Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye-Chapter 323: No Help Coming! Using Life to Buy Time! I’ll Handle It Myself!

The purple bridge stood out brightly amidst the monster horde, and the surrounding monsters were all packed tightly together. At the forefront, Quagmire, Donlow, Cornbark, and the soldiers from the Northern Territory military group were doing everything they could to clear a path for those behind them.

Luca, while holding off the monster horde’s relentless attacks, guided the civilians toward the correct direction.

It was just like how the people of Celephais had once guided him in his past life, or like the seasoned veterans he had seen on the battlefield before.

Despite his power having already surpassed previous limits, and with Timi’s support and enhancements, even he was struggling to maintain this level of effort.

Moreover, physical recovery and mental recovery weren’t the same thing.

Right now, Luca felt as if he were being drained completely. Despite his powerful regeneration and Timi’s Destiny’s Benediction constantly restoring him, it still felt like he was being squeezed dry. The sensation was so intense that Luca’s body slightly trembled with every movement.

"You... are you alright?" Timi asked, her voice laced with concern. She could sense Luca’s condition through Destiny’s Benediction, feeling as though he were a small flame swaying violently in a storm, at risk of being extinguished at any moment.

"It’s fine, I can still hold on." Luca didn’t say much more. He lifted his head and looked toward the direction where Quagmire and the others were. The monster horde behind them was getting closer, but there were still a few kilometers to go before they could leave Leaf City.

The monsters outside the city were steadily advancing toward them, and Quagmire’s group had already reached their limit. The soldiers at the front were out of ammunition, and now it was only the armored vehicles that were holding the line.

Thankfully, when the situation had escalated earlier, they had quickly cleared a path. Otherwise, just getting out would have been an impossible task.

But those armored vehicles couldn’t withstand the monsters’ furious attacks for long. It was nearly impossible for them to hold the line long enough for everyone to get out of Leaf City.

"Have the people you sent out not returned yet?" Luca froze a charging Direwolf, then used the intercom to contact Cornbark at the front. However, the reply he received made him furrow his brows in concern.

"We’ve lost contact with Major General Tiltant." Cornbark’s voice came through, labored and filled with bitterness. "I don’t know what happened. We suddenly lost communication with them."

The reason they had held out this long in Leaf City was because Cornbark had hoped that Tiltant could bring more soldiers and reinforcements. But now, after all this time, no word had come from them.

He didn’t even know what had happened. Upon hearing Cornbark’s words, the radio fell into a chilling silence. In the current situation, everyone knew what a lack of reinforcements meant. It was the most dangerous of realities.

"Could that guy have run off?" A few breaths later, Quagmire’s voice came through the intercom with a hint of frustration.

"Impossible." Cornbark immediately shook his head. "Others might run, including me, but Tiltant would never. I guarantee it on my honor."

He had known Tiltant for more than just a few days, even fought alongside him in past wars. Cornbark knew exactly what kind of foul-tempered person Tiltant was. In other words, Tiltant was someone who had been through the trials of war and yet still held firm to his beliefs. Otherwise, he would never have been appointed as the commander of the army group.

The others didn’t quite understand the significance of Cornbark’s words, but Luca thought for a moment and then spoke, "Send someone to check. They must have encountered some trouble."

In many military groups, faith was considered more important than life itself. Forcing them to abandon the battlefield was harder than killing them.

After hearing Luca’s words, a series of discussions echoed through the intercom. It was finally decided that Melania would go. She was the fastest among them, second only to Luca, and she didn’t say much, agreeing to the task without hesitation. When Luca turned to look, he saw her figure vanish into the shadows, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye, seamlessly blending into the monster horde.

The assassin profession was particularly suited for scouting or hiding. Even Luca couldn’t move through the horde with the same ease as Melania. She was undoubtedly the best choice for this mission.

Glancing back at the relentless monsters, which were now closing in on them, Luca’s expression hardened. He focused, his eyes flashing with icy blue light. The temperature dropped sharply, and a frosty mist began to spread out from him like a wave, freezing the monsters in its path.

In mere moments, over a hundred of the monsters that had been closing in were frozen into ice sculptures. The surrounding streets and buildings were coated in a layer of frost, with sharp ice spikes protruding from them. The monsters charging from behind were completely unprepared for this sudden icy hell, and they blindly rushed into it. In an instant, the ice was stained with their blood.

[Ding! You have killed a lv34 Abyssal Direwolf (Normal), earning 44,000 experience!]

[Ding! You have killed a lv41 Gluttonous Giant Serpent (Rare), earning 246,000 experience!]

[Ding! You have killed a lv46 Corpse Giant Troll (Rare), earning 329,000 experience!]

...

A series of kill notifications popped up, and before long, Luca’s level had increased to level 63.

He allocated all of his skill points to his mental stats, pushing his mental attribute past 40,000. However, considering the amount of energy he was expending, even that increase in his mental power felt insufficient.

And yet, they had now fallen into a new problem.

Luca furrowed his brows. The Northern Territory army’s ammunition had run out. With Melania gone, the pressure on Quagmire and the others had drastically increased. This situation meant they couldn’t easily leave the city, but neither could they afford to keep stalling here.

Furthermore, while Luca had used the power of Dreamweaver to control the 100,000 ordinary people from Leaf City, they were still just regular civilians. With their lack of speed, they had no chance of outrunning the monsters. On top of that, their ammunition was running low, making both guerilla tactics and entrenched warfare nearly impossible.

So, they found themselves in a very awkward position—unable to retreat and unable to advance. Staying behind their defensive line would only turn them into sitting ducks, but breaking through would likely not get them much further either. At the moment, they couldn’t even hold out much longer without making a move.

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The only good news was that Luca had masked the presence of the 100,000 civilians, which meant that the pursuing monsters were few. The bad news was that both the Morning Star forces and the Northern Territory army were at their limit.

At this rate, even if Melania managed to bring help, they probably wouldn’t last long enough to see that happen.

How could he buy them some more time?

Luca thought quickly, a plan forming in his mind, but it was one that even the usually decisive him hesitated to implement.

"We can’t keep waiting like this. The number of monsters will only keep increasing, and eventually, we won’t be able to hold them off," Cornbark’s weary voice came over the communicator. He wasn’t a player, and for him to have held out this long was already a tremendous effort.

"I have an idea," Luca finally spoke after a deep breath.

"What idea?" The voices of the others immediately came through, tinged with surprise.

Luca certainly had a way of surprising them.

But this time, Luca fell silent. The only plan he could think of was the same one they had used when they first entered Leaf City: send a portion of people to lead the monsters away while he concealed the presence of the civilians with everything he had.

It wasn’t a permanent solution, but it would buy them some time.

After a long pause, the communicator fell silent again. They had figured out what Luca’s plan was.

"Using lives to buy time..." After a few breaths, Cornbark suddenly sighed and said, "Let me do it. This life of mine was picked up from the battlefield, and it’s about time I return it."

Now, with the monsters already closing in from behind and no way to exit the city in front, if they didn’t act, they’d only be waiting to die in place.

"No!" Several voices from the communicator spoke up in unison.

Cornbark needed to command the troops. If he died, what would happen to the remaining soldiers of the Northern Territory army? Who would take charge?

But Cornbark remained unusually firm: "You really underestimate my men. Even if I die, someone will take over the command. Don’t worry, it won’t be chaotic."

"I’ll do it," Quagmire suddenly spoke up. He laughed carelessly and said, "Even if I die, it’s fine. I’m a lone wolf, I don’t have anyone to worry about." Your next chapter awaits on novelbuddy

Cornbark was a little angry. "What’s your Morning Star group even doing here? Did you forget what Drumph ordered you?"

"He said to adapt to the situation," Fuzzsir chimed in at the most inopportune time.

Before long, the group was bickering, but Luca, staring at the approaching monster horde, remained silent, listening quietly to the exchanges on the communicator.

He had been through similar situations in his past life, and they were always much the same. He understood that sometimes, sacrifice was inevitable.

Taking a deep breath, he suddenly spoke, "Enough."

His voice wasn’t loud, but everyone heard it.

The noise on the communicator quickly died down.

They all knew Luca’s strength, and it was thanks to him that they had made it this far. So, whatever the decision was, they all needed him to make it.

Luca spoke calmly: "Since it was my suggestion, I will be the one to draw away the monsters from both sides. This is how it will be."

As soon as these words left his mouth, whether it was Quagmire, Cornbark, or the others, they immediately wanted to reject the idea.

They were relying on Luca’s strength now, and if he went off to distract the monsters, what would happen to the civilians?

But Luca didn’t give them a chance to speak. He cut in immediately, "I have other ways to keep these monsters in check."

As his words fell, he turned his wrist, and Timi, standing beside him, saw that he now held a purple crystal core in his hand. It was covered with cracks, some deep, some shallow, and it seemed to pulse with an eerie light. The moment she saw the crystal core, Timi felt an inexplicable agitation rising within her, as if an evil seed had suddenly sprouted in her heart.

"What... is this?" Timi asked, stunned.

Her Destiny’s Blessing made her immune to negative statuses. The Dreamweaver’s ability hadn’t worked on her before because of this, but this was the first time she had seen something that could nullify her Destiny’s Blessing.