I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 173: Breaking the Barrier

“[Maledictum Claustra]!”

Whoosh!

In an instant, the ball of light over Chonk’s head hastily charged towards the entrance of the alliance base. As this ball of light made its way towards the alliance base, the alliance members thought that this ball of light was going to explode and inflict a lot of damage to them, prompting them to activate all of their defensive and evasive skills. Even Herellia and Aurus had the same thought as well as they watched the skill being prepared a while ago, activating their defensive skills to its limit.

Seeing the response of the alliance, Chonk could not help but grin as he muttered to himself, “If [Maledictum Claustra] was an offensive skill from the get-go, that would just be extremely straightforward now, wouldn’t it?”

Swoosh!

Just before the ball of light could enter the main hall of the alliance base, in a matter of an instant, the ball of light expanded in an insanely fast rate, transforming into a white barrier that covered the entrance of the alliance base. Noticing that this was the case, the alliance members could not help but feel a bit of anger that they were led to the thought that the ball of light was an offensive skill. The barrier was pure white for a few seconds before it became translucent, allowing the alliance to still see what was happening outside the hall.

With the wall covering the entrance of the alliance base, Herellia and Aurus could not help but look at each other, with Herellia asking Aurus, “Why did Chonk conjure a barrier on the base’s entrance? If the purpose of the barrier is to bar us from leaving, I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t—”

Just as Herellia was talking with Aurus about the barrier and how it would be easy to break through, Aurus could not help but look at it from another perspective, interrupting Herellia as he refuted, “I’m pretty sure that’s the case, Herellia. A barrier made out of the energy of two Animates and a Pseudo-Animate, it wouldn’t take that much time to realize that its purpose is to bar us from leaving.”

With all of the memories from his past life fully unlocked, Aurus knew the difference between an Animate and an Inanimate in terms of power very well. Add on the fact that he knew what was going to happen in the next 2 phases of Code Omega, he knew that if they didn’t have a card up their sleeves that would allow them to turn the tides, they would undoubtedly lose.

As for the other alliance members, every one of them could not help but look at the barrier and think to themselves that this barrier would eventually be broken by their alliance leader. Seeing the impassiveness of the alliance, Chonk could not help but shout at the alliance members.

“You think you could break through that barrier that easily? What a joke. That barrier’s made with the energy of two Animates and a Pseudo-Animate! You’d need the power of an Animate to successfully break through the barrier!” Chonk could not help but snarl as he said this.

After that, he turned around to look at the members of his army with an aura of confidence emanating from him. He then said with fervor, “I’m pretty sure that every one of you knows the power of that barrier. It would be akin to a stroke of luck if they break through it. With them being unable to move, let us proceed with the preparations for Phase 2!”

…

While Chonk and his army were preparing for the second phase of Code Omega, the alliance could not help but go into a state of slight panic, with the pessimistic thought of them not breaking through the barrier slowly seeping in. Nonetheless, they knew without a doubt that panicking would not help them out, trying to maintain a state of calm and composure since if one panicked, then the others would panic as well.

As for Herellia and Aurus, they were the only ones unfazed by Chonk’s words, with Herellia still having the belief that she could break through the barrier with her strength while Aurus knew that he still had a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Noticing that the opposing army was preparing something while they were barred from exiting the alliance base thanks to the barrier, Herellia could not help but look at Aurus and recall the words he was about to say a while ago before being interrupted by the arrival of the opposing army.

“Oh yeah, Aurus. You were going to talk about something called Code Omega earlier?” Herellia asked Aurus, to which Aurus replied, “Ah, yeah. Code Omega has already started.”

“Really?” Herellia could not help but say as her sense of vision focused on the barrier. With her focus still on the barrier, she asked Aurus, “That’s part of Code Omega?”

“Yeah, that’s the first phase of Code Omega, named [Maledictum Claustra],” Aurus replied to her question before adding, “The goal of the first phase is to limit our movements, which would allow the opposing army to focus their strongest attacks towards us, who are akin to sitting ducks.”

“You said something about Code Omega having three phases, right?” Herellia committed the answer to memory before asking another question. “What do the two phases after this first one do?”

“Although Horell didn’t tell me what the names of the next two phases are, he did tell me the goals of the next two phases,” Aurus answered Herellia’s question, pondering as to how he was going to phrase it in simpler terms. After a few seconds, he had an idea as to how he would go and phrase it, saying, “The second phase of Code Omega is pretty much their preparation phase. The goal of the second phase is to increase the combat power of the army to its utmost limits.”

“As for the third phase, if we don’t make a move to stop it, I’m incredibly sure that the alliance would not exist anymore,” Aurus continued to talk, adding, “More or less, the third phase is pretty much them fusing their powers, sending out an attack that would kill any Inanimate even if they were only grazed by it.”

“In short, if we don’t break that barrier, the Tempest Branch Alliance would cease to exist,” Herellia said after pondering over Aurus’ words. Hearing this, Aurus radiated an aura of affirmation as he replied, “Pretty much. Does the alliance have any codes that would allow us to break through such a barrier that easily?”

Herellia could not help but let out a sigh as she replied with an aura of slight disappointment, “Although we do have codes that have an immense attack power, they’re only effective when they come into contact with Animates or Pseudo-Animates. We’ve tested them again barriers before, they were just deflected by it, even with their immense power.”

“So, what are your plans then?” Aurus could not help but ask.

Whoosh!

After Aurus was finished asking, Herellia radiated her aura to its limits, dwarfing the aura that she had radiated earlier. This aura did not go unnoticed, with almost all of the alliance members focusing their senses of vision towards their alliance leader. As for Aurus, after sensing this aura, he could not help but mutter to himself, “I guess she still hid a lot of power from me, huh.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ll surprise you, then,” Aurus continued to mutter as Herellia looked at him and said, “What else can I do? There’s only one thing I can do.”

Whoosh!

“Attack with my full power!” At the very instant she was finished talking, Herellia flew towards the barrier at a fast speed, with her aura gradually becoming tangible as it glowed a faint crimson color.

“[Sanguine Ruler Body — Basics: Full Power]!”

“[Condensed Sanguine Aura]!”

Swoosh!

After mentioning the name of those two skills, the pressure radiated by her aura had increased by multiple times. Looking at this, Aurus could not help but pick up the names of the two skills and muttered with slight doubt, “Sanguine Ruler…has she become a true Sanguine Ruler?”

It did not take long for Aurus to place this thought at the back of his head, focusing his sense of vision towards Herellia, wondering how strong of an attack she would be able to deal to the barrier. Of course, this did not stop him from thinking about his attack as well since the earlier the barrier is broken, the better the alliance would fare.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In an instant, multiple crimson tendrils started to extend from Herellia’s body, wrapping around one another until the tendrils transformed into what looked like a giant thorn. With the giant crimson thorn now made, Herellia channeled all of her energy towards the giant thorn, making the thorn radiate a faint light that was of a deeper shade of crimson.

“[Supreme Sanguine Art]…”

“[Cruor Thorn]!”

Bang!

She then manipulated the giant thorn to hit the barrier, creating a loud banging sound that was not left unheard by the members of the alliance, as well as the opposing army on the other side of the barrier. With most of them still preparing for the second phase of Code Omega, Chonk could not help but look at what was happening to the barrier, noticing the large thorn that hit the barrier.

The barrier started to warp a bit after the giant thorn hit the barrier, with the point of contact slightly glowing white as the barrier tried to return to its original shape. Noticing this glow, Herellia tried to manipulate the giant thorn to push further, with the intent of making a hole through the barrier that would them to move anywhere they wanted.

Boing!

Unfortunately for her, the giant thorn had reached its limit to warping the barrier, with the barrier bouncing back to its previous state as the thorn was reflected at her. Seeing this, Herellia hastily dispelled the giant thorn, letting out a disappointed sigh as she flew back to where Aurus was.

On the other side of the barrier, seeing what had happened to the thorn, Chonk could not help but feel smug that the barrier had done its job, wondering if there was another confident Inanimate in the alliance that would attack the barrier like Herellia as he went back to preparing for the second phase.

“Well, that’s all I got,” Herellia said in a slightly sad tone as she landed near Aurus. As for Aurus, he could not help but look at Herellia with slight surprise, realizing that the power she had unleashed was far greater than before. Not only that, the previous thought he had surfaced in his mind, prompting Aurus to ask her, “Hey, Herellia. Have you become a true Sanguine Ruler?”

“Eh? Where did you hear about that?” Not expecting to be asked that, Herellia could not help but reply in a surprised tone.

“From the inheritance,” Aurus said without hesitation. Hearing that it came from the inheritance, Herellia then replied without hiding anything. “Not really. I’m only a Sanguine Ruler candidate.”

“To unleash that much power even though you’re still a candidate…” Aurus could not help but mutter in awe. Eventually, he stopped thinking about it and moved back to the barrier. He looked at Herellia with an aura of slight confidence radiating from him, asking her, “Herellia, do you think I could break that barrier?”

“Probably not,” Herellia replied. She then added, “I already pushed myself to the limit with that attack. Unless…you have a trick up your sleeve?”

“Hehe,” Aurus replied to her words with a chuckle. After that, he then commanded the system in his mind.

“System, summon Fenrir and Charisa.”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In an instant, two Inanimates manifested near where Aurus was, both of them radiating an aura that did not lose out to the Pillar level members of the alliance. Not only that, but the aura they radiated seemed to have surpassed the aura radiated by the Pillar level members, which made the alliance members look at them with an intense sense of curiosity.

The first Inanimate that manifested near Aurus was a wooden sculpture of a wolf. This sculpture seemed to have been made by a great sculptor, with each area capturing the ferocity and regality of a wolf that led other wolves, a wolf king. Not only that, one could see a small crown on top of the sculpture’s head as the sculpture glowed a faint green, its size being multiple times bigger than Aurus.

As for the second Inanimate that manifested, one could see that its wooden body seemed to have been chiseled by a good sculptor, possibly mimicking the curves of a woman. But what stood out from this Inanimate was the flames that covered most of its body, with one side of it being flames that took on a white hue, and the other side taking on a black hue. These flames covered her wooden body like a dress as the flame on top of her head flickered between black and white at times.

After they manifested into existence, the two of them noticed where they were, hastily focusing their vision towards Aurus as an aura of subservience radiated from them.

“Charisa Flamerei, at your service, Master.” The first one to talk was the Inanimate that was covered in flames.

“Fenrir Zephyron, at your service, Master.” Not long after, the wolf sculpture spoke as well, showing their subservience towards Aurus.

Although Aurus went on and greeted them normally after that, he could not help but become inwardly shocked, especially at Fenrir. He inwardly said to himself, ‘To think that Fenrir had gained his last name after achieving X-grade Inanimate…he’s gonna become an incredibly strong Ally then.’

Recalling what he knew about Allies back in his previous life, those that evolved to X-grade Inanimate with no name were the weakest allies one could obtain from the Ally Gacha. Those that had one name after reaching X-grade Inanimate were moderately strong, while those with a first and last name after reaching X-grade Inanimate would go on and become figures that did not lose out to players back then. Not only that, but there were also rumors that those with a first and last name could go on and obtain a title, increasing their strength even further.

“How are you two doing?” Aurus asked them, with both of them replying along the lines of being bored and waiting for him to summon them. While they answered, he could not help but look into their current species, now realizing why Fenrir had obtained a last name after evolving to X-grade Inanimate.

________

[Fenrir Zephyron]

Species: Tempest Wolf Monarch Maximus (Epic)

________

________

[Charisa Flamerei]

Species: Greater Treantis Formosus — Infernalis Charisadae (Epic++)

________

After looking into their species, Aurus moved his train of thought back to the barrier that was blocking the entrance, while everyone else was awed by the appearance of these two Inanimates. Just as he was about to talk with Fenrir and Charisa about what they were going to do, Herellia could not help but ask Aurus through a strand of energy, “Are these the Allies you speak of from your system?”

“Yeah, they are,” Aurus responded not long after through the strand of energy, letting out a small chuckle as he continued, “And they’ll allow me to unleash an attack that could probably break the barrier.”

Cutting off the connection between him and Herellia, Aurus looked at Fenrir and Charisa with a slightly apologetic aura, saying, “I apologize if the summoning was abrupt, but I need the two of you to help with something.”

“What is it, Master?” Fenrir was the first one to ask, with Charisa focusing her sense of vision towards the barrier blocking the entrance of the alliance. She then looked back at Aurus and asked, “Master, are you asking us for help regarding that thing blocking the entrance?”

“Yeah,” Aurus responded to Charisa’s question before adding, “To break the barrier, we would need a lot of power. Remember what I asked the two of you while you two were grinding your skills in the Tower of Seclusion?”

At that question, Fenrir and Charisa could not help but radiate an aura of slight excitement, with Charisa asking, “Master, you mean…?”

“It’s exactly what you two are thinking.” Even Aurus could not help but radiate an aura of excitement, wondering as to how much power they could dish out.

“A fusion attack.”