"Get back! Get the fuck back inside!"

I looked back at the Dragonlight Cavalry and shouted at them, but they no longer obeyed my orders. Even He Yi, Chaos Moon and the rest of the girls rushed out of the barrier regardless of the penalty. Every time lightning struck, a top-tier expert in our guild was reduced from a sixth-promotion player to a fifth-promotion player!

……

"Worse comes to worst we die together! It’s no biggie!"

Du Thirteen rushed toward an enemy and struck a heavy blow, but less than ten seconds later, he was killed by a concentrated volley of arrow and magic!

"Thirteen!" I shouted futilely.

Boom boom!

Chaos Moon’s Rock Crush and Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun’s Rock Smash exploded in the middle of a crowd, but the 30-level penalty reduced their damage by at least 50%. However, they continued to charge fearlessly.

Grief of the Dark chanted a spell and summoned earthen spikes from the ground, deleting a large chunk of High Fighting Spirits’ HP in an instant. He immediately followed up with three Fireballs that deleted the rest.

"Fuck you!"

High Fighting Spirits cast Xiezhi Howl right before he died. He was able to drag dozens of enemies to the grave with him.

Beiming Xue roamed the fringes and dished out as much firepower as she could. The Purgatory Thunder Beast was also roaring and killing everything in its path. Now Level 126 Murong Mingyue was swinging her staff and healing every player that could be healed.

There were almost three hundred Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls players behind the Life Barrier at the beginning, and they all charged fearlessly at the enemy. Then, the Northern Alliance killed them all.

Bang bang bang!

Fire Blasts kept coming from every direction. It wasn’t long before He Yi’s health hit rock bottom.

I tried to reach her, but my path was blocked by a couple of magic knights. During her final moment, she let out a chuckle and said, "We’ve done our best, so we have no regrets!"

I couldn’t do anything even though He Yi had died right in front of me. The Ancient Seal was powerful, but nowhere near enough to decimate the millions and millions of enemies still on the battlefield. It was impossible to turn the tide around no matter how many people I killed.

The battle was a one-sided slaughter. The highest-leveled player in our guild was the Level 129 Beiming Xue, and the lowest was me, Level 100. Our attacks missed the enemy 50% of the time, but the enemy dealt increased damage to us due to the level gap. There was no comparison.

"Hah!"

Gui Guzi jumped off his warhorse, stabbed a magic knight in the chest and pulled out in one smooth motion, drawing blood. At the same time, his eyes turned blood-red in color. Red eyes were the characteristic of a low-rank Asura. His HP was dropping drastically due to the Fireballs and arrows flying his way.

"You bitches! How dare you take so many levels from Boss Broken Halberd! I’ll make you pay many times over for your sins!"

Gui Guzi abruptly switched to a sword and charged into a group of enemies on foot. I inspected the moment and discovered that it had a splash effect and lifesteal. No wonder he abandoned his spear even though its Attack was higher.

"This fucker’s an undead! Light mages, take him out!" a player from Hero City shouted.

A high-level mage immediately responded to the call and summoned a golden holy light from the sky. Gui Guzi’s skin immediately started rotting and stinking as if he was bathed in acid.

"Fuck!"

Gui Guzi went completely ballistic. He Charged the light mage and pierced his chest with Barrier Break. Then, he bit him on his neck and started feeding on his flesh like an actual corpse eater!

+20000!

+20000!

+20000!

He started recovering HP at an incredible rate. Holy shit. An active lifesteal? Where the hell did Gui Guzi pick up such a hardcore skill?

……

Thud thud thud!

Mountain Stagger Arrow worked incredibly well against mounts, and it only took a couple of hits to drop Xu Yang to the ground. But despite losing his mount, he charged fearlessly toward the enemy and hit a magic knight with Mountain Stagger Slash. The rocky skill instantly dismounted the magic knight and allowed Xu Yang to thrust his sword through his neck, killing him on the spot!

"Take him out!"

Grief of the Dark shouted while summoning Fire Rain, deleting Xu Yang’s HP continuously. A group of archers answered the mage’s call and started shooting Xu Yang in an organized fashion. Despite the warrior’s best attempts to block the arrows, he was ultimately knocked to the back and killed where he stood.

"Boss…"

He groaned, plunged his sword to the ground and dropped to one knee. He Yi’s body was just two meters in front of him.

I blocked in front of He Yi’s body and swung my sword repeatedly. Burning Blade Slash might be missing like crazy, but anyone who got hit was basically one-shot where they stood. I fired another golden seal into the clouds, and the Ancient Soul Seal hit the ground with a boom and killed dozens instantly. Those who were lucky enough to miss the attack could only stare at the ridiculous damage numbers floating above their allies’ head. The Ancient Seal was doing almost 200k damage at this point!

I looked back and felt my heart freeze over. Even Xu Yang was gone!

Despite being surrounded by enemies from all sides, Chaos Moon parried many attacks and fired Rock Crush after Rock Crush that dealt a considerable amount of damage. It was to the point where the Northern Alliance dared not underestimate the female warrior even though she was only Level 125. At the very least, her equipment didn’t reflect her current level at all!

A cry broke out from behind me at this moment. When I looked back, I saw Murong Mingyue stumbling backward with three Devil Piercing Arrows in her chest. Her back hit a wall, and she slowly slumped to the ground. She died as well.

Moon Dew and Moonlight Stone were incapable of fighting a protracted battle. They all died one after another.

Less than ten people were still standing in front of the palace entrance in the blink of an eye.

"Big bro…"

Beiming Xue cried and tried to run to my side, shooting the magic knights chasing after her as she ran. However, a fireball hit her and engulfed her completely before she could reach me.

"Beiming!"

It felt like a knife was twisting in my heart. I never thought that things would turn out like this; that I would one day watch my loved ones die horribly right before my eyes.

On the other side, someone managed to knock Gui Guzi’s aside and sent him stumbling. A broadsword abruptly pierced his chest and erupted into the floating rune a cyan beast. It was the Beast Howl Slash!

57126!

The level gap was just too huge. There was absolutely nothing Gui Guzi could do to stop Vienna’s Sorrow’s attack at all. The next moment, Triple Slash passed through the Undying Knight’s body and dropped him to the ground.

Pooh!

Vienna’s Sorrow slowly pulled out his sword and stepped on Gui Guzi’s lifeless head. "Undying Knight? You’re just a piece of shit!"

……

Buzz!

My mind turned blank at that moment. Words were no longer adequate to describe the fury boiling in my heart. I abruptly roared like an animal, activated Great Earth Transformation and charged straight toward Vienna. Countless arrows pierced my body and killed me on the way, but death couldn’t stop me for even a second. I shouted, "Die, you animal!"

"Huh?!"

Vienna abruptly turned around, but when he saw me he simply smiled and pierced me with a Barrier Break!

Pu!

79872!

The level gap was bad enough, but the fucker landed a critical hit on me as well. My buffs had expired at this point, so the attack one-shot me instantly.

I immediately revived and grabbed Vienna’s blade, uncaring that the sword was still shifting inside my body.

I pushed myself off the ground and slammed my knees right into his chin, eliciting a painful groan from the man. Before he could fall to the ground, I had already slammed my sword into his open mouth.

Pu!

37644!

Not far away, Grief of the Dark turned completely green. "Pri… priests, heal Vienna now! He must not be killed no matter what! QUICKLY!"

But they were too late. Burning Blade Slash erupted inside the fucker’s throat!

MISS!

MISS!

78912!

My damage was insane, but it still wasn’t enough to kill Vienna’s Sorrow.

I raised my palm into the air, and the golden seal "Sword" flew into the clouds. A moment later, it crashed on top of the both of us! It didn’t miss this time!

223477!

It was a one-shot. There was no second chance for Vienna!

Ding~!

System Announcement: Attention all players, Heroic Bannerman "Vienna’s Sorrow" (USA) has been killed by player "Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand" (China)!

……

Without a word, I turned around and activated Thunderous Charge right away. My target was none other than the super mage, Grief of the Dark!

Swhoosh!

Grief of the Dark was prepared for this, so he used Blink to flash away right as I was about to hit him. However, I was much faster than the mage thanks to my Stormy Waves War Boots, so after I opened up a path with Burning Blade Slash, I closed the distance between the two of us in no time and used Universe Break!

Pu!

41737!

The skill penetrated his Magic Shield, but surprisingly didn’t kill him. What the hell, he must have full buffs on him!

Before the mage could react, I raised my palm and fired three seals in a row. I couldn’t stack the seals on top of one another for extra damage, but I could cut off all avenues of retreat! This time, you die!

Swhoosh!

A screeching noise grated against everyone’s ears as the ancient seal tore Grief of the Dark’s Magic Shield apart. I charged forward and landed one final hit on his back!

Ding~!

System Announcement: Attention all players, Heroic Bannerman "Grief of the Dark" (USA) has been killed by Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand (China)!

……

Finally, the last Heroic Bannerman of the Northern Alliance has been killed.

Still under the effects of Great Earth Transformation, I fought my way back to the palace entrance only to discover that everyone in Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls had been killed. I was the only one left still alive on the land of blood and bodies via Resurrection Art.

I looked up and stared at the sky for a moment. Snow was falling from the sky and freezing my face a little. Pointed toward the ground, the Cyan Netherworld Sword continued to glow blood-red.

……

At the front, a sea of Northern Alliance players slowly advanced toward me with grim eyes. However, no one actually dared to charge me probably because I had traumatized them with my killing of Vienna’s Sorrow and Grief of the Dark.

There were still 57 minutes left on the Nation War. All hope was lost...

"K-kill him! Archers, mages, give it everything you got!"

A ton of ranged attacks tore my body to shreds. In less than ten minutes, I died another 47 times and dropped to Level 70. At this point, I was no longer a threat to the enemy. The only reason the enemy frontliners still weren’t approaching me was because all of my skills were one-shot kills if they hit.

Inside the Life Barrier, Luo River God of the Capital clutched her scepter and whispered, "Forgive us, Lu Chen. Forgive us for not stepping out of the Life Barrier…"

I slumped dejectedly against the palace wall and nodded. "It’s fine. It’s all on you guys after I die, Sister Wang Luo. Just… just do your best to delay the enemy until the end of the Nation War as much as you can…"

"Mn. We will!" Luo River God of the Capital promised me with a nod.

……

I laughed bitterly as I stared at the enemies in front of me. Who would’ve thought that the very first Nation War would turn out like this? Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls was annihilated, and I was the only one who was still alive...

"Come on!"

I raised my sword high and shouted fearlessly, "Don’t even think about stepping on this piece of land until you’ve gotten me down to Level 0!"

Boom boom boom!

A couple more Galaxy Storms later, I dropped a level yet again.

Ding~!

System Notice: Player, please be informed that you’ve used Resurrection Art more than 80 times. Your account will be deleted if your level drops below 0!

"Fuck…" Cold sweat dripped down my neck as I sucked in a deep breath. It was over. It truly was all over.

It was at this moment a dozen or so Bloodthirsty Beast Cavalrymen rushed me. Every swing of the blade knocked me back unceremoniously and plastered me against the icy wall, the bloodstained Soul Suppressing Cloak dying the white walls of the palace red.

I looked at the sky and felt like crying and laughing at the same time.

……

Suddenly, a commotion broke out amid the enemies. A cyan light pierced the heavens, and a sword of ice wreathed in flames crashed right on top of them. That’s—Lin Yixin’s Ice Flame Slash?!

It has to be her!

My mind suddenly cleared up. Riding atop the Frostscythe Warhorse, Lin Yixin activated Great Earth Transformation, cut a path through the enemy’s ranks and rode all the way toward me. When she finally arrived, she looked at me gently before breaking into a smile. "Why do you always look so sorry every time I see you, Little Cheat?"

She pressed her lips together cutely. "Do you really think you can woo a girl like this?"

I clung to the wall and barely pulled myself up to my feet. Propping myself up with the Cyan Netherworld Sword, I smiled at her and called out her name tremblingly, "Yiyi…"

Words couldn’t describe how aggrieved my tone sounded. I had fought for an insane amount of time and lost all my troops. I myself had been reduced to an unbelievably sorry state. Maybe that was why I felt impossibly aggrieved and tired when I finally saw her again.

Lin Yixin got off her horse and stood in front of me. She asked, "Do you love me?"

My mind was completely blank. I didn’t know how to answer her.

"Heh…"

The corner of Lin Yixin’s lips pulled upward as if she wanted to say something. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her shoulders were shaking slightly. "You’re so stupid. You’re the biggest dumb dumb in the entire world!"

"Yiyi…"

I tried to touch her arm, but she pulled back like she was electrocuted. Her tears flowed down her cheeks, and she stared into my soul as she murmured, "They all say I don’t love you, that I know not what love is… but I know that the emotion in my heart is love, and that my love is unrivaled… for I only love once in a lifetime!"

My love is unrivaled...

Lin Yixin’s words imprinted themselves into my mind as she raised her smooth, white arm, all the while weeping uncontrollably like a child. The dazzling, prismatic light shone so bright that the entire sky was alight.

Then, a pure tear fell to the ground.

Drip!

The tear erupted into light when it hit the snow. Then, with Lin Yixin as the center, a shockwave spread outward and engulfed everything like a nuclear storm!

The Northern Alliance’s army was annihilated, just like that. Not a speck of dust was left behind.

……

Ding~!

System Announcement: Player "Wind Fantasy" has used the Divine General Skill "God’s Tear" and dealt a map-wide attack. In exchange, her account is permanently deleted.

……

My mind turned completely blank, and I shuddered from head to toe. How can this be?

Lin Yixin was still staring at me, but her hair suddenly dissolved into purple light. The digital breakdown spread to her face, her head and her body, her legs, and eventually… her entire person scattered into a shower of starry light and flew into the sky. It was as if she never existed.

Drip drip drip!

The sky suddenly rained without warning. As the icy droplets splashed against my face, I looked up and felt my heart breaking into a million pieces.