Fate Online: Shadow

Chapter 542: The First Engagement!

The following day, inside the game.

"Hold the line! Don't let them get through! Archers, pick off the ones that get past through the shield wall! Wizard, be on the standby, we're gonna need you soon! Healers, keep a close eye on them and don't even let a single one of my men die! Do not save on the potions, use it as freely as possible!

The kingdom is shouldering all expenses!"

It had already been several hours since the expedition army had moved out and when they arrived at sparse forest just a few kilometers from their destination. The scouts suddenly discovered a hostile army heading towards them and immediately reported the situation to the commanding officer.

So, they had no choice but to halt their march and prepare for battle.

Spotting the rumored monsters, the General of the Army became solemn and immediately issued the following orders, and it soon came to pass that two armies entered engagement.

"Flame Rose Guild! Take your men and defend the left plank!" one of the Centurion Knights galloped towards where the Flame Rose guild was located and relayed the General's order.

"Acknowledge, Sir Knight" Minerva replied as the rider just answered with a nod and quickly galloped back towards the Central Army.

"You heard him, get your ass moving and defend the left plank!" turning towards her guild, Minerva relayed the orders, and the guild hastily shrank their position and moved closer towards the edge of the Central Army.

It was a little chaotic since they never really trained in army formation, but they just arrived in time as some of the army of Murlocs had already started spilling towards the planks.

"Knights and Warriors, take the front! Hold the enemies off as much as possible! Except for the Wizards, all long-range classes are free to attack! Attack and defend with all you got!

We don't have the luxury of holding back against these kinds of enemies!" Minerva relayed her orders through the Guild Channel as every class mentioned quickly got into their positions and created a somewhat loose battle formation, with the Warriors and Knights as the meat shields and the glass cannons at the back.

Screech! Screech!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The scattered Murlocs saw them and charged towards them as they rammed their bodies toward the shield users like maddened dogs and when they failed to break through it, they angrily smashed their jagged weapons on the shields like they were toddlers throwing a tantrum.

"What the…isn't this too easy?"

"These monsters..why are they so weak! So how come the people of this continent labeled them like they were destructions themselves?!"

The rest of the members had the same thought. Minerva was also confused, wondering about what was going on, but her eyes never left the monsters trying to break through the shield wall, pondering about.

'Aren't they too weak? They're in their mid-level 20s, but they are even weaker than the monsters we encountered that have the same level, just what is going on?'

But their confusion didn't last long as the ground suddenly started shaking alongside the sound of something heavy hitting the ground and when everyone looked over towards where it was coming from, what they saw sent a shiver down their spines.

It was a shiver mixed with fear and excitement!

"It's a Wild Boss! Everyone, stand your ground! Wizards, start giving the meat shields their buffs! Maverick, take the front and intercept the Boss!" Minerva ordered and she also threw multiple buffs on their main tank, Maverick.

[You have received Bear's Tenacity!]

[You have received Strength of the Wild Bull!]

[You have received Friend of the Wind!]

[You have received Iron Will]

Lights upon lights of different colors kept landing on the frontline and everyone saw the rise in their attributes and saw that their movements had become even more light and fluid!

"On me!"

Maverick gave a yell and slammed the Murloc that launched at him from the side and rushed forward with the others cautiously following behind him. Their movements created a sharp protrusion on the frontline as it was stretched for at least five meters.

Roar! War Cry!

Maverick released a howl that produced a small shockwave in their surroundings, this caused almost all of the monsters in the surrounding area to turn their heads towards him!

They abandoned the enemies before them and charged towards his direction, and the primary target of the Skill was also attracted by him and came charging towards him with an increased pace!

"Brace yourselves, Shield Wall!"

Maverick stuffed his ax on the holster on his waist before smashing his Kite Shield on the ground with a Bang!

The others also followed suit and deployed their own defensive skills!

Still as a Boulder.

Rock Solid.

Skryaaaah!

The huge five-meter slithering monster finally reached Maverick, who quickly braced for impact and held his shield tighter!

The monster raised its trident and angrily smashed it down towards him!

BANG!

The resulting effect was deafening, causing a buzz in his ears, but Maverick held his ground with gritted teeth, but it wasn't the end!

Swoosh! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The other monsters who were also attracted over also pounced towards him, but back up were just in time as various arrows covered in elements and wizards spells came flying from the back and struck towards the swarming monsters, exploding on them or causing slash like wounds on their bodies while some less fortunate were into turned into porcupines by the arrows as the elements covering them exploded on their bodies, shredding their skins!

"Are we just gonna watch?" standing beside Minerva on a small hill, Storm Moonlight asked while watching the skirmish taking place at the front.

"For now, they can still handle it" Minerva replied while surveying the battlefield through the minimap and cross checking it personally with her eyes.

"It's my first time seeing Naga, I'm eager to have a shot at it" Ripley softly muttered while skillfully spinning a dagger on her palm.

"Stand down, it's not yet time for you two to reveal yourselves. After all, we aren't the only guild that were enlisted to join this expedition" Minerva replied calmly, but her tone sounded a little annoyed.

She couldn't help but have grievances since she thought their guild were the only ones employed by the King and she didn't expect she'd find out last minute that there were also other guilds who were also joining them.

What's worse, those guilds also issued gag orders like them, so all of them were surprised when they learned about the others!

Storm Moonlight looked at her from the corner of her eyes and tried to comfort her by saying, "Let it go, at least not one of those guilds are from the nine guilds. We're already lucky that we have the whole left plank all to ourselves. So stop thinking about it, we're still ahead of them, not only by numbers but also skill"

Minerva sighed, "I know~, it's just annoying since we all thought that we'd finally monopolize a high tier quest. Only to end up knowing that the portion of the dough was already divided in the beginning."