Seoyoon had assembled a portion of the Northern and Central Continent users, and was waiting.
“There they are.”
“I see them. The meteors are falling.”
Summon Flaming Meteors!
The archers with their keen eyesight first spotted the meteors in the distance, which looked as small as sesame seeds. The blazing shooting stars which appeared in the night sky soon became gradually bigger and more distinct for everyone to notice.
“I’m not sure what their target location is yet, but it would probably be where Weed-nim is, wouldn’t it?”
“We cannot afford to worry about them right now; we must focus on carrying out our mission faithfully.”
“Yes; only by doing our job well can we prevent further damage.”
Those who were following Seoyoon’s lead were the top elite soldiers of the Grass Porridge Cult. Forming the core of the Arpen Kingdom’s military force, each of them had made a significant contribution back during the battle of the Earth Palace.
“We do not know the exact casting range of the Summon Flaming Meteors spell, but the spell was first kicked into effect southwest from here.”
“Then the 5th and 7th Legions would be our suspects.”
“One of them must be guarding the Mages. Seems like we don’t have any choice but to hit them both.”
The first time the spell struck they were completely caught unaware, but every magical spell had a certain range in which they could take effect. So when Summon Flaming Meteor was cast for the second time, they were able to estimate the approximate direction through some measurements.
“Let’s set off right away.”
Seoyoon climbed on the back of a flying monster — not Wy-3, but something that looked far more frightening.
– Kuuuaaaargh!
A Baraag, a sculptural life form!
It had a muscular frame and a long torso. Its beak and talons, which were optimized for hunting and combat, were also as sharp as honed blades. As befits an apex predator, it could frighten any other monsters with its menacing gaze only. And indeed, even the Northern users had felt their heart sink with terror when the Baraags showed up a moment ago.
– Heeding the last words of the great Emperor Geihar von Arpen, our race has been awaiting this day ever since.
Having made their majestic appearance, the Baraags roared unrestrainedly in front of the Northern users.
< Absolute horror!You are succumbing to extreme fear.Physical withering! Mental weakness! Movement disability!The success chance of all skills decreases by 88%.Your maximum Life Force is reduced by an amount which depends on your level, up to a maximum of 85%. >
A race of monsters that boasts overwhelming power! Those who were below level 100 couldn’t even move, with their legs trembling just by beholding the Baraags.
“Those are supposed to be monsters?”
“Whoa… I’ve seen them on a broadcast channel but that’s just…”
“Is it even possible to hunt something like that?”
“It’s astounding, and also terrifying.”
The Northern users were shocked by the up-close spectacle of looking at the Baraags in person. When they showed off their size in the sky with their wings spread wide, their bodies ranged from 300 to 500 meters in length. These flying monsters that could match Dragons themselves in size were currently covering the entire sky, and any beast or monster the users normally hunted would look quite cute next to them. If the boss monster of a dungeon could give a group of users an adequate amount of challenge as they exchanged blows, this Baraag could destroy a city or fight against an entire nation. They boasted such formidable power, as though they would be able to squeeze those humans on the ground to death with their toes at any moment.
– So you are the ones who claim to carry on the spirit of the glorious Arpen Empire?
The Baraags yelled threateningly, and a heavy silence fell on the Garnav Plain. At that moment, Seoyoon stepped forward.
“That is correct.”
– What insolence! You dare call yourself the successor of the Great Emperor…
The Baraags’ gleaming red eyes focused on Seoyoon.
– Ah… Huh?
And for some time, the supersized flying creatures stared at her blankly.
Shock, amazement, lost sense of reality, captivation, and happiness.
A beauty, a beauty, a beauty, a beauty.
The furious gazes of the monsters soon turned docile. The Baraags politely put their front paws together as if feeling shy.
– How do you do? We are the race of Baraags.
“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you all.”
The Baraags gently greeted her like well-brought-up kindergarten kids; a few of them even bowed their heads deeply in a formal salutation.
The sculptural creatures created by the Emperor Geihar von Arpen!
As the emperor himself was quite fond of attractive ladies, all of his sculptural children also shared a weakness for beauty.
– She said it’s a pleasure to meet us.
– Is she so glad to see us?
– We should’ve come sooner.
– I wish I had at least taken a shower in the rain before coming here.
As Seoyoon greeted them back, the Baraags began to whisper among themselves, clearly thrilled.
– Is there anything we could help with at all?
– We will make sure to carry out any tasks you give us excellently.
– The Great Emperor has left an order for us, after all. Please let us help in any way.
“Yes, please help us. We are all in great hardship right now.”
The Baraags had come here by the order of the Emperor Geihar in the first place, but they joined the Arpen Kingdom’s camp all the more satisfied.
Seoyoon and the other top elite users of the Arpen Kingdom climbed on to the back of the reliable Baraags. They soared into the night sky silently, their bulky bodies feeling heavy and sturdy to the riders as if they were sitting on top of hovering castles. Since Emperor Geihar had created them as a combat-specialized sculptural race, they even possessed quite an excellent night vision, too.
– We shall start moving.
The Baraags accelerated rapidly and flew across the sky, cutting through the air at frightening speed.
“Now that things have come to this, let’s wipe them all out.”
“Mmm. I can feel my blood boil.”
The users riding on the backs of the Baraags could see more clearly the meteors, which were getting closer and closer in the distant sky. They wanted to join the others in battle as soon as possible, but their current mission was to deal with the Mages who were casting the Summon Flaming Meteors spell. They might have been caught unaware for the first two times, but they could not allow it to happen again. This was a task that was possibly more dangerous than directly fighting the Imperial forces on the ground, and it was difficult to guarantee their survival. Even so, there was nobody who regretted their decision to take part in the mission. Those who did great service to the Arpen Kingdom could earn great fame. As they all saw firsthand how the heroes who had died fighting in Shelgium were treated when they arrived in the Garnav Plain, they were willing to throw their own lives for this mission.
“Kuhuhu. May we all have an honorable death and carve our names in history.”
“Did you hear that the Rhodium Sculptor Association is going to build a war memorial?”
“A war memorial?”
“You didn’t know? If we win the war, they’ll construct a war memorial to be a Great Edifice in the Garnav Plain. And it’s said that they’re going to build statues of the users who made great contributions to our victory.”
Naturally, the artists of the Central Continent had taken the side of the Arpen Kingdom, where they could have a better standard of living and be treated with respect. The Hermes Guild had not cared one bit about those defecting artists, but they had later taken a critical role in constructing the large sculptures in the Garnav Plain. And when the architects had decided to construct a war memorial, the artists willingly had offered to produce sculptures and paintings of the heroes for them.
“That’s the 5th Legion over there.”
“Hmm. They sure look suspicious…”
Seoyoon and the rest of the users continued flying on the Baraags until they could see the 5th Legion’s camp. As soon as they spotted the approaching Baraags, the 5th Legion also reacted by arranging a part of its troops in defensive formation like a hedgehog rolling itself into a ball.
“Summon Flaming Meteors is an Ultimate Spell. It’s already quite dubious how they even managed to cast such a spell in the first place, considering the average standard of their users known to us, but still, they will be in a vulnerable state for a while after using the spell.”
“Our opponent also wouldn’t have a way to make certain whether or not we’ve come here knowing who’s behind the meteor attack. Maybe that’s why they’re preparing themselves for a fight?”
“We will find out once we fight them. Let’s go.”
Many words were exchanged, but in the end they decided to attack in order to find out the truth.
The Baraags asked Seoyoon, politely.
– Would it be okay if we fight as well?
“Yes, please do.”
– Thank you. We will not disappoint.
The archers among the Imperial troops nocked an arrow to their bows, but it was the Baraags that made the first attack. They spread their wings fully on both sides and inhaled deeply. Their already gigantic bodies began to swell even bigger like balloons, accumulating a tremendous amount of heat. Then, the Baraags breathed out the air they had been holding back all at once.
– This heat is the power that protects art and the Arpen Kingdom!
Crimson jets of fire shot out from the night sky, pouring down upon the Imperial forces — a hyper-temperature Breath that made the trees and bushes burn and wither, and even heated up the very ground!
“Aaarrgh!”
“Th-this is a Breath attack.”
“Shields are useless against it. Run!”
Each time a shot of Baraag’s Breath struck, the entire area within a 100-meter radius was engulfed in flames. The stream of fire continued on for almost a whole kilometer, and the inside was a complete pandemonium full of dying soldiers. The appearance of the Baraags, which would righteously be classified as top-tier monsters, forced even the seasoned troops of the Imperial Army into a state of panic.
“We-we’re all going to die.”
“We’ve made the gods angry!”
Some among the Imperial soldiers who were originally common residents [1], not users, were overcome with fear and ran away from the battle. Even the Hermes Guild members were just taking in this sight without taking any actions. Although they had gears or scrolls enchanted with flying spells, they dared not launch themselves right in front of the Baraags.
“Those monsters I saw in the videos are actually here.”
“We cannot fight them alone. We’ll only be able to match them when the 2nd Legion arrives.”
“We must strike them all at once if we’re going to have any chance of hunting them down. Even then we’ll have to be supported by magic, too.”
The soldiers came to the Hermes Guild users and pleaded.
“Please save my subordinates, sir!”
“There’s nothing I can do.”
“If you could at least use the healing magic sealed in your sword, it will help our injured soldiers.”
“I need to keep this spell for really important times.”
Everywhere they looked, things were very demoralizing for the Imperial Army. Even the Hermes Guild members were busy either fleeing from the fire Breaths or preparing themselves for later battles.
“It seems they don’t value our lives very much.”
“They say we must fight for the glory of the Haven Empire, yet our families are all starving because of the heavy taxes they put on us.”
“I miss those days when we could just plunder villages without any concerns.”
The morale among the Imperial soldiers was diminished even further.
In the meantime, the Baraags continued to spew out Breaths of fire and struck the Imperial troops in every corner.
“Disperse, and wait until they exhaust their power.”
“Spare the knights as much as possible. We need to maintain our military strength in any way.”
Still, as befits the top elite troops of the Empire, the 5th Legion acted swiftly and dispersed their forces to reduce the damage. And then, at one point, an unusual event occurred during which a Breath attack from a Baraag was blocked by several layers of protection spells. A flame Breath sprayed from the sky upon the ground was weakened by different protection spells that sprang forth all of a sudden, and was eventually dissipated.
“There they are!”
“At least 12 different protection spells were used at the same time. There are Mages, too.”
The eyes of the Arpen Kingdom’s users caught a group of Mages hurriedly making their escape. They were also being guarded by quite a few Hermes Guild members. These were not just common Mages that normally participated in warfare, but extremely high-leveled, high-ranking Mages assembled in one place — an absolute proof that they were the ones who had cast the Summon Flaming Meteors spell!
Seoyoon raised her sword and pointed at the Mages with it.
“Attack!”
***
The shooting stars falling across the night sky.
As it was the case with the first strike, the users were once again standing transfixed, blankly staring at the trajectories drawn by the meteors.
“Aaaaahhhh…”
“Do you think they’ll strike here? Surely not?”
“They’re getting near. They’re travelling past towards the south!”
The three meteors that fell from the sky violently shook the vast land of the Garnav Plain one more time. Everyone could see the great explosion, and the news quickly spread that the impact site was the location where the Northern users fought the 11th and 20th Legions. But the destructive power of the meteors did not frighten the people in the Arpen Kingdom’s camp. In fact, it only set their hearts on fire, burning with fierce anger.
“Kill them all!”
“Let’s avenge our fallen brothers.”
“For freedom!”
Soon the users were engaged in heated combat against the Imperial troops everywhere.
“What is this? These rats have become even more unruly.”
Calcus the Slayer, the Commander of the 4th Legion.
He found that the situation now was totally different from when he first marched into the Garnav Plain. The users were striking at their enemies wildly, and the intense fights were causing some damage to the Imperial forces as well.
“They are still just weaklings; we’ll hit them harder.”
Calcus ordered his Black Riders to advance forward.
An elite army that had grown their strength through the conquest of the Central Continent and the suppression of resistance forces! The troops that had always managed to break through any line of defense and put an end to a battle were now boldly penetrating through the swarm of Northern users.
“Grass Porridge! Grass Porridge! Grass Porridge!”
“Fight on! Just stand your ground until the end and we can win this!”
“Stick close to each other, and remember to run.”
Even though there were some high-level users mixed among them, the largest portion of the people who fought against the Imperial Army consisted of novices who had started the game in the Arpen Kingdom. The 4th Legion slaughtered the coming waves of users and continued pushing through the ground covered in blood and corpses.
“Wipe them all out of the way! We shall dominate this battleground.”
Calcus led the knights personally. He had always enjoyed combat, and would not miss the thrill of overpowering enemies while riding with his knights on the battlefield.
“Whoa. I’m doing one hell of a sword dance.”
“Our legion will make the highest kill count, don’t you think?”
The ten thousand Hermes Guild members were also each contributing to the fight. It was the Mages who set the record for the biggest achievements in battle, but the warriors in the frontline also boasted formidable competence. Each of them was like a boss-level monster, holding out against the combined attacks from more than a hundred users and even pushing them back.
It was in that moment when even the Northern users, despite having thrown themselves so obstinately into the fray full of rage, began to lose their initial intensity by the sturdy offensive from the Imperial Army.
– Kuuuuuuuaaaaaccchhhhwwwiiii!
A shout that made the entire plain tremble was heard.
“Wh-what is this?”
“Who shouted?”
Even though the sound came from far away, it still swayed the minds of the users who were fighting.
“What kind of shout is so loud and terrible?”
“Maybe it’s a monster? It sounds like some fearsome monster has appeared.”
And then they could see it; a gigantic Orc, a perfect specimen of greed combined with nastiness, emerging from afar with a large number of users behind him.
“Isn’t that Weed-nim over there?”
“I think so.”
“He must be. That’s Karichwi the Orc!”
While fighting the 11th Legion, Weed had sensed something was up and left the place along with the rest of the high-level users. Moreover, on his way here he was joined by more users who had been scattered across the Garnav Plain. For every step he took, the number of people following him became greater; wherever Weed was, it would take just one use of Lion’s Roar and hundreds of thousands of troops would assemble to fight for him.
“Huuuwwwwaaaah!”
“Weed-nim has come for us!”
“We’ve won! We’ve won this fight!”
Just the fact that Weed had arrived here was enough to cause the morale of those who were fighting the 4th Legion to reach the peak. They were fighting a hard battle while losing many comrades, but Weed had finally come for them, bringing an enormous amount of reinforcement and in the form of Karichwi the Orc to boot.
Weed let out a Lion’s Roar.
– Let us mourn the death of our brothers who fell in the meteor strike! Chwichwick!
“They’ve dropped more meteors on us.”
“Yes, imagine just how many have perished this time.”
– We must not let their deaths be in vain. All advance!
“Charge!”
“Run!”
“Grass Porridge, Grass Porridge, Grass Porridge!”
“Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice!”
The troops that had just appeared with Weed launched at their enemies with a thunderous roar.
“If that’s Weed, I’ll have to subdue him here and now.”
Calcus sent a request for support to other Legion Commanders nearby. With the Northern users being everywhere in the vicinity, it would take some time for the ground forces to arrive, but the 2nd Legion led by Myul the Griffon Knight consisted of airborne troops and therefore would be able to come to his aid quickly.
Calcus licked his lips.
“When the 2nd Legion joins us… Now we will be able to have a real fight.”
There were plenty of people who enjoyed battles in the Hermes Guild.
(Continued on the next part…)
