Chapter 113: War (Part 8)
Earl Robert, the commander of the allied forces, nervously watched the battle in the sky.
The staff officer whispered a suggestion: "My lord, should we use the Dragon-Slayer Crossbow to support the Northwind Eagle Guards? Those dragons shouldn't be able to withstand our crossbow bolts."
"No, continue to keep watch."
Robert's tone was somewhat grave.
The Northwind Eagle Guards were undoubtedly his most important force, but now his heart was full of doubts: That red dragon, Ember Nest's leader, had not appeared since the start of this war!
Anyone with a bit of intelligence could realize that a force capable of nurturing such a legion could not possibly be an ordinary young red dragon.
Robert could now only pray silently, hoping that the gods would bless his Dragon-Slayer Crossbow to be effective against that red dragon.
"We must wait for that red dragon to appear."
Sweat dripped from Robert's forehead. At some point, the air in the Terrell Valley stopped being as fresh as usual, becoming somewhat stifling and hot.
"Yes, my lord."
The staff officer left reluctantly.
In the sky and on the ground, tens of thousands of humans and monsters intertwined and fought fiercely, the situation becoming increasingly chaotic.
A bear goblin smashed the skull of a spear-and-shield soldier with a wolf tooth club, brain matter splattering. But a group of archers behind the soldier drew their bows and arrows, turning the tall and strong bear goblin into a pincushion. A wyvern suddenly swooped down from the sky, piercing those archers with its sharp poisonous tail. However, the Northwind Eagle Guards dove in from behind, using their lances to pierce the wyvern's vulnerable neck.
"I will crush you all!"
Dolo once again led the charge, swinging the heavy Bloodfire Battle Axe with great force.
This hobgoblin had tasted success on the battlefield and knew just how terrifying he had become as a weapon of war.
But this time, he didn't manage to cleave the enemy as expected. Instead, his axe was blocked by a thick shield, and it took a great deal of effort to pull it out.
"For order, step forward!"
Before him stood seven warriors dressed in silver heavy armor. They were the "Crown Oath" paladins of the Bosk family, and the man at the forefront, surrounded by protective radiance, was the famous "White Lion Knight" Taric—who alone blocked Dolo's strike.
They had come specifically to support the central army.
"Savage monster, we shall grant you purification!"
With a command from Taric, several paladins surrounded Dolo tightly.
"Guardian Link!"
Several paladins raised their silver swords high, radiant chains forming between them. Each attack they suffered would be shared among them, the seven acting in unison, moving like one body.
"Damn turtle shell."
Dolo swung his battle axe over and over again, but each strike hit the paladin's shield.
With those radiant chains shimmering faintly, each attack's force was divided into seven parts, allowing the paladins to easily block them and retaliate with their silver swords.
Dolo tried to change direction and break through, wanting to avoid these troublesome paladins.
However, Taric saw through his intentions at a glance.
"Compulsory Duel!"
The silver sword shone brilliantly, forcibly dragging Dolo into a holy duel. He could neither leave nor break through the paladins' defense, and the paladins could use their numerical advantage to launch attacks from all angles.
For a moment, Dolo found himself at a disadvantage, covered in wounds.
"Lord Dolo, I'm here to help you!"
The lizardman leader, Ack, charged in on his ground dragon beast, knocking several paladins away.
But the paladins quickly got back up, forming a tight formation again, like an impenetrable silver fortress.
The old lizardman shaman, Koda, followed closely, waving his wooden staff.
[Scorching Metal]
One paladin's shield turned red-hot, his hands burned black and making sizzling sounds. He couldn't help but throw the shield away and tried to retreat to the rear.
The old shaman squinted slightly, a faint green light shimmering on his staff.
[Entangling Spell]
Wild grasses and vines sprouted from the ground, tightly binding the lone paladin.
"Die!"
Dolo and Ack simultaneously seized the opportunity, charging forward.
The surrounding paladins tried to block with their shields, but it was already too late.
The paladin was first pierced through the shoulder by a bone spear, then his head was shattered by the massive axe swung down from above. Even with the Guardian Chain still attached to him, without the protection of his shield, his flesh and blood could not withstand the force of the giant axe.
"Focus on the enemy caster!"
"Defensive formation!"
Taric shouted loudly.
The remaining paladins once again formed a tight formation, facing off against Dolo and his allies not far away. More soldiers were dispatched to guard their perimeter, and even allied casters rushed over.
[Mithril Bastion]
[Protection Circle]
The depleted paladins became even more cautious, with multiple defensive spells surrounding them. Even Dolo struggled to find an opening for an attack.
Dolo panted heavily, staring at the enemy, his blood-red eyes filled with the desire to kill.
"Koda, can you cast that spell again?"
"My natural energy hasn't reached that level yet, and they have too many protective spells on them."
The lizardman shaman shook his head helplessly.
"Damn turtle shell."
Dolo cursed through gritted teeth, then charged forward again on his ground dragon beast.
But the paladins' silver wall blocked him again and again, preventing him from advancing even an inch.
Without Dolo as the breakthrough point, the Embers Legion's advance slowed significantly. It was no longer like before, where they crushed everything in their path behind the hobgoblin commander.
The "Eagle's Talon" troops were indeed the most elite force of the Lackman Duchy. After several clashes, they gradually adapted to the fierce battle against the monsters.
These soldiers, loyal to the duke, were now fighting with bloodshot eyes after witnessing their comrades fall one after another, holding the basic defense line with sheer flesh and blood. The situation was at a stalemate.
The battle lines moved back and forth, circling around strategic points.
An ogre roared as he crushed several humans and seized a critical high ground, but then archers turned him into a pincushion, leading shield soldiers to reclaim the ground. However, soon a chimera descended from the sky, bringing flames to the allied soldiers.
Death occurred repeatedly.
Blood flowed through the Terrell Valley, soaking the wild grass.
This vast battlefield was like a black hole, greedily devouring the lives of both sides of the war.
Out of complete distrust of the players' discipline, Cassius had not placed them in the most critical front lines, instead positioning them on the flanks.
Thus, Ember Nest's side was led by Medrolash, with a thousand players and five hundred tiefling warriors.
On the allied side were three thousand reinforcements from the Bosk family, not elite troops.
Compared to the intense and bloody front lines, the right-wing battlefield was relatively less fierce, but no less chaotic.
While the tieflings and the allied forces were cautiously probing each other in formation, the players had already charged in like wild horses.
After all, they never cared much for military discipline.
"Charge!"
"WHAAAA!"
"Watch me perform!"
"For the Horde! No, for Ember Nest!"
Leading the charge was the player with the ID "Wings of Freedom." He had now accepted his title as "Brother Holy Light," charging forward completely naked.
Wings of Freedom's class was an Earth Druid embracing nature, fitting his character. He was accompanied by several owls, his summoned animal friends.
"Wild Shape!"
"Roar!"
Brother Holy Light dropped into a rather awkward pose, transforming into a robust brown bear, roaring as he charged towards the line.
The allied forces stared in surprise at the reckless players charging without any tactics. After a brief moment of shock, they quickly responded by unleashing volleys of arrows.
"Why are there so many arrows?!"
"Put up a shield, someone put a shield on me!"
"Barbarian, block for me!"
"Priest, cast Sanctuary on me! I can't hold on much longer."
After several waves of arrows, the players suffered heavy casualties.
The worst was Brother Holy Light in his bear form. He was the biggest target, and now, covered in arrows, looked like a giant porcupine.
He didn't revert back to his naked form until his health points hit zero, a corpse full of arrows, still faintly covered in a thin layer of holy light.
"No—Brother Holy Light—"
"Are we gonna take that?"
"A bunch of NPCs dare to mess with us here!"
The players quickly launched a counterattack, led by the players of [Cult of the Machine God]. They were mostly Artificers and had created many strange gadgets.
"Guardian Mech activated."
With a cold mechanical sound, a tall shadow appeared among the players.
"Whoa, what is that?"
"Someone actually made a Gundam?!"
"That's so damn cool, I want one too!"
Standing over four meters tall, an Omega-Powered Armor stood on the battlefield. Though the iron components looked a bit crude, it couldn't hide the mech's charm. The pilot was none other than the president of the Cult of the Machine God, "Iron Frenzy."
This was the Technomancer subclass Armorer's trait [Omega-Powered Armor]. Iron Frenzy was wearing a Guardian model, suitable for charging into battle.
"Make way, make way, let me handle this!"
Iron Frenzy drove the mech forward, laughing heartily.
He had drained his savings and secretly diverted funds from the Storm Armory to build this armor. Now that he finally had the chance to show it off, he couldn't be more excited.
To own a mech and not show off was like wearing fancy clothes at night when no one could see you!
The allied archers immediately noticed the strange metal giant, firing all sorts of arrows at it.
"Trying to shoot down a Gundam with arrows?"
Iron Frenzy sneered.
"Force Field!"
The Guardian Armor raised its left arm, and driven by magical runes, a transparent force field appeared in front of it, effortlessly blocking the incoming arrows.
The players behind Iron Frenzy followed his advance, pushing all the way up to the shield soldiers.
The allied forces had never seen such a thing before. Facing the steadily advancing Guardian Armor, they could only attack in a disorganized panic, at a loss for what to do.
"My lord, the times have changed!"
"Thunder Punch!"
Iron Frenzy roared, swinging his right fist. The thrusters on the arm flared up, and lightning arcs coiled around his fist.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous crash, the allied shield was smashed inward with an exaggerated fist imprint, and the soldier behind was killed instantly.
The surrounding soldiers clutched their ears in pain, arcs of electricity still coiling around their bodies, paralyzing them.
"Three hundred!"
"Three hundred! Three hundred!"
Iron Frenzy laughed wildly, like a wolf that had entered a flock of sheep, pounding the allied soldiers with each punch, flattening one with each swing. The text "Contribution +300" refreshed on his panel continuously, giving him a sense of immense satisfaction.
"This round is gonna be epic!"
Battlefield Wheelchair followed behind Iron Frenzy, wielding the "Iron Jet," firing it point-blank.
As the gunfire roared, countless metal bullets sprayed out, causing the allied soldiers to fall like wheat, writhing in pain.
"Whoa, four kills with one shot!"
"That powerful?"
Battlefield Wheelchair stared at the updated information on his panel, eyes wide in excitement.
This gun now held a special place in his heart, even comparable to the Type-2 Submachine Gun.
"Artificers are having such a blast."
"I want to switch classes, anyone wanna join?"
"Can you even understand the blueprints? Just randomly switching classes here."
"Let's go, let's go!"
Iron Frenzy had already violently torn a hole in the enemy formation, with players flooding in to exploit the breach.
"For faction contributions!"
"For the Dragon Maid!"
Warlocks cast scorching fireballs, druids summoned bizarre beasts, bards played spellbinding tunes, and rogues crept low, shooting from hidden spots.
"Mage, stop casting darkness! I can't see anything!"
"Wild Warlock, hold off for now!"
"Did you just cast Wild Magic Surge under your own feet?!"
"Bard, get some Faerie Fire up."
The players yelled as they charged forward, unleashing all kinds of skills, with lights of different colors flying everywhere, strange weapons in all directions.
The allied forces had never encountered such a chaotic group of professionals. Facing the players' unruly tactics, they had no choice but to flee in disarray.
The tieflings in the distance had initially laid out their tactics, but upon seeing the players charging in, they suddenly didn't know what to do.
"Captain, what should we do…"
Damacus stepped forward to inquire.
Medrolash donned his helmet, lifted his sword, and said calmly, "Follow them in, take advantage of the spoils. Don't care about those Starfallers."
"They are immortal, we are not."
"Prepare to attack."
He was growing ever more adept at exploiting the players.
"Yes, captain."
The tieflings charged in through the breach created by the players, still in tight formation, attacking more systematically.
The players soon noticed that the tieflings had joined the fray.
"Damn, NPCs are here to steal our kills!"
That was their only thought.