One-Man Castle Lord (3)
He'd been moving so much to evade targeting that the mana he'd absorbed from killing and looting exceeded what he'd lost.
"Wh-what the hell's that guy saying? Uh... argh!"
Boom! The moment he retorted, another one retired. Fireballs slammed into the mages backing toward the railing to avoid him. Ferari, as expected from a boss mob veteran, had outstanding AI combat prowess. The second its cooldown finished, it automatically fired a fireball at his battleground.
Might as well make use of the incoming attack. On a whim, he ordered a follow-up Wing Gust.
Flap! Flap! Ferari circled near the spire before suddenly swooping to the railing, beating its wings massively to halt. Whoosh! The resulting gust knocked back and toppled half the mages atop the spire. Their airborne shields had shattered from the prior fireballs, so only those with Mana Shield resisted the knockback.
Nice!
Mages stunned or knocked back were prime prey for melee dealers! He plunged into their midst, landing a Spinning Slash and swinging wildly.
"Argh! What the fuck is this guy?!"
"He's insane! That damage is bullshit! Argh!"
Screams and gasps erupted everywhere! Gray death dust swirled as several dropped at once. They'd never faced attack power like this anywhere, so panic was inevitable. Normal hits hurt more than a named field boss's main skill—that was Sandro's amplified power now, boosted by buffs and gear.
[Mana Shield absorbs 257 magic damage.]
[Mana Shield absorbs 421 magic damage.]
…………
Boom, boom-boom! Mages from the adjacent spire unleashed spells nonstop, just like before, but his MP never dipped below 20,000. Thus, he effortlessly wiped the third spire.
One left: the fourth. Time to whisper Hidden Card.
As Phoenix's entry message flashed, he skipped replying and Shadow Stepped to the final spire.
"There you are, you bastard! Your cocky run ends here!"
But this spire was different. Over a dozen knights and warriors had joined the mages, intermingled and waiting.
They got the guild alert. But isn't that too late?
[Shield Bash!]
[Charging!]
[Rift Attack!]
The knights and warriors hiding behind the mages surged forward, unleashing debuffs. Ting! Ting-ting! But none threatened him. He'd rerolled precisely for this.
"M-Mana Shield? Is this fucker crazy?"
"Who the hell is he? How's a no-name ID this strong?!"
No time to satisfy their curiosity. He activated Swift Movement, ignoring the tanks and lunging for the rear mages.
"Huh? What?"
The knights, expecting attacks on themselves, panicked as he bypassed them. They recovered quickly, slashing with swords and axes viciously.
Thud! Thud! He was just a player under the same system. Attacking mages meant eating knight hits. But he wore ranker-grade +10 unique armor and legendary accessories. Above all, his 8-star Mana Shield cut damage by a monstrous 75%.
[Focus Evasion!]
Plus a skill granting guaranteed evasion on limbs (head and torso excluded) for a bit. Mana gained from killing one mage nearly matched what he lost tanking the mob.
"Why won't he just die?!"
They couldn't know, so it must baffle them. A thief tanking dozens of focused shots... no, thriving, systematically dropping mages!
"We're fucked! Phoenix is swarming the main gate!"
"It's over... Even if we tell the guild master, he won't believe it. Hell, I saw it and it feels fake..."
Even knights muttered to themselves, giving up. He'd wiped the spire mages.
"Your guild master might not believe it now, but he will soon. The war between Taeseong and me is just beginning!"
With that, he shoved past the tanks, dashed to the railing, and leaped.
The contract was spire mage annihilation—the rest was Phoenix's job.
Ferari circled the spire. His beloved drake caught his fall, then soared high.
He considered helping the siege but ditched the idea at Hidden Card's gear-downplaying tone. The man had lost his trust. No need risking a fight beside someone still salty.
He left Rozentas Castle for the outer village.
"Whoa! Check that guy! Riding a red drake!"
"What? For real? How's a player riding a field boss? Who is he?"
"Sandro? Never heard of him."
The village was quiet, but folks freaked at his Ferari landing. Expected, but embarrassing. Guess this is my life now? Their stares stung yet thrilled him. Busy anyway, he unsummoned and approached the teleporter. Destination: Kaljen Castle—his main siege target. He'd claim it as the new lord!
More guilds than expected...
Kaljen Castle, Taeseong's most recent famed conquest. High-level zone meant tough initial NPCs. Low traffic cut tax merits, delaying capture. But three months later, levels rose, drawing more guilds.
"Inner gate's breached! Push in!"
"Hell yeah! Go go go!!"
Castle's a castle, merits or not. Unlike Rozentas, it drew serious siegers. Past 30 minutes, fierce main guild: Atlantis. Rank 2 contender, targeting Kaljen for expansion.
Olympus-HighJoseon, Phoenix-Atlantis: the big four post-Taeseong, allied in lines.
Thanks to Hellfire for the intel. Recent chat yielded a key inference.
-If we clear the spire mages as planned, we'll claim the obelisk in under 30 minutes.
-Why rush? Ah, to siege faster and help defend...?
-No. Taeseong's all-in on Bernstein recapture. Their top tax earner— a nation won't yield it.
-So this is our shot. Hit their thinned defenses elsewhere...
Hellfire trailed off, but it painted the siege map. Taeseong focuses Bernstein—no late Rozentas support needed. That freed force? Obviously bolstering Atlantis. Hidden Card's 200 Phoenix elites would join post-Rozentas. He'd lurk, whittling Taeseong till forces balanced.
"Argh! He's back!"
"What the hell's with this Sandro? Why can't guild search find him?!"
Main keep rooftop behind obelisk: three archer squads covering the plaza widely. For 20 minutes since arriving, he'd guerrilla'd solely them.
[Continuous Slash!]
Out of stealth, he burst on target with flats and burst DPS. Paper-thin archers couldn't tank it. Three hits oxidized it gray. He Weak Point Capture'd three more nearby.
[Mana Shield absorbs 633 physical damage.]
[Mana Shield absorbs 524 physical damage.]
…………………
Pew-pew-pew-pew! They'd suffered this repeatedly, so arrows poured instantly.
[Shadow Step!]
Futile. He leaped off the roof, Shadow Stepping to a distant passing player to escape.
Heh. Must be infuriating on their end. Uncatchable, and chasing risks formation collapse—worse losses for Taeseong. They could only eat hits helplessly.
Amid inner keep chaos, he solo'd a third of rooftop Taeseong DPS. Revived archers tried returning, but post-res debuffs let him pick them off repeatedly—now they didn't dare.
Sniping formed-up rear DPS is siege nightmare. Small feat? Or massive? He'd done both.
His raids worked: stalled barricade fight swung to Atlantis. Phoenix's 200 elites, led by Hidden Card, had joined minutes ago.
It's about to pop off! Seeing the barricade crumble, he quit assassinations, climbed the wall, surveyed.
10-ish minutes left. 20 since inner breach—Taeseong reinforcements would've arrived. Silence meant Bernstein drained them. Obelisk down ends siege, expels all. Safe to join now.
All per plan. One thing left:
Not Atlantis—I'll claim Kaljen's obelisk!
Taeseong tanks fully broken, he summoned Ferari, soaring over Kaljen.
Plaza view: 2-3k users clashing around obelisk.
"Ferari, time to shine today... This siege's hottest moment incoming?"
Heart raced. His official debut. But resolved since wielding the holy sword! He spun Ferari earthward.
Shrieeek-shrieeek! Wind whipped cheeks. Near ground, he ordered obelisk-targeted fireball and wing gust, then jumped.
Today's climax weapon drawn.
"Luitus, summon!"
Boom! Amid obelisk bloodbath, white nightmare—Exterminating Light—crashed down.