Revenge, and Then Revenge
"...?"
Me, of all people?
I looked toward Luna in the commentator's booth.
Blue hair and blue eyes. Not to mention a beautiful face.
Her appearance was so like mine—so reminiscent of an angel—that I felt an instinctive aversion to it. But I didn't let it show.
Blue hair and blue eyes were more common than you'd think these days.
The days of being shocked just by someone's looks are long behind me.
The moment Luna mentioned Lily, every camera on the broadcast swung toward her.
She radiated a beauty so like Luna's, and yet completely different.
Confirming that the cameras were on her, Lily gave a small nod and smiled.
The commentator Rakl took up his microphone again and turned to Luna.
"Was there a particular reason you chose Lily, someone you don't have a close relationship with, over the others?"
"Well, people like Choco and Leo are ones I know fairly well, right? They've shown us plenty already. But with Lily, I've watched her stream many times, and I just can't get a read on her."
A super rookie who had appeared like a comet.
Showing a track record as dazzling as her entrance, she had revealed something new and unique every single time.
The problem was that she was still showing off new abilities.
"Everything about her feels like the tip of an iceberg. How should I put it... it feels like she's shown us less than ten percent of what she has?"
"Indeed, as Luna has said, Lily does show us a new side of herself every time. And she hasn't just acquired the hidden class of Spirit Mage, has she?"
"That's right. A hidden class doesn't necessarily guarantee overpowered efficiency. Leo, after all, is a Spirit Mage, which anyone can normally obtain, and Sword God is just a regular swordsman."
"That's true," Luna said with a nod.
"A hidden class isn't necessarily a guarantee of supremacy, but it's certainly a good thing. And since Lily was already showing exceptional ability before she even got hers, I'm very much looking forward to this Mock Siege!"
"Understood. Alright, then! Before the Mock Siege begins, let me walk you through the schedule and how the event will proceed."
Paching.
At the caster's words, the screen transitioned. A cleanly designed breakdown of the rules unfolded in sequence.
"Today's match will be fought best three out of seven! Whichever team claims three wins first will be crowned the champion of the Mock Siege."
"So with three wins taking the title, once any team picks up two wins, the other teams will surely gang up to stop them, won't they?"
"Exactly. After all, a team that reaches two wins first will be at a slight disadvantage if everyone else decides to keep them from winning at all costs."
The first team to reach three wins would be the champion.
If the other two teams sat at one point or zero while one team pulled clearly ahead at two, then naturally, that team would become the target.
To knock them down and decide the winner among the rest.
Kim Yong-woo posed a question.
"However, as I understand it, there's an alliance penalty in place. That would make ganging up rather difficult, wouldn't it?"
Rakl shook his head.
"Not quite. Under the base rules, teaming up grants the non-allied team an advantage—but the moment any single team secures 'two wins,' all such advantages are removed."
"In that case, it certainly becomes difficult for one team to run away with the tournament, doesn't it?"
"Precisely. Sweeping three wins in a row is, I believe, all but impossible."
Hmm...
So the alliance penalty gets removed, then.
That would make a clean-sweep championship somewhat harder, admittedly.
The reason matches like four-against-eight or one-against-eight had been possible until now was because the opposition had been players in the hundreds of ranks, or below.
If single-digit rankers unleashed a dizzying array of synergies and coordinated their assault, there could be trouble.
Of course, I was strong, and my teammates were strong—strong enough that we were never at a disadvantage in raw power compared to the other teams.
But the 'Core' was the same for everyone.
No matter how strong you were, once the Core broke, it was over.
Unless I planned to play pure defense the whole time, defeating two teams with a handful of players would be close to impossible.
After that came a brief introduction of the players, followed by an explanation of the same procedures that had been shown on team selection day—only more polished, more refined than ever before.
Finally, the Grand General doll smashed the Core, and the explanation came to an end.
Clap clap clap clap clap.
Kim Yong-woo roared into his microphone.
"Alright! Then now, at long last—the very first match of the Mock Siege! It begins~~~~~ NOW!!!"
"Let's go!"
"Right behind you."
"Whew... I'm nervous."
Amid a burst of dazzling fireworks, the first match began.
■
Blue particles swallowed us whole.
In the blink of an eye, we had left the stage behind and arrived on the siege battlefield.
Atop the castle, a blue flag fluttered in the wind.
"We're the Blue Team."
"Blue Team's the one at the very top, right?"
"First, let's take Blue Orc and Turtle Knight and push up quickly. The other teams are no pushovers, so those two should stay and defend."
The moment the match began, my teammates were already fast at work drafting strategy.
With opponents like these, we couldn't afford to coast the way we had during practice scrims.
We would be facing opponents far superior to anything before—beings with extraordinary synergy and strategy.
First, I dispatched seven of our ten soldiers to the resource towers, stationing them around the area to keep watch.
For the record, the soldiers had originally been meant to be played by ordinary users, but they'd been replaced with NPC soldiers to keep the match running smoothly.
After all, the heart of this Mock Siege was the Generals—and the Grand General.
I spun my spear once in a wide, sweeping arc and checked the map.
Beyond the river stretched a vast 'forest' that connected broadly to all three teams.
Head toward the center and you'd reach the 'plains'—and at their very heart waited Laizaka, the boss of this siege.
Going after Laizaka right away was a bad idea.
With my current stats, I could hunt it without much difficulty if I gained just two levels or a few buffs—but my opponents were rankers of considerable renown.
The moment I tried to take it, they'd inevitably notice, and then they would surely strike at either my position or my base.
Vlack, Redberry, and Devil were strong too, but if our biggest asset vanished, there was no telling how things would turn out.
'Even if I survive, if the Core shatters, we lose.'
For now, I would act as though Laizaka were none of my concern.
More than anything...
'I doubt eating it would change much anyway.'
I turned my head and addressed everyone.
"Let's go with Plan B first."
"Plan B?"
"Got it."
"Sounds good. Honestly, I prefer that one anyway."
We moved fast, our bodies blurring into motion.
Of the plans the Lily team had prepared, up to Plan F, this was the second.
'Finish one team off, fast.'
■
"Dino, sir!"
"......"
"DINO, SIR!!!"
"Mmrph! Yes, yes! Ready?!"
At the castle on the far left, the battle preparations of 'Leo Team'—bearers of the purple flag—were in full swing.
Iron the tank and Fracion the mage had left the castle long ago to escort the soldiers and help them level up.
All that remained were Leo, wreathed in spirits, and 'Dinosaurs Are Alive,' who had only just woken up.
The moment he rose, the bear that always accompanied him let out a tremendous Roooar! to greet his master.
Incidentally, there wasn't a single soldier stationed around the castle.
Soldiers defending a castle granted all manner of buffs and the advantage of surveillance—yet not one had been placed there. Why?
"We finished the preparations while you were sleeping. Now wake them up!"
"...Understood."
Swarm Summon.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
The earth rose.
No—an entire 'swarm' rose, so vast that one might mistake it for the ground itself coming alive.
Oooooooooh!
Skreeeeeeee!
Grrrr...
Servants blessed by the spirits of each respective element rose one after another, and the strength and defense of the druid—of Dinosaurs Are Alive—amplified to staggering levels.
Flutter.
And then, at last.
The most powerful existence—one capable of overturning the entire board of this Mock Siege.
The single greatest reason everyone had feared this team composition.
"Whoa! It's actually working?!"
"...I wasn't sure it would myself."
A colossal creature radiating five brilliant hues blanketed the sky.
This place was now a fortress blessed by nature itself.
"As long as I don't die, there is no breaking through this place. Not ever."
"Sweet! Then I'm heading out!"
"Where are you going?"
At Dino's question, Leo answered brightly, as if savoring some delightful daydream.
"Revenge."
■
"...Revenge? What are you talking about?"
"Because I refuse to live as someone's loser."
At Yena's question—she had only just been preparing to hunt—the golden twin tails spun at blistering speed.
Faster than usual by many times over.
Crack!
"The time has finally come."