American Isekai - Chapter 127 (Patreon)

Maxwell’s head snapped upward from his desk, a shooting pain travelling across his mind like lightning.

He couldn't even bother grunting in pain, simply placing a hand against his head before jumping up from his seat.

He walked to one of the many bookshelves in his room, grabbing one dark red book and pulling.

The book activated a switch, shifting the bookshelf and revealing a small teleporter platform.

He didn’t hesitated to step onto it, leaving footprints in the layer of dust that had been accumulating over time.

With a flash of light he disappeared, reappearing in a dark underground cellar. All around him were kegs and bottles of various alcohols, all of them in pristine condition and surrounded by an incredibly dense field of Magika.

His personal stash, worth more than most could imagine.

But not important at the moment, Maxwell stormed past it all, rising up a staircase and finding himself in a massive bedroom.

The size of the bedroom may as well have made it a house unto itself, but it was only one portion of a more massive structure that he had actually taken care to maintain.

His heart pounded for multiple reasons as he emerged, and to his worst fears, he found the mirror in the dressing area flashing white.

With gritted teeth, he walked over to it and slammed it with his fist, making it react and generate a portal.

Once he stepped through it, he found himself in an unknown location, multiple people gathered around him, sitting in chairs around a table.

“Ah, Maxwell. Seems it’s true then.”

Maxwell glanced over, finding Anderson siting in one of the chairs with a huge toothy grin.

Another woman across from Anderson, who wore shimmering white robes and had a blindfold over her eyes, frowned at him.

“Why do you seem happy about it then?”

“Don’t patronize me woman. You know exactly why I’m so fucking happy. Now, where is Anarchy?”

“Purple Sky.”

“Hoho.”

Anderson chuckled as everyone turned to face a dark shadowy figure.

“Prophet. It’s been a while.”

“I’ve no time for pleasantries. Get ready to move. I will send you all universal coordinates soon. Every second is valuable.”

“Yeah? Why don’t you join us, then we might be able to kill a King today.”

“Not the time.”

His response was succinct.

“But I can tell you that if you aren’t quick, the Light will not shine favorably.”

“The Kingdom’s future is at that base, true. But who-.”

“No more questions. It’s time to act.”

“Hm.”

Anderson hummed after being interrupted so rudely.

Maxwell glanced at Prophet before turning away and closing his eyes.

“Make a note of my Protege, please. That is all I have to ask.”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t speak at all, heretic. But to hear you have a protege is certainly interesting. Which poor bastard have you-.”

“No more questions!”

Prophet interrupted once more, the woman clenching her jaw in irritation before waving and disappearing.

Anderson also disappeared with a knowing smile, Prophet following after that.

Maxwell retreated with a gloomy face, leaving the unknown area and reappearing before his mirror.

He recalled the meeting, something that only happened among those who could sense the oncoming of the Kings. Except, whereas he used to be capable of seeing everyone, he could now only see Anderson and the Cardinal of Peace.

Those two didn’t care if he saw them, but the others did. They didn’t even deign to allow him to gaze upon their images, their Auras obscuring their figures. And he could no longer decipher them, nor their words, even though he knew their names. The only exception was Prophet. Nobody knew him.

He just sighed.
“I hope I've done enough. Get your ass home, John.”

……

…

“Shit!”

Umara cried out as the Steed flew out of the garage. Even Vetsmon and Feiden were holding on for dear life as it whipped around.

While locking her body against the seat, Umara looked to the side and found John furiously operating the steering wheel, every movement sending the entire vehicle flying across dirt paths around the base.

Well, the magic powering a Steed was certainly more powerful than anything else they had ever driven. Regardless, she was wondering where the hell he learned to drive like this. It was insanity.

But she wouldn’t want it any other way right now. Somehow it was comforting, especially when she watched as they flew through the base with wild abandon.

John didn’t even flinch when he rammed several people locked in battles. Many people dodged, but some were so engrossed that it took a massive truck plowing through their backside to snap them out of it.

Didn’t matter to them. Nobody could seem to care about anything except for their own battles.

As for that pillar of darkness dividing the world in two, nobody realized what it was until it started descending unto the base.

It got closer until it seemed to be right on top of them, and then in the distance, they could see a wave of terrain flowing toward the walls of the base.

It wasn’t just a pillar of darkness.

It was the slash of a blade from the King of Anarchy. A blade of pure power that carved a line in the world and threatened to annihilate the base in its entirety.

There was only one who could contend against it, and in front of it they looked like a mouse.

The Authority 12 manning the Purple Sky bastion was a warlock. A woman draped in robes that fell well below her feet rose to the sky and took out a staff carved of crystal that reflected the power of the sun into everyone’s eyes.

After that, a series of spell formations appeared in the sky, starting out as the size of a person before flashing and beginning to multiply.

It doubled before doubling over again. The formation multiplied exponentially into a massive shield that extended up to the length of the attack.

And then, upon collision, the shield exploded with a flash of blinding light.

Like the rapture was descending, everything was overturned by the resulting shockwave of not sound, but pure magic. It washed over everyone, but thankfully wasn’t enough to kill anyone.

What was refelcted back away from the walls was even worse, creating a massive tsunami of pure matter that rose nearly a mile into the sky as if meaning to create a new mountain.

Tana could only watch in awe from her position behind the turret. And then, a voice echoed into everyone’s ears.

“Man the walls. Hold the line.”

The Authority 12 gave her command, and all at once, everyone who was fighting on base stopped in their tracks.

They looked around dazed before the voice came back with greater intensity.

“Man your stations! We are under attack!”

“Hoh!”

There was a resounding wave of acknowledgement from the entire base as every forgot about what was happening and ran to their positions.

Finally, once they mounted the walls, they were able to see what was beyond. Andwhile some directly collapsed to their knees, others were able to retain enough of their faculties to start casting spells.

The King of Anarchy marched with an army straight from hell. The landscape around thhe couldn’t be seen. It was now nothing more than an endless march of countless monsters.

The Aura created by this army was so towering that it created a tangible fluid all around them, one that suppressed every human within the base. Anybody below a certain threshold of power would have directly died standing within such an Aura.

But the base wasn’t completely helpless. Before long, all of the walls flashed with countless runes inscribed on each brick, causing a massive shield to appear from the top of the wall and rise into the sky, creating a tall dome.

With that, the suppression disappeared entirely, and the base was flooded with magic that rejuvenated everyone within it. John glanced up for a split second before sighing.

“Fancy gimmicks. That shit won’t hold Anarchy. We need to create as much distance as we can. I’m setting my Aerial, everyone connect to it.”

After he spoke, Feiden, Umara, Tana and Vetsmon all tapped their own Aerials and connected it to his local Node. With that everyone was able to maintain their connection regardless of it this base fell or not.

Then, John dialed the Puppet Master, who shockingly picked up.”

“John.”

“Puppet Master. I’m leaving. That’s Anarchy.”

“I’m not even going to ask how you know. Either way, I have a request. I’ve already sent the surviving students to the gates. Please, save as many as you can. Not many survived. A few Elites even died.”

“Hm, sorry your perfect record had to fall today.”

“That’s what happens when a King shows up. I know you’re driving the Steed. Everyone should fit within. Just take them and run. Use the base as your sacrifice.”

“And you?”

“I’ll be watching.”

He muttered before the call hang up, leaving John clicking his tongue.

After scratching his head, he whipped the wheel around and continued driving.

“Get ready! We’re picking up some students!”

“Can we really babysit?”

“I don’t want to, but the Puppet Master didn’t exactly leave me any room to be indifferent. They’re waiting at the gate. Get ready to help them squeeze.”

SCREEEEEEEEE

Just as he finished talking, a soul-rending scream shook the atmosphere.

That’s when they all stuck their heads out the windows, looking back to see a figure flying up into the air.

The King of Anarchy.

It flew to the level of the Authority 12, the warlock tossing out thousands of spells at a time to intercept. Yet all of them were torn apart or simply didn’t do any noticeable harm.

And so the two clashed, but it was clear that even among Authority 12’s, there could be massive gaps in strength.

Anarchy used each of it’s 6 weapons to chain together attacks in a reckless, random, yet fluid way. There was no technique to it, but it seemed so elegant that one might think it was the greatest technique a knight could learn.

It even hurt itself with its own attacks, occasionally slicing through its own body just to sneak in another qukc attack on the warlock. It was unrelenting. Not even the ocaisonal blink spell to move the warlock away was enough to allow a breath. Anarchy was going all out from the beginning, and wouldn’t stop until one of them died.

And the shockwaves their attacks gave off shook the dome over the base until it cracked.

John grit his teeth, flooring the Steed and sending it to the gates.

It wasn’t long before the arrived. He kicked open the door, finding all the Magisterium students standing around while watching.

“HEY! All students, get the fuck in here! Let’s go!”

He yelled, his voice backed with Aura so it echoed clearly in their minds.

They all turned to him, some hesitating to get in.

His voice fell.

“I’m leaving this base. If you want to stay, then I won’t bother wasting any time.”

“...”

Nobody responded, but then, the battle in the air caught their eyes once more.

Some Authority 11’s joined, but two of them were immediately reduced to gore the moment Anarchy focused on them. The warlock couldn’t do anything about it.

And then, One of Anarchy’s weapons separated from it’s normal barrage and flung toward the sky.

Another beam of darkness rose, and directly shattered the dome around the base.

It was so easy that John wondered why it was even there.

And then, he spotted a stream of monsters beginning to pour over a section of the walls.

Thousands of soldiers met the tide and suppressed it, but it was clear that the walls had already failed.

And all the students could see it. They could feel it even more, the suppression on their souls was gut wrenching. They wouldn’t be able to perform at even half their normal standard.

Suddenly, the Steed was looking a lot more attractive as a dozen ran over to board.

Vetsmon and Feiden made way for them, a hatch opening on the back. The Steed had a massive cargo hold that doubled as a troop transport. There was more than enough room.

Joh sighed though when he counted how many were left.

The fourth year students counted around 150 in total, 40 of which were Elites. Most of those Elites were here, but in total, those at the gates only numbered 40 now.

Of those 40, only around 25 were elites. So 15 Elites had died, and over 100 students had died.

It was sad. Nothing more than Anarchy’s presence was enough to reduce this entire base to such a state.

And it would probably resume if they didn’t create enough distance in time. Who knew how long that Authority 12 would be able to stall? They coudln’t be anywhere near here when she fell.

When one student ran, all of them did. Before long, every remaining student from the Magisterium was boarded on the Steed.

John sat back down and slammed the pedal once more, throwing the vehicle forward straight through the gates.

They directly bypassed any guards, shooting across the terrain and rolling off into the distance.

However, after only a minute or so, John cursed.

“No fucking way.”

“What?”

“These guys are flanking the base. Over there.”

He pointed, his squad sitting up and looking off into the distance.

There, they could see a dark tide of tiny figures circling around the base. They were headed straight for the back gates.

They would cut off any route of escape.

Just then though, John frowned and looked backward.

“Hey, Tana!”

“What?!”

“Check behind us! Are they circling round there too?”

“Uhh…”

She went silent for a bit, crawling back up to the turret and looking off into the distance.

The same scene played out, except those monsters were much closer than the other group.

“Y-Yes!”

“Well shit. It’s a pincer. I don’t know if we’ll actually be able to make it out.”

He muttered and slouched a bit, pressing the gas pedal a bit more than before.

Those two flanking tides of monsters both looked like they were heading straight for them. Of course, the base wasn’t ignorant to the issue. They could see massive area spells exploding in the midst of the flanking armies. But that was only thinning them out, especially when they started fighting back.

The flying monsters were only a bit fewer than the land monsters. Winged beasts circled the base and swooped down like hawks. Spells flew into the sky and exploded like flak in order to take them out, but it was only so effective.

And they wouldn’t be completely unnoticed. So they needed to get past the pincer attack and carry on. In the best case, they would be able to outrun any potential enemies.

But an all out war wasn’t exactly conducive to giving people the best case scenario. Umara was quick to ask John.

“What happens if we can’t make it past?”

“We’ll just have to push through. Feiden, get on the other turret with Tana.”

“Got it.”

“John!”

Tana suddenly shouted.

“Incoming human, from the back!”

“Soldier?!”

“No! White robes!”

“That’s the Guard!”

Vetsmon suddenly responded, climbing to the top where he stuck his head out the turret hole.

At that moment, there was a thud as the templar jumped on top of the Steed.

He looked down through his helmet at Vetsmon before reaching down and grabbing his face, pulling Vetsmon close.

“This is war, boy! This is what you need to prepare for! Now tell your driver to keep going! Don’t worry about what I’m doing!”

“Huh?”

John, who heard everything, turned around with an odd look.

Then, the Templar took out a heavy crystal device, cradling it in his arms before raising it up into the air.

A soundless golden beam shot into the sky, cutting through the clouds and exploding with holy radiance as it created a swirling portal.

Suddenly, the flanking armies of beasts surged toward them, causing John’s eyes to bulge.

“What the fuck is he doing?!”

“I don’t know!”

“Agh! I know they say shit gets worse before it gets better, but I’m failing to see how this gets better!”

He yelled while flooring the gas pedal. It made the ride much less stable, but they didn’t really have a choice now.

The Steed roared with power and flew across the terrain, Tana panicking from her spot in the turret.

“John, we got incoming!”

“Use the turrets! Don’t let them intercept!”

“Okay!”

Tana nodded before she and Feiden spun the turrets around, centering their sights on the incoming hordes.

Two barrels aimed for the groups. There was really no need to aim, so she pulled a clamp by her hand and fired.

Two spell circles appeared over the ends of the barrels, multiplying in size before flashing and firing off a massive bolt of fire that hurdled straight into the hordes.

BOOM

It exploded in their midst, sending several flying and slowing them just a tiny bit.

Tana’s eyes widened in excitement.

“Haha! I got guns like John!”

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM

Repeadetly pulling the clamps, Tana and Feiden let lose dozens of bolts of fire that broke up the incoming hordes. They were far so the shots were inaccurate, but they didn’t need to aim when the target was so big.

It was only when they started to close in that Tana started panicking.

John yelled. He could see them.

“Just keep firing!”

“Should I go up?”

“No. Save your energy.”

He stopped Umara from moving, instead knocking on Vetsmon’s armor.

“Go talk to the other students. Tell them to be ready to abandon ship.”

“Are we really?”

“I don’t know. Just do it so they’re ready to fight.”

Vetsmon nodded while stepping into the cargo hold where all the students were stuffed.

Joh continued to listen as Tana and Feiden unleashed fiery hell onto the hordes. Almost all of them were converging on the Steed, all because the templar wanted to make a beacon out of them.

Before long, the noose started to close. Umara pushed herself back into her seat as the monsters got within 200 meters.

“Threading the fucking needle here. Get ready!”

John shouted, watching the distance close.

200… 150… 100…

80… 50… 30…

The explosions from the turrets practically licked the Steed as they made contact.

BANG

The Steed rocked as several bodies slammed into it. The feral screaming reached their ears.

And then, the templar suddenly shouted.

“Done!”

With his word, the device in his hands suddenly dimmed, the beacon disappearing from the sky.

Just like that, the mass of the incoming hordes redirected toward the base. What was left chasing them was only a tiny portion.

Issue was that they were still being chased, and not just by a bunch of small fry.

All of them could feel some high Authorities barreling toward them, not something those at the level of students could handle.

The templar shouted again.

“Cooper! You take everyone and keep running! I’ll handle the big ones!”

“Fine! Whatever that beacon was, I hope it was worth it!”

“It was worth more than my life.”

He said that before drawing a sword and shield, his armor flashing before he took up a stance.

That’s when three Authority 10’s came swooping in. One of them flew down like a missile while the two other barreled forth even faster than the Steed could drive.

“RRAAAAHHHH!!”

BOOM

The templar released a sweeping sword attack that blew all three enemies back, including hundreds of the incoming beasts. What remained was now a mere fraction, smaller and weaker beasts that were slower.

The Steed was ahead. They just had to drive straight. The only threats to their life were the remaining few enemies.

But the templar could only handle so much as a knight. Perhaps a warlock at the same level would be able to handle multiple enemies at their level for a duration, but a knight was limited in reach.

So perhaps it was inevitable when the Steed got rammed, tossing the entire thing into the air like it was a sack of potatoes.

Nobody could do anything as they were suspended. And thankfully, Vetsmon had quick enough reactions to wrap John up in a bear hug right before they landed.

BANG

The heavy hunk of metal skid across the ground.

John could sense one of the Authority 10 beats outside about to trample all over the Steed. It would kill them all, crushing them like they were a bag of chips.

But right before that happened, a familiar flash of blue light enveloped the area, highlighting every being around them for all to see.

And then a dozen different shields appeared around the Steed, intercepting the beast and creating a massive shockwave in the process.

“...Prepare to disembark.”

John muttered when everything went quiet.

Vetsmon carried him while climbing through the now broken windshield, more shockwaves reverberating in their ears from the battle around them.

All the other students also climbed out of the cargo hold, Tana and Feiden dropping from the turrets.

The Puppet Master’s voice came to their ears.

“We can only do so much for you all. Start running, and don’t look back. John Cooper has a map of the region. Follow him.”

With those words, John suddenly looked down at his Aerial, seeing that he had received a large data packet from the Puppet Master.

When he opened it, a huge map was projected in the air. It had everything from the frontlines to the geographical routes back to the military depot. It even had routes to other villages nearby, including distant cities.

It was a map John had recently been wishing for. A little silver lining.

“Run! Now!”

A yell came a moment after, prompting all the students to make a run for it.

There were nearby forests that John had been avoiding, though in preparation for this, had stuck close to. Everyone decided to head for that, using all manner of magic to cross the distance as fast as possible.

Tana disappeared while Umara flew with air magic. Feiden ran beside Vetsmon who carried John in his arms.

Ponteck was naturally there nearby, along with the other Elites and those who specialized in speed. Everyone was running, monsters hot on their heels.

Once through the treeline, John pointed.

“Follow the direction of the tree line. That’ll keep us in the proper direction.”

“Got it.”

Vetsmon responded while following that direction. Like that, they created more distance.

But the shockwaves from the battle behind them only continued to get worse. Not only that, but they couldn't completely outrun the monsters behind them.

After all, those beasts were stronger.

John grit his teeth. He could see all the students behind him. Most of them would be cut down as soon as the monsters caught up. Given enough time and no help, they would eventually reach them.

There seemed to be no hope, but that was only if they had one squad. The entirety of the Elites were here, as well as what remained of the regular students.

Making a decision, his Aura projected outward, touching everyone’s minds.

“This is John Cooper. Those monsters will catch up to everyone given enough time. That leaves us one choice. There’s only two Authority 7’s. The others can be killed easily. So on my mark, we turn and fight. Given a group effort, we can win and continue smoothly while the templar and Puppet Master fight off the others. Get ready.”

John took out a Lewis Gun after finishing, pounding the pan magazine before looking back.

Then, before the student at the back of the group could be caught up to, he sent the signal.

“Now!”

Vetsmon stopped in his tracks and turned, John aiming his gun and Umara preparing some spells.

And then they watched as all the students passed them, continuing to run off into the distance.