Sudden Betrayal from the North!
Fafnir had just finished giving Kindorhan the information and was pondering it again in his mind.
Suddenly, a massive boom echoed from the northern battlefield.
A gigantic flag rose in the north, accompanied by the thunder of war drums.
“Oooooooooo!”
The emblem of a great hawk spread across the banner.
It was the flag of Duke Gwin of the northern great duchy.
“Form ranks!”
“Prepare for charge!”
Thousands of cavalry and infantry lined up behind the flag in perfect formation.
A direct charge would strike the Orcs right in the flank!
“Oh…”
“It’s here!”
The users were stunned, mouths agape, as if watching an epic fantasy movie.
Even though they had checked the event list beforehand, the sight still made them gasp in amazement.
“This is the crucial moment now!”
“Everyone, prepare for a full-scale assault!”
Both the Five Star guild and the kingdom’s army were ready to strike the Orcs head-on.
But the Orcs’ reaction was completely off.
“Heh heh!”
“Now we eat! Let’s fight to our hearts’ content!”
It was as if they were ignoring the northern kingdom army entirely and only focusing on this side.
More than that, the Orc Empire’s four heavenly kings and powerful red-aura orcs charged forward in unison, preparing for the assault.
“What?”
The commanding users tilted their heads in confusion.
The Orcs had been fighting under orders until now. There was no reason for the enemy to attack this side.
‘As expected.’
Fafnir immediately recalled every single skeleton soldier he had in the rear.
He then rushed straight to the headquarters.
“Eh?”
“Whoa!”
The users in the front saw an unbelievable scene.
“Why aren’t they coming this way?”
“Wait, wait!”
The northern army turned its horse heads toward the user side and began to accelerate.
“Eh?”
“Whoa!”
“O-Oh, they’re coming! Stop them! We have to stop them!”
The late Five Star guild members tried to form a defensive line.
But it was far too late.
“Charge!”
“Waaaaah!”
The cavalry of the northern army swept through the front lines like a tornado.
And that was the end of it.
Under the overwhelming cavalry assault, the kingdom’s NPC soldiers and users collapsed in an instant without discrimination.
The beginning of total chaos had arrived.
***
System Notification
The northern great duke’s army has betrayed us. All of the northern great duke’s armies are now enemies.
Internal fighting has begun even among our own forces.
The Orcs’ total assault has started.
A new quest ‘Counterattack (Unique)’ has been created.
A new quest ‘Retreat Operation (Magic)’ has been created.
Morale has automatically dropped to the minimum.
Attack power has decreased.
Moving in the opposite direction of the enemy grants +10 movement speed.
The chance of falling into a status ailment has increased by +30%.
Automatic status ailment: Panic.
Willpower is high. The effect of the Panic status ailment is canceled.
“It’s starting.”
The kingdom army’s collapse had begun with the northern great duke’s betrayal!
Even though they had received the information in advance, there was nothing they could do about it.
They weren’t particularly disappointed. No matter which user it was, no one could stop this situation from the beginning.
“Stop them!”
The Five Star guild officers tried to crush the Orcs’ momentum first. They aimed to defeat one side before the other and counterattack.
But the Orcs were different from yesterday.
“Krrr…”
A bald-headed orc wielding a massive battle axe appeared.
“Kyah!”
The blood-pure orcs spun around in a circle.
Blade Storm.
From the swinging battle axe came howling winds that turned into a tornado and swept everything around.
Kwakwakwakwa!
A fatal skill that swept away soldiers and knights alike!
“Insane…”
“Retreat! Retreat!”
The user alliance hastily changed tactics, but other enemies blocked their path this time.
“Heh heh heh! Die!”
Inside the formation, thieves and warriors swung their blades.
They were the elite members of Iron Blood Alliance, along with several other guild armies secretly recruited by Duke Gwin on the second night.
“We’re on the same side!”
“Kuhk!”
The kingdom soldiers caught in the crossfire collapsed with hollow expressions.
Even the Black Lion guild members of the same army alliance were mercilessly slashed by the Iron Blood Alliance.
‘The situation is bad.’
Fafnir immediately headed to the headquarters.
The path was a mix of fleeing users and users desperately fighting, creating total confusion.
Whoosh! Arrows rained down beside him, and blind spells pounded the surroundings.
‘Ah, damn it. This game is really hard.’
If Flush had been here, the arrows and spells would have naturally fallen on both sides.
Without any luck, Fafnir had to predict and avoid all those attacks through control.
‘Why does Flush get advantages every time he encounters something like this, while I get nothing but drops.’
Fafnir sighed and ran.
At that moment, a new alert popped up in the whisper window.
- Hilde: Fafnir-nim!
- Hilde: What happened?
The rear Hilde party still had no idea about the situation.
- Fafnir: The northern great duke’s army is attacking us.
- Fafnir: The front lines are completely destroyed, and we’ll be pushed back to the central and rear positions soon.
- Hilde: Huh… Then what you said about finding a way to escape was…
- Hilde: Actually, we were planning to escape southward! There are supply troops and rear reserves there, so we shouldn’t be able to break through that way.
- Fafnir: Understood. I’ll wrap up my business and head there soon. Hurry and escape that direction.
Fafnir, having sent the messages, looked ahead.
‘There it is.’
The headquarters had started to come into view.
While NPC soldiers were fighting each other, Umigan gang members were engaged in combat all over the place.
“You’re here!”
Kindorhan’s face lit up with joy as he commanded the gang members.
“What’s the situation now?”
“It’s a mess. A sudden internal division broke out, so I’m helping the royal side for now.”
Kindorhan cut straight to the point.
“The NPC duke’s army betrayed us, right? Over there.”
“Yeah, they’re being ganged up on right now.”
“You… Did you predict this from two days ago?”
“There was a traitor mentioned in the last quest. I just prepared just in case.”
Fafnir presented it as his own strategy from the Orc fortress, even though it wasn’t actually from the novel.
“Let’s go in.”
Fafnir and Kindorhan headed toward the central barracks.
When they pulled aside the entrance curtain, the sound of clashing blades became clear.
“Kuh…”
About ten knights were surrounding and pressing a corner.
After a few knights were desperately holding them off, one platinum-blond girl stood there with gritted teeth.
Even in crisis, she remained cool and composed.
Her sapphire-like blue eyes and the ice-and-rose patterns on her escort knights’ armor.
‘So that girl must be Princess Elizabeth.’
Princess Elizabeth.
The younger sister of the king and the fiancée of Duke Gwin of the northern great duchy.
In the original story, after the king’s death, she led one of the warlords and was one of Flush’s main NPC allies.
‘It came up during the dragon spirit alliance quest.’
A quest related to the royal family that appeared in the middle of the novel.
Since only male royal heirs could renew it, the situation for Flush was forced suppression.
But if even the princess died, even he wouldn’t have a way out.
The important thing was that this princess was the key to multiple quests!
“Block them!”
Fafnir’s shout made the Umigan gang members charge forward in unison.
“W-What?”
“You bastards!”
The knights swung their swords and cut down two gang members.
In that moment, the Umigan gang members behind them simultaneously threw sand.
“Aaaah! Sand in my eyes!”
The gang members’ attacks, without regard to methods, were especially effective against the knights.
Fafnir used the opening to shove one knight aside and create a path.
“Come this way!”
“You….”
“There’s no time! Hurry!”
“…! Understood.”
Contribution, fame, and charisma applied.
Princess Elizabeth trusted you.
Princess Elizabeth’s favorability has increased by +1.
Anyway, it didn’t matter whether they stayed or not; they were going to die here.
Tap tap, Elizabeth followed Fafnir. The remaining escort knights trailed behind.
“Distract the knights! Keep attacking!”
Fafnir summoned skeleton soldiers to block the pursuers.
Since the situation was unfavorable, the knights no longer pursued them.
New quest ‘Escorting Princess Elizabeth (Rare)’ has been created.
Morale has slightly increased.
At the same time, a quest alert appeared for Fafnir and the Umigan gang members.
Kindorhan’s lips curled up slightly.
“Ah, so that’s what this is.”
In reality, there was a huge fire in his house now.
If you couldn’t put out the fire in the burning house, the next priority was to salvage valuable furniture or precious items.
“Don’t worry about it. Don’t say you can’t work because you’re tired after two days off. Back then, I split my legs apart.”
“Don’t worry. I’m in perfect condition right now.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Fafnir smiled faintly at Kindorhan’s words.
‘If he has that much stamina left, I can ride him as hard as I want.’
A remark that eased his conscience.
The start of the NPC rescue operation had begun.