1537

"Do we go down and meet them in battle?" Gui Guzi asked.

"No.”

Gui Guzi accepted my answer without question and waited silently for the enemy to arrive. He had his shield propped in front of himself because it wouldn’t be long before the enemy started shooting arrows and spells up the walls.

"It’s time. The enemy is 200 yards away from the wall!" Stranger of Three Lifetimes raised her scepter and ordered, "Archers, fire!"

Bow twangs began beating against our eardrums incessantly as countless arrows rained on top of the enemy. As expected, the Far-Shot arrows were unable to inflict any sort of critical damage to the enemy because the first few rows were all magic knights with shields. They weren’t idiots, so they had them firmly in arrows’ direction and didn’t let any unnecessary damage go through. That, however, wouldn’t matter in the long run. Once they passed through the 100-yard line, the Attack boost granted by the height advantage would really start to display its power.

Bang!

There was one player who was the exception to the rule though. Despite the Attack reduction, Beiming Xue’s Evil Spirit Volley still turned her targets into pincushions and scorched them with the Xuanming Flames. Dozens of magic knights were losing over 2 million HP almost all too easily. Archers weren’t supposed to have mounts, but Dark Moon City’s unique skill bypassed rule. Now, Beiming Xue wasn’t just the proud owner of a high-level Fire Phoenix, but also the wielder of the evolved Xuanming Bow. The bow had a base Attack of over 35k and was almost as powerful as the Xuanyuan Sword. It would be stranger if she dealt negligible damage.

……

"Look!" He Yi pointed toward the horizon and said, "It’s the Northern Alliance Rank 10 player territory’s new siege weapon, the Magic Crystal Cannon! It deals 50% extra damage to structures and is protected by a shield generated from a magic crystal! The shield must be destroyed first before the body can be damaged!"

I frowned. As she said, a large number of engineers had emerged from behind the sea of magic knights. They were pushing about 20 Magic Crystal Cannons toward us. Worse, at least 500 Fire Catapults and 1,000 Basic Catapults were already standing by for orders. This wasn’t an assault we could afford to underestimate.

A hint of worry flashed across Stranger of Three Lifetimes’ features as she glanced in my direction. "I have a bad feeling about this. Zhang Chun might have posted too few troops at Fortress of the Iron Halberd. Can we really hold this place with just the two of us and a couple of small guilds?"

I nodded in agreement. "I thought that the assault against Fortress of the Iron Halberd was a feint, and that their main focus would be Hot Sand City. However, it looks like I’ve underestimated Vienna’s Sorrow appetite. This guy’s planning to punch right into the hinterlands of the China server and conquer Sky City and Wind City!"

"What do we do? Should we contact Zhang Chun and request for reinforcements?"

"No, we are still in the early stages of the Nation War. Fortress of the Iron Halberd is a very defensible structure, and I reckon that we can hold them off for at least 24 hours even if their main force shows their face later. Remember that we’re buying time for Zhang Chun and the others to conquer Swallow Ear Canton. All we can do is to pray that Candlelight Shadow, Warsky and Yiyi will flatten Swallow Ear Canton as soon as possible, push north from there and invade the Northern Alliance’s territory. If everything goes as planned, our crisis will naturally resolve itself."

"I see. Let us continue then!"

……

Chiang!

I unsheathed my sword and said in a low tone, "All ascended players, follow me to take out the Magic Crystal Cannons once they come into range. There are only 20 of them, so I’m sure we can take them out without much trouble. Dragonlight Archers, I want you to form 100-man parties and target any and all catapults that enter your range. The battering rams are one thing, but the catapults…"

However, Beiming Xue said, "But big bro, our effective range is 200 yards, or 500 yards at best with the Range stratagem. The catapults have an effective range of 600 yards…"

"Oh. I guess there’s no other choice then…" I grimaced. "Little Gui, rally 50k Profound Wolf Cavalrymen and wait for orders. If the pressure grows unbearable, you will head out and trim down the enemy. If we lose all of our Profound Wolf Cavalry, then we’ll send in the Dragonlight Cavalry!"

"Okay!"

……

Meanwhile, the Northern Alliance players beneath the walls were beginning to speed up. While providing cover for the engineers, the magic knights were rushing toward the walls as quickly as they were able. It was clear what they were aiming for. They wanted to prop the cloud ladders against the wall and create pressure for our defenders as much as they could. While our players were distracted, they would push the Magic Crystal Cannons up against the walls and knock away like no tomorrow. If they managed to destroy our walls, then it would be impossible to defend the fortress.

"Focus-fire the enemy’s ladder squads! Don’t let them get close enough to set up anything!" Lian Xin ordered loudly while firing her spells.

The Holy Mages and Dragonlight Archers’ skills fell from the sky like the rain. The enemy’s ladder squads were numerous, but not even one of them managed to pass through the 80-yard mark. Our two units were just too powerful. The Holy Mages’ Magic Attack was almost 1.4 times a normal mage’s, and they were further boosted by my Martial God, He Yi’s Royal Road or other stratagems. They could almost sweep any enemy that came their way.

Ten minutes later, the Northern Alliance’s forced assault came to a temporary end. The first wave numbered around 50k players, and not one of them had managed to slip through our firepower. No one bothered to pick up the equipment and items they left behind.

Gui Guzi laughed heartily from atop his dragon, "What other strategies do you have, grandsons of the Northern Alliance? You’d better show them soon, or we may destroy you before you even reach this fortress!"

Li Chengfeng was also chuckling. "I’m glad to see that Blazing Hot Lips and our ranged firepower is superior. If Snowy Cathaya’s Dragon Punisher Archers were with us too… sheesh, we would be riding out to meet them instead of holing up in the fortress!"

Restlessness visibly spread across the Northern Alliance’s troops due to our players’ taunts. Soon, a Level 255 warrior clad in lightning armor stepped into the open. He was Titan God, the number one player of Titan City and the so-called number two player of the USA server [1]. Standing behind him were the players of Olympus. Finally, one of the main forces of the invasion had shown themselves!

Titan God said with a dark expression on his face, "The second wave must work no matter what. Tell the catapults to bombard the walls and provide cover fire for our cavalrymen!"

"Yes, guild leader!"

The engineers began constructing their catapults. Less than three minutes later, hundreds of catapults appeared in a line around the fortress, and hundreds of payloads began flying toward us!

……

"Watch out! All frontline cavalrymen are to use Guard!" I shouted.

The first payload skidded across the rampart before hitting two Profound Wolf Cavalrymen directly. They took over 2 million damage and were sent flying into the air as a matter of course. They were able to survive the blow, but the same couldn’t be said for three other Dragonlight Archers who happened to be along the trajectory of the payload. They took over 3 million damage and were one-shot without resistance [2].

"Motherfucker!"

I jumped off the rampart and toward the hundreds of payloads flying in my direction. After firing multiple sword auras to shatter a couple of payloads, I raised my arm and manifested a 30-yard wide, spider web like shield using my Domain that blocked or bounced off dozens of payloads. Titan God’s face turned purple when he saw this, but what could he do? This was just the power of a divine player!

Li Chengfeng also did the same thing as me before asking, "By the way, where are our catapults? Set them up on the walls already…"

He Yi nodded. "Yes, it is time to set up the White Marsh Catapults. We have the height advantage, so our catapults should have an effective range of at least 1,500 yards. Fire at will and disrupt their formation! No need to conserve your ammo!"

……

The enemy’s hooves shook the ground once more. This time, Titan God was leading the charge with a bunch of cavalrymen who rode steel rhinos!

"That’s… the evolved version of the Fire Rhinoceros!" Stranger of Three Lifetimes exclaimed in surprise. "Go all out! It will be difficult for us if they manage to break through!"

Once more, arrows and magic poured down the walls like a waterfall. Olympus wasn’t fooling around because I counted at least 100k Steel Rhinoceros Cavalrymen charging toward the walls. They were your classic tanky cavalrymen with at least 6.5 million HP and an insane amount of Defense. The majority of our Dragonlight Archers could only deal 50k damage or so per hit to the enemy, which was nowhere enough to stop the charge.

"This is bad!"

Li Chengfeng panicked when he saw that enemy cavalrymen possessed the tankiness to break through our ranged firepower. He immediately descended toward the ground and killed a group of enemies with Reverse Scale Slash and Dragonbone Flurry.

I did the same thing and froze a bunch of people with Cold of the Nine Provinces. While flying past their heads, I unleashed Burning Blade Slash that dropped them to red health despite their Defense and finished them all with Ancient Seal!

Our two dragon knights, He Yi and Gui Guzi, also swooped down and joined in the attempt to slow the enemies’ charge.

On the walls, Lian Xin plopped down a dozen of Origin Force Fields that stopped everyone in front of them dead in their tracks. Then, she descended to the ground and cast her destructive spells everywhere. Thanks to the Soul Shocker Bell, even one Ice Spiral Matrix could deal just below 5 million damage to a single enemy. Naturally, no one could survive more than one spell from Lian Xin!

……

"Don’t let the enemy distract you and keep charging! Reach the walls and set up the cloud ladders no matter what!" Titan God rebuked those who faltered.

Buzz!

Titan God abruptly raised his sword and charged toward a nearby Chinese warrior. She was none other than Chaos Moon. To her surprise, the warrior started off his assault right off with an Ancient Divine Skill, Blade of Caesar!

"Die!"

Chaos Moon shuddered as the attack struck her and deleted 1.9 million HP from her. However, since it wasn’t a particularly terrible blow, she immediately retaliated with her own Greedy Wolf Howl.

"You dare!"

A couple of Olympus players rode to their guild leader’s aid and struck her with Barrier Breaks. Now she was in a critical condition. While drinking a health potion and withdrawing, she shouted, "Save me, Lu Chen!"

I dropped down in front of Chaos Moon and unleashed Thousand Ice Slash!

Bang!

The group of Olympus players attacking Chaos Moon were frozen, but not Titan God. His mount leaped mightily into the air as he executed Earth’s Fury + Lightning Fury combo![3]

I met him head-on and flicked my wrist three times in quick succession. I was able to parry three of his strikes before canceling the fourth with Magic Piercing Punch. Finally, I stabbed him with Universe Break!

Puchi!

1,932,774!

I looked at the sea of Northern Alliance cavalrymen around me and judged that it was time. I raised my sword and cast the Death of Xuanyuan Art!

……

"Shit…"

Titan God’s pupils shrank when he saw my movements. "It’s the Xuanyuan Art! Watch out!"

Titan God was able to activate his invincibility skill in time and protect himself from the skill. Then, he turned tail and rode away without hesitation because he noticed Li Chengfeng approaching him from a different direction. He knew he wouldn’t survive if he was caught in between two divine players.

1. T/N: how the fuck is he still number 1 and 2? I don’t think he’s even ascended? ☜

2. T/N: and are unable to play the game for 3 days… like what? What is this stupid system, man? ☜

3. T/N: Divine General Skill + triple-hit skill btw, doesn’t feel right to translate it in the actual sentence so I’m putting it here ☜

"Do we go down and meet them in battle?" Gui Guzi asked.

"No.”

Gui Guzi accepted my answer without question and waited silently for the enemy to arrive. He had his shield propped in front of himself because it wouldn’t be long before the enemy started shooting arrows and spells up the walls.

"It’s time. The enemy is 200 yards away from the wall!" Stranger of Three Lifetimes raised her scepter and ordered, "Archers, fire!"

Bow twangs began beating against our eardrums incessantly as countless arrows rained on top of the enemy. As expected, the Far-Shot arrows were unable to inflict any sort of critical damage to the enemy because the first few rows were all magic knights with shields. They weren’t idiots, so they had them firmly in arrows’ direction and didn’t let any unnecessary damage go through. That, however, wouldn’t matter in the long run. Once they passed through the 100-yard line, the Attack boost granted by the height advantage would really start to display its power.

Bang!

There was one player who was the exception to the rule though. Despite the Attack reduction, Beiming Xue’s Evil Spirit Volley still turned her targets into pincushions and scorched them with the Xuanming Flames. Dozens of magic knights were losing over 2 million HP almost all too easily. Archers weren’t supposed to have mounts, but Dark Moon City’s unique skill bypassed rule. Now, Beiming Xue wasn’t just the proud owner of a high-level Fire Phoenix, but also the wielder of the evolved Xuanming Bow. The bow had a base Attack of over 35k and was almost as powerful as the Xuanyuan Sword. It would be stranger if she dealt negligible damage.

……

"Look!" He Yi pointed toward the horizon and said, "It’s the Northern Alliance Rank 10 player territory’s new siege weapon, the Magic Crystal Cannon! It deals 50% extra damage to structures and is protected by a shield generated from a magic crystal! The shield must be destroyed first before the body can be damaged!"

I frowned. As she said, a large number of engineers had emerged from behind the sea of magic knights. They were pushing about 20 Magic Crystal Cannons toward us. Worse, at least 500 Fire Catapults and 1,000 Basic Catapults were already standing by for orders. This wasn’t an assault we could afford to underestimate.

A hint of worry flashed across Stranger of Three Lifetimes’ features as she glanced in my direction. "I have a bad feeling about this. Zhang Chun might have posted too few troops at Fortress of the Iron Halberd. Can we really hold this place with just the two of us and a couple of small guilds?"

I nodded in agreement. "I thought that the assault against Fortress of the Iron Halberd was a feint, and that their main focus would be Hot Sand City. However, it looks like I’ve underestimated Vienna’s Sorrow appetite. This guy’s planning to punch right into the hinterlands of the China server and conquer Sky City and Wind City!"

"What do we do? Should we contact Zhang Chun and request for reinforcements?"

"No, we are still in the early stages of the Nation War. Fortress of the Iron Halberd is a very defensible structure, and I reckon that we can hold them off for at least 24 hours even if their main force shows their face later. Remember that we’re buying time for Zhang Chun and the others to conquer Swallow Ear Canton. All we can do is to pray that Candlelight Shadow, Warsky and Yiyi will flatten Swallow Ear Canton as soon as possible, push north from there and invade the Northern Alliance’s territory. If everything goes as planned, our crisis will naturally resolve itself."

"I see. Let us continue then!"

……

Chiang!

I unsheathed my sword and said in a low tone, "All ascended players, follow me to take out the Magic Crystal Cannons once they come into range. There are only 20 of them, so I’m sure we can take them out without much trouble. Dragonlight Archers, I want you to form 100-man parties and target any and all catapults that enter your range. The battering rams are one thing, but the catapults…"

However, Beiming Xue said, "But big bro, our effective range is 200 yards, or 500 yards at best with the Range stratagem. The catapults have an effective range of 600 yards…"

"Oh. I guess there’s no other choice then…" I grimaced. "Little Gui, rally 50k Profound Wolf Cavalrymen and wait for orders. If the pressure grows unbearable, you will head out and trim down the enemy. If we lose all of our Profound Wolf Cavalry, then we’ll send in the Dragonlight Cavalry!"

"Okay!"

……

Meanwhile, the Northern Alliance players beneath the walls were beginning to speed up. While providing cover for the engineers, the magic knights were rushing toward the walls as quickly as they were able. It was clear what they were aiming for. They wanted to prop the cloud ladders against the wall and create pressure for our defenders as much as they could. While our players were distracted, they would push the Magic Crystal Cannons up against the walls and knock away like no tomorrow. If they managed to destroy our walls, then it would be impossible to defend the fortress.

"Focus-fire the enemy’s ladder squads! Don’t let them get close enough to set up anything!" Lian Xin ordered loudly while firing her spells.

The Holy Mages and Dragonlight Archers’ skills fell from the sky like the rain. The enemy’s ladder squads were numerous, but not even one of them managed to pass through the 80-yard mark. Our two units were just too powerful. The Holy Mages’ Magic Attack was almost 1.4 times a normal mage’s, and they were further boosted by my Martial God, He Yi’s Royal Road or other stratagems. They could almost sweep any enemy that came their way.

Ten minutes later, the Northern Alliance’s forced assault came to a temporary end. The first wave numbered around 50k players, and not one of them had managed to slip through our firepower. No one bothered to pick up the equipment and items they left behind.

Gui Guzi laughed heartily from atop his dragon, "What other strategies do you have, grandsons of the Northern Alliance? You’d better show them soon, or we may destroy you before you even reach this fortress!"

Li Chengfeng was also chuckling. "I’m glad to see that Blazing Hot Lips and our ranged firepower is superior. If Snowy Cathaya’s Dragon Punisher Archers were with us too… sheesh, we would be riding out to meet them instead of holing up in the fortress!"

Restlessness visibly spread across the Northern Alliance’s troops due to our players’ taunts. Soon, a Level 255 warrior clad in lightning armor stepped into the open. He was Titan God, the number one player of Titan City and the so-called number two player of the USA server [1]. Standing behind him were the players of Olympus. Finally, one of the main forces of the invasion had shown themselves!

Titan God said with a dark expression on his face, "The second wave must work no matter what. Tell the catapults to bombard the walls and provide cover fire for our cavalrymen!"

"Yes, guild leader!"

The engineers began constructing their catapults. Less than three minutes later, hundreds of catapults appeared in a line around the fortress, and hundreds of payloads began flying toward us!

……

"Watch out! All frontline cavalrymen are to use Guard!" I shouted.

The first payload skidded across the rampart before hitting two Profound Wolf Cavalrymen directly. They took over 2 million damage and were sent flying into the air as a matter of course. They were able to survive the blow, but the same couldn’t be said for three other Dragonlight Archers who happened to be along the trajectory of the payload. They took over 3 million damage and were one-shot without resistance [2].

"Motherfucker!"

I jumped off the rampart and toward the hundreds of payloads flying in my direction. After firing multiple sword auras to shatter a couple of payloads, I raised my arm and manifested a 30-yard wide, spider web like shield using my Domain that blocked or bounced off dozens of payloads. Titan God’s face turned purple when he saw this, but what could he do? This was just the power of a divine player!

Li Chengfeng also did the same thing as me before asking, "By the way, where are our catapults? Set them up on the walls already…"

He Yi nodded. "Yes, it is time to set up the White Marsh Catapults. We have the height advantage, so our catapults should have an effective range of at least 1,500 yards. Fire at will and disrupt their formation! No need to conserve your ammo!"

……

The enemy’s hooves shook the ground once more. This time, Titan God was leading the charge with a bunch of cavalrymen who rode steel rhinos!

"That’s… the evolved version of the Fire Rhinoceros!" Stranger of Three Lifetimes exclaimed in surprise. "Go all out! It will be difficult for us if they manage to break through!"

Once more, arrows and magic poured down the walls like a waterfall. Olympus wasn’t fooling around because I counted at least 100k Steel Rhinoceros Cavalrymen charging toward the walls. They were your classic tanky cavalrymen with at least 6.5 million HP and an insane amount of Defense. The majority of our Dragonlight Archers could only deal 50k damage or so per hit to the enemy, which was nowhere enough to stop the charge.

"This is bad!"

Li Chengfeng panicked when he saw that enemy cavalrymen possessed the tankiness to break through our ranged firepower. He immediately descended toward the ground and killed a group of enemies with Reverse Scale Slash and Dragonbone Flurry.

I did the same thing and froze a bunch of people with Cold of the Nine Provinces. While flying past their heads, I unleashed Burning Blade Slash that dropped them to red health despite their Defense and finished them all with Ancient Seal!

Our two dragon knights, He Yi and Gui Guzi, also swooped down and joined in the attempt to slow the enemies’ charge.

On the walls, Lian Xin plopped down a dozen of Origin Force Fields that stopped everyone in front of them dead in their tracks. Then, she descended to the ground and cast her destructive spells everywhere. Thanks to the Soul Shocker Bell, even one Ice Spiral Matrix could deal just below 5 million damage to a single enemy. Naturally, no one could survive more than one spell from Lian Xin!

……

"Don’t let the enemy distract you and keep charging! Reach the walls and set up the cloud ladders no matter what!" Titan God rebuked those who faltered.

Buzz!

Titan God abruptly raised his sword and charged toward a nearby Chinese warrior. She was none other than Chaos Moon. To her surprise, the warrior started off his assault right off with an Ancient Divine Skill, Blade of Caesar!

"Die!"

Chaos Moon shuddered as the attack struck her and deleted 1.9 million HP from her. However, since it wasn’t a particularly terrible blow, she immediately retaliated with her own Greedy Wolf Howl.

"You dare!"

A couple of Olympus players rode to their guild leader’s aid and struck her with Barrier Breaks. Now she was in a critical condition. While drinking a health potion and withdrawing, she shouted, "Save me, Lu Chen!"

I dropped down in front of Chaos Moon and unleashed Thousand Ice Slash!

Bang!

The group of Olympus players attacking Chaos Moon were frozen, but not Titan God. His mount leaped mightily into the air as he executed Earth’s Fury + Lightning Fury combo![3]

I met him head-on and flicked my wrist three times in quick succession. I was able to parry three of his strikes before canceling the fourth with Magic Piercing Punch. Finally, I stabbed him with Universe Break!

Puchi!

1,932,774!

I looked at the sea of Northern Alliance cavalrymen around me and judged that it was time. I raised my sword and cast the Death of Xuanyuan Art!

……

"Shit…"

Titan God’s pupils shrank when he saw my movements. "It’s the Xuanyuan Art! Watch out!"

Titan God was able to activate his invincibility skill in time and protect himself from the skill. Then, he turned tail and rode away without hesitation because he noticed Li Chengfeng approaching him from a different direction. He knew he wouldn’t survive if he was caught in between two divine players.

1. T/N: how the fuck is he still number 1 and 2? I don’t think he’s even ascended? ☜

2. T/N: and are unable to play the game for 3 days… like what? What is this stupid system, man? ☜

3. T/N: Divine General Skill + triple-hit skill btw, doesn’t feel right to translate it in the actual sentence so I’m putting it here ☜