Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Fallen Wave (4)
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One of the troll cities belonging to the Black Dragon Legion's troll tribe, Kalryukint. The corrupted monsters that had assaulted it weren't able to overwhelm them one-sidedly like usual.
Troll hunters accurately embedded powerful arrows into them even from afar as they charged, halting their advance. And when they got close, massive boulders flew in from behind the walls.
The trolls had hurled obstacles with their characteristic brute strength. It didn't matter if they hit or just blocked movement. As long as they drew attention and prevented the gates from being breached.
"Not bad. They've got some brains."
But the real countermeasure was something else. Through repeated battles, the users had uncovered the weakness in the Fallen Wave.
To be precise, it was more of a gap than a weakness, but either way, it served as a key exploit point.
"Look straight! Target only the ones with crazed eyes!"
"Ugh, mage! Where are you shooting?!"
Up on the walls, it was a straightforward slugfest. Ranged attackers and spellcasters packed the ramparts, unleashing maximum firepower.
But below the walls was different. Instead of waiting inside the gates for them to break through, the melee fighters had sortied out.
They aimed for the flanks of the Fallen Wave. After countless video replays—dozens, hundreds of times—they'd discovered that once the corrupted monsters received orders from someone in the rear, their attack directions became fixed.
They weren't incapable of counterattacking when hit, but there was a moment when they acted like non-aggressive monsters. Hit them with pinpoint strikes in that window, and they could steadily take them down one by one.
"Watch your aggro! Mark it!"
Marking targets was simple too. Activate the hunter skill Hunter's Mark to tag them, then unleash a synchronized barrage on cue.
Timing was everything, so each squad was broken into parties or guilds that had trained together. The strategy proved quite effective in practice.
"Playing tricks, are we?!"
But Molok wasn't just sitting idle.
They'd seemed too far away to see clearly at first, but after a dozen or so fell to repeated hit-and-fades, he immediately issued new orders.
And only enough units to easily crush the guerrillas that had sortied out. The rest kept pressing toward the city, while dozens of corrupted monsters turned toward them.
"No!"
"Buy time! Taunt!"
"Mez 'em, mez 'em at least! Give them time to escape!"
Those on the walls tried desperately to support them, but it was no use. The distance was too great, and with their attention locked by skills, other corrupted monsters had turned toward them as well.
"You underestimate the AI too much."
The result was the annihilation of the intercept team. At best, the numbers they'd taken out would be replenished by nightfall.
It was commendable that they'd put some thought into it, but tricks from the weak were still just that—tricks.
No matter the strategy, half-baked power made it all petty scheming.
"If they'd fully committed to guerrilla tactics, it might've been different."
Rokan let out a sigh of regret as he watched the Black Dragon Legion's forces breach the gates and crumble the walls.
If they'd fully embraced guerrilla warfare, maximizing firepower and mobility for repeated hit-and-runs, they could've whittled them down steadily, even if it took time. But their fixation—or obsession—with fighting from the walls led to their self-destruction.
Of course, the longer they failed to find a solution, the more Rokan's income would keep rising.
[Human lord Rokan has seized Kalryukint city.]
[You have withdrawn 1,521 gold, 5 silver, 2 copper from Kalryukint territory's funds.]
"Nice."
It was a city far larger in size and population than a village, yet its funds were even less.
The lord might've skimmed them off, sure. But given Rokan's scheme, that was unlikely. No one knew yet that this was possible even after seizure.
The real reason was that they'd spared no expense reinforcing the walls and installing siege weapons against the unexpectedly threatening corrupted monsters.
In the end, even that hadn't worked, and since they'd already burned through it before Rokan took over, the take was significantly reduced.
[You have withdrawn 935 gold, 13 silver, 67 copper from Hiyala territory's funds.]
[You have withdrawn 743 gold, 26 silver, 48 copper from Michinan territory's funds.]
The next city, and the village after that.
Siege weapons like catapults and ballistae worked well enough against corrupted monsters too, so they'd mobilized everything they had to hold them off. But each attempt ended in failure, wasting precious funds.
'They still won't step in?'
Nine bases fallen already. Various races, differing numbers, but he'd swept through outposts of every Black Dragon Legion tribe.
They were relatively low-level areas, so they might still be taking it lightly. But after losing a few more cities, they'd change their tune.
'Soon enough, though.'
Trolls, undead, goblins, or orcs—they'd have no choice but to pull forces from the center. Rokan would keep chasing the corrupted monsters' rear and snatching bases.
Losing a few low-level outposts wasn't a big deal on its own. The problem was that destroying them swelled the Fallen Wave's scale each time.
Molok the alchemist would keep producing Gluttoni, but one of the two followers aiding him was a necromancer.
He'd raise undead from NPC and user corpses, and Molok would infuse them with corruption to bolster their ranks.
For now, they smartly sent the fresh undead to the rear to hide them. But once they brought them to the front, the Black Dragon Legion would face an overwhelming numbers game.
No single tribe could handle that alone.
'Same faction in name only—they won't take losses for nothing.'
If the masters or high masters each tribe held mobilized, they could manage. But no one wanted to take point and burn their forces.
They'd rather play it safe or conscript by tribe under the banner of "shared threat."
But that wasn't what Rokan wanted either. If that happened, the world event would truly end as the Black Dragon Legion's private party.
'I need to time it just right.'
Even if it played out as a high-level quest leaving no room for users, settling for just a few territories felt like a waste. Better to milk it for all it's worth.
To drain Molok dry, Rokan's mind raced.
"First, let's thin their numbers a bit."
As night fell again and the corrupted monsters' activity waned, Rokan logged into the homepage with his info-disruption alt account.
He twisted key intel but sprinkled in reliable honey tips often enough to build trust. It was already a named account with plenty of "trust and read" followers.
Leveraging that credibility, Rokan began posting攻略 tips for the Fallen Wave.
"Believe it or not... At least someone will check it out."
The post was simple: Why corrupted monsters halt at night. And how to exploit it.
Intercept them outside the walls, in short. Of course, even knowing that, it wouldn't be easy. With Molok's space-movement restriction ability, guerrilla ops still carried huge risk.
'But they won't be able to ignore it.'
They might doubt its truth at first, but posting it would pique curiosity. Someone would test it.
Likely a rogue-class user.
One confirmation post, and it was game over.
"Too tempting a prey to ignore."
Corrupted monsters were powerful but offered great EXP and items.
Even setting aside lost bases, top guilds hungry for ranks couldn't pass them up. But the risk of head-on clash kept many holding back.
Give them a way to cut the risk? They'd dive in.
"But I can't just hand it over nice and easy."
Rokan wouldn't do free favors. While leaking prime intel, he made one extra preparation.
* * *
"Scout team."
A hundred-strong force moved stealthily under cover of darkness. Precisely, two groups of fifty trolls and orcs, undead and goblins each.
The troll and orc bulk was hard to hide even in thick gloom, but a user combo skill specializing in group stealth erased their presence more perfectly than the undead or goblins.
"Enemy position confirmed. Currently producing undead. Massive mana drain has them struggling. Now's our chance."
As they took position, word came from the advance scouts. They'd probed enemy movements and pinned the optimal timing.
"Other guilds?"
"No sign yet. Could be stealthed, but... They didn't trip the stealth detectors we laid on the way. Looks like they haven't arrived."
"Good. Let's have our guild suck the honey dry today. Everyone standby! We start exactly one minute from now. Beat other guilds here—you know we hit first! Sync the timing!"
Surprisingly, what they guarded against wasn't the corrupted monsters. It was rival guilds in the Black Dragon Legion camp.
The method was already proven over several runs. Early birds had reaped big rewards.
They couldn't lag anymore. In The Lord, where gear was precious and segment performance gaps huge, snagging 250+ level items first wasn't enough—you needed high-grade shots too. Miss them, and subtle gaps became chasms in a blink.
Hence the impatience.
"5, 4, 3, 2... 1! Crush 'em!"
The troll mage's countdown blared in guild chat for all to hear, and stealths dropped in unison.
First strike: undead and goblin squads.
Reason obvious—they were the spellcasters and ranged DPS.
"Destruction Ray!"
"Corrupted Hydro Pump!"
"Dark Thunder!"
"Robin Hood Shot!"
"Pinpoint Burst!"
Combo skills erupted simultaneously. Pre-partied by squad, no target confusion.
"Kraaaagh!"
Each a one-shot killer skill—corrupted monsters had no answer.
Some had high defense, but most lacked the HP or armor to shrug off the barrage.
"Second wave, charge! Sweep once, then wait for round two!"
Next up: trolls and orcs.
Levels far lower, but these elites had grown battling far superior monsters countless times.
They charged ferociously, unleashing their own one-shot combos.
Hit and run.
They weren't inducing melee—they planned to cull as many as possible then bail.
"Nice!"
The attack landed clean. No special pattern response this time; right on script.
Now came the key part. Not them—the other guilds' turn.
"Damn, they beat us to it! No choice. Attack!"
Almost simultaneously with their bombardment, commotion erupted opposite. Another Black Dragon Legion guild struck.
A minor skirmish, but the corrupted monsters' movements noticeably slowed.
"Our turn too! Attack!"
Because of Molok's control.
Under his orders, they faltered without direction.
And Molok, no combat class to begin with—just a lab-bound alchemist—struggled with multi-front battles.
"Don't lag! Kill one more!"
That was the Black Dragon Legion users' aim.
Sure, no response from others meant getting picked off piecemeal. But against the mighty Fallen Wave—before the honey pot of corrupted monsters—tacit cooperation reigned.
No support when you struck first? Same risk.
Thus, chaos erupted in seconds. As all standby users surged, an anomaly hit—unlike usual.
From the distant sky, a black shadow plunged down.