Volume 7 Server Merge Chapter 4: Hundred-Man Killing
It is difficult for anyone to clearly say which side of the war was the final winner of the Dark Cloud Fortress Battle. If we only look at the results of the battle at that time, the Falvi Continental Allied Forces, which consisted of less than 30,000 people, fought to the last moment, and at the cost of almost being annihilated, they desperately tied the Doomsday Empire army, which was several times larger than their own, inside the Dark Cloud Fortress, giving the entire continental alliance a precious breathing opportunity and organizing a deep defense line well. The "Star Knights" - an elite force that descended from the sky with the help of large-scale long-distance teleportation magic, swept away the enemy troops in the fortress, and followed the vanguard of the Doomsday Empire for three days and three nights, creating a brilliant victory that shocked the entire continent.
If we compare only from a numerical perspective, there is no doubt that the Continental Alliance won the battle.
However, despite having gained a huge advantage in the local battlefield, the huge main army of the Doomsday Empire advanced across the board. After seven days, the Continental Alliance had to voluntarily abandon five strategic fortresses including the Dark Cloud Fortress and a large area of land in the northeast of the continent and shrink its defense across the board. In this way, the Doomsday King Darendil easily seized nearly two-fifths of the entire Falvi Continent, and a continental pattern of "Empire" and "Alliance" competing against each other was formed.
The glorious battlefield where heroes shed their blood and died had easily become a trophy in the hands of the enemy. From a higher strategic perspective, no matter how brilliant the record was, it was not enough to cover up this huge shame. Our enemies had every reason to boast that they were the winners of this battle.
What was somewhat surprising was that after this brutal battle, the war did not cascade down and engulf the entire continent in the blood of war. Both sides seemed to have felt the enemy's tenacity and bravery from this fierce battle, and did not dare to start a war again. Instead, the Falvi continent entered a rare period of peace. Except for some small-scale frictions in some local areas, the entire continent could still be called peaceful.
No matter how hypocritical the peace brought about by war may be, and no matter how depressing and suffocating the undercurrents are hidden beneath its calm surface, at least for those who have fought and died on the battlefield and managed to survive, they have enough reasons to stand leisurely in the sun, let the bright spring light wash away the shadow of war, and temporarily enjoy this rare peaceful life.
"Have you heard..." Longbow Shooting Sun knocked a Rock Armored Salamander to the ground with a stick, and then threw a "Life Siphon" spell at its head, sucking it into a shrunken specimen in one breath. Then he continued to say to us: "...The people over there in the Empire are very dissatisfied with the result of the merging battle. They said that we were a cowardly tactic for letting the Paladin drive the invincible hardtop, and they thought we were cheating."
"Bullshit!" Niu Baiwan was furious and started to curse loudly, "The Paladin's damage output is low and his life magic is weak. He is so weak in a one-on-one fight that he can't even kill a bug. He relies on his invincibility to hold on. We are turtles? If you have the guts, let them turtle too!"
After saying that, the Minotaur Paladin Great Pillar swung his hand, and a "Sharp Claw Velociraptor" screamed, and immediately fell to the ground with a bloody head. Its actual experience proved that Niu Baiwan's claim that "even a stink bug can't be killed" was really a hypocritical statement.
In the Battle of Cloud Fortress, we relied on the heroic sacrifice of six paladins at the last moment to protect Colonel Rayleigh's life within the mission time limit. Although the battle has long ended and all the battles have been settled, some verbal lawsuits caused by it have never stopped.
The people of the Doomsday Empire were very dissatisfied with this result. They felt that the Paladin's "Holy Light Protection" was an excessive favoritism of the Supreme God Darimos to the intelligent life of the Falvi Continent. Because of religious beliefs, the residents of the Withered Land could not become Paladins who believed in the Supreme God, but could only transfer to Fallen Knights who believed in death and destruction. Of course, they could not get the protection of the Supreme God, and could not use the "Holy Light Protection" skill.
Because the Paladin who casts the spell will not be harmed before the "Holy Light Protection" is broken, people figuratively call this spell "invincible". The guys in the Doomsday Empire think that relying on the "invincible" skill to survive the last few seconds of the mission is not a knight's fighting style at all, and is simply a dishonorable, shameless and vulgar "turtle" tactic.
This statement is of course absurd. We have all witnessed the fearless fighting spirit and heroic and selfless dedication of these six knights in that battle. They are definitely the most pious and loyal believers under the throne of the Supreme God. These six people have become heroes in that battle. Our worship and admiration for them are passed down in our mouths and hearts. Under our strong appeal and call, the Church of St. Darmos publicly recognized the great achievements of these six people, awarded them the glorious title of "Knights among Knights", and gave them corresponding rewards.
As one of the six "knights among knights", Niu Baiwan was invited to the Great Temple of St. Frederick in the holy city of Freschit shortly after the battle to receive his honor and reward. The gift of the Supreme God is magnanimous and generous. After receiving a large bounty, Niu Baiwan also received a reward from the temple that made him almost crazy: a solid and heavy obsidian pillar - you know, such an uncommon "strange weapon" as a big wooden stake cannot be found in a weapon store, and we have never seen a monster carrying a big stump in the wild, so from level one to now, Niu Baiwan has been using the level one wooden stake he originally obtained as a weapon. No matter how handsome and stylish this personalized huge weapon looks, its attack power as a tool for killing enemies is still greatly limited.
This obsidian pillar has amazing properties: it can increase attack power by 125, with a certain chance of crushing, stunning and knocking back effects, and can also increase defense by 50 points and more than 400 points of vitality. In addition, the unique magical properties of obsidian can increase Niu Baiwan's magic recovery speed by 5 points per second.
Of course, such a huge and solid stone weapon naturally has its own unique flaws: because of its heavy weight, the attack frequency of using this stone pillar in battle is reduced to once every 2.3 seconds. Fortunately, Niu Baiwan has a magic crystal "Caplan's Swift Heart" that increases his attack speed, which greatly makes up for his slow attack speed.
In order to commend the bravery and piety of the six paladins, the church engraved their names on each gift given to them to show the honor and uniqueness of this reward. This time Niu Baiwan got a great advantage: his name was as long as a scripture, forcing the church's craftsmen to play the art of miniature carving on the stone pillar. I have to say that it was fortunate that the weapon he chose was relatively large. Although the name was engraved densely, it was still engraved with a single word. If he had chosen a smaller piece of equipment - for example, a pendant - I'm afraid even the Pope would be worried about how to engrave his name in full.
A huge stone with my name written on it makes me feel uncomfortable. This weapon always gives people an unlucky feeling, as if Niu Baiwan is carrying his own tombstone to the battlefield every time, which makes people really worry about his future.
However, Niu Baiwan himself did not seem to be aware of the bad omen contained in this weapon. Whenever he met someone, he would take out the stone pillar and brag about it to him.
"The battle is over, let them say whatever they want..." I dug out a colorful eagle tail feather from the corpse of an evil eagle, threw the task item into the magic backpack, and then said to Niu Baiwan in a soothing tone, "...There is no point in you sulking here, there will be plenty of opportunities to let them have a taste of my power in the future."
"Yes, let's teach them a lesson!" Niu Baiwan puffed out his chest proudly and said with great enthusiasm. Then he hesitated for a moment and added:
"If I can't beat them, I'll go to their Novice Village and kill the trumpets!"
After saying this, he nodded in a cowardly manner, as if he was really thinking seriously about how to implement this plan that had no sense of honor.
I suddenly felt that the accusations made by the Doomsday Imperial Army against the Paladins might not all be slander - at least for the Paladin next to me, they were very appropriate.
"I also heard one thing..." Changgong Sheri said mysteriously again - no one knew where he got so much gossip from .
"...The statistics of enemies killed in the server-merging battle have been released. The first place is a warrior from the alliance. His number of kills is about 150 or 160. The second place didn't even kill a fraction of his number..."
"...You are bragging, right? How could you kill more than a hundred people when the battlefield was so jammed? I risked my life and only killed more than twenty people..." Niu Baiwan scoffed at the gossip about the longbow shooting the sun, and then added, "...and I was killed more than forty times..."
"...Who has nothing better to do than to brag about you..." Longbow Shooting Sun pulled the Minotaur Paladin's tail and teased, "...I didn't believe it when I first heard about it. It would be OK if it was an assassin who took advantage of the situation to assassinate, but how could a warrior kill so many people with just hand-to-hand combat? And the most perverted thing is that he didn't die once. Some people suspected that someone used a bug or cheats, but the GM proved that no one used cheats during the campaign."
"He achieved such results without using any cheats! Ask the GM if he believes it. In China, even poker has cheats. If the GM's words are trustworthy, even cows can climb trees. Tell me, what's this guy's name?" Niu Baiwan's face was full of disdain, his mouth pouted like a rotten persimmon.
"I don't know. He is very low-key and has never revealed his name." Changgong Sheri shook his head.
"Tsk, there must be something wrong. Either he's the illegitimate son of the game company boss or he's the GM's homosexual. Why would a normal person hide his or her ID from others when playing games?"
"That's not necessarily true. Maybe such a master really exists. You know, there are all kinds of birds in a big forest..." Changgong Sheri is obviously a skeptic.
"Bah! If the forest is big enough, there won't just be birds in it, there may also be birdmen!" Niu Baiwan spat indignantly. His nostrils were as big as two chimneys and he pretended to blew out a cloud of hot air.
After saying this, he seemed very proud of his own witty remarks, and he and Changgong Sheri laughed wickedly.
"Well... Jeffreys, what do you think?" After laughing for a while, Changgong Sheri still didn't give up. He turned to me and asked, "...Without cheating, can a warrior kill 100 people?"
"Ah...that...it's not me...how would I know..." My heart tightened, my face turned red, and I answered hesitantly.
"I know that's not you..." My overreaction was seen by Changgong Sheri, and he couldn't help but teasing me loudly: "...Look at your guilty look. If we didn't know each other, I'm afraid I would really suspect that you are the murderer - what a coincidence, you happen to be a warrior."
"Ah...it really wasn't me..." I was embarrassed and scratched my head anxiously.
"Ah, Sharpclaw Velociraptor, I only need one more to complete the mission..." Before I could finish, Longbow Shooting Sun shouted and rushed forward.
"...Hey, that one is obviously mine. I still need three..." Niu Baiwan weighed the obsidian pillar in his hand, and then pounced on the frightened velociraptor.
Fortunately, the velociraptor appeared and rescued me in time, otherwise I really don't know how to get out of this embarrassing situation. The news about the "hundred-man slayer warrior" is true and credible, and he did not use any so-called "hacks" or bugs as Changgong Sheri and Niu Baiwan speculated (although I don't know what these things are). I think no one knows the details of this person better than me, and the reason for this is entirely due to a reality that my friends never even dreamed of:
——That guy is me!
Yes, in that battle, I killed 162 soldiers of the Doomsday Empire alone, including more than 70 Skywalkers. In fact, when I saw this number, even I was shocked - in the frenzy of the battle, no one would remember how many enemies they had killed. After ending a life, everyone would use their bloody pupils to trap the next unfortunate opponent. For me at that time, it didn't matter how many people I killed. The only important thing was to kill the enemy in front of me.
But just after the battle, I also received a letter from the Holy City. The religious leaders closest to the Supreme God wrote to me saying that in recognition of my brilliant and outstanding achievements, they awarded me the honorary title of "Punisher of Divine Might" and invited me to the Great Temple of St. Frederick to receive the reward.
After receiving the invitation letter, I hesitated for a long time. At this time, I realized how different my actions were from others. In the battle, the omnipresent curse of "Ka" had no effect on me. This was the fundamental reason why my record was so brilliant. This huge advantage allowed me to kill far more enemies than the second-ranked battlefield warrior, whose number of kills was less than half of mine. I knew very well that if others knew that I was the battlefield madman who fought one against a hundred, I would have to accept other people's strange eyes all the time, and be questioned and questioned endlessly. In this way, I would inevitably reveal my flaws, unable to conceal my special identity, and be treated like a monster by others.
At one point I even thought of giving up this honor, hiding my identity, and living my simple and secluded life.
However, the remaining mercenary and greed in human nature made me change my mind. On a dark and windy night, I came to the holy city of Freschit alone. I circled three times outside the Great Temple until I was sure that no one saw me. Then I sneaked into the temple and found the guard on duty. At that time, I didn't feel like a warrior who returned with honor . In fact, I was more like a thief who came to steal this honor that might not belong to me.
In the temple, I was honored to be received by Archbishop Ferrero. He was a vigorous and kind-hearted elder. If he took off the red robe that symbolized honor and pious faith, he would be no different from a loving grandfather. First, he asked me if I was willing to reveal my name. This unexpected question was so humane that it even took me a moment to realize that he was asking for my opinion. Undoubtedly, I chose to hide my name, and this move won the archbishop's praise, and he praised my humility and respectfulness with extra sincerity - this praise made me feel a little embarrassed.
Then, he personally handed me a tray containing 200 gold coins and allowed me to choose one of three magical equipment blessed by God.
I didn't choose the magic sword, even though I wanted it the most. This weapon was too exquisite and gorgeous. Whether it was the three-pronged blade or the mithril-inlaid handguard, it was shining with seven colors. I knew at a glance that it was not obtained through "legitimate means" such as leveling up by beating monsters or skinning chickens. I didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble because of its eye-catchingness, and I didn't want to rack my brains to make up a lie to explain the origin of this sword, so I had to give it up reluctantly.
For the same reason, I did not choose the equally unusual armor. In the end, I had to choose the pair of black combat boots that looked handsome but not too exaggerated - "Footprints of the Wind Elf".
As soon as I held the boots in my hands, I knew that I had chosen an amazing magical equipment: this is a pair of combat boots inlaid with heavy metal plates, which can increase my defense by an additional 60 points, but it feels so light in my hand that if it weren't for the tactile sensation caused by friction, I wouldn't even be able to feel its existence.
In addition to the increase in defense, this pair of boots can also give me 300 points of life, 32 points of agility, 63 points of strength and a 5% movement speed bonus. In addition to these, this pair of boots has been blessed by Dubisis, the favorite of the Supreme God, the guardian of travelers and messengers, and the god of wind and speed, and has a permanent combat skill of "Heroic Flash" attached to it, and it does not consume my fighting spirit at all - this means that after I put it on, I can also perform a skill similar to "directional movement" like those magicians. However, unlike them, after using "Heroic Flash", my first attack will definitely have a critical hit effect.
This should have been a skill that encouraged a warrior to fight more bravely - launching a surprise attack at a distance that others didn't expect, and then using a critical hit to create huge lethality, to seize the initiative in the battle. However, the moment I saw this skill clearly, my mind was full of thoughts about how to use it to escape the battle and get away with it. It is basically certain that although the name of this skill is "Heroic Flash", when I really need to "flash", it will definitely not be because of my "heroism".
The most surprising thing is that this pair of boots not only has outstanding properties, but also evolves according to the level of the user. Every time I level up by five, its various bonuses will increase accordingly, and it may also derive new skills. This is the first time I have seen equipment with such extraordinary characteristics. Although it does not have the great power of the legendary artifact to destroy the world, it is already a rare treasure that is hard to come by.
After I put on the "Wind Elf's Footprints" on my feet, I couldn't help but be greedy and curious, and couldn't help but speculate on the properties of the sword and the armor. To be honest, I couldn't help but feel a little regretful at this time - other rewards might be better, I thought.
This is a kind of stupid regret caused by desire that can never be shaken off. In fact, even I know very well that no matter what choice I make at this time, I will regret it afterwards - unless I know clearly from the beginning what consequences my choice will bring.
But then there is no choice.
Life is just like this. We can only make our own choices in ignorance and then verify them with our own actions.
Sometimes when we think back to these things, we may hesitate, hesitate, and doubt whether our choices are correct. "If I did this or that at that time..." Many people will fall into such speculations, but in the end, they still lose the opportunity to prove these speculations and can only walk the only road that has been paved under their feet.
…
"Hurray, I have killed enough velociraptors, mission accomplished..." Changgong Sheri said triumphantly.
"Damn dwarf, you cheated! I beat it until it was only half breath left, and you actually used long-range attacks to snatch the monster..." Niu Baiwan was furious.
"Why are you in such a hurry? You only have three left, right? I'll accompany you to complete this task..." The dwarf priest who had been transformed into a devout believer patted the trousers of the Minotaur Paladin's thigh - well, that was all he could reach - and said comfortingly.
"Take your hand away from that place..." Niu Baiwan was furious.
"Ah? Oh, sorry, I didn't mean it..." Changgong Sheri smiled awkwardly and turned to me and shouted, "...Jeffreyts, how is your mission going? What else is left to do?"
His shouting woke me up from my memories. I pulled myself together, looked at my mission record, and replied as I walked, "Almost done. I still need two salamander hearts."
While walking, I did not forget to deliberately slow down my pace to conceal the acceleration effect brought by the boots under my feet...
