I rode down the hill with the wind behind me. He Yi and Murong Mingyue were following closely on the king of Dragonlight Armored Horses, the Dragonlight Spirit Beast. We left the spectator zone of Windy Trail behind because this place was basically lost to the enemy. The next battle would be ours to fight!
As we galloped toward the valley entrance, a Northern Alliance player or two would occasionally jump out to try to stop us in our tracks. However, they posed no threat because they could usually be taken out in just a swing or two.
……
Rustle rustle rustle...
Outside the valley entrance, flocks of birds suddenly took off to the sky as if they had sensed the arrival of war. A terrible battle was going to break out in the gigantic map that was Dawn Valley, and the answer to who was stronger—the s.h.i.+eld of China or the spear of the Northern Alliance—would be revealed very soon.
An entire stretch of Candle Dragon cavalry was standing by at the valley entrance. Tempest Shadow was sitting atop a black warhorse, and behind him were the Viper Dragoons. Candlelight Shadow definitely wasn"t holding anything back seeing as he had deployed his strongest force and trump card from the start.
Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls was camped on the west side of the valley. Even from far away, we could see entire columns of s.h.i.+eld-wielding riders and land bound fighters were packed into tight, uniform formations, and our banners flapping lightly in the air. We could also hear the sounds of people and horses joining together to form a cacophony of noises. Our backliners—the mages, archers, tamers, priests, bards and more—were on alert, and our frontliners looked ready to act at a moment"s notice.
"The guild leaders have returned!" shouted High Fighting Spirits while raising his Dragonlight Shatter, laughing loudly.
I reined in my mount after I got close enough. After giving everyone a nod, I turned my mount around and moved to the front of the formation. He Yi joined me while Murong Mingyue retreated to the back.
I looked behind me and saw Beiming Xue standing right next to Chaos Moon. The girl was completely unafraid of fighting an enemy at melee, and the blue dagger she wore at her waist was the source of her confidence. I was aware that she was skilled enough to engage most melee players at melee. Having a powerful ranged attacker at the frontline could prove to be very useful in the upcoming battle as well.
Li Chengfeng was wearing a set of excellent metal armor and wielded the Blade of Ghastly Wind. He asked me, "Lu Chen, how is the situation at the frontline? I could hardly believe it when I heard that Blazing Hot Lips and Warsky Alliance had faltered less than two hours into the battle. It sounded impossible knowing how strong they are."
I sucked in a deep breath before replying, "Be on your toes, everyone. Our enemy this time is incredibly powerful, and they"ve sent out every Heroic Bannerman they got. I"ve spotted at least 40 Heroic Bannermen in the canyon alone, and they are at least as strong as us CGL Hall of Famers. This will be a b.l.o.o.d.y battle!"
"Got it."
Li Chengfeng nodded seriously, but he couldn"t conceal the excitement and war zeal in his eyes. He let out a chuckle and said, "I can"t wait to see how good these so-called Heroic Bannermen are, haha!"
Gui Guzi also raised his spear and declared, "That"s right! I don"t care who they are, anyone who tries to despoil our server will be removed from existence!"
I nodded smilingly before raising my sword high. Then, I shouted, "Brothers and sisters, war is upon us! We seek neither fame nor wealth from this fight, only that our flesh is enough to protect our homeland, and to make the impossible possible! Let us show those nonbelievers that Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls would rather die than give in to our enemies!"
Everyone raised their weapons in unison and answered my call, "We will defend our homeland! We would rather die than give in!"
No more words was necessary at this point. Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls wasn"t afraid of dying, and we would display our full strength no matter how powerful the enemy was!
……
After that, we waited quietly for the inevitable to arrive. Only the neighs of horses could be heard from time to time.
My Famous Generals and some first-rate riders were the only ones who were standing with me on the frontline. We had hidden the Dragonlight Cavalry and Cyan Tiger Cavalry in the flanks so they could counterattack the enemy at any moment. A honed blade was best used as a cutting tool, so it was up to us to hold off the enemy until the timing was right.
We could hear the low, distant rumble of horse hooves coming from inside the canyon. It almost sounded like an earthquake. Heaven knows how terrible the battle that was taking place there was.
Gui Guzi, Heaven"s Rain, Xu Yang, Chaos Moon and everyone else held their breaths as they stared toward the horizon. Everyone"s eyes was full of excitement and devoid of fear. For the past half a year or so, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls had transformed from a small, unknown guild to a super guild that was known nationwide, and although we had beaten practically every guild in the country at least once, we hadn"t gotten the chance to prove ourselves in a Nation War. It was why this battle was very important to us. We would show the world the bravery, decisiveness and power of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and cement ourselves in the annals of history once and for all!
Time pa.s.sed little by little. I sucked in a deep breath and noted that it had been two and a half hours since the Nation Wars began. Although the rumors made it sound like Blazing Hot Lips and Warsky Alliance had suffered a crus.h.i.+ng defeat, they were ultimately able to carry out their duties. They had managed to intercept and kill off a huge number of Northern Alliance players inside the canyon. They just couldn"t push them back because the enemy outnumbered them many times over.
A while later, I finally lost my patience and tapped Stranger of Three Lifetimes" name on the friend list. I sent her a message that stated, "How is the situation, Momo?"
Stranger of Three Lifetimes turned on her communicator directly and replied with heavy breathing, "Lu Chen, we"ve suffered ma.s.sive casualties, and we won"t be able to hold on for much longer. Our frontliners are almost completely dead, and we had to fill the gaps with our archers and mages! We were hundreds of thousands strong when we arrived, and now less than fifty thousand of us are still alive. Vienna"s Sorrow is currently organizing his people to encircle us. I think he plans to surround and annihilate us all inside the canyon…"
I gritted my teeth and replied, "Forget Hot and Sour Noodles" order and retreat now. Anyone who"s still alive at this stage is a powerful unit we cannot afford to lose, so tell them to break out of the enemy"s encirclement while they still can! And keep to the west side when you escape through the entrance, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls will be there to receive you!"
Stranger of Three Lifetimes whined a little before answering, "We"ll try our best, but their cavalry is coming for us. I… I"m not sure how many of us will still be alive when we reach the entrance…"
"Even one person is still better than nothing. Now move!"
"Okay. I think Warsky Alliance is retreating as well. We"re really retreating then…"
"Yes, you"ve already completed your mission, so withdraw as quickly as you can!"
"Mn!!"
……
After I turned off the communicator, I immediately laid out an order. "All Dragonlight Cavalry, move to the west side of the canyon now! Stranger of Three Lifetimes and the remnants of Blazing Hot Lips are currently withdrawing out of the canyon, and the elite troops of the Northern Alliance are sure to be nipping at their legs. When the number of enemies who make it through the canyon reaches 50000 or so, I will give the signal to charge, and the Dragonlight Cavalry will charge into the enemy from the flanks and cut their formation in half. Meanwhile, the troops at the front will launch a frontal attack and annihilate their stranded cavalry! Beiming Xue, Lu Buyi, the two of you will lead the frontal attack! Dragonlight Cavalry and Cyan Tiger Cavalry, you will follow my lead! Let us teach the Northern Alliance a lesson in blood!"
Everyone answered my command in unison, "Yessir!"
I led He Yi, Gui Guzi, Li Chengfeng and more mounted players to the edge of the canyon. We had 2000 Dragonlight Cavalry in total, and 1200 of them were partied with Gui Guzi, Heaven"s Rain and Diamond Dust for the Knight G.o.d and Knight General buff. The rest of them were commanded by He Yi and me for the Royal Road and Martial G.o.d buff. Every Famous General Skill in this 2000-strong party was superb, and the Dragonlight Cavalry possessed exceptional HP and Defense. This should be more than enough to give the Northern Alliance a pleasant surprise.
Besides that, I ordered Du Thirteen to become the commander of our 10000 Cyan Tiger Cavalry. I told him to reinforce the Dragonlight Cavalry the second we cut off the enemy"s retreat. There was no way I was going to let the Dragonlight Cavalry suffer too many losses.
Everyone looked excited to be able to partic.i.p.ate in an extraordinary virtual war like this. It was practically a dream come true for every gamer!
Almost half an hour later, we finally heard some noises coming from inside the canyon. A knight had charged out of the entrance, and it was a Level 145 Blazing Hot Lips magic knight. His back was covered in arrows, and he only had a sliver of HP left in his health bar. The dude was literally one hit away from dying a porcupine.
"Hahaha, you think you can escape? Eat this!"
Behind him, a Level 150 sixth-promotion magic knight caught up to him and swung his sword at his neck. The Blazing Hot Lips magic knight was beheaded just on the spot.
"f.u.c.k!"
Gui Guzi gripped his spear and tried to Charge the enemy. We were currently hiding at a location behind the canyon where there were large rocks blocking the view, so the enemy hadn"t noticed us yet. However, Gui Guzi would reveal us the second he showed himself.
I kept a firm hand on Gui Guzi"s shoulder and said, "Calm down, Little Gui. Leave this guy to me!"
I raised my arm and used G.o.d Binding Art the moment I finished talking!
Swhoos.h.!.+
For b.l.o.o.d.y divine weapons dropped from the sky and surrounded the magic knight. The dude was recovering his HP rapidly using War G.o.d Recovery, so I needed to kill him before it was too late!
I let out a shout and fired a Dragon Slaying Slash at my target. He was currently immobilized by my G.o.d Binding Art, so there was no way I could miss this shot. As the energy blade slammed against his head, I sent the Cyan Netherworld Sword spinning toward his torso!
Bang!
The sword penetrated the magic knight"s chest and deleted his last sliver of HP.
The sixth-promotion magic knight dropped dead just like that. Since the attack was over in an instant, I doubted that there was anyone who saw how the poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d was turned into a corpse.
……
Suddenly, a new group of players charged out of the canyon. It was a mix of Blazing Hot Lips warriors, a.s.sa.s.sins and archers. They were all drenched in blood, and their weapons looked chipped and bent. After two long hours of fighting, they were in dire need of replenishment and supply.
It was at this moment a beautiful knight stumbled out of the entrance. It was the vice leader of Blazing Hot Lips, Eyes Like Water. She looked behind her and shouted, "Momo isn"t out yet!"
Beside her, an a.s.sa.s.sin shouted, "No, wait, she"s coming!"
Swhoos.h.!.+
A flash later, Stranger of Three Lifetimes appeared at the entrance. The mage was panting heavily with a complexion that was devoid of any color. Stumbling on her own feet and having to plant her staff into the ground to steady herself, she said, "Eyes, go receive the rest of our people, will you? There should still be some inside…"
"We"re everyone, guild leader. There"s only 10000 or so of us left, and Lasting was killed by Vienna"s Sorrow to cover for us…"
Eyes Like Water lost control and teared up where she stood.