1571

Whoosh!

The wind blowing against my bangs and forehead felt a bit painful. When I burst out of the clouds, a city basking in the first glimmer of dawn entered my view. It was none other than Burning City, the so-called Pearl of the North and the pride of the Korean server. Its walls were tough and difficult to overcome. It was also situated in the middle between the Northern Alliance and Cyan Earth City. It was the reason why God of War and Breeze and Rain had never dared to set their sights on the north[1].

……

I checked the player count under the Nation War interface—

Korea: 3,124,770

China: 11

India: 4,217

……

Looks like I was one of the 11 Chinese players on the map. I had no idea where the other 10 Chinese players were or what they were doing, but that was fine. I wasn’t counting on them to play a role in this invasion anyway.

Tear Stain was an intelligent woman. Judging from the 3 million players she had left behind at Burning City, she clearly knew not to store all of her eggs in one basket. I doubted that they were elites, but 3 million players were still going to be a grind.

I immediately contacted He Yi—

"Eve?"

"I’m here. What is it?"

"Tell the gang to prepare the siege weapons. Once they’re ready, I’m going to teleport them all to Burning City. Also, please contact the remnants of Snowy Cathaya, Blazing Hot Lips, Purple Lily, Candle Dragon, Warsky Alliance and anyone else who’s still online and tell them to move their siege weapons to Dark Moon City as well. This time, we’re going to drown the enemy with payloads instead of scaling their walls normally!"

He Yi burst into a giggle. "You want to beat the enemy via the P2W method? That’s pretty unusual. Why the change of heart?"

I coughed. "Well… that’s because they still have 3 million defenders. How can we possibly defeat them if we do this the standard way? No, the only way to do this is to destroy their walls with the White Marsh Catapults and force them to engage us in a do-or-die battle on the plains."

He Yi exclaimed in realization, “I see. Understood. I’ll get it done right away. Give us 30 minutes, will you?"

"Of course!"

……

Pa! I landed on top of a maple leaf and slowly made my way toward Burning City. I chuckled as I stared at the distant defenders slowly shuffling their way onto the walls for a moment. It was finally our turn to go on the offensive and make both the Northern Alliance and the Indian server shudder in fear!

It was at this moment the system announced the temporary occupation of Elephant City by Frostsword City. If Elephant City’s players couldn’t retake their city in time, then Elephant City would become the Russians’!

"Heh…" I looked up and chuckled. Once upon a time, after I was coronated the "West King" of the Indian server, I had killed their collaborator and taken away their prize from right beneath their nose. Therefore, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Indians hated me just as much as the Japanese. In order to protect Swallow Ear Canton, Elephant City and Cyan Earth City had thrown nearly every man and woman they had against us only to be thwarted at the last moment. Now, their decision had come back to bite them. The incredibly powerful Indian server had less than 5 million online players left in this war, which was nowhere near enough to resist the Russians. God of War, Breeze and Rain and Flowing Cloud must feel like dying in real life right now.

I waved my arm and activated Earth Escape. Then, I continued to make my way toward Burning City. There was nothing to do until the gang was ready anyway, so I might as well take a leisurely stroll while I could.

……

Thirty minutes passed very quickly. He Yi said to me in the guild channel, "We’re ready, Lu Chen!"

"Mn!"

I immediately returned to the surface and took out the Teleportation Divine Crystal. Once the 100-yard-radius teleportation formation immediately had taken form, my players immediately rushed out into the open. My corps commanders and the Dragonlight Cavalrymen emerged first, followed by the Dragonlight Archers, Holy Mages and other classes. I had chosen to establish the teleportation formation in front of the southern gate of Burning City because it was where Tear Stain and her 100k troops would be passing through to return to their city!

"Dragonlight Cavalry, spread out and guard the perimeter!" Li Chengfeng yelled while raising his Cyan Peak Halberd.

The stream of players coming through the teleportation formation seemed like it would never end. It wasn’t long before the players quickly encircled the city. Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and its few remaining subguilds alone numbered around 700k players. Adding the stragglers we managed to collect from the other three main cities, we actually managed to form a fighting force of 2 million or so. Of course, the quality of these players was so-so at best. In the end, the only one we could truly count on was ourselves.

In the sky, He Yi ordered while group after group of engineers streamed out of the teleportation formation, "Faster! We’re going to set up an offensive line of siege weapons on the southern gate! Bring out all of the White Marsh Catapults, the Basic Catapults and the Chiyou Plumes as well! When we’re ready, focus-fire any and all high-level players who dare to show their faces on the walls! Also, prioritize killing Tear Stain if she shows herself!"

I felt like laughing, to be honest. He Yi was a patient woman, but it was clear that even she was at her limits after losing so many elite Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls players to Tear Stain. She must’ve been looking for an opportunity to take the guild leader out from the start, and now that opportunity had finally arrived!

……

"Here they come!" Li Chengfeng pointed to the south.

It was as he said. Dust clouds appeared on the horizon as Tear Stain and her 100k-strong force made their way back from Soaring Flame Desert. When they saw that several million Chinese players were gathered right outside her doorsteps, she immediately turned green and swore, "What the fuck? How did they get ahead of us? Since when can the Chinese appear wherever they please?"

Behind her, a corps commander asked, "Guild leader, should we inform the brothers and sisters inside the city to come out, catch the enemy in a pincer attack and annihilate them all?"

Tear Stain shook her head immediately. "We’re less than 24 hours away from the end of the Nation War, and there’s just no need to take that risk. Ancient Sword still has around 30k Dragonlight Cavalrymen, and they are commanded by Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand, Legendary Brave, Gui Guzi and more. They alone can slaughter our 100k players to the last, much less the others. One of the greatest quality a person could have is to know one’s own abilities. Right now, we need to defend against the enemy, not attack them."

The corps commander’s eyes widened. "What… what should we do then?"

Tear Stain took out a scroll from her lap and declared, "All units, don’t engage the enemy! I repeat, don’t engage the enemy! Instead, teleport back to the city and prepare for a city defense! Also, set up the arrows towers and move all of our siege weapons to the walls!"

"Yes ma’am!"

The Throne of the Wild players crushed their return scrolls immediately. A minute later, all 100k of them had returned to the city.

Li Chengfeng let out a disdainful snort. "I knew this would happen…"

"You talk as if we don’t hold all the advantage… Anyway, it’s time. Arm the siege weapons and prepare to attack!"

"Mn!"

……

I unsheathed the Xuanyuan Sword and pointed at the defenders of Burning City. Then, I shouted, "All White Marsh Catapults, Basic Catapults and ballistae! Aim about 30 degrees upward and fire everything you've got! Once their wall is down, we’ll able to get inside and slaughter them to the last!"

The gears and springs screeched. At least 300 White Marsh Catapults, 4,000 Basic Catapults and over 10,000 Ballistae fired at Burning City. Candle Dragon, Warsky Alliance and the remaining guilds had contributed all of their siege weapons to this assault, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the siege weapons of nearly the entire China server were here. Forget Tear Stain, even I was shocked by the commotion they caused!

BOOM BOOM BOOM…

Countless rocks smashed against the walls of Burning City and left deep holes in them. Their durability began falling in earnest.

Gripping her sword and biting her lips tightly, Tear Stain said, "Goddammit… Where are our siege weapons? Get them up the walls and focus-fire their White Marsh Catapults now! Our walls won’t be able to hold out for long like this!"

……

"Keep attacking!"

He Yi ordered again beneath the city.

Tear Stain was starting to get really nervous. "Target their White Marsh Catapults and destroy them!"

Hundreds of Ballistae took aim, fired, and destroyed a couple of White Marsh Catapults instantly. There was simply no way the White Marsh Catapult could survive a volley like that. Still, we should be thankful that Tear Stain wasn’t so close to Red Maple that she could coax him to lend her 3 Dragon Cannons like Vienna’s Sorrow did. Otherwise, it would’ve been a lot harder to topple the city.

Tear Stain responded to our siege weapons with machinery of her own. Now, the ball was in our court!

He Yi glanced at her engineers and ordered, "Chiyou Plume team, set up the Chiyou Plumes 1,500 yards away from the walls and target their siege weapons. Use penetration mode!"

11 Chiyou Plumes were quickly set up behind the lines. They alone just had to be worth a big chunk of our guild’s entire wealth. A Chiyou Plume shot could inflict at least ten million damage to a single unit, and a basic ballista only had several million HP. Just in the first salve alone, an entire row of ballistae was wiped out without a trace. A few seconds later, another 11 ballistae vanished from the walls. The Chiyou Plumes might have poorer AoE, but they more than made up for it with unerring accuracy!

Tear Stain’s complexion had turned purple at this point. "No, no! We’re going to lose our main city if this continues! All cavalrymen from third to seventh subguilds, follow me to attack their formation! I know their numbers seem great, but the only ones who can really fight are Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. That’s a couple hundred thousand at most. I want the other three gates open and a million troops to disrupt their formation! Also, contact the German server and tell Chariot City to send reinforcements! I know they can mobilize at least a million troops or so!"

The gates opened, and Tear Stain herself flew down the walls. Here they come!

……

I unsheathed the Xuanyuan Sword and ordered with a smile, "Dragonlight Cavalry, stay where you are and Guard. Holy Mages, bombard the enemy when they get close. We’re just going to hold the line and minimize our losses. Healers, please keep our Dragonlight Cavalrymen alive!"

At the same time, I threw the Scepter of Divine Flame to Lian Xin. She caught it firmly and said, "Thank you, big bro!"

And so, our divine mage became the proud owner of the scepter of the Twelve Divine Armaments. I didn’t think there was any mage in the world who could beat her now.

"Ready! Shoot Tear Stain the moment she gets into range, Beiming!" Gui Guzi declared with a laugh.

However, Tear Stain didn’t try to engage us. In fact, I doubted that she even considered fighting us divine players at all. Instead, she bore the God Devil Breaks of our Holy Mages and attacked a group of Protective Umbrella Zephyr Cavalrymen at the wing. As for her cavalrymen, they weren’t able to do much at all. Our preparations and buffs were simply too great to overcome.

He Yi lowered her arm and ordered again, "Ballistae, lower your aim and fire at the cavalrymen on the ground!"

……

The ballistae fired, and a thick rain of steel bolts flew across the plains. A second later, the entire southern field of Burning City was drenched in blood.

1. T/N: you’re sure it’s not because you keep aggroing the shit out of them? ☜

Whoosh!

The wind blowing against my bangs and forehead felt a bit painful. When I burst out of the clouds, a city basking in the first glimmer of dawn entered my view. It was none other than Burning City, the so-called Pearl of the North and the pride of the Korean server. Its walls were tough and difficult to overcome. It was also situated in the middle between the Northern Alliance and Cyan Earth City. It was the reason why God of War and Breeze and Rain had never dared to set their sights on the north[1].

……

I checked the player count under the Nation War interface—

Korea: 3,124,770

China: 11

India: 4,217

……

Looks like I was one of the 11 Chinese players on the map. I had no idea where the other 10 Chinese players were or what they were doing, but that was fine. I wasn’t counting on them to play a role in this invasion anyway.

Tear Stain was an intelligent woman. Judging from the 3 million players she had left behind at Burning City, she clearly knew not to store all of her eggs in one basket. I doubted that they were elites, but 3 million players were still going to be a grind.

I immediately contacted He Yi—

"Eve?"

"I’m here. What is it?"

"Tell the gang to prepare the siege weapons. Once they’re ready, I’m going to teleport them all to Burning City. Also, please contact the remnants of Snowy Cathaya, Blazing Hot Lips, Purple Lily, Candle Dragon, Warsky Alliance and anyone else who’s still online and tell them to move their siege weapons to Dark Moon City as well. This time, we’re going to drown the enemy with payloads instead of scaling their walls normally!"

He Yi burst into a giggle. "You want to beat the enemy via the P2W method? That’s pretty unusual. Why the change of heart?"

I coughed. "Well… that’s because they still have 3 million defenders. How can we possibly defeat them if we do this the standard way? No, the only way to do this is to destroy their walls with the White Marsh Catapults and force them to engage us in a do-or-die battle on the plains."

He Yi exclaimed in realization, “I see. Understood. I’ll get it done right away. Give us 30 minutes, will you?"

"Of course!"

……

Pa! I landed on top of a maple leaf and slowly made my way toward Burning City. I chuckled as I stared at the distant defenders slowly shuffling their way onto the walls for a moment. It was finally our turn to go on the offensive and make both the Northern Alliance and the Indian server shudder in fear!

It was at this moment the system announced the temporary occupation of Elephant City by Frostsword City. If Elephant City’s players couldn’t retake their city in time, then Elephant City would become the Russians’!

"Heh…" I looked up and chuckled. Once upon a time, after I was coronated the "West King" of the Indian server, I had killed their collaborator and taken away their prize from right beneath their nose. Therefore, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Indians hated me just as much as the Japanese. In order to protect Swallow Ear Canton, Elephant City and Cyan Earth City had thrown nearly every man and woman they had against us only to be thwarted at the last moment. Now, their decision had come back to bite them. The incredibly powerful Indian server had less than 5 million online players left in this war, which was nowhere near enough to resist the Russians. God of War, Breeze and Rain and Flowing Cloud must feel like dying in real life right now.

I waved my arm and activated Earth Escape. Then, I continued to make my way toward Burning City. There was nothing to do until the gang was ready anyway, so I might as well take a leisurely stroll while I could.

……

Thirty minutes passed very quickly. He Yi said to me in the guild channel, "We’re ready, Lu Chen!"

"Mn!"

I immediately returned to the surface and took out the Teleportation Divine Crystal. Once the 100-yard-radius teleportation formation immediately had taken form, my players immediately rushed out into the open. My corps commanders and the Dragonlight Cavalrymen emerged first, followed by the Dragonlight Archers, Holy Mages and other classes. I had chosen to establish the teleportation formation in front of the southern gate of Burning City because it was where Tear Stain and her 100k troops would be passing through to return to their city!

"Dragonlight Cavalry, spread out and guard the perimeter!" Li Chengfeng yelled while raising his Cyan Peak Halberd.

The stream of players coming through the teleportation formation seemed like it would never end. It wasn’t long before the players quickly encircled the city. Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and its few remaining subguilds alone numbered around 700k players. Adding the stragglers we managed to collect from the other three main cities, we actually managed to form a fighting force of 2 million or so. Of course, the quality of these players was so-so at best. In the end, the only one we could truly count on was ourselves.

In the sky, He Yi ordered while group after group of engineers streamed out of the teleportation formation, "Faster! We’re going to set up an offensive line of siege weapons on the southern gate! Bring out all of the White Marsh Catapults, the Basic Catapults and the Chiyou Plumes as well! When we’re ready, focus-fire any and all high-level players who dare to show their faces on the walls! Also, prioritize killing Tear Stain if she shows herself!"

I felt like laughing, to be honest. He Yi was a patient woman, but it was clear that even she was at her limits after losing so many elite Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls players to Tear Stain. She must’ve been looking for an opportunity to take the guild leader out from the start, and now that opportunity had finally arrived!

……

"Here they come!" Li Chengfeng pointed to the south.

It was as he said. Dust clouds appeared on the horizon as Tear Stain and her 100k-strong force made their way back from Soaring Flame Desert. When they saw that several million Chinese players were gathered right outside her doorsteps, she immediately turned green and swore, "What the fuck? How did they get ahead of us? Since when can the Chinese appear wherever they please?"

Behind her, a corps commander asked, "Guild leader, should we inform the brothers and sisters inside the city to come out, catch the enemy in a pincer attack and annihilate them all?"

Tear Stain shook her head immediately. "We’re less than 24 hours away from the end of the Nation War, and there’s just no need to take that risk. Ancient Sword still has around 30k Dragonlight Cavalrymen, and they are commanded by Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand, Legendary Brave, Gui Guzi and more. They alone can slaughter our 100k players to the last, much less the others. One of the greatest quality a person could have is to know one’s own abilities. Right now, we need to defend against the enemy, not attack them."

The corps commander’s eyes widened. "What… what should we do then?"

Tear Stain took out a scroll from her lap and declared, "All units, don’t engage the enemy! I repeat, don’t engage the enemy! Instead, teleport back to the city and prepare for a city defense! Also, set up the arrows towers and move all of our siege weapons to the walls!"

"Yes ma’am!"

The Throne of the Wild players crushed their return scrolls immediately. A minute later, all 100k of them had returned to the city.

Li Chengfeng let out a disdainful snort. "I knew this would happen…"

"You talk as if we don’t hold all the advantage… Anyway, it’s time. Arm the siege weapons and prepare to attack!"

"Mn!"

……

I unsheathed the Xuanyuan Sword and pointed at the defenders of Burning City. Then, I shouted, "All White Marsh Catapults, Basic Catapults and ballistae! Aim about 30 degrees upward and fire everything you've got! Once their wall is down, we’ll able to get inside and slaughter them to the last!"

The gears and springs screeched. At least 300 White Marsh Catapults, 4,000 Basic Catapults and over 10,000 Ballistae fired at Burning City. Candle Dragon, Warsky Alliance and the remaining guilds had contributed all of their siege weapons to this assault, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the siege weapons of nearly the entire China server were here. Forget Tear Stain, even I was shocked by the commotion they caused!

BOOM BOOM BOOM…

Countless rocks smashed against the walls of Burning City and left deep holes in them. Their durability began falling in earnest.

Gripping her sword and biting her lips tightly, Tear Stain said, "Goddammit… Where are our siege weapons? Get them up the walls and focus-fire their White Marsh Catapults now! Our walls won’t be able to hold out for long like this!"

……

"Keep attacking!"

He Yi ordered again beneath the city.

Tear Stain was starting to get really nervous. "Target their White Marsh Catapults and destroy them!"

Hundreds of Ballistae took aim, fired, and destroyed a couple of White Marsh Catapults instantly. There was simply no way the White Marsh Catapult could survive a volley like that. Still, we should be thankful that Tear Stain wasn’t so close to Red Maple that she could coax him to lend her 3 Dragon Cannons like Vienna’s Sorrow did. Otherwise, it would’ve been a lot harder to topple the city.

Tear Stain responded to our siege weapons with machinery of her own. Now, the ball was in our court!

He Yi glanced at her engineers and ordered, "Chiyou Plume team, set up the Chiyou Plumes 1,500 yards away from the walls and target their siege weapons. Use penetration mode!"

11 Chiyou Plumes were quickly set up behind the lines. They alone just had to be worth a big chunk of our guild’s entire wealth. A Chiyou Plume shot could inflict at least ten million damage to a single unit, and a basic ballista only had several million HP. Just in the first salve alone, an entire row of ballistae was wiped out without a trace. A few seconds later, another 11 ballistae vanished from the walls. The Chiyou Plumes might have poorer AoE, but they more than made up for it with unerring accuracy!

Tear Stain’s complexion had turned purple at this point. "No, no! We’re going to lose our main city if this continues! All cavalrymen from third to seventh subguilds, follow me to attack their formation! I know their numbers seem great, but the only ones who can really fight are Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. That’s a couple hundred thousand at most. I want the other three gates open and a million troops to disrupt their formation! Also, contact the German server and tell Chariot City to send reinforcements! I know they can mobilize at least a million troops or so!"

The gates opened, and Tear Stain herself flew down the walls. Here they come!

……

I unsheathed the Xuanyuan Sword and ordered with a smile, "Dragonlight Cavalry, stay where you are and Guard. Holy Mages, bombard the enemy when they get close. We’re just going to hold the line and minimize our losses. Healers, please keep our Dragonlight Cavalrymen alive!"

At the same time, I threw the Scepter of Divine Flame to Lian Xin. She caught it firmly and said, "Thank you, big bro!"

And so, our divine mage became the proud owner of the scepter of the Twelve Divine Armaments. I didn’t think there was any mage in the world who could beat her now.

"Ready! Shoot Tear Stain the moment she gets into range, Beiming!" Gui Guzi declared with a laugh.

However, Tear Stain didn’t try to engage us. In fact, I doubted that she even considered fighting us divine players at all. Instead, she bore the God Devil Breaks of our Holy Mages and attacked a group of Protective Umbrella Zephyr Cavalrymen at the wing. As for her cavalrymen, they weren’t able to do much at all. Our preparations and buffs were simply too great to overcome.

He Yi lowered her arm and ordered again, "Ballistae, lower your aim and fire at the cavalrymen on the ground!"

……

The ballistae fired, and a thick rain of steel bolts flew across the plains. A second later, the entire southern field of Burning City was drenched in blood.

1. T/N: you’re sure it’s not because you keep aggroing the shit out of them? ☜