Athena in Tower Defense Game! [LitRPG]

Chapter 156: Cataclysm-Class Threat

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Chapter 156: Cataclysm-Class Threat

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[Warning: Sanctuary Barrier Under Attack!]

[Warning: Sanctuary Barrier Under Attack!]

[Presence of an Ultra-High-Class Energy Being Detected!]

[Dark Minion]

Class: Cataclysm

Strength: ???

Defense: ???

Skills: ???

Only Known Skill: The creature can drag all human units within three hundred-kilometer radius into a hallucinatory realm, adjusting the realm’s intensity to match the number of captives.

The entity only appears within the Blackened Grounds!

The rapid system alerts left Athena reeling, unable to believe what she was witnessing. This wasn’t the entity’s original form; rather, it was one of the countless fragments the mother creature had split off, drawing them all into a nightmare dimension. Meanwhile, these fragments continued to assault the sanctuary barrier from the outside.

Previously, even when the sanctuary barrier came under attack, it never triggered such urgent warnings. But now, it had issued multiple red-colored alerts.

Athena recognized the template—this was something on the level of a "Galore," a monster capable of catastrophic destruction, if not, stronger! If it weren't for the sheer number of players within three hundred kilometers diluting its energy, this creature might have already torn through the sanctuary’s defenses!

No!

She and everybody else will die for sure!

The fragment fixated on Athena as though puzzled as to why this human had managed to break free of its illusion.

Her shelter boasted high-grade defenses, yet she wasn’t certain they could withstand this onslaught for half an hour.

Looking up, she saw that the once-vibrant sky had darkened completely. The fiery red sun had vanished—not simply set, but entirely disappeared, devoured by the blackened void that consumed it!

The system’s ominous purple text had warned her:

[ The entity only appears within the Blackened Grounds. After the anomaly, the sun had turned a blood-red hue, and now it was obliterated entirely. ]

This place no longer belonged to the contested war zone. It was something else—something darker. The Blackened Grounds.

The world had always been split into two vast domains, and their contested battlefield had always been positioned at the intersection of light and dark, where day and night endlessly clashed. But now, darkness had claimed this zone.

Their former battleground had already seen its victor declared—the dark. And that boded ill for every player.

The frontline, composed of cities held by players and nations alike, had shifted. Since Athena’s departure from the Sol Kingdom, city after city had fallen, swallowed by darkness.

Day had lost. Yet again, it had yielded ground, forcing the frontline to recede. Now, the players' region itself had become the Blackened Grounds.

"Damn it!"

What triggered this sudden escalation in the dark’s offensive?

If not for this unanticipated twist, creatures of this caliber shouldn’t even be present here. The legendary Alfred had once held a fortified city against this level of threat, by sacrificing himself, what hope did she have against such a monster now?

For the first time, Athena felt the dreadful grip of terror.

Gunfire raged without pause, but with the withered treants crowding around her, spreading her firepower across them wasn’t an option. She had to let them gather, hoping they wouldn’t overrun her position.

Athena climbed to the second-floor rooftop and positioned Black Friday, her firearm, ahead.

Of her current arsenal, the Black Abyss Axe was unusable, and the Moonlight Bow’s most powerful enhancement, the "Lunar Force," was ineffective due to the significant level disparity. Thus, Black Friday was her only viable option for physical damage.

[ Regional Chat Channel ]

"The sun’s gone. Change of plans—abort the original mission!"

Their messages had flooded the regional chat channel moments before, but no replies had followed. Everyone else was now ensnared in the hallucinatory realm, trapped between life and death.

The number of survivors was plummeting, dropping off a cliff.

[1231]

[1002]

...

Many were still lost in the realm, unable to discern reality from illusion, while others had already fallen to the monstrosities, their low-tier shelters overrun.

The world chat channel, in comparison, was faring slightly better. Fewer players remained active, but each seemed to be fighting for their lives with renewed desperation.

[ World Chat Channel ]

019: "For Godsake, where’s the sun gone?! And what are all these monsters doing here?!"

053: "Too many of them, and they're massive! Can our shelters hold up?"

036: "Help! What even is this? It’s like a mountain! I’m going to die here!"

060: "What’s going on? System keeps blasting us with warnings, and how come it's only targeting our region? Did the players in the first wave all get wiped out?"

The world had descended into utter chaos. Creatures around the shelters were surging with newfound power due to the change in the zone’s nature. They advanced relentlessly, determined to obliterate these human structures.

Despite Black Friday’s barrel heating up and her body trembling out of instinctual fear, Athena continued firing as the monsters of all sizes covers every nook of the barrier.

"Ah... ah..."

While trying to regulate her fear and breathing, Athena had discovered that dipping Black Friday's bullets in the Purple Dream Bud’s nectar inflicted at least some damage on the entity’s fragment. Each bullet spiraled through the air, slicing towards the creature with near-unavoidable force, striking its weak points. Yet, the creature’s eyes and head seemed frustratingly out of reach.

Though the shots hadn't pierced deep, they gradually caved in parts of the creature's body which brought calmed to Athena's nerves. Repeated fire caused a crack, black blood seeping through. Athena seized the opportunity and fired relentlessly at the breach.

It seemed that the Purple Dream Bud’s properties, akin to the monster’s own hallucinatory abilities, amplified Black Friday’s lethality, allowing it to break through.

Her arms throbbed from the gun’s recoil, losing feeling. Despite her robust physique, a few more rounds would dislocate her shoulder—or worse. But this was her only option. She couldn’t let the creature continue its attack on the barrier or else- game over.

Outside, every bullet that struck the creature drove it into a frenzy, causing it to bellow in pain before renewing its assault with greater fury.

Shot after shot, it began trying to dodge the bullets.

But its immense body made dodging impossible.

At last, the creature's rage reached a fever pitch. No longer attempting to evade, it slammed its spiked hands against the sanctuary barrier, gripping it tightly and heaving upward.

BAAMB!! BAAMB!! BAAMB!! BAAMB!! 

Earthquakes and shockwaves!!!

The ground around it sank as it pushed its weight down, forming a vast pit. It was trying to pry the sanctuary barrier out of the earth itself!

The barrier flickered in defiance, yet held steadfastly in place.