The Undead Battalion and the Suddenly Rising Commander
The orcs, packed tightly like a living wall across the village to the west, surged forward in a relentless wave.
Fafnir could have met them head-on, but that approach was far too inefficient.
“If we’re going to fight, we fight smart. Not by luck or raw stats alone.”
Fafnir quickly restored his defensive line.
He sent the skeleton knights and Bell to reclaim a few scattered stone hills, then formed a defensive formation around them using the skeleton troops.
“Stay put and hold the line. The orcs will come to us anyway!”
And they did. Once the stone walls and hills blocked their path, the enraged orcs poured in like a tidal wave from all sides.
The skeleton troops simply pulled back just enough to draw the orcs up the hills.
“Yee-hah!”
“Whoa!”
With over twenty orcs cresting the hill, the retreating skeletons launched a fierce counterattack.
“Thud!”
“Crash!”
They drove the orcs back outside the stone walls and repeated the cycle, pulling fresh waves in only to crush them again.
- Experience points acquired.
- Contribution points acquired.
- Contribution points acquired.
- Base defense completed.
- Additional contribution points acquired.
‘Just as I expected.’
Fafnir let out a satisfied smile.
‘Skeleton troops are holding just fine against easy-mode orcs, as planned.’
Fafnir’s skeleton soldiers were already bolstered by multiple buffs and hidden pieces.
Combined with the orcs’ weakened state in easy mode, the one-on-one matchups felt perfectly balanced.
‘This is just a fun event, so experience gain won’t be stingy, but difficulty is dropping sharply.’
The drop in event-point acquisition rate was minor since Fafnir already dominated the rankings.
No need to worry.
“Thud!”
“Yee-hah!”
As time passed, the skeleton troops—now clad in proper armor and weapons—began pushing the orcs back in earnest.
“Hah hah hah!”
Skeleton knight Louis gathered the orc skirmishers, then summoned a swarm of Pandemonium Nepenthe from that position.
- Experience points acquired.
- Contribution points acquired.
- Mass slaughter!
- Additional contribution points acquired.
Every engagement dumped huge chunks of experience and contribution points.
The more Fafnir fought, the more he swung his sword with unrestrained joy.
“Wow……”
“Those guild members really know how to fight.”
“Are they actual soldiers?”
For the players watching from the rear, the sight was electrifying—the sword blades flashing in and out like lightning!
“Thanks to those guys, we’re still alive.”
“Exactly.”
Who could have imagined the players behind them were the ones fighting with skeleton troops and knights?
Of course.
It sounded impossible for skeleton soldiers to be fighting one-on-one against orcs, yet here they were.
At that moment,
“What are you people doing?”
A blonde knight suddenly appeared before the players. It was Penelope, summoned by Fafnir.
“Do not be afraid. I will fight alongside you all!”
Flutter, Penelope raised her banner and shouted.
“Spear users, form ranks! Everyone else, reclaim the mill and shops! I will hold the front line!”
“K-knight……”
“Sudden quest!”
- You are receiving the noble knight’s command.
- Strength increased by 30.
- HP increased by 150.
- Stamina increased by 20.
The players, mistaking her for an NPC, rushed in to attack.
The momentum shattered, the orcs began to retreat under the players’ counteroffensive.
“Keep pushing!”
Meanwhile, the skeleton troops struck deep into the orcs’ rear base.
Fafnir fought at the front line himself, swinging his sword. Whenever a skeleton broke, he instantly resurrected it from the corpses.
No matter how many he killed, the skeletons never dwindled.
Fear began to creep into the orcs’ eyes.
“R-run! Whoa!”
“Yee-hah!”
In the end, the orcs withdrew. Leaving behind every base they had seized, they retreated.
Fafnir gathered his skeleton troops after the victory.
“We need to move to the next sector.”
The Flanders front stretched ten kilometers in every direction. Holding one spot meant another hole would open elsewhere.
“Wait a second!”
As Fafnir was replenishing fallen skeletons, a group of players approached.
“Thank you so much! We wouldn’t have survived without you.”
“It’s nothing.”
“By any chance, could I ask for your nickname……”
“I’ll tell you later. Things are urgent right now.”
“Oh, I see.”
Fafnir nodded and moved on.
Moments later, fresh orc hordes appeared from another sector, pushing hard.
‘Did I arrive just in time?’
Only five minutes had passed since the last fight, and here they were again.
Fafnir darted through the roaring battlefield like a firefighter, extinguishing the flames with ruthless efficiency.
Hours upon hours of non-stop combat.
The undead’s tireless nature proved an incredible advantage here.
When the count of slain orcs exceeded two thousand, a system message flashed across all players’ screens.
- Flanders front battle concluded (Day 1).
- Victory belongs to ‘Baran Kingdom’.
- Baran Kingdom has defended the Flanders front.
- Scores calculated individually.
- Scores remain in effect until event ends.
- Honor and glory await the heroes who saved the kingdom!
- Today’s MVP for the front is…… ‘Fafnir’! Congratulations!
Fafnir had slain over two thousand orcs.
The orcs crumbled in an instant under the skeleton defenses and the skeleton knight’s rear strikes!
“Hey, who is that guy?”
“Not sure. Looks like a necromancer, but he’s fighting up front instead of just resurrections in the back.”
“I think I saw him on the Flanders front two days ago. He was out there with skeleton troops and knights like that too.”
“Yeah, it’s the same guy with the sword.”
The players watching from the rear behind the front lines could only stare in awe at Fafnir’s movements.
His sword sliced through the orcs like a living snake.
The only living human in sight, he stood out even among the skeletons!
“He really fights well though.”
“Real…… movie stuff?”
Combat between mages, black mages, and necromancers was already smooth.
Summoned allies and tanks held the front, letting rear casters spam powerful spells or replenish minions.
When that same class fought up front, difficulty skyrocketed.
First, stat and skill issues.
No close-range combat skills and stats dumped into intelligence and wisdom meant they couldn’t handle melee opponents.
On top of that, summoning skeletons on time and issuing all commands left even three bodies overwhelmed.
“How does he even manage that?”
“Summoning skeletons and moving the golem…… physique is one thing, but the micro control is insane. Who is he?”
“He must be that top-ranked Fafnir.”
“Haha…… if he’s a top-ranked old player, that explains it.”
Easy mode doesn’t mean easy.
The sheer numbers of incoming orcs created the same pressure, yet the defenders were small parties and guilds, so the fight felt identical in difficulty.
But Fafnir was different.
He coordinated dozens of skeletons, skeleton knights, and homunculi with perfect precision while fighting himself.
“Wait, those are skeletons, right?”
“Yes.”
“But how are they that strong?”
“Because they’re fighting easy-mode orcs, right? Equipped skeletons are strong too…….”
“Definitely……”
The players stared at Fafnir in total disbelief.
Of course the orcs were powerful, so skeletons broke, but Fafnir simply resurrected them from nearby corpses every time.
After Fafnir reclaimed three bases in a row, the players finally breathed easier.
By the time an entire day had passed, the orcs began retreating from multiple sectors.
‘Bell and Penelope are huge factors.’
Mounted cavalry is notoriously difficult to control. Charging a single file of infantry invites endless impalement.
Even if you pierce the line, encirclement and counterattacks leave no escape.
Skeleton knight Louis faced the same risks alone. Fafnir had paired him with Bell and Penelope.
The result was devastating. Penelope riding alongside gave the cavalry real power.
Bell turned into a swarm of bats for support on top of it all.
‘That’s why team synergy matters.’
Thinking like a strategy game, it was simple.
One well-coordinated elite force beats raw numbers every time.
In a virtual reality game mimicking reality, the gap was even wider.
‘This would be impossible in real life.’
Even augmented-reality VR games had command modes, but nothing this detailed.
- Experience points acquired.
- Level up!
- Contribution points acquired. >Contribution points acquired.
‘Eh, the message log is full!’
Fafnir had only been thinking for a second and the notifications had piled up.
Fafnir grinned.
‘My calculations were spot on.’
To fight hard, hell, or extreme-difficulty fronts, dozens of skeletons couldn’t stop a single enemy.
But easy mode was different.
Each orc was roughly equal to a skeleton, and players swarmed in randomly, making farming far easier.
‘High-level guilds fight with hundreds, but here there are no such restrictions.’
Leading dozens of skeletons solo, absorbing every point!
- Death has been multiplied.
- God of Death Hades is watching.
- Hades’ favorability increased by 1.
- God of Death Hades bestows blessings.
- Intelligence stat increased by 1.
Occasional flashes of Hades’ messages were an added bonus.
The more massive hunts succeeded on easy fronts, the more generous the divine donations and expressions of favor became.
‘And there are no hidden dangers from other high-level fronts here.’
If an event is too easy, it loses its appeal. That’s why operators ensured no 100% win rate on normal-plus fronts.
‘Not confirmed, but if my novel analysis and my thoughts align……’
At that moment,
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
A group of players approached Fafnir while he was still pushing the front line.
Fafnir jolted—had they recognized him?
“You’re Fafnir, right?”
“Ah, yes. That’s me.”
Since he’d already appeared as MVP, hiding his identity was pointless.
“As I thought……”
“You’re a necromancer yet you fight like a close-range class is nothing. Truly impressive.”
“You’ve been top-ranked the whole time. That’s why your skeletons are so strong…….”
Endless praise continued.
Fafnir eyed the players skeptically.
‘Did they get mad because I stole the kill?’
The case where you help a player against a monster and they still complain!
In real life it would have been resolved instantly if Fafnir revealed he was pro, but this world was different.
‘I wish the MVP tag hadn’t shown up. Too bad.’
Even if he wanted to adjust the catches, the front couldn’t be held without it.
“I’ve been watching since the last front.”
“……”
“Your general combat and micro control are impressive. Could you possibly command us?”
Necromancers are usually looked down on, but that’s only because they rarely prove themselves.
If Fafnir proved his strength, cooperating here was the smarter play and guaranteed rewards.
“We won’t cause any trouble for Fafnir. Fighting together could end the front faster, and there are sudden quests too…….”
“We’ll be defending the front anyway. How can we help?”
“Hmm……”
If regular players held up well and moved efficiently, the front could be won even quicker.
No need to waste energy holding ground, and they could turn the tide by herding orcs back using players as bait.
And if they worked together, Fafnir might overlook hidden pieces that others could discover.
“Understood. Let’s do that.”
“Oh……!”
“Thank you!”
A smile spread across everyone’s faces.
Sudden Quest: Qualities of a Junior Commander (Magic)
📍 Location: Flanders Front
🎁 Reward: Command users and strategy victory
A sudden quest appeared at the same time.
‘Is this something only skeletons can’t handle?’
Fafnir clicked his tongue in annoyance.
‘Why make the condition so lenient? Why only living players? This game is too harsh on the underdogs.’
System complaints and operator dissatisfaction were universal among gamers.