cannon fodder'. Some of the more skilled 'cannon fodder' even launched surprise attacks on enemy outposts or outer patrols. However, the role of these 'cannon fodder' eventually became limited. Soon, it is unclear which side made the first move, or whether both sides intended to catch the other off guard. Thus, when the air forces of both sides began fierce battles at altitudes of hundreds or even thousands of meters, the ground battle also began.

In modern warfare, aside from aerial skirmishes and maneuvering, the initial ground attacks are typically launched using missiles and artillery. The Americans call this "fire," the Chinese prefer to "tell the artillery to fire hard," and the Russians... well, they probably drink a bottle of vodka first... right?

In a fantasy world, the first wave of attacks in a ground war wouldn't be limited to primitive weapons like catapults. In fact, the initial assault would be a wide-area magical barrage. Similarly, facing such a wide-area magical attack, the opposing side would naturally have countermeasures. However, often it would involve one side bombarding the enemy with magic while the other side dispelled the magic or, like in Star Wars, deployed a protective shield covering the entire army.

This world seems to rely on the same few tricks, which explains why, despite countless years of fighting, it hasn't made any progress. In modern society, one could easily despise the army of this world. However, just as modern society has pacifists known as "mushroom bombs," this world also possesses a group of humanoid self-propelled weapons capable of bringing "peace."

However, unlike the beautiful and harmonious Earth, at least on Earth, there are a few shameless scoundrels who, after conspiring with a certain rabbit who used cheat codes to produce 'mushroom bombs' at lightning speed, came up with a tyrannical clause to prevent the spread of mushrooms. This left the potentially cheating Indian guy in a terrible mess, and along with a whole bunch of other guys, they were all tricked.

Personally, I think that given India's Brownian motion-like nature and their bizarre military industry... they'd probably blow themselves up first. I hope the Supreme Commander will spare India's life! Amen...

However, the "Heroes," possessing a strategic position similar to that of the 'mushroom bomb,' are not bound by the so-called non-proliferation treaty. Therefore, when ordinary armies were unable to break the deadlock, the "Heroes" finally couldn't hold back and chose to take action. And coincidentally, their old adversary had the same idea.

With a deafening roar, a colossal figure, tens of meters long, soared into the sky from the Radiant side of the battlefield. The roar shook the entire sky, and its enormous wingspan swept across the heavens. With a mere flap of its wings, the colossal figure defied the laws of physics, soaring into the sky. Instantly, the Dire's air force was blasted away, and countless gargoyles were smashed to pieces.

It was a huge dragon...

The dragon swooped down from the sky, like a fighter jet diving in modern warfare. Then, scorching fire elementals condensed in its mouth and erupted forth, a roaring inferno sweeping across the Nightmare army. In an instant, hundreds, even thousands, of Nightmare soldiers were reduced to ashes. If the dragon had been allowed to indiscriminately spew its flames, the entire Nightmare force would likely have been roasted alive in no time.

However, the dragon was quickly intercepted by a creature flying from the Nightmare side. It was a giant version of a gargoyle, and next to this creature, which exuded an aura of death, were three smaller gargoyles.

Dragon Knight VS Undead Wyvern

……

In the sky, two heroes engaged in a fierce aerial battle, while on the ground, the other heroes from both sides launched their attacks one after another. Accompanied by an eerie song, darkness gathered on the Nightmare side, the wails of countless souls transforming into a sinister melody. Then, darkness erupted within the Radiant army. Similarly, facing the Nightmare's counterattack, the Radiant heroes did not hesitate to launch their own counterattack. A massive wave, clearly impossible to appear on land, swept across the Nightmare army. Then, an elemental creature constructed entirely of water clashed with a monster shrouded in pitch-black smoke.

Morphling vs. Shadow Fiend

In an instant, the successive attacks of several heroes brought the battlefield to a climax, attracting countless eyes. While the heroes clashed and fought, ordinary soldiers also charged in…

……

However, in this battle, those 'cannon fodder' who wanted to take advantage of the situation or linger on the periphery of the battlefield were inexplicably in deep trouble. This was because, even though the two sides had already started fighting on the battlefield, there were other 'heroes' who did not enter the fray but instead began fighting directly on the periphery of the battlefield.

As the earth shook violently and massive rocks crashed through the ground, on the other side, raging flames scorched the earth, and a withered-winged demon, wielding a flaming greatsword, let out a furious laugh.

Earth Spirit VS Doomsday Messenger

……

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, serrated twin blades clashed with double-edged swords. A woman dressed in black, her entire body blurred, fought against another man wearing a red scarf, who appeared to be a mercenary.

Phantom Assassin VS Bounty Hunter

……

"Found it~!" The familiars scattered throughout the battlefield allowed Sharl to accurately see every battle situation. Then, looking at the closest battlefield, a place of intense fighting with earth-shaking tremors and flames, Sharl activated [Shadow Blade] and stealthily moved towards it.

It's past midnight!!!

142. The final takeaway before leaving

As the battlefield between two "heroes," violent earthquakes and scorching flames continued to rage. On one side, relentless tremors sent massive boulders hurtling and smashing through any obstacle in their path, the deafening roar echoing through the sky. Some unfortunate "cannon fodder" were caught in the aftershocks, and then, even worse, found themselves in the path of the boulders, only to be crushed into mincemeat.

On the other side, flames surged from the ground, scorching the earth and distorting the air. Wherever the flames passed, all life was incinerated. Some mercenaries and adventurers who couldn't escape the flames were reduced to charred ashes. Only a few powerful professionals struggled to hold on, but none could escape their fate of being burned to ashes.