Chapter 357: The Players' Siege Battle
Viscount Horace stood atop the castle tower, his legs trembling as he gazed at a trail of black dots in the distance.
"They're coming..."
"It's the Ember Kingdom's army!"
"They're coming for us!"
Knight Mitra stood silently by his side, gripping his sword with a resolute expression—ready to die for the lord he served.
"Are we going to die?"
"Tempus save us!"
The soldiers in the castle were terrified. The Ember Kingdom's army had become a legend that could quiet crying children at night, a symbol of death, and an invincible force in tales.
From afar, powerful, stirring music began to echo, heralding the arrival of a dreadful enemy.
Unbeknownst to them, it was just a bored player carrying a speaker, singing along to the BGM of "Victory".
The atmosphere inside Bellon Castle grew deathly still, as everyone held their breath, waiting for the enemy to arrive.
"They're finally here..."
"What will the legendary Dragon Legion look like?"
Knight Mitra murmured, his mind conjuring an oppressive vision—
countless fearsome, dragon-blooded hobgoblins and ogres appearing on the horizon, roaring ferociously, shaking the earth and terrifying the mountains.
This wasn't entirely his imagination; it was based on accounts from fleeing soldiers.
However, what happened next far exceeded their expectations, leaving them feeling—
utterly baffled?
About a hundred people appeared sparsely on the horizon.
They had no formation and simply charged forward like a disorderly swarm of headless flies.
"What in the world..."
"…are these people?"
Watching the approaching enemies, the battle-hardened Knight Mitra was utterly perplexed.
Normally, well-crafted armor was a mark of a capable army, yet these enemies were dressed in all sorts of garb—some were even completely naked.
"Are you kidding me? This rabble supposedly defeated the allied forces?"
"The legendary Catastrophe Legion—this is it?"
"Seriously, they look worse than the city guard."
The soldiers on the ramparts began to relax, even chatting amongst themselves.
Bellon Castle housed nearly 600 family soldiers. By Northern military standards, a force three times their size would be needed to breach such a stronghold—unless the attackers could fight one against a hundred.
But looking at the players' disorganized state, no one could associate them with the undefeated "Dragon Legion."
The only potential threat was the wyverns in the sky.
"WHAAAAA!"
"Siege time!"
"Die, Northern scum!"
As the music reached its climax, the players began cheering loudly, their cries wild and chaotic.
The soldiers on the walls and towers raised their bows, aiming squarely at the players below.
Standing at the front, Knight Mitra coldly eyed the "rabble" and shouted:
"Leave this place, outsiders!"
"This is the Lot family's domain!"
"Even with the aid of dragon vassals, your kind—mere brigands—cannot breach the unyielding Bellon Castle!"
Among the players, one named [Gustav] glared at the knight on the tower and muttered angrily:
"This NPC sure is cocky. We're already at their gates, and he's still spouting nonsense."
"Likes to talk big, huh?"
"Fine, blast him with a cannon!"
Gustav rolled a cannon into position, carefully calculating the angle before loading a shell—being a member of the Cult of the Machine God, he was well-versed in such devices.
A thunderous boom echoed across the plains.
"Boom!"
A dark cannonball traced a graceful arc through the air, heading straight for the tower.
"I, Honor Knight Mitra, advise you..."
Just as Mitra was speaking passionately, he heard a shrill whistle. Moments later, a massive cannonball landed mere meters from him, detonating violently.
"Boom—"
Smoke and dust billowed into the air.
Half the tower crumbled into rubble, stones shattered everywhere, and the entire castle seemed to quake.
The ground was littered with mangled limbs and charred corpses, as dozens of soldiers were blown apart.
However, Knight Mitra narrowly survived, shielded by his plate armor and the bodies of his comrades who had unwittingly served as his shields.
"Cough, cough."
Crawling out of the ruins, Mitra surveyed the carnage around him, his body wracked with pain, and his face filled with disbelief.
"What... what is this..."
A sinking feeling overtook him as he finally realized that he'd been deceived by appearances and understood why the Ember Kingdom's army was considered "unbeatable."
"What kind of weapon is this?"
"How could it... hit from so far away?"
"Oh gods, the Ember Kingdom's army truly is invincible."
A single probing attack by the players had left every soldier in the castle terrified. The once-secure stronghold now offered no sense of safety.
"Da-da-da-da—"
The majestic BGM switched to the "nuclear explosion anthem," "aLIEz".
"Ahhhh—"
"Brothers, get ready to charge!"
"It's heating up! Let's go!"
The players cheered wildly, racing to attack.
Gustav, cigarette in mouth, patted the overheated cannon barrel and muttered angrily, "Damn it, how the hell did I miss?"
"Don't let them get close!"
"Kill them all!"
Ignoring the pain wracking his body, Mitra raised his sword and shouted orders.
"Quickly! Quickly!"
"Fire the arrows!"
Faced with the yelling, chaotic players, the soldiers atop the walls and towers frantically fired arrows and hurled boulders from above.
These tactics had been unstoppable in previous defensive battles.
But this time, they failed.
Most of the attacking players were veteran beta testers, with combat levels of Professional rank or higher. Ordinary attacks were completely ineffective against them.
For instance, the well-known Monk player [Dawei Tianlong]—
Using the Monk's high mobility, he weaved through the rain of arrows from the walls, occasionally reflecting them back with [Deflect Missiles].
"Wall-Climbing Technique!"
With a sharp cry, Dawei Tianlong effortlessly scaled the walls with a single leap.
"This monk's back for another farming session!"
Surrounded by over a dozen armored elite guards, he calmly activated his skills, weaving through their strikes like a specter, downing each with a precise blow.
"Resonating Qi: Strike!"
With a sudden jolt of his hands, Dawei Tianlong unleashed an explosive burst of energy.
"Resonating Qi: Detonate!"
"Boom!"
With a thunderous blast, the energy inside the soldiers detonated, causing them to bleed from every orifice as they collapsed into lifeless heaps.
The spreading dust cleared to reveal Dawei Tianlong standing alone, grinning with a mouth full of gleaming white teeth.
"Haha, another farming session done. Feels so good."
Watching the players unleash their various abilities, Mitra was struck by a strange thought.
They weren't fighting.
They were playing.