Chapter 230 – Soaring Morale
Aside from the incident that occurred outside of Black Flame Forest, Holy Empire didn’t have any conflicting interests with Victorious Return. As for Radiant Sacred Flame, the war between them had already developed to the extent where both sides were willing to do whatever necessary to win, no matter the price.
Occupying a stronghold was equal to receiving the taxes of a small city. This was extremely critical to the growth of a guild.
Neither Holy Empire nor Radiant Sacred Flame were willing to back down!
Even the always low-key Nightbreak Trickster crawled out of the woodwork in preparation for the upcoming stronghold battle. And the biggest supporter on his side was his closest ally, Heaven Breaker. Although Victorious Return couldn’t participate in the stronghold battle because they weren’t a Level 5 guild, their strength couldn’t be looked over.
Since Radiant Sacred Flame required the assistance of Victorious Return to capture the stronghold, when Victorious Return wanted to cause Asskickers United some trouble this time, Radiant Sacred Flame would naturally follow. However, they didn’t expect Holy Empire to be a step ahead of them!
The smell of gunpowder floated in the air as soon as Sleepy Fox and Nightbreak Trickster locked gazes.
Holy Empire and Radiant Sacred Flame could be described as eternal foes, with numerous battles spread across various popular virtual reality games. So whenever they met, sparks would fly, emotions would run high, and conflict would be unavoidable.
“So what if you’re here? I’d like to see just how your 20,000 players can stop our force of over 60,000!” Nightbreak Trickers narrowed his eyes as his killing intent flared.
“Well, we’re right here. What are you waiting for? You’re free to try. Let’s see if you really can get through us!” Sleepy Fox coldly responded. As long Holy Empire held steadfast at the border of Twilight Forest, let alone 60,000 players, he would even dare to clash against a force of 100,000!
In any large-scale battle, having a terrain advantage was extremely important. By having the high ground, the enemy’s ranged units would have a harder time hitting your forces. If there were natural obstacles such as boulders or trees, your forces could rely on them to take cover.
The trees in Twilight Forest were the best obstacles.
Nightbreak Trickster surveyed the topography up ahead. It was densely forested with large boulders scattered all around. Holy Empire players were positioned all along the forest edge. Even if he had a Mage cast advanced magic, it would have a very limited effect. The area was a natural stronghold. No wonder Sleepy Fox boasted such confidence.
Nonetheless, the combined forces of Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame was more than triple that of Holy Empire! With such an overwhelming advantage in numbers, if they coordinated their attacks well throughout the whole battle, they could nullify the opponent’s terrain advantage.
「What’s the situation in Twilight Forest?」Nightbreak Trickster asked Heaven Breaker through chat.
Heaven Breaker looked through the information provided by his subordinates.「Azure Falling Sky is collapsing. It’s a one-sided slaughter over there.」
「Asskickers United is that powerful?」Nightbreak Trickster asked in shock. Although Azure Falling Sky wasn’t a large guild, its members were not weak. According to his judgment, they should’ve had no problem holding out for a while. However, reality proved otherwise.
「The guild leader of Azure Falling Sky, Clear Sky, was sent to the graveyard early in the battle by Aqua Smoke Stub and Nirvana Flame. They’ve hidden themselves well. In every battle leading up to this one, they’ve never displayed their full fighting strength.」Heaven Breaker furrowed his brows. Logically, it was impossible for Clear Sky not to have people guarding his side, so how did Nie Yan and Smoke Stub make such quick work of him?
Heaven Breaker had a pensive look on his face as he recalled the scene of Nie Yan killing Hei Zhuo in Kiln Fire Woods. It seemed the main problem was still Nie Yan! It was just like when he reversed the situation in his battle with Yu Long. This Thief was too terrifying. You simply couldn’t let your guard down around him!
“Even if you had brought along more people, your journey would’ve still ended here. So you mangy mongrels, how about you save me the effort by scramming back home right now?” Sleepy Fox gave Heaven Breaker and Nightbreak Trickster a disdainful gaze. This was an obvious provocation to goad them into ordering their forces to attack. He was confident that Holy Empire could hold firm at least for a short time. When Asskickers United cleaned up all the players from Azure Falling Sky, they would definitely rush over to provide assistance. From the information he received from Nie Yan, Asskickers United had brought over 30,000 players. If they combined forces, they wouldn’t be the slightest bit weaker than Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame. Furthermore, Sapphire Shrine was also on the move. When Fa Lan found out two powerhouses like Radiant Sacred Flame and Victorious Return teamed up, he naturally understood the severity of this matter. Sapphire Shrine might be able to defend itself right now, but what about in the future?
“So what if you have the terrain advantage? You still won’t be able to stop us. Brothers of Radiant Sacred Flame, wipe out every last one of these fools from Holy Empire! Kill!” Nightbreak Trickster roared, as he commanded his troops to launch an assault. Before long, a group of 4,000 Warriors charged toward the area where Holy Empire’s defenses were the weakest. The Mages raised their staffs, which glowed with brilliant rays, as they began chanting spells.
Holy Empire didn’t stay motionless either. They held fast to their positions and began trading fire with Radiant Sacred Flame.
Magic exploded into the sky like a dazzling display of fireworks.
Since Radiant Sacred Flame had acted, Victorious Return naturally followed suit. The players Heaven Breaker commanded charged toward Holy Empire’s forces with overwhelming momentum.
The battle started off in a very one-sided manner as the forces of Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame drowned the players from Holy Empire with an unrelenting barrage of attacks.
However, Holy Empire remained unyielding, reinforcing their defenses everywhere as they withstood the assault.
The flames of battle erupted out with no signs of waning.
Back in Twilight Forest, Azure Falling Sky’s forces couldn’t endure the assault from the players of Asskickers United, especially Tang Yao who was sweeping through them with his frightening damage and cast speed. With a Meteor, he completely cleaned out a large area. Then with a Firestorm, he took out another several hundred players. He was wildly reaping the lives of the Azure Falling Sky players like harvesting wheat.
Nie Yan and the others also carried out a massacre. As they worked in concert, Azure Falling Sky players toppled wherever they passed.
Before long, the battle was finally over. Nie Yan, Smoke Stub, and the others were safe. This incident was the catalyst which allowed the bond between Asskickers United and Withered Leaf to grow much deeper. A sense of camaraderie was forged through the fires of the battlefield!
There were corpses piled up like small hills everywhere around Nie Yan and the others.
“How many casualties did we suffer?” Nie Yan asked Tang Yao. He noticed a few of the corpses lying on the ground belonged to the members of Asskickers United. He couldn’t help but feel his heart ache a little.
“Of the 30,000 members that arrived here with me, around 2,300 died,” Tang Yao replied. He felt the outcome of this battle was extremely good. They hadn’t even lost 10% of their total forces.
Nie Yan genuinely didn’t expect the guild to gather so many players in such a short time. Even major guilds like Radiant Sacred Flame or Victorious Return didn’t have such frightening rallying power.
“When we return, everyone will be rewarded 100 merit points, and the brothers who died today will receive triple that amount.”
Tang Yao looked over the list of equipment picked up from the battle. “After returning all the equipment our brothers dropped, we still have over 8,000 pieces of equipment remaining. Many of them have great properties too. Our treasury is going to explode!” He finally understood why people in ancient times loved to go to war. It was because the spoils of battle were great! It was the tactic of using battle to support battle. In a single battle, Asskickers United went from being nearly impoverished directly to being rich again! The guild’s resources suddenly become ample!
“We’re not finished yet. Holy Empire is currently in a battle with Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame. We have to hurry over; otherwise Holy Empire won’t last much longer!” Nie Yan said, allowing the members who were low on health and mana to rest in preparation for the next battle.
After a while, seeing that almost all of the players had fully recovered, Nie Yan shouted, ”Alright, everyone, get up! We’re going to slaughter Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame!”
Hearing Nie Yan’s words, the players had blank looks on their face. They were going to directly clash with Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame?
Not so long ago, Asskickers United was just a small guild while VIctorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame were frightening behemoths. Nearly half of all the players present were long-time members, and what they were proudest about was that they got to witness the incredible growth of the guild into a formidable powerhouse with their very own eyes. They received just as much respect, if not more than a player from any of the major guilds. This was because each of them was an elite selected out of the player base.
Not so long ago, Asskickers United suffered the suppression of Victorious Return. Even though there were countless casualties, they didn’t fight back, instead choosing to endure silently. It wasn’t until the incident in Kiln Fire Woods where Nie Yan’s group of ten humiliated Victorious Return and Unhindered that Asskickers United’s prestige spread out to all corners of the Viridian Empire. That battle earned them much honour and glory. Today, yet another guild—Azure Falling Sky—suffered a crushing defeat at their hands, with them discovering that the opponent couldn’t even withstand a single blow. Without anyone realizing, Asskickers United had grown into an unrivalled colossus!
Just a moment ago, when Nie Yan suddenly informed them they were going to slaughter Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame, everyone felt like they were in a dream. Within just a few weeks’ time, Asskickers United came to possess the strength to defeat these two major guilds!
However, at the same time, Nie Yan’s words also filled their hearts with bravado!
“Damn! What’s so amazing about Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame!?”
“Yeah, let’s massacre them!”
“Asskickers United is the best!”
The players from Asskickers United roared as their fighting spirits were ignited. After defeating Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame, they could freely walk around Calore with their heads held high! And those Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame players who previously jeered at them would shirk away in shame!
They would let every player in Calore know the strength of Asskickers United!
Seeing the fiery appearances of these guild members, Nie Yan nodded in approval with a faint smile. With such a formidable drive to do battle, who would fear Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame? No matter how many players arrived from their side, Asskickers United would slaughter them all!
“Let’s go!”
The large crowd of players moved toward the border of Twilight Forest, brimming with the desire to wipe out their enemies.