B2 Ch 104 - This Chaos Is Not the Attack

“You arrogant bastard! How dare you talk to me like that!”

“You damn fools! Get out of our way before we cut you down ourselves!”

“Take one more step and I swear you’ll regret it!”

Rania snapped her attention toward the shouting as more angry voices spread throughout the formation. She turned sharply toward one side just as the flash of a sword strike was followed by an explosion, while another disturbance erupted elsewhere as several knights desperately tried to restrain their own companions.

The two Knight Commanders holding the six affected knights quickly handed them over to the others before separating and rushing toward different parts of the formation to contain the spreading chaos.

Rania remained where she was, carefully observing everything unfolding around her. Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword, but she still made no move to draw it.

Yet the chaos continued to spread.

It was no longer happening in just one place. Several disturbances were breaking out at once, scattered across different sections of their forces, and the players mixed throughout the formation were beginning to grow increasingly restless.

“Your Highness.”

The voice came from Gleus, who had remained nearby.

“Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Your Highness, but the disorder is spreading faster than we can contain it,” he said carefully. “We cannot allow our formation to collapse this deep inside enemy territory. If this continues, the demons may attack before we can restore order. I believe we need to withdraw from this area while we still have the chance.”

“No. I understand the danger.”

Rania turned toward another section of the formation before raising her voice loud enough to carry across the surrounding troops.

“Everyone, return to your assigned positions! Do not allow yourselves to be provoked, no matter what you hear or see! Restrain anyone affected if necessary, but do not attack them! Keep your weapons lowered unless your lives are directly threatened! Maintain the formation and wait for further orders!”

Several nearby players immediately reacted with disbelief.

“That’s insane! If we just stand around waiting, we could get killed here! This whole formation is already falling apart!”

“We need to get out of here! This is getting completely out of control. I’m not staying around until those knights start attacking everyone!”

At the same time, the voices of knights could be heard from the other side, desperately trying to restore order among their ranks.

“Secure the affected knights! Don’t hurt them!”

“Hold your positions! Everyone, back into formation!”

“Control yourselves! This is exactly what the enemy wants!”

Rania gritted her teeth as a crimson aura suddenly surged from her body, spreading outward in a powerful wave. The pressure alone was enough to draw the attention of the knights and players around her, pulling their focus away from the growing disorder and back toward the princess.

“We’re not advancing, and we’re not retreating. Hold this ground! Anyone showing signs of being charmed is to be restrained, not harmed! Detection units, find the source! Cleansing units, help the affected! Everyone else, face outward and prepare for an attack!”

Her eyes swept across the restless formation.

“This chaos is not the attack. It is preparation for one.”

Rania drew her sword in one sharp motion and raised it high above her head, the crimson aura around her flaring even brighter.

“Ready yourselves! The enemy will not wait for us to regain control! An attack is coming, and they expect to find us divided when it does! Reform the lines and prepare to receive them!”

The moment her command rang out, the knights moved.

Their earlier confusion disappeared beneath years of training as units quickly regrouped and spread into defensive positions. The surrounding terrain was mostly open, broken only by scattered trees here and there, leaving little that could conceal an approaching force.

Then the first warning came from one side of the formation.

“Incoming attack! Brace yourselves!”

NovelPhoenix's published chapter comes from the author; this page contains a reproduction made without their permission.

The warning immediately sent another wave of tension through the ranks. Heads turned in every direction as knights and players desperately searched for the approaching enemy.

“Above us!”

The shout came louder this time.

Skills activated almost simultaneously.

One barrier after another burst into existence as shields of light expanded from different points across the formation, overlapping and joining together until layers of protection covered the troops below.

Then the first impact struck.

Another followed.

Explosions hammered against the barriers from above, flashes of magic illuminating the night as the protective layers trembled violently beneath the continuous bombardment.

Rania immediately refocused on the formation.

“Hold the barriers!” she shouted. “Outer units, maintain the perimeter! Do not break formation! Spread the defensive line gradually and keep every opening covered!”

They held their ground as attack after attack continued to bombard them from different directions. It was becoming increasingly obvious that this was no spontaneous assault. The demons had prepared their ranged forces beforehand, surrounding the area and waiting for the disorder within Rania’s formation to reach its peak.

“Send units beyond the perimeter! Sweep the surrounding area and locate the attackers!”

The knights immediately responded. Several units along the outer formation broke away in coordinated groups, pushing outward to search for the demons responsible for the bombardment. Meanwhile, those remaining behind maintained the defensive line, reinforcing the barriers as the relentless attacks continued crashing against them.

“Detection units, support the search parties! Mark every hostile position you find and relay it to the entire formation! Do not pursue anything beyond detection range!”

Another series of explosions thundered against the barriers.

“Ranged units, prepare to return fire! Do not waste your skills blindly! Wait for confirmed positions, then concentrate your attacks and eliminate them one group at a time!”

Rania raised her sword again as another section of the barrier flickered under the bombardment.

“Reserve units, reinforce whichever side takes the heaviest pressure! Keep the formation balanced and leave no section isolated! If the enemy tries to force an opening, close it before they can break through!”

They continued enduring the bombardment with no clear end in sight. The night sky had already turned completely dark, illuminated only by flashes of skills and spells exploding across the battlefield. Everything had descended into chaos.

With no clear view of their attackers, most of the troops could do little more than maintain their defenses and launch scattered counterattacks toward whatever positions they suspected the enemy was hiding in, which was hardly helping at all.

One of the Knight Commanders hurried toward Rania through the formation.

“Your Highness, we cannot remain here!” he said firmly. “They have us surrounded and are striking from positions we cannot properly identify. Our barriers are being drained faster than we can recover them. If we stay any longer, the formation will eventually collapse. We need to withdraw now!”

Rania immediately raised her voice.

“All units, begin a controlled withdrawal! Maintain the defensive lines and move back gradually! Outer units, fall back in sequence and cover one another! Barrier units, keep your protection active until everyone is clear! No one breaks formation, and no one retreats alone!”

**

On another side of the battlefield, beneath the moonlit night sky and among the scattered trees, two figures emerged from the distant tree line. The difference in their height and build was immediately obvious as they walked into the open.

The one leading the way was a girl with short purple hair tied behind her head. She wore a fitted, sleeveless outfit with short pants that gave her plenty of freedom to move.

“Gongja, are you sure we didn’t take the wrong way? You said there was supposed to be a huge battle somewhere around here.”

The person behind her soon caught up. He was a tall man with long black hair tied behind his, wearing fitted light armor with a mixture of black and purple, something closer to what an archer might wear. He was considerably taller than the girl in front of him. Amet barely seemed to reach his chest.

“Siki only told me that we needed to follow wherever Princess Rania’s army went.”

The purple-haired girl turned around and let both of her arms drop loosely at her sides.

“If you’re going to get information, at least get the whole thing. There’s obviously nobody here, even though they were supposed to be moving with thousands of people, right? We’re going to miss the entire party at this rate.”

Then both of them suddenly turned toward the same direction.

Far beyond the scattered trees, flashes of light were rising into the night sky, followed by one explosion after another in the distance.

“Oh. Is that the battle?”

Gongja lifted his head and narrowed his eyes, focusing on the distant flashes for several seconds.

“Hundreds of demons. They’re surrounding the area from a distance and bombarding the forces trapped in the middle.”

“Oh?” Amet blinked. “Why doesn’t that sound like something demons normally do? Aren’t they usually more like... charge straight in, tear everything apart, and keep going until either they or everyone else is dead?”

“Yes. This is far more coordinated than their usual behavior.” Gongja continued watching the distant battlefield. “I think there’s something else going on here. Someone is directing them, or they’re trying to accomplish something beyond simply killing everyone.”

Amet tilted her head.

“So... should we join them and help with the battle?” A grin slowly spread across her face. “There are a lot of demons over there, right? We could eat pretty well tonight.”

Gongja seemed to consider it for a moment before finally answering.

“Siki said we should observe first and only interfere if something unusual happens.”

“Ah, stupid Siki. That’s so annoying. This could actually be fun, and he wants us to stand around watching?” Amet complained as she started walking faster. “Let’s just fight. They’re only demons anyway.”

She suddenly stopped and glanced back.

“Are you coming with me or not? We’ll kill some demons. We don’t need to go crazy. A hundred should be enough.”

Gongja remained silent for another moment before finally following her.

“Siki said...”

“Who cares what Siki said? If he’s that worried about this, why didn’t he come here himself?” Amet continued without slowing down. “And what’s gotten into him anyway? He never usually gets involved in things like this.”

“Maybe something happened that caught his attention.”

“I don’t like that. He’s taking all the fun out of this.”

Amet suddenly broke into a run, bounding forward with several excited leaps as if the battlefield ahead were somewhere she had been waiting all night to visit.

“I heard they’re trying to perform some kind of ritual to summon a Ranked Demon.” Her grin widened. “If they actually succeed, that one’s ours. Just the two of us, okay? We’re not sharing it with anyone else.”