Book 9, Chapter 74

Massacre

“MIDREN!” someone eventually shouted the name of the rune set that was half a god in the Sacred Tree Empire. However, Richard had already killed dozens of powerhouses with his flaming sword, terrifying the rest into escape. He continued to chase after the stragglers, cutting down as many as he could.

The attacking army was meant to have two legendary mages protecting them, but both had yelped and teleported away instantly the moment they saw Richard and his light. It was now public knowledge that he was titled a Lord of Space by the Eternal Dragon, which meant his control of space was enough to stop any escapes if he was nearby. Both had immediately made the decision to abandon the army so they could survive.

Richard grunted in annoyance, the sound ringing throughout the battlefield and stopping countless hearts for a moment. Plunging his sword into space itself, he looked down on the 300,000 soldiers that had dared to attack his home, passing his judgement. Although he was the only one in the sky, the huge mass of soldiers below didn’t have a single person with the guts to attack him.

The earth suddenly shook as hundreds of enormous beasts rushed towards the frontlines, the steel drakes shrugging off almost every weapon strike as they tramped through the opponents in front of them. The warriors on top swung halberds that were several metres long with exquisite control, taking off multiple heads with every swoop.

While the winter soldiers became the focus of attention for a moment, dozens of large silhouettes roze up from the castle and flew just overhead at a frightening five hundred kilometres an hour. The bladed hunters were so fast that most warriors couldn’t even react, the enormous blade limbs drawing waves of blood wherever they passed.

Elsewhere, the enemy soldiers within a thousand square metre section of the battlefield were suddenly trapped by vines that sprouted from the ground, only to be shot in the head with arrows that possessed pinpoint accuracy. Even the captains of the Sacred Tree Empire couldn’t withstand a single arrow, and the entire combination popped up repeatedly in the most concentrated regions of the battlefields.

The enormous army quickly fell apart, warriors pushing and shoving each other as they desperately looked for a way to escape. The various dukes soon lost control of their soldiers before even a tenth of their numbers were killed; the mere presence of Richard up above destroyed all morale.

Richard himself was a little confused at the lack of an enemy epic, wondering just what they had planned for him in the first case. Of course, he was currently confident in defeating both Hendrick and the Pope, but the morale boost to the enemy army would have made things much more difficult.

Seeing the troops from the Sacred Tree Empire starting to scatter, those who had come here to earn points suddenly found themselves stunned by the sight. They hadn’t even gotten a single point yet! Someone suddenly returned to their senses and roared in frustration, rushing in anyway as they started massacring the fleeing troops.

While most of the sky saints and legends showed the dignity not to participate in such mindless slaughter, that only left them smiling helplessly. The harsh truth was that it was the shameless ones that would get the opportunity to make a killing here, and the reward point system continued to grow more attractive by the day. While the number of regular runes and other war supplies had dropped, a plethora of possible saint runes and divine equipment were now on offer that simply couldn’t be refused. While most legends had strict requirements for runes, Richard’s repertoire was simply so wide that anyone could find something they wanted.

The items on the reward list continued to grow, but earning potential was starting to drop. One now had to head deep into the Dragon Plane to find a nest, and while the abyssal battlefield was a little better it was much more unstable. While the rewards themselves stayed constant, there were simply too many competitors. One could no longer earn thousands of points in mere weeks, and spending months to earn enough to buy something meant limited supply items could run out. In the end, most people shifted their attention to extra requests the Archerons made; with even an epic being like the Celestial Sage willing to help Richard manage his battlefields, none of them felt embarrassed in effectively becoming errand boys for the Archerons.

In the end, pride was the fall of man. One’s number of points was both absolute and relative; if others had a large number of them, that meant one’s own purchasing power was far lower. Many thus gave in and participated in the competition as well, which only meant increased competition for those trying to prove themselves.

The era where one could earn points easily was over.

Floating in the sky, Richard was completely unaware of this undercurrent amongst his mercenaries. He simply smirked as he looked down on the hundreds of thousands of soldiers trying to escape, the generals and lords quickly giving up on maintaining control. An endless rain of arrows continued to be shot out from Blackrose Castle, with the night elves even leaving the protection of the walls to continue reaching their targets. The druids had changed to flames, while the winter soldiers and blade hunters continued to rampage through the battlefield.

In only minutes, a good section of the troops had simply surrendered, with those on the outer edges trying desperately to escape. The pathetic mercenaries continued trying to earn their points as well, trying their best to achieve their goals.

Richard felt like he was perhaps the only one whose heart wasn’t really in this battle, quickly losing interest in the stomp. His thoughts shifted to the alter world, Arbidis, and the Darkness, all mythical places with responsibilities for him to fulfill. Once he was done, there would be more secrets and curiosities for him to uncover.

Norland simply couldn’t accommodate him any longer.