078 Undead Archmage!

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078 The Undead Archmage!

“Brother Morningwind, you’re only logging in now? The Horde has already started its siege!” The moment Morningwind came online, Handsome Spy sent him a voice call. He couldn’t understand how Morningwind had managed to miss such a special event as the Horde’s siege.

“What’s the rush?” Morningwind replied, completely unruffled. He even gave Handsome Spy a scolding before asking, “Where are the main forces of the five major guilds? Have you got people watching them?”

Earlier, Morningwind had asked Handsome Spy to keep an eye on the locations of the five guilds’ main players. This time, Morningwind wasn’t just going to defend the capital—he was going to get revenge, too! One man could hardly take on all five guilds head-on. No matter how hard Morningwind tried to kill them, they had so many players that they had nothing to fear from him. But during a special event like the Horde siege, if their main forces died and logged out, that was another matter entirely.

“Brother Morningwind, I found fifty people to help watch them. Since this is a special event, it cost five thousand gold.” Handsome Spy obviously couldn’t keep watch all by himself. He’d hired fifty people, divided into five teams, to search for the main players of the five guilds and the areas where most of their members had gathered. Since this was a Horde siege event, each person had cost a hundred gold.

“Fine. I’ll cover the five thousand.”

After learning where the five guilds’ main forces and larger groups were, Morningwind headed for the city gates. The battle was already underway, and the capital was under constant attack. If players hadn’t kept stepping in to hold the line, the Horde would probably have taken the city by now.

The Horde’s Spirit Ox troops had already smashed two breaches in the walls, and wave after wave of soldiers were pouring through. In the sky, giant eagles carried trolls and orcs into the capital. Siege equipment had been set up against the walls, and the Horde was attacking from every direction. Buildings near the gates were burning, and corpses littered the streets.

“Looks like they can hold.”

The Spirit Ox troops had already been killed first, so there shouldn’t be any more breaches at the gates. As long as the Horde didn’t pour in with its full force, the players ought to be able to hold them back. China’s player base numbered over a hundred million; stopping the Horde’s advance shouldn’t be too difficult. Morningwind had no intention of joining the general defense. In the endless sea of players, he wouldn’t make much difference.

Enemy spellcasting hero!

What Morningwind was looking for now was an enemy hero leading the Horde into the capital. That was the enemy who most needed to be dealt with. Given his current stats, a spellcaster would be the easiest target. After searching for nearly two minutes, he spotted an Undead Archmage. A single fire spell from this Archmage could kill a whole swath of players. The NPC heroes couldn’t withstand his attacks, and the players didn’t dare go near him.

The Undead Archmage was a boss who could wipe out hordes of players with his spells. Who would willingly charge in just to die? The players were there to earn contribution points and trade them for experience, gear, and items. They weren’t stupid enough to throw their lives away. Even though they knew someone had to hold the Archmage back to give the NPC heroes time, players had always been selfish.

Charge!

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When he saw that the NPC warrior hero’s health was nearly gone, Morningwind immediately charged in and positioned himself in front of the Undead Archmage. He activated Bloodthirst and attacked.

The players around him, busy killing lesser monsters, were astonished to see someone actually rush the Archmage. To them, Morningwind was clearly charging to his death. But when he swung the Brotherhood Sword and sent out a shockwave that stunned the Undead Archmage, everyone was stunned.

Enemy heroes were incredibly difficult to control. The players had already landed more than twenty control spells on the Archmage. Even a rogue’s Kidney Shot, one of the most reliable ways to stun an enemy, had failed to stop him. And yet Morningwind had controlled the Undead Archmage with a single Shockwave. How was that possible?

The reason Morningwind’s Shockwave had worked when more than twenty players had failed was the Brotherhood Sword. The orange weapon had a hidden effect: against enemy heroes, it reduced their resistance to status effects by fifty percent. If a rogue had an orange weapon, Kidney Shot would certainly have stunned the Archmage. Morningwind’s Shockwave had only about a forty percent chance of working.

Since Demoralizing Shout didn’t require the Brotherhood Sword, Morningwind was unlikely to control the Archmage with it.

“Heal the NPC warrior!” Morningwind had managed to control the Archmage and buy some time, giving the healers a chance to restore the NPC warrior hero. Healing a badly wounded NPC warrior hero granted bonus contribution points, so the healers weren’t about to miss the opportunity. If the NPC warrior hero survived and killed the enemy hero, they’d earn a huge amount of extra contribution.

Berserker Rage!

Colossus Smash!

Raging Slash!

With this rare opening, Morningwind naturally unleashed his strongest attacks. Colossus Smash ignored the enemy hero’s defense, while Raging Slash could deal over twenty thousand damage. One attack after another, he racked up a respectable amount of damage.

First, he built up threat. And because his health was low, the boss would prioritize attacking him. After landing two Raging Slashes, Morningwind Intercepted to the side of an Orc warrior and immediately ran. The Undead Archmage was already focused on him, so naturally he gave chase. As soon as the Archmage approached, all the players hurriedly cleared the way, afraid the boss would kill them simply for getting in his path. Plenty of them had seen reckless players before, but they’d never seen anyone as fearless as Morningwind, who had actually dared to draw the Archmage’s attention.

“Damn it, it’s Duan Morningwind!” The Windrider Guild players saw Morningwind charge into their formation and immediately tried to surround him. But they never got the chance. The Undead Archmage unleashed a Meteor Shower, instantly scattering the formation and killing hundreds of players.

Standing in the middle of the Meteor Shower, Morningwind activated Stealth and avoided the attack. When he saw the Archmage coming, he charged straight toward the Windrider Guild’s main force. The Undead Archmage attacked any player in sight, so wherever Morningwind went, the Archmage followed.

“Duan Morningwind, the Windrider Guild will never forgive you!” Morningwind charged in and used Demoralizing Shout to terrify the guild’s elite players, preventing them from attacking him. By the time they activated their insignias to remove the fear, the Undead Archmage had already killed them. Even with damage-immunity skills, none of them could survive three of the Archmage’s spells.

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Morningwind kept running through the crowd, leading the Undead Archmage into the formations of the five major guilds and using him to kill their players. Even two professional players from the Mad Thunder team died when Morningwind suddenly caught them off guard. After making a full circuit, Morningwind doubled back and led the Archmage to the NPC warrior hero. The hero’s health had recovered enough to face the Archmage head-on. Morningwind supported him with attacks from the sidelines. Having an NPC ally was certainly a good thing. It saved Morningwind a lot of effort, and perhaps he’d be able to kill a few more enemy heroes this time.

The Data Emperor came to help as soon as he learned Morningwind had engaged an enemy hero. His healing wasn’t especially powerful, but whenever Morningwind took damage, he healed him right away. That still helped, allowing Morningwind to save Bloodthirst for when it was really needed.

“Kill Duan Morningwind!” Two professional players from the Windrider team brought guild members over to avenge their comrades. But when they charged Morningwind, their names immediately turned red, marking them as traitors. Before they could even figure out what was happening, the players around them bombarded them to death. Players marked as traitors dropped all their equipment when killed, and anyone could loot it. Who wouldn’t want a chance to grab some gear?

Morningwind had just saved the NPC warrior hero and was now fighting alongside him. If they attacked Morningwind, wouldn’t that make them traitors? During the Horde siege, anyone whose actions were judged hostile was branded a traitor. Even if they logged in the next day, unless they could give a convincing explanation, the mark would become permanent. At that point, their only option would be to delete their characters.

The two players who had just ambushed Morningwind were professional players from the Windrider team. If they were permanently branded as traitors, they’d have to start new characters from scratch. Even if they escaped the traitor mark, they’d still lose all their gear, making it incredibly difficult to get back on their feet. Morningwind could use the Undead Archmage against them, but they couldn’t attack him directly—especially not in front of the NPC warrior hero.

“Kill the traitors!” The NPC warrior hero immediately issued a temporary quest to the players nearby, and they were more than happy to accept. The two professional players from the Windrider team and the guild members they had brought along were killed by the crowd in less than five seconds. Their equipment scattered across the ground, and the players surged forward to loot it.

Recklessness, Avatar, Skeleton Banner!

When Morningwind saw that the Undead Archmage’s health had dropped below four percent, he activated God Mode. After Berserker Rage, he began unleashing Raging Slash after Raging Slash. He now looked utterly fearless, standing squarely in front of the NPC warrior hero. The NPC warrior hero seemed moved by his courage and roared, “Warrior, you are a hero of the Alliance!”

“For the Alliance!” Morningwind roared in reply after killing the Undead Archmage.

System: You killed the enemy hero, the Undead Archmage, during the “Horde Siege” event and received 20,000 contribution points. During the battle, you assisted the NPC warrior hero Saka and earned his recognition, granting you an additional 10,000 contribution points.

This was a system message unique to Morningwind. The players nearby also received a public system message: The players who helped the NPC warrior hero Saka kill the Undead Archmage received 1,000 contribution points. They also received the NPC warrior hero Saka’s roaring blessing: During the Horde Siege, killing Horde soldiers grants an additional ten percent contribution.

“For the Alliance!” The NPC warrior hero roared skyward and charged toward the other enemy heroes. The players who had received his blessing shouted along with him. With bonus contribution points up for grabs, they fought with even greater fury.