Chapter 356: Ragnarok, Gift Box

Isaac lowered his hand.

“So, you have an extremely powerful single-target attack. But you can’t spam it,” he muttered, mostly to himself. “Your name….”

Something popped up in his mind.

His lips moved unconsciously.

“Ragnarök.”

Red lightning buzzed around him for a moment, as if happy with the name.

That was enough testing for now.

He did not want to waste more time inside the Cradle, and he already had a rough understanding of what he had summoned.

He shifted his focus and looked at the remaining system interface.

Two boxes hovered quietly in front of him.

Gift Box x2

One was a reward for Alice becoming a Conqueror Candidate.

The other came from Alice’s vow.

“So both came from Alice, huh,” Isaac said with a small chuckle.

He opened the first box.

A system message appeared immediately.

[You have obtained: Divine Doctrine Blueprint]

Isaac raised an eyebrow.

Then he opened the second box.

Another message followed.

[You have obtained: Standardized Battalion Blueprint]

Isaac stared at the messages for a few seconds before letting out a quiet breath.

“These are good rewards,” he muttered.

The religious blueprint was especially important.

Up until now, Isaac’s religion existed in a loose, unstable form. Alice spread belief, Celia preached openly, and the city acknowledged him as a Lord with divine authority. But there was no proper structure holding it all together.

The Divine Doctrine Blueprint would change that.

It was not just a building. It was a system.

Once constructed, it would allow Isaac’s religion to stabilize, formalize doctrine, and most importantly, convert belief into something tangible and controllable. Faith would no longer be vague energy floating around the city. It would become a resource.

A dangerous one, but a powerful one.

The second blueprint made him even more interested.

Troops.

Right now, Isaac could summon combatants from the summoning altar, but those summons were individuals. Each had different skills, different personalities, and different strengths.

They were excellent for dungeon exploration and special missions.

But wars were not fought by individuals.

They were fought by armies.

An army needed uniformity, coordination, shared training and shared weaknesses that could be compensated for.

The Standardized Battalion blueprint solved that problem.

Once built, it would allow Isaac to produce soldiers with fixed skill sets, predictable growth paths, and proper command structures. They would not be as flexible as summoned individuals, but they would be far more effective in large-scale battles.

“I should build them soon,” Isaac said quietly.

Both buildings needed time and resources to construct. That was something he could not afford right now.

Today’s battle came first.

He dismissed the interface and left the Cradle immediately.

Priscilla followed him out.

Since every available powerful combatant was needed for the fight against the Crimson Sky Wyrm, leaving someone as strong as her behind would be wasteful.

As they moved through the streets, Isaac spoke.

“Priscilla, if you don’t want to fight, you should tell me now. Our enemy is someone strong. And you’ve fought a lot already. If you want to rest, I will allow you to do that,” he said calmly.

She did not hesitate.

“I want to help Master. Please allow me to fight by your side,” Priscilla said.

Isaac glanced at her.

Her expression was serious, without fear masking itself as bravado. She was calm, aware of the danger, and still choosing to step forward.

He nodded. “Alright.”

They moved faster.

Above them, the clouds churned violently. Red lightning flickered between them at irregular intervals, illuminating the city in short, unsettling flashes. Something about that red lightning was similar, yet different to the last Abyss Monster Isaac had.

The streets were empty.

The citizens had already been evacuated into underground bunkers.

Normally, the outer districts did not have access to anything like that. Bunkers were expensive, reserved for the wealthy and the powerful.

But under Isaac’s command, the wealthy had been forced to open their bunkers.

If they refused, their assets would be seized.

Isaac did not care about complaints today.

They reached the summoning altar shortly after.

There, Isaac saw the result of his clone’s work.

Ninety new summons stood gathered in formation.

Some wore armor. Some carried staffs or bows. Others had strange physiques that clearly marked them as non-human or demi-human.

Isaac looked over them quickly.

“Listen,” he said, his voice carrying clearly. “Those who are Champion rank and have combat or support talents above S rank, stay here.”

He paused briefly.

“Everyone else, move to the walls and support the nagas. If you have Life Talents that are not suitable for frontline combat, go to the bunkers. You will be guided.”

The summons did not hesitate.

They could feel it too.

The presence in the sky was oppressive, like something massive was circling just beyond sight.

They moved quickly and without complaint.

In the end, only nine summons remained.

Isaac glanced at them.

There was a heavily armored knight with a shield large enough to block a street, his aura steady and defensive.

A slender mage whose mana control was so precise it barely leaked at all.

A beastkin woman with enhanced senses and sharp claws, clearly built for close combat.

A support-type summoner who specialized in buffs and battlefield control.

A ranged attacker wielding a massive crossbow reinforced with runes.

A short man radiating Life energy, clearly a high-grade healer.

A shadow-type assassin who barely seemed to exist unless directly observed.

A spear-wielding warrior with abnormal reaction speed.

And finally, a strange summon whose ability revolved around spatial anchoring, useful for restricting movement.

Isaac nodded to himself.

“This will do.”

He took out his Soulbind Pendant and handed it to one of his clones.

The pendant had Stoneward. His clone would take it to the nagas who were manning the wall.

The clone left with the pendant.

The mammoth was powerful, but the coming battle required mobility and precision. Stoneward would be far more useful defending the city from ground-based threats.

As the clone departed, Isaac felt two familiar presences approach.

Althea and Charlotta stopped in front of him.

Both looked serious.

“I apologize. If I had known something like this would happen, I would have sent you away earlier,” Isaac said to Althea.

“It’s fine,” Althea replied.

Her hand trembled slightly, knowing the horror that was in the sky, but her eyes were firm.

“I shared the strategy guide for fighting the Crimson Sky Wyrm with Sword Empress,” she continued. “Have you read it?”

“Yes,” Isaac said. “But are you sure that’s how it has to be done?”

Althea nodded.

“Normally, fighting the Crimson Sky Wyrm requires at least a hundred Champion-rank soldiers of mid species, and ten Overlords. That’s the minimum,” she said.

She took a breath.

“We don’t have that.”

Isaac stayed silent.

“If we tried to fill those numbers with human awakeners. they would only become ammunition for the Wyrm. The conditions it creates make large, weak formations meaningless,” Althea continued.

“So instead, we go with fewer people,” Isaac said slowly.

“Yes. Small numbers. But high quality. That’s our force,” Althea replied.

Even then, the group was not small.

Isaac, Emily, Alice, Sword Empress, Professor Catherine, Althea, Charlotta, Kaela the naga leader, the nine powerful summons from summoning altar, Priscilla, Vale, two of Emily’s Abyss monsters, and three healer groups who had been turned into choirs by Alice’s skill.

The plan was simple.

Quality over quantity.

As for the other powerful awakeners, they were being preserved.

Even if the Crimson Sky Wyrm fell, the Red Rain would still come.

And when it did, hordes of monsters would follow.

Sacrificing Champion awakeners now would only doom the city later. So, only the strongest awakeners would fight the Crimson Sky Wyrm while others who would surely die against the monster would preserve their strength for the battle against red rain.

This plan was only possible because of Isaac’s city.

Despite being a newly established Lord, the city’s top combatants were abnormal.

Sword Empress.

Professor Catherine.

Alice.

Isaac himself.

And now Emily, backed by Overlord-rank Abyss monsters.

Their strength was put them on a level that even Althea respected them.

At that moment, Sword Empress landed beside them, leaping down from a nearby building.

Her expression was sharp.

“Isaac, are you ready? Everyone is in position,” she said.

“Yes, I’m ready,” Isaac replied without hesitation.

“Good. And remember, your priority is to survive, not to kill the monster. The city can be rebuilt. People can’t,” she added, her tone firm, almost nagging.

Isaac nodded. “I know.”

At the same time, Professor Catherine and Priscilla were giving final instructions to the nine elite summons gathered nearby. Their voices were calm but urgent, cutting through the tension in the air.

Two of the summons were SSS-rank Champions. Even among Champions, their presence stood out. Their mana was dense, controlled, and steady, the kind that came from long experience rather than reckless power.

Isaac took a deep breath.

Everyone moved.

Each fighter took their assigned position, spreading out across open plazas, wide streets, and reinforced rooftops. No one stood too close to another. There was a reason for that.

The Crimson Sky Wyrm was not a normal monster.

It could spew gigantic flames or call upon a rain of lightning bolts.

This was why the awakeners could not stay close to each other.

It could turn incorporeal at will and merge with the clouds themselves. While fused with the sky, it could ignore all damage and slowly recover from injuries it had already taken.

That single ability was the reason it had never been truly defeated.

To have any chance of killing it, they had to force it down.

And that job belonged to Isaac, Celia, and Althea.

“It’s starting,” Sword Empress’s voice reached everyone on the battlefield.

She was far away, but her words carried clearly, reinforced by mana.

At that moment, the clouds above the city began to shift.

They parted.

An oval-shaped gap opened in the sky, and what appeared behind it was not blue or gray sky.

It was an “eye”.

A massive, chilling eye that did not look like it belonged to any living creature. It filled the opening completely, its gaze pressing down on the city like a physical weight.

“It’s the First Eye!” Isaac shouted. “Brace for impact!”

The pressure hit instantly.

It was heavy like invisible mountains being placed on everyone’s shoulders at once.

Several awakeners staggered.

Isaac gritted his teeth and tried to move.

His face darkened.

“…As expected, movement speed reduced by fifty percent. Flight completely canceled,” he muttered.

It was a brutal status effect.

Fighting a flying monster while grounded was already dangerous. Fighting one while your movement was cut in half made it even worse.

“Alice,” he said.

“Don’t worry about it,” the reply came from the comn.

A soft but overwhelming light spread outward from Alice’s position.

Her skill activated.

Miracle of Grace.

The pressure vanished.

The weight lifted from Isaac’s body so suddenly that he almost stumbled forward. Around the battlefield, awakeners straightened as the First Eye’s status effect was erased.

Those outside the direct range of Alice’s skill were immediately covered by another wave of light.

Isaac’s clone, hidden with his skills, had activated the same miracle.

“T-this…” someone whispered.

“Truly,” another said, steadying themselves, “the Saintess is on a different level from us.”

Isaac raised his voice. “Don’t relax. This is just the beginning.”

The awakeners stiffened, their focus snapping back into place.

In the sky, the eye shifted.

It was so large that it was impossible to tell where it was looking, but Isaac felt it.

For a brief moment, its attention brushed past Alice.

Then it lingered on him.

’It noticed us,’ Isaac thought. ’It realized who canceled its skill.’

His expression hardened.

’It really is intelligent.’

The eye began to glow.

A deep, ominous red light gathered within it.

“It’s using the second ability of the First Eye!” Isaac roared.

He felt it immediately.

Something locked onto him.

Not just him.

Everyone whose mana exceeded a certain threshold was targeted. Isaac could feel the invisible lines snapping into place, marking anyone with more than two hundred mana.

“Everyone, protect others if you can! If you can’t, run and dodge!” he shouted, already moving.

The clouds sparked.

Red lightning began to fall.

It was weaker than the lightning Isaac’s mysterious Abyss summon had called down earlier, but there was a crucial difference.

There were dozens of bolts.

At a glance, Isaac counted more than fifty.

’I can protect myself,’ he thought quickly.

’But that’s not enough.’

He had been using Sovereign of Land since the battle began, keeping track of every ally’s position. In that instant, he made his decision.

Mana surged through him.

Roots erupted from the ground all across the battlefield.

They twisted upward, thick and reinforced, forming layered shields above those who could not defend themselves in time. The roots locked together, vibrating under the strain as the lightning descended.

As for Isaac, he moved.

His base speed was high. He weaved between falling bolts, narrowly avoiding direct hits as red lightning slammed into the ground around him.

A sharp hiss escaped his lips when one bolt struck the shield he had raised for a nearby healer.

His mana dipped noticeably.

The lightning had “mana drain” effect.

Still, Isaac held. His mana reserves were too monstrous to be empties just by this.

When the last bolt faded, the battlefield was scarred but intact.

No one was injured.

But there was no relief.

Only three seconds passed.

Then the clouds sparked again.

Another wave of lightning rain began.

’Endure.’

’We have to endure until the Third Eye appears.’

That was the key.

The First Eye suppressed and punished.

The Second Eye annihilated targets and those nearby with overwhelming force.

But the Third Eye—

That was the one that when the Crimson Sky Wyrm’s body would manifest.

Only when the Third Eye manifested could they force the monster out of the clouds and into the battlefield.

Another barrage fell.

Isaac raised more shields, his mana draining faster now. Around him, elite fighters moved in practiced coordination, intercepting lightning meant for others or dodging at the last second.

Alice’s choirs moved steadily, their healing and support reinforcing everyone’s endurance.

Sword Empress cut through stray lightning bolts that came too close, her sword leaving faint afterimages in the air.

Professor Catherine stood her ground, layers of defensive formations activating one after another as she calculated trajectories in real time.

Althea’s breathing was tight, but she did not retreat.

She kept her eyes on the sky.

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