Chapter 967 967. The Initial Clash
Larry controlled the army to start moving forward. He didn't let them just charge ahead haphazardly. He was not a newbie in strategy games. He needed to make sure their units arrived together as one fighting force rather than had the faster-charging units arrive first just to be slaughtered.
The defensive force stayed near the wall as they looked at the enemies that slowly approached. Wicked Witches arranged their guild units in line formation along the wall. This formed a very long defensive line that covered the entire front side of the wall.
The players intermingled within this formation. Ranged players and units were positioned on the wall. Since the formation formed a long line, it was not very thick. But the thickness of the formation was just right to allow the ranged players on the wall to support the ones fighting at the front line.
Jeanny and Jennifer were down there at the front line while Selena and Trinity Dawn were taking charge of the ones on the wall.
"Thank you for your aid, friend," Jennifer said to Nomodem, who was by her side.
"You're welcome, sister. These bastards were part of the group that stole our headquarters. We are treating this as payback as well," Nomodem replied. "Though I admit, it didn't seem like our aid will matter much."
"Don't be so dispirited!" The Man, who was there, uttered. "The more difficult a battle is, the more exhilarating it is! Don't you say so, brother George?!"
"Um, I actually prefer easy battle if I'm allowed to choose," Paytowin replied.
"A brave man does not choose his battle!" Mihos declared. Paytowin had just summoned him. He was now level 55. The final battle of the civil war and his own adventures had allowed his level to increase.
Nomodem saw Mihos and used Inspect on the divine champion. After seeing Mihos' grade, he involuntarily exclaimed, "Whoa! Where did this mythical warrior come from?"
Jennifer was also impressed. "Your guild is as formidable as I heard," she said to Jeanny.
"Thank you," Jeanny responded.
"You said you have secured one more helper, right? I don't see them. Are they late?" Jennifer asked.
"They will take action once they see the opportunity," Jeanny answered. "Don't worry. They are professional mercenaries. They know what they are doing."
"I hope so," Jennifer looked to the enemies who were close already. "We will need all the help we can get."
*
World Ruler's force stopped a few distances from the defenders. They were still out of ranged attack's reach. When the defenders were confused as to why the attackers stopped. A few World Ruler players at the back took out something from their inventories.
They used the tools in their hands and four gargantuan structures appeared out of thin air behind the World Ruler's army.
"Arrow towers!" Jeanny exclaimed after identifying the four structures.
The arrow towers conjured by World Ruler were slightly different from the ones they saw during the war. These arrow towers also consisted of several floors but the floors had wider platforms, allowing more people to be positioned up there. Ranged units and players immediately entered the tower and positioned themselves on those platforms. These arrow towers had evened up the wall's advantage the defenders had.
"Damn it! Where did they get the schematic for those arrow towers?" Jennifer said dejectedly. Most guilds only had the battering ram schematic, which was a standard one they could buy from the blacksmith structure. Other types of siege weapons were rare schematics that could only be gained from outside sources.
Still, these siege weapons that the guild constructed were not actual siege weapons like the ones the natives used in war. They were different as they were not permanent. Natives' siege weapons could be transported from one place to another albeit slowly. They would only be gone if they were destroyed.
As for guilds' siege weapons, they could be stored inside players' inventory and summoned when needed, but they were considered one-time consumables. They could only be summoned during guild wars or country wars and only lasted one battle. Once the battle ended, they would vanish.
The costs and materials to build a guild's siege weapon were not cheap. So, the act of World Ruler pulling out these four massive structures just for the assault on a guild headquarters showed how deep World Ruler's pocket was.
Once World Ruler's ranged units settled inside the arrow towers, the four massive structures started moving forward slowly using the many wheels under their bases. The army in front of the four structures moved forward as well following the arrow towers' pace.
Larry looked at the 3D projection in front of him with growing excitement. "Hehe, let's get this party started," he said. He then gave the command to attack.
The Forest Ogres and Machine Spiders took the lead as they charged ahead, followed behind by Elven Royal Guards, which was a variant of Knights. Machine Spiders shot the cannon and guns under their torsos as their eight-bladed legs carried them swiftly to the front line. Forest Ogres swung their spiked clubs savagely as they ran without fear into the enemies.
Before the enemies arrived, Wicked Witches' guild guardian, Forest Lord, cast a spell. Its huge antlers shone with a golden color and an energy force radiated out. It formed a very large light dome that reduced all the damage from hostile ranged attacks that were inflicted within this dome.
Forest Lord then stomped its mighty feet on the ground and caused a localized earthquake that traveled forward. The rushing forest ogres and machine spiders lost their ground due to this earthquake and fell, stopping their charge.
Seeing the enemy had landed the first strike, World Ruler's guild hero, Sangumus, didn't stay idle. He floated into the air and the floating orb beside him burst with intense black fire. Seven black flame serpents burst out from the orb and rushed forward. Those that were touched by the serpents received dark damage and burn status. The serpents could also entangle and immobilize targets.
World Ruler's second guild hero, Airdan, clashed with Wicked Witches guild hero, Wyn. They both used ranged weapons. Wyn fired his dual crossbows while Airdan threw his Chakrams. These chakrams created air vortexes around themselves as they flew through the air. The vortex caused wind damage to anyone that came into contact.
World Ruler's guild guardian, the gigantic manticore, rushed toward Forest Lord. It jumped and flapped its large bat wings, its huge body soared through the air as it headed straight for the giant white stag. It opened its maw and spewed a stream of poisonous breath that cause earth damage and poison status. Forest Lord ducked and its antlers glowed with brilliant light again. A sphere appeared before it and blocked all the poisonous breath.
Even though its attack was blocked, the manticore didn't stop its advance. It was enclosing and was about to engage in a brute melee fight with Forest Lord, but Forest Lord had been casting another spell while blocking the poisonous breath. The spell formation was completed and the Manticore which was about to ram into Forest Lord was stopped in mid-air. Forest Lord made a sweeping motion with its antlers and the Manticore was slammed hard into the ground.
Forest Lord had used telekinesis to control the Manticore's movement. Yet, the manticore had very high strength. Despite the loss on the first contact, it had gotten back up on its feet again. Forest Lord tried to keep the Manticore still with its telekinesis spell, but the manticore resisted its effect with brute strength.
While Forest Lord was focusing on holding the manticore back, the manticore's scorpion tail lashed forward and shot several large spikes. It struck Forest Lord and caused damage. Forest Lord was afflicted with weakened and poison status due to the spikes.
The assault caused Forest Lord to stumble and its hold on the telekinesis spell broken. The Manticore was freed and was now leaping at the wounded stag, attempting to deliver a killing bite. Before it could do so, a golden figure came before it with a huge sword. This sword cleaved down and struck the Manticore's head heavily. The Manticore was forcefully slammed into the ground.
The golden figure was Mihos. Even though his level was lower than the Manticore, the gap wasn't too much. His mythical grade gave him more superiority in terms of attributes.
The defender's motivation was lifted seeing the enemy's guild guardian being forced down to the ground with one blow, but their spirit was short-lived as they themselves clashed with the full force of the offenders. From just the initial clash, it was clear that they were outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed.
Each of World Ruler's players was better equipped and had generally higher levels.
Being the original staff who used to work developing the Second World, these players also knew about the combination spells. Each of their magic users paired up to cast combined spells that were stronger than the standard versions. Even though Wicked Witches also had this knowledge due to Jeanny's information, this only leveled the playing field.
What troubled the defenders the most were the special units. Machine spiders barged in and stabbed enemies with their eight bladed-legs, all the while shooting non-stop. Raptor riders ran around, biting at enemies while their riders swung their long naginata. Centaurs, who didn't follow the other ranged units into the arrow tower, ran around the battlefield looking for opportunities to land a shot.
The forest ogres tore through the defender's army with ease. Their heavy spiked clubs sent anyone who was struck flying away. Only the forest elementals could stop those hulking brutes from their savage charge.
The forest elementals were larger and stronger, but it was slightly slower than the forest ogres. However, it didn't rely on its speed for the offense. Its body was full of thorns and would reflect any melee damage it received. Its main weapons were the six thick woody tentacles around its body. These tentacles lashed out with massive force. The forest ogres who were hit by these tentacles were easily smacked to the ground. These tentacles could also shoot poisonous clouds from their ends, causing poison status.
Unfortunately, there were only six of these forest elementals. It was not enough to tip the scale of the battle. As time passed, it was clear that the defenders were losing.