FB: Chapter 83 – Large Guild Battle

All teams were quickly building according to their assigned tasks. The star fortress was quickly taking shape along with the elevated front facing bunkers. The command staff and officers stood to the side on the hill we were building on, giving instructions to their staff members and sending out scouts.

“One point two million,” Kill Blade said. That was a stupidly large number.

“How? That is a lot of people? That has to be a couple percentage points of everyone in Exponential?” I asked in surprise.

“They managed to get the Knights of Ni and the Bloodflowers to join them as well. Also, everyone and their mother wanted to participate in the battle and defeat you,” he replied.

“Their organization has to be a disaster. At a certain point your quality will degrade with that much quantity. Still, it is an impressive number. Champion count?” I asked.

“Lower fifties,” Kill Blade answered. I nodded at this and then looked over at the Star Fortress. Quant Z was personally overseeing the rapid construction with his staff to make sure it went smoothly. I could hear the sound of his voice shouting in the distance. Kill Blade spoke with his staff who were communicating with the scouts he then came back over to me.

While he had ultimate command over the tactical level of the battle, I had direct strategic input as the most Lead Champion and Guild Leader. It was no exaggeration to say that the fate of trillions of dollars hinged on the outcome of this conflict. While I trusted Kill Blade, I needed to know what was happening so I could adjust our strategy based on my knowledge or take personal action.

“The crazy people are rushing towards us in an initial wave, estimates put their numbers at 700,000. The five guilds have split up into five groups, arranged from our left to right are the Great Bear, Bloodflowers, HeroTen at the center, then Knights of Ni, and then Apex. They have all brought their full muster of around 100,000 each and are holding back their Champions with their respective forces. All scouts are spreading out and going into hiding.”

That was another area we had the advantage in. Dedicated scouts who would be able to hide out in the field and report back. It gave us an unparalleled understanding of what the enemy forces were doing. In time there would be counter scouts and enemy scouts, but we were ahead of the curve at the moment which gave us an advantage. I looked over at the Star Fortress, which was about halfway complete.

“ETA on the crazies to be in visual range?” I asked.

“About 15 minutes,” he replied. That put them right in front of us just as construction was finishing at the 20 minute mark. To cross the battlefield while walking would take about 30 minutes. Running and using up SP would make it take about 20 minutes. “Should we send out screening forces?” Kill Blade asked.

It was a good question, but they would be overwhelmed, and dog piled. Our only hope was to weather the storm that was barreling towards us with our defenses. “No. That would only buy seconds. We need to take the wave on the chin with our star fortress. Quant Z understands that time is precious,” I replied while looking at the rapidly increasing height of the star fortress. The man in question was supervising the construction interspaced with loud cursing and insults.

“The mines will have to be enough. Are the teams done?” I asked.

“Just about. The last mines are being covered up,” Kill Blade replied. That was another 500 platinum down the drain. By the end of this we would be lucky to make a 1,000 platinum. Fighting was expensive, even more so if you lost.

The front of the star fortress finished along with the forward bunkers. The bunkers were built into the side of the hill below the star fortress. There were no entrances or exits. Three teams built themselves into each bunker, with narrow openings at the front to fire out of but not allow people to enter. Breaking into them while being fired at from the star fortress above would make life difficult for the attackers.

The command staff and officers moved up onto the star fortress just as the first wave of crazy people began running through the mine field. A total of 100,000 basic mines had been buried in the grassy fields around the star fortress. Countless attackers were blown up, but that was why the crazy people had been sent in first. Their low level meant low level mines were effective.

Against a proper army, the mines would have been easily cleared out. Still, it gave us an extra few minutes for the construction of the star fortress to finish. Already our troops were lining up on the edge with their magical guns in fire teams. Each fire team consisted of 100 people. The person in charge would shout out their target and everyone would fire in that direction, killing whatever was targeted. If necessary a consumable was used to highlight the target.

For high level monsters this was absolutely necessary to deal enough critical hits in order to kill them from massed fire. For low level people, it was a death sentence. Since the cost of magical guns rose exponentially based on their level, they were useful in massive low-level brawls like this. If everyone was around level 100, they would be almost completely pointless except for elite teams of snipers. Magical guns used the stats of the weapons for damage calculations and the higher the rank of the weapon the quicker the price rose. While the damage increased linearly, the price increased exponentially.

The crazy people ran forward into the mines and exploded. The ones that survived were quickly cut down by magical gunfire. Blue beams lanced across the open field from our elevated position, cutting down the attackers easily. Kill Blade was making sure fire teams rotated in and out so they could naturally recover MP while out of combat to save on potion costs.

The design of the star fortress was clever, since it allowed overlapping fields of fire while covering every angle. The tip of each wing of the star was built up higher to protect from head on attacks wiping out a large number of people firing. The entire fortress was built as one massive elevated firing platform.

Normally there would be tunnels and bunkers in the star fortress, but Quant Z had those removed to speed up the construction process and overall durability of the fortress. It wasn’t like the mobilization star fortress that would be used for a long period of time. This fortress only needed to last this battle. Right now he was organizing the construction of a hexagon shaped tower in the center of the star fortress to provide a place for the elite sniper team to fire from as well as acting as anti-air suppression.

There would be one ladder in the center and then protected circular platforms around the outside of the tower for people to stand on and target anything in the air. The sniper team would be up top. They would be exposed to long range attacks, but that was part of the risk. With no large groups of flying monsters or lots of cover for counter snipers, having a really tall tower in the center of the fortress was quite useful.

The command staff was in a protected bunker at the base of the tower, the only thing room built into the fortress. “Half the crazies have been wiped out, while the other half are taking pot shots at us from a distance. Enemy guild forces are moving to surround us from every direction. I suspect they will take their time, before coordinating an all-out attack from every side,” Kill Blade said.

“Any siege and the number of magical guns?” I asked.

“No siege spotted, but it is too early to tell. Limited number of magical guns. There are some, but they are of a low level and their aim is quite poor. We are rotating our forces to regenerate MP,” he replied, and I nodded at this. We were only able to have half our people on the edge of the star fortress at once. It allowed us to rotate, but we would also be severely outnumbered.

“Their command staff?” I asked.

“Not spotted. Our people our keeping their eyes out, but they know they risk you attacking and attempting a decapitation strike,” Kill Blade answered, and I nodded at that. He went back to supervising the battle.

I waited in the command area as the battlefield map was constantly updated with new numbers and positions. I noted as the map was quickly updated with fortified positions the enemy forces were deploying. Most likely in preparation for long range siege equipment. The tower was finished and sniper fire began to target these positions. The minefields were cleared out by now and things had turned into a stalemate.

Quant Z came in to look at the battlefield map and then left. His main job was to ensure the integrity of the star fortress and handle repairs during the battle. “The Knights of Ni are deploying a testudo formation with heavy shields,” Kill Blade said, and I nodded at this statement.

“It is too soon to deploy any special countermeasures. Any other sides advancing?” I asked.

“No. It appears they think they have found a weakness in our plan, or want the glory of attacking first,” Kill Blade replied.

“Let’s deploy all our Champions to counter them and rampage,” I decided.

“That seems a bit premature,” Kill Blade replied, and I nodded at this.

“It is, but Champion level fighting is best done away from others against a large group of enemies. That is the risk if we allow the enemy forces to push right up to us. Best to deploy them now to fend off these attacks and cover the base of the star fortress. Hopefully we can draw the enemy champions into range of our guns,” I replied.

Kill Blade nodded and issued the orders. The map was updated and ten champion tokens were moved outside the star fortress. They would get up and down with a rope ladder tossed over the side. Another consideration was boosting the morale of my forces. I left the command bunker and made my way to the edge of wall.

I went on a platform that could be used for siege equipment, but had gunners on it at the moment. Two of them moved out of the way so I could get a clear view of the battlefield. We really were surrounded by a sea of enemies. Looking behind me, the guild flag was flying proudly on top of the tower and banners were hung as well. The golden fox head on a green background. That was a nice touch by Quant Z. He really did pay attention to the details.

I turned back to see the Champions and their teams smash into the Knights of Ni. Their reaction speed was slow as their forces were easily crushed. The enemy guild sent up their own Champions, but mine held their position and didn’t advance.

Officers were relaying orders from Kill Blade who had also come out to observe. “Green colored champion on the count of zero. Five, four, three, two, one, zero!” The entire area lit up in blue beams. The enemy Champion had been erased after taking around 5,000 magical beams in his general direction. The remaining Champions fell back along with ours. I noted one enemy Champion had been killed in combat and several lesser team members. Our Champions stayed at the base of the star fortress behind a small wall they had built to recover out of combat.

Two enemy champions had been killed so far, which was a good start. Long range siege equipment was being deployed. “Bunker positions. Shield mages stand ready!” High ranking team leaders called out. Some of the gunners put away their weapons and got ready to use their skills.

Another area where we excelled compared to other guilds, we had prepared classes that people could take up. Shield mages, fire mages, ice mages, archers, spear melee, sword melee, and so on. Each class had a couple of core skills the people who had taken up the class were expected to have. That allowed us to perform large maneuvers like this, where a certain number of people could be counted on to provide magical shielding without the use of consumables.

“Section seven, shield!” I heard a shout go up from the other side of the star fortress. I left the platform and went to check. Massive bolts hit the magical shields, and the bolts shattered on the magical barriers. I noted enemy forces were advancing while using up expensive artillery bolts. Soon my forces were firing our guns while the enemy guilds surged forward. They clearly had not equipped their forces with magical guns, using skills to attack instead. Magical guns were great for long range precision and defending an elevated position with a large group of people.

My forces continued to easily hold while the Champions rushed about the base of the star fortress, fighting enemy forces that got close while a withering amount of magical gun fire came from above and from the bunkers. Kill Blade even had attack mages use their skills to help clear out groups that made it to the base of the star fortress, raining down fire and other magical attacks.

The enemy forces then began to target the walls of the star fortress, but with the angle of the walls, meant that most of the force of the impact was canceled out. The attacks only dealing a minor amount of damage in comparison to an expensive artillery bolt. That was the strength of a star fortress instead of a box shape. While the points might seem vulnerable, attacking them, exposed a group to overlapping fields of fire from the two adjacent points of the star fortress.

More enemy troops were advancing. Clearly, they didn’t want to wait around and planned to crush us as quickly as possible. I noted Kill Blade giving the order to drink MP potions. I went to one of the supervising team leaders. “Inform Kill Blade that I am taking the field,” I said.