The Empire's Assault (1)
“That’s enough. I think we’ve got the gist of what you’re saying, Sandro-nim. We need to get ready for battle ourselves, so we’ll take our leave. Until next time. Let’s go, Baragi.”
“Understood, Guild Master.”
“Yeah, let’s all do our best!”
With that, Atlantis’s executives moved off to claim their positions. He’d explained it clearly enough—hopefully, that meant no funny business from them.
“Oh man, our guild master’s looking pretty cool there. The top guilds everywhere are eyeing him up, huh?”
“What about turning them down? Put those stray thoughts out of your head. No distractions—focus on holding the line next to Phoenix! Kyaa! When Dro started talking, I thought the supreme Taeyeon had descended or something……”
“Chukbing, you gonna shut it or not? Anyway, we’re late, so shall we head out now?”
“Who’s fault is it we’re late…? Hey! Hold up! Give me a ride too!”
I hopped onto Ferari, who was still hovering without being dismissed, and Chuk Bing hyung and Hyunjung followed suit. As a large monster, the red drake could carry up to three people. The other two were no problem either. Ra Chan’s newly tamed mob could carry two as well.
“Summon Wasuni!”
With his shout, a wyvern appeared—not quite as big as Ferari, but larger than a griffon. It was the wyvern from the Gartwell Mountains that I’d diligently aggroed for him to tame solo: ‘Wasuni.’
“Chuk Bol noona, hold on tight!”
“Hey, hey! Why grab my waist? I won’t fall off just riding normally! This is a game—what’s with you?”
“Ah…… okay, okay. Anyway, we’re off!”
Our Burning Star crew, split between Ferari and Wasuni, soon soared into the sky, gazing down at the ground below. Not just inside the inner keep, but the cliffs beneath the walls, the narrow paths connecting them, Rozentas Castle’s signature cloud bridges linking to the inner gate, and even the hills across the way—every visible spot was packed with players.
Yet there wasn’t a single sign of the NPC imperial legions that looked like actual empire troops. Well, no one expected the NPCs to march all the way here on foot, given the distance.
The warned-of 3:00 PM on the dot. Right on the bridge before the inner gate, an imperial NPC officer emerged through a portal. With so many players there was no standing room, he was perched absurdly on their shoulders.
"Hear ye, minions of Reverse Kingdom! For daring to defy the sun of the empire, His Most August Majesty Zephyr III, the Emperor has dispatched the 7th Legion, 'The Unstoppable Charge,' to deliver stern punishment upon you. If you bow your heads now and surrender Rozentas Castle, His Majesty’s ocean-wide mercy shall command our withdrawal!"
“What a cheeky NPC, talking all high and mighty! We refuse!!”
Unlike us, a system window apparently offered the option to surrender. Hellfire swiped roughly at the air. The moment the officer finished speaking, an arrow shot from atop the walls, and hundreds more followed as the signal, riddling the officer. He let out a brief death cry under the barrage before collapsing.
"Lord of Reverse! A foolish choice indeed! Soon, the bloody reckoning shall descend upon this place!"
The invasion of the Gaira Empire will begin shortly.
All guilds allied with Reverse Kingdom will automatically join the war against the Gaira Empire.
“Whoa! That guy went out with total style? Feels like a movie already—heart’s pounding!”
“It’s finally starting! Waited forever for this!”
“Kyaa! First time seeing something like this! Me, right in the middle of a battlefield?!”
The same alerts popped up for every player, and the field erupted in excitement for the battle ahead. From our aerial vantage, something special caught our eye.
About 2 km from Rozentas Castle, on a hilltop field, around ten massive portals spawned, spewing countless soldiers.
The empire forces we’d been waiting for had arrived.
Hundreds of cavalry led, followed by thousands of spearmen and infantry forming ranks. Behind them, mages and archers—all faces hidden under helmets or hoods.
‘To reduce aversion when fighting humanoid monsters, they set it up that way.’
The empire troops inherited that game feature for bandit or brigand encounters. Anyway, not important.
The portals, already disgorging tens of thousands, finally spat out something unexpected at the end: titans. No—a whole titan unit.
“Damn! Empire’s bringing titans too? They came fully prepared!”
“One, two, three, four! Crazy…… they’ve got 12 of ‘em!”
“And this is just one legion……? That’s the empire’s class?”
Rough count: over 50,000 soldiers, plus 12 soldier-grade titans. Too organized for a mere monster wave. It felt like the devs designed this event to showcase the empire’s overwhelming power in Tayen’s lore.
‘But there’s one thing neither your Illusion nor the empire in Tayen foresaw.’
Several times more players than expected had gathered at Rozentas Castle and vicinity. And Burning Star, including me, was fully committed to this war.
The outcome of this siege and battle, which should’ve been a crushing defeat, would flip 180 degrees because of these variables.
“Waaaaah!”
“Pay the price for defying the empire!”
“Long live His Imperial Majesty!”
The massive portals finally closed one by one after endless troops. Simultaneously, the 50,000+ empire forces bellowed in unison toward the castle’s main gate and advanced.
“What a sight. Thanks to you, Dro, we get to see this.”
“Whoa, it’s like watching Ring of the Lord for real! Thinking about diving into the fray on the ground later gives me chills!”
Chuk Bing hyung and Hyunjung weren’t exaggerating. Even I felt overwhelmed by the sheer scale from up high.
‘If it’s this intense from the sky, what must it feel like facing them head-on from the ground?’
The empire charged relentlessly. Meanwhile, the player crowds on the field parted like the Red Sea.
“Uwaaa!”
“M-Move! Urgh!”
Main defense was Rozentas Castle and surroundings. Players who couldn’t get inside planned to handle edge troops on the field. So they scrambled to evade the empire’s main force charging like tanks, cavalry first.
The vanguard sliced through players mercilessly, reaching the cliff bridge in no time. Players even jumped off the bridge to escape, turning it into total chaos.
“Now! Attack!!”
That moment, Phoenix counterattacked. The bridge players unwittingly became shields as close combat erupted.
Boom! Kaboom! Shiiiing! Bang!
Rozentas’s pride—the four spires—unleashed endless AoE spells. Walls added countless arrows and ranged skills blanketing the sky.
Kraaaack—!
Under the concentrated firepower, advancing troops vaporized before halfway across the bridge. But their numbers were insane. From above, reserves waiting behind looked hundreds of times the bridge force—like a funnel.
‘With those numbers…… yeah, normally, no way they’d hold.’
Unlike player sieges, empire soldiers respawned endlessly. Sustain on MP and firepower would fail eventually, breaching the inner gate. That’s why so many players waited outside, and Burning Star skipped castle defense.
The battle lines were forming—alliance players gnawing at the empire’s flanks. So our drop zone was one: the rear they couldn’t surround yet, since titans appeared and pushed forward immediately. The titans overlooking the field like kings.
The empire’s rear.
—Even in main quests like bandit wipeouts, there’s always a boss. Field brigands too—always a chieftain.
—So for the announced 7th Legion, obviously commanders.
—If so, take them out first. First war with NPCs, but killing heads should change things! Why else include them?
Phoenix execs and Burning Star’s strategy session conclusion.
As if proving it, the rear had 12 titans that screamed elite, arrayed like a screen. Logical to assume commanders—and maybe the 7th Legion’s supreme commander—were there.
Burning Star’s goal this war: eliminate those heads.
“I’m dropping first! Follow close and don’t miss!”
Thud!
Couldn’t land mid-enemy, so I jumped near the rear edge.
Ding!
The familiar aggro sound rang in my ears. Advancing troops turned back toward me en masse—hundreds swarming.
I called to Hyunjung, who’d landed behind.
“Hyunjung! Straight slaughter’s boring—wanna bet who kills more?”
“Dude! You saying that with two divine swords? You some punk?”