NOVEL NEXT Chapter 188: Losing Steam
"Fire!" Chegyaeyi ordered the players.
She then watched a barrage of spells and arrows get hurled at the onslaught of enemies currently charging into the base. The projectiles hit their mark and slaughtered a good portion of them. Some dropped to the ground to get trampled on by their allies, while others simply disappeared upon getting hit.
But the enemies didn't stop and kept moving, as if not valuing their lives. It didn't help that a good portion of them weren't even human.
As the players of the Valiant guild continued to fight against the sudden invaders, Chegyaeyi and John stood next to one another while trying to make sense of the situation.
"I thought there was supposed to be only one or two of them!" John shouted, firing his revolver at the incoming enemies.
"Clearly, something changed their minds," Chegyaeyi stressed while driving her spear into an enemy that managed to get through their defenses.
Just as her weapon pierced her foe, it suddenly vanished into thin air. Chegyaeyi clicked her tongue before preparing for another attack.
"We need to find the sorcerer that's commanding these shadow creatures..." John grumbled before shooting a dark shadow monster charging at him.
"Easier said than done," Chegyaeyi muttered. "We have no idea where they could be."
The only reason why the guild was having so much trouble with the invasion was because of the endless horde of shadow monsters that accompanied the enemy players. And the source of these creatures was likely a mage. One with a lot of mana to spare to be throwing so many enemies at them.
While neither Chegyaeyi nor John knew much about magic or how magic-based classes worked, they were certain that the enemy was achieving this level of power due to their very high mana count. Whether it's from their stats or an item in their possession or perhaps both, the key factor that made a mage strong was their mana. The more they possessed, the more they were capable of doing, whether that was firing a barrage of spells or casting a large-scale spell that could decimate an entire army within seconds.
Each class had its strong suit. Warriors were skilled with weapons and combat, rangers and Rogues were skills with skilled with stealth and ranged attacks, and mages and clerics were skilled at spell casting. Every class had a specialty, and if the player was dedicated enough and also lucky enough, they would become a force to be reckoned with.
A prime example of such a player would be Hazel Thatcher, or what the other players now called, the Veiled Witch. After her display during the spider swarm, where she flew in the sky and hurled multiple spells at the upcoming horde, the players of the Valiant Guild were given the impression that she was some form of demigod.
Not even one of their most powerful mages from the Guild, who was Anais, could perform such a feat with ease. And yet everyone who was there, including Chegyaeyi, bore witness to such a thing. And it was because of how powerful Hazel was in her eyes that she decided to follow her instructions regarding what to do with the dark elves who betrayed Astrid. The ones who were attempting to attack Zoe during her meeting, and also tried to sneak out with one of their allies.
However, she didn't expect for latter to end up as a siege. And considering that Hazel or Astrid told her about this either, despite them making this plan themselves, that meant they were unaware of this turn of events as well.
"How is it going with Zoe at the hospital?" Chegyaeyi asked, keeping her eyes trained on the enemy players before them.
"From what the Chat Room is saying, the dark elves are already attacking them there. The entire hospital is swarming with players from Dolk's guild."
"Hopefully, they're having a better time there than we are here."
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"I doubt it. Though at least they expected the ambush to happen. We, on the other hand, didn't, which is why we're struggling against these bastards."
John fired all six bullets into a player, piercing his armor and body with each shot. After all six were discharged, the enemy player stood there for a moment before crumbling to the ground and bleeding profusely from his wounds.
Another player, who was apparently a Rogue class, suddenly appeared before John and tried to attack him. That was until Chegyaeyi stepped in and thrust her spear through his skull, killing him instantly. Instead of letting the player collapse as John did with his, the lizardfolk warrior raised him with her swing and then flung him at the incoming enemies. The ones that got caught in her path were thrown to the ground, causing the rest of their allies to trample over them without a second thought.
"Well, we're already in this mess, so we just need to hold out for as long as possible," John declared. "That's all we can do, at the moment."
Chegyaeyi didn't bother to utter a response, knowing that anything she said wouldn't amount to anything. John was right about one thing: the best they could do right now was fend off against the players. At least long enough so they could locate the mage conjuring the shadow creatures and take them down.
"What about Astrid?" John spoke up. "I'm assuming she's waiting for one of her former allies to try and collect our prisoner?"
"Last I saw her, she was moving away from the chaos, not wanting to give Olga a chance to flee. She was keeping a very keen eye on the traitor. And after what I heard from that woman..." She scowled, remembering her conversation with her. "I'm just as desperate to keep her from escaping as well."
She just learned that there was a great conspiracy within the Great Forest of Mier. One where her tribe was taken from her by her devious Uncle, who somehow became the new chief despite the laws of their tribe. Olga said that this was all part of the High Elves' plan to seize power, which meant it wasn't just her tribe that was experiencing this, but also other tribes within the forest. Like Astrid's, for example.
Because of what Olga knew, Chegyaeyi needed to make sure that the dark elf couldn't escape. Not only that, but if one of her allies were attempting a rescue mission, then it was possible to capture one of them as well. This would provide them with more information regarding the conspiracy if Olga was lacking in certain information.
Of course, the only way for them to do that was to deal with the horde of enemies attacking them. And so far, things were looking dire.
Chegyaeyi and John watched as several of their members were severely injured by the shadow creatures. The monsters severed their allies' limbs and nearly beheaded one until John stepped in and put a bullet through its skull, causing it to disperse immediately.
The injured players were pulled away from the fight and were dragged over to where the healers were so they could be saved. Meanwhile, the remaining members of the valiant guild continued to fend off against the invaders. The only problem was that they were losing steam...and members.
The more the battle waged on, the more players they were losing to the enemy. Chegyaeyi watched as more and more of their members were wounded by the enemy players and shadow creatures before getting dragged away to avoid dying from their injuries.
"This is bad," Chegyaeyi panicked. "If we don't find that mage quickly, the enemy is going to succeed in their invasion."
Even if Chegyaeyi and John were the strongest players, they stood no chance against the horde displayed before them. But, seeing as how they were beginning to lose a lot of allies so fast, it wouldn't be long before it was only their left against the swarm of enemies.
Chegyaeyi's eyes darted through the crowd of enemy players, desperately searching for the mage conjuring the shadow creatures. It was the shadows that were causing them the biggest problem, so if they could just get rid of them, this battle would be a lot simpler.
However, even after scanning the swarm of players and shadows, she couldn't spot anything that stood out to her. A wave of dread washed over her as Dolk's allies were gaining the upper hand. That was until something happened.
Out of nowhere, a spear suddenly slammed into the ground, delivering a powerful shockwave that sent the enemy players flying back as a result. The sudden appearance of the spear caused Chegyaeyi, John, and the other players to pause as they all momentarily stared at the weapon currently lodged into the ground.
Then, they heard a roar from behind, forcing all of them to turn around to see what the noise was. Upon doing so, they witnessed a new group make their appearance. It was a large group of Monsters, including Orcs, Kobolds, and even Gnolls.
Seeing the horde of monsters, Chegyaeyi panicked, fearing that they were being attacked on both sides. However, what the monsters did next surprised her.
"Protect the Valiant Guild!" One of the Orcs shouted, raising his weapon in the air. "Slay the enemies before them!"
The rest of the monsters let out a mighty and unified roar before they charged at the enemy players. Dolk's allies watched the incoming horde and panicked. Some even tried to retreat out of pure fear.
But nothing could stop the monsters as they made contact with the enemy and started slaying them one by one. Meanwhile, Chegyaeyi and the members of the valiant guild watched the scene unfold with widened eyes, completely taken aback by what they were witnessing.