Published at 31st of January 2021 02:52:10 PM
The Black Lion, Raon, stared furiously at White Lion's Lion Heart, and Black Sword's Lee Tan . They were the biggest reason the tide was turning against them .
The two guilds had made up a large portion of the Raon Alliance, so their betrayal gave the power advantage to the Hegang Alliance .
Moreover, the more time passed, the more dangerous the Phoenix and the Steel Golems became .
The Wyvern Squad and the Raon Alliance's elites fought against them, but they were struggling .
Raon's power and his leadership ability outstripped the Hegang Alliance's leaders, but even he couldn't make up for the shift in power .
However, Raon's expression remained calm, with no signs of unrest . He still had a card he had yet to play .
'She should be here soon . '
The Raon Alliance fought back, killing any enemy in their way, and waited for her arrival .
How much time had passed?
"Ugh . " Magma, who'd transformed into the Incarnation of Hellfire, cried out . At the same time, the flames coating his body slowly began to die down .
He had fought valiantly, but he could no longer withstand the Hegang mages' concentrated assault .
Once their captain died, the Lava Squad crumbled .
The Steel Golems, the traitorous Black Sword Guild, and the Hegang Alliance's troops mercilessly slaughtered the Lava Squad .
Then . . .
All of a sudden, black clouds obscured the blue sky, and droplets of rain began to fall onto the battlefield .
"This is . . . ?"
Hegang's mages could smell the mana within the raindrops .
This wasn't naturally occurring rain . Someone had caused it!
"Guaaahk!"
"Ugh . "
Rain and lightning! It was a frightening combination . The only ones affected by it, however, were the members of the Hegang Alliance .
Whoever cast the rain and brought down the lightning was on the Raon Alliance's side!
"O-Over there!" Someone pointed at the Red Thorn Forest . People instinctively turned their heads in that direction .
"T-That's . . . "
There was a small hill in-between the Ekrast Plains and the Red Thorn Forest . There were people gathered on top of it .
"I-It's Helena! Numbers rank 5! The Witch of Annihilation, the most powerful mage, and the original owner of the Ecle Palace!"
"Aah, it's her . It's Helena!"
"Helena! It looks like she's being accompanied by the Witch's Forest . "
The correspondents yelled .
That's right .
How many mages existed that were capable of making it rain on such a massive scale, and then strike one's enemies with lightning? And if we narrow it down even further, including only players, then . . .
Helena!
She was the only player capable of such a feat .
Of course, she wasn't strong enough to do it herself .
Using Mana Link, she was continuously supplied with her guild members' MP and Magic .
To add to that, she had used Double Casting and Overload, allowing her to use Exploding Lightning and other such powerful spells on such a large scale .
Anyhow, her sudden appearance, as well as her killing the Hegang Alliance's mages, was a welcome sight for the Raon Alliance, and a catastrophe for the Hegang Alliance .
"Helena is on our side! Shout out in victory!" Raon yelled .
Helena wanted to take revenge on the Hercules Guild, and Raon wanted to weaken Hercules' forces .
The two came to an understanding, so they temporarily joined forces .
"Uwooooh!" the Raon Alliance yelled forcefully . To think that one of the Numbers had joined them as an ally! How could they not feel good about this!?
"That bitch . " Shion gritted his teeth and scowled . "Phoenix, burn them all to ash!"
Then, the Phoenix flew towards the hill where Helena and her guild members were standing .
In response, Helena unleashed two spells at the Phoenix .
Ice Drill!
Vortex Spear!
A sharp piece of ice, and a fiercely spinning stream of water, resembling Poseidon's trident, struck the Phoenix head-on .
Helena, who was using Mana Link, Double Casting, and Overload, and was also being protected by her guild members, could match the Phoenix blow for blow .
She continually cast giant, powerful spells at the Phoenix .
God of Thunder's Axe, Monster Bird's Wind, Ice Storm, Great Tsunami, Absolute Zero!
Roar!
The Phoenix responded in kind, unleashing all the power it could muster .
Sun Wing, Eternal Flame, Burning Catastrophe, Flaming Sunset!
"Aah! What exactly is . . . "
"This is amazing!"
"It's the match of the century!"
The correspondents couldn't help but praise the fight . After all, Helena continuously cast powerful, showy spells one after another, all of which were different elements .
Despite that, the Phoenix's flames didn't go out . On the contrary, they became even more intense .
They were dead even!
'Dead even' was a truly accurate way of describing Helena's fight with the Phoenix .
"Now, Wyvern Squad!"
While Helena kept the Phoenix busy, the 50 remaining Wyvern Riders would begin attacking the surface .
They no longer remained in formation . Instead, they flew around freely and spewed their Poison Breath everywhere they could .
"Ignore the wyverns, and focus on the ground troops first!" Arthand yelled . He wasn't prepared to tackle the wyverns . Thus, it'd be better for them to focus on the ground troops instead .
"Yes, sir!"
The Steel Golems stomped on the ground and swung their weapons . Whenever they were ready, the cannons would fire their cannonballs .
Fighting against Helena required a ton of energy .
Shion focused on supplying it with energy and maintaining his control over its mind, so he couldn't do anything else at the moment . The mages that were supplying him with mana couldn't do anything either .
Paton commanded the Hercules Guild in his stead .
"Poseidon's Fury, reinforce the right flank! Hades's Revenge, attack the Leopard Squad! We're this close to victory . Don't let it get away!"
Lacus, Excal, Light Rock, Duvalnetta, etc . Once the Hercules Guilds' high rankers began to take a more active role, the Breaker Guild's high rankers came out to meet them .
The Jairus Guild had joined with the Leopard Squad, and Jairus himself was standing side by side with Snow Flower, cutting through anyone in their way .
The Lava Squad had fallen, but the Steel Sword and Leopard Squads had been saved . Raon's main force was left intact too .
However, the battle was still unfavorable for the Raon Alliance . White Lion and Black Sword's betrayal was a huge blow .
"Mm . " For the first time ever, Black Lion, Raon, furrowed his brow . He didn't have any more cards to play . "Now it's a battle of wills . "
His heart burned with a fighting spirit . If the battle was unfavorable, then he could turn things around with willpower, determination, and grit!
Kuhang!
Lion's Roar!
His roar spread throughout the battlefield like a ripple .
"Let's go . Let's fight . And let's win!" Raon yelled . His overwhelming charisma gave his troops strength, and made his enemies afraid .
"Let's go . Let's fight . And let's win!"
"Uhaaahk!"
The Raon Alliance, especially the Breaker Guild, began fighting through pure anger and courage alone . They wouldn't back down until their HP hit 0!
"Don't panic! We have the advantage . Don't let them get to you, and just kill whoever is in your way! Victory is at hand!" Paton yelled . In terms of leadership, charisma, etc . , Raon was much better .
Instead . . . !
"Paton is right . Victory is at hand . Follow me!" One of the Numbers, Arthand, was here too . His giant, over 2 meter tall body, acted as a pillar that they could lean upon .
"Uhaaahk!"
This war had gone on for more than 10 days . The end was approaching .
Everyone was in terrible shape . They had all died at least once, afflicting them with the death debuff, and they had run out of bandages and potions . Thus, they didn't have much HP or MP left . Their weapons broke and their armor shattered too .
Both sides stared at each other with bloodshot eyes . If they didn't have a weapon, then they'd use whatever was at their disposal, whether it be their nails or their teeth . So long as there was breath in their body, they would fight . If they couldn't move their bodies, then they'd curse or spit on their enemies .
"Die, die!"
Sponsored Content
"Die!"
"You crazy bastard!"
"You won't kill me!"
It was a dogfight . No one knew who would come out victorious . After all, this was the most intense, brutal battle thus far .
However . . . !
Rat-tat-tat!
All of a sudden, the ground shook, and healthy troops arrived on the Ekrast Plains . Their flags bore a raging whirlwind .
"I-It's the Storm Guild!"
"The Storm Guild!"
That's right . The Storm Guild had appeared on the Ekrast Plains .
'Why are they here?' Raon, Arthand, and Shion simultaneously thought .
Why, you ask? The Raon Alliance and the Hegang Alliance had signed a secret deal, stating that they wouldn't involve the Storm Guild .
It was a Sabra's Contract! The amount they'd have to pay if they went against the contract was tremendous! It was even larger than the war reparations .
'Are they prepared to pay the penalty?' Raon, Arthand, and Shion all thought the same thing . They assumed that the other side had violated the contract .
However, that was a complete misunderstanding .
Kang Oh was riding a horse beside the Storm Guild's leader, Hernandez .
"Hmm . " Kang Oh stared at Hernandez and Han Seol, and recalled the events that happened the day prior .
* * *
The day before .
Kang Oh had come to the Storm Guild's mansion in Latnia City .
"Why are you here?" Hernandez saw him and snarled .
"I heard you lost to Dukeram . "
Hernandez raised his eyes . "What!? I didn't lose . "
"Really? If you'd have beaten him, then you would be in the Empire Guild's headquarters right now, not here," Kang Oh said .
Hernandez kept his mouth shut .
"What business do you have with us?" Han Seol asked, standing beside Hernandez .
"I have a business proposal . "
"A business proposal? What kind?" Hernandez asked .
"Let me ask you this first . Do you think you'll be able to handle the Empire Guild?"
"We can . We're one of the 5 great guilds," Han Seol said .
Sponsored Content
"Of course . " Hernandez nodded his head .
If they weren't confident that they'd be able to, then they wouldn't have attacked the Empire Guild in the first place .
"Then if I gave you the Hercules Guild's soul dungeons, would you be able to handle them too?" Kang Oh asked .
"What?" Hernandez widened his eyes . 'What are you talking about?'
"No," Han Seol quickly replied . She sure caught on quick .
"As expected, you wouldn't be able to handle both the Empire Guild and the Hercules Guild . "
"For now, that is . "
"What if the Hercules Guild was completely destroyed?"
Han Seol's eyes gleamed . "So you're saying we could possess the Hercules Guild's soul dungeons without fear of retaliation . But is that really possible? The Hercules Guild is one of the 5 great guilds . They won't fall so easily . Even if they experienced a disastrous defeat on the Ekrast Plains . "
Han Seol spoke the truth . As one of the 5 great guilds, the Hercules Guild had the power and size to match .
"Indeed . But if they were to lose their support, would they still last?"
"Stop talking in circles and get to the point," Hernandez said .
"I stole six soul dungeons previously owned by the Hercules Guild's allies . "
"Mm . "
"I'm going to use this as bait to get them to turn their backs on the Hercules Guild . "
"It won't be easy . "
"That's why I need the Storm Guild . Completely annihilate the Hercules Guild . If you do, then they'll have no choice but to bite . "
"Could you explain in more detail?"
"So . . . " Kang Oh began explaining his plan . The more he explained, the more Hernandez and Han Seol's eyes shined . "That's everything," Kang Oh said .
"Let's do it," Hernandez replied .
Han Seol covered her mouth with her hand, and thought things over . "We have to take this opportunity . This is our chance to greatly increase our forces before the Empire Guild strikes back . "
Ultimately, she agreed to his proposal too .
"Then, shall we sign a contract?" Kang Oh grinned and pulled out a Sabra's Contract .
* * *
"Haha, they sure are having a blast . "
Hernandez's words snapped him out of it, and he then stared at the battlefield .
The battle was being fought all across the Ekrast Plains!
Players filled the battlefield! He could clearly see Shion amongst them .
Kang Oh drew both of his demon swords, and pointed both of them at Shion simultaneously .
'You're mine!'