Chapter 67 - Elven Forest Battle (4)

The plan, which had seemed pretty much perfect up to that point, was going down the drain.

Arthur didn’t even get the chance to take the bow off his back before being attacked.

With his sword in hand after blocking his opponent’s strike, he charged.

’I need to kill him and run, so Phantom Slash is the way to go!’

To catch the assassin off guard, he also activated Blade Dash.

The ideal move was to get right up close to make sure the assassin couldn’t dodge.

Since it was just a level 20 NPC, it wasn’t strong enough to scare Arthur, not to mention it was just a regular NPC, not a mini-boss or boss.

Arthur blinked and appeared right in front of the assassin, who had already backed up a few steps after that first clash of weapons.

The assassin’s eyes went wide, not expecting such versatility with a sword from someone carrying a bow on his back.

Everything happened so fast that he couldn’t block the attack.

The difference between a sword and a dagger was just too big. While the assassin focused on sneaky, fast attacks, Arthur had raw brute force.

With a diagonal slash, Arthur struck the assassin’s chest.

A cut mark appeared on his torso, but it wasn’t very deep. The assassin’s armor protected him quite a bit.

[132 damage dealt]

Arthur didn’t stop there. He immediately launched a combo, activating Phantom Slash.

This was his most powerful attack. The slashes were fast, all focused on the exact same spot on the armor.

[Targeted Attack]

[+30% Armor Penetration]

The best way to break through armor was to hit the same spot until it was completely destroyed. Either that, or find a spot that was less protected.

Arthur was running out of time. The soldiers would reach him soon, and the mages would start raining spells down on the camp. The last thing he wanted was to be there when that happened.

In other words, he had to get the hell out fast, without overthinking it.

[210]

[228]

[Critical Hit]

[384]

[226]

The flurry of strikes landed in practically an instant. The assassin, who just moments ago had been bragging about finding him, now stared wide-eyed as his life flashed before his eyes.

"I... I’m dead?"

Arthur didn’t feel bad since it was just a game, but it really was so realistic that it felt like he had actually killed someone.

Many players even avoided fighting humans because of that. For a lot of people, it was easier to stomach killing a monster that didn’t even look like it belonged in this world than another human being.

Either way, Arthur got 730 EXP, some coins, and a dagger that still needed to be identified. He didn’t even waste time checking the loot.

’I need to get out of here!’

The soldiers were already heading his way, and spells started raining down on the camp the moment the horns blew.

Spells of various elements dropped from the sky: fireballs, ice shards, and poisonous vines summoned by the elves. On top of that, Len had positioned archers who rained volleys of arrows down toward the camp.

"We’re under attack!"

"Prepare for battle!"

The soldiers of the Rashk Kingdom began shouting and falling into formation. The captain, the target Arthur had wanted to hit, stepped out of his tent and began organizing the army.

"Mages, raise the barrier!" the captain yelled.

Just like they had mages, the Rashk Kingdom army had them too. The mages channeled mana into their staves and put up a mana barrier around the camp.

The first wave of spells hit the camp directly, but to deal the kind of damage they wanted, they needed to launch multiple waves.

However, with the barrier going up so fast, that plan wasn’t going to work.

’Shit.’ Arthur gritted his teeth as he sprinted away.

Luckily, he was on the edge of the camp, so he easily managed to slip into the forest to get away.

But the soldiers spotted him.

"Chase down that intruder! He must be a skilled assassin."

A group of 5 soldiers broke off and went after Arthur, running as fast as they could.

Arthur was still faster. He darted into the woods, using the foliage for cover. His eyes were glued to his Stealth skill.

’The cooldown is almost up.’

With Stealth, he could slip away without any trouble, or maybe even take that group of soldiers on.

The only problem was that the side of the forest he was on was the complete opposite direction from the main battle! Nobody was going to show up to help him. It was just him against the enemy, nothing else.

"Running won’t do you any good, we’re gonna find you, you little shit!" one of the soldiers chasing him yelled.

It was in the language of the Rashk Kingdom, but Arthur understood it perfectly. He even decided to shout back.

"Go fuck yourselves, you pieces of shit!"

The soldiers’ eyes went wide, stunned that he actually knew their language. But the shock quickly turned into rage.

"You’re gonna regret saying that!"

Arthur could hear the clattering of the soldiers’ armor as they ran. They were getting close.

His Stealth came off cooldown. Arthur activated the skill, and his body turned invisible, blending seamlessly into the environment.

From high up in a tree, looking down at the ground, he spotted the soldiers.

"Where did he go? There are no more tracks."

"Maybe he climbed a tree?"

The footprints he had left in the woods had helped them track him, but when they looked up at the trees, they saw nothing. It was like his tracks had completely vanished into thin air.

"This doesn’t make any sense..."

While those 5 idiots stood there trying to figure out what had happened, Arthur looped around through the forest, jumping from branch to branch, and rejoined the army of players.

The players pushed forward together toward the camp. The soldiers from the camp did the same.

Both sides stopped in a wide clearing. Len was at the front, and on the opposite side stood the captain of the Rashk Kingdom.

Even though it had started as an ambush, the battle still carried a certain sense of honor. Both sides halted, staring each other down before the real fight began.

Naturally, none of the players complained about that. To them, cinematic moments like this were absolute gold for recording and posting on social media.

"I’m impressed you managed to gather so many people for this battle," the Rashk Kingdom captain, a man named Therin, said with a look of pure contempt.

General Len had crossed paths with Therin before. Never on the battlefield, since peace had always lasted between them, but during meetings between their leaders.

"Therin, why are you attacking us?" Len asked. "We never did anything to your kingdom."

"Don’t be naive, Len. If I’m doing this, it’s on orders from higher up. You know how things work."

Soldiers like them just did what they were told, plain and simple. Len knew that, of course; he just wanted to ask to ease his own conscience.

Arthur didn’t rejoin the other players. He still had the poison on him, and even though he had failed that first time, nothing was stopping him from trying again.

"So, how’s it gonna be?" Therin asked, his gaze sweeping over all the players. "Are we fighting fair and square, or with ambushes? Like that assassin you sent after me."

Arthur was listening to every word, and he knew that comment was aimed right at him.

Len didn’t back down. After all, the Rashk army had done far worse.

"I wasn’t the one who set up a camp and gathered all these soldiers to attack our elven settlement in the dead of night, was I? I don’t think you’re in any position to complain or talk about honor."

Therin let out a laugh.

"You’re right about that. But I’ll warn you right now, you’re going to lose this battle."

If it came down to just the levels of each small army and their raw numbers, Therin was right. Len was going to lose.

Except they had an ace up their sleeve.

Once the players discovered the elven settlement, they could respawn there upon death since it was so close by. In other words, Len had an army that could come back to life.

That was exactly what he was banking on.

"Are you sure about that?" Len asked, a grin spreading across his face. "Doesn’t my army look a little unusual to you?"

Therin frowned, taking a closer look.

’They aren’t elves, and they don’t look like Aldora’s Kingdom army... Who are they?’ Therin thought.

A thought crossed his mind, but he refused to believe it.

"Chosen Ones? No, impossible. I know they’re popping up in every kingdom, but there’s no way you could round up this many so fast. They’re not easy to deal with."

Unlike Aldora, the Rashk Kingdom didn’t have a player like Arthur, whose fame could rally an entire crowd. That was the real difference maker.

"Enough talk," Len said, raising his sword high into the air.

"CHARGE!"

Every single player raised their weapons and roared in unison. Arthur watched it all unfold from a distance, goosebumps running down his arms.

’It’s finally time.’