As the sixth wave of battles concluded with a Dark Elf victory, both sides were neck and neck, each winning 15 battles so far. The humans were performing better than in the previous round, but they had already used three out of their five colonels, and even their general, Asami Hito, had fought. She nearly achieved a flawless victory, but two players were picked off by a suicide squad of assassins who struck at the edges of the company’s formation, narrowly avoiding a perfect outcome for the New World Kingdom.
More words soon appeared in the sky:
[Companies who have been notified, advance to the field number prepared for you, and fight.]
This time, Sora’s company was summoned.
He turned to his team, meeting each gaze and seeing the hope they'd placed on their strategy. “Let’s get those points!” he commanded, and his company roared with a fighting spirit that echoed across the field.
They soon appeared on the battlefield. However, the sight that met them made many in Sora’s company falter. Confusion and a hint of fear flickered across their faces.
Seeing this reaction, Sora asked Richard, who had a grim expression as if he’d tasted something foul, “What’s wrong?”
Before Richard could answer, a voice boomed from across the field. The enemy company leader sneered, “The strongest Dark Elf Colonel Company versus the weakest Human Company... Looks like I get to farm some free points today. Let me show you the way to Heaven.”
Sora instantly understood. They had been matched against one of the strongest enemy companies. His lips twitched with a grin—there might need to be a small tweak in the plan to avoid casualties, but that would be it. His confidence remained unshaken.
In response, he retorted, “That’s what she said.”
The human troops paused, a few stifling laughs that quickly turned into uproarious guffaws.
“Who?” demanded the Dark Elf colonel, confused by the joke.
“Your mother,” Sora shot back, an embarrassed smile on his face.
The Dark Elf colonel was left gritting his teeth, but before he could react, the countdown started, and he had no choice but to bottle his rage and focus on the fight.
Sora called to his troops, “Let’s get it started. Regroup! ”
His company had already gathered, forming a solid, protective mass around their weakest members. It looked even more shameful than a turtle formation...
As the fight began, Sora summoned an [Earth Dome] that surrounded his company, leaving only a narrow horizontal slit at the front to allow them to see and use skills from within. A larger doorway at the front allowed the Vice-Captains to defend if necessary, and this opening could be reinforced easily. He then summoned [Blood Clones], placing two clones by the entrance and two to patrol the rear of the dome, and sending the other 6 all over the place, ordering them to distract the enemy.
On the Dark Elf side, soldiers were beginning to murmur, sensing Sora’s intent. “Is he seriously going to try soloing us all?” muttered Echo, a Dark Elf Vice-Captain, in disbelief. “He can’t be that confident, can he?”
The colonel’s face turned red with fury. “No one has ever looked down on me to this extent—not even enemy generals dared treat me like this,” he snarled, recalling past battles against some formidable foes. He composed himself and gave orders in the voice channel. “Squads 17 and 18, go on the hunt. Find a way in—through that dome or from below. Ray, choose a support, and break through. Make them regret this!”
He then turned his attention to the rest of his troops, barking, “Archers, prepare to stun. Wizards, freeze the ground around him. Everyone else, you know what to do!”
Sora watched them advance, fully buffed and ready for a bloodbath. He rooted himself with [Titan’s Might], a skill that made him immune to crowd control for ten seconds, knowing full well he would be targeted with all manner of control skills. His feet planted firmly on the ground, he began casting [Ice Rain]. Dark clouds gathered overhead, and the first shards of mana-infused ice rained down across the battlefield.
The Dark Elf soldiers scrambled to dodge the hail, but the ice shards quickly became dense and unavoidable. As they struggled, a few scoffed, “This barely hurts—what’s he playing at?”
The Dark Elf colonel, called Captone, quickly picked up on the skill's effect and shouted, “Ignore the damage! It’s weak, but watch for the frost—those shards are slowing us down. Wizards, heat the ground and clear it of ice!”
Several wizards complied, casting fire spells to melt the frost.
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But Sora had anticipated this. With a smile on his face he murmured "Let me help you heat the floor then", and unleashed [Floor is Lava]. The ground beneath the Dark Elves turned red-hot as lava covered up the floor, forcing them to scramble as the fire spread beneath their feet.
Captone’s eyes widened. “What are you doing? I told you to melt the frost, not burn us!”
“It’s not us!” shouted a panicked wizard. “It’s him!”
Realizing the enemy's skill, they began to counter by using fire resistance potions and lifting themselves off the ground. Some of them began to fly, while others braced for the next attack.
He summoned another dome, made of wind to imprison the air surrounding the opposite company, making the space airtight.
'This is the part i don't control perfectly yet' he thought to himself
Sora’s expression grew grave as he focused his fury, channeling thoughts of betrayal and loss to activate [Extreme Bloodlust]. His emotions spiraled, fueling his skill. He felt his eyes burn, his vision tinged with red as blood trickled from his nose—a clear sign of how much he had let go of his mental barriers.
The Dark Elves in front of him froze, their expressions twisted in terror. Sora clenched his fists, grappling with a wave of anger he hadn’t felt in months. But beneath that fury was a profound sense of loss that threatened to choke him. He let the emotion surge through him, activating [Titanic Strike] and sending shock waves that stunned or tripped his opponents.
“DEFEND THEM!” Captone roared, desperate to rally his troops. Tanks, who had barely managed to avoid the stunning effects, moved to shield their allies, wary of the attack that Sora would unleash next.
An explosion was heard in the middle of the stunned troops, making all heads turn, trying to find the source of the explosion.
Sensing imminent doom, Captone’s voice was a hoarse scream, “Get out of there! FLY! RETREAT! MOVE!”
His troops scrambled to obey, abandoning their allies as they scrambled to escape the lava field. But explosions followed them.
Like water boiling on a heated pan, Sora had made sure the lid covered the pan. Each drop of icy rain that hit the superheated ground triggering yet another blast, resulting in a rapid, chaotic series of detonations. There were also extremely powerful explosion that painted the battlefield red..
As each blast tore through the arena, Sora’s heart hammered. He hadn’t anticipated the destruction being so absolute. His stomach twisted as he observed the aftermath—his enemies reduced to light particles in a matter of seconds. The sight left him hollow, not triumphant.
His hands clenched, and he could feel the bile rising. These weren’t just monsters—they were players like him, with lives and stories. He tried to swallow down the shock and guilt, focusing on the mission.
The battlefield was nearly silent, with only the distant echoes of retreating Dark Elves.
'What am I doing?'
Sora felt a lump in his throat. It was a massacre. They were defenseless, and his combo made sure they had no chance of surviving. The weaker party would always fall to the weak, that's what he was taught when he first joined the Adventurer's Guild.
However ...
'Why do I feel so bad ? Isn't this a ... game ?'
He could see the tears on the face of the last warrior desperate to run and survive, his mana in turmoil, and his voice buried by the sounds of explosions before he died too.
As Sora turned back to his company, he expected to see shock or perhaps even fear. But what he found instead left him momentarily speechless.
Some of his soldiers looked at him with wide-eyed admiration, pride swelling in their expressions. Others were still processing what they had just witnessed, their faces reflecting a mixture of awe and disbelief.
But then his gaze met Kara’s.
She stood behind the group, her shoulders tense, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. He felt a pang in his chest as her sorrow struck him with an intensity he hadn’t expected. She must have sensed his turmoil through their [Soul Link], sharing in his pain as he grappled with the enormity of what he had done. Her empathy was overwhelming, and it made the weight of his actions all the more real.
Through their connection, she understood his heartbreak—the shame and sorrow that came from wielding such savagery against others, even enemies. She knew that in the final battle, he might have to do it again. That time, however, it would be against players who would never respawn.
Sora’s heart sank further. The prospect of taking permanent lives, the brutal inevitability of what lay ahead, settled like a stone in his stomach. Kara’s silent tears were a testament to the horror they both shared—a grief for what they might yet have to do. Neither of them was truly prepared for the violence that awaited, nor for the toll it would take on their spirits.
Yet, as they stood there, each processing the moment in their own way, a resolve began to build within him. He couldn’t let the others see his doubt, not when they looked to him with such hope and conviction. In this war, if he didn't kill enough enemies, his allies would pay the price.
Outside the scorching range of Sora’s [Floor is Lava] and the ice-covered ground, the Dark Elves gathered themselves, gasping for air as if they had just survived an apocalypse. Except the twelve who had attempted to infiltrate the [Earth Dome], only eight players remained, the others lost to the relentless explosions. Twenty players were left.
Captone scanned the battlefield, his eyes narrowed with grim determination. It was clear now: the biggest obstacle to their victory on the Northern front wasn’t a a general or a colonel but this new captain. He was a powerhouse standing alone, commanding both the elements and the battlefield.
He opened a communication channel with the remaining troops, urgency sharp in his tone. “Everyone left—no holding back. I don’t care what it takes, but if we’re going down, we’re taking one of them with us.”
The surviving Dark Elves, hardened by the sight of their fallen comrades, steeled themselves. Each felt the weight of the task ahead, knowing there was a high chance of failure. But even if this battle was lost, they could still force the others players to take one of them denying the total ace to this monster Captain.
With one last collective breath, they moved, surging toward the [Earth Dome] with renewed ferocity, willing to give everything to tear through its defenses and claim at least one little victory for their side.
Some disappeared, entered undergrounds, or flew above the dome. They wanted to make it impossible for Sora to get them all before they killed someone.
As they charged, Sora stood his ground, anticipating their final, desperate onslaught.