Chapter 358 – Chaos's Battlefield
“Preparation launch!”
A group of Players, eyes gleaming with excitement, dragged out a massive Trebuchet of imposing scale. But instead of stone projectiles, their ammunition was living flesh—naked, trembling bodies.
And among them, the one chosen was none other than Ziyou no Yi, the Player widely revered as the “Holy Light Guy.”
A bystander raised a question:
“Are you sure this is safe? Won’t he just be smashed to death?”
“Of course not.”
“We’ve consulted a high-tier from the Mechanical Cult—it’s completely safe.”
“Relax. We’ve run the calculations. Once transformed into a Bear, Holy Light Guy has thick hide and dense meat. He’ll barely take damage—just a few hit points lost.”
The Players manning the Trebuchet patted their chests with unwavering confidence, boasting like seasoned warriors.
“Engage!”
With a synchronized heave, they turned the massive winch wheels, tightening the ropes and drawing the long arm to its maximum tension. The counterweight lifted skyward, the arm dipped downward—like a predator coiled and ready to strike.
Inside the bowl-shaped cradle, Holy Light Guy lay curled in the raw vulnerability of his naked form, whispering:
“For Freedom.”
“For Freedom!”
The Players operating the machine, the onlookers who thrived on chaos—every single one roared in euphoric unison.
At that moment, the background music—aLIEz—reached its crescendo, the melody blazing with passion.
With a thunderous release, the rope snapped. The counterweight plummeted under gravity, and the long arm shot upward with terrifying speed, hurling Holy Light Guy into the sky.
He was launched!
Slicing through the heavens in a perfect parabolic arc, Holy Light Guy streaked toward the distant castle. The Players gazed upward, their eyes wide—watching as the sacred glow of Ziyou no Yi cut a brilliant trail across the endless blue sky.
“Honey, come out and see God!”
“Look—the rainbow!”
“Holy crap, that’s a Holy Light Meteor!”
A roar tore from the sky—a primal, unbridled cry. At the peak of his flight, Holy Light Guy transformed.
His body swelled, fur erupted, wings of shadow and light unfurled. He became a colossal, monstrous Owlbear, a beast of terrifying might.
“Look! What is that?!”
“Gods above—tell me that thing can fly?!”
“Damned if this isn’t a joke!”
“It’s falling! It’s coming down!”
On the castle’s battlements, soldiers stared upward in sheer terror. Their faces were cast in shadow, their eyes wide with dread.
But it was too late.
The Owlbear plunged from the sky, its shadow swallowing the ramparts whole. The ground trembled beneath them.
“Boom!”
Belon Castle shuddered violently. Dust erupted in a storm. Debris rained down like shrapnel. The tower collapsed in an instant, burying dozens beneath tons of stone. Men were crushed flat. Others were buried under rubble, screaming in agony.
From the smoke and dust, a dark figure burst forth—Holy Light Guy, now a monstrous Owlbear.
He charged across the city wall, trampling soldiers beneath his bulk. One swing of his claw sent three men flying like ragdolls. His raw strength turned flesh into pulp.
Just he and Great威 Tianlong had already turned Belon Castle’s defenses into chaos.
Multiple city towers and archery turrets were reduced to rubble. Over a hundred soldiers fell, dead or dying.
But this was only the beginning.
Dozens of Players surged forward, unleashing spells, hurling bombs into the city, raining destruction from all sides. The defenders were overwhelmed—utterly unprepared for an enemy with no tactics, no strategy, no discipline.
“Above!”
“Get down!”
Squire Knight Jahn Bend, sharp-eyed and alert, spotted the danger from the sky and screamed a warning.
“Whoosh—”
A wave of heat roared past. Three Wyverns screamed through the air, their jaws agape, breathing torrents of searing fire that turned a line of soldiers into screaming torches.
“Fire! It’s on fire!”
“Help me!”
Soldiers rolled on the walls, burning, screaming.
Jahn Bend swung his sword in one clean motion, decapitating a writhing man and ending his suffering. His face was grim, solemn.
“Everyone—watch the skies!”
Before he could finish, a massive figure leapt from behind him—a hulking Player, swinging an Iron Hammer with brutal force.
“Crack!”
The blow shattered Jahn Bend’s skull.
“Eighty!”
Brains splattered across the stone. Flesh and bone scattered.
The Retainer Knight never had time to react. He fell like a felled tree, dead before he hit the ground.
“No—!”
“Sir Jahn!”
The guards screamed in rage, charging the killer.
But the Player swung again—another skull shattered.
More Players poured onto the wall, howling like beasts, leaping from the sky, bursting from underground burrows, emerging from tunnels. They came from every direction.
“Your daddy’s here!”
“Hoho!”
“I don’t back down from a Boss—I crush grass with my fists!”
Fire, frost, acid—everything rained down. Some even used Goblinoid stinky hide pants as makeshift weapons, making their allies gag in disgust.
There was no strategy. No coordination. No rules.
Yet Belon’s soldiers were already crumbling.
They were trained to defend—perched atop high walls, raining arrows and stones, wearing down enemies until they bled out or fell.
But these Players? They came from above, from below, from nowhere. Teleportation. Drop attacks. Tunnel raids.
They were unpredictable. Unstoppable.
And worse—they were having fun.
Knight Mithra, surveying the chaos, felt a wave of disbelief.
He and his men fought with honor, bloodied and broken, losing comrades one by one. But the enemy? They didn’t even flinch. They laughed. They played.
A fire ignited in Mithra’s chest—furious, uncontainable.
How dare these Homes treat war like a game? How dare they mock a noble knight?
He had been trained since childhood—a Noble Knight’s Code—to face even the Invincible with courage, to charge forward with honor, and die with dignity.
And in return, the enemy would respect such a warrior.
But now?
The soldiers from the Kingdom of Ashen had shattered that belief.
They didn’t care. They laughed at tactics. They laughed at death. They didn’t even care if they died.
Knightly Virtue? To them, it was nothing but empty air.
With a roar, Knight Mithra raised his longsword, his voice rising like a tragic aria from an old opera.
“Monsters! You filth!”
“You scum from the Kingdom of Ashen! You wear human skin—but what lies beneath? A heart rotting with pus? Or a dragon’s furnace soul, burning with fire?”
Unbeknownst to him, a figure in the distance—Tian Sheng Zhan Kuang, eyes blazing with battle lust—had already locked onto him.
“Another minor boss.”
“Nice gear… must drop a ton of Reputation Points.”
A grin split across his face. He licked his lips, savoring the blood still clinging to them.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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