Fallen Holy Knight (2)
Shiiik, shwk! The first to reach the Orc Lord amid the sound of slicing wind was, predictably, me—owner of Ferari.
The Orc Lord was floating near the sandy beach below the waterfall where I'd once plunged in.
No real cover in sight? If someone sneaks up during the raid, they'd be spotted wide open.
The downstream area where the waterfall cascaded was sparse on trees, with just a few massive boulders. That meant taking down the Orc Lord right here would turn this into an open field where any backstabbers approaching would be visible long before they arrived.
Whatever, it'll work out. For now, I'll hide and keep watch.
Having scouted the terrain thoroughly from above, I descended to the ground, activated stealth, and waited for the Phoenix guildmates to arrive.
LastChance had leveled up enough to lead Phoenix's archer squad this time. A group of about a dozen, posing as healers and buffers with staves, waited at the rear. The moment Darius's crew appeared, they'd switch to bows under LastChance's command and unleash hellish firepower.
From the ambushers' side... they won't have time to check if those buffer IDs are actually archers.
About fifty Phoenix guildmates would gather for this raid, plus a thief squad of ten more ready to sacrifice themselves charging Darius. And finally, me in 8-star stealth... No matter how I sliced it, if Darius showed here, there'd be no escape.
Finally today... I'll watch you crumble before my eyes!
As I savored visions of sweet revenge, Phoenix members trickled in one by one.
"Gather up! Healers, stay put! Two more minutes, then we raid!"
"Got it!"
Field boss raids like this lived or died by speed, so they formed ranks in seconds, raid-ready as always.
Hellfire's raid chat message popped up. Having dropped ten levels recently, it looked natural for rank-one holy knight HiddenCard to main tank—at least to the raid members. Truth was, HiddenCard took it because Hellfire would soon be Taeseong's prime target.
"Focus up! Charge! Holy Grace!"
With HiddenCard's call, the Orc Lord raid kicked off. They'd delayed a bit "waiting for everyone," but really, it bought time for Darius's crew. No doubt they'd backstab before raid end—Darius wouldn't miss this titan summon cooldown window if he truly craved the Demon Sword.
"You lot! You'll shed a hundred times the blood I've spilled!"
Zumbaka's roar signaled berserk phase. Familiar by now, but only Phoenix members surrounded us. Contrary to expectations, no Taeseong players showed—not even one—until we hit 25% HP.
What? No backstab? Or they bailed today? No way... still en route?
A few users visible on the cliff above the waterfall and at the beach's end, but they bore unrelated guild marks—locals hunting nearby.
Either way, backstab or not, we had to drop Zumbaka fast. His signature deadly AoE had begun.
"Writhing Earth!"
Kwang! Only main tank HiddenCard remained before the Orc Lord, sole survivor of the AoE, knocked back repeatedly. Aggro ping-ponged wildly in berserk, so sub-tanks like Hellfire stayed close just in case.
Even watching from afar, the phase looked menacing. But with levels up, it lacked the first-hunt terror.
Guess this is it... Huh? What's that?
Resigned to the kill, I scanned elsewhere—then spotted something odd. Beyond the hill atop the waterfall, a wingtip flickered.
A... griffon wing?
No griffons ever in Silence Forest. That made it someone's pet. And the guild with most of these rare flying monster pets? Taeseong.
As I hammered the raid chat, twenty stealth thieves emerged from the stream below the waterfall. Spotted by their shaman headdresses—one ID clear first: Hong Gil Dong. His assassin squad, plus more thieves, had lurked underwater the whole time.
Crazy bastards! Hitting from sky and ground at once? But with just that numbers?
Suicide charge made sense. But without escape after snagging the Demon Sword? Their comp made no sense.
Anyway, as thieves decloaked and lunged, a bellow erupted from above.
"All units, attack!"
Griffon squad blotted the sky—at least thirty, all archer-mounted. They dove like waterfall spray along its stream.
"Backstab!"
"What? That many griffons?!"
Two months post-Bernstein siege, they'd apparently mass-trained griffon riders for some reason—outnumbering all other guilds' combined.
But griffon arrows were just support; thief melee DPS terrified more.
"Mages and archers, intercept griffons! Priority's the stealth thieves closing in! Use Perception and attack!"
Everyone fixated skyward, blind to the twenty thieves. Only my active Perception caught them first—but too far for decloak shots.
All twenty thieves suiciding with archer ranged? Even Hellfire might not tank that. But they couldn't survive either.
Something's off... feels ominous.
Then it hit—from main tank HiddenCard, a skill name he absolutely shouldn't utter now.
Holy knight's infamous unique skill—the pinnacle survival tool dubbed "Holy Wheel."
At 5-star, Celestial Shield grants 10 seconds of true invincibility. But main tanks never pop it lightly.
Orc Lord, attack-blocked, aggro-shifted instantly.
"Hiccha! Why pop that now?!"
Berserk Orc Lord charged. Hellfire, highest DPS via Demon Sword, snagged aggro first.
"Writhing Earth!"
It closed fast, slamming Hellfire with signature AoE. He flew back, knocked down.
Papapapapow!
Aggro chaos timed perfectly—Taeseong's twenty assassins decloaked, self-buffed, Shadow Steped onto Hellfire.
"Crazy! Where'd all these thieves come from?!"
"Heal!!"
"Shield!!"
But Hellfire was mid-raid, in healer/buffer range. Twenty focused hits scared, but knockback wouldn't oneshot—if next attacks stopped.
Shield Bash!
Boom! As Hellfire rose from knockback, tank staple Shield Bash stunned him—HiddenCard's doing, up close.
Griffon riders in range rained arrows like a storm.
Pabababak!
Rushing in, I glimpsed Hellfire under thief combos and archer charged shots. Bottom screen, a fresh log glowed.
'HiddenCard' has left the raid.
"That fucker! No way... the vice-gm's another Merlin-level traitor?!"
No friendly fire in parties/raids. HiddenCard quit to stun Hellfire legally.
It's over...
Stun ended—thief stun traps he'd planted on arrival detonated in chain. Seeing the combo, I knew Hellfire was done. That's why I'd rerolled: PK knockback-stun chains were that lethal.
Resignation swelled as Hellfire collapsed—then ashen-oxidized. Amid it, the black Demon Sword stabbed ground-upside-down, vanishing. HiddenCard snagged it.
"Hiccha-hyungnim!"
"HiddenCard! What the hell?!"
"What's happening? Vice-gm betrayed guild master?!"
Hardest hit: guildmates who'd shared battles. LastChance's "hyungnim!" wailed with venomous resentment, chilling despite the game.
HiddenCard glanced guildmates' way—barely—then bolted opposite.
A griffon hovered ground-level there, circling.
"That bastard? Shit—Ferari, summon!"
He had riding skill—leapt griffon-back, it soared skyward. I pursued on Ferari, activating skill.
Boosts movement speed 80% for 10 seconds!
Ferari's dash closed the gap despite distance.
"You call yourself vice-gm? Traitor for cash—not even a spy, but vice-gm sells out guildmates? Money that good?!"
"What do you know about betrayal, spouting it so easy? Anyway, tell hyungnim and guild I'm sorry."
With that, HiddenCard dodged my reaching blade, leapt griffon. Midair, he landed on another trailing griffon.
Dash ended, but Ferari's base speed let me pivot pursuit. Then all thirty griffons slammed my path.
Grinding through, HiddenCard—perched on one's back—vanished in light. Full 10-second recall scroll: instant teleport.
Whispered him—useless.
Opponent has all whispers blocked.
No way...
With no Darius, I'd thought it'd fizzle harmlessly. Instead, in under a minute—blink of an eye—insanity unfolded.
I could almost see Darius gloating. Choosing Demon Sword over Holy Sword, he'd targeted Hellfire over me—and it worked. Now he matched me—surpassed, even—with all conditions superior, plus a 7 Divine Weapons piece and Lord-grade titan.