Chapter 548 - The War Begins (1/2)

Not long after Alliance of Mages’ forces withdrew from the five strongholds, close to 150,000 players from the five branch guilds under Asskickers United garissoned them. They were responsible for the defense of the strongholds until Asskickers United’s main army arrived.

According to the bet, Alliance of Mages wasn’t allowed to attack these strongholds for a month. However, this didn’t apply to Divine Protectors!

Close to 200,000 players from Divine Protectors were rushing over to Moonlight City.

As the old proverb goes, without the lips, the teeth will feel cold. Though Holy Flame and Crazy Magic appeared friendly on the surface, the two were fierce competitors, never willing to bow to the other. However, Holy Flame understood that if Alliance of Mages collapsed, Divine Protectors would be next. When Crazy Magic sought him out for help, even though he didn’t want to get involved with this mess, he still decided to lend his aid, dispatching 200,000 players.

After operating in Moonlight City for so long, Alliance of Mages had established more than a dozen branch guilds, making up nearly 600,000 players. Combined with the 200,000 from Divine Protectors, that was a total of 800,000 players.

With such a large defending army, Moonlight City was practically impenetrable. It wasn’t going to be easy for Nie Yan to conquer. Even though Alliance of Mage’s top elites were far below Asskickers United’s, their guild was more than several times larger. Furthermore, Moonlight City was Alliance of Mages’ home turf. Asskickers United was the invader. No matter how prestigious their reputation was, they would inevitably invite the scorn of the local players.

Even a powerful dragon can’t suppress a local snake!

Asskickers United’s only advantage was their 26 Armoured Ice Catapults. Meanwhile, Alliance of Mages only had 5 catapults altogether.

Previously, Bloodthirst Blades had nearly brought Asskickers United to their knees with just three catapults. It was easy to imagine what could be achieved with 26 Armoured Ice Catapults.. In terms of military might, Asskickers United was far stronger than Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors.

Asskickers United’s main army was still advancing towards Moonlight City. After collecting his spoils from winning the bet against Alliance of Mages, Nie Yan immediately got to work, relocating all of the guild’s Engineers, Enchanters, and other artisans to the five strongholds and having them working around the clock building catapults. Besides this, another powerful war engine, one specialized for sieging strongholds, was being built—a trebuchet!

The maximum range of trebuchets was 1,500 meters, far above that of catapults. They also dealt additional damage to fortified walls, making them extremely effective for sieges.

Apart from Asskickers United’s main army, Holy Empire, Sapphire Shrine, Radiant Sacred Flame, and the others had also dispatched their own armies over to provide support. Nie Yan added all the forces up together. His total army size was over 300,000 strong. These players were on average stronger than those from Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors. Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors were only so big because their recruitment requirements were much more lax compared to Asskickers United and the other guilds.

Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors had attempted to intercept Asskickers United’s forces mid-journey several times, only to be repelled by the Armoured Ice Catapults time and time again.

The frightening destructive might of the Armoured Ice Catapults was engraved deeply into the hearts of the players from Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors.

Every shell launched from an Armoured Ice Catapult left all players in a 50-meter radius frozen solid. If their ice resistance wasn’t high enough, they would shatter into pieces. The Armoured Ice Catapults could launch five shells at once. As soon as the shells fell, corpses would litter the ground.

After failing several times, Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors had no choice but to give up. They could only watch on helplessly as these Armoured Ice Catapults slowly advanced toward Moonlight City. They were already prepared for a long and grueling siege defense.

Asskickers United’s influence had already long since eclipsed Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors. The majority of the discussions in the forums were also in favour of Asskickers United.

When Asskickers United’s catapults arrived in Moonlight City in another two or three days, that would be the beginning of Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors’ nightmare!

During this time, Asskickers United had sold roughly half their gems and obtained close to 15,000,000 gold, of which Nie Yan had spent 5,000,000 gold on the battle in the Realm of Death, purchasing land in the Hilton Stronghold, and so on. With the 10,000,000 gold left over, he set aside half as war funds against Alliance of Mages. The other half was used in various investments. Asskickers United definitely had the resources to survive a long and drawn-out war.

Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors could probably count on the Century Financial Group to receive some funding. Add this with them also acquiring gems on the back of Nie Yan’s plan previously, and they had also earned quite a bit of money. Divine Protectors could probably take out 2,000,000 gold. As for Alliance of Mages, they were in much more dire straits because they had spent nearly 3,000,000 gold on the battle in the Realm of Death. Practically penniless, they could only rely on the Century FInancial Group's financial aid.

During this time, the number of Asskickers United players operating in Moonlight City increased noticeably. They were like natives of the city, walking around the large streets and shops. From time to time, arguments broke out between them and Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors players in the various levelling spots outside the city, leading to small skirmishes. Moonlight City’s tranquility was broken. Many ordinary players were also dragged into the conflict. Even though they were extremely dissatisfied, they understood that there was no way to stop this final showdown between these two major powers.