“Supreme Leader! We are ready to move out. I have already spoken with the other groups and they agreed to move together this once.”
“It is finally time.” The Supreme Leader stroke his beard thoughtfully. His eyes wandered over the group of people that gathered over the past few days. About three hundred people got together after escaping several dangerous situations. The Supreme Leader has been separated from his people on the Zeroth floor but after climbing to the first floor, he managed to regroup with his loyal soldiers.
“Please be at ease, Supreme Leader. We will do everything to ensure that you escape safely from this floor. Once we reach the second floor, we will be able to rebuild our nation and create a safe haven for our countrymen.” A loyal soldier said with fervour.
The Supreme Leader nodded absentmindedly. “Indeed. Our countrymen are waiting for us.” He used to be the head of an entire nation but now, the Supreme Leader has returned to being a regular person. He was surrounded by strangers and many of his countrymen disregarded him now that he only held an empty title. He only had a few loyal soldiers who were raised from childhood to worship him as messenger of God. “You will take the lead. As long as we work together with them, it should not be hard to escape.”
Not far from this small group, the other groups were preparing themselves for the upcoming event. They have all gathered for one purpose only; to charge in toward the teleportation and hopefully make it through.
“Hmmp. Supreme Leader? What a cringey title.” One of the teenagers of a nearby group said mockingly.
“It’s not a cringey title. It is how people call him in real life. Not all countries have Presidents or Prime Ministers as the head of state. In his case, you can easily figure out his country of origin just by looking at his skin colour, dark coloured robe and turban.” A middle-aged man replied calmly.
The teenager snorted in annoyance. “Thanks, old man but I did not ask for a lesson in politics. He looks quite pitiful for a head of state. Can he even do anything now that his political power means nothing?”
“He may not be the head of a country anymore, but he has connections and loyal subordinates. It is one of the main reasons we agreed to join hands to climb to the next floor. One the soldiers who is zealously following that person is one of the first hundred people to have climbed to the first floor. He did not climb further and instead waited on this floor to wait for his leader. Another one of his soldiers is also one of the first thousand. Their chances of reaching the teleportation portal safely are quite high.”
“Hmmp. He must have known how the tower would be if he made one of his followers wait for him on the first floor. Maybe all the governments of the worlds were in cahoots and prepared something.”
The hunters were quite chatty as they prepared themselves. They completely ignored the fact that a world leader was standing just a few metres away from them and could perfectly overhear the conversation. However, before long, it was time to move. The leader of the small group came forward and interrupted the hunters. “Alright. Enough conspiracy theories for now. Keep quiet until we get to the teleportation portal.”
“…”
The group started moving. Three hundred people got together for this event. For days, they hid in fear in the tunnels they dug using their bare hands. There was no terrain to hide behind in the grasslands; the only way they could avoid the patrols was to hide like rabbits in burrows.
As one would expect, three hundred people moving together was not hard to notice. The patrols of the Union got to work, exchanging information with each other and soon, the group of humans encountered their first threat.
A group of bounty hunters, consisting of thirty individuals charged at them. The humans did not hesitate; many turned their attention to the Supreme Leader who quickly nodded at his follower. When his life was at stake, there were no hesitations.
The loyal soldier bowed respectfully and whispered. “I invoke my Right to be Protected. Please protect the Supreme Leader.”
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A blinding light covered his body, forcing the observers to cover their eyes. When the light finally disappeared, a majestic silhouette floated above the loyal soldier. The archangel wore a thick bronze mask, hiding all her features but one could tell she was a female based on the clothes she was wearing. The archangel held a large circular shield and an intimidating golden spear. She radiated a powerful aura that instilled fear into all the observers. The naïve teenager who made the nasty comment earlier gulped down in awe at the sight of the archangel.
The bounty hunters came to a sudden stop as they noticed the appearance of the archangel. They were already familiar with the appearance of such creatures and knew that they would simply not be able to face the archangel. They held no chance against a seventh circle creature. The bounty hunters dejectedly retreated but stayed at a safe distance to observe the upcoming battle.
The human group progressed forward toward the teleportation portal. The archangel floated above the group; her task was only to protect the Supreme Leader as ordered by her summoner. She was not concerned about anything else. About twenty minutes after she was summoned, the archangel detected some danger coming from the side but did nothing to warn the group.
A large group of guards was rushing toward the human group. They were different from the bounty hunters who roamed around the grasslands searching for easy preys. The guards were here for no other reasons but to hunt the humans and take down their Rights.
The archangel raised her shield and lowered herself to the ground. Her move alerted the humans who quickly went on their guards.
“How much longer before we reach the teleportation portal?” Someone asked.
“Twenty to thirty minutes? It should come into view soon.”
“We have definitely alerted the guards. You guys should use your Rights now. The archangel has moved which means that danger is coming from the West!”
The humans became nervous but took no reckless decisions. They kept looking in the West direction until a few silhouettes finally came into view. They saw a large group of guards riding horses and various other beasts they have never seen before. Compared to the cautious bounty hunters, the guards did not feel threatened by the archangel and charged forward fearlessly.
The humans started panicking. “What are you doing? Quickly use your Rights!”
“Run quicker!”
“Supreme Leader! Order your men to use their Rights.”
The anxious humans were quick to order each other around. Sadly, these people were promptly ignored. The group hastened the pace but a direct battle with the guards was inevitable.
There were about two hundred guards, but more were on their way. The guard captain at the head was muscular orc riding a silver wolf. He roared, encouraging the guards to charge forward while casting a spell.
[Piercing Light]
A dazzling ray of light shot out of the orc’s hand and flew toward the human group at an incredible speed. The archangel could easily deflect this second circle spell but she made no move since it was not targeting the Supreme Leader. The orc was familiar with how the Right to be Protected worked and purposely aimed at the humans trailing behind.
[Piercing Light] was just a second circle spell but in the hands of a fifth circle orc, this simple spell turned into an unstoppable attack. The two humans who were hit by the ray of light were obliterated in an instant. Not a single trace was left behind; their body and all their belongings were burnt to ashes before anyone could react.
The Supreme Leader widened his eyes. He felt his clothes sticking against his sweaty back. ‘What would have happened if I was the target of this attack?’ He said to himself.
“Hey! Hurry up and use your Rights!”
“Now is not the time to be conservative. We can all die because of your selfishness!”
“What is the point of saving your Rights if you are going to die anyway?”
The humans urged the Supreme Leader to order his followers. They knew he was their only chance to survive this ordeal. The guards were all at least at the third circle; how were they supposed to survive against them when they did not even reach the first circle?
This time, the Supreme Leader did not completely ignore the pleas of the other people around him. ‘If the guards are coming despite the presence of the archangel, it can only mean that they are strong enough to deal with it. No other choice then. I do not care about the lives of these people but one of them have a Right to be Protected. An additional archangel protecting me can go a long way.’
“I’ll order my followers to use their Rights if you agree to use yours.” The Supreme Leader suggested while looking at one of the group leaders.
The latter plainly replied. “I agree but only if your follower is not protecting just you but the entire group.”
“Of course.” The Supreme Leader answered. It was not his plan to protect these dead weights, but he had no choice if he wanted to gain the support of this hunter. He gave his command and his loyal soldiers swiftly used their rights.
“I invoke my Right to be Protected. Please protect our entire group.”
“I invoke my Right to kill. Please help me exterminate this group of guards.”
Another archangel appeared, followed by an angel wearing similar battle equipment. And before long, the group leader used his own Right and summoned a third archangel. The human group was now protected by three archangels and one angel. However, the guards showed no sign of retreating.