The formation of troops we had a.s.sembled for this decisive battle was extremely strong. We had more than just the unmounted fighters joining us. Many archers and mages had come out to fight as well. As our players ma.s.sed beneath the northern walls, the riders in front started to move forward. Once everyone had gotten in position, the riders initiated their attack, charging boldly toward the dark thronging ma.s.s of Northern Alliance riders.

Our cavalry formation, which stretched nearly two kilometers long, slammed into the enemy riders with a resounding crash. Mounts neighed and howled as blades clashed against one another. The sound of armor being rent apart mingled with grunts of pain and cries of despair, as the telltale lights from Barrier Breaks erupted all across the frontline. Everyone was opening up with their fatal moves as the battle soon turned into a brawl.

……

The snow instantly turned red as fresh blood continuously sprayed into the air, and soon, even the ground itself had been dyed a scarlet hue. As bodies slumped to the ground one after another, the battle turned even more intense. The light from skills erupted all over the battlefield as blades turned red with blood. The Dragonlight Cavalry remained in formation as we scythed through the battlefield like a hot knife through b.u.t.ter. We spammed our Hoof Trample skill as often as we could as we charged across the battlefield, and even Vienna's Sorrow's personal cavalry unit had to give us a wide berth.

The archers and mages in the backline were going bonkers and there were enough arrows in the sky to block out the sun. Fireb.a.l.l.s flew through the air as high-level mages repeatedly pelted players with huge spells. Squads of magic knights charged forward with Holy s.h.i.+eld activated as they tried to drive a hole into the enemy formation and force them to their heels.

Meanwhile, Northern Alliance riders continued to be teleported onto our walls by that teleportation formation, but they were immediately mired in a grand melee with the players from Righteousness.

Thud!

Stranger of Three Lifetimes had turned on her Origin Energy s.h.i.+eld and leaped off the walls. She landed solidly on the ground and immediately started waving her staff in the air as she led a squad of Blazing Hot Lips players forward. Ice Blasts erupted from her staff as it weaved and bobbed, each one creating a hole in the crowd of Northern Alliance players. After that, she immediately cast Fire Rain all around her, preventing any enemy players from closing the distance with her. She was a one-mage army and she had created her own inviolable domain the moment she stepped onto the battlefield.

"Hurry up and attack! We need to kill that high-level mage!" A dozen Northern Alliance riders brandished their blades as they charged toward Stranger of Three Lifetimes.

A faint smile appeared on her face as she stomped down on the ground and unleashed an Ice Blast at the charging riders. Countless ice spikes erupted from the ground and riddled the cavalrymen with holes. However, Stranger of Three Lifetimes wasn't even close to being done. Her staff danced in the air as a howling Wind Blade shot out of it. It shot toward a group of riders and exploded upon impact, one-shotting every single one of them.

Eyes Like Water brandished her sharp blade as she ordered her squad of cavalrymen to surround and protect their leader. Even though Stranger of Three Lifetimes hadn't brought many of the Blazing Hot Lips players with her, the ones she did bring along boasted incredible firepower. Her mage squad was especially powerful. Just two spells from any one of them was enough to blast away 50000 HP from an opponent. Even mounted magic knights would be sent straight to heaven after a few attacks.

Even our Lu Buyi had joined the fray. He was leading a bunch of mages and archers, and Purple Dragon had made their defenses and health incredible. With their toughness as their calling card, they charged straight into battle with no fear. This was doubly true for the mages under his command, because Purple Dragon even boosted the durability of Magic s.h.i.+eld by 95%, which allowed them to stand their ground even as the battle raged all around them.

Rooaaaaaaaar!

A huge dragon flew over our heads before it swooped down, its claws tearing through three riders. It immediately followed up with a blast of dragonbreath which carved a line of death into the Northern Alliance's formation. The appearance of this dragon even caused our players to jump in fright, but they soon settled down after they realized that it was Murong Mingyue's Ironwing Dragon

Thunk, thunk, thunk...

A flurry of purple arrows exploded in the Northern Alliance's ranks and they were quickly followed up by a storm created by Spiraling Arrow Blades. Those attacks were strong enough to instantly dismount two dozen enemy riders! Of course, there was only one archer in this battle that could boast such firepower and that was our Beiming Xue!

"f.u.c.king h.e.l.l, it's that archer again! She killed our best tamer too! Charge! Let's kill her and get revenge for our tamer!"

A dozen unmounted fighters glared at Beiming Xue with bloodshot eyes before they activated Charge and rushed toward her.

Rustle...

Beiming Xue nimbly formed a "Z" in the snow as she hopped back three steps, causing all of those warriors to "MISS”. After that, she whistled and the Thunder Beast flew in out of nowhere. Its sharp claws danced in the air as electricity crackled around them. Bolts of lightning suddenly fell to the ground and exploded into the dozen warriors with a series of loud bangs! The eyes of these hapless warriors widened to their limit as they saw their health bars rapidly turn empty. After that, Beiming Xue pulled back her bowstring and sent them on their way with a Multi Arrow.

……

Pccht, pccht, pccht...

Fresh blood sprayed into the air as a dozen Chinese riders collapsed to the ground in front of us, their bodies feathered with arrows. The sight of them dying only spurred me forward, and I immediately unleashed Thousand Ice Slash the moment my Ice Qilin Horse brought me close enough!

It exploded into the small army of enemy archers with a loud bang. It was a formation of at least 10000 enemy archers, so they couldn't be ignored or underestimated. They were like a swarm of hornets who would sting any frontline player who got within reach to death. In fact, it was likely that they'd turn most ordinary players into porcupines the moment they stepped into their range.

"Fire!"

A group of archers immediately turned their bows toward me and fired.

My heart thumped in my chest as I swiftly retreated. I made three consecutive diagonal cuts as I ran away, and also held up my free arm in front of my defensively. Arrows started clanking off my gauntlet and armor as my health dropped by nearly 70000 points! f.u.c.k me, how strong are these archers!? They are scary as h.e.l.l!

However, this didn't deter the rest of our commanders at all. Xu Yang let out a fierce howl as he led the charge straight into the teeth of the enemy formation, and Eighteen Steeds, Chaos Moon, High Fighting Spirits, and He Yi all charged in along with him. Naturally, the rest of our riders followed along. G.o.d d.a.m.n, everyone's gone mad...

Explosions of light erupted all over the battlefield as the Dragonlight Cavalry tore into the army of archers. Xiezhi Howl sent the broken bodies of countless archers flying while Rock Crush pummeled them into the ground. Rock Smash, Mountain Stagger Slash, and Purgatory of Ice and Magma also ripped through these hapless archers as the mounted players of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls showed off their stuff! They ripped apart a formation of ten thousand archers through pure brute force, and the rest of the Chinese riders charged right into the fray and finished the job.

The corpses of nearly ten thousand Northern Alliance players littered the ground and there were puddles of blood everywhere. This carnage had been wrought in less than ten minutes, and it was clear that this brutal battle was not for the faint-hearted!

……

This all-out brawl continued for nearly four hours, but the Northern Alliance army eventually gained the upper hand. They were exerting too much pressure and the army that was defending Dawn City was slowly being pushed in toward the city walls. We had far too few people and our army wasn't even one-third of the Northern Alliance's one. Furthermore, our casualties in this battle had been extremely high. We had lost more than 60% of our players in this 4-hour battle and there were less than eight million players left defending the city. There was no way that these eight million players would be able to defend this tier 2 city, because the Northern Alliance still had more than forty million players left! Yes, they still had more than five times our numbers even after this brutal fight. There was no compet.i.tion at all.

Bang!

Countless ice fragments flew in the air as my Thousand Ice Slash exploded into the enemy and robbed more Northern Alliance players of their lives.

As I urged my mount forward, the Cyan Netherworld Sword shot out like a striking viper and skewered a magic knight in front of me. Blood gushed from his mouth and wound as I brutally yanked out my blade. After that, I whirled around and shouted at Hot and Sour Noodles, "Hey, uncle! We can't keep fighting like this! It's a losing proposition. There are still players coming into Dawn Valley to reinforce the Northern Alliance, so where the h.e.l.l are our reinforcements!? Where did that army from Wind City and Vanished G.o.d City go!? Aren't they part of the group that you and Candlelight Shadow formed, the Avengers!? Wasn't that supposed to be an army of more than ten million players!?"

Hot and Sour Noodles sucked in a deep breath before shouting a reply, "Don't get too agitated when I say this, but they're being stalled right now!"

"f.u.c.k!"

Even as I was pushed back, I shouted, "Get back into formation! Don't lose your heads!"

Gui Guzi, Chaos Moon, He Yi, Heaven's Rain and the rest of the Dragonlight Cavalry charged out from the ma.s.s of enemies and reformed at my side. Our crack cavalry unit had started to suffer some heavy losses in this wild melee.

"I want a head count, now!" He Yi shouted.

Chaos Moon quickly swept her eyes over our riders and replied, "We only have 508 Dragonlight Cavalrymen left, we've suffered about 50% casualties…"

"d.a.m.n, we really lost a lot of men…"

"Yeah…"

Most of us didn't know how to respond to that report. We simply continued to cut down the enemy players around us, but there were less and less Chinese players around the wall. Most of the players who had put their lives on the line in this desperate battle had already died, and the survivors were currently being pushed back and suppressed by the Northern Alliance's attacks. There was no way for us to fight back at all.

Hot and Sour Noodles and I exchanged a glance before he raised his sword in the air and yelled, "All forces, retreat! Retreat back to the walls and hold the line there. We can't hold them back any longer!"

The Northern Alliance forces pressed in sharply as we continued to retreat.

By the time I reached the city walls, I discovered that the enemy catapults had already riddled them with holes. Those three pillars of light on the top of the walls continued to teleport Northern Alliance players in and the sounds of battle filled the city.

"Get off your mounts and go up the walls!"

I scrambled up a cloud ladder with the Cyan Netherworld Sword in my hand and I was immediately greeted by the sight of three Northern Alliance magic knights charging toward me with swinging axes!

"Get lost!"

I slashed the air in front of me, causing the Cyan Netherworld Sword to shudder as three crescent blades of fire erupted from it and tore through the three charging warriors. Hmph, I can one-shot these noobs even without my mount!

Everyone clambered up the walls as I cast an Icy Cyclone Domain over each teleportation point. The spears of ice that constantly rained down on the area around the pillars of light tormented the Northern Alliance players who were being teleported in. Stranger of Three Lifetimes added to their misery by casting three Seas of Flames around the teleportation points as well. The players who were being ported in were greeted by a nasty surprise of fire and ice. After that, our archers would simply use Volley to finish the job.

……

"Those siege towers are coming…" Hot and Sour Noodles said as he pointed his sword toward the nearest one. He sighed as he looked to his left and his right and discovered that most of his comrades from Righteousness had already been killed. He shrugged helplessly as he continued, "d.a.m.n it all, we'll have no choice but to fight on the back foot from here on out. We'll only be throwing our lives away if we rush out of the city again…"

I nodded my head, "The army that had been defending the northern walls has dwindled to a force of less than 500000 players and we don't even have 100000 players defending the walls. It'll practically be suicide for us to go out right now."

The huge siege towers continued their inexorable advance, and there were about fifty of them altogether. They were immediately baptized with spells and arrows the moment they neared the city walls, but we didn't manage to destroy even one of them.

Shwing, shwing, shwing...

Warriors unsheathed their weapons as they lined up on the city walls. I grinned as I said, "Alright, one person to one siege tower! We'll charge in before they can charge out and kill as many as we can. Everyone who still has big AoE skills hidden in their pockets, don't keep them tucked away for a rainy day anymore! Use them to take down these siege towers! This is an objective that's worth it!"

Everyone laughed at my words. But I wasn't done yet! I retreated a few steps before I made a running jump off the edge of the city wall. I landed on top of one of the siege towers with a loud thunk. Before it could even release its boarding bridge, I slashed my sword between the gap and unleashed Burning Blade Slas.h.!.+

Boom, boom, boom...

Tongues of fire spurted out from the seams of the siege tower as my burning blades of sword energy exploded into the enemies waiting inside the siege tower. I immediately followed it up with Thousand Ice Slash which caused the siege tower to crack open. I made a running jump off the siege tower even as it started to crumble. I landed safely on top of the city walls and I simply dusted myself off. I had destroyed one siege tower in one clean and easy motion, greatly boosting the morale of the troops defending the wall.

However, more siege towers continued to line up against the city walls. Their bridges landed on the walls with loud thumps as a veritable ocean of Northern Alliance players swarmed out from them!