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With attributes no weaker than that of an Epic-tier boss, the Undead Centaurs approached the city with thunderous, earth-shaking steps.

The Magic Crystal Cannons had long since run dry, and even arrows were running scarce, forcing more than half of the soldiers to abandon the walls and descend to the ground.

“Hold the line!”
“Defend Wynwater City!”

Though fear gripped their hearts, the soldiers still shouted with determination.

“Joz, I’ll leave my sister to you,” Aegis said without turning back. He spoke to the adjutant behind him and strode forward resolutely toward the oncoming enemy.

“…Understood. I swear on my life to protect Miss Elna and Wynwater City,” the adjutant named Joz replied, pounding his right fist over his chest in solemn vow.

Seeing this scene, the players could not help but grow restless. At that moment, the leader of Heaven’s Accord added all the other guild masters present into a temporary chat group.

“Everyone, you’ve seen the situation for yourselves. These Undead Centaurs are not something a couple of small parties can handle. Fifty players—no, maybe even a hundred—would be needed to take down just one of them, and all of them must be Level 20 or higher elites.”

Fairytale Forest fell silent for a moment before saying, “Drunken Fairytale only has around five hundred players left, and most of them are ranged classes. We’ve got fewer than fifty heavy knights and swordsmen.”

“Same with Nether Dawn,” Duskwraith added grimly. “We’ve got even fewer, less than two hundred now.”

Cloudsworn said nothing. His silence spoke volumes; he was clearly just as troubled.

“There’s no time! All melee classes, move up! Even if you have to act as cannon fodder, buy the backline some time to deal damage! If Wynwater City falls, it’s over for all of us! Flowerdance City is the living proof of that!”

***

**Boom—boom—boom!**

The Undead Centaurs marched in perfect formation, their synchronized hooves pounding like drums of war. The skeletal steeds moved as if sharing a single will, their rhythmic steps echoing through the battlefield with terrifying momentum.

From atop the walls, the few remaining arrows rained down, striking the centaurs and flashing only pitiful damage numbers: -1, and on rare occasions, a meager double-digit hit.

Their defense was too high! With the level gap added on top, almost no archer could pierce through their armor. They needed Guardbreak Arrows.

Aegis clasped the hilt of his greatsword with both hands, planting it into the ground as he glared fiercely ahead.

**Boom!**

They were getting closer.

**Boom!**

Aegis moved!

“Raaaghhh!!!” he roared, channeling every ounce of strength in his body as he swung the massive grey blade upward!

The leading Undead Centaur sensed the tremendous force and raised its bone sword to counter, ghostly smoke coiling from the blade.

**Clang———!**

The moment their blades collided, the Undead Centaur was sent flying backward under the crushing impact, a horrifying damage number bursting into the air! Yet the ones behind did not halt. Without hesitation, they trampled over the fallen comrade, crushing it into bone dust beneath their hooves.

“Damn, that was insane!”
“The general’s incredible!”

Both players and NPC soldiers erupted in cheers. With a single strike, he had crippled an enemy, they still had a fighting chance! But before that fleeting hope could take root, Aegis suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Brother!” Elna cried out, her voice trembling with worry.

Joz held her by the shoulders and said firmly, “Miss Elna, you can’t go over there, it’s too dangerous!”

Aside from Aegis, the other players had also clashed head-on with the centaurs. The inertia-empowered impact of their charge was unbearable; almost no one could withstand it. Most of the frontliners were killed or gravely injured the moment contact was made.

The Pugilists and Assassins threw themselves forward, using their bodies to buy precious seconds for their teammates!

Yet even with the Guardbreak Arrows, their attacks barely scratched the enemy, each hit dealt no more than 300 damage. If they failed to stop the advancing centaurs, the rest would break through the player formation in a single rush and decimate both adventurers and NPCs with relentless charges.

“Invoke: Mire!” Elna’s clear chant of invocation resonated, and the ground beneath the centaurs turned into a vast pool of quagmire.

At least twenty of the Undead Centaurs stumbled and fell into the mud.

Though no one knew exactly what had happened, the leader of Heaven’s Accord shouted, “Quick! As we discussed earlier, each hundred-man unit pull aggro from one centaur! Once you take it down, regroup immediately!”

The centaur trapped in the mire grew confused, and half of them had their aggression diverted by the players. That still left over a hundred centaurs for the remaining defenders and players to deal with.

After enduring more than ten Wraith Slashes, Aegis had less than a third of his HP left. His body was battered and bleeding, barely holding him upright. But Elna’s spell had drawn the Undead Centaurs’ attention, their charging direction shifted toward her!

They tore through the defensive line, storming straight at Elna.

“No!” Aegis roared with all his might, but it was too late, he was powerless to stop them.

***

In the barren Wasteland, a hunched figure in a gray robe examined a dark shard in his palm, a twisted grin curling across his face. “Heh… So that’s all the ‘Mentor’ amounts to…”

That fragment was part of a hidden domain he had prepared a week earlier, layered with traps, packed with demon statues, and filled with deadly light beams impossible for ordinary people to dodge! It couldn’t kill the Mentor, but repeated attacks would at least leave her seriously wounded.

By the time she destroyed the domain, Wynwater City would have already fallen. When that happened… he wouldn’t need to stall her any longer.

**Tap.**

A faint pat landed on his shoulder, sending a chill down his spine. The color drained from his face. “No way… so soon!?” He turned his head and froze. Standing behind him was Sheen, glaring with visible irritation.

“So, I’ve really been underestimated, huh? Has it been so long since I’ve made a move that the Dark Faction has forgotten who I am? Did you really think a broken domain could trap me?”

“B–broken?” the gray-robed man stammered.

“Playing dumb?” Sheen arched an eyebrow. “Forget it. I’m not in the mood for interrogation. Die.”

Just as Sheen was about to strike, a gray-black, dome-shaped barrier enveloped them both, eerily similar to the one Shade used. Not only that, but a surge of blinding white light erupted from beneath the ground, something was about to explode!

Sheen’s expression hardened. “You want to die together?”

“No! I don’t know anything about this!” the gray-robed man yelped, nearly in tears. He hadn’t planned on dying here!

Judging by his panicked face, he wasn’t lying. Considering how treacherous the Dark Faction was, it was likely one of his own allies had set him up.

‘So they wanted to steal the credit, huh? Not a chance.’ She pressed her rapier against the barrier, twisting her wrist rapidly. To the terrified man, it looked like a drill spinning at incredible speed.

**Crack—! Crack—!!**

The cracking grew louder as the energy within the barrier spiraled into chaos, while the white light below blazed brighter, on the verge of erupting.

“Hmph!” Sheen abruptly halted her motion. Terrifying elemental energy surged from her right hand, and a burst of azure flame climbed along her rapier. In an instant, it burned through the barrier entirely!

She kicked through the shattered barrier and leapt out just as a flood of white light erupted, engulfing everything inside. The blast devoured all life within, with faint streaks of residual energy dispersing into the air.

“You’ve… gotten rusty, huh~” drawled a lazy, slurred voice, like that of a drunken old man.

Sheen’s pupils shrank. “That voice… Captain…?!”

Before her stood a man holding a wine flask, taking deep swigs. Beside him lay the fallen gray-robed man. He had already taken care of him.

“Sheen… how about we go… have a little fun at the Dark Fortress?” the man asked, his face flushed red with drink.