The strange creature brought with it a horrible stench of rot. Both whalelike and amoebic, its purple mass crept along the ground, slowly approaching the battlefield.
Boss Mob: Putrid Mi Dan Level 52
Its level was higher even than the Giant King’s. And soon enough, the players’ hope took one more hit.
“Another one! Coming from above!”
A giant humanlike demon with bat wings was cutting through the air, gliding at them. It had moose-like antlers and looked as if it was wearing a full-face helmet.
Boss Mob: Laginus the Sky-Killer Level 50
Now there were three boss monsters on the battlefield, and while they were hostile toward one another, they seemed to recognize the players and Fort Sandras as their common targets.
“We’ll take on the slime!” Alba shouted.
The players who’d swiftly backed away watched as Alba led a squad to fight the Putrid Mi Dan.
“And we’ll fight the demon!” Wataru proclaimed without delay.
He quickly aggroed the monster on himself and raised his blade to the heavens. Swords of light showered down onto Laginus, which dropped down to the ground. On cue, Wataru and his squad began to attack it.
The main Crest force had split into two, with each group fully focused on their target. The remaining Crest members were under Flamme’s command, tasked with killing the regular monsters. The precious tanks and healers were carefully assigned where they were needed.
Misaki and Makoto were on Flamme’s team, mainly because Misaki’s ability to see the number of monsters on the map made her too valuable to risk putting her in one of the boss-fighting teams.
The mechanical soldier and NPC numbers are down by a lot, thought Byakuren. One of the mechanical dragons has been killed, and given the risk of friendly fire, we can no longer use the artillery…
As the situation changed at a dizzying speed, Byakuren, the leader of Twilight Adventurers, pondered over where she’d be most useful.
Crest’s prompt engagement of the new boss monsters prevented the other players from losing spirit, for the most part. But with so many bosses to tackle at once, the smallest mistake might greatly turn the tides of battle against the players. They also weren’t killing the regular monsters as quickly, especially with the Yamata fighters now diverted to the boss monsters.
Byakuren knew where she had to go.
“Squad A will come with me to reinforce Yamata and bring down the giant! Squad B and Kagone will continue culling the horde, but pay close attention to their attack patterns!”
It was time to put her prebattle plan into effect.
Byakuren took eleven of her best fighters with her and joined Yamata to fight the Lightning Giant King Zauron together.
Yamata members had already managed to whittle down the boss’s LP to 60 percent, but with a mob of giants around it, they were struggling to get close enough to attack the boss.
Byakuren stopped next to Hiiiiive.
“Leave the minions to us,” she told him.
“…Appreciate it,” he muttered.
Putrid Mi Dan’s miasma and poison were affecting not just the players but also nearby monsters.
Fighting this thing’s a pain in the neck, Alba silently grumbled. He was keeping the boss aggroed on himself, tanking it solo. Of course, being the closest to it meant that he was constantly being affected by Poison and Curse status ailments.
Annoyingly, this boss had high magic defense. Physical attacks were the most effective against it, but for fighters to get anywhere near the monster, they’d need healers or other support players who could cure Poison and lift Curse, and they were desperately short on those. Flamme was gradually sending in more supporters from her group, but still, the close-range fighters couldn’t get within reach to make full use of their abilities.
“Watch out for Poison Rain!”
Alba shielded himself with his greatsword, while the healers cast protective barriers around them. The backline fighters took cover inside the barriers.
Afterward, the frontline fighters were healed back up, and the slow battle of attrition continued.
Wataru’s squad probably won’t be able to come to our aid. We’re helping others just by keeping this boss occupied here, at least, thought Alba.
Grimacing as he endured the status ailments, Alba shifted his gaze from the soul-crushingly full LP bar of the boss…
“Meteor Sword!”
With a heavy swoosh, the boss’s LP dropped by a whole 7 percent. For the first time, Mi Dan groaned in pain. A cloud of dust rose, obscuring things, but Alba saw a human shape high in the air. It spun around and landed next to him.
“Aegis Sub-Master Matsu is here to help!”
More Aegis members appeared out of thin air around them.
Matsu shook blood—or to be precise, slime—off her sword, raising her head to glower at Mi Dan.
The battlefield erupted in cheers when word got out that the Lightning Giant King Zauron and the Putrid Mi Dan had been defeated. The greatest contributions came from Yamata and Aegis players—the angels’ blessing had given them six level-ups, so they weren’t affected by the boss monster’s special trait, which halved damage dealt by players of a lower level.
“Less than half of the enemies left now!”
Misaki’s report boosted morale even further. Two of the six bosses had been vanquished, and it was only matter of time before Laginus the Sky-Killer was defeated, too, now that Yamata members had joined in fighting it.
All in all, everyone expected the players to triumph over the invading monsters. But there was something everybody failed to notice, even Misaki with her Sense Life skill.
“…Huh?”
Misaki sensed something not with her skill but with her gut. She had just been pulling out one of her Silver Arrows from a defeated beast’s forehead when she noticed something enormous in the very middle of the battlefield—a translucent knight bigger than even the Giant King.
Slowly, the other players saw it, too. It was as if the phantom had been there all along, somehow overlooked by everyone.
The monster drew its sword, gripped it tight, and took aim at the fort. When it brought the blade down, the battlefield was sliced in half.
Those unlucky enough to find themselves in the line of attack died without even realizing what had happened to them. The shock wave from the slash passed through the town walls, the town itself, and finally the fortress. The artillery stopped, and everything went quiet for moment…until a terrifying rumble of destruction shook the battlefield.
Boss Mob: Ancient Knight Rimpeller Level 100
The fort was engulfed in a sea of flames. One after another, the magic soldiers fell over, broken, and the mechanical dragons came crashing down from the sky. The fort itself was still standing for the most part, but its gates had been totaled. Where the shock wave had passed, nothing remained—the impact had carved a deep trench in the ground.
“What just…?”
What just happened? That was the question every player was asking themselves. How could the giant knight appear seemingly out of thin air?
Misaki’s Sense Life skill still wasn’t picking it up.
The Ancient Knight Rimpeller turned to the silent gathering of players and attacked them without mercy.
“Ruuun!” someone shouted, but their voice was drowned out by a deafening rumble.
Players who had been fighting the other monsters; players immobilized while casting their spells; players who’d sensed danger and were fleeing in a panic; players who bravely prepared to face the new opponent—they were all hit by the knight’s attack, and their bodies shattered into pieces that eventually faded away.
“No…,” Misaki whimpered.
The assault had swept through the battlefield, killing many, players and monsters alike. Only Misaki knew precisely how many had died. On her minimap, numerous red dots and dozens of blue dots had disappeared simultaneously.
The Ancient Knight Rimpeller turned to gaze into the distance. Misaki thought it was looking in the direction of Allistras. If this monster went there, none of the noncombatants would survive.
“We have to…defeat it… We have to…protect the others…”
Her hands shaking, Misaki raised her bow. Other players, still stunned, watched her vacantly.
Misaki shot an arrow at the monster, breaking its helmet, and there was no visible change to the monster’s LP bar. It didn’t look like her attack had been voided by some skill—it’d simply failed to deal any damage.
Numerous monsters began to appear high in the sky. With the town walls broken, monsters were able to invade. Fort Sandras had suffered too much damage to quell any incoming enemies.
Chorus Sea Eagles were flying toward Fort Sandras. They were big—twice the size of a regular sea eagle—and their beaks looked like gigantic gun muzzles. Instead of shooting bullets, they fired lasers.
With the fort in their sights, the eagles began to slowly rise higher. The remaining mechanical soldiers desperately tried to stop them, but the damage they dealt to the monsters was negligible.
Whoom!
The lasers caused an explosion at the fort. Monsters began to flood into the town through the broken gates. Inside, players were shouting and crying in pain.
“Stop…”
The sounds of combat drowned out Misaki’s voice.
What good had all that desperate fighting done? This phantom knight was enough to crush the spirit of even the most valiant frontline fighter.
“No…”
Misaki took out her last remaining Silver Arrow, nocked it, and pulled the bowstring taut. She steadied her shaking hands, repeating the movements that were now muscle memory for her, and fired the arrow.
She missed her mark by a wide margin. The arrow flew out of sight, tracing an arc in the air.
Misaki’s hand, still holding the bow, fell limply at her side. She dropped to her knees. Tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the ground.
“Crying again?”
That voice sounded vaguely familiar.
Sensing someone’s presence next to her, Misaki looked up to see a man in gray armor.
“Even with your spirit broken, you didn’t let go of your weapon,” said Theodore, a faint smile briefly appearing on his lips.