✦ ✦ ✦
“If we hold the line, they’d better thank us properly.”
“And they’d better clinch this thing on the other end!”
Flames scorched the sky behind them as they ran. No matter what happened, their enemy would not retreat. As long as they kept them from the throne, nothing else mattered.
✦ ✦ ✦
Velvet had snatched up the players around her and vanished, with Lily’s troops swarming to fill the space they’d vacated.
No matter how many they slew, more took their place. They were a mechanical meat shield that blocked all progress.
The greatest barrier of all, though, was the walls surrounding the town. Not every player could just jump over them, which forced the attacking army to focus on its weak points: the gates. But with endless toy soldiers surrounding them, taking the gates down was easier said than done.
“Palidragon’s Lightsword!”
“Retainer Rampart!”
Pain aimed for the soldiers and the wall, but more soldiers appeared to soak the blow.
He shattered the heap of summons but did no damage to the town wall beyond.
Trying to reduce the incoming damage, the enemy back line were sticking their necks out, attacking till the last possible second. Keeping his guildmates safe, Chrome waited for the right moment. He wasn’t sure how, but he wanted to get Yui to that wall.
As tensions started to rise, an insane column of fire rose from the rear. No one even needed to look over their shoulders.
That was obviously Mii.
“Sally, thoughts?”
“Not looking good.”
They knew Frederica’s crew was standing guard, but Mii had never used flames of this scale before—if Velvet hit them too, they were unlikely to hold the line.
“What now? Should I go back?”
Maple could use her Machine God to fly back and make it in time. But—
“We need you here on offense. Your artillery and damage reduction are vital.”
“Kanade…”
There was a huge black cylinder over Maple’s head. Ancient Weapon’s regular laser blasters were critical to breaking through the summoned soldiers.
“But…can they hold them off?”
“Then let me put it this way.”
Kanade pulled a book from his shelves with a blank white cover.
“I can make it there alone. But I can’t come back here after.”
He was asking her as Maple Tree’s guild master.
Asking her to win this event in the time he bought.
“Got it! I’ll do everything I can!”
“All right, then I’ll do the same. I am worried about them, after all.”
Sally knew every skill Kanade had—and knew what this meant.
“If we get this wall down, we’re good,” she said.
Once they flooded into town, they would have any number of routes to choose from. Lily’s delaying tactics would no longer be as effective.
“Then I’ll come with. We’ve got options there, right?” Chrome said.
He wasn’t adding that much to this assault; if he could defend their base, that would be far more useful.
And if they weren’t picky about the means, there was always a way.
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“I’m ready anytime!”
They quickly went over the plan and called out to the great shielders around them.
How much risk was allowable? What was the end goal of this plan? Once they’d agreed, they sprang into motion.
There was no time left for hesitation.
✦ ✦ ✦
Watching the battle from above, Lily spotted suspicious activity at the back—the familiar faces of Maple Tree among them.
A white magic circle surrounded Kanade’s feet as players clambered into a giant black sphere Iz had provided.
“What in the…?”
Lily couldn’t be sure just what the plan was, but they were clearly up to something.
She sent her troops in, and the players around joined the charge.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Stop them, Maple!”
“Right! Predators!”
Iz hid behind the crowd, and Maple and Sally moved to protect the others. Kanade was still chanting, Chrome was climbing into the sphere with the others, and Yui was standing in front of them all.
“Commence Assault!”
“Oboro, Shadow Clone!”
“Gah…!”
“Don’t falter!”
Rapid Fire members ducked under Maple’s barrage and were hit by the Predators.
Trying to bail would not lead to victory. Survival was not their goal.
Players soaked the damage, summons went down, and both shielded the players charging at Kanade and Yui from all directions.
Piercing attacks meant that if she used Martyr’s Devotion, they’d take Maple out instead.
But before that happened, Kanade and Yui were done.
“Okay, win this for us, Maple!”
“I will!”
“Teleport.”
There was a sudden puff of light, and then Kanade was gone.
Meanwhile, Yui raised her hammer.
“Chrome, defend the throne!”
She swung her hammer, slamming it into Iz’s sphere.
A boom rang out, followed instantly by the blast of air from the impact. The rescue sphere stuffed with great shielders hurtled into the air and, shedding all the buffs they’d cast beforehand, it and its occupants went flying off across the sky.
Only Yui could launch them, which mean she was left behind, swarmed by enemies.
She could not handle them all alone. If nothing was done, she’d die.
But Yui had one last vital task before her. Gripping hammers in both hands, she turned to face the looming walls. Maple and Sally were here to defend her. Weighing her remaining time on the scales, they flipped that notion, and made their choice.
“Ancient Weapon!”
“Flash Spout!”
With a clang, Maple’s weapons changed shape. She unleashed her maximum firepower, matching the energy consumption and blowing away the soldiers before her. Sally followed that with a gush of water that knocked the summons off balance, sweeping them away.
It would only be moments before they were summoned again, but for that brief moment, there was a path.
“Weapon Hurl!”
Yui didn’t miss her chance. Both wrists had a Helping Hands equipped, so she had eight hammers to fling.
Leaving light trails in their wake, her weapons slammed into the town walls—and since Yui had chosen not to evade or engage, the enemy weapons found their mark.
But the noise was far louder than when she launched Chrome.
Yui’s flung weapons did so much damage it was hard to believe this was truly the work of one player. The towering walls burst, and through the dust they could see the streets beyond.
Now their armies had a way in.
“The rest is up to you!”
It was a huge step closer to victory. Players slaughtered the summons, maintaining their momentum as they crossed the shattered walls into the town beyond. Seeing that, Yui faded away, content with the part she had played.
✦ ✦ ✦
With the walls down, it wasn’t just players who could get in—monsters could, too.
At last, they were inside. The long path up to the hilltop castle was filled with Lily’s troops. She’s set the spawn point for All Armies Attack inside the city.
It was a rational choice. Looking at their forces, she’d known they were fighting a losing battle and done what she could to delay that defeat.
But the monster army was under no one’s control. They pushed past the players on Maple’s side, racing through the streets, bounding across the rooftops, and heading to the castle by any means necessary.
Here and there they were stunned, stabbed, and shattered into light.
“Hidden troops!”
“And traps everywhere! Careful!”
Voices rang out from every direction, issuing warnings. Whether it was traps in chokepoints or ambushes in the shadows, the streets of the town were far better domain for a limited fighting force than the field outside. To proceed smoothly, they’d have to clear things thoroughly—eating up time they didn’t have.
“Iz!”
“Let’s bulldoze this place!”
“Very well. I’ve got a doozy up my sleeve.”
Iz pulled an item from her inventory: a cannon with a gaping barrel, fixed to the ground on multiple pillars, and aimed at the sky.
“Three…two…one…!”
With a massive boom, the cannon belched fire, launching glittering munitions skyward—and then it burst into light. The cannon itself could only fire once. Despite that, it had taken ages to craft, and required a ton of materials.
It might have broken, but only an item could provide that light. A moment later, the munitions it launched burst in the air, raining red glowing particles on the ground below and indiscriminately blanketing a massive area. Iz’s attacks never did allow for fine control.
“Defend yourselves!”
“““Mass Spell Barrier!”””
Item attacks did not distinguish friend from foe. If their allies failed to defend, the casualties would be overwhelming. A moment after the barrier went up to defend them, explosive flames and shockwaves slammed against it.
The impact of this activated traps all over, dealing fatal damage to players who’d been too focused on hiding to notice. It also, rather unfortunately, decimated the monsters. But with flames going up all over town, they’d dramatically reduced Lily’s army.
“Damn, Iz!”
“Very nice.”
“Go on, follow Pain. This was the last thing I could really do.”
Their time would be better spent getting to the castle than worrying about her. Maple and Sally ran up the burning streets toward their goal.