Vol. 3: Chapter 19
All quests in the outlying areas—the eastern quarry, the logging camp, the western farmlands—had gone silent. NPCs no longer had tasks to give. One by one, players filtered back into the village center, their eyes drawn to the dark mass on the horizon.
More and more of them were spotting the Burning Horde. Even from miles away, the sheer oppressive presence of the army was a weight on their chests, making it hard to breathe.
At 9:00 AM, a system message cut through the tense silence.
System: The Burning Horde will commence its assault in 2 hours. All defenders, please prepare.
System: NOTE: Players who die during the battle will be locked out from rejoining the fight for 2 hours.
The sudden announcement, paradoxically, broke the tension. A wave of relief washed over the players.
"Gave me a heart attack! I thought they were charging right now."
"Yeah, my palms were sweating."
"Dude, I almost wet my pants."
"Haha, what a wuss. I'm gonna go grab some food. No idea how long this fight is gonna last."
"Good call, I haven't even had breakfast."
"Judging by that first scouting party they sent, this is gonna be at least a three-hour battle."
"I'm only 50 points away from 3000. I'm so close!"
...
While the casual players relaxed, Lila and the other guild leaders were deep in a war council.
"Total player count in Starlight Village is fifty thousand," Lila stated, her voice crisp and clear. "Assuming a ninety percent login rate, we'll have forty-five thousand defenders today."
"We'll divide our forces into ten Legions, A1 through A10, each with forty-five hundred players."
"Each Legion will be subdivided into five Battalions, B1 through B5, with nine hundred players each."
"Battalion leaders will be responsible for further subdividing into smaller squads and relaying orders down the chain. Make sure every single player knows their designation. When the attack starts and I give an order, everyone needs to know exactly where they're supposed to be and what they're supposed to be doing. Understood?"
A chorus of voices answered. "Understood!"
"Good," Lila continued. "Time is short, so let's finalize assignments."
"A1 and A2, your core will be tanks and hunters. Your job is to hold the front line and make our fortifications count. You are the first line of defense. I expect you to fight to the last man. Don't worry about dying; you'll be back in the fight after the two-hour cooldown."
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"Roger!"
"A3, your mages and archers will man the walls. A10, your support players will be on repair duty for the walls and siege towers."
"Got it!"
"A4 through A7, you are our main assault force. You'll be responsible for urban combat, street by street."
"Understood!"
"A8, you're on the western gate. Watch for flanking maneuvers. A9, you are our reserve. Station yourselves at the resurrection point and be ready to reinforce either gate on my command."
"Roger that!"
"I'll take lead command for the first half of the battle. MirthBringer, you're my second-in-command; you'll take over for the second half. We'll command from the watchtower."
"Sounds good," the Laughing Tribe's leader agreed.
***
For two and a half hours, from 8:00 to 10:30, Lila and the guild leaders meticulously planned their defense. With only thirty minutes left until the battle, Lila finally allowed herself a deep breath.
"Alright everyone, don't be too nervous," she said, her voice filled with confidence. "On this server, our village's combat power is second to none. Trust in yourselves. Trust in our plan. Victory is ours."
"Meeting adjourned. Grab a bite to eat if you can. This is going to be a long, brutal fight."
The leaders dispersed. Lila quickly logged off and forced down some food. Her eyes drifted to the empty seat Kael usually occupied. For the last three days, they had been living in two separate worlds, their paths never crossing.
After just ten minutes, she was back online. She took a moment to review her gear. She was now a walking fortress of high-tier equipment.
6 Ascendant Pieces: Helmet, Necklace, Chestpiece, Ring, Bracer, Belt.
1 Exalted Weapon: Dragonbane
1 Exalted Boots: Inferno Striders
[Inferno Striders] (Exalted)
Physical Defense: +1000
Magical Defense: +1000
Constitution: +500
Movement Speed: +20%
Bonus: +[Player Level x 20] Physical Defense
Bonus: +[Player Level x 20] Magical Defense
Bonus: +[Player Level x 15] Constitution
[Seismic Slam]: After you use a movement ability, enemies within a 20-yard radius have their movement speed reduced by 25% for 5 seconds.
[Blazing Charge]: Charge forward 20 yards, dealing 150% weapon damage to enemies in your path. Triggers Seismic Slam upon stopping.
The boots were even more practical than she had hoped. She already had three movement skills: Earthshatter Leap, Dragon Slash, and Bladebound.
With the boots' built-in Blazing Charge, she now had four gap-closers, and every single one of them could trigger the powerful Seismic Slam debuff. The slow effect dealt no damage, but a five-second AOE snare would be invaluable for chasing down targets.
Combined with the raw stats from the boots—over 1600 defense and nearly 20,000 extra health—her total attributes had reached an astonishing level.
Health: 91,000+
Physical Attack: 22,200+
Physical Defense: 7,200+
And that didn't even account for Dragonbane's Guardian's Ward. While she wasn't attacking, her defense was practically immeasurable. An enemy with only 20 or 30 thousand attack power likely couldn't even scratch her.
Lila made her way to the main watchtower. MirthBringer was already there. They exchanged a grim nod and turned their attention to the battlefield.
This time, the Burning Horde was a complex, high-level force. Apart from the frontline Vinemail Cuirass grunts, who were below level 30, every other monster was level 30 or higher. They could see heavy infantry, elite Worg riders, Kodo war drummers, Tauren horncallers, massive war elephants, catapults, and mobile siege towers.
Numerically, the Horde had around thirty to forty thousand troops, slightly less than the players. But where players had ten or twenty thousand health, these monsters had well over a hundred thousand.
The enemy boss's stats were still unknown, but from this distance, they could see two powerful lieutenants flanking it, each looking at least as strong as the Supply Depot Commander.
Can we really win this?
It was a question no one dared to ask, but it lingered in the back of every mind.
Suddenly, a sound cut through the air, long and deep, echoing from the front of the enemy lines.
Hoooooooonk…
The assault had begun.