Chapter 92: Two Thousand Arrows

The commotion had attracted attention beyond the battlefield.

Several players who had followed Kael from Westfall on their flying mounts finally caught up with the scene.

They slowed as they approached the outskirts of the Scarred Waste, staring down at the enormous gathering of Ironclad members and the lone figure hovering above them.

One rider let out a low whistle.

"Oh, this is good. Unrivaled actually flew all the way here to pick a fight with Ironclad."

"Has to be payback for that contract mess," another player replied. "They forced him out, dragged his name through the mud, and now he’s come to settle the score."

A third rider looked down at the mass of players gathering beneath the eagle.

"Wait. Is he seriously planning to fight an entire guild by himself?"

Nobody answered immediately.The sheer imbalance was difficult to ignore.

Kael was one player. Ironclad had nearly two thousand members, most of them above Level 36, with enough coordinated firepower to overwhelm a powerful monster through sheer numbers.

Even if Unrivaled possessed equipment and skills far beyond what ordinary players could obtain, he would still have to contend with thousands of attacks, overlapping abilities, and a guild that could afford to sacrifice members just to exhaust his resources.

One rider shook his head."Top of the leaderboard or not, that’s not confidence. That’s a death wish."

Another leaned forward in his saddle, watching Kael’s unmoving figure."Maybe. But I’m not leaving before I see how this plays out."

That was all it took.

Several riders activated their streaming interfaces. Others opened their recording tools, eager to capture whatever happened next.

The news spread with astonishing speed.

Within a minute, the encounter had begun appearing across gaming forums and live-streaming channels.

Players who had been busy leveling elsewhere stopped to check the reports, while others hurried to find a stream showing the battlefield.

The viewer counts climbed into the millions.

>Wait, for real? Unrivaled is about to fight an entire guild alone?"**

> Of course he is. At this point, the man’s entire career is just finding new ways to raise the stakes."

> "Isn’t this a little much, even for him?"**

> "One against two thousand? That’s not confidence. That’s a math problem he’s about to lose."

> "Ironclad’s average level is above 36. Those aren’t random beginners."

>"Exactly. They have two thousand people, coordinated teams, healers, ranged attackers, and guild buffs. Even if he’s stronger than everyone else, he can’t dodge everything."**

> "He could get buried under sheer numbers."

A different opinion appeared almost immediately.

>"You think he doesn’t know that? The man wouldn’t have shown up if he didn’t already have an answer."

>"Putting real money on Unrivaled walking away from this clean."

>"Taking that bet. No way he survives a full guild assault."

> "You’re all forgetting what happened last night. Every time people think they’ve figured out his limits, he does something even crazier."

The comments rolled past so quickly that individual messages became difficult to follow.

Arguments broke out between players convinced that Kael was about to suffer his first major defeat and those who believed Ironclad had made a catastrophic mistake by gathering in one place.

Some wanted to see Kael humbled.Others wanted to witness history.Most simply couldn’t look away.

For the first time since Ascension launched, the server had a spectacle that drew the attention of players who normally cared about nothing beyond their own progression.

One man stood against an entire guild.

And everyone wanted to know who would be left standing when it was over.

On the ground, Sterling watched his members assemble around him.

Five-man groups became larger formations. Officers took their places near the center, issuing orders and organizing the arriving players into a broad defensive perimeter.

Archers began moving toward positions with clear lines of sight, while Warriors crowded the front.

The formation continued to expand until the open ground around Sterling was packed with Ironclad members.

The sight restored his confidence.

The unease that had clung to him since the previous night began to recede beneath the weight of two thousand allies.

Whatever advantage Kael possessed, he would have to overcome an army to reach him.Sterling raised his head toward the sky.

"Kael Mercer!"

His voice carried through the formation, drawing the attention of every nearby player.

"Top of the Ascendant Rankings or not, you don’t get to walk in here and act like the rest of us don’t matter!"

Kael looked down at him from Thunder Roc’s back.Sterling’s face twisted into a sneer.

"You’re nothing to me. Less than nothing!"

He spread his arms, presenting the mass of Ironclad members gathered around him.

"Look around you! You came here alone, and now you’re standing in front of two thousand players who are ready to tear you apart!"

He jabbed a finger toward the eagle overhead.

"So stay right there and show us exactly how you plan to kill me!"

The last trace of hesitation disappeared from Sterling’s expression.

He had numbers. He had a guild. And he had no intention of allowing Kael to walk away after publicly challenging him in front of the entire server.

Sterling raised one fist.

For a brief instant, the surrounding players held their positions, waiting for the signal.

Then he brought his arm down."Bring him down!"Ironclad’s archers reacted immediately.

Thousands of hands moved in practiced coordination as longbows rose toward the sky.

Arrows slid into place, bowstrings tightened, and skill effects began gathering around countless arrowheads.

Flames licked along some shafts. Others shimmered with frost, while several glowed with concentrated energy that distorted the air around them.

A low, rising hum spread across the formation as the archers drew their bows to full tension.

Above them, Thunder Roc continued circling.

Kael remained on its back, looking down at the sea of raised weapons without a hint of panic.

Then the first bowstring snapped.Thousands of arrows tore into the sky.

The volley rose like a dark cloud, its countless shafts trailing streaks of magic as they converged on Kael and Thunder Roc from every direction.

The opening attack of the battle had begun.