Chapter 35
Chapter 35
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Lowguard's Grand Clash
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As the sun began to set, casting darkness over Death's Shore, the devil's fingertips transformed in an instant into a battlefield of staggering scale.
Waaaaaah—!!
For the first time, the game system—which had been restricting player access and filtering them out during the Ranker-led siege—permitted a massive battle.
Players poured out from Midgard's gates, while monsters surged from Lowguard.
The guild members who teleported to the scene in a hurry buzzed with excitement.
"Whoa, this is insane."
"Looks like everyone's come running from Highguard."
"Siege is really hitting its finale now."
"Crazy. Gives me chills."
"People are gonna log in like mad from here on out. They've all been itching to watch the siege."
A thrill ran through my entire body.
Gazing down at Lowguard where the two waves collided, I murmured unconsciously.
"Prove your worth..."
Games are most fun when you're fully immersed.
Up until now, players had wreaked havoc across this land using the divine privileges they'd earned here.
It might seem dismissible if you just think of it as a game, but when you dive deep into immersion, you can't help but wonder what Midgard was thinking, letting in these pest-like players.
It was all to give flesh and take bone.
With this 99th siege as the finale, all of Midgard's lands now belonged to the players.
Midgard had provided the game board to Vipa's players, offering its "flesh"—now it was time to claim the "bone" by exterminating the monsters and altering its fate.
I summoned all my heroes.
"Messiah, Terra, Elfer, Liyanonn, Whistle, Valen."
Midgard's NPCs had to witness this scene from the safety of the rear.
That way, my existence wouldn't shame them.
The summoned heroes looked at me.
"Watch from here."
The Fullminak guild members, who had been watching my actions with stunned faces, began summoning their own bound NPC heroes one by one.
Lights started popping up rapidly in the guild login list.
Not just the elite main guild members joining the siege, but every guild member under Fullminak was logging in.
It was the firepower we could muster on this fiery Friday night. Sieges always happened only on Fridays.
I posted a guild-wide announcement in the Fullminak guild chat.
[Lowguard Massive Battle]
[(Press the button to teleport to the designated coordinates.)]
Glancing sideways, I saw magic circles glowing in the sky above Tereb as Space King's guild members appeared.
Dart.
Dart stared at me from afar.
I didn't know when he'd arrived, but Gilgamesh, who was glued right next to me, flipped him off and muttered.
"Asshole. Keep staring."
Anyway, they're so close.
With thoughts of Dart and Gilgamesh throwing tantrums if they heard, I drew a special weapon.
[Ancient Divine Sword Imbued with Uramat's Authority]
Gilgamesh, recognizing at once that it was no ordinary item, went wide-eyed.
"Wh-where'd you get that?!"
"Got it from a quest in Wirentia a while back."
For reference, my NPCs had assigned me all those quests.
They'd dragged their tour-loving self all over fields, mountains, and ancient ruins, making me clear every kind of quest.
As a total gaming illiterate, I'd thought all Vipa players cleared quests like that.
The peaceful kingdom of Wirentia, shunned by all players, was actually a hub of hidden quests.
Gilgamesh's jaw dropped.
"Dude, why are you only pulling out an item like this now?!"
"Had to hide my strength."
"Wh-what?"
I'd planned to use it as another card if I started losing to Dart, but the walking item appraiser Gilgamesh saw right through it.
"This guy's been hiding power in his items too...?"
I had no time to deal with Gilgamesh's shock.
My heart pounded.
"Let's go."
To prove my worth.
To change Midgard's fate, which I'd received so much from—feeling both grateful and sorry.
* * *
The site at the edge of Lowguard's land where the massive battle raged.
Kaisha appeared in the skies above the fiercest frontline clash where the two waves collided.
Some players who spotted Kaisha waved.
Kaisha's black hair whipped in the wind, her green eyes gleaming.
Wide-area skill motion.
Boom!
Shwaaaaa—
With a grand sweeping gesture drawing a circle, the ground was engulfed in an immense green light.
The wide-area light filled the skies from horizon to horizon, resounding outward.
Pop. Poomf.
It didn't end with one burst—the light continued.
The gloomy, pitch-black eastern Midgard flashed brilliantly under the great god's power.
As Midgard's strongest poured wide-area buffs onto the players on the ground, they cheered hotly like NPCs under emotional buffs.
Woooooah—!!!
Kaaaaisha—!!!
Kaisha wide-area support mode.
A vital skill even for ambushes, but guild members who'd long managed hero NPCs were generally exceptional at support.
"......"
Having poured out wide-area buffs with full mental focus, Kaisha glanced below before vanishing into the sky.
Whoosh!
She reappeared in the sector where players were being pushed back the hardest.
Shwaaaaaack—!!!!
Kaisha swung her absurd sword in a massive arc, sweeping away everything within hundreds of meters.
Without stopping, she buffed herself and unleashed wide-area magic.
[Dynamite Racing Through the Heavens]
Sizzle—
Mana spread out, scorching a path.
A spatial wide-area usually used from the sky exploded on the ground.
This infamous high-difficulty wide-area required ultra-fine sensory tuning based on the caster's mental control proficiency.
Tremendous power, but it demanded precise spatial perception—friendly fire was a huge risk, making its difficulty extreme.
Green flames flickered in Kaisha's eyes.
Kwa-kwa-boom—!!!
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boom—!!!!
The monsters charging at Kaisha exploded all at once.
Boasting the immense power of an aerial wide-area, everything for kilometers around her was completely cleared.
The countless players standing behind Kaisha gaped.
Guild members chattered in voice chat.
["Whoa, Guild Master. You'll kill players like that."]
["Guild Master's so hot I'm dying of a heart attack."]
["Why steal my line?"]
["Sorry."]
Kaisha, her task done, leaped straight up back into the sky.
The emptied ground was soon filled again with charging players and monsters.
The frontline, which had been pushed by monsters, advanced in a stride.
Kaisha said.
"Starting spatial command."
["Loyalty!"]
["Everyone with markers off, turn 'em on."]
["Ah, this is so exciting."]
Kaisha raised her hand.
A fluorescent marker pen effect glowed from her fingertips.
But the glowing script appeared not at her fingertips, but in the dizzyingly distant sky.
Late evening as the sun dipped low.
In the majestic skies over Lowguard's battle, sharp, enormous glowing letters formed.
A wavy curve mimicking the frontline clash.
Designating specific sectors.
Arrows pointed to where players were struggling, followed by a countdown.
[3]
Players looked up one by one as shapes and letters appeared in the sky.
"What's that?"
Players seeing Fullminak's spatial command for the first time looked baffled.
[2]
Some recognized it instantly.
"Fullminak-style spatial command."
Fullminak's—no, Kaisha's—signature command method.
Other guilds copied it sometimes, but drawing that size in the sky with a marker pen effect required mental power beyond the ordinary.
"Whoa, always wanted to try this before dying. Guess I get to now."
[1]
Those in the know shouted loudly to those around.
"Load up long-range skills—!!"
The moment Kaisha's fingertips drew a '0', [0] appeared in the sky, and long-range damage from players everywhere lit up the heavens in a spectacular display.
Exclamations burst out amid the fireworks-like, grand spectacle.
Whiiiing—
Whiiiiiing—
Kaisha widened her eyes in focus.
Skill amplification.
Concentrating her mental power to the max amplified the players' collective long-range damage massively.
Kwaaaaaang!!!
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boom—!!!
Kwa-boom!!!
Shwaaaaaaaa—!!!
The focused player skills plus Kaisha's amplification unleashed explosive damage, turning the monster-infested sector into scorched earth.
Waaaaaah—!!
Players charged toward the gap cleared by the bombardment, roaring in cheers.
["Woo-hoo!! Nice shot, Sha-sha!!"]
["Puhaha!! Even non-guildies know what to do!!"]
["Guild Master, this spot's urgent too!"]
Coordinates transmitted via chat.
Confirming the guild member's signal, Kaisha designated another space.
Shapes drew in the distant sky once more, targets locked.
Combat skills varied wildly among participating players. This was rear support for struggling frontlines.
Targeting pushed sectors for long-range focus fire requests.
[3], [2], [1]
Players now grasping the numbers' meaning loaded long-range damage eagerly.
[0]
They unleashed.
Whiiiing—
Whiiiiaaaang—
["Eek!"]
["Whoa. This is nuts."]
Waaaaaah!!
Cheers and gasps of awe erupted not just from Fullminak but across the frontlines.
The second volley's density dwarfed the first.
Kaisha's direct command in the massive battle.
Lowguard's monster hordes charging en masse turned the fight into something more like a festival.
Moving together was way too fun.
Gathering power for bombardment.
Kwaaaaaang—!!
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boom—!!!
Kuboom! Kraaaack!! Kwa-kwa-boom!!
Shwaaaaaaaa—!!
Dudududu—
Lowguard's ground trembled from the insane damage output.
Behind players charging desperately at monsters, Kaisha showered heals and buffs.
War mode: respawn in 10 minutes even if you die.
Fullminak's solid rear support.
Players transcending death had nothing to fear.
All fought together under infinite support, as if blessed by the NPC buff skill 'God's Embrace.'
Waaaaaah—!!!
Viewers watching the broadcast logged in nonstop via Highguard's gates.
At sunset on the land's edge shore.
Under the players' festival-like unity, Lowguard's monsters were pushed back rapidly.
Then, Kaisha's eyes narrowed.
"......"
Some players providing rear support or raining aerial wide-areas from the sky suddenly froze, staring into the pitch-black Lowguard.
As the sun fully set,
The second wave began.
The true source of this land's evil, the fateful root of world destruction.
Demons who had eyed Midgard covetously, nurturing dark ambitions, now revealed themselves.
* * *
Meanwhile, the live broadcast.
"Demons are appearing."
"Whoa, it's a real Heaven-Devil War now. Vipa's fantasy alright. Truly epic and awesome scenery."
"Yeah."
Voices and faces soulless.
The hosts screamed 'fuck fuck fuck' with their expressions.
Legs twitching impatiently, constantly checking watches.
Pitying comments popped up occasionally, but live viewers were glued to the screen, ignoring the hosts.
Vipa's war quality and battle scale surpassed anything in games.
[Holy shit insane]
[Feels like I was born to see this. Past life memories kicking in lol]
[Too cool for words]
[Damn... so fucking good.....]
Then, the hosts' dried-dead-fish eyes suddenly sparkled like stars.
"It's here!!!"
"Uwaaaaaah!!!!!"
Chat stirred briefly.
[Argh scared me;;]
[What what...]
[Lmao]
[Thought we channel-switched for a sec lololol]
As a fairly famous game streamer from the industry appeared on screen, the withered hosts leaped up excitedly.
"Why so late?!"
"Dude holy shit perfect timing! Take over quick! We're out!!"
The two hosts ditched the broadcast entirely, vanishing from screen.
To play the game.
Chat flooded with [lololol].
"Hello, nice to meet you!"
The new host introduced himself briefly, said he'd been enjoying the broadcast, and smoothly took over.
```