Zhan Long

Chapter 797 - The Battle of the Broken River

The channel leading into Deer River was around a thousand meters wide, and was it very extensive. The Hybrid Demon boats were continuously floating into the lake with the tides. Both shores were constantly lit up by firelight. While we could still hear the cannons firing, they had become much less concentrated and couldn’t muster the same awe that they had inspired at the beginning.

……

“Peng!”

Another ship reached the shores. Arrows flew like rain from the [Zhan Long] archers. “Pa, pa, pa!” They fell upon the armored bow, but couldn’t pierce through. Instead, the iron bow fell into the water, creating a plank for the Magic Sword Masters to rush onto land.

“Block them!”

Matcha raised her [Lion King Shield] and rushed out to the front. She swept her blade into the crowd of monsters. The Lion King Shield was holding off the attacks of the seven to ten Magic Sword Masters, but she seemed to show no fear. Under the constant attention of Darling Duck, she could hold against the attacks. Meng Yao and Yue Yao Yan, the two Moon Elves, raised their swords and charged forward, holding the front lines. We did what we could to lessen our Steel Blade Horsemen casualties. After the players died, they couldn’t revive back into the event. Every Steel Blade Horseman death was a blow to our forces. I could see a fog rising up on the Deer Lake, who knows what was in store for us.

The Hybrid Demon Territory had lost the Sea Demon Tribe, and even Han Lin had been killed. They were not going to take these losses without getting something in return, and the Hybrid Demon Kings weren’t that stupid. Losing those two chess pieces would only be worth it if they could get Tian Ling City out of it. That’s why victory was the only option for them.

In the sky, one of the Flame Dragon Knights raised their Dragon Spear and shouted to Lady Qing Luo, “Lieutenant Qing Luo, we’ve got a crisis. Ignaus is leading over ten thousand warriors and has launched an attack on Dragon City…… There’s, there’s even ten thousand Sword Spirit Soldiers among them. What do we do?”

Qing Luo raised her long sword and clenched her teeth. “Take three Flame Dragon Knights, three Black Dragon Knights, three Flame Dragon Knights, and return to Dragon City immediately. You must protect Dragon City. I’ll hold down the fort here. Also, how is Lady Frost doing?”

The Flame Dragon Knight reported, “Lady Frost has already returned to Dragon City!”

“Alright, go then. With the lady, all will go well.”

“Yes!”

……

In the blink of an eye, ten Dragon Knights left the battlefield. Looks like I had predicted correctly. The Hybrid Demons were launching attacks on us from multiple fronts. Once Dragon City fell, Ba Huang City would become the next battlefield. After Ba Huang City, the Hybrid Demons would ride straight across the plains, cross the Zi Wu Mountains, and attack Tian Ling City. Without natural barriers like the Ice Ridge Mountains and the Sea of No Return, all of Tian Ling City would fall into the claws of the Hybrid Demons.

As before, I picked up my long sword and continued my charge through the crowd of monsters. I did all I could to minimize the damage that [Zhan Long] was taking. Time flowed by slowly. This battle was all about farming achievement points for us. The battle boats continued to sail into Deer Lake without any signs of slowing down. It seemed as though there was no end to them. On both shores, I could see both the Tian Ling City Armies and the Ba Huang City Armies. Queen Angela’s encampment was set up on the other shore. Cannons exploded, releasing their attacks upon the battleships on the lake. The entire battlefield seemed to be submerged in smoke and fog.

As I fought, I glanced through the Achievement Point Rankings. Good, my own ranking was somewhat stable

——

Xiao Yao Zi ZaiAchievement Points: 1014

Fang Ge QueAchievement Points: 991

Cang YueAchievement Points: 874

Mu XuanAchievement Points: 812

SimpleAchievement Points: 791

Ye LaiAchievement Points: 765

Cang TongAchievement Points: 755

Drunken SpearAchievement Points: 720

Jian Feng HanAchievement Points: 700

Dancing ForestAchievement Points: 699

……

Fang Ge Que put all of his effort into protecting the Water God’s Halberd, and so he was no longer gaining any more achievement points, making first place a sure bet for me. Mu Xuan and Simple had both been killed by Han Lin, and so Dong Cheng had successfully surpassed the two without a hitch. After a little bit of time, surpassing Fang Ge Que would not be a problem for her. The most astonishing part was the fact that Drunken Spear, a knight, had actually made it into the rankings. Furthermore, his points were right behind Wan Er and Ye Lai’s. Who knows just how that b*st*rd managed to farm so many points. Then again, it’s always been known that Drunken Spear wasn’t your average player. If he didn’t join [Flying Dragon] and instead chose to join [Legend], [Hero’s Mound], [Zhan Long], or [Judgement], I’m afraid he would’ve become a famous general long ago.

But even if that were the case, Tian Ling City would always have a role for Drunken Spear to play. That b*st*rd had willpower, determination, and an exceptionally keen sense for game play. When the time was right, no one would be able to stop Drunken Spear’s progress!

In the blink of an eye, two hours passed by. [Hero’s Mound], [Judgement], [Prague], and [Enemies at the Gate] had all set up camps. Everyone knew that this was the last chance for them to fight for achievement points. Nobody was willing to miss out on a chance like this.

Not long after, a messenger came riding over again and shouted, “Royal Army Commander General Li Xiao Yao, please report to the central tent!”

I fell silent. What now?

I immediately galloped straight to the central tent. I could see quite a few soldiers killing pigs and lamb for the meal. A waft of fine wines drifted from the inside. Even though we were in the middle of a bitter battle, those generals and lords were living it up in the central tent. They were even trying out some of the game in Gale Forest.

After I entered the central tent, I didn’t bother to even try to wipe off some of the blood on my armor that was left by the Magic Sword Master. I walked straight over to Princess Pearl’s side and stabbed my Zhen Yue Blade into the ground. Drip by drip, the fresh blood rolled onto the carpet, dying it red. This time, nobody dared to say anything. If they did, I wouldn’t be able to take it any longer. But Princess Pearl might react before even I do.

王阶下，狂雷军团统领雷斯皱眉道:“陛下，呼唤臣等不知所为何事?”

Below the king’s throne, Les, the General of the Thunder Army, knit his brows, “Your Majesty, what have you called us here for?”

King Rob replied, “Wait a little longer, the Ba Huang City soldiers are about to arrive!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

After a few minutes, light poured in as the central tents flaps were opened once again. Three of the Ba Huang City commanders walked in behind Queen Angela. These three were all Demon Harvest tier BOSSes and looked pretty strong. I could see traces of blood on Angela’s sword. This was something the Lords of Tian Ling City could never match with. The Ruler’s Sword in King Rob's hand looked to be strong, but it probably hadn't been used to kill an enemy yet.

Once Angela entered, King Rob immediately stood up and invited her in. “Lady Angela has arrived, please sit!”

Ba Huang City was subservient to Tian Ling City, but they maintained their own autonomy and so King Rob needed to be courteous to Angela. Furthermore, it was Ba Huang City that provided reinforcements for this battle. That favor was enough to move King Rob’s heart.

Angela sat down on the side, with her three generals standing beside her. She looked around and saw me. She couldn’t help but smile and say, “So, you’ve already made your way to a high level officer in the military?”

I gave an awkward smile. “Yup!”

Angela looked up at the king and said, “Your Majesty, please let's get straight to the point, there are many military matters that need immediate attention!”

King Rob nodded and said, “This battle has already dragged on for a long time, and we’ve taken great losses to the empire’s forces. But, just as before, the Hybrid Demons are coming at us in endless waves, from the Sea of No Return to Deer Lake. This is only pushing us further into a corner. I’ve just received news that Dragon City is also under attack. Lady Frost must be working extremely hard. And so I’ve decided to take on Theodore’s strategy—— Rapid Battle!”

“Rapid Battle?”

Angela was puzzled. “Your Majesty, what do you mean by Rapid Battle?”

King Rob replied, “Just 2.5 kilometers north of Deer Lake is a narrow river that’s only 200 meters wide. And so, we are planning on building a dam there to stop the Hybrid Demon battleships’ advance, stopping them just north of Deer Lake. North of the lake are two walls of granite, making it impossible to climb on land. This method would cut off their retreat. At that moment, a number of Ba Huang City warriors will deal one quick and vigorous attack, starting with rolling boulders off the cliff, pouring hot oil into the river, and then burning their boats down!”

Angela couldn’t help but get excited. “What a clever plan!”

King Rob replied, “Seeing as you have no objections, then it’s decided. I will dispatch a troop of Flame Dragon Soldiers and Xia Yu soldiers to start building dams along the western shore. I ask that Ba Huang City’s armies also begin building up their dams to take this opportunity to punish the Hybrid Demons!”

Angela stood up and nodded. “Then, Your Majesty, I will begin preparations right now!”

“Good!”

……

Now that our battle strategy was decided, I quickly headed out of the central tent and met up with the core players of [Zhan Long]. In total, [Zhan Long] only had around 5000 left. We headed north as well. More likely than not, there would be some trouble that would halt the progression of the dam. We needed to go and protect it.

All of these large armies headed north. Along the way, we could see Magic Sword Masters and Stone Skin Giants landing on the shore. Close to half an hour later, we reached the narrowest part of the river. On both banks, the NPC armies had already begun to move boulders and enormous rocks. “Peng, peng, peng!” They rolled the boulders into the water. In the blink of an eye, the Ba Huang City soldiers had created a 50-meter-long stone pile. They were also moving cannons up the hills. They were aiming the cannons straight at the warships.

“D*mm*t!”

One of the Magic Sword Masters’ lieutenants was standing at the center of a war boat. He shouted out orders: “These cowardly humans are cutting off the river to stop us from plowing straight to Tian Ling City. They’re just daydreamers! Charge onto land now and cut down those humans!”

Angela quickly reacted. “Blade Shield Division, hold them off!”

I looked over at the Steel Blade Horsemen around me and said, “Let’s go too!”

A large group of horsemen sped out and began engaging the Magic Sword Masters around the dam. With Dong Cheng and Thousand Suns providing support from afar, the Magic Sword Masters were dying in the river. Their bodies floated down the river and got caught in the rocks, making their corpses a part of the dam.

Just like that, the Hybrid Demons died in crowds. Of the entire dam, a good third of it was made up of meat. Blood flowed freely down the stream.

……

“Grr!”

A roar echoed from a distance, stunning Li Mu and I. That sound was incredibly familiar. Had the Blood Giant Kehl arrived?