SWNOVELS Chapter 106.2: Fourth Crisis's Battle Tactics
Chapter 106.2: Fourth Crisis's Battle Tactics
The vanguard made of players from the wanderer class, including Give Me Medicine and Study Obsessed, went up first. When the elite monsters initiated the first wave of charges, players quickly scattered, jumping into the harvested wheat fields on both sides of the road. They moved agilely, flanking the rear of the enemy and striking randomly.
The seven mage apprentice players blended in amongst the largest group of wanderer players, and when the wanderers engaged the enemies in a hit-and-run, the mages raised their crude wooden staves simultaneously and cast Slowdown on the selected targets.
The knight players that were slower by a bit charged at the targets affected by Slowdown.
"We're up!" Yang Ying waited until the first wave of cavalry had charged several meters and was drawn further away by the wanderer players, creating a gap, before she herself launched a charge and rushed toward the most challenging elite monster commander.
The Charge skill in a warrior player's skill panel could only charge targets within an 85-meter distance and was completely different from a true cavalry's charge in terms of power and destructive force.
However, this simplified version of the Charge skill, plagiarized from an alchemical puppet's rune, also had its advantages: As long as there was enough rage value (mental power) to activate the rune, the skill didn't require any preparation and could be used regardless of the original action or posture.
When discussing tactics and how to deploy their troop formations, players did so openly and confidently in front of the armored cavalry.
These sort of rampant actions of deploying troops directly in front of the enemy wasn't perceived as wrong by players like Unceasing Entropy and Blossoming Strokes, who were the critical thinkers among the players. After all, were there any gamers who hadn't discussed tactics in front of a boss during a dungeon run before?
Witnessing such a scene infuriated the cavalrymen—even if they couldn't understand the undead language, just observing these undead rearrange their formation boldly while occasionally gesturing at them was enough to understand what they were up to.
Wagner Pitt had already decided to not continue clashing with these undead so as to avoid incurring the wrath of that noble-born illegitimate son that had a black mage backing him (given the continuous influx of the undead, Wagner judged that the black mage himself was in Weisshem).
But, upon witnessing this sight, he no longer was in any rush to retreat and felt it necessary to eliminate these undead that were underestimating them.
As players made their move, Wagner initiated a ferocious charge.
Then, much to his surprise, he found that this bunch of undead was even more troublesome than the previous three batches! (a colossal misunderstanding) They knew how to split the battlefield, divide their forces, and sneak around to attack the cavalry squad's weak points!
After charging through several dozen undead that couldn't evade in time, Wagner tugged the reins of his steed, coming to a halt, and roared for his troops to reinforce the rear.contemporary romance
When he turned his horse, Wagner saw about ten undead, apparently lagging behind, running toward him.
Wagner didn't care about these few skeletons that were separated from the undead army, and he certainly didn't feel any danger. He believed he could still emerge unscathed even if he faced over ten undead alone. Moreover, he had his soldiers by his side.
It was with this mindset that Wagner prepared to turn back. However, at that moment, from the corner of his eye, he saw an undead, seemingly out of nowhere, making an unexpected and entirely unconventional charge toward him.
Of course, Wagner had seen charging techniques before. Compared to the charges he had faced in battles against other professionals, the power of this skeleton was quite pathetic. It clattered into the side of his horse and his right leg, though the horse remained steadfast, while Wagner only swayed slightly.
Before Wagner could comprehend how this skeleton had generated the force in such an unmethodical charge, several more undead, running haphazardly and showing no combat proficiency like the other undead, came in twos and threes, launching unpredictable charges at him…
Players relying on runes had very low combat power indeed. They could only achieve the strength of a proper professional when ten of them teamed up.
However, players had their own advantages, such as having no sensation of pain and being completely indifferent to injury.
At the moment when Yang Ying, who was leading the charge, clattered into Wagner Pitt, Wagner's sword pierced through her right clavicle. The steel plate fish-scale armor, a modern industrial product that Yang Ying wore, couldn't withstand the casual reverse strike of Wagner's sword, indicating his strength.
However, this didn't prove effective. Skeletons were least bothered by piercing injuries. Yang Ying didn't care that the enemy's sword was still stuck in her shoulder. With a simple movement, she skillfully wielded her weapon and used Blade Dance, slashing through the armored kilt at Wagner's left thigh…
Tang Jia, clattered into Wagner slightly after Yang Ying and with great coordination, unleashed Sword Storm, spinning like a high-speed top where she stood. Regardless of the actual damage inflicted, it temporarily intimidated the soldiers who intended to help Wagner.
Qin Guan, Fallen Mulberry Leaves, and a few other warrior players also charged toward Wagner's mount. Regardless of their individual skill levels, these warrior players knew how to use their skills. For a moment, the area around Wagner was filled with chaotic sword flashes, making it difficult for even his loyal squire to get close.
With Wagner Pitt temporarily pinned back and losing his on-the-spot command, chaos descended on most of the cavalry squad that was engaging with the wanderer players.
These soldiers weren't lacking in combat strength, but due to the continuous depletion of stamina and energy during the three previous engagements, coupled with the more than fivefold difference in numbers and the reckless tactics of the undead, they couldn't hold out for long. They quickly became fragmented and unable to hold an effective battle formation.
The heavy cavalry was thrown into disarray, though the players didn't gain much of an advantage either—these heavily armored foes were exceptionally resilient, didn't take much damage even from ten strikes, and would kill a skeleton with a single strike. The flashing of players' respawn lights flicked throughout this brutal battle.
Any other armed group experiencing such a grueling battle would have already crumbled, but the players were surprisingly accepting. For them, facing heavy losses in a boss fight, especially this sort of elite boss in a town defense quest, was perfectly normal.
Not only were they indifferent to casualties, but these players, after successfully luring the elite heavy cavalry into a chaotic melee that was devoid of any technical finesse, also displayed considerable ingenuity by using old tricks…
One soldier thrust his spear at an undead lunging at him. Once thrust out, he couldn't retract it—at least three other undead clutched onto the shaft of his spear tightly, shouting while pulling with all their might.
Fearful of being pulled off his horse, this soldier had no choice but to let go and drew his shortsword for self-defense.
The eyes of an undead zealously hacking at his greaves lit up. With a "WAKAKA" cry, its two skeletal arms hooked onto the soldier's arm, determined to snatch his shortsword.
The bewildered soldier attempted to shake off the undead. However, more undead closed in from all sides—some trying to cut the straps of his greaves, others attempted to take off his shoes, and some climbed up the horse to try and seize his helmet…
The soldier, blanketed by the undead, was shocked, furious and terrified, and screamed desperately.
Brother Lahong, leading the team of knights, took advantage of the chaos and forcibly dismounted four soldiers affected by Slowdown. These soldiers were quickly stripped of their equipment, put in woven bags, and carried away.
When he noticed that the wanderer players were only focused on looting equipment and not capturing people, he got pissed and shouted, "Take the people too! Don't forget the horses!"
By the time Wagner finished off Yang Ying, Tang Jia, and the other warrior players holding him, more than half of his soldiers were deprived of their weapons, boots, greaves, helmets, and other equipment by the time he rushed back to reform the formation.
The fleeing undead dispersed in a panic, carrying away six of his soldiers and five lizard horses.
Wagner Pitt: "…"
During this encounter, his side suffered a loss of about a tenth of their combat strength, while the undead experienced casualties of at least 70%.
In theory, they ought to have won.
But Wagner couldn't seem to find any joy. He was so furious that smoke seemed to be coming out of his head.
Gritting his teeth, this still rational officer reluctantly waved his hand, preparing to take this opportunity to retreat.
Seeing the boss about to break away, players that had fled into the fields hurriedly dropped their captives and turned around, shouting and sprinting after the boss.
The scene of a small group of undead latching on, delaying them until a larger group of undead came to their aid, played out once again…
After paying the price of losing several men to repel the undead again, the haughty young squire finally broke down.
"We've killed at least a thousand undead. Why do they keep coming? What exactly are we facing?!" he shouted.
No one answered him. Tired and hungry, Wagner and the other soldiers watched the loitering undead in the near distance and took the lull to stuff dry rations into their mouths to recover some strength.
As long as they didn't retreat, the undead wouldn't tangle with them. Although a skirmish with a large group of undead after a long delay was inevitable, it was still better than having no breather at all.
The remnants of the squad took a break on the town road and could even see the people that had been taken away by the undead; those unlucky comrades who had fallen into the hands of the enemy were tied up in the woods two to three hundred meters away from the road.
Even more infuriating was the fact that some of the undead were even wearing armor parts or wielding weapons stolen from them…
The young squire felt grief and anger. He was a distant relative of the city defense force's commander, and his parents had nearly used up all their assets to bribe the commander to give him a chance to succeed this Bartalis family knight. There was no way he could willingly have his bright future buried here!
I must escape! I have to escape! The young squire plopped down and also started taking out dry rations from his bag and stuffing them into his mouth fiercely. Thoughts were racing through his mind.
Abandoning an entire squad of soldiers… It's Wagner's responsibility! It has nothing to do with me. I must find an opportunity to escape!
Wagner could see through this fellow's intent to desert and have the others take the blame with a single glance. However, being physically and mentally exhausted, he couldn't be bothered to deal with it.
Having lost so many soldiers, Wagner wouldn't escape punishment from the commander even if they managed to escape back to Indahl… Not to mention that the undead seemed to have exposed the intention to capture all of them.
Ten minutes later, a large group of undead appeared on the town road from the direction of Weisshem.
The cavalry squad soldiers, already numbed to this sight, weren't even surprised. They silently mounted their horses and lined up in formation.
This batch of undead (massive misunderstanding) had even more cunning tactics than the previous ones. Even the haughty young squire, who had always avoided fighting the undead and hid behind the others, was knocked unconscious and dragged away by the undead.
At 9:30 a.m. Earth time, 6:00 p.m. OtherWorld time, Rex and Ji Tang, who had been roaming the countryside all day (OtherWorld time), rushed back to Weisshem before it got dark.
As soon as they entered the town hall courtyard, Rex shuddered violently.
Beneath the west courtyard wall were several dozen brawny men neatly tied up.
These men were all very strong, and Rex could confirm with a casual glance every one of them had at least the combat power of a professional or higher.
Such a force of professional combat strength was even sufficient to raid a nobleman's estate.
Rex stared blankly at these men who seemed to be unscathed yet appeared half-dead. Then, he stiffly turned to look at Ji Tang.
"Looks like it's already been resolved," muttered Ji Tang as if he already knew what he was going to see. He threw Rex a casual glance and urged, "Let's go in and take advantage of the fact it isn't dark yet and quickly summarize today's progress."
Rex: "…"
Seeing Ji Tang's reaction, he could roughly confirm who these new prisoners were and why they had ended up in such a sorry state: Not a single one of them even had a boot on their feet! They were all barefooted!
done.co