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    Aside from that one guy that messed up his work, there were no other forging masters who followed his footsteps, which was rather relieving considering that this is an emergency.


    More importantly, though, there can be no further mistakes at this point, and that is on top of having to work in a hurry, too.


    Cedric, along with three forging masters, flew in the direction of one of therger clusters of pylons that weren''t working. The location was quite far, but fortunately, Cedric was adept at crossing great distances.


    Seeing that hispanions were slower than him, he offered to ferry them with him to save time, which the two unhesitatingly epted.


    Within a couple of blinks on top of the sword, they arrived at the designated location. This trip would''ve taken at least an hour to make had it not been for Cedric''s help.


    Now''s not the time for ttery, though, since they have work to do.


    Cedric left his fellow forging masters at their chosen area while he went to his. As soon as he arrived, he immediately went to work.


    As he did, Cedric discreetly paid attention to the looming horizon. His eyes shed with a distinct golden radiance, peering through the great distance to see the threat over them.


    The concentration of the void substance undoubtedly increased. In his opinion, the Void Air seemed more like a Void Sea at this point, and the camp''s an underwater facility that''s on the verge of being crushed by its overwhelming pressure.


    Faintly, Cedric could see shadows of void creatures darting to and from deep within the fog. He couldn''t make out any of them properly, but it seems that the increased concentration of the void levels also increased their activity.


    The Void Tide is the threat of the void air increasing in density and possibly seeping through the Scarlet Division Wall. And while it doesn''t state that the void creatures will appear with the tide, it also isn''t so farfetched to happen. Some void creatures can freely morph their size, allowing them to also slip through the tiny vents that the void air uses to permeate the wall.


    Thus, it is not for certain that the camp will only face the Void Tide. There might be some stragglers as well.


    Despite dividing his attention, Cedric did well on his work. All of the pylons he''s working on worked shortly after he dealt with them, allowing them to connect to the rest of the already active pylons, thereby extending the protective measures of the camp.


    The fellow forging masters he picked up weren''t slow either. With the three of them, they swiftly dealt with the hole in the defenses in this area.


    And now that there wasn''t anything left for them to do here, Cedric decided to take them to other parts of the camp that urgently needed assistance to hasten the repairs. The other forging masters didn''t decline because Cedric could take them there faster than they could themselves.


    Like this, Cedric continued extending his assistance. He''d go with the others to zones that needed help, and once they''re done there, Cedric would take the rest to other zones, greatly shortening the travel time with his speed and hastening the repairs.


    This happened at least three more times before the disaster struck...


    Psssshhh!!


    It''s like the sound of a gas leak, only that it echoed throughout the camp. This sound signaled the beginning of the disaster.


    Looking above, everybody saw the deep purple fog slowly condensing like a cloud above them. Its density was increasing with each second that passed.


    All who saw felt their hearts clenching in repulsion. Everyone could feel that this thing wasn''t friendly at all; it''s a viceral reaction, one that stemmed from the bottom of their being as creatures born from the primordial chaos.


    Cedric was quick to react. He pped his sword case as soon as he saw the condensing void cloud above them, releasing hundreds of swords that formed a above the exposed hole in the defenses.


    The swords formed an borate—a formation that shimmered with strength and defiance, protecting everything below.


    "Hurry with the repairs! We don''t have much time anymore!"


    Cedric''s urging voice woke up his fellow forging masters. As soon as they returned to reality, they began speeding up the repairs. Some even unhesitatingly employed their secret techniques to hasten their actions. All of them knew that this was no time to hesitate.


    The formation of swords that Cedricunched wasn''t the only defensive measure avable nearby.


    Hidden underground bunkers andpartments opened up too, disying numerous weapons like cannons, ballistas, towers, etc. None of them fired off right away, but their presence was certainlyforting for everybody around the exposed area.


    While Cedric busied himself with his work, he didn''t forget to observe the void cloud above. His face turned increasingly grave because its density was increasing at an rming rate. The foul withering presence of the void was threatening to overwhelm everybody, and it''s causing disruptions already.


    Tssss!


    The sound of acid melting pieces of metal didn''t escape his acute senses. He felt it even more strongly because this acidic substancended on his sword formation.


    If the swords he used were his regr ones, this droplet of acid could''ve easily melted the entire formation. Fortunately, he used the one made with void-resistant metals, which only caused the weapons'' durability to suffer just a little bit.


    But despite being prepared, Cedric still didn''t look good. Since a drop has fallen, there will certainly be next ones. This tells him that there will be rain of these soon, and if they haven''t patched this hole by then, things will turn really hectic here.


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    Fortunately, they were nearly done. Cedric even pushed himself, taking at least 12 pylons all on his own at the same time, to speed up the repairs.


    Tss! Tss! Tss!


    More and more raindrops from the cloud were falling. The sword formation heunched was covering the remaining empty spot on the pylon defenses.


    Soon, the rain fell hard and strong. The sound of the raindrops hitting the pylonwork was like distant thunderous noises. Fortunately, to everybody''s relief, the hole was patched just before the rain came at full force.


    The entire pylonwork was finished, and itsyer of protection extended through the entirety of the camp. The raindrops of void were being repulsed and neutralized by the unique effect of the pylonwork, causing them to dissipate shortly.


    That said, the rain didn''t show any signs of letting up. In fact, it only became stronger as time passed by. From a slight drizzle to a downpour, and from a downpour to a malevolent storm.


    Things happened so quick that some found it difficult to keep up. Before long, the thick and vicous void substance has covered the pylonwork, submerging the whole camp in it.


    Everybody couldn''t help but feel afraid. They started doubting the pylonwork''s durability since this was just too much. The void density was too strong, and they started thinking that if it could seep through the Scarlet Division Wall, it could certainly seep through the pylonwork as well.


    But of course, the pylonwork wasn''t the only defensive measure there was in the camp.


    The numerous cannons, ballistas, me throwers, towers, etc. had all begun firing. Their projectiles easily passed through the pylonwork, leaving no avenues for the void to seep through.


    And while this looked like a wasted effort, since the projectiles were being melted before they could even go past the dense and viscous void anyway, in truth, it was helping.


    The projectiles weren''t wasted because they were lowering the density of the void. If it weren''t for this constant bombardment, the density of the void above them would''ve been unbearable for the pylonwork at this point.


    Cedric kept observing the scenery above. Inwardly, he still felt a strong sense of crisis simply because if things weren''t wrong here, there''s nowhere he could run. The camp was the first line of defense against the void, and as a member of the Border Patrol Guardians, he has a duty to stop them.


    He strained his senses. Doing his best to extend the range of his senses deeper into the void despite the obvious difficulty of doing so. Cedric wanted to check if there were some stragglers that came with the void because if there''s anything that could make this scenario even worse, it would be them.


    Narrowing his eyes and pushing his senses beyond the natural suppression of the void, he did his best to sense any movement.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    In his struggles, something within him broke free. No, it wasn''t the seal that prevented him from identally breaking through the transitional realm; it''s something else.


    It''s somewhere deep within his soul...


    Woosh!


    As if somebody poured a bucket of cold water on him, Cedric felt a piercing rity. The pressure of the void over his senses disappeared, and all of a sudden, he could see through it effortlessly.


    ''What...?''


    ''What the hell just happened to me?''