“Am I seeing this right?” LoBall said as he glanced at Gaffa.
“Yeah,” Gaffa replied as he glanced at the sea of Stalkers.
“Damn it,” LoBall said as he glanced at the other players. “Makes me wish we were assigned to the fifth checkpoint today. What captain are we getting? Think there’s any chance they’ll let us fall back?”
“Doubt it. I hear we’re getting one of Ragnarok’s bigshots for this.” “Exile?”
“Pfft. You wish.” Gaffa chuckled. “You think the king is going to come down from his mountain? Nah, it’ll be one of his officers.”
“Damn, there’s no way they’ll let us retreat then. Exile is sending them to make sure we play our part as cannon fodder.” LoBall cursed as he eyed the nervous players around them. “These guys won’t hold. We need higher levelled players. Besides our so-called captain, we’re the top players at this checkpoint. I don’t want to throw that away.”
“Where the hell is our captain anyway? These Stalkers won’t wait forever. Shit! Here they come!”
“Prepare for battle!” LoBall screamed at the players. “The captain will be here soon! We hold the line until we get our orders!”
“Move aside!” A booming voice called out as a figure came crashing to the ground in front of the player’s army.
“Who the fuck is this?” LoBall whispered as he eyed the player in front of him. “Did he just jump off the mountain to get here quicker?”
Gaffa eyed the player wearing elaborate golden, dwarven-made armour. The newcomer was shorter than every other player there, with long dark hair and a braided beard. The player unsheathed two one-handed hammers as he eyed the oncoming tide.
“Stand down! The first wave is mine.”
LoBall gaped as he glanced at Gaffa. The latter shrugged as he noticed the other players hesitating.
“I assume you’re our captain?” Gaffa asked loud enough for everyone to hear. “And that is an official order?”
“You’re right.” The player chuckled as he stroked his beard. “What is your name? We need it so we won’t be accused of leaving you to die when our superiors question us.”
“Claymore… Vice-Leader of Ragnarok, God of War.” Clay chuckled as he slammed his hammers together.
A thick stone wall rose from the ground with spikes facing outward. Clay turned toward the Stalkers and burst into a sprint. ‘Let’s go all out!’ Clay activated a new spell as ten golden weapons circled his body.
The moment Clay crashed against the first Stalker, the battlefield became a bloodbath. The weapons slashed, bashed and hacked every Stalker that came close as Clay dashed through the enemy lines. His new hammers struck at the mountain path as he ran, causing fractures to appear in the ground.
‘These Stalkers are pathetic now.’ Clay sighed as he slaughtered hundreds more. ‘I see what Exile meant now. Our equipment and advanced Authorities make this too easy. I can’t even enjoy this.’ Clay groaned as he activated his next spell. ‘Terrain advantage!’
The smooth path suddenly erupted in small hills and walls that featured spikes. ‘That’ll prevent them from going over them. Now, I just need to wait.’ Clay chuckled. ‘If they follow the paths I left open they’ll head directly to me. There’s no way out of this for them.’
Clay cocked an eyebrow as he looked up at the checkpoints above him. A stone spike erupted from one of his hammers and shot into the air.
Moments later, spells shot overhead at the Stalker army that had not been caught in Clay’s spell. ‘That’ll cut them down some more.’ Clay shook his head as hundreds of Stalkers suddenly barged into the square area he had created around him. LoBall cursed as he stared out at the massacre from on top of Clay’s wall. “Gaffa! You’ve got to see this!”
“I’m coming.” Gaffa groaned as he climbed the sheer wall. “What the hell is he thinking? Oh.”
Gaffa froze as he stared at the spells going off on the other side of the transformed battlefield. However, his gaze was fixed on Clay smashing Stalkers to pieces by the hundreds. ‘Shit, Ragnarok’s players are on another level.’
“He’s got to be Tier 2, right?”
“With that kind of power? What do you think?” Gaffa shook his head as he replied. “The question now is, how long can he keep it up for?”
“Either way, I’m all for him thinning the herd for us. Maybe it won’t be so bad being here. We get front-row seats to this.”
Meanwhile, Mikari stared down from the peak of the mountain at the battle unfolding below. ‘Excellent. Player morale has shot up.’ He nodded as he watched Clay in action. ‘What better way to start a war than using the God of it.’ Mikari chuckled as he glanced around at the Pantheon leaders.
‘They seem happy with this result. They always thought we’d sell them down the river and keep our players in the back. Well, this sends another message. That we care about every player.’ Mikari glanced over his shoulder toward the longhouse. ‘We need to keep Exile out of this as long as possible. Everyone needs a moment to shine.’ Mikari cocked his eyebrow as he glanced at Noslin. “Ok, start the next part. Have checkpoints four and seven fire into the treeline at the base of the mountain. Let’s smoke out where they’re hiding.” Mikari said as he nodded at the leaders responsible for those checkpoints. “What do we do next?” Noslin asked as she glanced at Mikari.
“You’ll find out when it’s time. But this will last a while. Everyone needs to dig in and get comfortable. This won’t be over in just a few days.” Mikari chuckled.
Clay frowned as he realised the tide was slowing down. ‘They’re easing off. They’ve realised they won’t get anywhere doing this. So what will they send next?’ Clay glanced around as sharp screeching sounded in the air.
‘Guess Mikari was right.’ Clay frowned as he saw winged Stalkers flying overhead, ignoring him. ‘Too bad they don’t realise I won’t leave them alone.’
Clay slammed his dual hammers on the ground. The players who had been brave enough to climb the wall gasped as the fractures Clay had previously caused collapsed inward. Gaffa stared at the gaping holes all over the place, then at the Stalkers flying toward them.
“Shit! Everyone! Take cover!”
Gaffa dragged LoBall over the wall to the safety of the army. A moment later, the shattered pieces of earth exploded out of the holes. To the players, it sounded like hundreds of shotguns going off at once. Screeches filled the air as small pieces of stone ripped through the Stalkers’ wings. Clay shrugged as the Tier 2 Stalkers fell from the air to crash into the ground. ‘I guess this wave is already finished. Clay sighed as he glanced toward the mountain. ‘It’s time for Mikari to lay fire on this area.’
Clay stomped his foot to cancel Terrain Advantage. As the obstacles disappeared, the Stalkers appeared confused. Clay casually walked toward his wall as the Stalkers were coming to terms with what had happened. Suddenly, hundreds of spells rained down in front of the wall. Devastation painted the mountain path as hundreds of Stalkers died in agony. ‘Well, that was kind of fun.’ Clay thought as he leapt to the top of his wall. He shook his head when he saw the players cowering behind it.
“Well?” Clay asked as he looked at the hundreds of players. “What are you waiting for? Start the prep for the next wave.”
Gaffa gulped as he looked up at the player standing atop the wall. ‘Shit, I need to join Ragnarok!’ LoBall shook his head as he was still trying to figure out what had happened.
Mikari sighed as he turned away from the edge. ‘It’s almost too easy. This is nothing like Valheim. They’ll be fine for a bit, I can deal with that other matter for now.’ Mikari frowned as he considered what he would say. ‘I need to find a way to make it a win for their side too. He’ll realise it’s only a matter of time. Maybe Midas should join me.’ Mikari groaned as he double-checked to make sure nobody was following him. ‘If these guys knew my brother is in the mortal realms during this they’d freak.’
Mikari chuckled as he walked into Exile’s private quarters. He glanced at his brother laying on the bed. ‘I just hope you can do this right. If you get this wrong, we’re screwed.’ Mikari sighed as he looked around for any written orders.
‘I guess we’re a go then.’ Mikari cocked his eyebrow as he read a piece of parchment addressed to him. ‘Yeah, I’ll definitely need Midas for this.’ It took Mikari several minutes to track down Midas in the treasury. ‘He’s evaluating the costs of this battle.’
“Midas, I need you to come with me.” Mikari suddenly said. “We’re going to see an old enemy…”
