Defense specialization and dawn.
Sally and the others, unaware that Maple continues to ferry people by air, catch up to the group ahead and move through the nearby woods.
No enemy signs yet.
Sally, what do you think?
...I don’t believe we’re close enough for combat just yet.
Be alert for sudden attacks. Maple was nearly struck that way.
Hmm, if I can see them, there are several skills that could help.
Kasumi, Izumi, and Kanade lack passive abilities to prevent instant death. If targeted by Wilbart, they would have no chance to resist and would be pierced through.
That is why they walk through the dense forest, where line of sight is difficult, and stay directly behind Crom.
If archers are waiting, this is a place where diagonal approaches are hard to make. The terrain ahead rises into higher ground. Stay alert.
Crom intends to defend with full effort, but advancing into enemy territory is an unfavorable position.
Soon we’ll cross the boundary into enemy lines... Sally, what’s the status from the Gathering Holy Sword?
Still cutting through enemies, advancing.
We were told which unit would appear first...
If we continue like this, there will come a time when we must deal with the Gathering Holy Sword.
Still, it feels uneasy. We’ve both entered enemy territory...
Possibility of ambush. Crom was about to speak when a massive column of fire erupted ahead. It confirmed the arrival of our allied forces, and revealed clearly who stood within the enemy camp.
"Reinforcements incoming!"
"If need be, signal me."
"Right. I’ll steady my resolve."
"Yes. That’s unmistakably…"
"The Empire of Flame is here."
The allied lines are far. To retreat now would only invite pursuit and be burned to ash.
Our main force is moving. We advanced this far to secure victory and turn the tide.
Fire columns rise in succession, scorching the sky. Sally and the others plunge into the main battlefield.
In the battlefield of flying flames, players from both sides exchange fierce attacks. Yet the allies are slowly being pushed back.
That was to be expected. Where there should have been open ground, an immense and sturdy fortress stood, shielding numerous enemy players. A wall of such quantity blocked their path, rivaling even the defenses Iz had erected before the outer wall. And countless summoned units of sand and water, which could be destroyed without consequence, surged forward to join the assault.
A barrage of fire from afar, accompanied by several floating swords and blades of wind, struck them where they halted.
"Definitely Mii's group!"
"Kasumi! Reset us, please!"
"Haku, use [Overgrowth]!"
Surveying the battlefield, Sally signaled Kasumi for a moment to regroup.
Kasumi nodded once in reply. Then she directed Haku, now enlarged, to charge across the battlefield.
The ambush as the serpent burst from the woods. A massive white serpent, unseen by the five, struck without warning. It crushed what lay in its path in an instant. Summoned soldiers shattered without resistance. Players fell one after another, their HP drained to zero.
"……!"
It was not merely a delay tactic. The blow was so fierce it shifted the tide of battle in an instant. Yet moments later, players whose HP had dropped to zero began rising again. Summoned soldiers reappeared. Sally’s expression tightened. It would not be so simple.
"Haku, retreat! Sally!"
Kasumi turned back toward Sally, recalling Haku before he became a mere target. The five understood, without being told, what must be done.
"We’ll take down Mizari and Markus!"
"Aye, or we’re finished! No point in talking!"
I’ll clear the path.
I can at least delay them!
The game’s highest-tier continuous area recovery, endless disposable soldiers, and the inferno and blades raining down on players who try to resist. If this is not stopped, we will be whittled down to nothing.
The clash of numbers belongs to the main force. The five step slightly aside from the front line, moving straight toward the fortress, aiming to eliminate the figures at the heart of this battlefield—the so-called Imperial Flame Nation.
That fortress is Markus’s trap. If we deal enough damage, it should break.
It has high durability, but it is not indestructible.
Bomb, please. We’ll break it open and drag them out.
Understood.
Iz pulls bombs at random from her inventory, mixing in timed detonators for chain reactions.
[Steel Cannon Water!]
Iz’s waterproof bombs, specially crafted, slide into the fortress’s inner depths, carried by the torrent Sally has summoned.
They explode violently, inflicting heavy damage, yet do not breach the structure.
Still, the blast forces the enemy to respond. The fortress will fall soon enough if left unchecked. That is the point.
“Ah—can’t let you go on like that!”
“Shin!”
“Hey, Kasumi! And the other four… the heavy-weapon team staying behind?”
Shin rides the gathered sword with practiced ease, soaring to stand before the five. Using the Crack Sword as a platform—something he’d done before in the eighth event—his skill has improved further.
“Sorry, our guildmaster’s busy preparing. I’ll handle you.”
He spoke, and behind him, the summoned monster Wen appeared—wind blades raging, the swords beneath their feet scattering into the air, leaving only a minimal number intact around Shin.
Can you handle this without Maple?
With a flurry exceeding five times their number, Shin pressed forward, radiating intense pressure.
"Wen, the Wind God! Invisible Sword!"
The wind blades shifted direction, now aimed at the five. The swords split by the Crack Sword were wrapped in wind, growing stronger.
"Haku, hardening!"
Kasumi positioned Haku in front, hardening her body to block the wind blades. But Shin’s self-controlled Crack Sword did not cease.
"Two of you, take up the burden! Necro, the Ghost Armor—Sturdy! Multi-Cover!"
"Ten Blades, Diamond!"
Sally and Kasumi are trusted to handle their own defenses. Crom directs Necro to adopt a defensive stance, shifting to cover Iz and Kanade.
While Kasumi cuts through damage at her position, striking down as many blades as possible, Sally steps forward.
Twisting her body, she evades the wind blades as if natural. She shifts her direction with precision, neutralizing the approaching swords through evasion surpassing Shin’s control. Her blue scarf flutters in the wind. She charges forward nearly without slowing, as though nothing had occurred.
"Hah! Monster!"
"I’d like that neck of yours."
"You can’t do it!"
Shin treats this moment as the true beginning. He accelerates the sword beneath his feet. This skill has been honed exclusively to this point. It established an unnatural combat style—using a rapidly moving blade as footing, then transforming it directly into a means of movement.
"Next one!"
The sword, rebounding, rushes at Sally from all directions. Evading with equal speed, Shin moves like a glide—difficult to catch. Sally avoids, her skill unmatched, yet some attacks cannot be evaded while advancing.
When closing the distance, Shin fires the blade like a shotgun in one direction, forcing Sally to dodge sideways and buying time. For Sally, even one hit is unacceptable. She must evade.
“Crom, go. I’ll hold them.”
“…! Got it! Leave it to me!”
Kanade sends Crom to support Sally, seeing no end to this stalemate.
“Sō, [Massive Magical Barrier]!”
Sō is summoned. A colossal barrier rises. Kanade also draws the bookshelf, readying a grand technique, while erecting walls of water and sand around the area through basic magic—solidifying defense.
The use of it is limited to a single application, but with the grimoire, its instantaneous defensive capability matches Crom’s.
Izu seizes the opportunity as attacks cease momentarily, retrieving the same barricade placed before the outer wall to reinforce defense further.
“[Cover Move][Cover]!”
“[Blood Knife]!”
Having secured the defense, Kasumi swings her liquid blade, knocking aside the flying swords. Crom intercepts the blade rushing toward Sally.
Sally steps forward, closing the distance with Shin just before [Crack Sword] strikes again.
“[Water Wrap][Superspeed]! Hinata, [Fiendfire]!”
Water follows Sally’s attack, extending the reach of her short sword with flame.
Sally’s speed, boosted by [Superspeed], surges past Shin’s, who had been nearly even. The distance closes.
……!
Shin realizes the Crack Sword’s velocity remains unchanged despite increased movement speed. He raises his shield, then releases the remaining swords he had held in reserve around his body toward Sally.
Sally, expecting as much, slips through the gap and knocks them aside with ease.
Utterly careless!
Hah!
The strike, enhanced by Sword Dance, breaches Shin’s shield. The blow slices through his body, inflicting heavy damage.
You’re serious? A short sword wielder really does that?
Shin pulls all his swords back, aiming to strike from behind. But Sally, prioritizing evasion, avoids the attack without issue.
Still, Shin succeeds in regaining distance once more.
—Huh… Even with Maple not here, it’s still tough fighting alone.
The opponent was [Maple’s Tree], and with five of them, even Shin—skilled in one-on-many combat—faced a steep challenge.
See you again… if you’re still alive.
Shin, I won’t let you escape!
Yeah, we feel the same.
Behind Shin, a massive fireball suddenly swelled upward, rising into the sky.
Larger than the fortress itself, the blazing mass pierced through the fortress roof and blazed at the center of the battlefield, radiant as the sun.
See you.
Shin raised his sword forward, released all its energy, and turned sharply away—refusing pursuit—drawing back swiftly.
Within the fortress, flooded by Sally’s [Cannonwater], Mizari and Markus held the front line, while also recovering from Sally and Iz’s bombardment.
Ha... the trap’s been utterly ruined, the wall’s been shattered... Hak, what a pain...
Yes, indeed. Troublesome, isn’t it?
Do it, Mii...
The two look up at the sky. At the heart of the battlefield’s sun, Mii wraps herself in Ignis, intensifying the flames around her form.
Prepared. Let’s go, Ignis.
At the moment the flames reach their peak, Mii’s skill activates.
[Daybreak]
Red flames mix with white. The erupting fire races across the surface of the fireball.
Effect is simple and clear. The next attack cannot be blocked by a damage-nullification skill. That is all.
[Inferno]!
As if waiting for this moment all along.
The sun blazing in the sky fell toward the earth, becoming an unyielding flame that scorched everything it touched, consuming every part of the battlefield and turning it to ash.