Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  “Gosh! Stop carrying the chests! The first wave of monsters is coming! If we fail to guard the area, the Battle Campaign Scenario fails! Our rewards will go down the drain.”


  TakeASpearHit was busy carrying the chests when SealHeadLingChong grabbed him and ran forward.

  At the front line of Eternal Kingdom’s fortified defenses, Sherlock directed the gamers to fill the gaps.

  Guarding the gap in the flank was Eternal Kingdom’s mission.

  [Mission Title: Guard Area No. 10

  Mission Description: The Ancient Gods army is attacking. The warriors of Eternal Kingdom are tasked with saving the Underworld. The fate of the Underworld depends on you.

  Mission Tips: Winterfell provided sufficient equipment. Gamers can purchase the equipment on credit. Death incurred during the mission will not have a Reputation Point penalty. Do not worry and have a good battle.]

  As for the Mission Objective, that was subjected to change based on circumstances. The current objective was—[Guard against the first wave of the Ancient Gods army’s invasion.]

  TakeASpearHit and SealHeadLingChong found Dragonborn, who was wading through the crowd. The three of them squeezed to the front row. The scene was filled with the noisy shouts of the gamers.

  “Those with Kite Shields, stand in the first row! Make haste! Don’t you see the first wave coming!”


  “D*mn, look at the dense mass. You call that the first wave?”


  “Aren’t we densely packed too? Besides your back skulls, I can’t see anything. Let me be the front row troop! I want to see the first wave of monsters!”


  “D*mn! Don’t compete with me for the first row!”


  “The first row is mine! D*mn, my adrenaline’s pumping. My dream of fighting in an epic battle is coming true in this game!”


  “It’s too real! We’re always passionate at heart! I’m going to charge and break enemy lines!”


  “If the Darting Birds were able to revive, I’d ride the Darting Bird and be a calvary.”


  “Are we being silly? Do we have to wait? Why don’t we charge and be done with it?”


  “Gosh, that makes sense!”


  “Wait, if we die a distance from here, what if we can’t retrieve our equipment?”


  “Sherlie kept you for a few months, yet you are cowering here because of equipment. Execute him.”


  “Who’s afraid?”


  “Charge—!”


  “Waaaagh—!”


  The gamers were a mess. The formation that they had taken up with great difficulty became chaotic as a portion of them charged forward.

  Beefballs looked at the formation on his flank. He was cynical initially and pondered whether he should dispatch 2,000 of his troops to defend the small gap.

  Before he derided them, he heard charging screams. The loudest was the sound “Waaaagh—”. A thousand Goblins, Gnomes, and Houndhead Men charged forward.

  They were for real. They charged towards the densely packed Ancient Gods army in the tunnel.

  Were they…… nuts?

  At the Eternal Kingdom Fortified Area, with its temporary, crude clay wall.

  Peasant was holding a Magic Machine Gun as he looked bewilderedly at a Houndhead Man, DreamlessInsomniac, and asked, “How do you operate this toy? Must a Houndhead Man operate it? I want to charge!”


  “I don’t wish to operate the guns! But I received the mission. What can I do?” DreamlessInsomniac said helplessly. “Someone said to press this button and infuse Mana……”


  “Good, I understand!” Peasant said.

  A hundred Houndhead Men with Magic Machine Guns manned their positions at the clay wall.

  They adjusted the barrel angle according to the mission instructions.

  In the spacious tunnel below, the messy gamers were about to engage in combat with the Ancient Gods army.

  “All creatures, listen up!”


  As the Houndhead Men were hesitating about when to fire the Magic Machine Guns, Sylvanas walked to the fortified walls and shouted, “Listen to my command. Infuse Mana!”


  “Wait! Gosh! Sister Vanas, don’t—”


  “Open fire—!” Sylvanas shouted out the command.

  “Boom—!”


  “Boom—!”


  A hundred Magic Machine Guns opened fire.

  With Mana as the power source, the Magic Gun shells flew in a long arc and landed at the front line that was about to contact the enemy.

  The one hundred shells landed consecutively on the gamers’ front line.

  “Boom—!”


  “Boom—!”


  “Boom—!”
……

  While Dragonborn was charging with the group, a shell fell from the sky and landed tens of meters from him.

  The charging gamers were blown up into the air by the exploding shells.

  A gamer in the crowd shouted, “Go prone—! Incoming shells from allies—!”


  Tens of shells landed precisely on the gamers’ front line.

  As he was about to go prone, his heart thumped rapidly. He didn’t expect the game to be so realistic.

  SealHeadLingChong grabbed Dragonborn and pointed to a shell pit as he yelled, “Quick! Get in the pit!”


  Dragonborn followed SealHeadLingChong into the pit.

  TakeASpearHit ran to another shell pit. He looked at the bombarded surroundings and the grotesque corpses and started scolding, “Sh*t! You’re hitting allies!”


  A shell landed accurately in TakeASpearHit’s pit.

  More shells exploded, and the gamers at the front line cursed and swore.

  “I’m wounded!”


  “D*mn, you’re hitting allies!”


  “Gosh, I’m bleeding all over the place!”


  “Shuuucks! I’m hit!”


  “We’re allies! Allies! Stop firing! Dumb fools—!”


  The area around Dragonborn was a massacre ground. The carpet bombings continued.

  The revived gamers, who were half-naked, appeared at the rear where the Houndhead Men were holding the Magic Machine Guns. They picked up Short Swords and started killing the Houndhead Men on the fortified walls.

  The front line and the rear gun positions were in total chaos.

  The Ancient Gods army was indifferent. They charged forward and engulfed the front line gamers. When the Magic Gun shells exploded and cleared small pockets of the enemy, the holes were rapidly filled up by the monsters from the rear.

  “Ah—!”


  Dragonborn, who was lying prone in the pit, saw the bloody scene. His adrenaline was pumping as he stood up and shouted while grasping his Short Sword.

  The gamers in front were swallowed by the Ancient Gods army. Red-skinned monsters, beasts with rat bodies and human faces, and tall, ugly Giants pushed forward menacingly.

  Dragonborn raised his shield and charged forward at the monsters. He closed his eyes and hacked wildly.

  Then Dragonborn was engulfed by the sea of monsters……

  Sherlock stood at the Teleport Portal and surveyed the thinning front line. If the revival problem wasn’t solved, within ten minutes, the 1,000 gamers would all perish here.

  The Sludge Monster Logistics Officer at the side asked in a trembling voice, “That…… Lord Sherlock, shall we close the Teleport Portals and go over to the Eternal Fire area……”


  “It’s not necessary. You may proceed to the Eternal Fire area first.” Sherlock turned his head to look at the continuous stream of new gamers coming out from the Teleport Portals. They went immediately to grab the equipment supplied by Winterfell.

  “Let the Teleport Portals stay open. Help me obtain another 20,000 sets of equipment from Winterfell. The size of the Ancient Gods army is much larger than I expected.”


  Sherlock’s figure vanished in a Teleport Portal.