Chapter 421 Broke Through
\"C'mon, show these NPCs what you're made of!\" Warlord shouted as he exhibited an unprecedented amount of glee for leading a frontal assault at the Qin Capital's gates.
The attacks from the mercenaries and his Devastator guild were massive in size and number, spanning the entire frontal length of the capital's city walls. Fire, water, rocks, and even sharp wind blades, smashed and crashed against the seemingly immovable walls. The gates were sturdy, yet the continuous onslaught was like water dripping down against a rock. It was only a matter of time before either the gate or the walls were breached, and the capital would have to fend off the most elite members of the Western Kingdom.
Warlord summoned his avatar. Now wasn't the time to hold anything back and he wanted to remind the world that he continued to be the strongest player.
The godly avatar raised his hands and summoned a rune inscribed battle axe, which he swung down against the gate. It sent destructive ripples across the stone. The walls cracked but not enough to break yet. However, that didn't mean they would stand for long.
Suddenly, a blaring loud horn sounded behind Warlord's army.
Turning, the Guild Master noticed the arrival of enemy reinforcements.
Warlord groaned, lamenting the fact that Skeletal hadn't done a better job and gotten rid of more of them for him. If David Ruster had taken down the rest of the cities supporting the capital, they would have had a far easier time breaking the city and taking over. Of course, that is what Warlord would have done if he was in Dave's shoes.
Yet, what Warlord didn't know was that Dave had been onto Warlord and his schemes since the first time Jeffery had raided with them. The fact that the Mecha user had pulled his punches when they were fighting had caused Dave a great deal of worry and made him suspect that there was something up.
While Jeffery not using his full power might have been for personal reasons or simply a weak attempt of Warlord trying to throw a wrench into the draugr's plan, it was the new guys subtle yet frequent suggestions for Dave to take down the rest of the cities which allowed him to deduce what was going on. The undead army looked impressive, yet it was not like they hadn't taken losses in the fights. Sure, Dave could have risked his troops and fought all the other cities to extinction, but in that case, he would be lucky if he had any troops left to actually attack the capital. Obviously, such a course of action would not benefit the draugr in the end. On the other hand, if another force happened to come right after, they could finish what Dave would have started.
All of this went through Skeletal's mind after a few battles with Jeffery. And from there on, he opted to keep the Qin Army partially functional. Not so much so that they posed a threat to Dave's troops if he ever decides to come back again, but just enough that they won't be mowed down to the last if they fought a player army for example.
Warlord guided his guild members to face the incoming force. The number was staggering, more than fifty square formations lined up in twenty by one hundred squares. Each of these squadrons had ten Elite Qin Soldiers. The Qin Kingdom wasn't crippled yet and this was posing a huge problem for Warlord.
\"Ranged Units, supporting fire! Jeffery assist!\" Warlord called and turned toward the incoming army.
\"Let me in first!\" Warlord shouted. His God of War Legacy granted him innumerable bonuses as long as he was on the battlefield.
Warlord ran ahead first, receiving massive buffs from Priests, Paladins, Bards and any Support Class around that noticed the Guild Master running toward the 100,000 Qin Soldiers.
Warlord's avatar began glowing with a gold sheen. It was a passive effect that made it so that the more he strayed away from his allies and got closer to his enemies, the brighter he would shine and the more powerful the effect. It passively led every entity to enter into a raged frenzy forcing them to fight against Warlord. Though the effects might sound bad, the benefits were worth it. The golden aura granted Warlord almost infinite Stamina, and immense HP regeneration.
Warlord's golden avatar materialized behind him like a ghost. It moved silently as Warlord ran forward. Suddenly, the avatar held his ax and chopped down, crushing the first Qin Soldier to come in contact with Warlord.
The knight in black, held up his own ax, mimicking his avatar's chopping motion. Almost immediately, a dozen Qin Soldiers fell down. Warlord swung his ax left and right, shattering bones and breaking armor. The more the enemies gathered around him, the more vicious his attacks became.
\"MORE!\" Warlord roared.
Two Qin Soldiers stabbed at Warlord with their spears, yet the latter ignored the pointy weapons that had pierced through his chest and swung his weapon horizontally, ripping both of the soldiers' heads off.
He ripped off the spears, causing a blood fountain to burst out, yet moments later the wounds closed as if nothing had ever happened and the armor repaired itself into a brand new state.
The God of War's S Class Legacy wasn't just for show. It was powerful against massive numbers, and it only grew more effective the more outnumbered the user was. However, no matter how powerful a Legacy might be, there was always a limit.
\"Warlord! You're taking too much damage!\" Valentine's voice sounded from Warlord's voice-com.
\"I'm good!\" Warlord replied in a gruff tone, after tearing an Elite Qin Soldiers' leg off.
\"You're taking more damage than you're regenerating! You gotta rest for a bit. If you don't come out yourself, I'll come for you,\" Valentine warned decidedly.
\"NO! Stay where you are! This is my time to shine! I can't have Skelly take everything! I'll show everyone, UGGJH!\" Warlord's words were cut off as two Elite Qin Soldiers managed to pin him to the ground. One of them held his sword in an overhand grip and stabbed down toward Warlord's eye.
The latter heaved with all the power in his body, and threw away the soldier that had been holding him, and smashed him into the other one with the sword.
\"As I said,\" Warlord continued, \"I'll show everyone that I can be as good if not better than Skelly. GOD'S FIST!\" Warlord roared, creating a golden fist, much larger than the ones he usually summoned.
The fist came down upon the soldiers crushing them, killing indiscriminately.
Suddenly, a wild laugh echoed from the rising dust, \"SEE?! What did I tell you?! I'm better than him! LOOK, 1 VS 100,000! Skelly can only win due to his army, but I can win alone!\" Warlord proclaimed to all.
\"I think this is good enough for a promotional video, what about you?\" Demetri asked.
\"I think so too, that was pretty cool,\" Jeffery quickly agreed. The scene had some gore to it, but it was undeniable that fighting off an army single-handedly was like a dream come true for every male.
Satan Slayer shook his head, perhaps Warlord's content was 'Cool', but deep down, he knew that the content was a far cry from Skelly's. If given the choice between watching from one or the other he would choose the draugr.
It was all great to see one fighting against massive numbers, but Warlord's Legacy was designed to do that thing exactly, so was there really a need to compliment him for something they were supposed to do?
Skelly, on the other hand, had always gone overboard. Fighting creatures that were ridiculously strong, raiding areas of the Underworld that had been revealed in his videos and had been judged by exports as 'impossible to conquer' as well as many other feats which were just as entertaining. Those hadn't had anything to do with his Legacy. Skelly had managed to produce content that was related to his skillfulness and intelligence in overcoming various, seemingly impossible situations. Even if a good portion of those could be attributed to luck, there was more than that which brought Skelly to where he was today.
\"Now! Rally to me!\" Warlord roared an order for his army to come to aid him.
The rest of the Devastators followed behind and wrought havoc upon the Qin Soldiers. Empowered by their leader, the players fought on for hours. They suffered casualties in the tens of thousands, nonetheless, they killed every single Qin Soldier in the end.
Suddenly, the ceaseless spell casting against the gate of the Qin capital stopped. A wide crack appeared on the gate breaking it to splinters. The gate was open and the player army, now reduced to 240,000 players charged down the gate and into the city.
\"GO, GO, GO! PILLAGE AND BURN!\" Demetri shouted with excitement.
\"Uh, that only makes us sound like the bad guys,\" Jeffery pointed out with a bit of hesitation.
\"Eh, aren't we? I thought bad guys were the thing right now,\" Demetri replied with a hint of embarrassment.
Jeffery gave him an awkward smile and scurried ahead.
\"Mercy, time to show us why you are the best in the business,\" Warlord addressed her through the voice chat.
\"It will be my pleasure, but I need you to clear the way to the palace. I can't break through alone.\"
\"Slayer, take some of our A units, help Mercy get into the palace. The rest of you, clear the way. There are a lot of NPCs, kill anyone who stands in your way.\" Warlord ordered.
\"But, aren't these just villagers and citizens? The whole army is back there,\" Jeffery questioned.
It was true, only the frightened villagers who had been forced to escape from their cities were packing the city street. Most of the Qin Soldiers were all the way in the back, standing atop buildings or behind barricades.
\"I don't care. If they wanna live, they better get out of the way. Otherwise, just kill them off and be done with it. We don't have any time to waste,\" Warlord answered. He was worried about a certain cursed draugr appearing any moment now. They were already half an hour beyond the time limit on the Forbidden Chapter [Lock-Down]. Too bad, it didn't last any longer. One more down… no, just half a day would be all they needed to guarantee that this would become their turf.
There was no question about Skelly showing up. The real problem was that no one could predict what he would do once that happened. They knew that his army had been crushed, so realistically he should have no chance of taking over the Qin Kingdom. But when had the most infamous draugr ever played by the script?
So far there was no sign of him or any his Undead, indicating that he was probably stuck resurrecting them, or was unable to. Warlord could only pray that this would continue to be the case...
\"Let's get this done. Demetri, with me,\" Warlord led the way toward the Imperial Palace.
***
\"So, everything is ready huh?\" Dave asked.
\"Yes me lord, I got the Leviathan up'n running. The lads're ready on the vessels,\" Gafgar spoke while rubbing his mustache.
\"Good, good,\" Dave praised his captain before turning to the other person next to him. \"So Andre, what about the armor?\" Dave asked. The draugr had already made a quick stop at another place. Now he only needed the new outfit to make his appearance even more flashy.
\"You don't expect me to make you a kingly set of armor in a single setting, do you? The remains I have of the older one are pretty damaged, I'll need a lot of time and dedication to make it. That isn't something that can be rushed. Should be done in a week's time. If you're lucky,\" Andre shrugged.
\"A shame, I was hoping you could make it sooner. No matter, I'll come back for it once it's ready. I trust that nobody can make a better job than you, Andre!\"
Dave turned to the sea in front of him, his Undead were boarding the Leviathan, and the ships he had stolen from the fake Gangplank. Gafgar had done an amazing job on the ships, repairing them to full functionality and had issued sailors to take control of the vessels. The body of the ships was packed full of Undead.
\"Damn, I don't think we'll have enough ships to carry all the army,\" Dave sighed. The fifteen ships he had barely carried a third of his Undead. They were not enough.
\"Kis'Shtiengbrah, may I offer assistance in hauling your Undead?\" The voice of the Abyssal Knight by the name of Marik suddenly sounded right in Dave's mind.
\"If you could, that would be super helpful,\" Dave thought back.
\"Then allow me,\" Marik said as he materialized in front of Dave in his gigantic form.
The creature easily dwarfed the size of the Leviathan. Which made for a great sight. And brought up the question, how was Marik supposed to accompany Dave if he was this…big. Yet the answer revealed itself soon enough as the Abyssal Knight shrunk himself back to human size.
\"Rise up, fallen and forgotten dwellers of the sea. Rise up and offer your service once again,\" Marik spoke calmly as if addressing the waves of the dark ocean.
Suddenly, a bright blue fog rose up from the waters. Sounds of wails and screeches, wood screeching and loud howling of whales resounded through the sea.
\"Hear ye, and cometh, give service of your bodies, and allow our kin passage.\"
Suddenly, the fog materialized into ethereal, almost tangible forms. And the first thing Dave noticed was a chariot, led by three great white shark ghosts.
\"A Shark Chariot?\" Dave mumbled.
\"Not just one,\" Marik spoke, Dave could almost hear the glee in his monotonous voice.
Suddenly the waves rippled as thousands of Shark Chariots appeared above the waters. Then boats made in the shape of whales. Ghost Ships, giant crabs, squids and other creatures of the sea that Dave had never seen before. All lined up and ready to carry Dave's armada.
Not to mention, the sea was packed full of souls, fighters, ghosts and banshees, all undoubtedly, a part of the Soul Gorger Marik's army.
\"This is your army?\"
\"Indeed, yet it is but a part of it. My legion is far more numerous than this. I claim all who die in the sea with lasting regrets. And believe me, many die with unfinished business.\" Marik proclaimed.
\"Dear Marik, you brag too much,\" Came a sweet womanly voice.
Turning, Dave saw Lilith, the Duchess of Blood and Carnage, standing proud among the Undead. Her human appearance and frail looks were in great contrast to the zombified and undead nature of those surrounding her.
Yet, this gentleness, this sweetness of her character was reason enough for many to die at her hands.
\"Kis'Shtiengbrah, be a doll and take me to your ship, I find those ghosts to be quite the eyesore.\" Lilith spoke with a handkerchief around her nose. \"Not to mention they smell of rotten dead fish.\"
Dave frowned, his Draugr avatar didn't smell any better but he wasn't going to correct an Abyssal Knight about their sense of smell.
\"This way,\" Dave led the way. \"Guys, your rides are ready, so let's hop in. We have an Empire to conquer!\"