BXBX NOVEL Chapter 144: Battle of the Bir Plains (1)
Chapter 144: Battle of the Bir Plains (1)
Then, when Goliath discovered MID Online, he was deeply impressed.
It’s a perfect world!
Just as Mid Online became a great escape from reality, a new world for Kai, it was the same for Goliath.
However...
Goliath slightly trembled as he looked at the man in front of him. The thought that he would die if he kept messing around constantly rang in his mind like an alarm.
Then, the man moved to stand right in front of Goliath and looked up at him. "I asked, who exactly do you think you were about to lay hands on?"
"You are...?"
"I ask the questions. Your role is to answer. And also..."
The man slowly raised his right hand. At the same time, the air around them shifted.
"Lower yourself. My neck is hurting."
"Argh...!"
Goliath struggled to resist the unprecedented force pressing down on his shoulders. Sweating profusely, he finally gave up when he saw the calm expression on the man\'s face.
I can\'t win against this.
For the first time in his life, Goliath tasted the bitterness of utter defeat!
Thud!
As Goliath knelt in submission, he felt a cold blade against his neck. And more chilling than the blade was the voice that came from above him.
"I\'ll ask you one last time. Answer. Who were you about to lay hands on?"
"I... I was..."
In the tense moment, Kai seized the perfect opportunity and naturally made his entrance.
"Bach, sir, you’ve arrived."
Bach glanced briefly at Kai and gave a slight nod. "By the command of His Majesty, I have come to fight alongside you in this battle. Although I retain independent command of the knights, I will take your input into consideration as much as possible."
"I am immensely grateful."
"I intervened because it seemed like trouble, but what is this about?"
"It\'s nothing. I\'ll take care of it. He\'s just a rookie, far from capable of handling the sword of the commander of the Ironblood Knights."
The commander of the Ironblood Knights! The weight of the title that flowed from Kai’s lips caused the guild masters\' expressions to change.
Oh! Bach! No wonder the name sounded familiar... He’s Bach Den Black, the commander of the Ironblood Knights!
The sharpest sword of King Rashion.
If he’s the commander of those knights, he’s at least level 400.
If someone like him is here on the battlefield...
It means King Rashion himself must have given the order. What kind of connections does Unknown have...?
Haha, what an idiot you are, Goliath. Serves him right.
While the others stepped back in pure amazement, Goliath was absolutely shocked.
This is insane! Why is someone like him here?!
It was as if kids were having a fight, only for a world boxing champion to show up.
Goliath gulped as he looked up at Kai approaching.
“I’ll ask you one last time as well. Are you going to follow my orders or get out of my face?”
Goliath, whose clenched fists were trembling, finally closed his eyes tightly and said, “... I’ll follow your orders.”
“Good. Then I’ll leave the rear of the army to the Titan guild.”
It was true. Retaliation was the most humiliating for those on the receiving end!
Although the Titan guild was assigned to the very rear where making any significant contribution was nearly impossible, Goliath couldn\'t utter a word since Bach and his knights were watching him with piercing eyes.
That day, Goliath became an expert at managing his anger.
***
Roughly 1,700, huh?
The top ten guilds had each brought one hundred elite members. There were also seven hundred elf warriors, and fifty from the Ironblood Knights. And lastly, there were four hundred regular players who had tagged along, curiously following Kai!
With a total of 1,750 people to command, Kai asked, “Elduin, are you certain the forces of the Church of Muldine are coming in this direction?”
“Yes. Luteria confirmed it multiple times.”
If it was the assurance of the World Tree, there was no need for doubt. Though it looked cute, it was a legendary being straight out of a fairy tale.
Then there’s no need to worry about the plan going wrong. However...
Kai glanced back at the regular players behind him.
“They say there are over 1,700 of us. How is this real?”
“With this many people, there’s nothing to worry about, no matter who the enemy is.”
"With this kind of force, we could probably destroy a count\'s territory, don\'t you think?"
“This would definitely get broadcasted, right? Mom! I’m on TV!”
“And once the war is over, there will be rewards from the Kingdom of Rashion. Dang, I feel amazing!”
Unlike the disciplined members of the top ten guilds and the elf warriors, the regular players were bubbling with excitement.
Watching them alongside Kai, Bach said, “... Hm, I wonder if it will really be such an easy battle.”
Kai’s army might have been large enough to be called the greatest of all time, but in reality, they were a disorganized crowd that prioritized their own gains!
Seeing through this, Bach delivered a sharp critique. “Is this all the strength we have on our side?”
“Well... about eight hundred more will come in time.”
“Huh, eight hundred more, you say?”
It wasn’t just Bach who was surprised.
Eight hundred more?
That’s strange. As far as I know, Unknown isn’t affiliated with any guild.
Yet, he can mobilize eight hundred people? The only one capable of that would be Xao Lin of the Black Dragon guild... No, that must be a bluff, right?
Well, we’ll see the result soon enough.
Having drawn attention for various reasons, Kai closed his eyes and steadied his mind.
This war is both the greatest opportunity and the biggest challenge for me.
If things went well, his future in the game would unfold with ease. After all, he would become the only player who had brought the top ten guilds under his command
And if we win the war, the royal family will offer powerful support as well. But most importantly...
He would gain the overwhelming support of the elves and merfolk.
But for now...
His eyes landed on the distant peak of the Phevez Mountain Range to the north.
Then Bach murmured, “... That’s a lot.”
As he said so, the expressions of the 1,700 people around him stiffened.
“W-wait a minute.”
“N-no way... Is that all of them?”
“That’s the enemy?!”
“This is insane! I’m getting out of here!”
War was a violent act where opposing groups used military force and various other means to overpower one another. In such violent acts, the most prioritized factor was none other than numerical strength.
Thud, thud, thud!
As is typical in winter, the bare, leafless trees covered the Phevez Mountain Range. And lightly resting on them was the pure white snow that symbolized winter.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
However, that snow was quickly stained by the advancing black army.
“How many enemy soldiers do you think there are?” Bach asked Kai.
“... Well, at least five thousand, it seems.”
“You\'re quite the optimist.” With a faint sigh, Bach continued, “At least ten thousand. At most, it could be as many as twelve thousand.”
“T-ten thousand?”
“That’s nearly five times our number...!”
“No, this can’t be real.”
The regular players who had come thinking this war was just a simple event began getting out of formation in an instant.
“Hey, stop!”
“Hey, you bastards! You came all this way, where do you think you’re going?”
The members of the top ten guilds urgently tried to stop them, but the players ignored them and continued to vanish. They left the battlefield in the blink of an eye by logging out or using teleportation scrolls.
“Argh...”
“Those spineless bastards!”
The number of players who fled was a staggering three hundred!
However, Kai made no effort to stop them. In fact, he even encouraged their departure.
“Anyone who wishes to leave, do so now!”
With the special ability as the commander, his voice echoed across the vast Bir Plains.
“U-Unknown says it’s okay to leave.”
“If he’s saying it so openly, it means...”
“There’s no retaliation.”
“Hey, what should we do?”
“... Let’s get out of here.”
With that, another fifty players disappeared.
Vulcan, the master of the Warriors, looked at Kai as if he couldn’t understand. “Why are you letting them go when every hand is needed...?”
“Do you really think they would be of any help? Honestly?”
Vulcan had no answer to that question. They had joined the war with only rewards in mind and lighthearted attitudes from the start. They had no determination, resolve, or conviction whatsoever.
Those people would flee in the middle of the battle if things turned against us anyway.
When comrades started fleeing in the heat of a battle, armies collapsed in an instant.
During the past two weeks of hunting, Kai had diligently studied basic leadership, strategies, and tactics. He had researched various battles throughout history and thoroughly examined the strategies of great commanders.
Anyone who participates in this battle must have no way out.
The famous saying, “Those who seek death shall live. Those who seek life shall die,” guided his thinking. It was a famous quote by General Yi Sun-Sin, meaning that if one lives cowardly, they will die, but if they are ready to die, they will survive.
“I believe you all know who I am!”
At Kai’s words, hundreds of players looked at him with puzzled expressions. Of course, there was no way they wouldn’t know. He was Unknown. Currently the hottest player in MID Online.
"I won’t say this twice. We are bound to win this battle."
When Kai boldly displayed his overflowing confidence, the players tilted their heads in confusion.
“Seeing is believing. I will show you today why I am Unknown and how I have always defeated overwhelmingly strong enemies.”
He was the legend of the undefeated! If anyone else had said such a thing, they would have scoffed, but the trail of victories Unknown had left behind was enough to make his words credible.
Now that I think about it, with Unknown...
He wiped out the Orc Lord and Orc Sorcerer, and the Black Bee’s rookie party all at once, didn’t he?
He even solo-raided Aosa.
Plus, he’s the monster who single-handedly brought down the Black Bee guild.
Then, if we fight alongside him...
We might actually win.
A glimmer of hope sparked in the eyes of his nearly defeated allies!
At that moment, a message window popped up in front of Kai.
Ding!
[You have boosted your allies\' morale with a speech based on overwhelming dignity.]
[Charisma skill level increased.]
.
.
.
[Charisma skill reached Beginner Lv. 6.]
[Allied morale has greatly increased.]
[All allies’ stats will increase by 3% until the end of the battle.]
“Oh, wow!”
“A buff that increases all stats!”
“We can do this. We can win!”
The players participating in this battle were all experts who were at least level 200! For them, a 3% increase in all stats was no small boost. And that wasn’t all.
“O Father Helik, who watches over us,” Kai suddenly spoke in a reverent tone as he knelt down.
Watching him, the masters of the top ten guilds murmured in confusion.
“He changed his gear?”
“... But why is he wearing cleric robes?”
“Damn it, I can’t see his face because of the hood.”
“It’s the war ritual of the Solarian Church,” explained Minerva, the master of the Pray guild, which had many Paladins and Clerics. “He’s praying to the Solarian God to receive His blessing. Of course, the effect isn’t that significant...”
“So basically, it’s just for show.”
“Well, considering the footage that will be used later, it makes sense.”
Ignoring the chatter around him, Kai quietly finished his prayer and muttered softly, “... Please protect us. Skill activation, Hymn of Angels.”
At the same time, a brilliant ray of sunlight shone down on Kai’s army.
Ni~ Nanino~
Ni~ Nanino~
Soon, countless baby angels blew horns and flew above them!
As the players stared blankly at them, shocking messages appeared before them.
Ding!
[The Solarian God Helik has blessed you with the gracious light of the sun.]
[You have heard the hymn sung by the angels.]
[Physical damage received is reduced by 30%.]
[Magical damage received is reduced by 30%.]
[All status effect resistance is increased by 40%.]