By now, the enemy infantry advancing towards the players had been completely annihilated.
When the distance closed to 50 meters, the players pulled out their highly destructive crossbows, and the mages unleashed mid-range destructive spells.
It was an overwhelming victory, but not without cost. It was nearly impossible to completely fend off the arrow rain from a thousand archers.
Several players had the misfortune of getting hit in vital areas or were not treated in time, resulting in game over for dozens, and the number was slowly increasing.
「Switch to 3rd-stage formation!」
The scattered formations of players regrouped into a unified formation. Now it was their turn to advance towards the enemy’s main force.
As the players advanced with their shields up, 500 players at the forefront held their position.
「Well then, take care of the main force.」
「Understood, we’ll handle the viscount’s forces.」
Bae Dohyun and the top players of the Purple Guild stayed back. They were designated to counter the enemy knights and cavalry.
The remaining infantry and archers of the viscount’s forces would be handled by the 1,500 players under the cooperative guild leaders’ command.
In the meantime, the enemy knights and the baron’s cavalry clashed.
*
Clang! Clink!
“Crush them all!”
“Hold the line! Block their path!”
The cavalry from both sides clashed, plunging into a chaotic melee. At the forefront were none other than the knights from both sides.
Sparks flew as mana blades and swords collided. But outnumbered 10 to 40, the baron’s knights couldn’t possibly hold back the enemy’s knights entirely.
Those unmarked knights leapt into the fray, swinging their weapons uncontrollably.
Clang!
“Argh!”
A mana blade not only sliced through a cavalryman’s spear but also tore into his chest.
“Damn it! Don’t face them head-on, focus on defense!”
“Maintain the anti-knight formation!”
Cavalry commanders barked orders, trying to prevent the knights from breaking through.
Thud! Bam!
“Ugh. Argh!”
Cavalrymen wielding large tower shields blocked the knights’ path, seemingly not intent on attacking. The shields, made from solid metal layers reinforced with monster hides, didn’t break easily even against mana blades.
“You turtle-like bastards! Do you think you can stop us with that? Activate armor!”
As their path was momentarily blocked, Yannick issued a command.
Swoosh.
Among the forty knights, ten activated their power armor, and the battle turned once again.
“Activate armor!”
Five armor users from the baron’s side countered, but the absolute difference in numbers was insurmountable.
“Take this!”
An armor user from the viscount’s side slammed his mana blade-enhanced battle axe down.
Boom! Crack.
“Gah!”
The shield that had barely held together shattered instantly, and the horse’s leg broke under the shock, sending the cavalryman sprawling to the ground.
“Who dares to block my path next!”
With a fierce battle cry, the knight brandished his axe menacingly.
But—
“You shall not pass!”
The baron’s elite cavalry, knowing they were outmatched, still blocked the knights’ path.
“You leech-like bastards! Die, all of you!”
Boom! Bam!
The one-sided attacks either pushed the cavalrymen back or knocked them off their horses. Thanks to the shields, they weren’t killed instantly, but falling in such a chaotic battlefield often meant death.
“Die!”
A knight from the viscount’s side swung his axe-spear down on a fallen cavalryman’s head.
“Ugh!”
Clang!
“……?”
“Retreat to the rear immediately!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The knight’s axe-spear was deflected by another spear blocking its path. And the owner of that spear was none other than…
“What are you?”
“As you can see, I’m a cavalryman.”
The one shrugging his shoulders was a member of the First Knight Order disguised as a soldier of the Selfjord Barony.
Though he had avoided engaging in the battle as much as possible, he had finally revealed himself to prevent the cavalry line from collapsing and the baron from being captured.
“Ridiculous. A mere cavalryman blocked my spear?”
“Indeed.”
Whoosh!
The mana-bladed spear swung in a half-circle, aiming to cut him down.
“Oh dear.”
Feigning a look of surprise, he leaned back on his horse, evading the spear’s trajectory.
“Try dodging this!”
Angered, the knight launched a rapid series of thrusts with his spear.
Clink, clang!
The cavalryman skillfully deflected or parried the spear with his own spear’s shaft.
“My, how scary.”
There wasn’t a single scratch on his spear shaft.
‘…! A skilled opponent.’
While it looked like an ordinary spear, he felt the weight of mana when their weapons clashed. To hide mana within a weapon without showing it meant…
‘At least an Expert intermediate-level!’
“Who are you! Which house do you serve, disguising yourself so disgracefully on the battlefield?”
“Just a cavalryman?”
“Stop spouting nonsense, you filthy scum!”
The knight swung his spear with all his might. Though he was only a low-level Expert, he was a promising talent recognized by the Marquis McNeil’s household. He couldn’t afford to be held up in this battle.
‘Damn it!’
But it was futile. His opponent pretended to stagger under the attacks but showed no signs of actual struggle. The one consolation was that the opponent wasn’t counterattacking.
‘Then I’ll just attack with all I have.’
The viscount’s knight resumed his aggressive spear strikes. The same situation was happening with the other unidentified cavalrymen who intercepted knights the baron’s knights couldn’t mark.
And just then—
“Waaa!”
“Finally, a real fight!”
“The credit for the victory is mine!”
“In your dreams, I’ll take them all!”
Detached from the main player formation, a 500-strong special unit ambushed the viscount’s cavalry from behind.
“What the hell?”
“Damn it, turn around and deal with the infantry first!”
“Where’s the vanguard?”
The viscount’s cavalry found themselves in a precarious situation as they faced the players.
Clang! Clink!
“Argh!”
“M-Mana blades!”
“Help!”
And they began to be swept away in an instant. Melee players unleashed their attack skills, having waited for this moment.
Whoosh! Thwack!
“Ugh!”
“Snipers!”
Archers and rogue players sniped enemy cavalry from within the ranks with arrows and daggers.
Rumble.
Thud!
Mages and psychokinetics neutralized the enemies with various attacks, such as shaking the ground and shooting stone spikes.
The enemy knights from the viscount’s side quickly noticed the change.
“Sir Gale, sir Cohan. Check the rear!”
“Yes, commander.”
At Yannick’s command, two armor users broke off from the frontline and headed to the rear.
“You scum! Do you know where you are?”
“I’ll kill you all!”
As the two armor users appeared, a disturbance erupted in the player formation. But it wasn’t because they were frightened.
“Armor users! They’re raid bosses!”
“One of them is worth over 1,000 contribution points!”
“I’ll take him down!”
“No, it’s mine! Don’t touch him!”
Like predators fighting over prey, the players rushed towards the two armor users en masse.
“Wh-what?”
Gale and Cohan were momentarily taken aback by the unexpected reaction. But soon, their surprise turned to anger.
“You dare!”
“I’ll make you pay for your insolence!”
The two intermediate-level Expert armor users swung their mana-bladed battle-axes with 2-meter-long mana blades.
Whizz, boom!!
“Aaagh!”
“Damn it!”
The dark brown mana blades sliced through the bodies of five approaching melee players in an instant.
Swoosh, tink.
Whoosh, sizzle.
Arrows and fire magic, aimed at the gaps, were blocked by the power armor’s shield, causing no damage.
“Keep shooting!”
“Flank them!”
But the players didn’t lose heart and charged again. Even if they died, they would just respawn, and since raid bosses’ loot was distributed based on contribution, they aimed to land even a single hit.
Boom! Thud!
Clang. Slice!
Of course, mere determination didn’t solve everything. Long-range attacks were ineffective against the shield, and the melee players’ skills were blocked by the overwhelming mana blades.
“Are you just going to watch?”
Kim Ilwoo asked Bae Dohyun, who was slightly behind the action.
“For now. There’s no need to step in and take the flak.”
“But the losses will be too high if this continues.”
“They need to face crises to grow. Honestly, they’ve had it too easy until now, haven’t they?”
“But still….”
It seemed he was concerned, especially now that he was the association president. Bae Dohyun patted Ilwoo’s shoulder and spoke again.
“Ilwoo, you don’t need to coddle them too much. They’re top-ranking players, after all. Or do you not trust anyone except our Purple Guild members?”
“Of course not! But there’s no need to force unnecessary losses, right?”
“Is that how it looks to you? I think if we step in now, they’ll just complain later. And watch, they’ll figure out a way soon.”
Having spent over fifteen years in the world of Connect, Bae Dohyun knew players’ tendencies better than anyone.
‘If you don’t know when to step in and when to hold back, you’ll just cause trouble.’
Ilwoo hadn’t grasped this yet. But he would soon learn about the dual nature of players, whether he liked it or not. And Bae Dohyun’s prediction was spot-on.
Players who had recklessly charged in were finally realizing their mistakes.
“This isn’t working! We need proper formations to attack!”
“Forming a temporary party! Need two tanks, one ranged DPS!”
“Chase Guild members, gather here! Let’s move in formation!”
Players who had been acting individually began to form parties. Tank players specializing in defense took the front, melee DPS supported from behind, and archers positioned themselves at a distance.
Mages grouped together to create synergistic spell combinations, while medics provided emergency care to dismembered players.
“You rat bastards! Do you think forming up like that will change anything?”
The knights turned their weapons on the players, but the outcome was entirely different this time.
Rumble! Thunk!
“We blocked it!”
“Find an opening!”
“Gradually break down the shield first!”
Tank players, their shields infused with mana, deflected the attacks, and the melee DPS players lunged their spears and swords into any gaps.
Whinny.
The knights’ horses fell first, unable to withstand the concentrated attacks. The now immobile knights found themselves trapped between the players’ shield walls, unable to advance or retreat.
“Move aside, you scum!”
“Nowhere to go!”
Clang! Clink!
With the knights surrounded on all sides, the players’ formation became much stronger. Even as Knight Gale roughly swung his battle-axe, knocking two shieldbearers aside, other tankers immediately filled the gap behind them.
“Damn it all!”
When he attempted to leap over the players,
“Gravity!”
“Force of Wind!”
“Stay put!”
Gravity magic, wind magic, and psychokinesis from various players obstructed his path.
“You see, my prediction was right?”
Ilwoo could only nod in agreement.
(To be continued)