The three lines had begun to break.
A shield-bearer raised his shield toward Bent-Ear, only for the newly awakened rabbit's massive paw to slam down.
BANG.
The shield sank, and the player's knees followed.
"What the hell is with this rabbit?! Look at those muscles!"
"Cough, cough… Bob is that you? You look a bit different!" one player said sarcastically as he coughed up blood, lying on the ground.
"Hey rabbit, why don't you retire as a monster and become my gym coach instead!" another said while kneeling and clutching his wounds.
Bent-Ear did not understand the players' words, but it could somehow sense the meaning behind them. Its folded ear twitched. Then, with the dignity of a newly awakened warrior and the confidence of a rabbit who had discovered a new meaning of muscle, it raised its paw again.
"SQUAAACK!"
With that, it slammed down a second time, causing particles of light to scatter upward. Several rabbits behind it immediately squeaked in admiration.
BOOM.
Not far away, a white and golden streak shot across the battlefield again. This time, it flew toward the player raising a bow, or at least, that was probably her intention. Instead, she flew past the bowman, crashed into a tree, bounced back, hit a shield-bearer from behind, spun upside down, and landed right on a support player's head.
"CLUCK?!"
"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"
The support player screamed while the hen, equally panicked, began flapping her wings with enough force to slap three nearby players in the face.
PAPAPAPAPA!
Another player turned around to help, only to be stopped when a snake suddenly wrapped around his ankle. The creepy snake's silver-ringed eyes flashed as the coiled player tried to step away, only for his foot to land exactly where the mud was deepest.
SPLASH.
He fell forward, accidentally thrusting his spear into the support player instead.
"..."
"..."
"Babe, would you believe me if I said this was an accident?" the spear player said with a grimace, only to be met with the death stare of his girlfriend as she exploded into particles of light.
"Hiss."
The snake moved again.
A shield-bearer suddenly froze as coils wrapped around his wrist exactly when he tried to raise his shield. Taking the opportunity, a chicken slammed into his face, followed by a rabbit who grabbed the bottom of the shield and pulled to no avail.
Then, with three more rabbits joining in, the shield finally tilted.
A lizard's claws flashed, and the player vanished into light.
The formation broke another step.
Aelius' beautiful face tightened as his sword cut across the black-scaled lizard's shoulder. Even while fighting, the corner of his eyes kept tracking the collapsing situation.
"ROAAAR!"
The black-scaled lizard roared on the left side, its massive body covered in cuts, burns, and blood. Barriers appeared before it one after another, but they no longer slowed it the way they had earlier.
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK.
The barriers shattered one by one.
Lars stepped forward with his shield raised. Blood still stained the corner of his mouth, but his eyes burned with determination.
"Come on! Over here!"
The black-scaled lizard turned and whipped out its tail.
Lars braced for the strike.
BANG.
His feet carved two deep lines through the mud as he was pushed back several steps. His shield held, but his arms trembled.
"Ugh… It's getting stronger!" Lars shouted as he felt his talent failing to hold him more and more as the time went on.
William appeared beside the lizard.
His fist tightened. The air around his gauntlet distorted slightly as he threw another punch.
BOOM.
The strike landed against the lizard's jaw with a sound like a log splitting apart. The black-scaled lizard's head snapped aside, but it no longer staggered like before.
The players, however, cheered anyway.
"Nice punch!"
"Solo god, you got this!"
"Oppa, beat it up!"
William did not react much, but his eyes narrowed.
The lizard slowly turned its head back. A thin line of blood slid from the corner of its mouth as its golden pupils flashed with black light. Then it lunged toward him.
William moved aside, but the lizard's claws scraped across his chest before he could completely dodge. Blood sprayed as his body slid backward.
Aelius arrived in the next instant, sword glowing.
SHHINK.
His slash cut along the lizard's foreleg. The black-scaled lizard roared, but instead of retreating, it stepped forward. Its tail swept out. Lars stepped in front of Aelius and blocked it, but the impact sent him crashing sideways into two players near him.
"Sorry!" Lars shouted as all three rolled through the mud, coughing up blood.
The left side had collapsed further.
Aelius's eyes flashed. His gaze suddenly lifted from the black-scaled lizard and swept over the battlefield.
"This cannot keep going! William! We can't beat this lizard with just us!" he shouted through gritted teeth.
He did not want to admit it, but they had underestimated this lizard and overestimated themselves.
William did not answer immediately. He threw another punch first. The lizard's head tilted slightly, dodging the brunt of the blow. William used the recoil to jump back, landing in the mud with a heavy splash.
"Then let's go with another plan," William finally said after catching his breath.
"According to the players from other novice villages, the monsters you kill won't respawn in this game," he continued while rolling away from the black-scaled lizard's tail swipe.
Aelius understood immediately.
"So you're saying we should reduce their numbers as much as possible and prepare for the next fight instead?"
As he spoke, the lizard's claws knocked him away. A bloody mark appeared across his clothes, nearly ruining his goddess-like image. His long golden hair was messy, and his pure white dress was covered in mud and blood.
"Cough, cough."
He coughed a mouthful of blood as several support players immediately rushed toward him.
"Goddess!"
"Guild Master!"
They shouted in unison as they began healing him. Aelius's gaze, however, kept scanning the battlefield until his eyes stopped on the giant rabbit towering over the players on the right side of the formation.
"EVERYONE LISTEN TO ME!" he shouted as he got up. "FORGET THE LINE! FORGET THE FORMATION! KILL AS MANY OF THESE MOTHERFUCKERS AS POSSIBLE!"
His voice remained melodic, if one ignored the vulgar language coming out of his mouth..
He pointed at Bent-Ear with his sword.
"ESPECIALLY THAT ONE! GET IT OUT OF HERE BEFORE OUR NEXT FIGHT!"
His words echoed across the battlefield. Aelius stopped focusing on the black-scaled lizard and exchanged a glance with William. Both of them nodded as they understood their roles.
With that, Aelius sprinted toward the giant rabbit.
…
At that moment, Bent-Ear had forced the right line open.
The young rabbits behind it were rushing through, trying to flood the gap before the players could close it. Their small bodies flashed between shields and boots, ears bouncing, paws splashing through mud.
But as they began to push the players back, the battlefield suddenly changed.
The players abandoned defense. The line that had been struggling to hold together completely dissolved, but it did not dissolve into retreat. It became something far more dangerous, pure self destructive madness.
"Kill them!"
"Take down as many as you can!"
"If I'm dying today, I'll just drag you down with me!"
The players started dying much faster, but the injuries on Richard's side also steadily increased. A chicken pecked at a player's eyes, only for another player to swing a sword at it, clipping its wing and killing his own ally in the process. A lizard bit into someone's leg, only for a fireball to burst against its back, enveloping both of them.
Richard's eyes narrowed from the rise as the red path in his mind pulsed.
At that moment, the golden-haired swordsman crossed the battlefield with terrifying speed, her sword glowing with bright light. Her beautiful eyes were fixed squarely on Bent-Ear.
"Bring it down!" Aelius shouted.
At his command, three arrows and a wind blade flew forward as a binding rope wrapped around Bent-Ear's leg. Bent-Ear tried to dodge and break free from the restraints but it couldn't.
It had grown strong, but it was not the black-scaled lizard, it was not that strong before awakening and it had awakened only moments ago. Not to mention the fact that it also did not know how to handle such a sudden increase in strength effectively yet.
The arrows struck its shoulder. The wind blade opened a cut across its back, causing it to stagger. The young rabbits behind it squeaked in panic and rushed forward, wanting to attack the nearby players and trying their best to help.
Bent-Ear's eyes widened as it stared at Aelius and the players surrounding them, then stopped the little rabbits in their tracks. Its huge paw swept backward gently, pushing them away.
The gesture was clumsy.
One rabbit rolled three times.
Another fell into a puddle.
A third stared up in betrayal, as if asking why its idol had suddenly slapped it into mud.
Bent-Ear did not have time to explain as Aelius arrived in front of it yet again.
His sword flashed. Bent-Ear raised one arm.
SHHINK.
Blood sprayed as the blade cut deep into its forearm, so deep it almost severed it.
Bent-Ear's other paw came down.
BANG.
Aelius dodged, but the shockwave still sent him sliding backward.
The players behind him stumbled.
"Don't let it recover!" Aelius shouted.
Bent-Ear tried to step forward, only for the binding rope to tighten around its leg as its body jerked.
A shield-bearer rushed in low, slamming his shield against Bent-Ear's wounded knee.
Bent-Ear swayed, but before it could recover…
PUCHI.
A piercing sound was heard.
Bent-Ear looked down at the sword piercing its chest.
Its folded ear twitched. It seemed confused, as if it did not quite understand why its body suddenly felt so heavy. Then it looked back at the young rabbits.
Bent-Ear's mouth slowly opened as a tiny sound came out.
"Squeak."
The young rabbits trembled. One of them crawled forward, paws shaking, and touched Bent-Ear's foot.
Bent-Ear lowered its huge paw and patted the little rabbit's head. For a creature that could smash a shield wall with one strike, the touch was as soft as falling grass.
Then Bent-Ear's eye shifted.
It looked toward the rise.
Toward Richard.
Richard stood frozen as their gazes met across the battlefield.
At that moment, Bent-Ear raised one trembling arm. Then, with the last of its strength, it flexed at him.
Then it bowed its head, as if apologizing for its own defeat.
Richard's throat closed as one of the golden threads in his mind dimmed…Then finally snapped.
Bent-Ear's massive body fell forward. The ground shook softly as it collapsed.
The young rabbits stared.
Then one squeaked.
Another followed.
Then all of them cried out.
"SQUEAK!"
"SQUEAAAK!"
"SQUEEEEE!"
Their voices rose in grief and rage.
Richard's claws trembled. For one heartbeat, he could not move. Then the red path beneath his mind pulsed.
His breath shuddered.
"I'm sorry," he muttered softly.
The battlefield pressed against him. The cries of his subjects. The screams of the players. The smell of blood, mud, grass, and fading light.
Richard opened his eyes, coldness flashing within them.
Then he crowed.
"KUUUUU-KA-KIEAAAAA-KUUUUUU!"
The cry tore through the clearing.
Golden light erupted from Richard's body as the battlefield shook.
Every creature connected to him felt it. The black-scaled lizard's wounds burned with warmth. Its exhausted limbs surged with strength. Across the battlefield, the rabbits raised their heads.
The young rabbits who had watched Bent-Ear fall trembled as they watched Bent-Ear explode into particles of light.
At that moment, the rooster on top of the hill moved. The right side exploded first as a golden-red flash crashed into it.
BOOM!
Mud, grass, and broken weapons flew upward.
Aelius's eyes widened.
A crimson figure stood in the center of the impact crater, feathers burning with gold, red pupils colder than sharpened stone.
Richard had entered the battlefield.
The players nearby froze for a heartbeat. Richard did not wait for them to come back to their senses.
He moved.
One of the shield-bearers tried to raise his shield.
Too slow.
A golden-red streak passed over the shield's edge.
Light burst upward.
A mage tried to cast a fire spell.
Richard's claws struck the ground before him. The golden aura under his feet pulsed as he lunged at full speed, his beak piercing through the player's chest.
Light burst again.
An archer pulled his bowstring, only for the arrow to split before it left the bow. The archer stared at it in disbelief before dying under Richard's claws.
Aelius gritted his teeth and rushed forward, sword glowing with all the remaining power he could gather.
"Motherfucker, take this!"
Aelius cut through the distance, sword descending toward Richard's head.
For a moment, the goddess-like swordsman seemed to split the battlefield in half with that shining blade.
Richard looked up, but he did not move.
His golden-red aura condensed around his comb like a crown.
CLANG.
Aelius's sword stopped in its path, unable to draw even a single drop of blood.
"Fuck this unbalanced game," was the only thing he could say before Richard kicked him in the face.
BANG.
Aelius's body folded as he was launched backward through the mud before exploding into particles of light.
"Fuck, how dare you attack her in the face!"
Several players couldn't help but spit that out as they tried to rush forward, only to suddenly feel as though a mountain was pressing down on them. Their limbs stopped obeying them, and they all crashed helplessly onto the ground.
At that moment, a golden-red line crossed the battlefield.
One.
Two.
Three.
The players on the right side disappeared one after another before finally collapsing.
On the left, William saw light scatter all around him as he lay on the ground, bloodied.
His eyes narrowed, but there was no fear in them. Instead, a grin slowly appeared on his face.
"So you finally came down," he muttered. "Unfortunately, our rematch needs to wait."
He coughed up blood before his gaze moved back to the black-scaled lizard in front of him. In the end, this was all the time they could buy. This lizard seems to be even stronger than before. It had taken down their entire elite team after their supports and Aelius left to deal with the giant rabbit.
The only reason William could even look around right now was because his talent had forcefully kept him alive for a few more seconds. But it seemed he would not even be able to enjoy that in peace. He thought this as the black-scaled lizard's jaws descended toward him.
Then light swallowed William.
The strongest player has died.
After that, the battle was no longer a battle.
It became a harvest.
The players had already abandoned formation. Their leaders were gone. Their strongest fighter had fallen. Their supports were scattered. Their mages could not finish chanting before snakes tangled their legs or chickens crashed into their faces. Their shield-bearers could not protect anyone when rabbits crawled under their shields and lizards tore at their sides.
Light burst after light burst rose into the sky.
The forest clearing glowed with the scattered deaths of otherworlders.
And then, finally, it was over.
Richard stood among the remains, golden-red light slowly fading from his feathers. Around him, rabbits, chickens, snakes, and lizards formed a silent circle. All of them were now glowing with different colored lights.
Those who had not awakened before had finally awakened.
The black-scaled lizard limped toward him, breathing heavily. Its body was covered in wounds, but its eyes shone with wild pride.
"Boss…" the lizard said, voice rough with exhaustion. "We won."
Richard looked at him, then at his subjects around him, before slowly closing his eyes.
"Yes," he muttered.
At that moment, the panel appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations. You have led those under your protection into a battle where defeat could have erased their future, and achieved an overwhelming victory]
[Your Achievement has been noticed]
[Conditions fulfilled]
[Quest: Chains of Civilization has been updated]
[First Stage: The Sin of Observer - Completed]
[Second Stage: The Sin of Indecision - Completed]
[Condition fulfilled: You broke your own inactivity and stepped onto the battlefield, but your resolve came too late as a life had already been lost]
[You have gained the title: The Sin of Indecision]
[Chain Manifestation: The Sin of Observer]
[You have been chained by The Sin of Observer: From now on, against those who have not shown hostility towards you, you cannot be the first to spill blood]
[Third Stage: The Sin of Attachment has been created]
[Conditions: Unknown]
[Note: You can use your talent to see specific conditions]
[Congratulations. You have manifested the ability: Equivalent Exchange]
[Equivalent Exchange: When those under your Domain suffer an irreversible loss due to your decision, hesitation, or command, you may invoke Equivalent Exchange upon those judged responsible]
Richard stared at the updated quest before him.
Then, all at once, he felt something materialize from thin air.
It was…a chain.
Before he could react, he felt it clamped onto his soul.
It was cold, invisible, and impossibly heavy. His body stiffened. His feathers trembled slightly, but he did not make a sound. Only after the sensation slowly faded did his attention return to the status panel before him.
As he continued reading, his heart sank slightly.
The next quest had been generated.
Even though he had expected that this would not be the last stage of the chain quest, his heart still could not help but tremble. With a heavy heart, Richard continued reading. When he saw the new ability that had manifested, a faint trace of delight finally stirred in his chest.
Slowly, Richard opened his eyes. Before him stood his subjects. Some looked hopeful. Some looked relieved. Some still carried sadness and confusion in their eyes. Their bodies glowed faintly with the light of awakening, yet the battlefield around them remained stained with mud, blood, and loss.
Richard looked at them for a long moment.
Then, with a soft sigh, he finally spoke.
"Let's go home."