Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

769. The Battle of Frontier

If one was wondering what had happened to the Adventurers of Grandis, then they had their answer right here.

Many had been transformed into Pages, their lives as nothing more than a manifestation of a written biography. If the Impuritas had a fraction of the Light that people did, then it would be closer to a reflection of the Light they once had when they were alive.

The strongest of the Librarians pushed into the Palace itself to contest control over it against Gerina’s bodyguards, whereas the rest moved like a giant sweeping cloud. They moved in the direction of the Palace, screaming battle cries as they paraded their countless forms of weapons – each possessing a page-like talisman.

“The Golden Middle doesn’t even have 50,000 to levy this far away from our home! If we could just use the Guilds to get the Adventurers to fight for us!”

The unsatisfied voice of a Golden Middle Soldier made themselves known to their Captain. Mirroring the swarm of Librarians were precisely divided ranks of an army in red and gold. Like their foes, they carried weapons of all kinds whilst wielding the insignia of the Golden Middle, both on their backs and etched into the sides of their weapons.

“200,000 should be on standby within the Nex Megalopolis at all times! Are you suggesting we leave our cities undefended!?” A level 100 Exalted Captain reprimanded the same soldier. “Drop the thought and keep your eyes straight or you’ll lose your head!”

The 25,000 Golden Middle personnel that had joined the war in the Capital City of Frontier were divided into two massive legions. Within each legion was a squad operated by a Captain who took direct orders from two of Carpalis’ most trusted Underbosses.

“Listen to your Captain. You participated knowing fully well of the dangers. Are you forgetting that you signed a contract with the Golden Pinky?” A towering behemoth of a man whose lower face was covered with a mask spoke with a slightly muffled voice. “Do not be afraid. My red soldiers will not fall to the likes of the Pages! If they outnumber us by 2 to 1, then my men outpower them by 10 to 1!”

This was Secur-80, the Underboss that directly oversaw the Golden Middle’s operations. His words of encouragement echoed throughout the legions of red and gold as they marched onwards, trailing behind a front line where highly armored personnel carried shield and long spears.

The Golden Middle fought with traditional war tactics rather than focusing on squad tactics like Justica Arms. This meant that mobile magical artillery, arrow rains and the like were ready to be used. However, they did not have anything of the sort. They only had foot soldiers, bows and enchanted arrows, and few siege weaponry such as cannons.

“Evergreen! On your mark!” Secur-80 shouted across the battlefield, his voice punctuating through the sound of whizzing arrows and giant cannon balls.

The cannon balls were laced with [Explosive] magic, causing them to disrupt their enemy’s advances. Flaming arrows and fire-based magic like the common [Greater Fireball] rained down on the Librarians, further slowing their advance.

Despite the fires and the plumes of smoke that rose from their ranks, they did not stop and would soon clash head-on with the Golden Middle.

The Golden Middle had only arrived at the Capital less than an hour ago. The Capital was devoid of life, as the Librarians had clumped together within the Palace’s compounds, whilst Gerina’s men routed the civilians to into underground passages away from the Underflow.

Using any force necessary seemed like the obvious decision to make. The cannons were hardly powerful in the grand scheme of things and were considered a liability due to its inflexible nature.

However, Verdania – the Underboss of the Golden Thumb – was given a specific order.

“Remember!” She began as a magical circle formed beneath her feet. Green-haired women surrounded her as rings of light also formed beneath them. “Don’t touch the Palace! We must not destroy it! By the order of Beholder Carpalis – we will hold them off for as long as possible!”

The green magical circle carried complex inscriptions belonging to the language of the Verdanian race. Suddenly, the dark green roots of untouched trees burrowed into the earth like worms.

It caused the ground to tremble, and moments before the Impuritas could finally reach the front line’s spears –

“– [Maximum Thorn Barrier]!”

– Thorny spears shot out from the ground. The world of many Librarians turned upside down as their heads were taken clean off by the force alone. They were not sharpened like a blade, as a blunter thorn allowed Verdania to tear them apart using friction rather than impale them.

[Maximum Thorn Barrier] was a Verdanian mass-chanted spell used to defend their territories. It required flora to manifest the roots and powerful Verdanian to manipulate their mana.

It was like having multiple limbs.

However, just like normal limbs –

“Ack… Finish them off! Maintain the front lines! Our first skirmish… is meant to just buy some time before they come!”

– She was burdened with their pain.

Oil was poured over the long barrier of thorns before flaming magic struck it. A flaming barrier was made between the two armies. It was a low-temperature flame which allowed the Golden Middle to proceed forward without the risk of injury, however, this came at the cost of Evergreen’s mental state.

Even a level 200 Exalted Verdanian was not particularly powerful.

Verdanians were not good for war to begin with, and she knew that as a plant-like being that she made for terrific kindling. It was hardly a sacrifice worthy of mention. Carpalis endured far more at every waking and sleeping hour of her life so that people could enjoy theirs.

Evergreen could not accept that there were monsters who wished to murder her beloved kind-hearted Carpalis.

* * *

The war was a battle of attrition.

The Golden Middle were by far one of the weakest Ateliers, which was made up for in their influence. Everyone wanted to be an Adventurer, and to do so, they would have to join a Guild.

But Carpalis never wished to use the Adventurers for her own selfish needs and wants.

It was because of this that the Golden Middle could not win against the Librarians alone. The fact was obvious before the battle began, and the longer it drew out, the more they realized the gap between their skills.

No, it was not that their skills were being elapsed by the enemies. The Golden Middle had higher-level personnel at best. Even if the Librarians had an infinite supply of Pages, they should not have been pushed back so hard.

The Golden Middle was forced to retreat several times, backing further and further away from the Palace. Their other role was to alleviate pressure from Gerina’s bodyguards but were failing.

Why was this happening?

Evergreen had been observing as the Impuritas not only adapted to their strength but seemingly copied them. What were once just an army of Bellum Empire Guards and Knights turned into identical Pages of the Golden Middle’s Soldiers.

“The longer we stay here, the more they’ll be able to copy us.” Evergreen came to realize with a low hiss, chanting away as great, dark green vines sprouted deep within the enemy lines. “… down to the movements.”

It shredded through them like a sawblade. Secur-80 fought in the front, using nothing but his bare fists to pulverize the enemies. Each punch took dozens of them at once due to an electric shockwave.

Electrical diodes were installed in the bones of his forearms. It was an implanted Atelier Item that amplified electrical impulse of the heart to lethal effect. This was a new weapon that came after the invention of the deregulators which could save people from the Healer’s Dilemma (cardiac arrest).

As it turned out, dialing it to the deep end resulted in a powerful weapon.

This was what Secur-80 used, as well as few of his own personal Soldiers. To make up for their weakness, the Golden Middle made efforts into investing and adapting Atelier tech into their arsenal.

“They don’t even recognize they’re fighting for the wrong side!” Secur-80 noticed as he took the head of a Solider in his hand and effortlessly hoisted them up. He saw nothing but hatred in their eyes.

The Paged Soldier’s head popped like an empty balloon.

“They can rewrite our lives… If Carpalis heard of this, then she might even change her mind and join us.” He muttered mournfully on the battlefield.

He piled the bodies of his enemies, stacking them to be burned like bonfires. That was if they weren’t already set alight thanks to his electrical punches. Before long, a mountain of Paged corpses rose beneath him.

Secur-80 was a sincere man with a lot of strength, but he lacked the intelligence that would have made him eligible for other sections of the Golden Index. Despite this, he had willingly chosen this path of bloodshed all for the sake of Carpalis, and her dream.

“We will rise from this! We will make them suffer as Carpalis did for our right to exist!” She slammed both hands together, creating a temporary beam of electricity that punched through the enemy ranks.

Holes appeared in the chests of his mimicked soldiers.

“Carpalis never loved war, so we must embrace it for her – so that Carpalis can never set foot into the battlefield again! Do you remember what you’re fighting for!? Remember who gave you that second chance!”

But alas, his words could not reach his Paged soldiers. Not only that, but he had to watch his own people become Paged as the battle went on.

The Golden Index was an Atelier that served the public first and foremost.

They were laughable when compared to other Ateliers in terms of strength. Carpalis was the weakest Beholder, the Soldiers of the Golden Middle was a watered-down version of the Public Defenders, the Captains consisted of Impuritas and immense corruption, and even the Underbosses had their own flaws.

Secur-80 was not someone who could see very far into the future or had a vision of his own future. To some, it was a pitiful existence, but to Secur-80, it was because he entrusted everything to Carpalis.

Including his soul.

This made him nigh immortal in the face of the onslaught. No matter how much damage he took, he would remain standing.

“Boss! Stay focused! You have thousands rallying behind you! Do not show them that kind of back!” A Captain roared, snapping the man out of his minor trance.

His Captain was none other than Broker, the Impuritas who could retrieve weapons at will from his body. They were an Impuritas who had fought alongside the Amalgam during the Big Red Heart incident in the Derma Layer.

He knew more than anyone that morale was one of the biggest influences in war.

That’s why Secur-80 needed to shine brighter than anyone else right now.

“Many thanks. I will keep those words to heart. Broker. How much longer can they fight? It has been an hour.”

“See them and judge how much longer they can last!”

The Underboss briefly turned to see the faces of his soldiers. They were just as eager to fight as he was, even in the face of a losing battle. Where they were weak in every aspect to other Ateliers, they made up for it in spirit by tenfold.

“It’s as if they just started. Unbelievable. People from the Derma Layer are fighting tooth and nail for Carpalis.” Secur-80 sincerely spoke.

Following Broker were those who were rescued from the Derma Layer. They were willing to serve the Golden Index with everything they had. This was more than a war to them and easily the biggest thing they had ever partook in.

It was their chance to enact revenge on the Impuritas that locked them away from a better life.

Every arrow, every swing of their blades and every chant carried their indomitable will. They knew exactly what they were fighting for.

The same could not be said for the Librarians.

The flames in their eyes were inextinguishable. People from all over Elysia fought for the Golden Index out of their own volition, for it was the Golden Index who had saved them thanks to the golden tickets.

“They copy what they lack. But they can never copy what drives us. We should consider ourselves lucky that they’re still just books.” Evergreen said from a distance.

The war was taxing her mind. She grimaced as her thorns were repeatedly severed and burned, but she did not allow herself to give up. The Impuritas targeted the trees and plant-life all in hopes of rendering her useless.

Trees fell alongside buildings. Gardens were gouged out, leaving nothing but upheaved soil.

“How much longer… do we have to wait until they arrive? It’s been an hour…”

Just as Evergreen said this –

“BLOOD FESTIVALS! CIRCUS TENTS AHEAD!”

– A new Impuritas Group had arrived at the scene.