章 89: Enter: Ines

Soon after the portals appeared, beings that seem a bit more human than zombies appeared. Their appearance was more akin to a human at the beginning stages of zombification. Lines of grainy black substances could be seen underneath their skin. It was the disease they were inherently born with in the void.

After scanning them, Luna saw that each and every one of them were at level 45.

Despite their strength which was relatively high compared to a regular citizen of the <Sovereign Nation>, these beings were known as the Peasants.

If the previous zombies were like the bacteria of the void, these "Peasants" were just that. The lower-class citizens of the void. For the ones that lived in the poverty level of the void to be in this fight, one could call them a militia. Despite not having much training, they were still innately more powerful than how humans of Earth were born with.

This wasn't through genetics, this was due to the very substance that ran through their veins. It strengthened them, but it took away a huge part of their sense of self.

What followed them were their superiors. Their chain-of-command was quite similar to the <Sovereign Nation>'s.

Squads of five were lead by a 5-man commander. Four 5-man squads were led by a 20-man commander and that trend continued as the numbers went higher.

These black marks these commanders had were visibly more refined as their ranks went higher. It was obvious that the ones with the less grainy marks were more lucid.

At the very back of this enormous army were a few higher-ranking officials. They all had their attention towards the man and a little girl in the middle. With an army, this huge, the expected confident looks on their faces were instead looks of anxiety.

"Princess! With all due respect, have you lost your mind?! Why have you followed us here?!" The man decked in blue heavy armor was visibly exasperated. This stout man was a demi-human, with Donkey-like features. He specialized in the water Anito. In front of her was a petite young girl, wearing a black moon dress* that complimented her pale skin. Underneath it was extremely advanced armor that contoured her whole body. It was not noticeable as it performed the same way Luna's Draconic armor did.

"No need to worry General Vizicsacsi, I can handle myself!" She replied. "Besides, not like I had much of a choice," she murmured under her breath.

This petite young woman was Princess Ines, the current youngest Princess of the Void. She may only be one of the many Princesses of the void's royal family, but her name alone held power within it, nonetheless. Especially with her innate skill and potential. Her name "Ines" was something her father gave to her. He, as the Supreme Ruler of the Void, had access to all of the information in his domain. Even the knowledge they had of Earth and it's people.

The name "Ines" originated from Earth, and it meant pure. Ines was untainted by the corruption even at birth. Something never before seen in the void. Despite this, her father loved her especially, and could not bear to imprison her for research after the first few tests showed that they could not harness her special attributes. Not to mention that the corruption was partially responsible for the Void's current power, as well as there were no threats to him within his domain.

"Princess! You just had the cleansing ritual yesterday! Why would you follow us here?! We can only transport people at certain levels right now! There's no guarantee we can win!" General Vizicsacsi was panicked. He knew of Ines' value in the Supreme Ruler's eyes.

The cleansing ritual, it was what gave the higher ranking officials the more solid and refined black lines. But it only worked to a degree. The more the refined the lines, the more it would cost. Ines who was labeled as untainted should technically have no traces of corruption, but her father just wanted to do it as a precaution.

The key thing is that whoever underwent the ritual, would be as weak as a peasant for a day, with their dropping to level 45. Ines was originally only level 70 which happened to be the highest level they were allowed to transport, so she was able to pass through the portal.

Otherwise, this method would have been abused and they would send over stronger individuals who would grow back to their original strength after a day.

"Sigh. It's not like I had much of a choice. You only need to know that someone seems to have plotted against me. That's why I'm here right now. I might as well make the most out of it! Hmph! If I was at my peak they wouldn't have driven me to the portal, at the very least." Her carefree nature made people quite helpless. "I cannot worry about things I have no control over," she recited her motto. Her pride was indeed hurt. If it wasn't for the armor her father had given her, she would not have survived the ambush against her even after her bodyguards sacrificed their lives. She was lucky indeed. The armor she wore was the only one in existence. The people in the Void relied more on their personal power. Even their standard issue armor and weapons would only be on par with a +6 battle armor with no way to upgrade it on their own as the people on Earth did.

Vizicsacsi knitted his eyebrows. He was well aware, with the many Princes and Princesses, that it was quite hard to stand out. Ines' unique quality instantly shot her up the rankings in the Supreme Ruler's eyes just based on her uniqueness. Not to mention her potential and innate skills, it was also the other unknown factors that might not have bloomed yet. She was too much of a threat to her siblings.

After all, for a young girl to be born untainted within the void, there was definitely more to it than what she has shown thus far in her 13 years of life. Her growth was still constantly developing. Unfortunately, she had not received the effects of the <Agimat of Attribute>. Thus, none of the kills she made would give her any EXP at all. She could only rely on her potential along with some training.

Soon, the invasion began. Thousands of Level 70 Generals all over the world commanded their troops. They didn't even pay attention to the lesser zombies, as they were so weak at this point, even their numbers wouldn't do much. The Peasant-class militia now assumed the role of the Horde's majority attackers. Along with them were the regular soldiers who were at Level 50 to 55. Usually, the regular soldiers would be at the vanguard in the other worlds, but Earth, being the last bastion of hope, the Void decided to throw in the Peasant militia as well.

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*BOOM*

As the Peasants advanced, landmines developed by the <Sovereign Nation>'s research department went off. The concept was the same as the turrets. Compressed atmospheric energy was placed inside them, and with the materials belonging to them, the effects of the physical attack relics applied to them as well. They were strong enough to kill the level 45 Peasants, but could only slightly injure the more well-equipped soldiers.

"The landmines do their job, but against these numbers, they matter very little. Still, now we know that the concept works and the EXP gained gives everyone a slight boost before we face off with them," Sura stated. Even the EXP from the more powerful level 45 Peasants did little for Her, Luna, and Maxene.

"Indeed. Now, armies of the Void. Show me how you plan on attacking us." Luna stood imposingly, his eyes scanning the battlefield. The reason he didn't expand beyond Panay island was to funnel the Void army through Boracay island. He was making use of the choke point there. So if the Void army could only rely on passageway, it would make it even easier for him to defend this place.