Hyper Luck

"Tell me the situation, now!”

“Twenty-two tanks! Ten at Low HP! DPS… Mostly… all out!”

"Goddamn. Can’t stop those bastards no matter what we do!”

Players equipped with chain armors were busily exchanging words as they were sweating like rain, lying in the middle of the open field.

They all had the same symbol on the right chest side of their armor, so it seemed that they were all in the same guild.

"So I guess we’re getting wiped here…”

A man took off his helmet with an angry expression. His hair wet from the sweat slapped his forehead, A drop of sweat from the tip of the hair on his forehead ran down his nose and stopped on the tip of his nose before it fell to the ground.

At that moment, a voice echoed from the crystal ball hanging on his waist.

– Can you hear me?! Is anyone there?!

The man hurriedly grabbed his crystal ball and screamed into the crystal with his mouth very close to it.

"Who is this!”

– This is the <Tiger King> guild! Most of our guild members are wiped but we still have some people who can still fight! How is the situation on your side?

"This is the <IWannaGoToTheBathroom>! I know, pretty fucked up name, right? We got our asses kicked too! Shet! We have around two or three healers and twenty tanks!”

An urgent conversation ensued.

– Let us join up for now! We have to stay together in order to get even a slight chance of survival!

"We would like to right away! By the way, do you have some healers left with mana? We have some people who are about to die right now!”

– We do! Let’s join up!

As soon as the answer came from the crystal, the man looked at the remaining guild members with scorching eyes.

"Shit! Since our guild master is dead as of now, I’ll be taking charge because I am the vice guild master!”

The remaining players gathered up at his words.

"I’ll stand in the very back, so all of you fuckin’ run as fast as you can to that riverbank above the plain, you got that!?”

"If we get up now and start running, the cavalry will immediately come after us!”

"You have to survive until the end so you can give us orders, hyung!”

Other players started to protest against the vice guild master’s idea. The vice guild master grabbed one of the protesting guild members by his plate armor and shook him. He seemed to have some remarkable amount of stat in strength since the guild member was shaking pretty intensely.

"Fuck the orders and shit, you guys have to live first, you dumbasses! I’ll stand in the back and tank as much as possible so you guys have enough time to run!”

The guild member who was grabbed shrugged his arm off of him.

"Shit, man! I’m saying you’re the one who should survive! Aren't leaders supposed to use their subordinates to preserve their lives? Just let us protect you!”

"We can’t find our way out of this anyways without your orders!”

The man’s facial expression crumbled up into tears after hearing the guild members’ protests.

"Oh, c’mon now! Don’t cry in a video game!”

"Hey! Calm down! It’s just a game!”

As the other players also started to shed tears, the man seemed to have made a decision as he tied the sword he was wearing on his back properly.

"I’ll stand in front! Get yourselves as close as you could to my ass and follow me!”

"Alright!”

"Let’s fuckin’ run!”

With his determination, the guild members, who had made up their minds, began to stand up one by one.

In order for one to question and devalue the resolute determinations in this situation in a mere video game, it is necessary to keep in mind that this game is a virtual reality with astonishing realism.

Just before breaking through the battlefield after being cast with all kinds of buffs, the man turned around and looked at the players.

"Don’t die!”

And with those words, the vice guild master of <IWannaGoToTheBathroom> started to dash with all his might.

The urgent breathing sounds of the guild members from behind made his dash faster.

But after a while, he heard the sound of heavy horseshoes from behind him.

Lidornn’s dreadful ashen cavalry first defeated the center of the raid parties, and as the rest of the raids were scattered and divided into small groups, the cavalry gradually erased each and every single one of them.

And this time, five of the cavalry were on their way to the <IWannaGoToTheBathroom> guild in order to erase them.

Although there were only five of them, their firepower was great enough to completely annihilate the guild members of <IWannaGoToTheBathroom> in 5 seconds.

The nearing sound of horseshoes alerted the exhausted player running at the very end of the group that he would be pierced by the cavalry at any moment now.

And the vice guild master standing in the front of the line was fully aware of that fact as he sprinted restlessly to the front.

And a moment later, by the time when the guild members of the <IWannaGoToTheBathroom> were able to feel the trembling vibration of the cavalry, the player standing at the very back of the group stopped and turned around to buy some time,

At that very moment, a man wearing a stained robe appeared with a blue flash. In that flashing moment, the man in the robe spread out his right palm,

"Atra, Cage, Ronno!”

And shouted very loud as his voice echoed through the air.

White energy that seemed to distort the space flowed from the palm of the man in the robe.

Boom!

A shock wave powerful enough to be seen with the naked eye struck the cavalry.

Bam! Thud! Neigh!

The shock wave was strong enough to cause the rider to fall off his horse and fly far away, and all the guild members of <IWannaGoToTheBathroom> felt the power stopped and looked at him.

The man in the robe quickly turned around and shouted.

"Go! Hurry up, and join the force!”

"Run now!”

The vice guild master nodded as he shouted at the guild members standing at the very back of the group.

"That player, did you know? He’s the first person to enter the ‘White Tower’ and earn the mage class!”

One of the players who started running again shouted while looking at the sub guild master with wide eyes.

"Right, he was the third on the ranking or somethin’? Fuck, yeah! Finally! Monsters are starting to come out among the players now!”

The vice guild master answered with his teeth clenched.

The man in the robe stood at the rear as he confirmed the retreat of the players. ‘Kellion’ the first mage among the players, who shines in the third place in the Information Guild's official player ranking, disappeared again with a blue flash.

The 42 of the 18th combined raids consisting of 11,500 players suffered devastating damage after the clash with the Black Griffin cavalry of Lidornn.

Of the 42 raids, 28 of the raids were wiped out, and the rest of the troops were almost impossible to recover for a while.

However, many players still abandoned the quests and pride each of them had and began to gather little by little, and due to the new raid members, an unprecedented massive raid began to form.

The new raid was reorganized with about 5,000 veterans, and the guilds were quickly gathering together.

In this reorganization, Kellion was greatly credited for helping the raid members who barely survived on the battlefield to join the rear by rekindling a spark of hope.

However, before the players could even see a sufficient chance of victory, the Lidornn swept the battlefield mercilessly.

He led an elite detached battalion of 300 men, and it was very common for him to attack newly formed raids from the back to make them lose their fighting spirits.

And now, in the midst of a murderous forced march, the gray armored cavalry, which got their act together, was charging toward the players who were gathering for an all-out attack.

The front-line player who watched the Black Reapers sprinting let out a scream.

"They’re coming…! Almost all of’em are coming!”

"Don’t they ever get exhausted!?”

"At this rate, we will all get stomped to death!!”

Anxiety began to bloom among the players who had gathered together under one cause but were still unable to move as one body.

***

"I apologize to you, my old friends.”

Lidornn looked at the Grim Reapers who were lined up in front of him with his freezing blue eyes.

Some of the cavalries had very damaged armors to the point they couldn’t function as a means of protection since they were attacked by many players, and some of them were still bleeding from countless battles before. Even so, the eyes of the Black Griffin riders, who were forcing their harsh breaths into their lungs, blazed with heat that would burn even the flame itself.

"I have abandoned my country, the throne, and even my honor, and yet you all have decided to follow after me. And your loyalty towards me! Even Bellica the god of Sun could not dare to object against it.”

Not a single bit of doubt could be found on his face. Unlike his exhausted cavalry, Lidornn was calm and serene. It was as if he had a bigger heart than his favorite horse.

"However, I have no wish to sacrifice your dignity in order to achieve my dream. Your honors must be protected. Now!

Return to your homeland, your country. Do not sacrifice your life for me.”

Lidornn shouted at the cavalry with a low and heavy voice. However, the ever-resolute cavalry did not even twitch as their black armor flashed.

"I have already entrusted my soul to ‘Aine', my woman, who has been ruined by the players. I have no regrets left. However, I have no intentions to ignore the regrets that you may possess. Leave!”

At Lidornn’s cry, a knight standing in the first row of the cavalry struck the ground with the tip of his long lance. After the heavy sound resounded through the air, more and more sounds started to spread through the cavalry.

Lidornn shivered at their inexplicable fighting spirit as tears welled up in his eyes. After a moment, wearing a black helmet, he turned and looked at the numerous players standing ahead.

"Those who have forsaken their honor! Those who have turned their backs on the country! The soldiers who follow this resentful prince! Let us move forth! If I could bear all your disgrace to hell, I will die a hundred deaths more!"

As Lidornn grabbed the reins, raised the horse's front hooves, and drew his sword,

"Black Griffins!”

Behind him, a soldier shouted with his long lance outstretched.

“Spread your wings!”

Then the rest of the cavalry shouted in response. A huge shout that would even surprise and make the dragon fly away resounded through the battlefield.

As Lidornn’s favorite horse ran forward, kicking the ground with its front paws vigorously, the wings of the Black Griffin cavalry also spread wide and rumbled the earth, 

Ripped through the wind, 

And charged with overwhelming speed in one rush.

* * *

"They’re approaching too fast!”

"Ah, shit! Hey! Get the phalanx in together! Hurry!”

"Who the fuck are you to order our guild around!”

The spirits and minds of some players were shaken by the vibrations that resonated with the earth, and chaos began to spread to all the remaining tens of thousands of players, like a drop of paint in water.

A blue flash of light appeared with a roar in their leading formation, and Kellion, a man wearing a robe, shouted loudly with his index finger of his left hand placed on his throat.

"Stop!”

That voice was louder than the voice of a giant.

"Everyone is going to die at this rate! Tanks to the front! DPS to the back! Get yourself together! We don’t want to get a bad ending!”

All the players at the spot started to move at the will of Kellion who took control of the players in an instant. Still, he pondered on his impatience inside.

There was a limit to his magic too.

At this speed, every player here will be pierced and stomped by the cavalry approaching right now.

This was almost guaranteed how it was going to end.

Kellion was about to decide to give up rather than try to grasp the answer to this situation which was getting further and further away by the seconds.

However, at that moment, a window that appeared in his sight stopped him from doing so.

[ ‘Elsha’ had requested you for ‘Mana Assistance’. ]

 [ Required Mana: 1000 ]

Surely, this was a skill that he definitely knew of.

As the name of the skill suggests, this skill transfers mana to others. However, the only player who had learned this skill was no other than Kellion himself.

Not to mention this ‘Elsha’ who he had no idea of had requested for half of his entire mana pool.

Who could this possibly be?

He tried to think of any other mana-based players who could possibly request this much mana other than himself. He could not.

However, there was no more time for any doubts.

Even doubts were nothing more than just a luxury at this urgent moment. If he were to give up this temple, then the time for his dead friend to reconnect would only increase helplessly.

So he answered in a hurry.

However, this seemed like a decision he made too late.

The cavalry came almost right in front of their noses, and the players who fell into the chaos again would be trampled on like ants.

About the time when the sound of horse hooves from the cavalry made the eardrums throb,

Suddenly from the sky,

A huge rumbling sound from the ship rang out through the field. The sound was so loud that it could even be compared to the breathing sound of the flying whale named ‘Leviathan’.

Every player shifted their gaze toward the sound. The sound also caught Kellion’s attention and made him shift his gaze to the sky.

And eventually, everyone saw it.

Falling from the sky through the clouds

A giant golden boat.

As soon as the ship's heavy sound ended, a voice presumed to be from a woman resounded across the battlefield.

[ Light Shower discharged. Maximum targets: 1,817. ]

[ Target acquired. ]

Soon, the gunports located at the lower side of the ship opened up all at the same time.

And from the gunports,

Beams of light fell like rain showers.