Gathering Wives with a System Chapter 430: Hell Difficulty, 50% Increased Reward

[Quest: Defend the Ladder of Heavens]

[Duration: 6 Months]

[Alert! Protocol 214AS214X-QQ is active on Selene Calloway’s World!]

[Quest Difficulty will be automatically increased.]

[Difficulty 'Hell' chosen.]

[For choosing Hell Difficulty, all Quest rewards are increased by 50%.]

[Warning! This is a Special Quest! All choices made during the Quest will have consequences!]

Isaac’s vision darted across the notification screen. Six months. The duration was long enough to give him pause, but he forced himself to shove those thoughts aside. Standing idle amidst a conflict was a luxury only the dead could afford. He processed every detail of the text, his senses remaining taut as he monitored the distant thunder of explosions and the tactical shouts of the soldiers.

'Difficulty is Hell. Rewards are up by half... this is to be expected.'

His attention settled on the final line. 'Special Quest? Choices carrying consequences? What exactly does that imply?'

Isaac let out a heavy breath, pulling his mind back to the immediate reality. He could contemplate the implications later; survival was the priority now. He surveyed the battlefield.

Those soldiers who had been roaring in triumph just moments ago were consolidating their positions near a defensive line, rallying under banners depicting a silver blade. Others were stationed closer to the massive structural pylons reaching toward the heavens: the Ladder itself.

'Two factions are present here: those following the Sword Maiden and those dedicated to the defense of the Ladder.'

A firm hand gripped his shoulder. "Captain! What are your orders?" the soldier asked with palpable urgency.

Isaac spun around. The man was garbed in the same tactical gear Isaac now wore—a suit of dark plating overlaid with faint, pulsing circuitry. Despite the biting chill of the air, sweat beaded on the soldier’s forehead.

'Captain.'

The word triggered a sharp mental shift. The System had designated a rank for him. Squaring his shoulders, Isaac spoke with command in his voice, "Provide me a sitrep. Where are our main defensive assets stationed currently?"

The soldier blinked in surprise, but his years of training quickly stifled his confusion. "The frontline collapsed in the wake of the breach, sir. The Sword Maiden herself decimated the orbital shield generators. She carved through our ranks with ease. The Stronghold General has teleported in to intercept her personally," he rattled off.

The Stronghold General. That was the owner of the golden star he had noticed earlier.

"And the status of the Ladder?" Isaac pressed.

"Structural integrity is at twenty-three percent and dropping. Our engineering crews can't keep pace with the continued onslaught from enemy Champions. If we don't halt them," the soldier paused, his voice trembling, "we are going to lose."

Isaac gave a slow nod. Even with the High Arbiter—the Stronghold General—engaging the Sword Maiden elsewhere, her host remained dangerously formidable. Judging by the oppressive weight in the atmosphere, these enemies were far from trivial.

He stretched his perception outward.

The results were immediate.

He detected several presences radiating immense authority: they were the Overlords of Apex-ranked species. Clustered beneath them were scores of Apex-ranked Champions, any one of whom possessed the power to raze a city. Their signature energies pressed down upon the battlefield like an impending tempest.

Just as Isaac prepared to issue his opening commands, a sudden gust of wind swept across the plains. It hit without warning. Every soldier on the field felt it simultaneously. The air briefly carried the scent of rain-drenched earth.

Then, at the perimeter of the Ladder of Heavens, water began to rise. It manifested as a fine mist, which rapidly coalesced into a stream, then a towering column. The water expanded with terrifying speed, arching outward like a blooming lotus until it blotted out the horizon.

"Incoming!" someone shrieked.

A tidal wave thundered forward. By the time it slammed into Isaac, it had swelled into a colossal tsunami. There was no time to dodge or brace.

The surge passed straight through him. The sensation was icy against his skin, yet it carried no crushing weight. Isaac swung around immediately. Behind him, the enemy ranks were being swept back, tossed aside like dead leaves in a gale. The defensive units, however, remained rooted, untouched by the torrent—some merely staggered from the sheer shock of the event.

The deluge swept across the field until it fractured into millions of shimmering, light-evaporating droplets. A heavy silence descended for a heartbeat. Then, the saturated ground began to shudder. Liquid surged upward again, knitting itself into thick, circular walls encasing the Ladder of Heavens. The water calcified into a rotating barrier—translucent, yet dense as steel.

An announcement boomed through the battlefield speakers. "The enemy has been repelled, though they remain uninjured. The defensive veil will hold; they cannot strike while it remains active. All elements, regroup at once and prioritize the wounded," the voice said with sterile calm.

Isaac recognized that tone. Even with the static interference, it was unmistakable.

"All Team Leaders and high-ranking officers, report to the command hall immediately."

The transmission cut out. Around him, officers moved with disciplined haste. A group of captains began their march toward the interior of the primary structure, and Isaac joined them.

As the entrance to the Ladder of Heavens unfurled like petals, Isaac was momentarily struck by the interior view. 'The level of technology here... it feels like walking onto the set of a futuristic film.' He maintained a stoic facade, but the internal architecture was staggering. The Ladder was massive, easily rivaling the size of a Tier-1 metropolis. Vast, elevated platforms connected by luminous walkways hung in a sprawling, multi-tiered space. Above, an artificial sky projected a stunningly realistic firmament of stars and drifting clouds. In the very center, an enormous elevator shaft rose toward a vanishing point.

And this was only the first floor.

"Isaac!"

He turned as a familiar voice called out. Alice was navigating the crowd toward him, her combat gear marked with the insignia of a Team Leader. She dropped her voice as she drew closer, glancing around nervously. "Did you manifest outside the soulbind pendant as well?"

Isaac gave a quiet nod. "It seems this Quest necessitates that everyone starts outside of it."

Alice’s brow creased as they joined the stream of officers filing toward the elevator. "What about your summons? Could they have been placed outside too?"

"Uncertain," Isaac admitted with a soft sigh. "I can’t reach Selene. Either she’s deployed in a different sector, or our access is restricted until specific conditions are met."

"That’s ominous. We're already confronting Apex species," Alice remarked. They walked in somber silence for a while, taking in the scale of their environment. Engineers scrambled along overhead walkways while medical drones ferried casualties to triage zones. Even with the flickering reports of structural damage, the facility operated with a cold, terrifying efficiency.

Selene remained a mystery, though Isaac had already managed to track Avery’s location to somewhere within the Ladder’s command hierarchy.

They reached the massive glass elevator, crowding in with the other officers. When the doors slid shut without a sound, the machine shot upward, the acceleration smooth yet dizzying. Floors whipped past their sight, revealing scenes of utter carnage. Many levels had been sheared open, with corridors ending in molten, ragged edges. The reinforced walls were not just destroyed; they had been surgically sliced through.

Alice stared at the destruction, her lips pressed into a thin line. "It looks like this was performed in a single strike," she murmured, tracking a long scar that traversed several ruined levels. "I knew the Sword Empress was powerful, but this... this exceeds every calculation."

Isaac nodded slowly, still watching the damaged floors blur past. "That isn't the only concern. Did you look at the sky before? The moon is still present," he said in a low voice, mindful of the nearby officers.

Alice caught his meaning instantly, her eyes widening. "The fall of the moon signifies the dawn of the Apocalypse and the arrival of the System. If the moon remains in place, the System hasn't arrived yet. And yet, the Sword Empress already possesses this level of strength?" she breathed.