As Victor observed the ensuing pandemonium on the enemy’s campsite, he found himself admiring the ingenuity of the players once more. While attracting the supernatural phenomenon was indeed originally his plan, the method that the players used to draw the horde of magical beasts was nothing short of one heck of a plan.
A first-stage Initiate Attunement player by the username “StealthPeanut” had undertaken a daring mission to snatch an egg from the nest of a magical beast called the “Dreadbeak Bird” and carried it through the forest to this very location with the help of the other players. Despite having to ultimately sacrifice his life, it was executed flawlessly.
It appeared that the one who came up with this audacious strategy was a player in Auralise’s group. It was impressive how she had gathered capable individuals, especially considering that she only joined the game one version back. Without anyone keeping her in check, she might very well be at the top of this game in the near future.
But a game was still a game.
In the world of Seraphia, her power was nothing. Not to mention that Victor could control her like moving a pawn on a chessboard. In his domain, without his express consent, not even money could sway the outcomes.
By the way, Dreadbeak Birds were colossal avian, reminiscent of the extinct dodo bird on Earth in appearance yet on a far grander scale, like twice as large and tall as an ostrich. Unlike dodo birds, which were stereotypically believed to be stupid and defenseless against predators, the Dreadbeak Birds had deadly features around their bodies, making them natural predators in this forest. Furthermore, their feathers were rigid and sharp, capable of being launched like arrows when the creature felt threatened or when hunting while also containing a toxin that paralyzed its victim. Truly horrible magical beasts to encounter.
At that moment, Victor could see through the spectral puppets that Graviel decided to open the pocket dimension with the artifact fragment. In spite of this information, he did nothing to stop it. After all, he had been expecting him to do that, and there was something that he wanted to try with his newfound power as an Elemental Adept Magus. Besides, Victor was cautious that a cornered rat would bite back. It would be better to take care of him inside after seeing what the place had to offer since he didn’t know the extent of trump cards up Graviel’s sleeve. Rushing ahead right now was not a good idea.
Before long, the mist finally dissipated, and the Dreadbeak Birds left the area after getting their stolen egg back and having done their revenge. Obviously, stealing a single egg alone wouldn’t have caused them to be so enraged, but these creatures seemed to be overprotective and triggered by “something” else that was done by the players.
“I wonder, could they serve as mounts for the players? Victor mused to himself as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. It would be funny to see an army of players riding on giant avians and charging on the enemy line…
Meanwhile, there were still many mercenaries who survived even after all of that. Well, the magical beasts were too focused on getting back their egg, so they had largely ignored the mercenaries. The white mist caused by the supernatural phenomenon only made it chaotic and caused the mercenaries to attack the incoming magical beasts, further infuriating them to retaliate, but not much more than that.
“It is time! Let’s clean up the battlefield!” Victor announced, signaling for the players to charge ahead.
“All right! I’ve been waiting for this!”
“It’s time for me to shine!”
“Watch this daddy as he gets a penta kill!”
“Charge, charge, charge!”
The players surged forward, their weapons gleaming in the fading light of dusk.
Victor harnessed the Pyro elemental particles in his hand and condensed them into one before launching it toward the sky. As it reached a high altitude, it exploded and became a firework. This was a cue for the other players hiding on the other sides to charge along with them.
Seeing the players charging ahead, Lumen let out an excited whimper, clearly itching to join the fray alongside them.
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“Alright then, let’s get our share of the fun. Full steam ahead!”
“Woof!”
Thus, Lumen sprang into motion, her powerful paws pounding against the earth as she effortlessly bore him toward the other side of the encampment, or more specifically the chasm.
***
Sean was leading the tide of over a hundred or so players charging ahead. Wielding weapons of various lengths, they rushed toward the confused bandits like a pack of hungry wolves from everywhere.
“Aaahh! For revenge!”
“Charge!”
“To the glory of the academy!”
“Don’t let a single one of them live!”
“Awoo, awoo, wooo!”
The sounds of shouting and killing swept through like a tsunami the moment the two sides collided. The players who saw the lone firework were like wild horses breaking free from the reins, staring hungrily at the bandits as if they were standing trophies. Magic spells were shot freely like a clash of magic blitz, leaving devastation in their wake and killing the bandits with every single one hitting them.
In response, the bandits were frightened. After all, the players were more barbaric and brutal than they were, and Sean was sure that this could be attributed to the deep-seated anger for the wrongs inflicted upon the village.
In retrospect, the players were more like bandits than them at this moment.
“Fuck!”
“Move! Get out of my way!”
Some of the enemy had begun to flee in panic upon witnessing the unfolding carnage, but they were swiftly pursued by the overwhelming numbers of players and eliminated.
“I surrender! I surrender, don’t kill me!”
“Shit! I can’t hold it here anymore; we need to pull back!”
“Aaargh!”
Screams of despair and defeat filled the air as the bandits were killed one after the other. Those who weren’t taken down chose to lie motionless on the ground, feigning death in a desperate bid for survival. Soon, the only one standing was a figure of a lone warrior, clad in chainmail and brandishing dual swords.
“The fuck’s goin’ on here? Who are you people?” While not letting his guard down, he just stood there in complete bewilderment.
The other players didn’t waste that opportunity and surrounded him, ready to pounce at him at any moment. Even those veteran players from the early batches, who had arrived at the battle somewhat belatedly, joined the encirclement, not willing to miss out on the chance to earn merit points.
Feeling cornered, the bandit leader let out a defiant roar and waved his weapons menacingly as though trying to intimidate them, “Ya take another step, I’ll kill ya!”
Yet, it only made the surrounding players even more excited.
“Whoa!”
“Look at this boss, so fierce! He’s got to be the boss bandit worth a fortune in merit points!”
“But why do I feel that he’s a bit lacking for a final boss?”
“Ask questions later; let’s focus on taking him down,” Sean commanded.
“Got it! I will flank him from behind.”
The bandit boss’s expression turned livid after hearing the players’ comments. He must have felt humiliated by their attitudes and reactions. What a very realistic enemy NPC — his reactions were remarkably lifelike and were no different than that of high-ranking NPCs such as the headmaster or the blacksmith.
“Don’t ya dare underestimate me!!” he shouted, poised his dual swords, and continuously waved them back and forth, fending off the players who were approaching from all sides.
Unfortunately for him, the players were ready, and every first-stage Initiate Attunement acolyte cast their spells in unison, ending him for good. No matter how powerful he was, being hit by more than a dozen Aleph-tier spells from all directions would outright kill him. As anticlimactic as he had appeared, he fell to the ground with a thud.
The final battle concluded without the headmaster having to intervene; the bandit leader, the final resistor, finally breathed his last breath. The same could be said for the rest of the bandits. Well, the ones who were resisting, at least, as the rest surrendered without being willing to fight anymore.
“He’s dead! We won!”
“I got the last hit! The merit points are all mine!”
“Fuck off! You cast your spell when he was already dead.”
“Doesn’t matter. I call dibs on the boss’s loot.”
“Hold on, how are we supposed to split the loot this time? There’s no specific details about this.”
Indeed.
Sean had read almost every piece of information available on the official website forum. Most of the time, players would gather their loot and turn them for merit points in the warehouse upon the completion of the item’s specific mission. But given that there were so many players gathered here at this moment, and there was no mission for this loot, it would be almost impossible to divide it equally.
All of a sudden, the headmaster rode forward on his magical mount and announced, “Collect all enemy gear to one side and secure any remaining bandits. Merit points will be awarded based on your contributions after this is all over. Later on, you can exchange your merit points for the gear. Depending on the quality, there might even be an auction.”
An auction!
Not a single player wasn’t excited after hearing this term. For instance, the dual swords used by the boss bandit had a unique blade shape and even had skull engravings on the hilts. It would definitely be something that a collector would want.
But as they were becoming excited, a dreadful mana force enveloped the surroundings as the headmaster continued with authority, “I warn you that any act of theft will be met with dire consequences!”
Sean swallowed hard, along with all the players there. Obviously, the thought of stealing the loot had crossed their minds, but now they dared not have any lingering thoughts of theft. He knew just how terrifying the strength of the headmaster was just from the mana that he emitted. It was unwise to do anything stupid here.