Chapter 720 - Return of the Bone Dragon!
「Adjust the aim! Load the buckets!」
All 1,000+ catapults were aimed at the vast sea of white below.
「Fire! Blast them to oblivion!」Undying Scoundrel exclaimed.
Qin Han had a smug smile on his face as he watched G.o.d Executioner Sword’s catapults advance toward the Cripps Stronghold. At this moment, a sharp whistling sound cut across the air. Turning towards the source, his face paled as he saw a dense hail of sh.e.l.ls raining down from the sky.
W-what’s going on?
Before Qin Han could react, the sh.e.l.ls had already fallen. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! G.o.d Executioner Sword’s catapults were blasted apart as metal and wood fragments flew out everywhere.
After only a single barrage, more than two thirds of Qin Han’s 100 catapults were completely destroyed. Most of the remaining ones were broken and in dire need of repair.
Qin Han felt his heart bleeding. He had invested tons of resources and energy into these 100 catapults. But before he even got a chance to use them, they were smashed into pieces. Gazing at the surrounding mountain peaks, he could vaguely make out the outlines of catapults. He couldn’t understand for the life of him how a.s.skickers United managed to get so many of them up there.
It wasn’t over yet. The catapults from a.s.skickers United began laying waste to the skeleton army.
Wherever the sh.e.l.ls fell, the skeletons there would be blown away. The sea of white turned ghastly silent.
The catapults were super effective against the skeletons. If a sh.e.l.l fell into a densely packed area, the resulting explosion would instantly wipe out several hundred skeletons.
Not to mention the catapults were at a high elevation, greatly increasing their attack ranges. They could fire at wherever they wanted. Even though the accuracy wasn’t great, with so many catapults firing at once, it didn’t really matter. Anywhere there were skeletons, they would fire. Wherever the sh.e.l.ls fell, destruction followed.
These catapults were located atop steep cliffs or inclines on the mountains. The skeletons had no way of reaching them. Nor did they have a way of reaching the Cripps Stronghold, the barrage of these catapults looming over them like Death himself. The only threat to these catapults was a squadron of flying mounts. However, the Monet Financial Group only had 100 or so flying mounts in total. This was far from enough. Not to mention even if Qin Han sent out the flying mounts, Nie Yan could send out his own to intercept them. Sending a human army to destroy the catapults also wasn’t possible. a.s.skickers United only needed to have a few Masters on guard, and his people had no chance of approaching.
Qin Han already had no way out. If he didn’t take down the Cripps Stronghold today, what awaited the Monet Financial Group was destruction!
Over these past couple of weeks, a.s.skickers United had killed 3,000,000 skeletons. If he hadn’t restorted to all sorts of different extreme methods, he wouldn’t have been able to maintain his skeleton army at 6,000,000.
If Qin Han retreated just like this, the skeleton army would eventually be shaved away until there was nothing left. Without the skeleton army, just the several guilds under the Monet Financial Group couldn’t possibly challenge a.s.skickers United.
Even if it meant being completely wiped out, Qin Han refused to back down!
Qin Han gazed at the mountain peaks in the distance, then turned to Matchless Divine Sword. “Get me several Engineers and several hundred Thieves. Find out the exact locations of those catapults, then calculate their ranges!”
“Yes!” Matchless Divine Sword replied. He immediately went to carry out the task.
The 1,000+ catapults firing barrage after barrage of sh.e.l.ls was an awe-inspiring sight. The skeleton army’s casualties breached 600,000 in no time at all.
Seeing the skeletons getting wiped out in droves, the morale of the players guarding the Cripps Stronghold soared. They started beating back the enemy with even greater fervor.
“Fire! Fire! Keep firing, and never stop! Wahahaha!” Undying Scoundrel cackled. He leaped down from the mountain peak. It was truly cathartic seeing the 1,000+ catapults wipe the floor with the skeletons below. As he gazed over at the Cripps Stronghold, it appeared the pressure on that side had lessened dramatically.
With the plains being cleared out, the advance of the skeleton army was put to a stop.
「Boss! The skeleton army is retreating!」
「Boss! Victory is ours!」
…
The guild chat broke out in cheers.
Nie Yan pondered for a moment before shaking his head.「Brothers, hold your positions. It’s not over yet. This is only the beginning!」So far, only 1,000,000 out of the 6,000,000 skeletons had been wiped out. Qin Han definitely wouldn’t retreat so easily. If he withdrew now, he would be thoroughly defeated! His only option was to stake it all here!
Hearing Nie Yan’s words, the players form a.s.skickers United glanced at each other. The early celebrations quickly quieted down.
Half an hour later, the skeleton army once more emerged from the edge of the plains.
These skeletons were moving in an extremely odd manner, taking a winding and twisting route as they advanced toward the Cripps Stronghold.
When the skeletons entered the plains, a.s.skickers United’s catapults started firing once more. A dense hail of sh.e.l.ls fell from the sky. Most crashed into the ground, with only a few hitting the skeletons. Most of the skeletons were outside the range of the catapults.
Seeing the horde of skeletons still advancing under the dense bombardment, Nie Yan narrowed his eyes. Qin Han really was wily. He had found out the attack ranges, positions, and elevations of all the catapults and used that information to figure out where it was safe to walk. Afterwards, he had his skeleton army traverse through only these areas. Like this, he put the catapults out of play.
The catapults on the mountain peaks were locked in place. The platforms were simply too small, giving the catapults no s.p.a.ce to move. Not to mention, there were only 1,000+ spots. It was impossible to completely cover the entire plain.
The catapults were basically useless now.
Nie Yan thought for a moment. Since it was like this, he might as well have the catapults recalled back.
Undying Scoundrel and the others activated the teleport formations and transferred the catapults to the Cripps Stronghold in preparation to defend against the skeletons.
The following three days was a long and bitter battle for a.s.skickers United. More than 5,000,000 skeletons frantically attacked the Cripps Stronghold. Qin Han basically pulled out all his cards. After sacrificing another 2,000,000 skeletons, he finally managed to tear a large hole through the Cripps Stronghold’s walls. However, Nie Yan immediately had his Warriors plug it.
Bladelight, Lei Su, and Smoke Stub held the breach. No skeleton could get even half a step past them.
a.s.skickers United had also suffered considerable losses. During the short moment of chaos after the breach, they’d lost 100,000 troops. Players that died during a siege battle couldn’t be revived. So, every member lost was extremely grave.
「Qin Han’s army only has 3,000,000 skeletons left. We’ll definitely have the last laugh. Show some spirit, everyone! We’re almost there!」Bladelight exclaimed in the voice chat.
「The Monet Financial Group will be the one to fall first! Let’s see what that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Qin Han can pull out now!」
a.s.skickers United tensely defended the stronghold. Under Black h.e.l.l’s influence, the former players from Dark Hero also put their all in defending the stronghold. They had contributed in wiping out more than 600,000 skeletons, while suffering 30,000 casualties.
Nie Yan stood on top of the walls and oversaw the situation. Qin Han’s skeleton army wouldn’t last for much longer.
At this moment, off in the distance, a dreadful dragon cry cut through the air. Looking up ahead, a black dot appeared in the horizon, growing bigger and bigger. Nie Yan’s face paled. What he worried about the most was finally happening.
「It’s Necromancer Vorderman’s bone dragon!」Smoke Stub anxiously cried out.
「Don’t fret. Stick to the plan. You, Bladelight, and the others hold the Cripps Stronghold. Don’t try to fight that thing head-on. Delay as long as you can. I’ll be making a quick trip to Calore!」Nie Yan said. He quickly dashed toward the transfer point in the Cripps Stronghold.
Bladelight, Smoke Stub, and the other 12 Masters stood on top of the walls. Their eyes were pinned on the black dot in the horizon. First came the shape of the bone dragon in view, then of the silhouette loftily standing on its head. Necromancer Vorderman! He had finally revealed himself again after disappearing without a trace.
The bone dragon’s giant body flew through the sky. A powerful death aura spread out to the surroundings.
「Bladelight, we’re all counting on you.」Everyone gazed at Bladelight.
「Understood. You guys be careful too. Don’t end up becoming a snack for that bone dragon.」Bladelight cracked a joke, even in this tense situation. a.n.a.lyzing the bone dragon’s weak point, he rushed off.
「Worry about yourself first!」Everyone laughed.
Street Vulture and Dark Requiem gazed at Bladelight, Smoke Stub, and the others. Even though they had only recently joined a.s.skickers United, they could clearly sense the strong bond between these Masters. They couldn’t help but recall the Dark Hero guild of the past. They were also like Bladelight, Smoke Stub, and the others, gathered together by one person. Later on, despite the guild disbanding, those deeply cherished feelings of camaraderie never disappeared.
They finally understood why Invincible was willing to remain in a.s.skickers United. It was precisely because of this group of people!
a.s.skickers United right now was pretty much no different from the Dark Hero guild of the past. Since Invincible was willing to stay, they also decided to stick around.
A loud cras.h.i.+ng sound rang out in the distance. The bone dragon had landed inside the Cripps Stronghold, trampling over two arrow towers.
「Lowly humans, experience the dread of death!」Vorderman cackled sinisterly, his sharp voice piercing the ears of every player in the stronghold.
Bladelight closed in on the bone dragon. He was like a miniscule ant compared to it. It was that enormous. He quickly discovered cracks and scorch marks across its bones. These were left over from a previous battle. The damage from the clash with Karsi still hadn’t healed.
“So, little dragon. You’ve got some serious injuries on you,” Bladelight’s lips formed a cold smile.
Charge!
Bladelight accelerated and leaped off from the walls. Raising up his arm, his greats.h.i.+eld lit up with a dazzling golden radiance.
s.h.i.+eld Bas.h.!.+
BOOM! Bladelight’s greats.h.i.+eld ruthlessly struck the bone dragon, the powerful impact causing it to stagger several steps back.