The system-controlled Infantry Knights and Archers advanced about a mile from Dragon's Peak Citadel, halting their march just short of the shadow cast by the Double-Headed Raven King and its cloud of darkness.
"Nock arrows! Draw!"
At the command, the Archers moved as one, a sea of bowstrings drawn taut, all aimed at the monstrous bird circling in the sky.
"Loose!"
The moment the Raven King's dark entourage entered their range, the Commander gave the order. Over two thousand arrows sliced through the air, converging on the Dark Sorcerers at the cloud's heart in a single, breathtaking wave of wood and steel.
The players watched, mesmerized. It was like a scene from a history book come to life, and the sheer, immersive spectacle of it was exhilarating.
Archers had the longest reach, and their agility often made them a spellcaster's worst nightmare. The infantry archers were playing to this strength, striking first while the airborne sorcerers were still unable to retaliate.
"Nock! Draw!"
True to their reputation, the system-controlled archers were incredibly fast. While the first volley was still in flight, the second was already notched and ready.
"Loose!"
"Loose!"
The players, caught up in the precision and power of the display, roared their approval. As the Commander issued the second order, a thunderous shout erupted from tens of thousands of throats within the citadel, a deafening wave of sound that shook the very ground.
"Whoa!"
The cheer from the ramparts suddenly turned to a collective gasp of shock.
The first volley of arrows finally reached its mark, but they struck the sorcerers' shroud of dark energy as if it were solid steel. With a loud series of cracks and pings, eighty percent of the shafts splintered and fell uselessly from the sky. The few powerful shots that punched through the gloom did negligible damage, barely scratching the sorcerers.
'No way. That's just insane.' The power of the Dark Sorcerers had completely blindsided everyone.
"The attacks are useless," SoulSync muttered under his breath, already trying to figure out what he would do if he were in command.
What happened next was even more of a shock. Even though the ground troops were well outside the sorcerers' attack range, the Dark Arch-Sorcerer leading them; the Double-Headed Raven King, gave a subtle shift of the dark, feathered mantle on its back. In the blink of an eye, it detached from the black cloud and materialized directly above the Knight regiment.
"Archers, take cover!" the Archer Commander bellowed, his order for a third volley dying in his throat.
"Knights, shield wall!" the Knight Commander roared in response.
The coordination was flawless. As the archers dropped, the knights moved with practiced efficiency, heaving their massive, tower-like shields overhead to form a solid, interlocking canopy of steel, protecting themselves and the bowmen beneath.
Above them, the Raven King's fan began to dance. A relentless, crackling barrage of black lightning rained down, scouring the shield formation in a full-area attack. The sound was a continuous, deafening crackle-boom that spoke volumes of the lightning's destructive power.
The monster's strength was terrifying. It could unleash a wide-area spell of that magnitude without a single word of incantation, and the assault showed no sign of letting up. The knights holding the line felt their massive shields growing heavier with each impact, each bolt hitting like a falling anvil, sapping their strength with every second.
"Caw… Caw!"
The Raven King was clearly annoyed that its lightning hadn't shattered the defense. It let out a piercing, grating cry, and its fan began to move in a strange, intricate pattern, tracing lines of black light in the air that began to coalesce into a glowing symbol.
"It's drawing a rune!" a veteran player who was a Sorcerer himself yelled in alarm. "It's channeling a massive spell!"
"Dark Thunder Quake!"
He was right. The moment the rune was complete, the Raven King spun like a top, its fan striking the symbol and sending it spiraling downward. The action instantly summoned three colossal pillars of black thunder.
BOOM!
The first dark thunderbolt hammered into the knights' shields. The formation buckled instantly, sending knights and archers alike tumbling to the ground. Half of the great shields vaporized into dust; the other half, now lying on top of the fallen soldiers, were webbed with massive cracks.
BOOM!
The second bolt struck the scattered, prone figures. A chorus of agonized wails cut through the air. In an instant, ninety percent of the knights and archers were dead, leaving only a handful of the hardiest survivors.
BOOM!
It wasn't over. The third and final thunderbolt followed right behind. With a world-shattering roar, the ground where the two regiments had made their stand was blasted into a deep, smoldering crater.
It was as if a massive sinkhole had opened up all along. There was no trace of the knights or archers. It was as if they had never been there at all.
A stunned silence fell over the players. This was beyond anything they'd seen in a game. They'd witnessed epic battles in movies, but this was different. This felt real. The sheer, visceral reality of the moment was both terrifying and electrifying. A frantic energy took hold of them, a wild desire to rush forward and feel that power for themselves, consequences be damned.
'Holy hell!'
Marcus's heart sank into his boots. That powerful? Those were level 60 NPCs, and the Raven King had wiped them out like they were nothing. The Dark Arch-Sorcerer was on the level of a Divine Beast, and he knew he wasn't the only one thinking it.
'I'm finished. I'm gonna get killed all the way back to Level One.' He desperately wondered if he could save his skin by just giving the 'Dark Violet Sky Dragon' pet egg back.
"Caw… Caw!"
The Double-Headed Raven King seemed pleased with the devastation it had wrought. It let out a triumphant, arrogant cry, then swiveled both its heads, all four gleaming eyes locking onto Dragon's Peak Citadel. It was ready for its next target.
"It's coming for the city!" someone shrieked.
The leaders of the major guilds scowled. Their hopes of scoring a major win evaporated. Seeing the Raven King's power firsthand, they knew that even if every player in the citadel banded together, they wouldn't be able to put a dent in that monster. They began quietly signaling their members to fall back or find a way to log off; though with combat imminent, their options were slim to none.
Ding! "The dark power of the Dark Arch-Sorcerer, the Double-Headed Raven King, has agitated the city's guardian Divine Beast, the Five-Clawed Divine Dragon. The slumbering Divine Beast now stirs, and will drive out the enemy to protect Dragon's Peak Citadel."
"Hey, look! What's that?!"
The system announcement was still echoing when a player pointed a trembling finger at the central Altar Spire of the city's temple and shouted.
Every head turned. The very tip of the spire was glowing with a pinprick of golden light. At first, it was no bigger than a firefly, but in the space of a heartbeat, it erupted, flooding the entire citadel with a brilliant, holy radiance. The light was so intense the players had to shield their eyes.
"ROOOOARRR!"
An earth-shattering bellow tore through the sky, a sound that commanded the submission of all lesser beasts, that shook the heavens and made the earth tremble. As the tremendous roar faded, the golden light coalesced, and a majestic Five-Clawed Dragon took form.
It was over a hundred feet long, its body covered in brilliant, shimmering golden scales. It held its head high with an air of ancient supremacy, its four powerful claws treading effortlessly on coils of auspicious cloud. It radiated an unparalleled sense of pride and raw, untamed power.
"Babe, get online now! Right now!" a player next to Marcus stammered into his comm, never tearing his eyes away from the Divine Dragon looming overhead. "You are not gonna believe this. There's a freaking Divine Beast right here!"