219 Horde (Part 2)
Mikari studied the tokens with a severe expression. All the Tier 1 players had managed to hold the wall for another half hour against the horde. However, the Tier 0 players had retreated quite a distance from the main gate. ‘It’s time to abandon the walls. If we leave it much longer, our Tier 1’s will get cut off.’
He gave the orders to the runners and continued to study the map. ‘Once the Tier 1’s rejoin the others, we can slow them down again. It’s time to set up defensive blockades on the path to the temple.’ He turned to another runner that had been waiting for a while to execute that order. A simple nod of Mikari’s head told him it was time.
As the player darted off, Mikari let out a long sigh. “Pack it up. We’re moving HQ into the temple. Let the commanders know.”
‘If only we had more players, then we could try funnelling the horde into the main square. If we could surround them long enough to severely deplete their numbers then we would have a chance. We can only hold out as long as possible and hope they make a mistake we can exploit.’
Mikari shook his head as he set off to oversee the creation of a new HQ where the last stand would take place…
Several minutes after Clay and the others received the order to retreat.
“Damn it! Noslin! Seal the path!” Clay roared as he eyed the tidal wave of Deep Stalkers converging on them.
The moment they abandoned their position, a change
occurred in the horde. A large number of the creatures that had been fighting on the main road suddenly ignored the Tier 0 players. Clay had realised those creatures were eager to kill them rather than push further into the city. 𝑜𝘷𝑙.𝘰𝑟𝑔
‘Something isn’t right.’ Clay frowned as he brought up the rear with the other players who preferred close combat. Most of those creatures were trying to go around them to attack the players using long-range spells to aid their retreat. ‘Are they trying to cut off our support? Or are they targeting the ones they think will be easier to kill?’
That thought disturbed Clay as it meant those creatures were displaying complex thoughts. Clay cursed as more silver swords appeared and slashed at the Deep Stalkers.
“Noslin! Hurry up!” Clay screamed as more creatures flooded into the side street.
The air turned cold as Noslin launched her spell. A sigh of relief escaped Clay’s throat as the creatures around him became trapped in a large ice wall as Noslin’s spell ran through the area. He chuckled when the creatures on the other side tried to climb the new obstacle, only to slide back down it. ‘Serves you right.’
However, as he turned to walk away, he grimaced when he saw the expression on Midas’ face. A glance over his shoulder revealed the Deep Stalkers climbing on top of each other. ‘They’re stacking themselves to get over it!’ Clay cursed as he shouted at the others to run. They had to use that chance to put some distance between themselves and the horde.
As the group raced through the side streets, they suddenly heard players screaming. Clay looked in the scream’s direction only to realise they were coming from the main road. ‘Mikari’s going to be pissed if people are already dying.’ He sighed as they took another turn. Winter screamed as a figure suddenly crashed on her from above!
It took Clay a moment to realise what was happening at the front of the group. The Deep Stalkers had pushed deep into the main road and started spreading through the city. They had run into a group of those creatures that were using the rooftops to find isolated players trying to escape!
Those figures rained down on their group as chaos ensued. The situation had devolved into a free-for-all as everyone did their best to survive the ambush. At that moment, Midas unleashed another tide of gold coins and rescued Winter. It took him but a moment to realise there would be some casualties if they did not escape that situation.
One of the Deep Stalkers suddenly let out a long screech, and Midas felt his blood run cold. ‘Is it alerting other groups that we are here?’ His eyes darted to the rooftops as he tried to think of a way out of that situation. But only one thing came to mind.
“Winter… You should run.” Midas’ expression turned grim as Winter glanced at him with wide eyes.
“Midas…” She started to say, but he cut her off with a shake of her head. She could see the determination in his eyes.
Winter called out for everyone to run. She screamed at them to ignore their opponents and get the hell out of there. Naturally, this confused everyone. However, a golden light suddenly erupted from Midas.
‘Divine Loan!’ Midas felt a rush as his spell spread in the area. Nobody was safe from that spell. Not even his allies. Divine Loan forced everything caught in the spell to lose some stat points. Those points would become part of Midas’ stats for a set time. However, the spell had an annoying drawback.
Clay shook his head when he saw what was happening. Every officer of Ragnarok knew about that spell. They immediately understood Midas was giving them a chance to escape. They bolted in the direction of the temple as they shot curious glances over their shoulders. Midas’ skin turned golden as the buffs took effect. ‘Three minutes…’
Several of the creatures chasing the group exploded in a gruesome painting of red. Midas had moved so fast that nobody had even noticed his arrival. Golden threads shot from his fingertips to ensnare ten more Deep Stalkers as they charged toward him. Clay held his breath as he watched Midas control them like puppets as he used them as meat shields.
He heard several of the leaders around him gulping when they caught sight of that battle. It was a one-sided slaughter in favour of Midas.
“We should use this chance to counter-attack!” Noslin shouted as she slid to a halt.
However, Clay grabbed one of her arms while Winter took hold of the other. She wanted to complain, but their grim expressions silenced her thoughts. She wondered what they had to be afraid of with Midas wielding such power. Clay caught her gaze and shook his head.
“We don’t want to be around when he has to pay the cost of that spell. Trust me, it won’t be pretty.”
Curiosity appeared on Noslin’s face as they continued to drag her. However, she suppressed it and nodded for them to let her go.
“Keep your eyes on the roofline! We can’t afford to get stalled by another group!”
Flashes of golden light routinely flashed from behind them as they heard the creatures screeching in agony. They could only imagine what horrors Midas was inflicting on those beasts.
Noslin suddenly covered the entrance to an alley with an ice wall. “There’s more of them up ahead!”
Clay’s expression turned ugly as he pushed his way through the group to reach the front. “Can you cut them off?”
“No,” Noslin shook her head as she revealed a helpless expression. “That last one used the last of my DP.”
Most of the players nodded in agreement with her. The siege had taken its toll and they had not been given any chance to replenish their DP with how fast everything had progressed. Clay sighed as more Deep Stalkers rushed into their street as he caught sight of figures leaping across the gaps between the roofs.
“Ragnarok! To the front!” Clay bellowed as he prepared for the clash.
The other players had no idea what was happening, but they would not complain if Ragnarok’s players wanted to sacrifice themselves to open a path. Clay activated his religious symbol to replenish his DP. He nodded to the other members as they grinned at that action. If they were going to go down, they would do it with a fight.
The clash quickly turned bloody as claws ripped at the players while Ragnarok acted as a wall to defend the players behind them. Clay felt trapped despite the fact they were gaining ground. He could hear the screeches of more of those creatures heading in their direction. ‘Midas won’t last much longer. We’ll soon be surrounded.’
He sighed as he tried to calculate how far they could go with their current power. However, he did not like the answer. ‘This is it. We’re all going to die here.’ Clay felt at peace when he realised that. ‘It’s just one death. Once we resurrect in the temple we can rejoin the defence.’
At that same moment, Midas heaved deep breaths as he scanned his surroundings. He had killed more than three hundred of those creatures in the span of a few minutes. However, there was no end to them. Hundreds more piled into the street and glared at him with hungry eyes. ‘Come on!’
Midas took a step forward and faltered. He suddenly felt weak and groaned loudly. Divine Loan had chosen that moment to end. Which meant its side effect, Divine Interest, was about to take effect. ‘I hope you got away.’ Midas sighed as his body exploded in golden light…
Meanwhile, Exile grinned at the pile of Runestones he had stored in his inventory. ‘I’ve updated my equipment, created some decent disposable weapons, and even managed to create some suitable spells.
A soft chuckle escaped his throat as he evaluated his gains. ‘I should hurry and help the others.’ As he stepped outside he activated one of his new spells. A golden rune appeared and floated in front of him. ‘It’s not the best version of this, but it’s the best I can do for now.’