The Guardian System: The strongest Summoner's quest to save his family-Chapter 398: The Last Stop (3)

They continued snarling and drooling, their heads swiveling as they scanned the area for prey. Reidar realized the Ignis were aware of his presence—they just couldn't pinpoint his exact location.

<This is the capital, after all…>

These were the elite—the royal guard, or whatever passed for it in this ruined kingdom. They had been strong before the fall, and the mana had only made them stronger, which made sense because Kilovar had been the heart of the Ignis civilization.

If any organized military force had survived the apocalypse, this was where they would have been stationed, and if those soldiers had turned feral after the system was pulled, they'd still keep some of their training and discipline.

Reidar watched them pass. If he engaged them, he would die because a group of forty level 580s was a raid encounter that required a full team of tanks and healers, and he was one man with a summoner's health bar. Even with his S.H.I.E.L.D. attribute getting pumped up, a strike from three or four of them would kill him, which meant his only option was to wait until the patrol turned the corner and the sound of their marching faded—they looked like they'd heard something, maybe one of his summons, maybe just the wind.

Two blocks later, he spotted another group. Twenty Ignis guarding a plaza.

Three blocks after that, a single massive creature—a Level 610 titanic monster that looked like a cross between a lizard and a tank—slumbered in the middle of an intersection.

Reidar backtracked. He found a building that was mostly intact, a three-story structure with thick walls and a defensible entryway.

He slipped through a broken doorway into what looked like an old administrative building, where the rooms were empty except for ash and debris. He found a corner on the second floor that offered a view of the street below and settled in.

<I can't search like this.>

The density of monsters was too high. He couldn't move more than a few hundred meters without running into a patrol or a sleeping titan.

If he kept trying to sneak, he would eventually make a mistake—stepping on a loose stone, or the wind shifting to carry his scent, or a patrol doubling back.

When that happened, he would be overwhelmed. He needed to clear the board, or at least flip it over.

Reidar could have just sent his summons inside the city, but if Mara were here, after more than a month on this planet, she might be ready to make the portal.

The more time passed, the worse the situation would turn, because Mara would get stronger, and getting stronger meant being able to harvest materials full of mana from monsters themselves, instead of having to rely on old relics and discarded materials.

Plus, there was always the risk that she had already left the planet. After all, Mara could teleport; for her, crossing vast distances was not difficult at all.

All that meant that Reidar's anxiety about Mara was reaching the highest level, and that made him reckless.

Reidar checked his mana reserves and noted that both were at full capacity.

<If I can't sneak past them, I need to move them.>

He couldn't kill them all because there were thousands of monsters inside the city, but he didn't need to kill them—he just needed them to be somewhere else. He needed a distraction loud enough to draw every monster away from him, leaving the rest of the city empty for him to search.

He looked at the street below, which was wide enough for what he had in mind. Reidar took a deep breath, knowing that this was risky because if he didn't get away fast enough, he'd be caught in the middle of the war he was about to start.

"Let's do it," he said to himself.

He reached into his mana and pulled.

[Skill Activated: Summon Archon Rift-Lords]

The portals opened. Eighty Archon Rift-Lords materialized around him. Then his perks kicked in. Boundless Legion doubled the count. Legion Commander added another ten percent. One hundred and seventy-six Archons stood in the room at that point.

Reidar checked his mana. The summon had cost him 10,000 mana, but his Mana-Efficient Minions perk reduced the upkeep cost by 20%. The Mana Siphon perk fed a portion of that cost back to him through the summons themselves.

The Archons looked at him, awaiting orders.

Reidar didn't send them to fight yet. He activated his trait.

[Trait Activated: Skill Sharing] Thanks to the Generous Soul perk, he could share skills regardless of proficiency, though his main summoning skills were all mastered anyway.

The knowledge flowed out of him and into the Archons. Each one now had access to the Sky-Hunter summoning skill. They could call the insects at will, flooding the battlefield with thousands of flying scouts.

Next, he shared Emperor's Decree. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

[Skill Shared: Emperor's Decree (Proficiency: 53%)]

The global buff skill. It cost 35,000 mana to cast, but it granted every ally within five kilometers massive bonuses to damage, critical hit chance, and survivability. The Legion's Immortality effect alone was worth the cost—it prevented deadly damage and healed allies to 50% HP whenever they hit 1 HP.

Then he shared Wellspring of Vitality.

[Skill Shared: Wellspring of Vitality (Proficiency: 58%)]

The healing skill. It generated a 30-meter radius zone that continuously healed allies for 4% of their maximum HP per second. The Life Ward effect stored excess healing as a protective barrier, which detonated for a burst heal when the skill ended.

He shared another skill.

[Skill Shared: Summon Vorathid Sky-Hunters]

The Archons raised their hands and started mass summoning.

The sky outside the building fractured.

Fourteen thousand and eighty rifts opened above the area.

Thousands of Archon Rift-Lords poured out of the rifts, filling the street, the air, and the rooftops.

Finally, he shared Gaze of the Pariah.

[Skill Shared: Gaze of the Pariah (Proficiency: 100%)]

The debuff skill. It reduced enemy physical resistance by 45% and magical resistance by 30% for 60 seconds. It also revealed weak points on marked targets, making it easier to land critical hits.