Less than an hour later, the difference in player numbers became as clear as day. There were now more attackers than there were defenders.
Exploiting the chaos to its maximum, Gui Guzi, Heaven’s Rain and Diamond Dust led the Dragonlight Cavalry to trample all enemies in their way and earn as many Nation War contribution points as possible. Every Nation War had an MVP, and every MVP reward was as lucrative as you might imagine it to be. Even if that wasn’t the case, the Top 10 players were rewarded with Luck, a stat no self-respecting player would let slip without a fight. The royal road to power was one forged from millions and millions of souls, revenge and slaughter. It was as maddening as it was intoxicating.
……
"Watch out! Titan God and Olympus are coming toward us!"
Suddenly, Warsky shouted and pointed above his head. It was just as he said. Titan God was riding down, swinging his weapon and killing Warsky Alliance’s players like they didn’t exist.
The guild leader unleashed Mad Thunder Slash and killed dozens of Frostscale Cavalrymen in one go. Even Laughing At The Heavens was sent stumbling toward the back. With a pale face, he said, "We can’t beat this Titan God head-on, guild leader. His skills are too powerful…"
Warsky shouted, "Soul Battle Robes, get over here and take out Titan God! Song of Ice and Fire, what are you hesitating for? If you don’t take him out now we’re going to sustain massive losses…"
However, neither Song of Ice and Fire, God Bone nor Ringwraith acted to move toward the stairway. Song of Ice and Fire said idly, "Warsky, I’m the vice leader of Soul Battle Robes, and Soul Battle Robes is just an ally of Warsky Alliance. I am Song of Cloud and Water’s subordinate, not yours. You don’t have the right to order me, understand?"
Warsky grimaced. "Ah, fuck!"
Song of Cloud and Water pursed her lips for a moment before whispering, "Please stop Titan God, brother Ice and Fire. No good can come from letting him go on a rampage, and the Nation War is more important right now!"
"Very well!"
Song of Ice and Fire galloped up the stairway, let out a battle cry and activated Heavenly River Transformation. Then, he raised his battle axe and growled out, "Gonggong’s Furious Strike!"
Buzz!
A giant spear erupted from the tip of his axe blade and pierced through the crowd. Titan God reacted instantly by buffing his HP by 70% with a high-level skeleton card and putting up a Guard stance. Unfortunately for him, Ancient Divine Skills couldn’t be Guarded!
Pu!
772898!
The attack deleted over 80% of his HP instantly, but he survived. Titan God was a skilled player who even Lin Yixin and Li Chengfeng had to fight seriously. Instead of retreating to safety like most players would, Titan God activated War God Recovery and galloped toward Song of Ice and Fire. Midway during the charge, he leaped into the air, activated the Heavenly River Transformation and used his own SS Rank Ancient Divine Skill, Blade of Caesar!
Bang!
759873!
Despite wearing full buffs on his person, the Ancient Divine Skill still sent Song of Ice and Fire falling down from the stairway and crashing unceremoniously against the ground. Not only that, Blade of Caesar continued travelling 20 yards toward the ground and struck the group of Warsky Alliance frontliners standing there, one-shotting all of them!
"Holy shit!"
Warsky’s arm shivered as he raised his weapon, "Kill that motherfucker now!"
It was at this moment someone shouted, "I’ll kill him! Out of the way!"
Warsky turned around just in time to see Candlelight Shadow galloping over on a red mount and raising his sword into the sky. Before he even got close, he leaped into the air, activated Heavenly River Transformation and summoned a gigantic fire axe in midair. It was the SSS Rank Ancient Divine Skill, Pangu’s Axe!
BOOM!
The earth shook, and that entire section of the wall trembled under the devastating power that was the Pangu’s Axe. Not only was Titan God shredded into pieces, a crack split the wall in half almost as if it had been struck by a mighty blow from the heavens. All the elite players who were caught within the Ancient Divine Skill’s range were annihilated as well.
It was a stunning sight. In that moment, it was as if Candlelight Shadow had finally regained his former glory: dominating, efficient, and unstoppable.
……
After watching Titan God’s death about 800 yards away from the scene, I turned back toward Gui Guzi and said, "Let’s storm the palace and take out the NPC regent right now! Our main battlefield isn’t at Wind City, so let’s not waste any more time than is necessary!"
Gui Guzi nodded. "Understood!"
Thousands and thousands of Vietnamese players tried to resist as the Dragonlight Cavalry made a break for the royal palace, but their weak shields were no match for our cavalry’s iron hooves, not to mention our Famous Generals, Divine Generals, and Ancient Divine Skill owners. The power gap was just unbridgeable.
To be honest, we were stronger than even we had imagined. Hot Sand City belonged to Vietnam, and Vietnam had a total population of 90 million people. On average, 10% of the population was playing Heavenblessed, so that was around 9 million players or so. It still wasn’t enough to stop us though. Right now, our one guild was strong enough to wipe out a main city single-handedly, although that was assuming they received no aid from other guilds and powerful experts such as Vienna’s Sorrow and Tear Stain. Vienna’s Sorrow’s strength needed not be said, and Tear Stain was said to have found an SS Rank Ancient Divine Skill as well. It would be folly to underestimate them.
……
We entered the royal palace and found that the regent was a Level 270 Immortal Rank boss. He was much stronger than the duke who had ruled Wind City previously. In just a couple of basic attacks, its direct and splash damage had deleted most of our Dragonlight Cavalrymen’s HP bars.
It was at this moment Gui Guzi activated Heavenly River Transformation and raised his Spear of the Knight God. "Shennong Tastes Grass!"
A green light surrounded the Dragonlight Cavalry, and 75% of their HP was restored—
+487721!
+391574!
+442989!
……
Gui Guzi couldn’t stop grinning as he admired his own handiwork.
While raising his scepter, Yamete asked Murong Mingyue, "Do you think that Little Gui counts as a super milker now?"
Murong Mingyue shot Gui Guzi a glance before curling her lips. "He’s as flat as a board, and you call him a super milker? Ceh! His chest is even smaller than yours!"
Yamete looked down on his own chest, glanced at Murong Mingyue’s and replied humbly, "Nah, I’m still a ways away from you in that department…"
Murong Mingyue smiled dangerously. "Did you just try to flirt with me, Ma Dai? Do you have a death wish today or something? There’s only one man in the world who’s allowed to do that to me, and that’s Lu Chen. If you’re not as tenacious as he is, I suggest that you be a good boy and save it for someone else!"
Yamete was about to say something more when the Ironwing Dragon dropped down from the sky, bit him in the head and started swinging him around like a rag doll. The healer shouted, "Holy shit, even Lu Chen’s Ancient Divine Dragon is way gentler than your dragon!"
It was at this moment I walked up to Yamete and stared at his blood-soaked face. "What happened to you, Mamate?"
"It’s nothing…"
"Well, heal yourself already."
I shot him a kind smile while ordering, "Sis, please use Seduction to lower the boss's Attack. Lian Xin, you should cast your Sigh of the Heroine too. This will be much easier if the boss lacks the Attack to hurt us…"
Both girls nodded smilingly before casting their Ancient Divine Skills. The next moment, the boss lost 29% of its Attack and turned from a hulking dinosaur into a mostly harmless dog. At the same time, I raised the Chill of the Nine Provinces toward the sky and yelled, "Xuanyuan Sword!"
Swhoosh swhoosh swhoosh!
Boundless green light erupted across the palace hall. Since my current attack mode was set to ‘Nation War’, every Chinese player within 1000 yards of me had 50% of their HP restored. It truly was a most pleasing special skill!
……
Beiming Xue drew her bow and activated her Fury of the Descendant. Immediately, the image of a huge god—the Descendant—appeared behind her back, and a huge purple arrow enveloped the boss and the NPCs defending it. The killing and wounding of countless enemies reduced the pressure on our players by an even greater margin.
The Dragonlight Cavalry Far Shot their attacks from the back, and Lian Xin cast her offensive spells with absolute impunity. There was no chance the boss was ever going to survive this. Less than 10 minutes later, his HP dropped to zero, and—
Crack!
Li Chengfeng cut off the boss's head in one clean swing before holding it up into the air. He then said to me, "I’m occupying the city this time, Lu Chen! I wanna hit Level 210 and enter the Sky Vortex soon!"
I nodded without hesitation. "Of course. Do it!"
"Okay!"
……
A system announcement rang beside all our ears, and it was announced that Li Chengfeng had obtained the royal scepter and returned Wind City to the China server. It was also announced that Princess Karinshan would be dispatching two of her main legions to Wind City immediately. And so, the first step of this Nation War, retaking Wind City had come to an end.
Outside the hall, Candlelight Shadow walked in with Blue Sky Scar, God’s Dance, Tempest Shadow and more and shot us a smile. "Excellent cooperation, everyone. We’ve retaken Wind City and taken our first step toward revenge against the Northern Alliance. What should we do next? There aren’t many Northern Alliance players left in the city now."
I replied, "Uncle Zhang Chun is currently attacking Hot Sand City with his elites. The Vietnamese think they’re powerful enough to hold Wind City for the USA server? Then we’ll test that strength by bringing the war to their doorstep! My suggestion is that we leave behind some middle to small-sized guilds to guard Wind City and march all our main guilds to Hot Sand City now. We’ll occupy it in the fastest time possible and build our very first northern frontier city!"
Candlelight Shadow nodded in agreement. "Mn. Let’s depart right away!"
Warsky asked, "We should still leave behind some high-level players just in case. Warsky Alliance will leave behind 10 subguilds to guard Wind City. What about you guys?"
Candlelight Shadow smiled. "We’re fine with whatever. Anyway, see you all at Hot Sand City!"
"Okay!"
……
And so, we exited the city and marched into Wind Forest. Dust clouds covered the sky as the elite cavalry of China galloped toward the northeast direction. It was because we must go through Fortress of the Iron Halberd to enter the Northern Alliance’s territory. Morale was high, and the thirst for vengeance was hot. The true Avengers had arrived to take revenge for everything that had been done to us!
Less than an hour later, the difference in player numbers became as clear as day. There were now more attackers than there were defenders.
Exploiting the chaos to its maximum, Gui Guzi, Heaven’s Rain and Diamond Dust led the Dragonlight Cavalry to trample all enemies in their way and earn as many Nation War contribution points as possible. Every Nation War had an MVP, and every MVP reward was as lucrative as you might imagine it to be. Even if that wasn’t the case, the Top 10 players were rewarded with Luck, a stat no self-respecting player would let slip without a fight. The royal road to power was one forged from millions and millions of souls, revenge and slaughter. It was as maddening as it was intoxicating.
……
"Watch out! Titan God and Olympus are coming toward us!"
Suddenly, Warsky shouted and pointed above his head. It was just as he said. Titan God was riding down, swinging his weapon and killing Warsky Alliance’s players like they didn’t exist.
The guild leader unleashed Mad Thunder Slash and killed dozens of Frostscale Cavalrymen in one go. Even Laughing At The Heavens was sent stumbling toward the back. With a pale face, he said, "We can’t beat this Titan God head-on, guild leader. His skills are too powerful…"
Warsky shouted, "Soul Battle Robes, get over here and take out Titan God! Song of Ice and Fire, what are you hesitating for? If you don’t take him out now we’re going to sustain massive losses…"
However, neither Song of Ice and Fire, God Bone nor Ringwraith acted to move toward the stairway. Song of Ice and Fire said idly, "Warsky, I’m the vice leader of Soul Battle Robes, and Soul Battle Robes is just an ally of Warsky Alliance. I am Song of Cloud and Water’s subordinate, not yours. You don’t have the right to order me, understand?"
Warsky grimaced. "Ah, fuck!"
Song of Cloud and Water pursed her lips for a moment before whispering, "Please stop Titan God, brother Ice and Fire. No good can come from letting him go on a rampage, and the Nation War is more important right now!"
"Very well!"
Song of Ice and Fire galloped up the stairway, let out a battle cry and activated Heavenly River Transformation. Then, he raised his battle axe and growled out, "Gonggong’s Furious Strike!"
Buzz!
A giant spear erupted from the tip of his axe blade and pierced through the crowd. Titan God reacted instantly by buffing his HP by 70% with a high-level skeleton card and putting up a Guard stance. Unfortunately for him, Ancient Divine Skills couldn’t be Guarded!
Pu!
772898!
The attack deleted over 80% of his HP instantly, but he survived. Titan God was a skilled player who even Lin Yixin and Li Chengfeng had to fight seriously. Instead of retreating to safety like most players would, Titan God activated War God Recovery and galloped toward Song of Ice and Fire. Midway during the charge, he leaped into the air, activated the Heavenly River Transformation and used his own SS Rank Ancient Divine Skill, Blade of Caesar!
Bang!
759873!
Despite wearing full buffs on his person, the Ancient Divine Skill still sent Song of Ice and Fire falling down from the stairway and crashing unceremoniously against the ground. Not only that, Blade of Caesar continued travelling 20 yards toward the ground and struck the group of Warsky Alliance frontliners standing there, one-shotting all of them!
"Holy shit!"
Warsky’s arm shivered as he raised his weapon, "Kill that motherfucker now!"
It was at this moment someone shouted, "I’ll kill him! Out of the way!"
Warsky turned around just in time to see Candlelight Shadow galloping over on a red mount and raising his sword into the sky. Before he even got close, he leaped into the air, activated Heavenly River Transformation and summoned a gigantic fire axe in midair. It was the SSS Rank Ancient Divine Skill, Pangu’s Axe!
BOOM!
The earth shook, and that entire section of the wall trembled under the devastating power that was the Pangu’s Axe. Not only was Titan God shredded into pieces, a crack split the wall in half almost as if it had been struck by a mighty blow from the heavens. All the elite players who were caught within the Ancient Divine Skill’s range were annihilated as well.
It was a stunning sight. In that moment, it was as if Candlelight Shadow had finally regained his former glory: dominating, efficient, and unstoppable.
……
After watching Titan God’s death about 800 yards away from the scene, I turned back toward Gui Guzi and said, "Let’s storm the palace and take out the NPC regent right now! Our main battlefield isn’t at Wind City, so let’s not waste any more time than is necessary!"
Gui Guzi nodded. "Understood!"
Thousands and thousands of Vietnamese players tried to resist as the Dragonlight Cavalry made a break for the royal palace, but their weak shields were no match for our cavalry’s iron hooves, not to mention our Famous Generals, Divine Generals, and Ancient Divine Skill owners. The power gap was just unbridgeable.
To be honest, we were stronger than even we had imagined. Hot Sand City belonged to Vietnam, and Vietnam had a total population of 90 million people. On average, 10% of the population was playing Heavenblessed, so that was around 9 million players or so. It still wasn’t enough to stop us though. Right now, our one guild was strong enough to wipe out a main city single-handedly, although that was assuming they received no aid from other guilds and powerful experts such as Vienna’s Sorrow and Tear Stain. Vienna’s Sorrow’s strength needed not be said, and Tear Stain was said to have found an SS Rank Ancient Divine Skill as well. It would be folly to underestimate them.
……
We entered the royal palace and found that the regent was a Level 270 Immortal Rank boss. He was much stronger than the duke who had ruled Wind City previously. In just a couple of basic attacks, its direct and splash damage had deleted most of our Dragonlight Cavalrymen’s HP bars.
It was at this moment Gui Guzi activated Heavenly River Transformation and raised his Spear of the Knight God. "Shennong Tastes Grass!"
A green light surrounded the Dragonlight Cavalry, and 75% of their HP was restored—
+487721!
+391574!
+442989!
……
Gui Guzi couldn’t stop grinning as he admired his own handiwork.
While raising his scepter, Yamete asked Murong Mingyue, "Do you think that Little Gui counts as a super milker now?"
Murong Mingyue shot Gui Guzi a glance before curling her lips. "He’s as flat as a board, and you call him a super milker? Ceh! His chest is even smaller than yours!"
Yamete looked down on his own chest, glanced at Murong Mingyue’s and replied humbly, "Nah, I’m still a ways away from you in that department…"
Murong Mingyue smiled dangerously. "Did you just try to flirt with me, Ma Dai? Do you have a death wish today or something? There’s only one man in the world who’s allowed to do that to me, and that’s Lu Chen. If you’re not as tenacious as he is, I suggest that you be a good boy and save it for someone else!"
Yamete was about to say something more when the Ironwing Dragon dropped down from the sky, bit him in the head and started swinging him around like a rag doll. The healer shouted, "Holy shit, even Lu Chen’s Ancient Divine Dragon is way gentler than your dragon!"
It was at this moment I walked up to Yamete and stared at his blood-soaked face. "What happened to you, Mamate?"
"It’s nothing…"
"Well, heal yourself already."
I shot him a kind smile while ordering, "Sis, please use Seduction to lower the boss's Attack. Lian Xin, you should cast your Sigh of the Heroine too. This will be much easier if the boss lacks the Attack to hurt us…"
Both girls nodded smilingly before casting their Ancient Divine Skills. The next moment, the boss lost 29% of its Attack and turned from a hulking dinosaur into a mostly harmless dog. At the same time, I raised the Chill of the Nine Provinces toward the sky and yelled, "Xuanyuan Sword!"
Swhoosh swhoosh swhoosh!
Boundless green light erupted across the palace hall. Since my current attack mode was set to ‘Nation War’, every Chinese player within 1000 yards of me had 50% of their HP restored. It truly was a most pleasing special skill!
……
Beiming Xue drew her bow and activated her Fury of the Descendant. Immediately, the image of a huge god—the Descendant—appeared behind her back, and a huge purple arrow enveloped the boss and the NPCs defending it. The killing and wounding of countless enemies reduced the pressure on our players by an even greater margin.
The Dragonlight Cavalry Far Shot their attacks from the back, and Lian Xin cast her offensive spells with absolute impunity. There was no chance the boss was ever going to survive this. Less than 10 minutes later, his HP dropped to zero, and—
Crack!
Li Chengfeng cut off the boss's head in one clean swing before holding it up into the air. He then said to me, "I’m occupying the city this time, Lu Chen! I wanna hit Level 210 and enter the Sky Vortex soon!"
I nodded without hesitation. "Of course. Do it!"
"Okay!"
……
A system announcement rang beside all our ears, and it was announced that Li Chengfeng had obtained the royal scepter and returned Wind City to the China server. It was also announced that Princess Karinshan would be dispatching two of her main legions to Wind City immediately. And so, the first step of this Nation War, retaking Wind City had come to an end.
Outside the hall, Candlelight Shadow walked in with Blue Sky Scar, God’s Dance, Tempest Shadow and more and shot us a smile. "Excellent cooperation, everyone. We’ve retaken Wind City and taken our first step toward revenge against the Northern Alliance. What should we do next? There aren’t many Northern Alliance players left in the city now."
I replied, "Uncle Zhang Chun is currently attacking Hot Sand City with his elites. The Vietnamese think they’re powerful enough to hold Wind City for the USA server? Then we’ll test that strength by bringing the war to their doorstep! My suggestion is that we leave behind some middle to small-sized guilds to guard Wind City and march all our main guilds to Hot Sand City now. We’ll occupy it in the fastest time possible and build our very first northern frontier city!"
Candlelight Shadow nodded in agreement. "Mn. Let’s depart right away!"
Warsky asked, "We should still leave behind some high-level players just in case. Warsky Alliance will leave behind 10 subguilds to guard Wind City. What about you guys?"
Candlelight Shadow smiled. "We’re fine with whatever. Anyway, see you all at Hot Sand City!"
"Okay!"
……
And so, we exited the city and marched into Wind Forest. Dust clouds covered the sky as the elite cavalry of China galloped toward the northeast direction. It was because we must go through Fortress of the Iron Halberd to enter the Northern Alliance’s territory. Morale was high, and the thirst for vengeance was hot. The true Avengers had arrived to take revenge for everything that had been done to us!
