Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Gatekeepers

The massive river, located at the western boundaries of the infamous Red Island, served as a raging wall between the island and the rest of the great forest of Kegali. A massive cage made of stones and water exists to obstruct any progress made by the ferocious entities trapped inside. The Metisaya Hell's Gate, with a width of 100 meters, was one of the largest rivers within the Kegali forest.

A river of 18-meter-deep blue water raged through the surrounding land, giving life to the plants and water to the monsters. It was so deep that the bottom of the river could not be seen simply by looking from the side of the river. The sound of the water was singing a piece of soothing music, greeting the slowly rising sun. Birds chirped above the trees, and monster roars could be heard on the other side of the river.

It had been a peaceful morning, but only for a short time.

As a large army of red knights marched toward the river, intent on crossing and wreaking havoc on the other side, the gatekeepers of the Metisaya Hell's Gate began preparing for the arrival of another war. The entities hidden beneath the water began to move, revealing their heads and darting their gaze around the area. They gathered while swimming in the raging river as if they were unaffected by its waves. They did not have the numerical advantage that the Peasants did, with only 300 on their side, but their capabilities could not be underestimated.

They crowded and populated the vast river, and there were enough of them to crowd the river and compact it while brushing their bodies together. The monsters with the highest numbers were the Gerolak evolution line, which ranged from the weaker tadpoles to the much stronger level 10 evolution lines, and would serve as the main offensive and defensive lines for their sides.

***

Race: Gerolak Crusher [Level: 12/20].

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HP: 210/210

MP: 120/120

Top Speed: 24 km/h

Defense: 1

***

Stats:

Strength: 21

Agility: 12

Intelligence: 12

***

Damaging Active Skills: 

Water Ball [MP Cost: 20] [Level: 20/20].

Body Slam [MP Cost: 6] [Level: 6/20].

**

Non-damaging Active Skills:

Long Jump [MP Cost: 1]

**

Passive Skills:

[Lesser] MP Regeneration.

***

The Gerolak Crusher was the level 10 Gerolak evolution line's strength evolution variant. They, like many of the strength variants, stood out from the crowd due to their enormous size. They had crimson-red skin that was rough but appeared smooth, and a dark yellow stomach. It resembled frogs but was much larger, measuring 1.5 meters in length. And that was without stretching its long legs, which would have made it twice as long. It had large dark yellow eyes that could cover a wide area.

Typically, in any battle, they were the frontal personnel and the first to enter the battlefield.

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Race: Gerolak Sniper [Level: 12/20].

***

HP: 120/120

MP: 120/120

Top Speed: 42 km/h

Defense: 1

***

Stats:

Strength: 12

Agility: 21

Intelligence: 12

***

Damaging Active Skills: 

Water Ball [MP Cost: 20] [Level: 20/20].

Pin Shot [MP Cost: 6] [Level: 6/20].

**

Non-damaging Active Skills:

Long Jump [MP Cost: 1]

**

Passive Skills:

[Lesser] MP Regeneration.

***

The Gerolak Sniper. A one-meter-long dark green Gerolak with a white belly. It had sharp fangs and sharp claws on all four of its legs, unlike the other evolution of Gerolak. When wet, its skin became extremely slippery, making it difficult for monsters to grasp. When its body was dry, however, it was rough. It had bright emerald green eyes that it used to observe its prey from high up.

Unlike the others, this Gerolak preferred to cling to trees and shoot its prey from a safe distance. This one was the fastest, and its primary mission was to eliminate the other side's squishy but dangerous units, namely intelligence-based units. It could travel so quickly because of its racial ability, Long Jump.

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Race: Gerolak Caster [Level: 12/20].

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HP: 120/120

MP: 210/210

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Top Speed: 24 km/h

Defense: 1

***

Stats:

Strength: 12

Agility: 12

Intelligence: 21

***

Damaging Active Skills: 

Water Ball [MP Cost: 20] [Level: 20/20].

Water Chain Strike [MP Cost: 6] [Level: 6/20].

**

Non-damaging Active Skills:

Long Jump [MP Cost: 1]

**

Passive Skills:

[Lesser] MP Regeneration.

***

Gerolak, who was 120 centimeters long and hidden behind the formation of the entire army. The others fully protected this one while not interfering with its destructive abilities. The Gerolak Caster. Except for its cyan abdomen, this Gerolak's body was almost entirely blue. Although it was extremely fragile and slower than the Gerolak Crusher and Sniper, it was the only Gerolak in this formation capable of dishing out destructive attacks. Normally, if it survived long enough on the battlefield, it would demolish everything... Just like any other mage.

Especially since it had an advantage over the Vibrant, which was the Peasants' equivalent. The Gerolak Caster possessed two intelligence-based scaling abilities. The Vibrant only had one, and it wasn't even significantly high leveled.

The Gerolak Caster, like most intelligence-based units, was vulnerable to agility-based units, whose primary mission was to eliminate them. They could wreak havoc on their adversaries, but they were extremely fragile and needed to be protected.

***

As their legs trampled the ground, the marching army made a sound. They were carrying numerous tree logs and branches that would be used to build a bridge to cross the raging river. Three thousand red knights, a massive crowd that turned the entire place blood red.

The Militant, a towering warrior, led the group, with the entire army trailing behind. The Vibrant was hidden in the middle of the formation, where it was safe, under the protection of the entire army. The Rampant, on the other hand, had vanished and was now lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.

When it came to numbers, the river dwellers were vastly outnumbered. Three thousand peasants, with many more on their way, were pitted against 300 Gerolaks. However, there was one factor that worked in their favor. They ruled the river and any non-river-dwelling being who attempted to cross it. An army could try, but they would be bombarded by the gatekeepers' rage. Their unfailing terrain advantage was the primary reason they had not yet been defeated by an overwhelming number of Peasants.

Furthermore, Gerolaks were not the only ones involved in this battle. The children of the Warden Of The Hell's Gates were hidden in the waters, invisible to all eyes. They were mostly invisible and silently observing the monsters that lived in and near the river. They were fewer in number, not even a hundred, because many of them were dying in the mandibles of the peasants, preventing them from regularly crossing the rivers. Unlike the Gerolaks, who used Water Balls to fight the Peasants from a safe distance, this evolution line would begin their lives with physical attacks.

They were fighting the Peasant's mandibles with their fangs.

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Race: Weakanawa [Level: 5/10].

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HP: 50/50

MP: 49/50

Top Speed: 10 km/h

Defense: 0

***

Stats:

Strength: 5

Agility: 5

Intelligence: 5

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Damaging Active Skills: 

Dry Bite [MP Cost: 11] [Level: 11/20].

**

Non-damaging Active Skills:

Crystalize Scale [MP Cost: 1]

**

Passive Skills:

***

Four meters long dark green serpentines hidden in the cover of clear water. They could turn invisible as long as they were submerged in water, thanks to their racial exclusive skill, Crystalize Scale. These water-dwelling monsters should be living in the ocean, but their parent, the Warden Of The Hell's Gates, chose to live in this river and guard the Red Island's entrances.

Nothing could see them from the enemy's side, and they would only reveal themselves once their target was already inside their domain... the whole river

***

The great war was brewing, and a skirmish was about to break out.

It was a regular occurrence for the peasants and gatekeepers, happening every month or so. For an outsider, however, it was a spectacular scene. A massive army that turned the green land red and the monsters in the river banded together with the sole purpose of preventing the Peasants from crossing the river.

Eon spread his wings and waved them, but he didn't fly; instead, he stared at the scenery in front of him. He was sitting on top of a tree, where he could clearly see the movements of the incoming battle participants. He growled, extending his retractable gooey eyes forward.

This was the first real war he was about to witness firsthand in both of his lives. And he wasn't going to sit back and watch it all play out. He would participate...

He'd only seen the tip of what lay beneath the Metisaya Hell's Gate's surface.

The war was about to start.