Rows and rows of archers spread out and formed block-shaped formations on the open plains. They drew their bows and released the strings, an astounding hail of arrows falling toward us from the sky. So far, Purple Grape City players" offensive power had far exceeded our imagination.
Pu pu pu…
The arrows sank into the Dragonlight Cavalry"s s.h.i.+elds, armor and flesh like poisonous stings. Each hit dealt between 1000 to 4000 damage or so—which wasn"t very high, all things considered—but there were so many arrows that an entire group of Dragonlight Cavalry was murdered in the blink of an eye. Not even we could fight an entire army directly without backup.
"f.u.c.k!"
Gui Guzi swore angrily while killing a row of archers with a sweep of his Spear of the Night G.o.d. He said, "This can"t go on! All 4000 of us are going to die here if we don"t do something!"
After creating a ton of bodies with a fearsome Burning Blade Slash, I looked behind me and barked out an order, "Maintain charge formation, target the Black Marsh Catapults only and ignore everything else! Channel Barrier Break so you can unleash it the second you get in range of the siege weapons, and Charge away immediately after! Don"t linger, and don"t allow too many players to hit you!"
Everyone nodded in unison.
At this point, the entire east plains of White Rose Fortress were shaking with horse hooves. Millions of Purple Grape City players were clogging up the canyon entrance and exchanging their Black Marsh Catapults for our Dragonlight Cavalry. All the Dragonlight Cavalrymen they killed wouldn"t be able to set foot on Purple Grape City"s soil until a couple of days had pa.s.sed, and the war was over.
……
The charge lasted almost an hour. We lost a lot of Dragonlight Cavalry, but managed to destroy at least 50 Black Marsh Catapults. Since we were constantly on the move, and the enemy couldn"t stop us in our tracks, they switched their tactics and tried to kill as many of us with Trapping Nets, Galaxy Storms and Shock Arrows instead.
The strategy we had chosen was just as clear. Every time we approached a s.h.i.+eld wall, the magic knights would throw their Trapping Nets to immobilize the enemy. It was one of the main reasons we were able to ride in and out of the enemy"s formation mostly unhindered.
"This should be enough…"
A short while later, I counted our kills inside my head before shouting, "We"ve taken out almost 70 Black Marsh Catapults in total! We should be able to hold the fortress now! Little Gui, order the retreat!"
"Got it!"
Gui Guzi raised his Spear of the Knight G.o.d and shouted, "Withdraw!"
The Dragonlight Cavalry started turning sharply toward the fortress, and the Purple Grape City players absolutely hated to see it. A Level 184 warrior in red metal armor swung his blade angrily while shouting, "These Chinese think they can retreat back to their fortress! Will you stand by and suffer this humiliation, brothers and sisters? Kill them all and take over White Rose Fortress!"
A new chorus of horse hooves thundered behind our backs. It was Purple Grape City seizing the moment and chasing after us.
Outside the fortress, when Purple Wind Chime and Eyes Like Water saw what we were doing, they immediately rode up to me and shouted, "Good job, Lu Chen! Leave the rest to us!"
"Mn!"
The Dragonlight Cavalry had suffered tremendous losses during this skirmish, so I wasn"t going to push them any further. I led everyone through the gates while The Monarch Descends and Blazing Hot Lips" cavalry engaged our pursuers in a fierce melee.
Thud thud thud...
The Dragonlight Cavalry could rest, but I couldn"t. I spurred the Armored Ice Qilin Horse up the stairs, stopped at the edge, and threw the Phantom Wolf King off the walls. Being the loyal pet it was, the Phantom Wolf King attacked the enemies without hesitation after it landed on top of a group of enemy players. Why am I doing this? To earn some contribution points, of course!
Every time there was a Nation War, player contribution points would be tallied and updated on the leaderboard. If I was going to war, then I would be the MVP of that war! Fame was okay, but gold was even better!
"All archers, a.s.sist our allies with Skypiercers and Spiraling Arrow Blades!" I ordered from the walls.
Responding to my command, the archers did just that and dealt an insane amount of AoE damage to the enemies; the best of them all being the 1000 Dragonlight Archers of course. Their stats were superior to most archers, and the alt.i.tude advantage also gave them increased damage. As a result, wherever they fired their arrows, the enemies fell like sown wheat.
Gui Guzi walked up to me and enjoyed the scene for a moment. He said with a smile, "Can I head down there and fight the enemy again, Boss Broken Halberd? My hands are still itchy…"
I chided him. "Little Gui, I know you"re good at fighting, but that isn"t the only skill a corps commander should possess. Let me ask you this: have you tallied our Dragonlight Cavalry losses yet?"
"Nope!" he replied without hesitation or shame.
Heaven"s Rain was the one who answered, "I did, big brother Lu Chen. We"ve lost a total of 987 Dragonlight Cavalrymen…"
I nodded as I felt a sinking in my heart. "f.u.c.k, that is far more casualties than I initially predicted. This can"t continue. We desperately need bards and tactician buffs as well as priest heals right now. If we keep charging "naked" like this, we"ll lose all 15000 of our Dragonlight Cavalrymen before the war is over."
Gui Guzi said, "Aw man, we only have 14000 Dragonlight Cavalry left? That sucks… I still want to go down there and fight though…"
I gave it some thought before replying, "Fine, pick those with over 30k effective Defense and 250k HP and get a bard to buff them. Those who don"t meet the requirements must stay inside the fortress!"
"Alright! I know at least a hundred Dragonlight Cavalrymen who meet the requirement! It"s only right that we a.s.sist The Monarch Descends and Blazing Hot Lips!"
"Yeah!"
……
It was at this moment Xu Yang sent me a message: "How is the battle on your side, Lu Chen?"
"Average, I suppose. What about you?"
"Red Maple is fighting himself, and the a.s.sault is pretty fierce…"
"Understood. I"m coming over right now!"
After I delegated the command of the east side of the fortress to Gui Guzi, I rode along the walls and arrived at the west wall in no time. I immediately saw that the ground was covered in Purple Grape City players. The good news was that they didn"t have any heavy siege weaponry despite their great numbers. For now at least, I only saw cloud ladders.
Countless grappling hooks, cloud ladders, ropes and more climbing tools were lodged into our walls. Some Purple Grape City players had even managed to set foot on our walls already.
Chiang!
So I pulled out the Purple Ying Sword and charged forward. I cut down the first magic knight I encountered and sent him falling to his death. I continued running along the wall and killing any enemy player who looked like they were about to plant a grubby hand on our bricks.
Some distance away, Xu Yang was commanding the defense. The archers" attacks slowed the enemies" advance somewhat, but the number difference was just too great. For every Purple Grape City player that was killed, two more took its place.
In fact, some enemy players had begun to hack, slash and drill a hole in the walls. Every twack and thunk felt like a blow against my own heart. It would probably take them a long time to actually hack a hole through, but I could hardly rest easy until they were truly gone.
Anxiety peaking, I yelled at the players inside the fortress, "High-level archers and mages, get your a.s.ses up the walls now! If it"s too cramped then throw your attacks over the walls! You don"t need me to tell you how to aim, do you!? I want Galaxy Storms and Skypiercers! And don"t worry about missing, our enemies are literally swarming every inch of the wall right now!"
The players did as I said and fired their skills over our heads. The next moment, the rain of skills. .h.i.t the completely unprepared Purple Grape City players and generated many death screams. Tsk tsk, I knew this would work.
……
"Do you have any more cavalry to spare, Xu Yang? I mean the ones you brought over with you…" I asked.
After cutting down three players with Mountain Stagger Slash, Xu Yang answered, "If you"re looking for more Dragonlight Cavalry, I"m sorry to say that most of them are fighting for boss right now. The other riders I have brought with me are the normal ones, Frostscale Cavalry, Cyan Tiger Cavalry, Earth Dragon Riders and so on. They"re not bad though. They"re all elites of the main guild or the subguilds…"
"Very well, tell them to a.s.semble at the gate. I"m going to lead them on a charge or two. The enemy cannot be allowed to hack away at our wall like this."
"Okay!"
A few minutes later, the west gate of White Rose Fortress opened, and my Armored Ice Qilin Horse was the first to emerge. Behind me, a cavalry troop made up of many different mounts flooded out of the gate and formed a mini sea in no time. Everyone here was a Sky City player, so they all had the King of Cities buff and had their Attack increased by 15%. That was what Purple Grape City was most afraid of. It wasn"t too big or small a buff, but it was definitely enough to tip the scales in our favor.
With an army of tens of thousands, I charged in and out of the enemy formation and left behind countless bodies in my wake. Thanks to the covering fire from the walls, we were able to kill many enemies with the minimum loss of life.
By now, enough blood had been spilled to form a river, and my Nation War contribution points had shot all the way to first place. Actually, I had already soared to the first place after my battle against Tail Feather Palace. I did kill all those players by myself, so it would be strange if I didn"t make it. Just to clarify, Lian Xin, Beiming Xue and He Yi"s battle at the Black Coast counted as a separate Nation War from Sky City"s battle against Purple Grape City. Otherwise, yeah, I couldn"t hope to catch up to them.
……
A while later, Purple Grape City"s players suddenly withdrew like tidewater and surprised everyone. Even more worrying was the fact that I hadn"t encountered Red Maple or any G.o.d"s Domain player so far.
"Pooh!"
Xu Yang spat out. "That"s it? That Red Maple is such a coward!"
I gazed to the distance before commenting, "It doesn"t look like a full retreat. They"re just dragging the battle line backward and setting up a blockade. What on earth is that b.a.s.t.a.r.d thinking? Is he trying to lure us out of the fortress to fight him?"
Xu Yang said, "Seriously? They outnumber us almost a hundred to one. Who would be crazy enough to do that?"
I sucked in a deep breath and stayed silent.