A handsome young man was scribbling at the tavern counter.
Things to do:
1. "Rescue" Elemental, stop the rain, save the farm!
2. Resolve Ghoulish Appearance (Temporarily Hidden)
3. Find the missing ghouls and the very mysterious Lich
4. Sell an ungodly amount of pearls.
Just as he was lost in thought, a boorish town resident disturbed his thoughts. "They're attacking from the lake!! Sprigfield will be overrun!! AHHHH!"
Right…Jack sighed, getting up, every D.L. member in the tavern doing the same. Right before leaving, he glanced sharply at the tavern owner.
"You know what to do, right?"
"S-sir?!"
"The menu. Put a seafood special." He instructed before disappearing, the NPC going from baffled to enlightened. The Demon King wasn't even sweating!
Soon they had met up with every faction member currently online. Jack glanced at the few hundred of them heroically.
"When we encounter the enemies later…."
"We'll crush them!!!" They all shouted.
"…Actually, stay on the outskirt of the battlefield. Those creatures usually have pretty bad drops, and it's not worth going all out against a mere vanguard Mermaid." Jack replied.
"…." So much for the excitement!
[Quest! Participate in the upcoming war!]
[Alternative Quest: Slay Mermaid Leader!]
[Possible Rewards: EPIC Royal Mermaid Series Item!]
Jack couldn't help but freeze as he saw the message. Royal Series?! This was stuff that required one to delve super deep into mermaid territory! (Impossible at the moment).
He hurriedly departed, shouting behind him.
"What are you all waiting for?! We got a mermaid to kill ASAP! Call everyone over, EVERYONE!!!"
"…."
They weren't the only ones either, all factions doing the same. Heck, there was already a forum post about it!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
— Drip! Drop! Drip! Drop! —
With every second, more reinforcements arrived, but would it be enough?
Water covered the field before the Town, and it was currently rippling from the incoming enemies. In the distance, there were all kinds of aquatic creatures rushing toward them.
The players awaited them, clenching their teeth and adopting defensive positions.
"Damn, it's gonna be tough fighting with water up to our knees."
"Hey, at least we don't have to fight them in the lake."
"It's not that bad. At least the little fishies came."
The last one was an eager fisherman, his rod ready. How often was there an aquatic invasion apocalypse happening? #Best Fishing Story Ever!
Jack stepped forward.
"No need to worry! As long as we work together, I'm sure Sprigfield will tide over this catastrophe!" He reassured, his people following with loud cheers.
But, the many factions weren't as obedient:
"Screw you! You're the reason we're in this mess in the first place!" They raged, some even seemingly about to attack him.
"Me? No way! I wasn't even there when it happened. Don't blame your greed on me!" Jack innocently reminded, making them choke. Still, there would be no cooperation.
There were two groups: D.L. and everyone else. Their lonesomeness would have almost looked pitiful hadn't they been so heroic-looking.
They all focused as they heard the creatures in the distance.
The fish mutants carried spears or harpoons made of rock or coral, while the more animalistic of them only brought their deadly sharp teeth.
Octopus, frogmen, fishmen, crabs, and even a few large sharks. The latter were so big their whole body stuck out of the water, not just the fins.
This would by no means be easy… ~1500 players VS ~500 monsters
The problem was that the players' average level was probably about 18 at best, while many level 30 creatures were on the enemy's side.
Still, that in itself was no big deal. They'd be able to die over and over in order to kill them, right?
The real issue was their leader, or more accurately her plus the army. It was a case of 1+1 =3. With leadership, they wouldn't be so easy to destroy.
If the monsters managed to overrun the Town, their very spawn would be in danger. Getting spawn-killed over and over would be the only option.
Jack went through all the possible strategies.
Hope for the best? —> Annihilation
Work with the other factions? —> Mutiny, then annihilation
He knew just what he had to do. He ran toward the other group of players as they glanced at him warily.
"We need someone to separate the mermaid from her army, or she'll buff them to oblivion, and Sprigfield will be obliterated." He stated.
Many frowned, but they couldn't disregard this. After all, many of them had already perished to her voice.
"What do you propose?" An Amber member spat out.
"A temporary alliance. D.L. will take care of the Mermaid while the others fight the critters. Once you're done, you can come and help take her down." Jack proposed.
"Pfft— And let you get all the good loot?!" One angrily remarked.
"Bro, where have you been? This is Infinite….the system gives rewards based on contribution. Are you that weak?" Jack matter-of-factly replied.
"Fine!"
They all agreed one after the other, some more reluctant than others. Jack left, having accomplished his goal, sharing a brief but meaningful glance with Lead.
He went back to his troops, the enemies arriving upon them.
"Humans! Kill!! Devour them!" A very eloquent Fishman screamed at them, brandishing its spear at them.
It was an all-out war! Humans were bitten apart, creatures were getting dismembered, and the water turned red from all the bloodshed.
Amidst the chaos, Jack made his way forward with D.L., separating them into two squads.
He would lead one with the Head cultist, and they would face the Boss directly. As for the others, they would act as a backup to initiate part 2 of the plan.
"Right, there's one thing we need to do before we attack the mermaid," Jack remarked as he turned to his group. "Now, here's a neat life hack…."
He took a dagger out without hesitating, stabbing it inside his ear, piercing his eardrum. The ones following him were the most loyal…. they complied.
— STAB! —
Players that saw this scene were frightened and disgusted at the same time. What kind of masochistic freaks were the D.L. peeps?!
Jack nodded, satisfied, before shouting "To war we go!!!"
What followed was an intimidating war shout. Having lost their sense of hearing, they were as off-key as unbelievably loud. Many got distracted by it, only to perish instantly.
They charged forth, the Mermaid raging as she finally saw her human nemesis.
D.L. (200 of them) VS OP Mermaid
As soon as they approached, she grinned evilly, using her magical voice to entrap them. But, her efforts were only rewarded with sly grins. "Try us, bitch!" One even mouthed.
"Damn humans!!!" She screamed.
As he saw the anger plastered on her face, Jack knew that phase one was a success. She was already destabilized. She even charged straight at him, eager to tear him apart.
This was all part of his plan. In her rage, she had forgotten that mermaids were not very gifted for melee combat. She should have thrown water lances his way!
"Protect our God!!" The cultists went in front to defend him.
They assembled into a defensive formation that didn't let a single centimeter undefended. The skills they had honed back in the tutorial were now paying off!
— Clang! —
As the Mermaid was stopped completely, her gorgeous face showed so much stupefaction. She had been stopped by humans?! They were supposed to be a weak race!
"Surprised?" Jack chuckled as he rained hellfire on her. Burn, baby burn!
She simply threw herself to the ground to extinguish herself. After all, the ground was completely covered with water. Could Jack have disregarded such a fact? Nope!
Skeletal hands came out of the ground, grasping her.
"?? Let go of me! ??" She struggled. Too bad skeletons didn't care about her charm ability…
"Brothers, enact judgment on this fish!!!" The cultist swung their weapons, aiming to behead her.
Just as axes, swords, etc. were about to reach her soft neck, she suddenly snorted. That's when the scales on her tail extended to cover her entire body. Full natural protection!
— Clang! —
There was barely any effect. If anything, a single rainbow scale fell off, Jack picking it off hurriedly.
"Annoying humans!!!" She screamed, turning serious.
That's when she finally remembered that she was a mage. With a snort, she summoned enough water spears to bloat their vision. It was an omen of death.
Resist? How?! They would be turned into swiss cheese in a second, with extra holes!
Even Jack's reliable shield wouldn't save him from such an attack! There was only one way to get rid of something like that.
As the Mermaid grinned savagely, Jack gave the signal. "Now!!!"
That's when a wolf, rat, and skeletal chicken suddenly erupted from the ground, attacking her. They barely did any damage, but it was enough to make her lose her footing!
As the Mermaid tumbled down, her magical projectiles lost their tracking. After all, she had to guide them with her lie of sight.
The disturbance had been enough to make her lose her concentration too!
"Good job, now fuck her up!" Jack led the assault.
The Mermaid was akin to a fish on a cutting board….if the fish was indestructible and the knife so dull it could barely cut anything.
They pummeled her so much, and yet barely any damage was being done. They would have needed help from the NPCs to deal significant damage, but then she would have been on her guard.
That's how they kept pummeling over and over, barely doing any damage but completely shutting her down. Sadly, this was only possible for a short while.
Sensing her precarious situation, the Mermaid suddenly started glowing a bright blue. Oh god, this meant she was using a forbidden OP technique!
