Chapter 432

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Defense Specialization and the Big Battle (2)

While battles were getting heated up all over the event field, the main battlefield was still the one at the center. Payne was charging through the enemy frontline, which had been put into a state of disarray thanks to Maple’s preemptive strike. Naturally, the front lines were the most dangerous place to be in, but if the allied forces could manage to defeat them, it would greatly reduce the enemy’s strength and boost the allies’ morale.

“‘Holy Blade of Conviction’!”

Of course, this was all on an “if” basis. He slashed away at player after player –even on top of Misery’s healing– and headed for the “Night Castle” that could be seen in the back.

Despite the flashy rampage that had taken place so far, there was no sign that Mii was unleashing her flames any time soon.

In other words, she had to be preparing to use her “Daybreak” Skill again, which she had already used once during this event to great effect. Even if she was just waiting for the right moment, she would eventually have to use it, and the more she waited, the more victims it could potentially claim.

That's why it was imperative to take care of her before she could use that Skill again.

“Payne! Wait~! Don’t you think you’re overdoing it!? Ugh… Knots, ‘Singing Round’… ‘Multi-Barrier’!”

After buffing everyone in the area to make sure they all had the same buffs, she set up some barriers to help block some attacks. Because Frederica was concerned about the top two members of “Thunder Storm”, and Mii had yet to make a move, the defense had made it just in time.

“Drag, Dread, and ‘Maple Tree’ are currently keeping them all busy. But if they don’t come back soon, we’ll tear this castle apart.”

While receiving the support of magic attacks from players from other Guilds that were advancing with him, the light from Payne's holy sword became a solid blade of its own, which he used to impale his enemies one after another.

"Agh, come on! Can’t you just stay still for a minute?”

"Hey, Shin~ Yahoo~ Are you both having a hard time~?"

"You can say that again. Well, as you can imagine, Mii is getting ready for you guys, so I’ll be your chaperone once again.”

Since neither Misery nor Marx had any Skills that would help them stand on the front lines, not even with the help of their tamed monsters, the “Kingdom of the Flame Emperor” had no choice but to employ Shin’s skillset at times like this. As he spoke, he prepared a large number of blades with his “Split-Sword” and Wen’s “Wind God”.

"Frederica!"

Payne gave Frederica a short signal. It could mean only one thing.

"Eh!? You… You’re serious, huh~? Looks like you're going to apologize to everyone later! ‘Multi-Full Transfer’!”

This skill forced the buffs of all allies within range to be concentrated on Payne. With every buff in the area applied to him, even with those that weren’t particularly useful to him, and even making it so that he had well over the maximum number of buffs any player could normally have, Payne resumed charge.

Seeing this, Shin unleashed all of his swords towards Payne, Pain, but they all go straight through him, and he had only lost a sliver of HP from the attack.

"What!?"

Payne wasn’t thinking about his defense. Having collected all of the buffs that had been applied to hundreds of players, he was able to take the flying swords head on, recovering completely from any damage in an instant thanks to his abnormally powerful damage reduction and HP regeneration buffs.

"Ray, ‘Full Magic Release’ ‘Torrent of Light’!”

There was no way to stop such a monster rushing in with the immense violence he emanated through his absurdly high stats and buffs.

Slashing away all the players who tried to stop him, this unstoppable force approached Shin, who was trying to keep his distance, at a speed that far surpassed his.

"Whoa whoa, this monster is too much!”

“‘Holy Dragon’s Light Sword’!”

The light emitted from the sword as it made its arc had multiple bonus effects of increased attack range thanks to the power he had received from hundreds of players, and it swallowed all players in a straight line to the very end of it.

"W-Wow… He feels completely different from the usual Payne~”

Frederica, who was the one responsible for this, was wide-eyed at the extraordinary destructive power Payne now wielded thanks to her “Multi-Full Transfer”.

However, as the light subsided, she could also see many enemy players with some HP still remaining. As she began to think that their HP was also starting to recover, a large magic circle appeared far ahead, emitting a golden glow.

"…’Resurrect’, huh?"

“Correct! But, that power is so ridiculously insane! I was actually scared for a second.”

Shin had placed his swords generated with his “Split-Sword” at his feet as a scaffolding and evacuated far into the sky so as to avoid Payne’s potential follow-up attack.

Even so, the damage dealt to the enemy had been enormous. Payne’s otherworldly attack range exceeded that of the area of effect of “Resurrect”.

There was no way to stop him, let alone force him to pull back through ordinary means.

"We need to do whatever we can to buy ourselves some time! Otherwise, ‘that’ won’t start!”

"Let’s tear this place apart!”

The players started to rush to the base of the “Kingdom of the Flame Emperor”, now that their forces had been significantly reduced by Payne’s attack.

Even though the enemy’s numbers were decreasing one by one, the attack did not progress as expected. The enemy was sparing no resources. It didn’t even matter if they fell in batIle. Their endurance and defensive Skills were being used left and right, not to win the battle against Payne and his forces, but to buy as much time as possible.

To be able to break through such defenses by force would definitely require an overwhelming power like Payne’s.

But just as this side had Payne, the enemy had similarly powerful members. For a guild and for a faction alike, it would be meaningful to throw every single Skill they had at the enemy if only to stop them for a moment. They were prepared to face their fate if it meant helping their side win.

"We’re counting on you, Mii! Fry them all!”

"Whoa, P-Payne…! He’s still coming this way! Are you sure this is okay!?”

"Everyone, solidify your defenses! Tame as many of the nearby monsters as you can as well!”

"…Hmm, what’s the plan?”

The time limit was known from the beginning. The sun, which had appeared over the castle built by the “Kingdom of the Flame Emperor”, was waiting for the right time to let itself fall to the earth.

Even if the opposing side were to tame every event-only monster that was running about around them and place them at the front lines so as to make a wall, they wouldn’t be able to stop Mii’s flames.

"Are you sure that this’ll work? Are you~!?”

“Frederica, prepare for the worst.”

"Argh~!"

Frederica looked back as if she was waiting for something while casting her spells with Knots’ help to restrain the enemy from turning around and thinking that now was their chance to attack.

There she saw it. A white lightning bolt as thick as a column roared ferociously as it connected the sky and the ground.

"I’ve been waiting for you, Mii!”

"That ‘Lightning Rod’ is no more.”

That lightning pillar, which had been created by Velvet’s “Overcharge”, was wrapped around her. Drag and Dred, who had been fighting against her, were covered in wounds, although none of them seemed to be fatal. Earth had already been defeated, and Shadow's evasion Skill had all been used up.

Velvet and Hinata’s Skills had simply been too much for them to handle.

“I don’t want you to think that this is all there is to my ‘Overcharge’!”

Velvet then raised her hand to the sky, and lightning began to flow from around her and back into the sky, casting a bright light onto the ground below. With that action, Drag and Dred instantly understood what would happen next. Thick thunderclouds were formed in the sky before starting to emit an ominous glow.

And beyond their field of vision, the sun created by Mii was shining brightly, its flames larger and more furious than ever.

"We couldn’t stop them…”

Dred looked at the castle made by the “Kingdom of the Flame Emperor”, which loomed a little farther ahead from Payne’s position, thinking that there was nothing more they could do now.

The next moment, lightning and fire would fall and spread all over the area at the exact same time.

"’Thor’s Hammer’!”

“‘Daybreak’!”

Lightning from the heavens and hellfire from the earth covered the battlefield, incinerating everything in their path as two intense lights filled their field of vision.

Fire and thunder rushed through the battlefield, covering it for only a brief moment. However, surviving that brief moment seemed like an impossible task.

Lily and Wilbert, who had successfully managed to buy enough time, watched the terrifying attack that turned most of the battlefield into scorched earth.

“Amazing. Those two are at an entirely different level, right? …Will?”

"…Lily, prepare for battle."

Wilbert's dubious expression hinted at the fact that the enemy might have survived the now subsiding fire and thunder, despite their expectations.

"Well, let’s see… What kind of trick did you use…?"

Everyone was holding their breath, wondering what had happened as they watched the receding flames. At that moment, a single voice strangely echoed in the momentary silence.

"’Darkness of Rebirth’"

Right after that, something black and sticky like mud spread throughout the ground. Then, strange life forms started to appear one after another as if crawling out of it.

To some, it felt strangely familiar.

I felt like something similar to “Atrocity”.

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