Calamity Dragon, Starting with the Cultivation of Knight Families

Chapter 168 The Battle of the Saints: Humans vs. Trolls
Coral Island is the most important island in the overseas archipelago of the continent of Calter.

Before the troll invasion, Coral Island was the only island within a radius of nearly a thousand nautical miles with a nightmare-level dungeon.

Nightmare-level dungeon, with ten floors.

Each level corresponds to the boundary between professional levels 1-10.

Therefore, areas with nightmare-level dungeons also have the potential to have saint-level professionals.

Before the troll invasion, there were many adventurers here.

However, with the troll invasion and the abandonment of the dungeon, a large number of overseas professionals went to the mainland to provide support.

Ultimately, many cities overseas were gradually abandoned.

As the Nightmare-level dungeons were already abandoned due to the fall of the gods, they were naturally left unused for a long time.

Until the continental human nations were completely defeated.

This abandoned underground city was secretly activated in order to preserve the human spirit.

For this reason, the entrance to the entire underground city was even hidden by a barrier, and all the human survivors lived underground for more than a hundred years.

The interior of the Nightmare-level dungeon is vast. Ordinary people cultivate and grow crops in various spaces within the dungeon. Even after being closed for over a hundred years, the population of this dungeon has grown from over ten thousand at the beginning to more than two hundred and twenty thousand now.

Even with such a massive increase in population, this vast underground city space can still easily support its inhabitants.

After all, the spatial differences between each level of the dungeon are enormous.

For example, in the current tenth level of the underground city.

On this level, the entire space resembles a vast subterranean world.

The inner Earth is vast.

It includes mountains and rivers, plains and hills.

In short, the entire ecosystem is not much different from the outside world.

The only difference is that, within this space, its area is also limited compared to the Earth's surface.

The entire tenth level of space is probably only about 60,000 square kilometers.

With such a large area, not even counting the other nine upper levels, it would be more than enough to support over 200,000 people.

And at this moment, it was inside this tenth level of space.

At this moment, on a hilltop, to the east of the human city in the central region.

An old man was gazing out over the entire underground space.

He looked up at the light and heat emanating from the numerous illuminating stones on the dome, and his expression seemed rather wistful.

"To this day, we are barely surviving, yet we still see no hope."

"Even if we manage this place well and even become relatively wealthy, if we don't drive away the invading troll race, all our efforts over the past century could be wiped out in a single day."

"And now, this bubble-like prosperity has reached its final judgment."

"Great sea goddess, is it really time for our human era to come to an end?"

The old man sighed deeply and couldn't help but pray aloud to his faith.

"Old man, come on, goddess? The goddess can't respond to you right now."

"He is even waiting for us mortals to save Him."

"The gods are gone, that's a foregone conclusion. As for whether our human era has ended, I don't know, but we should at least try our best."

Beside the old man, a robust middle-aged man spoke calmly.

"So, old man, have you made up your mind?"

"Are you coming with me to find another suitable place to establish a survivor base, or are you staying here to wait for death?"

The old man looked at the tall, robust man beside him, gave a bitter smile, and then shook his head.

"Someone has to stay, otherwise, not many people can leave here."

"I've lived long enough. Even if I survive this time, I don't have much time left."

"The gods have fallen, and I, as a priest of the goddess, will do my utmost with my last bit of strength."

"I only hope that you, Id, can hold on until the day the goddess and the gods are resurrected."

Staring at the old man, the city lord of the underground city, Ide, remained silent.

"Suit yourself. As for the revival of the gods, I no longer have high hopes."

"If the gods cannot defeat the gods of other races while they are alive, how can they do so even if they are resurrected after death?"

"I can only hope that the gods will give us humans a better chance to continue our race after they are resurrected. Let's wait in secret, and perhaps there is still a chance for things to turn around."

The old man sighed helplessly upon hearing this.

"The world's downfall is no fault of the gods."

“Id, you must know that just as there is a limit to human strength, there is also a limit to the power of gods.”

“Id, you must not abandon the propagation of faith in the gods, otherwise the continuation of humanity will be even more hopeless.”

Ide glanced at the old man, then gave a soft snort.

“Old man, I know what I should do, I don’t need you to remind me.”

"But it is also an indisputable fact that the gods had been indulging in pleasure for many years before that."

"They consider themselves superior, watching us, the creatures of the underworld, fight each other in the underground city."

"The one who ultimately emerges from the deepest level of the nightmare dungeon and wins all glory is nothing more than winning the smiles of the gods."

"In my view, what are the so-called trials and blessings of the gods? Aren't they just their means of enslaving us humans?"

"The gods have suffered this calamity, and so have we on this continent. In my opinion, it is all our own fault, but it is a pity that countless innocent people on the continent have suffered."

"It is utterly ridiculous that I, a blasphemous person, would end up having to strive for the resurrection of the gods."

Faced with the city lord's blasphemous words, the old priest could only try his best to console him.

“Id, you’re going too far.”

"The gods never forced us humans to enter the dungeons; all adventurers did so voluntarily."

"If you want something, you should strive for it yourself. Isn't that the right way of the world?"

"Without the gods, where would the professionals come from? If that's the case, then we humans would have no chance of resisting this invasion by the troll race."

"Take this now, for example. Isn't this abandoned underground city a gift from the gods?"

"Furthermore, in the original world, the gods never required professionals to believe in a particular deity. Your faithlessness, and even your blasphemy against the gods, is the best proof of that, isn't it?"

"Of course, I also know that you lost your wife in the dungeon and even your only child while fighting against the troll race."

"But to say something you may not like to hear, wasn't all of this their own choice? In fact, it was your own choice in the first place."

"If you don't let me..."

"enough!!!"

Lord Ide, having been struck on a sore spot, immediately interrupted the old man.

"Enough, Priest Kaven, I don't want to discuss this with you."

"I know I've made mistakes, but in my opinion, all the tragedies that have happened to me are ultimately because I'm not strong enough!"

"If I possessed godlike power, none of this would have happened!"

"My wife and my children died because of the gods! There is no doubt about that."

"The dungeons were created by the gods, and the invasion of alien races was also motivated by the gods."

"In short, Priest Calvin, you can't convince me, and I can't convince you either!"

"So be it!"

After the city lord, Ide, finished speaking rudely, he interrupted the discussion about the gods.

"The troll fleet is getting closer and closer."

"The elemental spirits of the Ocean Goddess cannot stop them."

"So, in the end, it all depends on ourselves."

"Fortunately, we have just prepared all the materials needed for the teleportation array, and the relocation of the residents of the stronghold can begin immediately."

"However, before I leave, I must have a proper conversation with these trolls."

"It's been a century. I wonder if these guys have become addicted to post-war revelry. This is a good opportunity to test our skills."

"In this way, I'll consider it my way of accompanying you on your final journey, old man!"

Ide calmly finished explaining everything to the old man. Looking at Ide, the city lord, the old man could only nod with a sigh.

"That's fine too."

——————.

The air was vibrating, and the waves were roaring.

Above the horizon, the wind whipped up the clouds, and beneath the dark, heavy clouds, numerous waterspouts were sweeping across the entire sea.

A war has broken out between the troll expeditionary force and the survivor base on Coral Island.

Moreover, it entered into a fierce confrontation from the very beginning!

The Saint-level human professional, Id, transformed into a giant of flames.

As it treads the waves, with a single grasp of its hands, one can see a giant, fiery hand in the sky grabbing a large number of ships heading towards the troll fleet.

However, this was happening while the Flame Giant was attacking the troll fleet, treading on massive amounts of water vapor.

Among the trolls, the troll governor held a black tome that shone with a radiant glow.

The black shards erupted with dense dark light, and then nine terrifying giant snakes broke free from the black shards, colliding with the giant hand of fire in an instant.

At the same time, three of the nine black snakes had already coiled around the Flame Giant's body.

The giant serpent was desperately constricting the body of the Flame Giant.

Meanwhile, the enormous mouths continued to tear at the body of the Flame Giant.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the priest Kaven was chanting a spell to change the celestial phenomena.

In an instant, the entire ocean began to boil.

Above, dark clouds swirled terrifyingly, drawing in large amounts of seawater to form dozens of horrifying tornadoes.

A terrifying tornado struck the troll fleet.

At the same time, the ocean seemed to come alive, with numerous tentacles constantly attacking the troll governor and the black snake he controlled.

Meanwhile, on the troll fleet's side, a large number of high-ranking trolls were using the area directly in front of the fleet as a barrier, organizing and deploying a barrier that connected the sea and the sky.

Meanwhile, the troll fleet was also letting out terrifying roars.

The magic crystal cannons on the ships and airships continuously fired at the two human Saint-level professionals like super-sized laser cannons.

"Wasn't it said that there was only one human survivor, a Saint-level professional?"

"How come two of them popped out? This battle is going to be tough!"

"Unexpected events, one after another, it's like the world is playing a joke on us."

"Is it really possible for the Governor to subdue these two Saint-level professionals?"

The high-level professionals looked extremely grim.

Moreover, the battle between the three Saint-level beings entered a heated phase.

From time to time, troll fleets are swallowed up by the ocean and by storms.

The number of trolls dying is steadily increasing.

On the other hand, besides the two Saint-level beings, there were more than twenty high-level professional humans who came out to fight.

On the nearby coral island, one could even see many mid-level human professionals gathering to cast spells, continuously transferring large amounts of magic power needed for the subsequent battle towards the two Saint-level beings.

"It truly deserves to be called the largest overseas human survivor base."

"There are really quite a few survivors from the World War!"

"However, the more this is the case, the greater our credit will be if we win!"

"Gentlemen, please do not hold back any longer."

"Abandon the protection of the fleet and order it to disengage from the battlefield as quickly as possible. Let's go together and hunt down those high-level human professionals."

"."

As soon as the trolls uttered these words, more than sixty of the hundred-plus high-ranking trolls immediately abandoned the Saint-level battlefield and rushed towards Coral Island.

The high-level human professionals on Coral Island all smiled inexplicably as they watched the trolls, who outnumbered them several times over, charge towards them.

Then, the next moment, just as these trolls were about to rush onto the coral island...

Suddenly, thousands of enormous creatures burst forth from beneath the ocean and pounced on the trolls.

"Damn it, it's those damned sea elementals again."

"Something's not right. Quite a few of these guys are fused individuals, and their strength is approaching the high level."

"We've fallen into their trap! There must be quite a few priests of the sea gods on the human side!"

"Hurry!!! Charge in! We must kill those priestly professionals as quickly as possible!"

"."

The trolls roared, but at that moment, more than twenty high-level human professionals charged towards them!
Meanwhile, a large number of sea elementals launched a surprise attack from the direction of the troll fleet.

The war reached its climax at this moment.

Every moment, a large number of trolls and elemental spirits die, and occasionally some human professionals also die!

The moment the two sides clashed, it seemed as if they were locked in a life-or-death struggle.

They all gave it their all.

Trolls crave credit, while human professionals strive to buy time for the dungeon's inhabitants to evacuate.

Everyone has their own reasons for not backing down.

Therefore, this great battle was destined to be bloody.

And it was during the great battle between trolls and humans that a giant eagle was approaching the battlefield, observing everything from afar.

As for the existence of the giant eagle, it had actually been exposed before.

It was just that the giant eagle kept a good distance, and it was even alone.

That's why the trolls didn't spend time driving it away or even chasing it.

But now the battle is fierce, and the giant eagle is approaching again.

This inevitably caused some high-ranking trolls in the rear to frown.

"Is there really something wrong with this monster?"

"This guy has been following us all the way. Could he really be an informant for the alien civilization that's wreaking havoc on the continent, as the adults say?"

"But what's the use of him just following us? How can he send a message back from such a long distance?"

A high-ranking troll gazed intently at the giant eagle, which resembled a tiny black dot in the distant sky. Then, as sea elementals attacked, he temporarily abandoned his thoughts and went to the battlefield to snipe more sea spirits.

As for the giant eagle, no one paid it any attention at this moment.

Through the eyes of the giant eagle, in a certain spiritual dimension, Linko was carefully observing everything on the battlefield between the trolls and humans.

"A Saint-level troll."

"His strength is quite impressive, and the black artifact he's wielding looks rather strange. This guy doesn't seem to be using his full strength yet. Is he waiting, or even looking for an opportunity to unleash a fatal blow?"

"Two human professionals, both at the Saint rank."

"That old man looks the strongest, but he seems to be burning his life force; he's already at his last gasp."

"As for that burly man, he seems to be handling things with ease; it looks like he's conserving his strength."

"So, they haven't gone all out yet because they each have some kind of apprehension?"

Lin Ke used his spiritual vision to observe the aura and condition of the three Saint-level beings.

From the fluctuations of magic to the color of life force, Lin Ke could draw many conclusions.

"A Saint-level troll, overseas, and only one."

"Such opportunities are rare. If we capture a Saint-level being without exposing ourselves as much as possible, we can definitely extract a lot of core information about the Troll Empire from them."

"Oh well, whatever."

"Perfect, let's take these two Saint-level humans in. They'll be a decent source of power."

Upon realizing this, Lin Ke immediately withdrew from his spiritual vision.

And so, 50,000 meters above Dawn City, the giant dragon lying across the sky slowly opened its eyes.

The moment he opened his eyes, the terrifyingly large figure of Lin Ke vanished from the spot in the next instant.

What remains is a space where numerous ripples are transmitted and undulating.

(End of this chapter)