Chapter 462

Defense Specialization and the Decisive War (2)

As Payne and Sally confronted Lily and Wilbert, the main battlefield, where the two armies collided, became a close combat intermingled with monsters.

“[Inferno]!”

Mii didn’t show any mercy. As she rode Ignis, she flew around at high speed, burning down players from the sky.

Because of that, the players were too distracted to focus on the battle at hand.

“[Commence Attack]!”

“[Destructive Cannon]!”

“Ignis!”

Naturally, [Maple Tree] jumped to the rescue. With Sally and Payne keeping Wilbert busy, Maple—whose safety was secured to some extent—emerged from the iron box and began to participate in the attack.

To restrict Mii’s actions, a barrage of bullets and magic were shot by Maple and Kanade, soaring towards the sky.

Maple’s bullets, which were scattered to restrict Mii’s movement, had a fairly wide range, and accurately interfered with Mii’s aerial fire support.

“[Inferno]!”

However, Mii’d just find another chance to unleash her attack, while the attacks of Maple and Kanade didn’t deal that much damage.

Although it was to be expected, the situation was no less frustrating.

“A message from Wilbert? …I see.”

After checking the message she’d received, Mii withdrew at once, avoiding Maple’s bullets and the pursuit of players with flying tamed monsters. Afterwards, she sent a message to her guild.

“[Northern Light]!”

Suddenly, Velvet descended along with a rain of thunder that scorched the players. Suffice to say, the chains of thunderstorms were much harder to defend against than Mii’s flames.

If Hinata was still there, Velvet probably wouldn’t hesitate to rush into the enemy camp. But now, that was unlikely, because without [Gravity Control], she couldn’t secure an escape route.

Above all, they couldn’t let Velvet go. If Velvet wasn’t careful, she’d be hit with a giant iron ball.

“[Parry]!”

Velvet deflected the exploding iron ball, only to be engulfed in the explosion. She immediately withdrew for recovery.

“How nimble you are!”

However, her comment was drowned out. Four silhouettes were visible at the end. Kanade fired his magic. Maple stood and used her usual weapon as an artillery. Yui also provided fire support with iron balls. Izu shot bombs using the canon she created.

Although the four of them had completely different stats and equipment, all of their ranged attacks were of an extremely high standard.

Not to mention, they could simply fire from a safe distance, making them a threat. After all, no short-ranged players could lay a finger on them.

“Maple, some people are closing in.”

“Understood! [Ancient Weapon]! Syrup [Spirit Cannon]!”

Players flying in the sky on monsters approached them, wanting to make quick work of Maple.

But then, they weren’t greeted with just a storm of jet-black bullets, but also light blue bullets fired from the two cylinders that rotated like gatling cannons next to Maple.

The double, no, triple layers of bullets acted like a solid wall to block the approaching players.

“Now—!”

A roaring sound that couldn’t be thought of as humans. The sphere that Yui hit exploded in the air after flying at high speed, dealing massive damage to the surrounding area.

However, the ball itself didn’t hit directly, so it didn’t result in instant death. At the same time, the victim was hardly safe, either.

“Iz, it went well! I can use this!”

“That’s good. We have extra laying around, so feel free to use them.”

It was difficult to hit a fast-moving player with an iron ball, even more so if they were flying around in the sky.

In that case, although the firepower would drop, it was best to blow it up in order to hit the player.

The countermeasure against aerial players was also perfect. Iz also sparingly launched bombs at the enemy camp.

“Hehehe, it’s much better than when I had no choice but to throw it!”

Seeing the rapid, successive explosions that took place in the enemy camp, Iz seemed satisfied.

***

Maple and the others, who had higher number, gradually pushed the enemy back. The front line supported by Lily’s summoned soldiers collapsed, and a large number of players rushed in, dividing the enemy. It was almost at the same time that Sally’s battle was concluded.

“[Authority/ Transcendence] [Formation Change]!”

Players who should’ve been divided and trampled vanished from the spot.

With [Authority], the movement distance and range of effect were significantly improved, as such, [Formation Change] allowed them to flee in an instant.

“Let’s head for the royal castle. It’s the only way to win. There’s no reason to withdraw here.”

Sally returned to Maple after parting ways with Payne, who took charge of the frontline.

“Maple! Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine.”

“Payne and I took care of Wilbert, so it should be pretty safe now.”

“Really? That’s amazing! As expected of Sally!”

“That’s because no one has figured this out yet. Well, it’s like a trick, but you have to use what you can to win.”

Sally spun the dagger whose appearance had changed due to [Mirage].

“Maple, please get on!”

“Understood!”

In the same way as when she’d come this far, Maple rode on Yukimi’s back and followed the march.

“What about Mii and Velvet?”

“They’re still alive, but for some reason, they’re away…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. If we can beat them, there’ll be a change in the strategy, so I’m just checking. Everyone’s on the watch out for [Daybreak] and [Thor’s Hammer].”

“Got it!”

“Hmm, it’s a heavy responsibility, isn’t it?”

[Ark] could respond to large-scale ranged attacks with few resources.

Since Sally had already used [Reversal of Lies], Kanade and Sou would assume that role this time.

If Sou mimicked Maple, they’d be able to use two [Ark] at the same time with a different approach than Sally.

As the march continued, the effect of the detection skill scattered around.

In order to watch out for surprise attacks or other flukes, many players laid a security net. For better or worse, the [Maple Tree] members had contrasting skill composition, so they couldn’t help with that. To make up for it, they’d properly contribute to the battle.

The shadow of the royal castle extended in the distance. Since they’d launch an attack on the place defended by the enemy, a battle would inevitably occur. Everyone felt that the time for a rematch wasn’t too far away.

Raising their concentration, they subjugated the enemy monsters that stood in their path, and Maple’s army continued to invade without stopping.