I hate being in pain, so I think I'll make a full defense build-Chapter 527

527

Defense Specialization and the Castle in the Clouds

On another day, Maple and Sally reached the final town in the cloud labyrinth of the Fifth Floor after climbing and exploring extensively.

While they had avoided delving too deeply into the latest information, trusting third-party sources was limited. However, according to the NPCs in town, a king resided ahead, and the recent aggression of monsters was likely due to the influence of this king.

It wasn’t hard for the two to imagine that this change in the king was related to the ‘Demon King’s Power.’

“Are you ready?”

“Yep! I’m good to go anytime!”

“Great response. Let’s win this.”

“Of course!”

With their items, skills, and equipment all set, they stepped into the final dungeon of the Fifth Floor. Pushing through the cloud walls, they advanced along a narrow, ascending path, squinting as light suddenly flooded their view.

“Wow…”

“Impressive.”

The clear blue sky stretched infinitely above them, and the cloud walls that had enclosed the labyrinth were gone, revealing that they were at the very top of this vast cloud.

“Do we need to go to that place?”

“Most likely. There’s even a path leading straight to it.”

Ahead lay a straight path carved into the cloud floor, leading to an enormous white castle.

“This might rival the king’s castle in the ninth layer.”

“Looks like it’ll be fun to explore!”

“Alright, let’s make this the grand finale of the Fifth Floor!”

“Yeah!”

As they walked, the distant castle grew even more imposing. The tall, pure white walls before them looked impassable, evoking a sense of solid defense. Their approach triggered movement on the castle walls and at the gate.

“…?”

“I’ll take a closer look.”

Using Iz’s special binoculars, Maple observed the two areas of activity. From the gate emerged soldiers on cloud horses, while gunners on the walls aimed white cannons at them.

“They’ll probably attack once we get closer.”

“Do we have to break through that gate?”

“That’s the main route. They might expect us to fly over the gate with our flying machines, but…”

Given the prevalence of flying abilities, it was logical that they wouldn’t be allowed to simply fly over. Maple continued to scan the castle.

“The windows are barred. Looks like there’s an entrance beyond the walls.”

There were no shortcuts to the top floors. The correct approach was to break through the front gate. Maple glanced at Sally, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Hey, Maple.”

“Thinking the same thing?”

“Really!?”

“Yeah, probably. Tell me your plan.”

After listening to Maple, Sally nodded with satisfaction.

“Great idea. Let’s do it.”

“Alright, “Self-Offering Love”! “Deploy All Weapons!”

“Climb on!”

“Hold on tight! Here we go!”

Maple adjusted her aim. With Sally on board, their target was not the enemies.

“Commence Attack!“

With a roar, they shot into the sky, ignoring the cavalry at the gate and flying over the range of the archers towards the castle walls. Cannons swiveled to target Maple, unleashing a barrage of pure white cannonballs.

Normally, this would be excessively risky, but for Maple and Sally, it was a feasible strategy. Maple demonstrated this by adjusting her angle and diving behind the walls, heading straight into the barrage of cannon fire.

“Heavy Body” “Pierce Guard!“

Negating knockback and nullifying piercing attacks, Maple became an unstoppable projectile, landing in the courtyard before the castle entrance, where soldiers waited.

Against the rapidly approaching threat, the cloud soldiers quickly mobilized. The immobilized form of Maple seemed like an easy target—if not for the monsters she harbored within.

“Poison Split Body” “Predator” “Night Parade of One Hundred Demons!“

Monsters emerged around the fallen Maple, lesser in number but not in quality. And surpassing them was Sally, her dearest friend and the strongest shield turned weapon.

“I’ll handle this while you rest.”

“Thank you!”

“Water Dragon” “Wave Ride!“

Sally swept away the approaching enemies with water, decapitating them alongside the summoned monsters. Relieved, Maple waited for “Heavy Body” to wear off.

Securing the Castle Entrance

With the soldiers defeated and silence restored, they checked for reinforcements and sheathed their weapons.

“Thanks, everyone!”

Maple dismissed her summoned allies and deactivated her skills. To avoid unnecessary risk, she kept “Self-Offering Love” inactive, ready to re-engage if needed.

Taking their time to let cooldowns expire and ensuring everything was ready, they looked towards the castle.

“Time for another castle siege.”

“Let’s give it our all!”

“Yeah. Let’s clear this final dungeon in one go.”

They passed through the grand doors into the castle. Inside, everything was dazzlingly white, like a scene after fresh snowfall.

Starting from the main hallway, several side paths branched off, separated by doors. It was clear that one of these paths led to the boss.

“Which way should we go…?”

“Hmm… How about we check the main path first, then explore the side paths?”

“Sounds good! Let’s do that!”

“We might end up exploring everything anyway, but it’s good to see how many paths there are. Plus, we’ll prioritize the stairs leading up over those going down, right?”

“The boss is… probably up?”

“Given the tall central spire, that seems likely.”

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“Got it! Up it is!”

“It’s just a guess. We should check the lower floors first to avoid missing any traps. We’re going in blind this time.”

Unlike the fourth layer’s boss fight, they hadn’t gathered detailed information this time. Encouraged by the “Kingdom of the Flame Emperor”, they decided to enjoy the surprise of the unknown.

“There don’t seem to be any monsters… Let’s decide where to go!”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

As they walked, the sound of their footsteps echoed in the vast, quiet castle. Suddenly, a hum broke the silence as a large magic circle appeared beneath their feet.

“…!”

“Cover!“

More reflex than thought, Sally activated her skill to protect Maple. Light from the magic circle turned into pillars, enveloping them both.