Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye-Chapter 459: The Only Hope in Everyone’s Eyes

Drumph’s words were extremely solemn, deeply moving all the members of Morning Star.

Yet their emotional reaction did nothing to change the dire circumstances they faced.

Everyone’s expressions remained grave.

At this moment, Luca finally spoke up.

"This isn’t the time to say our final goodbyes. The monster horde this time is undeniably powerful. The outer defenses of Imperial Capital certainly won’t hold much longer. Even if you fought to your deaths here, it wouldn’t change the overall situation."

Drumph understood exactly what Luca meant. However, to ensure his subordinates clearly grasped it too, he deliberately asked,

"What exactly are you suggesting? Are you saying we should retreat to the core of Imperial Capital?"

"We don’t need to retreat that far! We only need to fall back to the edges of Imperial Capital’s urban district. We can rely on the defensive structures there and continue fighting."

Right after Luca finished speaking, one of the Morning Star members voiced his concerns.

"But our orders were specifically to fight on the outermost perimeter. If we retreat to the outskirts of Imperial Capital’s urban district, the federal leadership will surely be furious. We’ll likely be punished for it."

Once again, the faces of all Morning Star members became tense with anxiety.

Luca didn’t respond directly to this. After all, the matter involved Morning Star and the federal leadership. He was merely cooperating with Morning Star, and his relationship with the federal leadership was anything but friendly.

In fact, there were plenty of people among the federal elite who even wanted him dead.

Right now, only Drumph could step forward.

Drumph slowly began to speak:

"You don’t need to worry about that. If the federal leadership truly wishes to punish someone over this decision, I’ll bear full responsibility myself."

His words immediately drew immense gratitude from all the members present.

Standing to the side, Luca was slightly moved as well, though he had already anticipated Drumph’s reaction. A leader who was willing to take responsibility always earned the trust of those under his command.

"It seems you’ve made your decision! Then we need to move quickly—the monster horde will soon spread here. I assume none of you want to get caught in the middle of a swarm of monsters?"

Under Luca’s urging, everyone finally began to move out.

They retreated toward the urban district of Imperial Capital as quickly as possible.

During their retreat, they also managed to eliminate most of the monsters they encountered along the way.

Half an hour later, they finally reached the outskirts of Imperial Capital’s urban area.

Here, they encountered other Morning Star members and Imperial Capital’s defense forces, all fleeing in a panic.

These people’s conditions were much worse than their own.

Everyone was badly injured, their faces either filled with panic or confusion.

"It seems we performed the best out of everyone," Drumph quietly said to his subordinates.

Of course, his subordinates agreed wholeheartedly.

After all, they had held out for a very long time on Imperial Capital’s outermost defensive line, and after Luca arrived, they faced minimal threats and successfully retreated here.

"We should hurry and find the person in charge here. I’m sure he’ll need our help," Drumph quickly said.

Afterward, he headed toward the area’s command center alongside Luca.

At the entrance to the command center, a soldier recognized Drumph immediately.

"You’re Lord Drumph from Morning Star, aren’t you?"

"Yes, I am."

"Thank goodness! We’ve finally found a high-ranking Morning Star official!" The soldier showed a very excited expression. "You need to hurry back to Morning Star’s headquarters—the headquarters is currently in utter chaos!"

Both Drumph and Luca showed shocked expressions at hearing this news.

Drumph urgently questioned, "What’s going on? How could Morning Star headquarters possibly have descended into chaos?"

Luca stared intently at the soldier’s face.

He absolutely refused to believe that what this person said could be true, since he’d left Morning Star headquarters only a short time ago.

At least when he left, Morning Star headquarters had definitely not been in chaos.

Moreover, in his opinion, Morning Star’s headquarters was very well-defended. Even if a powerful enemy attacked, it should have held out for a considerable period.

Suddenly, a suspicion flashed through Luca’s mind.

If there was a traitor within Morning Star, then it would make perfect sense that the headquarters had fallen into chaos.

With this thought, Luca’s expression became extremely grave.

At the critical moment when the overwhelmingly powerful monster horde had arrived, internal turmoil at Morning Star headquarters would make the entire situation extremely grim.

Under Drumph’s questioning, the soldier revealed everything he knew.

"I don’t know the exact details. All I know is that there was a massive explosion at Morning Star headquarters just moments ago. The federal leadership and the Imperial Capital Guards have completely lost contact with Morning Star headquarters.

The federal leaders urgently want to understand what’s going on. They’ve issued clear orders: anyone who finds high-ranking Morning Star personnel must immediately send them back to headquarters."

The soldier’s explanation was somewhat vague,

but neither Drumph nor Luca doubted his words very much.

What he said was logical and consistent.

After a moment of frowning and careful thought, Drumph swiftly made his decision.

"In that case, let’s hurry back to Morning Star headquarters!"

Having said that, he quickly departed, accompanied by Luca and his subordinates.

On the way to headquarters, all the Morning Star members remained completely silent.

Everyone had a growing sense of impending doom.

The terrifying power of the monster horde frightened them deeply, and the internal chaos within Morning Star only magnified this fear further.

Just before reaching Morning Star headquarters, Drumph quietly turned to Luca and asked in a low voice,

"No matter what happens, you’ll stand by my side, won’t you?"

Luca was briefly stunned by this question.

He had never imagined Drumph would ask him something like this.

From Luca’s perspective, they had already been cooperating closely for a long time. No matter what dangers arose, the two of them would always stand together and fight side by side.

"Of course! Why are you asking me this? Haven’t we always worked closely together?"

Drumph appeared slightly embarrassed at Luca’s response.

After hesitating briefly, he decided to speak honestly.

"I don’t know how you’re assessing our current situation, but in my view, we’re facing an imminent catastrophe. Given these circumstances, I can only see you as the sole hope left for Morning Star. So naturally, I need to confirm whether you’re still willing to keep working with me."

His answer was refreshingly honest.

Luca slowly nodded his head.

"To be honest, even if you chose not to stand by my side this time, I wouldn’t blame you. Everyone has an instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm. When faced with almost certain death, anyone has the right to choose to run."

Drumph’s gaze was filled with determination as he spoke.

"Then why don’t you run?" Luca seized the opportunity to ask a question that had long puzzled him. "If there truly is a traitor among Morning Star’s leadership, returning won’t change anything. That traitor has certainly already planned how to kill you."

In Luca’s view, Drumph was excessively loyal to Morning Star. Drumph wasn’t the founder of Morning Star, and within Morning Star he constantly faced deliberate hostility. Given these circumstances, Luca truly couldn’t understand why Drumph remained so loyal.

Hearing Luca’s question, Drumph smiled slightly.

"I know what you’re thinking. It’s true I’ve encountered plenty of difficulties within Morning Star. But in my eyes, none of that matters. Ever since the monsters appeared, all humanity has suffered immense disasters. My family, of course, has also endured tremendous hardships. My original intention in joining Morning Star was to prevent others from suffering as my family did. And of course, I also wanted to protect the last remaining family I have left."

The last remaining family Drumph spoke of was undoubtedly Donlow.

Drumph’s words were filled with sincerity.

Listening to this, Luca was deeply moved.

"Commander, we have to get out! The road ahead is completely blocked by building debris!" one of Drumph’s subordinates suddenly shouted, just as Drumph and Luca were still absorbed in their emotional conversation.

Looking ahead, Luca saw that the main road to Morning Star headquarters was indeed blocked by massive, collapsed buildings.

"Looks like we’ll have to go on foot!" he quickly called back.

Drumph nodded and immediately ordered his subordinates, "Everyone get ready, let’s move quickly! We must reach headquarters as soon as possible!"

Drumph’s subordinates swiftly exited their vehicles.

Everyone then proceeded quickly through the ruins.

Morning Star headquarters was close now.

As they advanced, everyone subconsciously observed the state of the headquarters.

Morning Star headquarters was shrouded in a thick haze.

Contained within that haze was an extremely complicated power. Luca couldn’t immediately determine which faction this power belonged to.

This unexpected situation took him by surprise, but it also made him aware that this operation would be exceedingly dangerous.

Drumph didn’t notice the extra information Luca sensed. However, based on the current condition of Morning Star headquarters, he also knew the coming battle would be extremely difficult.

But no matter how difficult the coming battle might be, Drumph would never retreat.

He had already made up his mind to fight to the death.