Scorching winds, laced with the acrid scent of Originium dust, swept across the battlefield. With a thunderous roar, the alloy gates in the belly of the warships swung open, and a hundred modified assault vehicles burst forth like steel behemoths unleashed. Their armored hulls were coated in camouflage paint, and the automatic cannons mounted on their roofs gleamed with a cold blue sheen beneath the blazing sky. Upon each hood shone the starlight emblem of Tomorrow's Development.
Each assault vehicle carried twenty players. Two thousand in total, divided into squads and led by professional players, they surged toward the enemy lines.
Cheng, vice-captain of Team Dynasty, took the lead. He cranked the car stereo to maximum volume.
"Immortal temptation, taking over my mind…"
"The scatter cannons are firing!"
"Damn it, we'll smash them to pieces!"
A player clambered onto the roof, dropped into the gunner's seat, and squeezed the trigger at the incoming storm of black projectiles.
"Ratatata! I'm going broke paying for social security!"
"Spread out! Advance in a fan formation!" Xiyiye's voice boomed through the vehicle loudspeakers.
The communicator crackled. With one hand on the wheel, she jerked it sharply left. The assault vehicle carved a fierce arc across the scorched, gravel-strewn earth, its exhaust blazing with brilliant blue high-energy flames.
At the ten o'clock position, within the Victorian noble position, more than two hundred Victorian steam tanks rotated their cannons toward the charging raiders. Each five-meter-tall steel colossus loomed through the blowing sand. Superheated steam gushed from their exhaust vents, melting the ground beneath them into muddy sludge.
"How the hell are you driving this well? Been secretly practicing to show off?" A player slammed his weapon against the mount. This was what they had been waiting for. Ever since the Kazdel Civil War ended, they had yearned for a battlefield like this. They would gladly die a hundred times for it.
Xiyiye laughed loudly. "I failed my driver's test before because I didn't treat the instructor to dinner or drinks. This is my real skill!"
"You don't even have a license? Reckless driving's going to make your family cry!"
Xiyiye snorted and slammed the accelerator, charging straight toward the defensive line.
"Falling weak on my knees, summon the strength of mayhem…"
Yanfei knelt atop the roll cage of the second assault vehicle. Her long tail stretched taut in the gale like a banner. Through the scope of her heavy sniper rifle, she locked onto the front tire assembly of the leading steam tank.
"Incendiary round—fire!"
When she pulled the trigger, the thunder of the rifle drowned out even the engine's scream. A thin streak tore through the air, striking the base of the tank's front wheel. Half a second later, the Originium charge detonated with a deafening blast. Gears and hydraulic pipes were ripped free as if torn apart by a monstrous claw, fragments spraying into nearby vehicles. Thick armor split open like foam under pressure. Before the Victorian driver inside could react, bullets from the assault vehicle's roof-mounted gun cut him down.
Dreamweaver drove straight into the noble encampment. His vehicle carved deep trenches through the ravaged land. The massive chainsaw mounted at the front spun at maximum speed, sparks cascading as its teeth shrieked against steel. Three Victorian steam tanks attempted to form a defensive line, but when the chainsaw met their armor, the sound was unbearable. After a brief stalemate, Dreamweaver pushed the saw to full output. Fire burst outward as the tanks' plating shredded into countless fragments. The overloaded vehicle finally spun out of control and crashed into the cluster of tanks.
The assault vehicle was wrecked. Dreamweaver and his squad scrambled out, staring at the steam tanks now surrounded by waves of players.
"Charge!"
"The offensive's starting again!" a hoarse voice roared from another vehicle across the battlefield. "Enemy fleet anti-aircraft fire! Damn it!"
A barrage descended in a straight, annihilating line. Dozens of assault vehicles were struck and erupted into fireballs. Hundreds of comrades were wiped out in an instant.
Then the Venus fleet retaliated. Dozens of slender, twisting beams of light streaked across the battlefield, gouging deep through the Victoria noble warships and triggering another thunderous chain of explosions.
"Warspite at fourteen percent damage. Propulsion system restarting!"
"Nagato's shield critically damaged. Power reserves below eight percent!"
"Push the cooling system to one hundred twenty percent output! Prepare to fire the main gun again!"
The shared channel filled with furious shouts and overlapping reports. On the front lines, Cheng had already mounted two massive speakers. Electronic music blasted across the battlefield, igniting the chaos into a frenzy.
He climbed onto the roof of the vehicle. Even as it barreled forward at full speed, his body stood firm, as though nailed in place.
Cheng nudged the tsuba of his blade open by three millimeters. Before the sword was fully drawn, a chilling wave had already swept through the air. Within his vision, everything in a twenty-meter radius was washed in deep blue. The thick smoke billowing from the steam tanks congealed into grimy, cotton-candy-like clumps, suspended in place. He exhaled slowly and narrowed his eyes.
The legendary sword [Setsuna] was an ancient-grade weapon unearthed by Team Dynasty in Higashi. It granted its wielder the ability to momentarily transcend time. During its activation, the user moved through afterimages invisible to the enemy, each strike draining an enormous amount of MP. Even a top-tier professional like Cheng could only unleash four swings.
"Labor and capital are the damn storm!"
"I am the storm that is approaching!"
The longsword left its sheath. Its glow was not silver, but a devouring shade of deep blue.
The first slash swept horizontally through the cockpit of the lead vehicle before the visor-clad Victoria commander could register fear.
The second fell vertically, cleaving the rear transport's fuel tanks. Leaking Originium droplets froze midair like insects trapped in amber.
The third spiraled outward, cutting through the noble convoy in a widening arc. Seventeen steam-powered vehicles bore hairline fractures across their upper halves at the exact same height.
"I am the reclaimer of my name! Born in flames, I have been blessed!"
The fourth strike. "The victor takes all."
Gripping the sword with both hands, he reversed it and drove the blade into the roof beneath his feet. A violent surge of sword energy erupted outward from his position. Within its radius, the Victoria steam tanks began to resonate at a shrill frequency. Rivets burst free one after another, tracing hundreds of thin golden lines across the frozen spacetime.
"My family crest is a demon of death! Forsakened, I am awakened!"
The instant the sword slid back into its sheath, the deep-blue domain shattered with a thunderous crack. Time resumed.
All the accumulated damage manifested at once. The upper half of the lead tank slid off in a clean line, exposing the lifeless driver within. The suspended fuel droplets finally met airborne sparks, igniting a chain explosion that detonated five seconds later. One charging steam vehicle split cleanly in half mid-stride, its gears and pistons scattering across the snow like dismantled toys.
"A phoenix's ash in dark divine! Descending misery! Destiny chasing time!"
"Fight! This is fun!"
Cheng spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed onto the roof. His MP had dropped to zero in an instant. A crushing dizziness overtook him, leaving him unable to move. His teammates dragged him back inside the vehicle.
"Feeling good?"
He grunted, blood thick in his voice. "Worth it."
"You had your fun, but you're the commander of one of our assault teams. You've made a mess of the formation."
The Dynasty team's medic clicked his tongue while beginning treatment. "The effect's impressive, but I'm burning a ridiculous amount of MP to stabilize you. The captain's going to catch heat for this."
He coughed repeatedly. Cheng had no words.
At the front lines, Xiyiye's assault vehicle drifted sharply across the battlefield. The player manning the roof cannon laughed wildly as he blasted two steam turrets apart.
"Wasn't that an ancient weapon from the Dynasty team's Cheng?"
955, a heavily armored defender professional from Yanyu Pavilion, cursed under his breath, envy clear in his tone. "Showing off like that on a battlefield… dying for that would almost be worth it."
"That's the destructive power of an ancient-grade weapon. But the backlash is clearly too much for him." Xiyiye sneered. "Moves like that are great for bullying NPCs. In PvP, heavy armor defender would block it, and he'd be left at half health with no ability to fight."
955 nodded. "True. Heavy armor defender has taunt and invincibility. An attack like that would just cripple the user."
"And don't forget, ancient-grade weapons aren't something only the Dynasty has…"
Xiyiye stared at the battleship ahead, then suddenly roared, "Captain! Nine o'clock!"
Yanfei's assault vehicle surged forward. Its ramming mechanism, a five-ton steel beast, slammed into the armored side gate of the Victoria noble ship. With a piercing metallic shriek, the half-meter-thick composite steel plate caved inward like crushed tin.
Yanfei leaped from the cockpit, drawing twin submachine guns. She opened fire, shredding the remaining hinges completely.
"The deck's rising again—"
"Hold them for twenty seconds!"
Yanfei slung her submachine guns aside and drew the massive ancient-grade bow [Sunlight Demon Bow] from her back.
"I'll shoot the elevator down."
The remaining squad members continued laying down suppressive fire from the rooftop cannons, while Victorian soldiers advanced toward them in steam-powered vehicles.
In Yanfei's vision, the elevator's connection points were outlined as if marked by fate itself. Bright circles hovered before her eyes. She narrowed her gaze and nocked a black arrow.
"Team leader—"
"Go!"
One by one, the Originium embedded in the arrowheads ignited. The Sankta halo above Yanfei's head flared brighter. As her fingers released the string, it answered with a dull, heavy twang.
Mid-flight, the black arrow fragmented into twelve blue-white streaks of light. They spiraled and coiled as if guided by an unseen force, converging on the elevator deck's connection point. The impact bored through the armor, molten iron seeping from the wound. The instant the arrow struck, a blazing Originium fireball expanded outward, detonating in a blinding flash. The composite plating of the elevator deck was vaporized, exposing the hydraulically driven mechanical framework beneath.
"All personnel, initiate the second operational plan!" Yanfei shifted her aim toward the surrounding steam vehicles. "Cut down their generals. Seize their banner. Capture their commander!"
Aboard the flagship, the Venus, a holographic sand table divided the battlefield into shifting blue and red geometric sectors. Energy readings from the Victoria Fleet streamed continuously through cascading data flows. Ines traced a finger across the projection, leaving a fleeting trail of gold.
"The Second Adventurer Assault Team has boarded the Victoria noble ship, the Duke of Fife's flagship."
"And the First Assault Team?"
"The squad leader unleashed an Originium Art with overwhelming destructive power and has temporarily lost combat capability. However, he has already advanced near Duke Ashworth's command ship."
Ines nodded crisply. "All units, ten o'clock position. Secondary batteries, prepare to fire."
Seated upon the golden throne, Felix watched the battlefield unfold in silence. He had not expected Cheng to make such a spectacle without warning, charging ahead while blasting music. In its own strange way, the performance was exhilarating. Yet the backlash from that strategy had been severe. It would likely be unable to serve as a main force in the upcoming fleet assault.
He was aware that professional players had encountered numerous ancient-grade weapons during this period. Some were practical. Others delivered astonishing power at the cost of brutal recoil. If Cheng were infected, using such a weapon might well destroy his account.
Watching the players fight with feral intensity, Felix understood how long they had been holding back. A faint smile touched his lips. The entire 3.0 era would be forged in the flames of war.
Victory was already within reach.
He observed as players slain in the earlier explosion revived and immediately charged once more toward the Victorian nobles. After a moment, he turned his gaze away.
"Your Highness, Duke Fife's territory is still five hours and twenty-nine minutes away."
Ines studied the map. "Our reconnaissance team reports that Duke Fife has erected defensive Originium spells. His base is fortified like an impregnable stronghold. Shall we order an assault?"
"Duke Fife stands too close to Duke Wellington, but he does not deserve death," Felix replied calmly. "He seeks a direct confrontation. Very well. We shall grant it. Have Patriot lead the Lightbearers and the Himmelswächters to breach Duke Fife's base head-on and convert it into our logistical supply station."
"As you command!"
In the lounge, Patriot slowly lifted his head.
"Father, are you going to fight?" Yelena looked up at him. "I know this is an opportunity His Highness secured for you. It is the battle you have long desired. But… may I go with you?"
A crimson glint flickered in Patriot's eyes. He raised a massive hand and rested it gently atop Yelena's head. His towering frame stood like an immovable mountain.
"Good."
"Yelena, prepare to advance."