Battlegrounds Outside Oni Hill
Oni Hill, Drakase
8:30
“It’s been too quiet, they must be planning something.”
Leila gazed at the battlefield below with furrowed brows. Like Absalon said, the battle had reached a sort of stalemate for several minutes. Ever since that meteorite, the undead seemed satisfied with throwing endless bodies at the wall. The undead expertly scaled the walls by digging their fingers into the structure, but met fierce resistance in the form of arrows and magic projectiles. Those that managed to climb onto the battlements were promptly descended upon by soldiers.
At the current pace, Absalon was certain they could hold the wall for at least a day before fatigue destroyed his army. However, they really only needed to hold for about four hours, since failure or success ultimately depended on Kashi’s strike team.
Unfortunately, Absalon doubted the undead army would be that easy to defeat. “Kashi did not want us to fight them while distracted by the other armies. That means they are that great of a threat. This can’t be all they have.”
“Perhaps. They should reveal their card soo—” Leila’s brows furrowed as she sensed a mana disturbance coming from within the gloomy forest. “That presence again. They’re preparing a large-scale spell!”
“Everyone, defensive positions!” Absalon quickly organized the troops and then tensely gripped his staff as he prepared to react.
Hulululu~ A soft wind blew onto Absalon’s face, but the general’s face hardened. Just then, he felt the spell activate, but there was no visible resonance on the battlefield. What did that spell do? No one would waste a giant spell like that on nothing. In battle, there was nothing worse than lacking information on an enemy attack.
“Absalon-san, above the forest.”
Absalon reacted to Leila’s warning, and quickly looked over to the forest. “Those undead!” He frowned when he spotted dozens of winged creatures flying out of the trees.
These creatures resembled tiny dragons, but lacked front legs. They were more commonly known as wyverns. In most tales, when countries mentioned dragon riders, they actually meant wyvern riders. But since most commoners could not tell the difference, bards often embellished stories to make them more profitable.
Just like the legends, each wyvern had an arms undead rider seated on their back. The wyvern knights brandished gigantic spears as they flew toward the walls. As the wyvern knights neared, the spears lit up with sinister, dark mana.
“Mages! Shields!” Absalon and Leila screamed in unison.
Vwoosh! The wyvern knights roared and then flung the spears at the wall! The spears sped ahead like a ballistic missile, shooting across the horizon in the blink of an eye.
The army’s mages quickly set up mana shields to block the incoming missiles, but… Boom! Boom! Boom! The bombardment was too strong! The mages’ hastily set up defenses failed to stop the undead’s salvo.
“Damn it!” Absalon gritted his teeth in anger as he watched the explosions along the walls. He had deflected as many as he could, but the attack was too quick. “What are our losses!?”
A series of reports rapidly came in from all along the wall. Absalon frowned as he collated the total losses. Fifty soldiers died in that attack. It could have been much worse if it weren’t for the mages’ shields.
“Absalon, I have to go.”
“What are you talking abou—” Absalon’s eyes widened in shock and anger as he followed Leila’s gaze to the incoming wyverns. The bastard knights held a new set of lances! Only now did he notice a bag strapped to the saddle that held at least a dozen spears. “Damn it! We’re switching tactics. Leila, you’ll stay here. I need you to shoot down all missiles. Everyone else, aim for the wyverns. I want those birds shot down!”
Absalon knew Leila could take out those dragon riders with ease, but he did not want to expose his trump cards too early. Since the enemy had a sentient commander, they would plan against Leila once she exposed her abilities. It was better to keep her in reserve until a major turning point approached.
Besides, the combined force of Rosenendun, Merriheim and Serisis was not that weak.
“I’ll handle the riders. Keep those bolts away from the walls” Just Matt suddenly accnounced as he took out a black rifle from his inventory. Runes all along the rifle lit up as he fed it with mana. The weapon was the result of Just Matt’s collaboration with the dwarfs in Orez.
The young man then took out several iron components, which some dwarfs quickly assembled into a massive tripod. Just Matt fixed the rifle on the tripod, sat on a chair, and then activated [Eagle Eye]. Blue mana channeled through his eyes, transforming his sight, and letting him ‘zoom’ several hundreds of meters ahead.
Just Matt settled on a stone-faced wyvern knight that was about to fling its second bolt. He then held his breath and gently squeezed the trigger. Thousands of runes lit up, activated by the sniper’s mana. The rifle channeled the mana into the gun chamber, where it was rapidly compressed into a mithril bullet. Around the same time, an explosion rune ignited, blasting the super charged bullet out of the chamber.
BOOM! A deafening thunderclap shook the battlefield as the bullet zipped through the air and crashed into the wyvern knight’s head. Several runes on the bullet activated on impact, resulting in a small, but powerful explosion that vaporized the rider’s skull.
Silence reigned over the battlefield as everyone watched the headless rider limply fall of the wyvern’s back.
“Oh. Wow.” Absalon was also tongue-tied. Whether it was in that world or this one, guns would forever remain a massive cheat code. However, he was not a general for nothing. He quickly recovered and ordered. “Just Matt, I’ll leave the riders to you. Everyone else, target the wyverns!”
The wyvern riders roared in anger at seeing their felled partner. However, they reacted smartly and quickly began moving in erratic patterns as they flung their spears at the walls.
Clang! Clang! Clang! These attacks should have caused massive devastation, but several well-timed arrows kept deflecting the bolts to the undead army. The undead glared at Leila, who was like one-woman sentry. They would have loved to get rid of her, but her position next to Absalon rendered her untouchable.
Despite Leila’s interference, she could not realistically block every single bolt. The mages did their best to block those that eventually made it through, which managed to reduce the causalities. However, the casualties, both injured and dead were rising at a slow, but steady pace.
Fortunately, the hume alliance did not suffer casualties alone. Just Matt’s rifle proved as dangerous as it was striking. The firearm enthusiast picked off several wyvern riders, though their erratic flight patterns made aiming immensely difficult.
However, Just Matt did not give up. He consistently shot down the riders, completely ignoring the wyverns themselves. The sniper was so deadly that three riders flung their spears at him, ignoring the rest of wall.
Just Matt’s face hardened as he stared death in the face. The rifle was a bolt-action rifle, so there wasa slight delay between shots. There was no way he could shoot down the bolts before they struck him.
Strangely, rather than give up, Just Matt calmly shot down one of the riders. The moment the undead flung their weapons provided the best opening as they needed to slow down to stabilize and aim. Otherwise, the undead, unafraid of G-forces freely twisted, turned and rolled through the air.
Vwoosh! The angry bolts fired down on Just Matt from separate angles. Bang! The first bolt suddenly exploded a few meters away as Leila’s arrow pierced through it. Vwoom! The second fell into Absalon’s [Absorb] mandala and swiftly fell to the to the army below. Unfortunately, despite their combined efforts, the final bolt zipped past the chaos before anyone could react. Within the blink of an eye, it was only a meter from Just Matt’s skull.
Just when it seemed like all hope was lost, a robust figure suddenly jumped onto the battlements and angrily punched the spearhead skyward. The giant spear spun in place from the massive impact, while the figure grunted and spat out some blood. The backlash was even greater than he expected.
Bang! Just Matt calmly shot down another wyvern rider, and then said to the bleeding orc, “Thanks, Durst.”
Durst flexed his broken knuckles which had already begun to heal. He caught the loose spear and then looked at the sniper. “Keep shooting. I shall keep their spears at bay.”
A thin smile appeared on the methodical Just Matt. Over the past few days, he finally understood why the Hopeful Maggots were friends with so many Residents. Most gamers looked down on them as NPCs, and as a result, never unearthed their true potential. The Maggots, on the other hand, had always treated the residents with massive respect. This was why they could reach their current level.
Just Matt softly caressed the black rifle. Just take this rifle as an example. The dwarfs were eager to improve the original design only because of their relationship with Kashi. Also, because they were willing to listen to Just Matt’s insights, they finally created this blessed weapon that was an amalgamation of metal and mana engineering.
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Just Matt could see the future of L.N.E in this rifle. Only those who cooperated with Residents would advance quickly. Without Aethir’s Immortality Blessing, the gamers could no longer look down on the Residents. Soon, everyone would learn that lesson.
It just appeared that the Hopeful Maggots learned and worked on that before everyone else. The race for capable Residents would definitely explode after this war.
‘Well, that is a worry for other guilds.’ Just Matt shook his head and returned to his task. He was already a Hopeful Maggot in all but name. He had been thinking of merging his guild with the Hopeful Maggots for a while now. After what he saw in this battle, he would make it official at the first opportunity.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“About time.” Just Matt grinned as several shots rang out, bringing down many wyverns and riders. He glanced at his guildmates, who stood on the battlements with their rifles. MetalBrand actively pursued the growth of hot weapons in this cold weapon world. Although it was not a requirement, most of its members chose various forms of hot weapons as their primaries.
Unfortunately, most of their weapons’ effective range paled in comparison to mana enhanced archery and mages. Just Matt was once worried over this issue, but the dwarfs had finally broken that glass ceiling. So far, only a few dozen guildmates had improved rifles, but with time, Just Matt knew firearms would spread across Destia!
At the army’s heart, Absalon smiled when he saw the MetalBrand continuously shoot down the wyvern rider. Once again, the battlefield reached a safe stalemate as the mages turned their full attention to diverting the wyvern riders’ spears.
Absalon knew, however, that the battle was far from won. The hidden undead general definitely had something more planned. With squinted eyes, he glared at the forest. “Come on. What are you hiding?”
Rustle! The distant forest rustled as if in response. Shortly after, several dozen wyvern knights charged out of the forest to reinforce the first group. Shockingly, however, this group was heavily armored. Both wyvern and rider were decked out in heavy metal armor that glistened under the moonlight.
The skeletal monstrosities screeched out a war cry, and then charged at the wall.
Just Matt rapidly trained his rifle on one of the newcomers. For better or worse, the rider was charging in a straight line as if unafraid of the wall’s defenses. Just Matt felt a terrible premonition, but he still squeezed the trigger.
Bang! Clang!
Just Matt and several soldiers’ faces turned white with fear when the bullet harmlessly bounced off a massive tower shield. The wyvern rider peeked out from behind the tower shield, its exposed teeth somehow resembling a sinister, mocking grin.
Just Matt grimaced in annoyance. In the real world, the sheer impact of a rifle bullet would have shattered several bones even if someone successfully blocked the shot with a bulletproof shield. Unfortunately, this world was full of superhumans. They might not dare take bullets on their bare bodies, but they would be fine as long as their armor or shield stopped them.
Just Matt did not give up. If the riders would not work, then he would aim at the wyverns. He refused to believe the wyverns’ armor was also that strong. They used Lv.180 Iron Ore to refine these bullets. Wouldn’t it be stupid if they were absolutely useless against the wyverns’ thin plates?
With practiced movements, Just Matt trained the rifle and fired. Bang!
Just Matt was not alone in following the bullet’s trajectory. Thousands of eyes, both living and undead tracked the bullet as it zipped across the battlefield. Within the blink of an eye, it approached an armored wyvern’s skull.
The rider anticipated the bullet, however, and pulled the wyvern skyward. As a result, the bullet struck the wyvern’s exposed neck instead of its head. Boom! The bullet just about broke through the plating and exploded.
Unfortunately, the plating contained most of the blast, causing the wyvern to only suffer a few broken bones. For an undead, such injuries meant nothing. Undead were always at either 100% or 0%. For this race, there was no in-between.
The rider’s jaw slackened as it let out a mocking cackle, and then charged ahead with the rest of the wyvern squadron. But that was not the end. The riders pulled out lances with dragon-shaped heads, and pointed them at the wall.
The wyvern knights rapidly gathered mana in the lance heads, and then blasted concentrated beams at the wall. Boom! The beams shattered the mages’ defenses and then bombed the walls with impunity.
The sudden attack reaped several dozen lives within the span of a few seconds. Metalbrand came off the worst, as the wyverns specifically targeted several of their members.
As the leader, the wyvern knights paid close attention to Just Matt, designating at least ten beams his way. Fortunately, Durst grabbed the guildmaster and jumped off the wall at the last moment. The resulting explosion burned the orc’s back and sent them crashing into the ground, but such injuries were nothing to an orc.
A wyvern knight cackled in delight as it blasted another section of the wall, but then it stopped when it suddenly found itself surrounded by silver petals. It cocked its head in shock as it blasted the petals, but they easily spread apart, letting the beams pass before closing back.
The wyvern knight finally realized it was in trouble and it ordered its wyvern to climb into the skies.
Unfortunately, it was too little too late.
A majestic, cold, wisben landed seemed to materialize from the petals and landed on the wyvern’s back. Leila did not spare any fancy words as she released her already strung bow.
Bang! The malicious arrow shattered both rider and wyvern’s skulls. Leila did fall with the corpses, but instead kicked the air, and then landed on a cluster of petals. The wisben archery goddess then sped across the sky on a platform of rose petals, shooting and dodging her way through the wyvern squadrons.
Leila’s sudden assault caught the wyvern riders by surprise. Before they could react, she had already slaughter over thirty of their numbers. The enraged riders immediately turned their attention to the wisben, attempting to swarm her with their superior numbers.
Leila, however, was even faster. Her multi-purpose petals served as shield, platform and weapons to block attacks, obscure the enemies’ vision and allow her to dash across the sky without expending too much mana.
Several soldiers, Maggots and non-Maggots stared in shock as Leila Lightwood went on a rampage. Most people knew Leila Lightwood, the Hopeful Maggots’ Vice-guildmaster. She was a feared political force and tactician that propelled the Hopeful Maggots to its current famed status. Without her extensive administrative skill, the Hopeful Maggots would have fallen long ago, especially with Kashi’s wishy-washy management.
Due to their interactions with Leila Lightwood, most assumed she was much weaker than the rest of Hopeful Maggots’ monsters. Like, she was strong yeah, but not Kashi or Absalon strong. She should not have had the ability to transform a battlefield by herself.
But what was this!? The speed, skill and reactions on display were otherworldly! On her own Leila was making a complete fool of the deadly wyvern squadron.
Only one person observed the spectacle with apprehension. “In the end, she could not hold herself back.” Absalon grimaced as he watched Leila.
Leila was not a beginner to the concept of sacrificing soldiers’ lives to protect a trump card that would ultimately win a battle or war. She could not have led the assault on Razznik if she was so soft-hearted. However, that was predicated on the sacrifices being worth the hidden trump card. Leila made a simple calculation and decided that the soldiers they would lose to the aerial bombardment was not worth keeping her strength hidden. Also, her participation would protect an even greater trump card a little longer.
Suddenly, Absalon noticed movement in the distant forest. He grimaced as he watched over one hundred wyverns suddenly take to the sky and charge at Leila.
“Damn it! It’s like I thought! They were targeting her from the start!”
Absalon did not have the patience to admire the enemy general’s skill. He instead shouted, “Lightwood, return! We’ll just have to use plan B a little earlier!” In the heat of the battlefield, he did not bother with honorifics.
Within the chaotic air battle, Leila grimaced when she saw the hundred or so wyverns rushing her way. She instinctively knew she had fallen into a trap, but the enemy would not let her leave even if she wanted to.
The wyvern rider gave up their lives to prevent her from retreating, all to buy the time necessary for the reinforcements to arrive.
Within the span of three to four seconds, a hundred wyvern riders entered throwing range, and flung their spears in quick succession.
Death descended upon Leila as a thousand bolts blotted out the moonlight and fell towards her. Leila tried to summon her petals to shield her, but paled when her mana refused to move. She glanced at an inconspicuous rider and grimaced when she noticed an artifact in his hand.
A dimertium canceller. The artifact nullified all magic in a small radius. Most prisons used a version of it to prevent mages from escaping. The enemy general planned this brilliantly. The wyvern rider only pulled out this artifact at the last moment to ensure Leila’s death.
On the wall, Absalon’s expression turned horrible when he realized he could not conjure a [Repel] mandala around Leila. “A dimertium canceller! The bastard! Damn it! What do we do!?” Absalon could not live with the guilt if the Vice Guildmaster died on his watch!
Unfortunately, time waits for no one. Before Absalon could figure out a solution, the bolts pierced Leila’s che—
“ROH!” BOOOOOOM!
Leila blocked her ears as realm-shaking roars tore across the battlefield. Her eyes then widened with shock as sonic waves shattered the incoming bolts to dust before they reached her.
However, Leila’s shock had only just begun.
Shortly after, a new force tore through the wyverns surrounding Leila, tearing to shreds in the blink of an eyes. Then, three hundred or so, lanky but tough frames flew into the sky and stood between Leila and the incoming reinforcements. A pair of black, draconic wings powerfully flapped in the night winds, keeping them afloat.
“You… How are you?”
“Leila Lightwood.” One of the figures approached Leila and dropped to a knee as it greeted her.
“How… Did you just speak?”
“The Drakul’s Dream is almost realized,” said the drakul, or as it should have been called, Dragon Newt, as its long wings wrapped around its lanky frame. “Rest, friend of Kashi.” The drakul rose to its feet, powerful eyes pulsing with power as it sneered at the incoming wyverns. “We shall eliminate the false dragons…”