Chapter 723: Brink of Collapse

Translator: alyschu

Chiang!

I unsheathed the Cyan Netherworld Sword instantly. Warsky Alliance might be an enemy guild, but I just couldn’t stand by and do nothing while they were slaughtered like cattle.

Hot and Sour Noodles immediately grabbed my sword hand and said, "Calm down, Lu Chen! This is Warsky Alliance’s fight, not yours or ours! If you interfere now Warsky will think that you’re looking down on him!"

I gritted teeth before uttering, "I just can’t stand how arrogant Vienna’s Sorrow is acting! Does he really think he can defeat the second strongest guild of China himself?"

Hot and Sour Noodles replied reassuringly, "Don’t worry, Warsky Alliance isn’t as weak as they seem."

He Yi also nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Warsky can fight his own battles."

Candlelight Shadow simply watched coldly from the side and said nothing.

Luo River God of the Capital was clenching her scepter, and Moonkiss’ dagger was half-unsheathed. Even the girls were growing restless.

......

The battle in the canyon grew fiercer and fiercer. Vienna’s Sorrow’s elite cavalry left only death and destruction in their wake, and part of the reason they were so successful was because of the Famous General Skill, Knight General. His Knight General boosted all mounted players’ Attack and Defense by 100%, and even a guild as strong as Warsky Alliance was hard-pressed the second they engaged with the enemy.

That being said, October Rain eventually managed to steady her guild’s footing. Countless mages and archers worked together to create a nigh impenetrable web of firepower, and Warsky’s 400-man mage party was especially outstanding in this battle. Hegemon increased critical hit rate by 40%, meaning that almost half of their spells were critical hits. When even the simplest Fireball could deal a ton of damage, it made sense why Vienna’s Sorrow had to back off from time to time to catch his priests before returning to the fray.

Laughing At The Heavens climbed up his mount and raised his spear. Then, he shouted to his comrades, "Riders of Warsky Cavalry, mount! It is time for us to charge!"

Nearly ten thousand riders responded to his command and counter-charged the Northern Alliance. Battle cries filled the air as flesh and bones crumpled beneath the weight of steel and mass. Surprisingly, the counter charge was so successful that the Northern Alliance’s formation was driven back almost 200 meters backward. Although their losses were huge, the Northern Alliance finally stopped underestimating them.

There were a lot of Northern Alliance players on top of Dragonbone Mountain Range right now. Usually, the map was a natural, impassable barrier that stood Dawn Canyon and the Northern Alliance’s territory. However, the zone restriction was lifted after the start of the Nation War, and the dangers—super high-level mobs that littered the area—while threatening, weren’t nearly enough to stop the Northern Alliance from invading. Not only were super high-level players kept emerging from the mountains, Heroic Bannermen were showing up as well. I spotted two such fighters cutting into Blazing Hot Lips and Warsky Alliance’s flank and killing countless Chinese players in the process. Their equipment and skills were outstanding, and their stats were ridiculously high. They couldn’t do much damage because there were only two of them, but they succeeded in making life difficult for Warsky Alliance and Blazing Hot Lips.

Stranger of Three Lifetimes was currently standing in a forest, biting her lips and tossing Ice Blasts into a crowd of enemies. Her magic attack was incredible, and the icicles easily pierced the enemy’s armor for tons of damage. Unfortunately, she was just one person, and there was nothing she could really do to staunch the bleeding. They were outnumbered by the enemy at least 5 to 1, and their formation had holes that were widening by the minute. It was just impossible.

Crack!

Blood scattered everywhere, and the Heroic Bannerman and assassin, Fairytale Killer appeared once more to delete two high-level mages from Blazing Hot Lips’ ranks. His Shield Pierce was just too powerful, and the mages had lesser HP than Stranger of Three Lifetimes. There was no way for them to escape their fates.

"Kill that bastard! Don’t let Fairytale Killer escape!" a couple of Blazing Hot Lips magic knights and archers shouted as they ran toward the assassin.

Unfortunately, Fairytale Killer’s movements were as orderly as his eyes were calm. He easily zigzagged out of harm’s way and even tore apart an archer’s leather armor with his dagger. His attack speed was super high, and he could kill an archer with his twin daggers in just one combo. Weaving in and out of his enemy’s formation like a dancer, he was able to dodge many attacks with good movement, parry those that did manage to land on him, and even kill dozens of archers in the process. His control was smooth and flawless. The players of Blazing Hot Lips were fuming, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Stranger of Three Lifetimes didn’t have the ability to split herself into two, so she had no choice but to leave Fairytale Killer alone and put extra energy into her own efforts. She attacked every mounted player who managed to force their way through her guild’s web of firepower with Ice Blasts and Galaxy Storms, killing them before they could even get close to her. No one was expecting the fragile-looking mage to be as powerful as she was.

"Out of the way! I will kill that mage myself!"

There was an angry shout, and a man wielding a warblade rushed out of the Northern Alliance’s ranks. It was none other than the Berserker, Vienna’s Sorrow himself. Weapon raised high up in the air, the man pounced toward Stranger of Three Lifetimes like a ferocious lion.

The mage watched him calmly and fired three icicles toward his chest. Unfortunately, Vienna’s Sorrow’s stats were too high. The spells did good damage, but the man continued to charge as if he didn’t even notice.

It was at this moment a beautiful knightress spurred into action. She met Vienna’s Sorrow head-on and clashed blades with him!

Boom!

A loud boom resounded within the canyon, and the beautiful knightress stumbled backward in surprise. The emblem of the vice leader floated above her arm, and she was none other than the Level 157 warrior, Eyes Like Water!

"Heh. Not bad!"

Vienna’s Sorrow licked his lips before continuing, "One more time! Show me what you’re made of, girl! Today, I will tear down the corner of the fortress and see if the so-called Top 10 guilds of China truly are worthy of the Center!"

He crossed his sword in front of him, and a fiery red energy floated to the blade. The next moment, the head of a wolf appeared above Vienna’s Sorrow’s head, and his sword erupted into a rapid cyclone of flames. He swung the sword at Eyes Like Water and shouted, "Eat this! Beast Howl Slash!"

"Roar!"

A bestial howl accompanied the swing. Eyes Like Water calmly raised her sword in defense and pressed her left palm to the flat side of the blade!

Chiang!

28738!

Unfortunately, the attack couldn’t be parried. Beast Howl Slash drastically increased Vienna’s Sorrow’s Attack, and it was impossible for Eyes Like Water to stop it. The girl let out a painful groan as her mount vanished on its own, and she was sent rolling unceremoniously across the ground. The knightress hadn’t given up, however. Stopping next to Stranger of Three Lifetimes, she rose to her feet again and pounced toward Vienna’s Sorrow once more!

Stranger of Three Lifetimes couldn’t stand this sight any longer. She shouted, "Come back, Eyes!"

Bang! Vienna’s Sorrow suddenly froze in place as the stunned icon appeared above his head. It was a Shock Arrow loosed by a beautiful archer standing next to Strange of Three Lifetimes. It was Scentless Water, the strongest archer of Blazing Hot Lips!

Eyes Like Water seized the opportunity to hit Vienna’s Sorrow with a Barrier Break and a warrior’s Double Slash, but she only managed to delete around 20% of his HP. Without her mount, she could barely penetrate his defense, much less kill him.

"Shit..."

Eyes Like Water had no choice but to retreat and let the archers and mages focus fire Vienna’s Sorrow. In less than 5 seconds, the infamous Berserker dropped below 30% HP and was forced to withdraw. However, he managed to kill a Blazing Hot Lips magic knight with a Triple Slash and absorbed almost ten thousand HP in the process. No wonder he was able to dominate the battlefield as he did despite going up against both Warsky Alliance and Blazing Hot Lips. His equipment gave him the lifesteal attribute.

Wary of Scentless Water’s power, Vienna’s Sorrow finally stopped trying to force his way through the bastion of players surrounding Stranger of Three Lifetimes. Instead, he roamed the edges and focused on cutting down Blazing Hot Lips’ key players, taking apart their defenses little by little. An hour passed by slowly as the fight dragged on. The only ones in Blazing Hot Lips who were still keeping a tight formation was Stranger of Three Lifetimes and her hundreds of defenders. Everyone else was routed or in the process of being routed by the enemy’s unstoppable offense.

Warsky Alliance was starting to show signs of defeat as well. They gave ground repeatedly as a dozen or so Heroic Bannermen battered their battle line again and again, and of all these players Vienna’s Sorrow was the strongest of them all. This man was so powerful that Even Lin Bing Dou Zhe, Laughing At The Heavens and Warsky could do nothing about him. If the Berserker wasn’t wary about Farewell Song ambushing him from the dark, he would’ve plowed right through them and wreaked havoc already.

......

We continued to observe the battlefield from the mountains as the battle dragged on.

Hot and Sour Noodles said, "Blazing Hot Lips and Warsky Alliance will crumble in half an hour at most. I wasn’t expecting the Northern Alliance to attack so fiercely. They’re practically throwing themselves at us without a care, and the number of Heroic Bannermen on the battlefield had passed the 40th mark. I’m not surprised that Blazing Hot Lips and Warsky Alliance are falling apart considering that they’re all the elites of their respective cities..."

It was at this moment Tempest Shadow raised his spear and said, "Candle Dragon is ready to take over this fight!"

Blue Sky Scar smiled and said scathingly, "Who would’ve thought that Warsky Alliance and Blazing Hot Lips would be this weak? They seem strong when they’re fighting among themselves, but their weakness is exposed the second they engage the Heroic Bannermen!"

Eyes turning steely, I glared at him and growled, "Shut your trap, Blue Sky Scar! You would’ve died in Vienna’s Sorrow’s hands already if you were in Lin Bing Dou Zhe or Eyes Like Water’s position! What right do you think a piece of shit like you has to mock those who are giving it their all on the frontlines?"

God’s Dance frowned but said nothing.

Candlelight Shadow however, grabbed the hilt of his sword and growled back, "You’re the one who should control yourself, Lu Chen! How many Nation Wars have you fought? Who do you think you are to criticize my men?!"

I sneered. "This is the first time I fight in a Nation War, but so what? I just can’t stand people like him. Fuck, if he criticizes Blazing Hot Lips and Warsky Alliance again, I’ll kill him right here right now!"

"You!" Candlelight Shadow’s eyes bulged.

Hot and Sour Noodles stepped out with a helpless smile on his face. "Guys, can you please give me face and stop arguing? In fact, please go to your defense zone right away. Blazing Hot Lips and Warsky Alliance could collapse at any moment, and it’s up to Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, Candle Dragon and Purple Lily’s turn to replace them. Don’t forget, this Nation War is being broadcasted live, and every fan in the world is watching us right now!"

"Hmph!"

Neither Candlelight Shadow nor I could stand each other’s presence. We both returned to our camps in a black mood.