World's Last Hope-Chapter 97: Guardians of the Gates

Eric took a deep breath as he entered the building, following the soldier with Aria behind him.

The first thing that his eyes landed on was the giant table that was surrounded by people.

Thanks to his miracle, ’All Seeing Eye,’ he was able to guess that everybody in the room was a Master, with the only exception being Aria herself.

"Grandmaster Aria, Master Eric," the Masters around the table nodded in acknowledgment as they saw them both.

Shifting his gaze, Eric saw that there were three empty seats, most likely for them. Quickly taking the seats, he focused on the table, on which a map was laid bare.

Unlike the one that he was able to access using the gem that he had, this one was much more detailed. It was clear that a lot of care had gone into creating it.

The talks could have begun right then and there, but there was still one more person missing. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

They didn’t have to wait long as the doors opened and a woman with raven-black hair and shining purple eyes entered.

"Grandmaster Olivia," the Masters welcomed her.

"Hey guys, long time no see," she smirked as she approached Aria and Eric and sat close to them.

"So, seeing as everybody has gathered, I suggest we begin the meeting," an old man with a gruesome scar across his face spoke.

It seemed that no one objected, so the man sighed as he spoke, "My name is Varek and I am the Master that has been assigned to guard these gates. As you all might be aware, across the city, there are about one hundred gates, each one that is constantly supervised by at least one Master."

Eric was listening intently, as this was new information for him, he was finally able to learn how the security worked in the last city.

’Considering that it has stood for so long, it should be good,’ he thought as he shifted his attention to the man.

"Unfortunately, we have received news that soon these gates will be under attack by spider creatures. From what we know, they are an unknown number, as such, the Saint has decided to send in a total of twelve Masters to help us stop them."

The man shifted his gaze to the three, "And joining us are the two Grandmasters Olivia and Aria, as well as Master Eric. It is believed that these three have encountered similar monsters in their long journey in the Death Zone. As such, they will be the ones to familiarize us with the way these creatures work."

He bowed a little in respect to the three as he sat down and awaited for them to continue.

Eric’s eyes narrowed in understanding, ’I see, so at each gate, there is one Master that is constantly guarding. It looks like they have some kind of system in place that allows them to sense if a potential attack is coming.’

He shifted his gaze around the room. ’Once a possible attack is registered, they send reinforcements like us, with the hope of stopping the attack. It is not a bad strategy, taking into account that the city doesn’t have enough manpower, they would be able to concentrate it in the important places in case of an attack, and with the teleporting circles around, the movement would be almost instantaneous, so there isn’t a chance for the forces to arrive late.’

He grimaced, ’But what if we are attacked in too many places at the same time? No matter how well the organization is, it would be meaningless if we are spread too thin. Heck, the moment I arrived in this world, the place where I had been summoned was under attack by monsters...’

’So the plan is to neutralize the threat as soon as possible. If the threats to the city becomes too much, our forces would be stretched too thin.’

While Eric was overthinking, Aria sighed as she took the lead.

"Yes, in our journey, we encountered spider monsters," her voice was cold as she spoke, not only because this was how she usually talked, but also because she wanted to make the Masters present be on their guard at all times.

"From what we know, there are two types of spiders. The first ones are the small ones. They typically can range from less than a meter in height to more than a few dozen."

The people present in the room grimaced as they heard the ones that were considered small could be dozens of meters in height.

"They have a brown skin and short fur. They move very fast and have the ability to climb, so we must not let them reach the walls, as they would be able to scale them in seconds," Aria explained.

"Also, they have acidic blood, so ranged combat is recommended, as if their blood falls on you, no matter if it’s your skin or armor, everything would be melted," Olivia added.

"Then there are the second ones," Eric began as he didn’t want to feel left out,

"They are white instead of brown and seem to be more aggressive. They can range from a hundred to two hundred meters in height."

Varek’s eyes narrowed, "You want to say that there is possibly a chance we are attacked by creatures that are more than double the height of the walls?"

Eric scoffed, "I don’t know if we will be attacked by the same types of spiders, and if the collosals would be among them. I am just stating what is possible to happen. I personally suggest that you all prepare for the worst."

Varek took a deep breath as he glanced at the map and pointed at it with his finger.

"Here and here are the places where the spiders are supposed to appear. Since there are multiple places where we can be attacked, I suggest that we divide ourselves into two groups, with each group watching the perimeter."

"I don’t recommend that,"

Hearing Eric’s voice, Varek shifted his gaze to him as he asked, "Why?"

"Because even though they can be hundreds of meters in height, this isn’t the biggest reason why they are so dangerous."

He observed the faces of the Masters around before continuing,

"The most dangerous aspect is that they seem to reproduce rapidly, making it highly likely that we’ll eventually be surrounded by their cocoons."