Chapter II.

And then, with a tremendous roar, the huge double doors opened with what looked like two gigantic steel inhuman arms with paintings of crying people hugging them. Five heavily armored beings stepped out of the door. However, their body was covered in a red damaged cloth, which was then covered in armor. Their armor was all grey covered with many spikes, but their armor looked like it was made for the female gender. Their helmet was round with the face of a crying woman with red eyes and no emotion, and spikes were sticking out of each side of their helmet. Each of the beings held a tower shield in their left hand with the face of a weeping woman covering half of their body, and in their right hand they held tightly a huge spear that had a spiral handle made of forged steel, and the blade was long double and straight. And then from the door came a figure wrapped in such darkness that it filled the whole room in its shadow.

This being could be called the incarnate of death itself, a being whose red-hot eyes, which penetrated to the depths of the soul and observed everything around like a predator inspecting its prey, never saw the light of day and whose name was to be forgotten forever in history. The head of the creature was adorned with a massive black crown with several yellow diamonds, and on it were carved pale runes in an unknown language. His long black hair reached his shoulders and his face was as pale as death. His body was adorned with a light plate armor as black as his crown and lightly studded with silver crystals.

In his right hand he held a magical staff that looked as if it had been made by the gods themselves. The staff was long and was all golden, at the top it boasted a detailed purple dragon statue with wings unfurled along with two snakes that had eyes made of green emeralds and were crowned with golden bars, the snakes were wrapped around the dragon and looked as if they were about to devour it.

The creature approached its empty and divinely decorated chair with slow steps, looked around, and after a short moment, settled down. Beings that could be considered his personal guards were spread out around the chair.

The other members looked upon the being with respect and reverence, his name was Warrior Sanzetsu, he was their absolute ruler. He was the founder and leader of a guild that was known throughout the game world, not only for his conquering, domineering, and stubborn nature, but also for striving for the impossible, striving to conquer Asgard, for its time also the most powerful and difficult world in the game. Since its inception, it has made dangerous incursions into foreign territories, conquering player lands and guilds and pillaging villages.

"Let's cut to the chase. Tsuki?"

He asked, glancing at the person sitting next to his right.

Tsuki bowed slightly at the hint of gratitude and began.

"According to my spies, they're less than a day from our town. Our villages along Bei Sie are completely destroyed and most of the NPCs are killed. A lot of our resources have been looted and Emilia Fortress has been burned to the ground....they are advancing very quickly. "

"Um, I suspected that. Who's leading this army?"

"They're called the League of Saints, and they're led by a human warrior from the ranks of the royal paladins. I'm sorry, but I don't know his name."

He said and bowed his head at the hint of an apology. Tsuki was an excellent war mage. He deeply respected his friend and was sorry that he didn't have enough information for him. However, Warrior Sanzetsu wasn't the kind of person who didn't value his friends, Warrior Sanzetsu valued his friends greatly, and he admired Tsuki for his superior skills.

Tsuki liked necromantic magic best. It was the magic that dealt with reviving and summoning undead creatures. These creatures were usually on a level smaller than himself, but they were a good defensive unit. He used them when he had to immediately withdraw from the battlefield or for important and dangerous reconnaissance. One such servant was an [Undead Spy] .

This undead was around level 30 and was tasked with gathering information on players or their NPCs .

Warrior Sanzetsu raised his pale hand and said

"Alright, don't worry about it. However, their advance is really fast, they want to destroy us and are driven by the belief that they can defeat us, but they won't be able to do that. Iki Ryo, how is our army?"

He asked as he looked at the huge person holding an even bigger dark looking halberd.

Iki Ryo was a warrior, he honored the codes of honor and always fought fairly and without magic when possible, but he was also a very skilled strategist and was experienced in managing troops.

However, there were those in the guild who were really strong and some who were better at managing troops than he was. But Iki Ryo always had more information about armies and the battlefield. Iki Ryo was very cautious, always checking everything and wanting to have order in his ranks and in his work, the other members didn't feel or rather didn't feel the need to be cautious. They said that strength can be defeated by even greater strength. Iki Ryo didn't feel that way, he thought, rather he knew that not everyone goes into battle without showing their true triumphant cards to surprise with, and that strength isn't the only way to win.

Warrior Sanzetsu shared the same opinion.

"Our armies are completely mobilized. If the situation calls for it, we can summon pop monsters, servants of the Nine Towers, and mercenaries."

Pop monsters were automatically generated by NPCs below level 60, and then there were mercenary monsters.

Mercenary monsters were not automatically generated, but they were summoned with magic scrolls, data books and data crystals. These monsters were mostly level 80. Magic books and crystals could be produced by players themselves, and even just some mercenary monsters could also be designed and sold by players.

One such mercenary NPC sealed inside a crystal was created by player Kami Kaze. Named Lilith, she was a gorgeous demoness who was tasked with defending the 20th floor of the Nine Towers from would-be intruders, though no one in the history of the game has ever successfully conquered even the 10th floor. During the first summon, a mistake was made, Lilith immediately attacked her summoner without a command. Kami Kaze was forced to destroy the demoness immediately, he regretted it as he had taken a lot of effort to get special materials to make this creature and especially took great care with its design. But Kami Kaze didn't give up, despite the fact that others told him to quit again after a while he created her again, of course after that he was more confident that she was well programmed and without any bugs.

"That will not be necessary, our forces will be sufficient. Well, what are our next steps?"

He said, looking at each of them. The enemy army was closing in, burning down several precious villages, killing all the NPC inhabitants, and destroying the fortress he and his friends were building.

Warrior Sanzetsu was burning with rage inside, if he could he would have liked to hit the table with all his strength, but he couldn't do that, he couldn't show his weakness. He still couldn't believe that someone could actually rally so many players against this legendary guild. What must have driven them, hatred? Revenge? These were the questions he kept asking himself. Who would have thought that someone would once again take up arms against the Ligningstars Guild, a guild that had repelled the attack of several hundred high-level players in the past, a guild that had managed to destroy several powerful guilds in a single day as punishment.

"I suggest we retreat to our tower for now. We can't fight them in the open, we are few and they have thousands of players."

This woman was another one of the many high level heteromorphic players, but this being was called Yumi, she belonged to the Shadow Dancer class and was also Yuki's younger sister. In appearance, she resembled an elf with unimaginable beauty, her blonde hair shimmered in the light like the purest gold in the world, but her eyes were lifeless, all white, and the number 6 in Japanese characters (kanji) was engraved on her left eye. She wore a white dress with embroidered silver armor that revealed her entire right limb of a beautiful snow color, and a magical wooden staff decorated with gold floated beside her right hand. On top of the staff was a crescent moon and in the middle of the crescent was what looked like a large purple glowing Orb.

Anyone looking at her would be enchanted by her divine beauty, and would have no doubt that she is one of the humanoid players. However, they would be successfully deceived. All of this was just an illusion, it was her magic, specifically her level 10 [Change of Appearance] magic.

It was a magic that allowed its sender to change the appearance and stats of a character. Players used this magic to spy on enemy guilds directly inside or to attack them. Many players had no doubt that they were humanoid players, as this magic was powerful and could only be revealed by level 10 magic, specifically [Dispel Magic: Break Illusion]

"Yes, but we are putting our city and residents at risk. We cannot cower in our tower while enemy forces decimate our cities and massacre our people."

The city the person was talking about was called Elen, the main and last point of defense of their country. This city had gleaming white walls like impregnable mountains, and before its beauty stretched the fertile green plain of Ambroise, which was the chief source of food for the cattle. The city was encircled from one end to the other by three high stone walls, thus forming an immense ring. Each wall also had its own name, the first wall was Minerva this wall was more or less always being modified as the members argued about whether to have this wall disarmed to the teeth with magic or to have it manned by soldiers, until one day the members decided to have it equipped with siege weapons instead of magical weapons and to outfit the wall with various traps. The next wall was Saffestia, it was slightly smaller than the first mentioned, but it was more fortified for that. And the last wall was Tamina, this wall was not modified or fortified in any way, as the members had this wall inhabited by several strong NPCs with Vampire, Blood knight classes and a few strong mercenaries. However, there was another fortress, larger, stronger and for some, impregnable.

The population of this city numbered over 70,000 thousand and consisted of lower vampires, fairies, humans, Demi dryad harpy-like humans and many others. However, this city was important to them for another reason as well. This was because it contained many data books that contained countless grimoires, powerful sealed weapons, and then last but not least, the divine item, Tears of the Behemoth. This item was contained in a small glass vial that contained a red liquid similar to blood. This item was one of a kind and contained the tears of the Behemoth brimming with overwhelming power, for it could summon 50 legions of Ghasts and their foul master Typhon.

"If we want to win, we must take risks. Sanzetsu, let me fight them."

This woman was another heteromorphic player. Her head was adorned with beautiful short shiny silver hair and her eyes were wrapped in a black bandage. Two pairs of curved horns protruded from her temple and she wore a black gothic short dress.

"This is crazy."

Said another heteromorphic being. Suddenly everyone in the room gasped, every member shocked and confused by this offering from her cell.

What could she do, just one person against thousands of players?

"Yes, it's crazy, but it's also our hope."

this moment there was a grave silence, what was she talking about? What hope? Each member exchanged suspicious and shocked glances, and tension howled through the air. It was true that if their armies clashed in the open field, their doom would be more than likely. Although each of them possessed a super level magic skill, but that wasn't enough, the high level players without such skills had developed their own way to defeat these players.

In Worlborne, any high level player who conquered captured territory, dungeons or fortifications always attacked players using super level magic first, this was because players who possessed these skills were always in groups of several strong players due to the cooldown of their skill and were thus more vulnerable to ranged magic.

"And how are you going to fight them?"

Sanzetsu said, also shocked and full of curiosity.

"My class is War Beastmaster. I own several powerful monsters and beasts, including my special piece. I can hold them back while you evacuate the civilians and take the divine item back to the Tomb of the Nine Towers."

"Are you sure you can do it, Safflower? You know what the players are capable of."

"Yes, i can. Don't worry, I'll be back."

Her tone was full of conviction, and it seemed the others were beginning to hope as well. But Sanzetsu had his doubts, he didn't want to leave her alone among those who felt hatred for anything resembling a heteromorphic race, a mere victim thrown to predatory beasts. But what could he do? He could not change anyone's mind; until then, despite his rejection, he had done what he would have considered worthy.

"If this really works, our tomb.... tower will stand, and we will be able to rebuild our cities."

And it was true that the Tomb of the Nine Towers was not like a tomb, but a huge tower-like fortress with over 200 gigantic floors. It was built of solid obsidian and red iron, the tower sat deep in the forest and was surrounded by a stone rampart, and behind the rampart was a lava lake that surrounded the rampart on both sides...