Volume 6: Job Change Chapter 11 The Eve of the Battle
The Dark Cloud Fortress is located in the southwest of the Green Leaf Plain, guarding the main road from the Vida Basin into the Green Leaf Plain. This is a solid fortress built according to the mountain terrain. The walls are made of the strongest rocks, which are as high as seven or eight people stacked together. There are many arrow battlements on the walls, and each battlement can provide high armor protection for the archers guarding the city. When I arrived here, the fortress was already full of defenders of various ethnic groups who retreated from the middle and upper Vida Basin. They lined up in neat rows, always keeping vigilant, and ready to fight against invaders at any time. In addition, air enthusiasts from all over the continent also flocked into this solid fortress, and their number was as many as thousands. This was the first time I saw so many air enthusiasts gathered together at the same time - usually, even in the most prosperous metropolis, there are only more than a thousand air enthusiasts gathered in the city.
Since there were originally two large elven cities in the Vida Basin, the elves were the largest race in the garrison besides humans. According to intelligence, their homes had been completely destroyed by the iron hoof of the Doomsday Empire, and now they had become the two largest bases of the Doomsday Legion on the Falvi Continent. The elven warriors who had lost their homes turned their sorrow into a rage of revenge. Almost half of them were rangers who used bows and arrows. These soldiers who were good at shooting were now wearing green standard leather armor and standing behind the arrow stacks. They had already abandoned the kindness and elegance in their racial nature and turned into messengers of the god of death. They would be the first to personally bring the unfortunate news of eternal silence to the group of brutal invaders.
The commander of the fortress was Colonel Rayleigh, a very young and promising human paladin of level 60. He was not tall, with chestnut hair, brown eyes, a firm and brave , and a long sword. Most of the time, he would stay in the combat meeting hall in the fortress, but every once in a while, he would always walk up to the city wall, into the camp, and into every corner of the fortress for a detailed inspection.
"Do you know the difference between bravery and courage?" Whenever Colonel Raleigh saw a young soldier trembling with fear, he would walk up to him and tell him this.
"Brave..." He lifted the chin of the young dwarf warrior and said firmly and forcefully, "... it means that we are fearless and unafraid in battle; and courage..." He bent down and patted the warrior's shoulders vigorously, "... it means that we know that the road ahead is full of difficulties and dangers, but we still persist to the end without hesitation."
"Perhaps you are not brave , warrior, but I see courage in you, which is a spirit more valuable than bravery!"
These touching words always inspired the fighting spirit of the dwarf warrior who was trembling with fear. At this time, the inspired dwarf would straighten his small chest which could not be raised much higher no matter how hard he tried, bow respectfully to the young commander, and then run back to his own team.
However, no matter how touching the words are, if you hear them every five minutes, you will probably hear a lot of irony even in the hymns. And every time Colonel Reilly passed by here, there was always a trembling dwarf warrior curled up here, as if waiting for his encouragement. Later, when Colonel Reilly passed by here again, someone in the team would shout impatiently: This guy is chanting again! And some people would imitate his movements and lip shapes, and imitate him as a joke, imitating him, and learning it vividly, which aroused laughter in the crowd.
Although we have a group of professional soldiers who are ready to fight at any time, an excellent commander who has remained calm and motivated from beginning to end, and a volunteer army of airmen who can't wait to join the battle, the fact is that this is a hopeless battle, and everyone knows it.
When we accepted the mission "Defense of Dark Cloud Fortress", every officer who issued the mission told us clearly: if we defend Dark Cloud Fortress for more than one day, the mission will be completed. You know, our enemies have been preparing for this battle for two hundred years, while we have only prepared for more than ten days. Judging from the strength of the army, this is an unfair battle. Everything we do here is impossible to completely block the invasion of the Doomsday Empire. We can only delay time as much as possible to buy time for the second line of defense behind us. As soon as the time is up, our reinforcements will arrive, and we can evacuate with the help of the magic teleportation array in the fortress, and then collect the reward from any mission officer.
We will eventually lose the war, this is an unavoidable fact. Although I did not feel the frustration and decadence of the impending defeat in this fortress, it still filled my heart with a sense of futility and weakness.
The only thing that makes me happy is that I met many good friends here. String of Songs, Wild Goose, Feiyin, Changgong Sheri, Yangtze River Delta, Dingding Xiaoge, Crado, Nocturne in B-flat Minor, Black Aurora... and so on. Seeing them here means that they are willing to pay enough to meet the "chargeable operation" requirements of the Supreme God Darimos and wait in this plane. Seeing that they choose to stay, I feel much more at ease and at ease. You know, from the day I was reborn, almost everything was done with the company of these friends. If they are not around, I feel empty in my heart and don't know where to go.
They are my best friends and teachers, my close friends who have lived and died together, and they are the closest part of me to the world. Only when I am with them can I truly feel that I am alive.
Their staying is a great support and encouragement to me.
…
On November 26, 1457 in the mainland calendar, winter began, it was cold and rainy.
This is destined to be a day that will be recorded in the history of the mainland forever.
The rain continued to hit my metal helmet and armor, making dense and crisp cracking sounds. The water droplets penetrated through the gaps in the armor, bringing a cold touch to my back. My hands holding the sword and shield could not help but tremble, and I didn't even know whether it was because of the cold weather or because of the tension in my heart.
"Crack!" Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the sky, shrouding the entire world in a dazzling, sharp light that made it impossible to open one's eyes. A moment later, a thunderous roar suddenly rolled by, and the sound that shook the earth gripped everyone's heartstrings, like a huge and extremely ominous omen.
This bolt of lightning opened the curtain for a fierce battle.
After the most shocking lightning, several more flashes of light streaked across the sky. Although they were not as bright as the first lightning, they continued to spread across the sky and did not fade away after more than ten seconds. These sharp rays of light gathered together and eventually woven into a huge net, covering almost the entire horizon ahead.
Under the huge curtain of light woven by lightning, the sky and the earth seemed to be distorted. Ripples rippled in the air for no reason, causing the green mountains in the distance to sway slightly in our eyes. Gradually, these transparent ripples became thicker and thicker, gradually becoming like a solid entity. Behind these ripples, we could vaguely see rows of moving figures.
"Here they come!" There was an exclamation from the crowd.
Yes, they are coming. Those dangerous and brutal invaders have successfully broken through the barrier of time and space turbulence and returned to this land after two hundred years. We will be the first witnesses of this incident and see the appearance of these bandits with our own eyes. I don't know whether this is lucky or unfortunate.
Soon, the first group of enemies passed through the magic gate of space teleportation. They were wearing heavy armor, holding two heavy axes in their hands, with blue skin, tall and hunched bodies, and two long fangs sticking out of their mouths.
These people are the most brutal lackeys of the Doomsday Empire, traitors of the Falvi Continent, brutal warriors accompanied by sharp blades and blood - the Troll Axemen.
Behind them, a group of undead warriors with skeletons visible, wearing black clothes and armor, holding swords and shields, with rotten limbs and blue flames burning in their eye sockets, slowly walked forward, protecting the dark-skinned dark elf archers in the square formation behind them.
A group of guys in red magic robes also walked out of the portal slowly. They looked like ordinary humans, but their faces were pale, their cheeks were thin, and their pupils were dark red. They were vampire magicians. I had fought hundreds of enemies like them before. Even standing far away on the city wall like now, I could smell the blood on them.
In addition to these, there are also some big guys with horns on their heads, sheep-like feet, burly bodies, and purple skin in the enemy's battle sequence. Even compared with the minotaurs growing on the Falvi continent, their size is not inferior. I have never seen such a species on this continent, but I saw the name "Withered Demon" displayed on their heads.
"Demons"? Perhaps this is a race that only exists in the Blighted Land.
Trolls, undead, dark elves, vampires, demons, we soon saw all the races of the invading army of the Doomsday Empire. Their army was large in number and had ferocious expressions, but in fact, what we saw was just an advance guard. Behind them, the army of the Doomsday Empire was still coming through the space magic gate, as if their number would always increase like this. I couldn't count their number at all, but there was only one thing I was sure of: their number was much larger than ours.
In addition to these regular troops, there were also more than a thousand soldiers with different equipment and occupations in scattered formations on the opposite side. I think they were recruited mercenaries like us. At this time, they were also rubbing their hands and looking at our city walls with eager eyes.
"So many people..." I heard Niu Baiwan beside me exclaim. I turned my head and saw the only Minotaur Paladin twisting his neck unnaturally. From his eyes, I could not see the strong eyes of a heroic warrior at all, but only two groups of desperate and anxious eyes aimlessly looking forward, a bit like a frightened wild cat.
"Are you okay? Do you feel okay?" I was a little worried about his condition and couldn't help but ask.
Originally, I just suspected that he was intimidated by the huge momentum of the enemy army and felt a little afraid - there is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, looking at this endless invading army, my throat couldn't help but dry up and my palms were wet with sweat. Really, it is not wrong to feel fear. Only being defeated by fear is worth being ashamed of.
However, it seems that my worry was misplaced. After a while, Niu Baiwan swallowed hard, turned his neck stiffly like a piece of wood, gritted his teeth and uttered two incomprehensible syllables in an extremely laborious voice:
"Okay... card..."
Good card? To be honest, I have no idea what message he wants to convey to me, but judging from the terrifying expression of his eyes spitting fire, he should not be afraid at all. Not only is he not afraid, I think he wants to wipe out the entire opposing army by himself. God knows why he has such strong anger and hatred in his heart.
It seems that they have a higher awareness of resisting foreign enemies and protecting their homes than I do. Just seeing the enemy makes them furious and eager to fight.
While I was still wondering what this "good card" meant, other people around me also expressed great support for the Tauren Paladin's statement.
"Yes, yes, I'm stuck here too." The fairy next to Niu Baiwan frowned and said dejectedly.
It seemed that everyone had been suppressed for too long by the tense atmosphere before the war. Once they found this common topic, everyone opened up and started talking enthusiastically.
"There are only afterimages here..." Changgong Sheri complained bitterly.
"It's good to have an afterimage. All I see here are sculptures..." Someone said from a distance. Hearing his words, Changgong Sheri immediately looked much better.
"... Damn it, the lightning hasn't stopped yet and my eyes are blinded..." A dwarf female priest covered her eyes and screamed.
"Huh? Lightning? Where is the lightning?" An orc shaman shook his head in surprise and looked around, "There is no movement here... The delay is too great..."
"Mars calling Earth, Mars calling Earth, if you hear me please answer..." Can anyone tell me what this guy is saying?
"I can hear my own echo...repeatedly..." said a tauren druid. Not only could he hear his own echo, I could hear it too, perhaps because the tauren's nose was relatively large and the nasal resonance was unusually loud.
"Look, there's a flying bear!" An orc warlock shouted in surprise, pointing to the sky.
"My place is not stuck at all..." A human warlock first shouted in a boastful tone, then his face darkened and his voice became depressed: "...But I turned off the effects of all visual sensors and adjusted the resolution to the lowest. Now everyone looks like a big regular hexahedron..."
"What the hell is a GM for? It's stuck!" An elf wanderer seemed to be complaining loudly, but I couldn't hear who he was complaining to.
"According to reliable gossip, the GM is downloading pornographic films from the server and it will be ready in six hours!" a dwarf magician said mysteriously, immediately causing a burst of noise in the crowd such as "I faint" and "I fall down", mixed with some strange shouts such as "I want to see Lanlan" and "Lizi, my goddess".
"Ah..." Just as everyone was making a noise, a dwarf paladin suddenly screamed and fell headfirst from the city wall. In full view of everyone, he landed heavily on the ground, splashing a thick layer of dust under the city wall. Then he lay straight on the ground, motionless.
"Come and look, someone has jumped off the building..."
"Damn, you dare to jump from such a high place. I admire you..."
"What a great move! The butt is facing backwards, like a wild goose falling on the flat sand..."
"Stop messing around, send a priest to revive us, the battle on the other side is about to begin..."
After a chaotic rescue, the dwarf paladin who jumped from the building finally recovered with the help of an elven priest. He walked in from the city gate with a depressed look on his face, walked around a big circle and stepped onto the city wall, then sat down quietly in the middle of the wall and never squeezed into the crowd again.
“I’m so damn unlucky…” He spat fiercely on the ground, “…I just wanted to turn around, but I turned for a long time without moving at all. When I finally found that I could move, I was lying on the ground like a corpse. How can I play when I’m stuck like this? I’d rather die than stand by the city wall!”
At this time, Changgong Sheri suddenly took out his magic notebook and took a look at it, then shouted proudly, "Hey, my network delay is 819, who can be slower than me? Who can be slower than me?"
"That's nothing. I already have 1,100." Chang Sanjiao said proudly.
"1314." Niu Baiwan was so proud that even his tail stood up.
"1397, a little higher than yours." Nocturne in B flat minor said slowly.
"Ahahahaha, you are all far behind. I am 2318, who dares to compete with me..." At this time, Feiyin laughed shrilly. After a long while, she slowly stood up, turned around stiffly on the spot, and glanced at the people around her in a show of strength.
Although I don't know exactly what they are doing, it seems that in just a few words, they have started a fierce competition. Now it seems that the ice mage who changed her job seems to have won the game with an overwhelming advantage. She looked around for a long time, and no one stood up to compete with her.
"2318 once... 2318 twice... Is there anyone else who wants to challenge? Hahahaha..." Feiyin's laughter was so arrogant that it made people shudder.
"In that case, I declare that the winner of today's delayed game is..."
"8972..." Just when Feiyin was about to confirm her victory, a faint voice finally came from a corner. Following the voice, I saw the figure of Ding Ding Xiaoge, the half-orc warlock who I met and explored together in the underground cave. He was squatting under the parapet of the city wall, motionless for a long time, as if he was dead.
In the midst of everyone's astonishment, Ding Ding Xiaoge's voice came out intermittently:
"...I have reported the number from the beginning...Maybe...you heard it...a little late...My line is...Netcom..."
silence……
Silence...
Complete silence...
At this time, the dwarf bard beside me, Nocturne in B-flat minor, showed his high professionalism and took the opportunity to recite a beautiful poem with profound meaning in a low voice:
“The furthest distance in the world;
It’s not the ends of the earth;
no;
Life and death separation;
Rather;
In the same server;
You use Netcom;
I use the telephone..."
Chang Sanjiao also gritted his teeth and raised his hand with his thumb, squeezing out two words from between his teeth:
"So... strong..."
