Oliver Evans’ battalion prepared to take the field, the tension thick as everyone understood the stakes. This was the final match of the round, and the chance to secure the last 1,000 points — or more — depended on their performance. The hopes of the entire division seemed to rest on their shoulders.
Sora and Kara stepped forward, their strength a more than welcome presence for their comrades. Oliver looked their way, trust in his eyes. “Alright, it’s time. Let's wipe the floor with them. Sora, Kara, don't underestimate their colonel, she's a top-notch assassin.”
As they appeared on the battlefield, the Dark Elf troops stood in formation on the opposite side, their expressions determined. Their Colonel, a woman with a small frame and hidden features, watched the human battalion, prepared for the fight.
Sora sized up the arena, estimating it was at least a kilometer in radius. He noticed Oliver ordering a captain to lead the troops and was puzzled.
Oliver caught Sora’s look and chuckled. “I’m a swordsman, specialized in damage and combos,” he explained. “Leading in the thick of battle isn’t my style. Jeremy was a high ranked officer before the update and has been leading troops since then.”
Kara, a little skeptical, asked, “How many wins does the 5th battalion have under its belt?”
Oliver pretended not to hear her question. “Just focus on the battle!”
Sora and Kara exchanged a look, shaking their head at this bald colonel.
Kara’s healing energy radiated outward, reinforcing her allies as they took their positions. Sora moved to the front, resolve etched on his face. This was their chance to seize victory and make a statement. The final battle of this phase was about to begin, and they were ready to bring everything they had.
For experts like them, the kilometer distance between the two forces would be covered in the blink of an eye.
The battle soon started.
Sora was fully focused. He had the previous 4 battles in mind. He knew how both factions relied on their powerhouses to defend or eliminate the maximum of players to break the balance of the fights between companies. And according to Jeremy's calls, it seemed that they relied on Oliver's great damage output to butcher as many enemies as possible.
'Maybe I should focus on buffing as many allies as possible, and then enter the melee with [Echo Strike] ?'.
[Final Battalion War is about to start]
Three... Two... One.
Both sides exploded with power as buffs and crowd control skills blanketed the battlefield. Sora wasn’t one to be left behind, immediately stacking his own buffs on himself and his allies. He cast [Mana Shield] on many vulnerable class players, followed by [Amplify] to boost their skills, and then [Speed Surge] on those who needed quick mobility.
He used his newly acquired skills to buff his allies, link himself to them, through [Alternate Mana Resonance] and [Alternate Mana Cascade].
[Alternate Mana Burst Field] was active in a large area, boosting everyone's abilities
The players in the battalion felt an immense surge of power due to the buffs, turning to each other with disbelief. "Who’s the God buffing us like this?" one of them asked, barely hiding his awe.
Jeremy, their temporary battalion leader, shouted over the chaos, "Keep your mouths shut and focus on the battle !"
Satisfied with his work, Sora glanced over his allies, estimating he had buffed more than 500 players. He thought with a smirk, 'With this... I should have at least +25000% damage, right?'
Not wasting time, he appeared in front of a tank who was locked in combat with another tank, right in the heart of the battlefield. Channeling [Alternate Echo Strike], Sora absorbed mana into his body, feeling it surge through him like a flood. The power amplified as it flowed into his arm and then into the [Monkey King's Staff], which began to glow. With all his might, he swung the staff, smashing into the enemy tank and the dozens of Dark elves behind him.
The result was devastating—the tank flew back like a cannonball, disintegrating into light particles soon after and the staff continued its trajectory, killing dozens of players.
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Yet, Sora found himself frowning. 'That wasn't even ten times my max power... What’s going on?'
He glanced at the notification logs, a sinking feeling in his gut.
[You hit your enemy with Echo Strike (10 stacks)]
[Critical Strike!]
[You have killed an enemy player!] x 25
'Ten stacks? But… I buffed hundreds of players!'
Understanding dawned on him, painfully. 'It’s strong, but capped. Guess I’ll have to do with what I’ve got.' He let out a sigh, but couldn’t deny the skill's effectiveness. Even if it wasn’t what he imagined, the destructive power of [Alternate Echo Strike] was still more than enough to slaughter regular enemy troops.
Sora’s brutal display of power had Jeremy rallying his forces with a shout in the Battalion Voice Chat, “Ralph, take the back line while Oliver handles the front! Kara, keep Colonel Oliver and tanks alive ! THIS ROUND IS OURS!”
Energized by his orders, Sora, Kara, and the rest sprang into action, each trusting Jeremy’s command. Sora quickly moved to the other side of the battlefield, where rows of Dark Elf troops expecting someone to flank them were ready to protect their long-range players and healers. They were determined not to let the massacre of the last round repeat itself.
But Sora wasn’t deterred. He infused his staff with lightning, activating [Alternate Echo Strike] as electric sparks crackled along the growing weapon. With a single horizontal swing, he crushed almost thirty players in one strike. The surviving players were trembling from the remaining electricity in their body, stunned. The overwhelming force left the Dark Elves trembling.
Having witnessed his earlier fight, they knew of his incredible strength. This person was now the most wanted human on their radar, a merciless enemy. “Where did this monster come from?” a Dark Elf Vice-captain murmured to his team, fear clear in his voice. “We were supposed to hold him off until backup came… what can we do now?”
Sora gave them no chance to regroup. He was a whirlwind of chaos, smashing through opponents with relentless precision, always on guard against any crowd control skills they attempted. He parried, dodged, and countered with all kind of strikes, leaving them powerless. To the Dark Elves, he was like a level 100 powerhouse in their midst, wiping them out like mere beginners.
Then, a notification appeared before him:
[You have killed 215 players! 528 players remaining.]
Sora’s eyes widened at the message, and he glanced towards their frontline, noticing that their forces were making considerable progress. But then a call from Jeremy broke his focus. “RALPH! Great work back there! But Colonel Sarsha is tearing through our side, and we can't do anything to her. We need your help!”
With a final swing, Sora obliterated another ten players before he went back to his battalion. He arrived just in time to see their Colonel, Sarsha, slicing through backline players like they were nothing. Only a few, connected to Kara by [Soul Link], managed to survive her assault.
Jeremy approached him urgently. “Kara and Oliver are pushing hard in the front line, thanks to the damage you dealt in the back. But Sarsha is cutting through us fast. She’s a monster focused on speed and assassination. Her attacks ignore shields and defenses, based on her enemies' HP, so she’s lethal and incredibly fast.”
Sora nodded, taking in Jeremy’s words.
“Plus,” Jeremy added, “she’s immune to control skills and has skills that let her vanish mid-attack. We’ll need to be careful. Me, you, and four of the remaining captains should be enough to handle her if we coordinate well.”
Sora’s gaze narrowed. “Then let’s end this.” He grabbed his staff, and started looking for Sarsha.
Sora activated his [Mana Eyes], honing in on every trace of mana around him. He noticed something odd: while Sarsha’s presence didn’t register in the usual sense, the places she passed through had no more mana fluctuations, creating a gap. A gap he could track.
A smile crossed his face as he vanished, instantly reappearing in relentless pursuit. But Sarsha was slippery, phasing out of his reach with uncanny speed. Frustrated but focused, he decided on a different approach.
He called on the elements, summoning dark clouds above. Within seconds, heavy rain began to pour, and bolts of lightning split the sky, drenching the battlefield with raw elemental power.
He surrounded the area with a [Wind Barrier], trapping Sarsha. She halted, finally realizing her escape route was blocked. She scowled, her expression fierce and defiant. ‘If it’s a fight he wants, I'll give him a fight. Let's see if you can catch me,’ she thought, clenching her fists.
Sora couldn’t hear her thoughts, or see her expressions, but he had the same idea. ‘Let’s see who’s faster,’ he mused. Borrowing an arc of lightning, he dashed forward in a flash, reappearing right behind her. Her eyes widened in shock, and she phased, his [Ruyi Jingu Bang] going through her.
Sora continued to press, refusing to let her take a break as he followed her every step. She used every evasion technique she had in her arsenal, disappearing and reappearing in desperate attempts to survive. She was quick, but each attack pushed her closer to exhaustion. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally faltered, breathless and weak, her figure appearing in front of Sora, charred, battered, and the mask she was wearing, cracked.
Not giving her a chance to recover, Sora attacked once more. [Earth Spikes] erupted from above, while arcs of lightning and blades of wind closed in from every direction. The rain, now dense with mana, pelted down with unyielding force, ensuring she had no room to escape.
As the final blow struck, a notification appeared in his vision:
[You have killed the enemy’s Colonel! 127 Players remaining.]
Sora exhaled, steadying himself as he watched the light particles where she once stood. Her resilience had been impressive, but now, she was gone.