From the early days of Conviction to now, Advanced Magic had gradually become more and more accessible, to the extent where they were even getting into the hands of ordinary players. Upstart ranked roughly within the top 100 Elementalists in Asskickers United. He wasn't a top player. But any Advanced Magic was extremely powerful, regardless of the caster.
The Armoured Catapult had already been enveloped by a blazing red haze. Only then did the players from Bloodlust Blades realize something was wrong.
"Stop him!"
"Cast Silence!"
One Paladin from Bloodlust Blades after another charged toward Upstart.
Lofty Shadow was at the front dealing with the enemy Fighters. Looking at the commotion in the team chat, he faintly smiled. "Upstart, that kid. Not bad!"
Seeing the Paladins from Bloodlust Blades charging over in his direction, gradually entering within a five-meter range of him, Lofty Shadow bellowed out with a deafening roar.
Demoralizing Shout!
All the surrounding players from Bloodlust Blades were stopped dead in their tracks. Although the effect of Demoralizing Shout wasn't powerful, what was so great about it was that it was an area-of-effect skill.
At the same time, an Elementalist in the back cast Whiteout. The area was blanketed by a layer of dense icy mist as the temperature plummeted by several degrees. Everyone within the influence of the spell, enemies and allies alike, had their movement speed reduced to a crawl.
The Mages in the back were willing to do anything to protect Upstart. They all had similar resolve. So long as they could destroy the Armoured Catapults, even sacrificing their fellow comrades in arms was acceptable. Because since the start of the war, the Armoured Catapults had killed over 9,000 players from Asskickers United, and indirectly led to the deaths of tens of thousands more. If it weren't for the Goblin Magic Cannon and Crypt Lord, the Cripps Stronghold would've long since fallen.
As such, the players of Asskickers United loathed these Armoured Catapults to the bottom of their hearts.
Bloodlust Blades, Alliance of Mages, Divine Protectors, and Angel Corps weren't guilds that Asskickers United was capable of contending with. Although Asskickers United had many elites with a decent pool of talent, and their potential for growth appeared limitless, even a guild with the most solid of foundations couldn't come out of so many successive wars unscathed. Though this might not be the case with skill, in terms of level and gear quality, the top elites in Asskickers United were now far inferior to their counterparts in Alliance of Mages, Divine Protectors, and Angel Corps. Some of the former elites, who Nie Yan originally had high hopes for, had dropped to Level 30–40 over the past several wars. For them to catch back up to the rest of the pack would be a herculean task. But before they even got a chance to recover, Asskickers United became embroiled in another war.
If it weren't for Nie Yan's enormous financial support and Asskickers United's unity, any other different guild would've long since withered away.
It would be very difficult for Asskickers United to get out of their current situation. If it were only Bloodlust Blades, there would be no problem. But gathered here today was the combined forces of four major guilds. Then add in weapons of mass death like the Armoured Catapults on top of this, and it was miracle Asskickers United hadn't been defeated already.
It was only the emergence of the Crypt Lord that had nullified the superiority of the Armoured Catapults, allowing the scales of victory to start tipping in Asskickers United's favour.
At this point, the players from Asskickers United only had one thing on their minds. If they destroyed the remaining two Armoured Catapults, then the war would already be half-won!
For the sake of their fallen brothers!
Area-of-effect magic with relatively short cast times bombarded the space up ahead. These ground-targeted spells only had radiuses of five meters. They couldn't differentiate between friend or foe either, damaging players from both sides. But at this moment, they were the only things that could stop the charging players from Bloodlust Blades.
Players were dying in droves under this dense bombardment of small area-of-effect spells.
The vast majority of these deaths were from Bloodlust Blades, but a portion also belonged to Asskickers United. Under this intense shower of magic, even Fighters would falter and collapse.
The space up ahead was cleared away, turning into an isolated zone between both sides. These small area-of-effect spells could last seven to eight, even ten seconds.
Fireballs ruthlessly pelted Lofty Shadow. A string of damage values ranging from 500–600 rose up above his head. His health instantly fell to critical levels. The eight Priests in the back frantically tried to keep him alive. All the other Fighters in his group had died. He was the only one that remained standing.
Under the endless inferno, Lofty Shadow charged towards several oncoming enemy Paladins. It was better to go out together than to let them pass!
Soaring Angel couldn't pass through the wall of flames, so he could only repeatedly shoot at Upstart with his arrows. The others Mages from Asskickers United lunged forward one after another, taking the hits at the cost of their lives.
"Protect Upstart!"
"Everyone, persevere!"
The Mages transformed into rays of light after being pierced by Soaring Angel's arrows.
Three seconds, two seconds, one second… Upstart had finally finished chanting his Advanced Magic!
Ravaging Blaze!
A gigantic column of flames descended from the sky and smashed into the Armoured Catapult. These flames resembled lava erupting from a volcano, possessing incredible might.
The Armoured Catapult was immediately set alight. As the flames raged on, it exploded into fragments of wood and metal.
Soaring Angel lowered his Palente Phoenix Longbow as despair washed over him. It was over. He hatefully glared at Nie Yan riding on the Crypt Lord in the distance. "Nirvana Flame, things between us won't be over so easily!"
He would come once more when flying mounts were released!
Of two Armoured Catapults, only one remained standing. Their already slim chances of stopping the Crypt Lord had dropped even further.
At this moment, Nie Yan had the Crypt Lord charge towards the remaining Armoured Catapult. Five flaming shells struck its body, shaving away 350,000 health each time. Since the gap between attacks was relatively long, the lone Armoured Catapult didn't pose much of a threat. The Crypt Lord tramped over all the players in its path and rammed into the Armoured Catapult with its horn, causing it to burst apart and splinter into pieces.
Bloodlust Blades had lost all hope of making a comeback. It wasn't long before the tens of thousands of troops from Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors received word of the destruction of the Armoured Catapults.
"The Armoured Catapults were destroyed. We're done for!"
Despair loomed over the hearts of these players.
They were just about to turn around and leave this area, when the Crypt Lord appeared before them in the distant plains. Its frightening appearance and imposing aura immediately struck fear into their hearts.
Without the Armoured Catapults, the Crypt Lord became the sole ruler of this war!
「Where's Soaring Angel?」Nie Yan asked in the guild chat.
「I don't know. He disappeared.」
「Dammit, he sure fled fast, just like a rat!」
Soaring Angel had vanished without a trace. Victorious Return was currently tangling with Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine. Sensing things weren't going well, they attempted to retreat in the direction of Radiant Sacred Flame.
「God dammit Trickster! Why the hell haven't you done anything yet! The war is almost fucking over, and your forces are still just standing there like jackasses!」Heaven Breaker cursed. He had made an agreement with Nightbreak Trickster that they would both take action together. With so many troops, they would at least be able to wipe out Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine. Meanwhile Asskickers United had suffered heavy losses with only 30,000 players remaining at most. They could swoop in and deal the finishing blow. So what if they had the Crypt Lord! Could it stand up to overwhelming numbers?
Although Heaven Breaker didn't know the stats of the Crypt Lord, he knew that these types of powerful existences couldn't stay on the battlefield forever. As long as they stalled and delayed until the summon duration was over, then launched a counter-offensive, it would still be possible to win!
However, Radiant Sacred Flame didn't follow with their agreed upon plan and just remained on the sidelines doing nothing, even up till now! How could Heaven Breaker not be incensed?
Nightbreak Trickster didn't get mad over Heaven Breaker's cursing. Instead, he simply cracked a faint smile.「Oh? Was I supposed to do something? Sorry, but we all have our own interests to follow. Better luck next time, old friend.」
「Trickster, what the hell are you trying to say!?」Heaven Breaker shouted.
Just as these words left his mouth, the huge army of Radiant Sacred Flame let out thundering battle cries and started slaughtering their way through the forces of Victorious Return.
At this moment, Heaven Breaker received a report from his subordinate.
"Boss, Radiant Sacred Flame was acquired by Asskickers United! We've been backstabbed!" the player cried out in a panic.
"Shit, that bastard Trickster! Why didn't we get this information earlier?" Heaven Breaker cursed. He didn't expect things to turn out this way.
"It seems Trickster even kept it a secret from his own guild. He only revealed this to them just now. Sapphire Shrine, Holy Empire, and Radiant Flame are currently attacking our strongholds!"
They had also just received the news. Nightbreak Trickster had kept Radiant Sacred Flame's relationship with Asskickers United under lock and key.
At this moment, the forces of Radiant Sacred Flame and Victorious Return had already started clashing.
Furthermore, Heaven Breaker received two notifications.
Dawn Stronghold is under attack.
Victorious Stronghold is under attack.
Sapphire Shrine, Holy Empire, and Radiant sacred Flame were storming the two strongholds. The number of players participating numbered only around 6,000. However, almost all the manpower in Victorious Return had set out to participate in the Cripps Stronghold siege. Only a couple thousand players were left behind to guard the two strongholds, and they were mostly low-level. If their two strongholds were destroyed, Victorious Return would no longer have a place in Calore!
However, their troops were all tangled up in combat outside the Cripps Stronghold. There was simply no way to return!
The undisputed number one guild of the previous timeline's Viridian Empire would fall today!
Even the most brilliant stars eventually flicker and die.