?ENEMY AT THE GATES
The War of Faith had begun!
After the Legion Commanders was chosen, Zero proceeded to assign more intricate tasks.
The decision was then made to split the Chosen Ones into four Legions, with each further segmented into two specialized forces.
Of these, two legions took on the critical role of [Castle Defense], with their primary duty being the protection of Black Dragon Castle. Whereas the remaining two legions would shoulder the [Raid Support] responsibilities, which encompassed tasks such as covert operations in the wilderness, field battles, harassment, and ambushes.
However, grouping the participants based upon their guild affiliations proved to be quite inefficient since players excelled differently based upon their jobclasses.
Therefore, after the specific tasks were assigned, the high-ranking members of each four major guilds deliberated and decided to reorganize the legions for their tasks.
Lower-level players and long-range players like archers, along with some Tanks, were all assigned to the [Castle Defense] Force.
The Defense Force consisted of approximately six thousand players, and their primary duty was the defense of Black Dragon Castle, under the leadership of Li Mu and Ji Gang.
Black Dragon Meryer, the Saintess Alice, and Godwarden Zero was also assigned here.
Players with pet familiars like Crypt Spiders, including many Hunter and melee warriors, were reassigned to the [Raid Support] Force.
This group of players totaled more than three thousand and formed a cavalry unit, led by Tomato and Boxlunch.
Of course, the types of familiars the players in this force varied greatly but nearly a thousand had Crypt Spiders, followed by some large monsters tamed in the Dark Mountains, and a small number of Unicorns as well.
Outside of the players, the Spider Queen, Aél, and Thranduil who temporarily borrowed Li Mu’s Spider mount, also accompanied the [Raid Support] Force.
In addition to this, under the main Raid Community Server, players also established two independent #sub-channels specifically for ‘Castle Defense” and “Raid Support” to better coordinate the battlefield commands…
As for the Raid Server, it now served as a primary communication channel for coordinating between the two forces, somewhat similar to a player headquarters.
With the command structure in place, the legions were now ready, and players began to take action.
The two legions in charge of [Raid Support] set out from Black Dragon Castle, making their way stealthily into the Elven Forest.
Meanwhile, The [Castle Defense] force remained in Black Dragon Castle and fortified the defenses.
Before long, the walls of Black Castle were teeming with players of all kinds, creating a bustling scene…
And as each player readied themselves for the upcoming battles, the night had already fallen.
Each major storyline was incredibly rewarding, and the events that happens during this whole questline was quite engaging, so no one wanted to miss out on anything.
Therefore, players chose to rest where they stood, rather than returning to the Chosen City to log off.
Some went AFK, while some logged out, and some simply wrapped themselves in blankets within the castle, on the walls, or at the camps and fell into a deep slumber…
Of course, there were also some players who chose to stay awake, especially third-beta players who were curious and excited to partake in this kind of quest for the very first time.
They lit up torches, donned their armor or robes, and gathered atop the castle walls, engaging in conversations, and sharing tales among friends while savoring the moment.
At present, Saigües is in the midst of autumn, and the sky stretches more higher above, graced by some delicate clouds and glistening stars.
These bright stars, representing each different realms, intertwined together to craft a splendid tapestry of galaxies, fashioning a breathtaking spectacle within the night sky.
Players perched on the city wall, within the camp, and those gathered around the campfire, all couldn’t help but gaze upon these otherworldly stars.
Despite the looming threat, every player was in a festive mood as the brisk autumn breeze caused the campfire to flicker from time to time, and soft laughters faintly echoed along with the howling wind, crafting a one-of-a-kind stillness…
A momentary calm before the storm.
The passing night felt both long and fleeting.
The campfires, having burned throughout the night, had now reduced to ashes, and most players had finally surrendered to a deep slumber at this point as the first light of dawn graced the horizon…
With dark circles under her eyes, Alice climbed back onto the city wall.
However, when she arrived, she noticed that Zero was already there.
This enigmatic and powerful Godwarden stood atop the castle wall’s tower all by herself, looking to the south with a calm expression.
A ray of golden sunlight shone upon her body, making her usual austere countenance look a little more lively.
Alice was about to greet Zero but the Godwarden’s cold voice voice cut her off.
“They’re here.”
Alice’s expression immediately changed.
Following Zero’s gaze to the south, she saw something alarming.
Deep within the southern expanse, along the edges of the Dark Mountains, a massive army of orcs, numbering in the tens of thousands, appeared in her line of vision.
Faint sounds of horns reached her ears, as it intertwined with the ominous roars of gigantic beasts and its earth-shaking rhythmic footsteps.
A chilling atmosphere rushed over the Saintess.
Seeing firsthand the Orc Horde was overwhelming experience.
The orcs marched forward, hoisting various tribal banners while being accompanied by several terrifying gigantic beasts.
Like an unstoppable torrent, they all rushed towards the Black Dragon Castle.
In the wake of the sudden appearance of the orc army, as if in direct response to their presence, a billowing mass of thick clouds suddenly swept in from the south, shrouding the warm morning sun in shadows.
The entire world was then plunged into darkness.
“The orcs are here!”
Alice’s expression turned grave.
She quickly turned around and shook the nearest player who was sleeping in a corner of the city wall.
“Hurry, enemy attack! Go ring the alarm bell!” She shouted loudly.
The player whom Alice had abruptly awakened was a bit groggy at first, but when he saw that it was actually Alice speaking to him, he suddenly jolted awake.
Not many players have the chance to be talked to by the Saintess.
However, just before he could even feel happy about it, his awakened mind finally grasped the significance of Alice’s word just now.
“W-What!? Enemy attack? Are the orcs here?”
He was first stunned, and then instinctively crawled up on the city wall to look outside. When he finally saw the vast army of orcs in the distance, he immediately became excited.
“They’re here! It’s the orc army! They’ve come! The questline has begun! Guys, wake up! wake up!”
He shouted while running toward the castle tower to ring the alarm bell.
At the same time, he also swiftly logged into the Raid Community Server and began calling up other players…
Soon, the once solemn castle instantly bustled with noises and activity.
Within the Orc army.
King Imsh the Lionheart, looked at the towering castle on the hillside in the distance with a somewhat surprised look upon his face.
“Is that the castle of the black dragon that has allied with the Heretical God?”
“Yes, your Liege. they’ve got this teleport thing going on in that place. Our late chieftain figured it should lead right to their hideout…And well, it’s because of that teleport thing that our tribe got defeated and Chief Jushan got killed by those pesky elves!”
A kneeling orc on the ground said through clenched teeth.
This orc turned out to be survivors from the Caverock tribe!
“However… I remember that the castle doesn’t have any walls outside. It seems that the elves have recently built it.”
Another orc answered.
“Is that so?”
King Imsh narrowed his eyes slightly.
He observed the terrain of the castle for a moment and pulled out an old map to look at it before sneering.
“Hehe, it seems these elves aren’t fools. The location of this castle is indeed remarkable. It’s situated right at the border of the Dark Mountains and the Elven Forest, strategically positioned to control the path to the forest effectively.”
The Chief Shaman also nodded.
“It appears that to gain access to the Elven Forest, we must seize this castle first. Otherwise, we’ll undoubtedly encounter resistance from the elves within it.”
“By the way, any idea about the number of elves inside?”
She looked at the kneeling orcs on the ground.
“Uh… based on our observation that day, their numbers shouldn’t be too many, probably just over a thousand. However… they can resurrect!”
The kneeling orc’s voice carried a hint of fear.
“Resurrect? Hmph… it’s definitely the work of the goddess of death!”
“But even if they can come back to life, there must still be limitations on their resurrection. Even if we can’t kill them in one go, we can instead just kill them multiple times! It’s just a mere thousand people…even if they manage to gather more of their brethren, it surely won’t exceed two thousand!”
King Imsh spoke confidently.
After listening to their words, the kneeling orc hesitated for a moment and then said with determination,
“Y-Your Liege, Chief Shaman! Another thing you need to be wary of is the black dragon! Although it’s not fully grown, this dragon still possesses the strength of a high-ranking silver dragon and is very powerful! And… the elves also have powerful Godwarden as their protector! They can even borrow the power of true gods!”
“Hehe, it’s just a juvenile black dragon. It might be a little bit scary for you but unfortunately, this time it’s facing us.”
King Imsh said with a smile as he patted the massive beast beneath him.
“Gor, did you hear that? There’s a young black dragon in the castle up ahead! Whether you can kill it or not depends on all of you.”
After hearing King Imsh’s words, the massive beast, Gor, roared loudly with its eyes turning red.
At its side, several bundled giant spears also trembled slightly, gleaming with a cold light…
“”Leave the elven Godwarden to us shamans,” said the Chief Shaman. “We have already prepared the altar to summon a totem guardian.”
After speaking, she then gazed at Orc king with a profound look and said meaningfully, “Your Liege, whether we can completely defeat the Elves entirely depends on your army.”
After hearing her reminder, King Imsh’s smile faded a bit, becoming somewhat complex.
After a moment of silence, the Orc king regained his composure and nodded curtly. He then pulled out his long sword and raised it high with a fierce expression.
“Convey these orders! The army will stay put here for three hours to rest, and after that, we will launch an attack on the castle!”
“I want to see how difficult this elven castle really is to crack!”
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Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om