The force of Elincia’s lightning shook the ground, and players felt a surge of electricity run through their bodies. Some shielded their eyes from the blinding intensity, struggling to tear their gaze away from the sheer spectacle of the storm.
Dozens of blue lightning bolts crackled across the sky, converging in the center of the battlefield. A massive explosion followed, a brilliant flash of light and a deafening boom that sent shockwaves through the ground.
“I’ve never seen a spell that powerful before!”
“She’s absolutely divine! No wonder she’s the Guild Master of the Ass Guild. No one else compares when she’s around.”
“How did she get so strong?”
“Money?”
“I know a lot of wealthy players, but none of them can influence a battle like this.”
“I know plenty of rich people, but there’s only one Elincia!”
[Elincia: “There are three of the Guardians here! I need to take down at least one before I’m logged out!”]
[Melliandra: “I’ve been trying to snipe them from a distance, but those stupid beasts aren’t even acknowledging me! Damn it!”]
[Elincia: “Goldrich, are you finished with the analysis? What took you so long?”]
[Goldrich: “Come on, this should be Maylock’s job. Please, have some mercy on this old man.”]
[Jovina: “Shut up, old man! Give us the analysis, now!”]
Goldrich, Jovina, Charmelyn, Starfall, and Skywarden were still in Slumdon Town, gathered in the meeting room at the House of Slumdon. In front of them, a floating screen displayed the unfolding war scenes from Deadbay City.
Goldrich began, “So… There are three Guardians on their side-the Gorilla, the Monkey, and the Crow. The Gorilla is a close-range physical fighter, the Crow is a mage, and the Monkey is a debuffer and support.”
He continued, “The Gorilla is a powerhouse with high physical defense and strong magical resistance. It’s incredibly strong, but it moves slower than the others. It’s basically a bulldozer in battle, smashing through everything and barely flinching from the damage it takes.”
“And its level is 260,” he added. “It’s going to take a lot of time and effort to bring it down. For now, we should focus on keeping it occupied. Let Kingsley engage it in a prolonged battle, but he’ll need someone to support and heal him to help him last longer.”
“Oh man,” Jovina groaned. “This is going to be a serious challenge.”
Goldrich nodded and shifted to the next target. “In contrast, the Crow is the weakest in terms of level, at 253. However, it deals the most magical damage in the battle. Its Magic Shield is thick, but it can be broken with sustained physical attacks. Melliandra can focus on attacking the Crow from a distance, while Kingsley keeps the Gorilla from getting too close. We need to balance both threats.”
Goldrich continued, “Now, as for Elincia… I believe you can take on the Monkey in a one-on- one duel. It’s equipped with every crowd control and debuff spell a mage could wish for, but I’m confident you can at least weaken it. All we can do now is hope the higher-ups at Golden Age Company make the right call.”
Jovina rolled her eyes and shot back, “That’s so basic, old man! Give it some more depth, like Maylock used to do.”
“Damn it, I’m a person who relies on data, not gut feelings like Maylock! Give me more time!”
“You’re so useless even though you’re old.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? What does age have to do with analysis?”
“You’ve had more time to learn, haven’t you?”
Goldrich huffed. “I have plenty of experience and knowledge to make sound decisions. That’s more than enough!”
Melliandra immediately shifted her focus to the Crow Guardian. Her projectiles shot through the air, colliding with a powerful explosion around the Guardian. However, it quickly became clear that the magical shield surrounding the Crow remained completely unaffected. Seeing that it was being attacked from a distance, the Crow Guardian turned its attention elsewhere. The beast opened its beak wide, releasing a piercing screech. Vines burst from the ground, spreading rapidly across the battlefield, slowing everyone’s movements. Explosions followed, wreaking havoc among the players.
“Damn it, Goldrich! That stupid old man! Why isn’t my attack working? I used my most expensive projectile! Damn it!” Melliandra shouted in frustration.
She then noticed a group of players nearby, who were busy filming her. Rage flared within her, and in an instant, she turned her rifle on them.
“Who gave you permission to film me, you pathetic, broke players?!”
“Oh, Melliandra, we just wanted to capture your cool moves!”
“Shut up!” Melliandra growled, firing her rifle at them in anger.
“Oh no! Please forgive us, Ms. Melliandra!” they cried, their bodies vanishing as they were hit. Suddenly, Melliandra found herself under attack. The nearby players were targeting her unintentionally, as her name had now turned red due to the player killing she had committed. “Ah, damn it, I forgot!” she muttered angrily. “Don’t attack me, you idiots!”
“We can’t help it. You’re flagged now. You should be the one to leave, or you’ll keep getting hit by other players’ attacks,” they replied.
In a large-scale battle like this, several friendly fire settings can be adjusted within the game. These settings allow players to target only opponents, anyone outside their guild, or even enable friendly fire within their own guild. The feature is sophisticated enough to auto- adjust, though manual settings are also possible.
However, once a player commits a Player Kill, their name turns red, making them fair game for anyone to attack. This also disables the safety of the friendly fire feature. Melliandra, now furious, sprinted toward the stronghold as her health bar continued to drop from the attacks of nearby players.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” she cursed loudly. “I don’t care anymore!”
[Elincia: “Melliandra! If this city is destroyed, Broken might be disappointed and won’t want to be friends with us anymore. And you won’t get to be friends with Polly either.”]
[Melliandra: “Shut up, Elincia! I want to help, but not for that reason! Just watch, and I’ll show you how powerful I am!”]
[Jovina: “Look at this stupid chibi, in the middle of a war and she goes and commits player kill, hahaha!”]
[Melliandra: “Shut up, Jovina, you jerk! Come to me and fight instead of hiding behind group
chat!”]
[Jovina: “Oh, you’ll be dead before I arrive, taken down by low-level players, hahaha!”] [Elincia: “Mel, take cover and stick to your role from a safe spot!”]
[Jovina: “She won’t. She’ll just lose it every time someone accidentally hits her, haha!”]
The Slender Monkey jabbed its Magic Staff into the ground and then began to leap wildly in a strange dance. From the tip of the staff, a barrage of fast-moving, torpedo-like magic spheres shot out, all aimed at Elincia, who hovered in the air.
Elincia quickly tried to dodge, flying desperately to escape the relentless barrage.
“Damn it!” she cursed, as several of the magic spheres slammed into her.
Though Elincia was capable of dealing massive damage, her defenses were weak, a consequence of her focus on pure damage. The Monkey Guardian’s attacks could prove fatal if
they continued to target her.
“If I keep getting hit like this, I won’t be able to deal any damage!” she muttered in
frustration.