V51C4P2 – The Fight of Karichwi the Orc
The Avians had arrived to join Weed. As their numbers filled the whole sky, the moon and stars were obscured from sight. The user who was the captain of these Avians, Swift Coldwind, finished his transformation from a swallow to an eagle form. His broad shoulders and strong beak made him look as if he could peck at a steel plate like it was breadcrumbs.
Swift Coldwind spoke to Weed politely.
“As Northern users, we would like to partic.i.p.ate in this battle, too. We are ready to give our lives to fight the enemy.”
“…”
Weed merely gazed at Swift Coldwind without saying anything. In his current form as Karichwi the Orc, the intimidating aura people sensed from up close was quite significant. Karichwi’s arms which were covered with scars and bulging veins looked strong enough to snap a person’s neck in one grip. The appearance of Karichwi the Orc would terrify even the most seasoned fighters if encountered in a dark alley with few pa.s.sersby.
Weed grinned, revealing the row of hard and pointed teeth.
“Tsschwit. I accept.”
The Avians joining the battle!
As they could fly in the sky at high speed, they had an exceptional advantage in combat. They could hunt weak monsters while soaring across the plain in the air, or forage some items such as medicinal herbs using their wide line of sight. However, they also had a weakness which was their night blindness, as was the characteristic of most birds.
“We will prioritize transporting the troops until the morning comes.”
“Okay. Tsschwit.”
“And there will be unlimited waves of airborne troops directly dropped to the battlefield.”
“As you wish. Chhwit.”
Even if they wouldn’t be able to join the fight straight away, the support from the Avians would nevertheless be quite effective in destroying the Imperial Army’s battle formations.
And there were many other forces coming to join Weed’s side besides the Avians.
“We’ve come to provide aid!”
Having Jeanne and the other Necromancers by their side was like adding an egg to a boiling Ramyun — they were always welcome.
“Chicken Porridge Squad, making a formal request to join your forces.”
“43rd division of Bamboo Shoot Porridge; we will add our strength to this fight, however meager it may be.”
“We’re Raspberry Porridge Squad. Just for your reference, our squad is quite close to Strawberry Porridge but we’re still run as separate groups!”
Many different Porridge groups of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult joined the march as Weed was taking his troops to fight the 11th Legion. Their number was so huge, it was estimated that there will be more than ten million people by the time they actually begin the battle against the 11th Legion.
“Soff-nim, please take charge of them, Tsschwikk!”
Whenever a certain number of new troops had gathered, Weed a.s.signed a commander to lead them. By doing so he was able to increase the efficiency in general troop management as well as give his users a sense of belonging.
‘I should make connections with as many high-level users as possible; I may have some use for them later.’
The users whose names were on the Hall of Fame or those who were famous on the internet forums also made their belated appearance, and Weed was soon surrounded by many people.
“Pale-nim! I’ve been hoping to see you again.”
“Yes, it’s been quite a while, Pottalto-nim. I trust you are doing well?”
“Of course. I’ve been counting the days until we can finally meet again. Hahaha!”
Wherever he went, Pale was greatly popular among the users. His friends.h.i.+p with Weed and excellent archery skills brought him a large circle of acquaintances, not to mention that he had been active in Morata for a long time, too. The difficulty level of certain quests in the game dropped quite significantly when there was an archer in the party, so Pale often helped other people in those quests.
“Irene-nim, I’ve heard that you learned to cast Complete Recovery Spell?”
“Yes. But my proficiency level is still low; right now I can only heal half of the maximum Life Force.”
“Whoa. That much is already amazing. I wonder if I’d have the honor of having you in my party some day?”
“Of course, call me the next time you go hunting.”
Irene’s fame as a priest was absolutely unrivaled. Although there were a lot of opportunities to use healing spells, the conditions for increasing the proficiency level were often varied and tricky. In order to increase one’s healing power, they had to cure many weak people, or save those who are at the brink of death. Sometimes priests earned proficiency level by turning the tide of a losing battle through their miraculous healing power. It was considered as an impossible profession for those who lacked apt.i.tude for it, and that was why priests were treated with respect anywhere they went.
Hwaryeong and Bellot had always been popular among the public, and Surka, Romuna and the rest of Weed’s companions were all surrounded by crowds of people.
“Hahaha.”
“Huhuhu…
They were all wearing friendly smiles on their faces, but secretly memorizing the names of the people they were chatting with. It was, of course, to recommend more potential squad captain candidates to Weed later.
***
The 11th Legion under the command of Ultar found the army of a great size advancing towards their position.
“They are coming! There’re a lot of them, for certain!”
“What’s their current position?”
“It’s hard to tell just yet.” [1]
The users of the 11th Legion realized that the ground of the plain in the distance was full of lights even though Weed was yet to make his appearance. A stream of glowing lights that seemed to continue endlessly was flowing towards them.
While feeling quite expectant, Ultar was also a little taken aback by this sight of his enemy which was far beyond the scope of his earlier expectation.
“We’ll first gain some advantage over them by eliminating those who approach us one at a time. Don’t hesitate to set up the magical traps liberally; we’re going to use everything we’ve got if needed.”
Following his order, the soldiers began to dig the ground, or moved boulders to set up walls.
“Open the doors on the supply carriages!”
“Pull out everything inside.”
With the members from the Hermes Guild conducting them they also planted magical traps that cost more than 500 Gold each. The traps mainly consisted of Earth element types that engulfed the victim deep into the ground, or the exploding types that dealt damage to surrounding creatures.
“Just think about how much money we spent on all these. It feels like a bit of a waste to use all the costly items in one go.”
“Still, we really don’t have any reason to save them for later. If things go well we can finish the entire battle here and now.”
“Yes, we’ll all become heroes of legend if we win here.”
“That goes without saying. The history of the conquest of this continent will be determined by me, the great Gumraden!”
The Hermes Guild members waited for the enemy’s arrival with their hearts beating in excitement.
The march of glowing lights illuminating the Garnav Plain was rapidly rus.h.i.+ng towards them.
“Not yet, keep waiting.”
Ultar watched the approaching army with a cool gaze. The lights got closer at a constant pace, and eventually the distance became close enough for them to see the faces of the people in the marching crowd.
“Fire!”
From the position of the 11th Legion came a shower of arrows and spell attacks.
“Attack!”
“We will lead the vanguard.”
“Croacker Porridge, moving out!”
The users holding torches in their hands sped towards the 11th Legion while being hit by the flying arrows and spells. They were armed with their novice garments and cheap long swords. The unlucky ones were killed on the spot by the flying attacks and soon turned into grey shades and disappeared, but they were replaced by others who were following behind. They were quite similar to the many novices the Haven Imperial Army had already dealt with ever since they arrived at the Garnav Plain.
*Booooom!*
The bodies of the users exploded in a blast of flashy lights as they stepped on the magical traps. Plenty of people were caught in the explosion and turned to dust, but the speed at which the Northern army was marching was not reduced even a little.
The enormous number of users das.h.i.+ng in to face enemies with swords in their hands!
Ultar felt the rush of the coming war that filled his heart with the heat of pa.s.sion.
“The dual-wielding fighters will take the front. Kill anyone that gets too close!”
*Clang!*
The Imperial soldiers with a blade in each hand stepped out onto the frontline. The spearmen and s.h.i.+eldbearers all lined up in the formation they had previously practiced, and the mounted troops also stood ready. The archers and mages continued to shoot arrows and cast magical spells, sending them flying towards the enemy’s position.
“Glory to the Empire!”
“For His Imperial Majesty!”
A shower of arrows and magical explosions swept the users who were running towards them holding swords.
“Do not hesitate and keep cras.h.i.+ng against them! We will make it in the end.”
“Gra.s.s Porridge, Gra.s.s Porridge, Gra.s.s Porridge!”
The users in the front continued sprinting at full speed despite knowing that they would only meet their own demise!
To them, competing over the first place in this little race was a game more important than their own lives.
“I’ve come first. My name is Baitar!”
“Yes! I made a narrow second.”
“Third place. Made it to the top 3!”
The distance between the 11th Legion and these running users closed rapidly, and before long there was a full-on collision.
“Bash with s.h.i.+elds and pierce with spears!”
“Kuuergh!”
“Aargh!”
It mostly resulted in the Northern users, weak after draining most of their energy running all the way here, getting struck down by the Imperial soldiers and peris.h.i.+ng, but some of them managed to break through. The 1st generation of the users from the Arpen Kingdom, who went all the way back to the days in Morata, took the lead and suppressed the blocking enemy troops, successfully opening up a path.
“Fight on! We need to widen this hole in enemy defense!”
“To victory!”
“Just stand your ground and trust your comrades with the rest!”
The users kept flooding in like water bursting through a bank.
“Deploy the Wolf Knights!”
After observing this for some time, Ultar sent another unit of knights as reinforcement and drove back the users.
‘They are not as useless as I thought.’
Certainly, these users were very different from those he had fought until now since his arrival at the Garnav Plain. They possessed higher levels and skills, but more problematic were their speed and drive. A crowd of tremendous size was storming into the legion’s position as fast as their feet could carry them, like a swarm of locusts. Strength was the only thing they could rely on, so they kept cras.h.i.+ng and cras.h.i.+ng into Ultar’s troops before they fell and died, increasing the strain on his soldiers’ defense and offense abilities by several times. Even as Ultar was monitoring the fight the Imperial soldiers were beginning to perish one by one.
“Wailing Blade!”
One user among the crowd raised their sword.
‘But that’s a skill with level restriction 450 or higher!’
Ultar and the Hermes Guild members were startled to see someone use such a skill. The user’s sword began to glow red, and it brutally struck down many Imperial soldiers with each swing. Such sword technique could not be blocked when there was a big discrepancy in defense ability. Before the Knights and the Hermes Guild users had time to counteract, the mysterious user retreated back. As that high-level skill was the only thing that distinguished them from the rest of the crowd all wearing the same novice outfit, it was impossible to identify them in the middle of the battle.
“Soul-rending Axe!”
This time, an axe-wielding warrior emerged out of the blue and attacked the troops. The s.h.i.+eld bearing soldiers managed to block their fierce blows, but more than half of the s.h.i.+elds got shattered in the process. Occasionally a few swings brushed against some unlucky soldiers, which was enough to immediately render them unconscious and unable to fight. As before, this axe fighter took some time to liberally burn up their strength and mana while exercising their power without regret, and retreated back. Among this ma.s.s of people swarming in to carry out their signature human-wave strategy, there were some powerful users hidden and acting in secret. Those in their levels 300s and 400, and even 500s in some rare cases, were all mingling in the crowd wearing common novice garments.
Numerous elite users who had taken the side of the Arpen Kingdom had followed Weed to the battle.
“This won’t do at all.”
Ultar realized he had underestimated the standard of the users who had followed Weed. With so many high level users mixed with the rest of the people Weed had brought with him, the quality of his troops were wholly different from Ultar’s earlier predictions.
“These ones are strong enough to make me feel threatened, though not by much. So, now it’s getting fun.”
He knew that no matter what kind of military forces may appear, they wouldn’t be able to defeat the 11th Legion over a short-term battle. While they are stalling the Northern users the other Legions would arrive as reinforcements, and the Summon Flaming Meteor spell would be prepared once again.
‘We’re going to turn this ground into Weed’s grave. Maybe risking a little loss would make me feel more motivated to fight those worms…’
Just as Ultar was mulling over this ambitious notion…
“Karichwi the Orc!”
“Weed has shown himself in our front.”
In the middle of the flooding ma.s.s of the great army consisting of common users, Weed made his appearance sooner than expected. The towering height and size of the vicious looking Orc made him especially conspicuous from the surrounding humans. Even if one a.s.sembled every facial feature of criminals wanted for all sorts of terrible deeds, it wouldn’t be enough to match the intimidating looks of Karichwi.
‘He’s here. Now the real battle begins. An all-out a.s.sault.’
Ultar and the other Hermes Guild users were getting increasingly tense. All the spells, arrows and other ranged weapons they had been saving for this encounter… They were going to lift every limitation they had put on their combat units.
A second before the 11th Legion was to start their full-on battle by throwing everything they’d got,
Weed yelled out with Lion’s Roar.
– Ultar! I invite you to a one-on-one duel! Tschwichwichwichwiiickkk!
At that moment, the fierce noise of the battlefield suddenly died down; the running users were so shocked by what they had just heard and stopped transfixed on the spot.
‘A one-on-one fight?’
Ultar himself was feeling dazed as if he had just been hit by a giant warhammer in the back of his head.
Weed used Lion’s Roar one more time.
– Ultar! Chwwitt. I know you are there, come out and face me this minute! Tsschwik!
An unrelenting taunt.
Ultar was not allowed a long time to think, but he had to make decision.
‘I should not turn down a request for duel.’
He was almost glad to hear Weed dare him to fight in person. The Legion Commander of the 11th Imperial Legion was not an easy position to get in any sense. Weed might have earned the nickname ‘the G.o.d of War’, but Ultar thought he was being ridiculously overrated.
‘That nickname was just pa.s.sed down from his days of playing Continent of Magic. Besides, one’s fighting skills and the ability to carry out quests well are two different things. It seems he let his success in the Advanced Training Hall go to his head.’
He had seen the broadcast showing Weed’s exploits on the Path of Struggle. It certainly made an impression in him, but he honestly did not think it was anything too special. The way he used Heraim Sword skill was quite astounding, but those kinds of tricks did not work well in a one-on-one combat. Having to maintain a series of connecting blows meant that it would be easily interrupted if the opponent simply dodged backward.
‘Sure, it might look pretty amazing to the eyes of those newbies. But we are from the Central Continent, a place riddled with wars. Any decent combat technique has been checked by users countless times. And there are good reasons why this Heraim Sword Skill has never drawn any meaningful attention.’
‘Weed might be establis.h.i.+ng his legend of no defeats, but that was because the amount of troops the Hermes Guild had sent to the North had been less than ten percent of their entire military strength. Weed himself had a history of being defeated and killed in his direct encounter with Bard Ray.’
All in all, despite many a.s.sessments of the current situation, the decision was as good as being made. CTS Media and many other broadcasting companies would be carrying on with their live coverage. His pride did not allow him to refuse Weed’s proposal and be marked as a coward who turned back from a duel like a dog with its tail between its legs.
‘I will gladly accept his challenge. But before that…’
Ultar glanced at a nearby user named Nodom, a paladin serving Minne, the G.o.ddess of Earth. As a paladin Nodom was quite a rare case, since he possessed one of Minne’s presents as a reward for his earlier adventure.
The Armor of Mother Earth.
Out of its numerous bonus effects, there were two most important features: firstly, it increased one’s maximum Life Force by 350%. Secondly, once the wearer activated the armor, it would reduce any physical damage dealt to it by the opponent by 87.4% for the next 10 minutes.
‘If I fight him while wearing this armor, wouldn’t it be impossible for me to lose?’
Having received the keen stare from Ultar, Nodom nodded his head. They had long been friends and helped out each other in numerous occasions before, so lending his armor to Ultar was not a difficult thing to do.
Ultar sent him a private message.
“Thank you, buddy.”
– Nodom: Kukuku. Just know that you owe me half of your victory once you’ve dealt with Weed.
“I will let you choose any one from the loot I’ll get from Weed.”
– Nodom: Deal.
Ultar used Warrior’s Shout skill.
“A one-on-one fight? That’s exactly what I’ve wanted. I will gladly take your challenge!”
(Continued on Part 14…)