Chapter 54: Victory in Sight |
“So nervous, are we charging now?”
“I’m ready. Wealth and glory are just within reach. This charge is my chance to unlock my Star Vein!”
“Bless me, Emperor’s Sign. This Psionic Bomb I bought for 105 sacrificial power cost me everything I own. I hope I can blow up a Black Armor Soldier.”
“Bro up front, stop trembling. It’s just a game, you can respawn after death. What are you so nervous about?”
—
After two days of preparation, the player teams once again gathered at the entrance of the grand hall on the fifth underground level of the Shadowed Cavern.
This time, the charge was led by Vosnidia, the guild leader of the Dinner Gang Guild, who was selected via forum voting to act as charge commander, solely responsible for giving the order to charge.
As time passed, more and more players arrived, forming a long queue at the entrance.
During this period, the Shadowed Cavern’s regional voice channel was extremely lively. Faced with the upcoming suicide charge, players felt both nervous and excited, with a touch of anticipation in their hearts.
At Vosnidia’s call, the prepared players charged into the grand hall carrying Psionic Bombs.
The previously dormant Black Armor Soldiers awakened at this moment, blood-red glows flickering in their hollow eyes, turning their weapons toward the approaching players.
Under the control of the Corrosion Core, the Black Armor Soldiers launched their offensive against the player army.
Boom!
With the first explosion, continuous blasts echoed through the grand hall like firecrackers, creating a spectacular scene.
Players continuously turned into black mist and dissipated, then entered the forum livestream to spectate from the sidelines.
As commander, Vosnidia’s livestream viewership kept rising, and the comment section was abuzz.
“Hahaha, I heard the notification before I died: killed a Black Armor Soldier, leveled up 3 times instantly, and got 229 sacrificial power reward. I hit the jackpot!”
“Still ended up dead, but this explosive death was awesome. Three Black Armor Soldiers surrounding me got blown away, though sadly none died outright. I wonder which lucky bro landed the final hit.”
“This is ridiculous. I was just about to detonate my Psionic Bomb when a nearby bro’s explosion killed me instead. Who do I even complain to?”
“Painful. Same thing happened to me as the guy above. Didn’t die to Black Armor Soldiers, got blown up by my own teammates. Guys, keep some distance. Totally got screwed here.”
“Extra drumstick for dinner tonight. Blew up two Black Armor Soldiers in one go. Finally unlocking my second Star Vein. Bonefire, here I come! (attached: kill notification screenshot)”
—
Both the battlefield and the sidelines were filled with joy.
After being repeatedly wiped out twice and utterly powerless against the Black Armor Soldiers, players had built up plenty of frustration.
Even though this battle might not wipe out all of the Black Armor Soldiers, the constant kill notifications refreshing in the regional channel were incredibly satisfying.
The battle concluded an hour later.
After the players’ wild bombardment, the area near the underground grand hall was littered with rubble, craters everywhere, and severed Black Armor Soldier limbs scattered across the ground.
Though they hadn’t yet secured complete victory, the players could already see the light of victory ahead.
After the battle ended, they immediately organized a second suicide assault on the forum.
The Doomsday Technology Guild, responsible for producing Psionic Bombs, also worked overtime to craft more for the next charge.
Though exhausting, the members of the Doomsday Technology Guild thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Qin Ye’s post had brought in a flood of weapon orders. While the profit margin was only 5%, it still amounted to a substantial income.
More importantly, the Doomsday Technology Guild’s reputation had been firmly established. Applications to join the guild poured in, which Guild Leader Yang Tianxuan saw as a promising start.
The various apocalyptic class weapon concepts in development required massive resource investments. These new recruits could help fund those plans into reality.
The feeling of being needed also gave this group of long-time researchers, who had always worked in isolation, a strong sense of belonging.
Two days later.
Players once again entered the Shadowed Cavern and gathered at the entrance to the underground grand hall, following the consensus reached on the forum.
This time, the players were fully prepared for victory.
The assault was divided into two waves.
The first wave was made up of players carrying Psionic Bombs, tasked with launching the suicide charge from the front.
These players had monster forms with strong mental strength, such as Owl-Headed Fiend, Bonefire, and others, as controlling the Psionic Bombs required mental projection to trigger.
The second wave would charge after the first wave had been completely wiped out, composed of players with Black-Scaled Serpent, Gargoyle, and other monster forms.
Once the forces were mostly assembled, the battle began.
At Vosnidia’s shout, the first wave of players charged into the hall with Psionic Bombs in hand.
Learning from the previous attempt, this time the players spread out upon entering the hall, keeping distance from one another to avoid being caught in teammates’ detonations.
The Black Armor Soldiers awakened and charged at the player army.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With explosions ringing out, the ground shook and chunks of the ceiling collapsed. The scene was utter chaos.
Players continuously died while Black Armor Soldiers were repeatedly blown into the air by the blasts, their bodies caught in midair by more explosions, sent flying like broken kites before finally being torn apart and scattered.
After the first wave of attacks ended, fewer than one hundred Black Armor Soldiers remained.
“Kill!”
With shouts ringing out in the regional voice channel, the second wave of players surged in, fearlessly charging the remaining Black Armor Soldiers.
Though most of the remaining Black Armor Soldiers were already heavily injured, they still possessed terrifying lethality, easily slicing players in half with casual swings of their weapons.
But the players’ overwhelming numbers prevailed.
With a continuous stream of reinforcements, the Black Armor Soldiers were finally annihilated, bringing the battle to its conclusion.
“Damn, finally won. I died over 20 times to take the Shadowed Cavern. My death cooldowns alone add up to nearly a full day.”
“Hahaha, so happy. We finally did it. Now we just need to break the crystal and claim the quest reward.”
“Can’t wait. I’m ranked 309 on the contribution board. No idea what reward I’ll get, but hopefully I’ll gain one Body Tempering Level.”
—
The regional voice channel was filled with cheering players.
Even those stuck in death cooldowns, watching the battle through livestreams, flooded the screen with comments, joining in the hard-earned celebration.
The feeling of overcoming challenges together and achieving success was like a spiritual feast, filling everyone with a strong sense of accomplishment.
The remaining players advanced toward the underground palace.
Now, all that was left was to destroy the Corrosion Core, and their first global mission in the game would come to a perfect close.
As one player put it in the livestream.
“Half a month of construction work is finally done. Time to collect our wages.”
Comments 2