Chapter 772 - Doing the Opposite
Under my orders, [Zhan Long]’s army split into three different sections. The first was the shield formation, lead by Matcha, Meng Yao, Yue Yao Yan , and Death God’s Elegy. They stood at the front and acted as our defenses. The second wave was the main battle power, made up of Wan Er, Dong Cheng, Qing Qian and the others. The third was Li Mu, Wang Jian, Old K, Bai Qi, Moon Feather, Star Blade and I as the Steel Blade Horsemen Team. Our target was simple, we would borrow the strength of the Lion King Shield to shatter the first wave of attack from our enemy. At that point, our ranged players would destroy their defenses, while the third wave attacks. In one swift execution, we’d disperse this 15,000 man army. And this time, all 27,000 of [Zhan Long]’s army will participate. Our greatest advantage was in numbers, and was also one of the reasons why we chose to fight this battle.
……
“Hu hu….”
A strong wind blew across the plains. As we pushed forward, the terrain became higher and higher. In the distance, I could see the long unbroken mountain range. It looked like an enormous dragon emerging from the clouds. That must be where the name Pan Long Peak came from. The monsters in this map were around Level 130-145. Around half a month ago, it was one of the main grinding maps for the players in the Chinese Server. However, it was now being dominated by the Japanese, a humiliation that we could not tolerate. So today, we were taking back what was rightfully ours!
My Flying Scythe Horse snorted and stepped forward. It was starting to adjust to the steepening path. Several of the Steel Blade Horsemen behind me were also adjusting. I was starting to feel apprehensive as the slope steepened. The altitude of this slope had already surpassed my expectations. If the [New Moon]’s cavalry charged at us from here, it would certainly pose a threat to us. Battle Thunder must be thinking the same thing, which is why he chose to charge downhill. But today, [Zhan Long]’s going to be stubborn and break New Moon’s teeth when they try to take a bite out of us. We’ve got to show them that the Chinese Server can also annihilate them at any time!
……
I could feel the earth rumble slightly under our feet. It was getting stronger and stronger as the enemy drew close. Li Mu pulled out his blade and looked into the distance, “[New Moon]’s force is about to show.”
I raised my Dragon Reservoir Sword and shouted, “Halt. We’ll set up our formation here!”
All of the knight players slid off their horses and rammed their shields into the ground, creating a shield formation. This way, even though we ended up sacrificing the stats of some of our knights, we’ll be able to stop the charge of their footsoldiers. This will be a nightmare for our knights, especially since there may be reinforcements from the back.
Wan Er raised her dagger and shouted, “BUFF everyone in the front row. Hurry, time is of the essence!”
So, one after another, the [Hundred Battles] BUFF descended on the front row. The chanting of our monk players also rose up over the crowd. The light from [Holy Blessing] was cast over our troops, increasing our health recovery rate by 100%.
After waiting for around five minutes, we finally saw the first [New Moon] players appear on the horizon. Wang Jian took a deep breath, ‘There’s around 8,000 heavy knights. All players of other classes are behind them. They’re most likely planning on using the eight thousand heavy cavalry to divide our forces and then deal with us piece by piece. Look, the man in the front is Battle Thunder!”
I squinted and saw a Level 135 Swordsman standing at the very front, waving his blade. I could tell from the brilliant glint of his armor that it was special. Furthermore, he was mounted on a ferocious red battle horse that was covered in flames. From the looks of it, Battle Thunder’s reputation as the third strongest player in the Japanese Battle Net wasn’t for nothing. I wondered how good his technique and maneuvers were. They’re probably pretty good. Otherwise he wouldn’t be ranked so highly.
“They’re here!”
Matcha looked over at me and said, “Boss, when should I activate the [Lion King Shield]?”
I smiled, “Activate it when the close ranged players make contact. Everyone, prepare. If necessary, I’ll use the Zen Yue Blade BUFF as well. But, a mere [New Moon] guild shouldn’t push us to that point!”
I patted my Flying Scythe Horse’ head and had it retreat. I then split up the close combat players into two groups. I lead one group to our left flank while Li Mu took the other group to the right. The front lines were held by Matcha and three thousand other Steel Blade Horsemen. Eight thousand of the New Moon Cavalry were about to reach us in their charge. Their speed was incredibly fearsome. One could just imagine the impact force that would result from this!
……
Standing on the right flank, I couldn’t see the situation on the frontlines very clearly. All I could hear was the violent sounds of shields ramming against each other. The noise rose up over the battlefield. I could tell it wasn’t far from where I was located. Their force of impact had far surpassed my expectations. It had directly sent the first row of Steel Blade horsemen flying into the sky, hitting straight into the second row. They hadn’t stopped until they hit the third row. At that point, Dancing Forest, Thousand Suns, and Xing Lie all activated their skills, killing everyone in their path!
I looked at the small dots on the map. Only the first three to four rows of [Zhan Long]’s formation had lost their position. All in all, we were able to hold our ground. Matcha had already activated her [Lion King Shield], increasing our defensive strength exponentially. That marked the first of Battle Thunder’s miscalculations. He had originally planned on completely breaking apart [Zhan Long]’s formation with one charge. However, he had underestimated the strength of our defenses, and he had overestimated their own battle potential.
“Keng!”
I pulled my Dragon Reservoir Sword and raised the blade, ordering, “Launch our attack! Both flanks, wrap around the enemy formation and kill them all!”
The other Steel Blade Horsemen all raised their sword and echoed, “Kill them all!”
Hooves stomped across the slope and we launched our charge. Despite our uphill disadvantage, our impact was as fearsome as ever. We split up into two forces, cornering New Moon in a pincer attack, which was extremely painful for them. At the very least, Battle Thunder would’ve never imagined that [Zhan Long] would dare to make a move like this and go to battle in the middle of the slope. He most likely hadn’t met another Chinese guild who took risks like us.
“Hong!”
Wrapped in the light of a [Seven Star Fragment Slash], my Zhen Yue Blade cut through the crowd. I charged straight into the chaos alone with my Ancient Heavenly Tiger. Old K, Moon Feather, and Star Blade followed behind and rushed forward. The Steel Blade Horsemen, clothed in black, followed in step, the light from their Black Flame Set flashing. The light itself was an effect from the [Blazing Flame] effect. After sacrificing close to a hundred of our knights to break through the enemy’s formation, we were able to deal a critical blow to them as soon as we entered.
I fought as quickly as I could, killing everyone in my path. Charging into a formation had nothing to do with technique, but rather the actions of hacking away at your enemies. I used my [Drain] to recover my health, dealing the strongest blows against my enemies. I, as well as the other core [Zhan Long] members, were incredibly fierce. We cut through like a sharp dagger, straight into [New Moon]’s formation. By splitting our forces, we were effectively able to divide [New Moon]’s troops into three parts!
“D*mm*t!”
I could see Battle Thunder raging in the distance. There was nothing he could do to save the situation. All he could do was kill as many of our Steel Blade Horsemen as he could. There was no other way, we could only let him continue while Li Mu and I used the chance to kill even more of his men!
Matcha, Yue Yao Yan, One Second Hero, and Death God’s Elegy all slid off their horses. They then escorted Dong Cheng, Thousand Suns, and Xing Lie as well as the other ranged players towards the heart of the enemy formation to deal the killing stroke. The [New Moon] players would truly understand what it means to fight for your life. While they had the advantage in the terrain, we still managed to completely dissolve it with our high defense.
……
Not long after, the Steel Blade Horsemen was starting to receive the enemy’s ranged attack. Nno matter what though, we continued to advance. Losses were hard to avoid in this battle, but our vengeance could only be quenched with victory!
“Pu Chi!”
I plunged my Zhen Yue Blade into the abdomen of a [New Moon] knight. Then, with a sweep of my blade, I cut through his body and continued charging forward. Before my eyes I saw a group of archers and mages, all together. They were lead by a high level archer as the team leader. He looked to be around 25 years old. His eyes widened when he saw me and he shouted, “See that man wielding a blade along with his pet? That’s this guild’s guild master! Focus your firepower on him. Use [Scatter Shot], [Lullaby], everything you can to stop him!”
I smiled inwardly at their naivete. I raised my Zhen Yue Blade and dashed forward in a zigzag, cutting right into their formation. There were over five hundred ranged players, all concentrated here. I could misdirect their firepower onto myself to assist the other Steel Blade Horsemen!
“Shua Shua Shua…”
Countless arrows missed. I couldn’t completely dodge all of them. As before, the [Scatter Shots] fell upon my Hidden Dragon Armor. MISSes flew up over my head. Of course, there were some that I hadn’t dodged. “Shua!” An emerald wall would rise up before my face. What was originally a stun effect was nullified by my [Brave Heart] effect from my Hero’s Helmet. The me today could take any number of stuns!
Of course, these Japanese players would’ve never expected me to have a Demon Harvest Weapon like the Hero’s Helmet. In the end, they had completely wasted all of their cool downs and firepower all on me. When they finally realized their mistake, it was all too late. The Valiant Bravery and Zhan Long camps were both at their doorstep!
“Kill!”
Wang Jian swung his blade and roared. The Steel Blade Horsemen wrecked havoc as they charged forward. It was as though they were killing a group of lambs as they hacked away at the [New Moon]’s ranged players. The speed at which they were dropping was far quicker than we had expected. Additionally, Wan Er, Dong Cheng, Qing Qian and the others moved quickly. They all cut into the heart of the enemy and quickly dissolved their defenses. Twenty seven thousand [Zhan Long] players had completely and utterly destroyed the fifteen thousand [New Moon] players in one fell swoop. We hadn’t given our enemies a single chance to launch a counterattack.
Even the vice guildmaster had been killed by Wan Er and Qing Qian. Two hands will never beat four. Not to mention the fact that Wan Er and Qing Qian were both extremely strong players. Battle Thunder’s death was not meaningless, it was only fitting that the third strongest player in the Japanese Battlenet be killed in the chaos. That was where he belonged. In other words… the third strongest player in the Chinese Battlenet was the Pulse Break Master, Little Demon. She probably wouldn’t fare any better, after all, she would most likely die under an array of arrows.
……
“Die!”
I received a message from the [Prague] guildmaster, Yan Zhao Warrior, “Li Xiao Yao, did you guys just defeat the [New Moon] forces on Pan Long Peak?”
I replied, “Yea, what’s up?”
“Nothing, they have around seventy thousand players close to the abyss, just behind you. [Prague] and [Judgement] have begun the battle. Finish up your business in Pan Long Peak quickly!”
“Alright, understood. Hold them off!”
“Don’t worry, we aren’t that weak!”
“Ha ha!”