The Return of the Tyrant
In central continent, far to the north near the borders Rosenheim and the northern continent, a battle of epic scale was taking place. Over 325,000 barbarians, shamans, paladins, and heavily armored Embinyu soldiers were fighting against a mere 4,000 Royal Knights and players. The battlefield had completely changed in the last 24 hours. Blood soaked the earth changing it into a muddy swamp, the bodies of enemies and allies alike littered the floor. Warriors whose weapons were broken resorted to using their fists to fight. Near the center of the battle field was a massive crater with the smoking remains of an undead dragon, its putrid stench clung to the ground, refusing to dissipate anytime soon.
In the center of this hellish battle field was a single person who was having the time of his life.
“Come one, come on! I’m still not tired yet! Oi, you there! Want a piece of Geomchi sama as well?! Yatz! Yatz! Ahahahha~!” yelled Geomchi at the top of his lungs.
Geomchi was better known throughout the world as Hyundo Ahn, a master swordsman in real life and the successor of Bonkuk Kumdo. Ahn’s skill in kumdo was recognized worldwide but he had always felt something was missing in his life. The answer to this question was given to him by a former student named Harn Lee that he had trained for over a year at his dojo.
One of the things he longed for more than anything else in the world, he found in Royal Road. The battle field!! Each day was a new challenge. There was always a chance to fight all sorts of monsters/enemies, each time he would face impossible odds against innumerable enemies then somehow managing to pull through. There was never a chance to rest, and each time he fought his way out tooth and nail till he came out on top. It was his way of reaffirming that he was still getting stronger, that there was still room for improvement. A nice side bonus to Royal Road was that it also helped him get close to beautiful woman~!
Geomchi’s body swayed side to side as he carefully watched his opponents movements.
The man towered above Geomchi by a full head and his body armor began to make creaking sounds as he brought his shield to shoulder level.
Within seconds Geomchi had closed the distance and swung his sword down without hesitation. Somehow, just before colliding with the paladins shield it managed to swerve around his defenses and cut into the man’s ribcage. The force of the blow was weakened because of the action so the soldier didn’t fall immediately, but Geomchi followed up with another fluid attack and the man’s body turned gray and fell lifelessly to the ground.
“Alright boys, let’s show what we’re made of!” shouted Geomchi at the top of his lungs.
His words ignited his students fighting spirits and they all rallied together for another attack.
“My turn next!”
“Ahahah that makes 23 now!”
“Tonight’s going to be a feast!”
“Yatz Yatz!”
3 miles away from Geomchi and the others was Mapan’s caravan of wagons as well the 3,000 that Weed had recruited beforehand. They were capitalizing on the wedge the martial artists had created with their amazing front assault.
Pale looked on admiringly as he shot off a few more arrows from his bow. “They’re amazing as always….” It was obvious from their conversations that each of the martial artists suffered through strict training and even harsher diets which was why they were so strong, but he even so, he couldn’t help but be jealous at their strength and courage. Each of them wielded a sword like a master and charged onward into battle without fear. It would have been a ridiculous sight for anyone else. Pale’s shoulders drooped down as he stared at the ground, contemplating his own weakness.
Seeming to sense his uneasiness, Maerun hugged Pale from behind in an attempt to cheer him up. “You’re fine the way you are. They have their good points but so do you.”
Pale relaxed his body and let his weight drop onto Maerun, his head just centimeters away from her neck. “Oh, like what?” asked Pale sarcastically
“Well, you’re straightforward, reliable, keep your promises, and most importantly you He could not help but be jealous at the swords masters’ strength.” Reassured Maerun in a calming voice
“Mm…thanks dear.” Pale kissed Maerun lightly on her cheek and then went back to sniping at any careless enemies.
“Sei! This makes 46! How much are you on now? 30?! Ahahhaha!” bellowed Geo2chi as he cut down yet another Hyena rider. Each of the Hyena’s were twice the size of a horse and although slow, they made up for their lack of speed with pure savageness and brute strength. Armed with Skulls hard as rock, claws strong enough to smash armor, and jaws capable of crushing a fully grown man’s body in seconds. One of the wounded Hyena riders lunged toward Geo3chi from the side in attempt to flank him. Just as swiftly, a paladin wearing full Mithril armor and a cross shield tackled him from his left. The ground shook as the two monstrous bodies collided and stopped in midair.
“Saints Blade!” Volk’s sword became engulfed in a beautiful white flame. He plunged his sword into the monster’s stomach, scorching its insides. The beast bellowed painfully while its rider remained calm and collected. The soldier’s spear connected with Volk’s massive body, sending him rolling into the dirt. Half out of anger, and the other half out of desperation, the Hyena threw its full body weight at Volk with the holy sword still embedded in his stomach. Volk stood his ground and literally smacked the monstrosity in the face with his tower shield. There was little to no damage inflicted, but the Hyena was stunned for several seconds. That was all the time he needed to change the tide. Volk tore his sword out from the monster’s belly, causing a stream of blood to endlessly flow out from its body. The Hyena’s claw suddenly lashed out at Volk in a last ditch effort and was rewarded with blood. Volk fell to the ground, his head spinning by the blow. The rider seemed to sense that his partner was dying and prepared to deliver the final blow on his enemy for slaying his pet.
Suddenly a single silhouette appeared from behind the Hyena rider. “I dislike being ignored you know…” said Geo2chi gruffly.
In that small span of time, Geo2chi closed the distance with a jump then followed up with a twist in mid air to dodge the rider’s sword. His hips, shoulder, and wrist all moved in sync with one another to generate all the power he needed. The sword whistled through the air and at the end of the arc it cleaved into the man’s neck, completely separating it from the man’s head from his body.
“Cmon Volk, we can’t die just yet!” shouted the warrior ‘I have yet to attract a beautiful girl!’
“Ku…Sorry, give me a few more seconds. He managed to get a good shot on me earlier.” Volk clutched his bleeding shoulder and began to rub herbs on it.
From behind them, an angelic voice began to sing a hymn of healing. “Freya, goddess of beauty and hearth, please grant these noble warriors your blessings. Sanctuary!” The blood covered ground began to glow a faint blue color, and the vitality of both Geo2chi and Volk visibly rose.
“Thanks honey…” The bleeding on Volk’s arm had stopped and the shoulder looked as good as new.
“Of course dear!” said the priestess with a smile
“What! Why are you on the battle field, you already have a beautiful wife!!! Grr…” Geo2chi and several other swordsmen who had heard their conversation were glaring death beams at the ignorant couple. ‘So jealous….’
“Hm? Did you say something just now Master Geo2chi?”
“No, no! What makes you think that? Ahahahha”
The battle on the eastern side of the battle field seemed to be going well. Sword raised high, Geomchi roared at the top of his lungs “Our sword is invincible!”
The other martial artists responded back with just as much vigor
“Our sword is invincible!”
“Our sword is invincible!”
“Well, it’s true that they’re incredibly strong…” commented Maerun in the back
“True, undeniably strong at that” said Pale feeling more respect than jealousy now
“Fight hard! Gain fame! And then attract the ladies!!” yelled Geo2chi. All of them then proceeded taking off their armor to show off their muscular bodies.
“For the ladies~! To the death!!!” roared all of the martial artists in unison.
Maerun couldn’t help but face palm herself at that last comment “Although they could definitely do without all those impure thoughts…”
Morale was on the rise within the Player and Rosenheim army ranks. They had all rushed down the mountain on the spur of the moment but began to have second thoughts after losing Weed. But now after seeing this man’s strength they fought all the harder. Sword and shield in hand, they clashed headfirst into the enemy ranks. Even the Embinyu heavy infantry seemed to falter in at their recklessness. It would have a picturesque moment if not for the fact that they stripped off their upper armor and ran across the battle field like hyperactive kids….
“Our sword is invincible! Our sword is invincible!!”
Unbelievably enough, even Mapan seemed to be infected by their brashness. Merchants were every bit as weak as art classes, possibly even more so since their profession relied on skill rather than physique. He gave a weak battle cry then went off to join the others, battle axe in hand. Needless to say, he would have died several times if not for Maerun’s watchful eye.
“Sigh….They’re at it again….” Complained a slight woman wearing a crimson colored hat and matching colored robes. She watched as some 500 half naked martial artists were running around, cutting down everything in sight.
“It can’t be helped Romune, that’s just the way they are.” defended a young woman clothed in a form hugging white priestess outfit. Irene lowered her staff and began chanting a prayer “By the power of the holy spirit, restore their health. Healing Hand!”
A pure white aura enveloped those below her and their vitality visibly rose. Color returned to their faces, and the battle field seemed more like a bunch of kids at a playground then the usual carnage filled bloodbaths it was supposed to be.
“Wuoooooh! Thanks Lady Irene!”
“Well….I guess you’re right, Unni” Threads of magic began to pool towards Romune’s hands as she uttered an arcane phrase under her breath. The threads began to circulate around her finger tips then tightened together to take the shape of a spear. It was one of her favorite spells called “fire spear” which twisted, shredded, flayed, and burned anything it hit. Her entire body recoiled from the shock of releasing the spell but the unlucky soldiers who were hit by the spell suffered even more. Everything in the surrounding was turned to ash in seconds; they didn’t even have the chance to scream.
“The northern front is falling! The northern front is falling!” blabbered a ranger as he scrambled towards Mapan’s wagon which was serving as a base of sorts
Pale’s mind began to run through all of the possible factors, motives, scenarios at a lightning fast pace.
‘The Northern front is guarded by the Rosenheim Royal knights and is closest to Serabourg so the defense is thickest there. It would take a majority of their forces to break through. The Embinyu Denomination already suffered a major blow when we first broke through…So why attack there instead of here, where it’s weaker? Unless…’
“All available units form up on me!!! The Embinyu Denomination is making a last ditch effort on Serabourg!! They’re trying to take down Serabourg even at the cost of their lives!” Pale’s voice was full of strength and echoed across the battlefield. Players and NPC’s alike rallied toward him. Their ranks were in disarray, their clothes dyed red with blood, and confusion was evident in their eyes. But still they assembled to Pale in desperate defense of their home.
Pale spoke with a charismatic voice that no one, not Maerun or even himself had ever heard before “Now is the time to fight! Forget about the impossible and fight as you see fight! We will fight to our last breaths and protect Rosenheim ourselves!”
“RAHHH~!! For Rosenheim!!” yelled the soldiers in unison
Surka, Romune, Irene, and Maerun all gave nods of approval at Pale’s choice. They had always hunted together but Pale always seemed to be lacking something. There was always a lack of confidence in what he did which caused him to second guess himself. He felt as though he was just a shadow when compared to Weed. But now he hardened his conviction and was ready to move out of the shadow.
“Forward MARCH!!” roared the archer
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“Agh….” Becker groaned as he tried to lift his body off of the ground. ‘Just how long was I out….seconds, minutes, hours….??’ He had a brain splitting headache and his body flared with pain. His armor weighed down on him like never before, it was difficult just breathing.
Becker looked up and examined his surroundings. The ground scorched black and the ground was littered with the bodies of his subordinates. Knights he had trained alongside since his days as a foot soldier now littered the ground, bodies burnt.
“No…This can’t be….” Muttered the swordsman in disbelief
Suddenly, Pain coursed through his left shoulder and he clutched it by reflex…or what was left of it. His left arm from the elbow down was completely gone and through some sick twist of luck, if you could call it that, his wound was seared shut. Otherwise, he may have bled to death while unconscious. “Ahhh….AHHHHH!!!” Becker would’ve cried more but his voice cracked
‘How did it come to this?’ thought Becker to himself, tears streaming down his face
Mere moments before, he had charged down the mountain with his allies in a last ditch effort to repulse the Embinyu Denomination. Some of us even joked about finding a girl to call our own as soon as this was over. One of the new recruits, Elliott I think his name was, boldly stated that he would propose to the new busty barmaid at the Jacob’s family Inn.
The tide of battle seemed to be in their favor. They were strengthened by an incalculable factor called morale. Whether it comes to monsters or NPCs, morale is always a decisive factor in battles. The soldiers were fighting to protect their homes and loved ones and were prepared to give their lives up if necessary to defend it. On the other hand, the Embinyu denomination’s warriors had gone through consecutive victories one after another; they hadn’t even considered losing this battle.
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The commander’s allies (Weed’s friends) fared well in combat and had seemed to be winning on the eastern front. The Rosenheim knights, never one to back down, took it upon themselves to guard the northern front where most of the enemies were. We chose to stand and fight despite our numerical disadvantage in order to buy time for the others to win. When we met in combat, the enemy made common mistakes in their weapon handling because of their overconfidence and the knights capitalized on it just as quickly. Our practiced formations proved their worth in combat and everything seemed to be going well. Then, out of nowhere, the ground beneath our feet gave way and our bodies were engulfed in smoke and fire. Was it a cannon ball, or maybe a high level shaman? Either way, the explosion mangled our limbs and threw our bodies into the air. I’d hate to think what would have become of us if not for our armor…
Becker was brought back to reality as an arm wrapped around his body from his right and lifted him off the ground through sheer force.
“Now’s not the time to be day dreaming buddy! Come on, lift your fat ass up and gimme a hand here! Jeez….the hell have you been eating?” joked the wounded knight. His cloak was in tatters, everything from his shield to his armor was full of cracks, and above all else half of his face was burnt off. Despite that, he somehow managed to smirk at Becker, as though everything was fine.
“Buren?! What are you doing here?! We have to get you to a priest immediately!” cried Becker, pushing the wounded knight away.
“Nuh uh…Not without you.” Countered Buren, still smirking
Becker pleaded desperately for Buren to reconsider “Don’t be a fool! I can barely stand up on my own! I’ll just be slowing you down! Please…I beg you…You still have a wife waiting for you back home….Please…just go…”
Despite his objections, Buren continued to drag Becker onward through sheer force. Aside from his hearty appetite, Buren was most known for his stubbornness and refusal to reconcile once his mind was made up; especially if it was related to the life of a fellow brother in arms.
Buren eyed his weeping companion for several seconds, making sure he was alright.“Now who’s the fool? Weren’t you flirting with that new busty bar maid at Jacob’s family Inn on Central Avenue?” replied the knight gruffly
“Gu….*sob*….*sob*…Thank you….” Croaked Becker weakly
“HAH! Don’t thank me just yet! You’re footing the bill for our victory party when we get back!” replied Buren, smacking his comrade heartily on his back. He looked over his surroundings once more.
‘Our bodies are too exposed out here in the open... Got to get to cover…’
“Cmon Becker, we need to keep moving…We’ll be able to rest once we make it to that rock formation.” As Buren was about to continue dragging Becker to cover, he felt a burning sensation from his left leg. Buren looked down knowingly, and sure enough there was a steel bolt embedded in his thigh.
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Your body has been hurt! 300 damage.
Left leg has been wounded, subsequently movement speed is reduced by 20%
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“Damn it!” cursed Buren as all of his body weight fell onto his one good leg. ‘I was sure there were no more remaining enemies left! And how did they managed pierce my armor?! Even if it’s been damaged, this armor was custom made and reinforced with Mithril!’ Buren looked over his shoulder. 200 meters away from him were 30 barbarians staring down at them, like a hunter carefully marking their prey. The chieftain could easily be spotted from the others. He was twice the size of the other barbarians, wore a brown pelt along with a necklace made of animal teeth. The man carried a scimitar at his back as a spare weapon and wielded an enormous crossbow with a green tipped bolt as his main.
‘Adamant bolts….’ Muttered Becker in disdain. Adamant was one of the toughest minerals in existence, second only to the mythical ore called Helium.
“My thanks to you general Norman, these weapons you’ve given me are truly great!”
“Ha ha ha! It’s perfectly fine. I’m glad that you decided to join the Embinyu denomination. I can promise you even finer gifts so long as you follow our order.”
“I will. Those other clans were all fools for rejecting your offer of an alliance. With these weapons, we shall easily conquer all of those weaklings.!!”
“Tsk, can’t fight and escape at the same time….Gotta get to safety.” The pair began to limp toward cover as best they could but their accumulated wounds hindered them every inch of the way.
*thunk thunk* Pain engulfed Becker’s body as a pair of bolts lodged themselves in his shoulder blade and lower back.
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Your body has been hurt! 450 damage.
Attack speed reduced by 10%
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Eight barbarians rushed at them from all sides, axe and swords in hand, ready to deal the final blow on their weakened foes. Becker and Buren however had other plans. They drew their broadswords and fought back to back. Becker singled out the largest of the barbarians and lunged at him with wild abandon.
“Aura Blade!!” red aura enveloped Becker’s sword as he activated his skill and met the axe mid-blow. Sparks flew as the two weapons collided ending with both warriors’ weapons being thrown back. He ignored the recoil and instead focused his eyes focused on the shaft of the axe which was visibly cracking.
‘One more time!!’ Becker lunged at him a second time, taunting the barbarian to attack a second time. The warrior was more than happy to accept the challenge and axe swung down full force at Becker’s head.
‘Have to time it just right…’ The sword glowed red once more as Becker’s sword crashed into the shaft of the axe a second time, this time with more force. The weapon was split into two with the axe head striking deeply into Becker’s chest. He gasped for air as his armor caved in from the strength of the blow. The barbarian looked in shock at his mangled weapon and scrambled for his scimitar, but panicked as his scabbard got in the way. Becker lashed out at the man and his sword pierced the warrior’s upper body, its tip peeking out from his foes back. He kicked the dying man off of his sword and readied himself for another bout.
Four barbarians rushed the Buren all at once, most likely thinking he would be easy prey with all his wounds. Buren shouted a mighty war cry and charged head first at his enemies. His mailed fist collided with the closest warrior he could find and then followed up with a kick to his midsection. The barbarian crumpled over in pain from the blow and Buren finished him with two quick slashes of his sword. *THUNK THUNK* Two more bolts pierced Buren’s back, most likely from these warriors “brave” Chieftain. Buren instinctively swung his sword when he saw another warrior rush at him from the corner of his eye. This one, however, was fast. He ducked under Buren’s sword and pushed him off his feet.
“NOW! KILL HIM!!” shouted the barbarian
“Guh…Damned Leech!!” Buren desperately swung his sword at the warrior, but his wounds made it difficult. Even the few blows Buren managed to land on the man’s face with the hilt of the sword seemed to do little. Swords, daggers, and kicks attacked Buren from all angles as Buren desperately thrashed around to avoid them. The remaining two warriors drew their swords and seemed ready pounce on Buren in his helpless state. Out of nowhere, Becker spun his body around a full 180 degrees and dispatched the leech with a slash thrust of his sword then threw his sword at the warrior on the left. The weapon was easily deflected but it managed to give Buren a chance to get back on his feet. Then forth, Becker used the body as a sort of shield from his enemies attacks while Buren focused on slaying the remaining attackers.
Both of the knights fought bravely for several minutes. Punching, slashing, and hacking their foes until they were out of breath. There was now a decent pile of dead bodies beneath their feet. However, their enemies were numerous and continued to wear them down with long ranged attacks when their warriors began to wane. Over ten bolts were embedded in their body and their strength was fading quickly. Buren felt a wooden club smash into the back of his head. Just before falling over he saw Becker sprawled out with his back on the ground. Becker’s face was covered in blood, tears of regret streamed down his face as he cursed his body for failing him.
Unable to hold his body up any longer, Buren fell face first into the blood covered ground. The Chieftain and his elite guard sauntered over to their bodies, ready to land the final blow.
“BUREN!!! BECKER!!!” shouted a familiar voice
“Lieutenant!!”
Becker strained his neck to see the source of the voice. Off in the distance were Hosram and the trainees. Their armor was in shambles and most of them didn’t even have a shield. Despite this, each of them was rushing towards the aid of their comrade.
‘No! They can’t come here! They don’t know they have crossbows!!’ Becker shouted as hard as his cracked throat would let him “Stay back!! You can’t come here!!” but still, his comrades wouldn’t heed his warnings. Becker struggled to get back to his feet but the Chieftain’s heavy boot crashed down on his back.
“How interesting…So they wish for a fight then. SOLDIERS!!!”
The Chieftains elite guards assembled behind him, ready for orders “Sir!!”
“Shoot them down until they’re nothing more than Swiss cheese. Leave no survivors. We’ll show these weaklings what it means to go against us.” Commanded the Chieftain with a wave of his hand
Becker’s back was stomped over and over until his ribs were thoroughly broken. The Chieftain leaned closer to Becker and said in a hushed voice “It doesn’t matter how many of you there are or how hard you train. Trash is still trash, no matter what they do….Just like your poor excuse of a commander.”
My mind went blank as his words slowly registered themselves in my brain. All of the training we’ve devoted ourselves to were for nothing….? The deaths of my comrades were in vain? The Commander was a weakling?!?!
Becker flew into a rage as he poured every last ounce of his strength into throwing the Cheiftain’s foot from his body! “Don’t you bullshit me you bastard!! What do you know about the Commander?! What do you know about us?!!” My body shook from side to side as I tried to throw the man’s foot off.
“Tsk…What an annoying maggot!” complained the Chieftain. Despite Becker’s efforts, the Chieftain stayed his ground and kept Becker pinned to the ground. He readied his crossbow and prepared to deliver the finishing blow on the brave warrior. Just as he was about to fire, something of a miracle happened. A sudden gust of wind blew out from the crater where the remains of the Undead Dragon laid.
Unprepared for the sudden Gale, the Chieftain was thrown off of Becker and he struggled to steady his feet. Riding the momentum of the wind, Becker flew at the man and bit into the Chieftain’s throat. He desperately used his hands to push the furious knight off of him but Becker held on. With his last bit of strength, Becker tore through the Chieftains Jugular and both fighters fell to their knees. The Chieftain was clutching his neck and trying to keep the blood from flowing out but it didn’t stop flowing out from the open wound. Unable to scream or breathe, he died within seconds gurgling on his own lifeblood.
“*cough* Serves you right…” Becker had a satisfied expression on his face as he watched the man die.
“Bastard! How dare you do that to the Chieftain!!” yelled one of the barbarian warriors. He held a long sword in hand and was about to kill Becker and Buren without a moment’s hesitation.
Three arrows pierced Arglen’s chest, all of them tightly grouped together near his heart. Arglen was wearing one of the new chain mails provided by the Embinyu Army. The armor was made by an advanced level smith and enchanted for protection by their own Shamans but these arrows bore through him like it wasn’t even there.
“What….The hell?” said Arglen in disbelief.
*Sweesh Sweesh* Two more arrows found their mark, this time on Arglen’s throat. His head turned to the left to ask his comrades for help but was shocked to see them being slain by a group of armorless swordsmen.
“Fight! Don’t let any of these bastards make it out of here alive!!” ordered Pale as he loosed another arrow. He looked on as a Shaman was clutching his eye in pain. The fire ball spell he was preparing exploded from the moment’s distraction causing the man’s body to become inflamed.
“Becker! Buren! Snap out of it!! Someone call a priest! Hurry!!” yelled Johnson, who was now at the two warriors side.
‘Can’t see…Who’s there….? Is that the Sword Instructor? Hey, you know I trained really hard to get advanced 7 mastery…even though my last attack was just biting, that’s fine….right…? I did manage to take one of the leader’s heads…’ thought Becker to himself. His body was getting colder; he had long since lost all feeling in his limbs.
Johnson did his best to stop the bleeding. “STAY!! AWAKE!! YOU HEAR ME BECKER?! STAY AWAKE!! I don’t want to lose another brother!!”
Even his eyes were beginning to lose focus; everything slowly became foggier and foggier. ‘Can I rest now? I’m so tired…’
Becker was about to lapse into unconsciousness when he suddenly noticed something floating in the air. It was impossible to not recognize him. There was familiar presence that he and the others knew all too well. The presence of the one person they had all chased after since their days as trainees in the Lair of Litvart.
“Welcome back…Commander…*cough*…You’re late heh heh…” muttered Becker. Tears streaked down his face and he smiled as his consciousness faded.