Chapter 129: Commanding the World

The Qingshui Village cavalry, already fully prepared, quickly followed. Each held a torch aloft, and in an instant, the thunderous roar of galloping iron hooves erupted, creating an awe-inspiring momentum.

This left Lu Kuan and his companions standing nearby in a sorry state, nearly knocked to the ground by the old man’s shout. Dai Guang gripped the railing, steadying his hat with a look of lingering fear: "My god, that old man is going to scare someone to death!"

Lu Kuan also wore a helpless expression: "Uncle Tao... that was a Lion’s Roar..."

Beside them, Qingyi and her two companions could not help but pat their ears and shake their heads. They had all been left with ringing ears; he truly lived up to his status as a boss-level character.

"Isn't it too dangerous for the old man to charge out like that?" Bai Keke asked, unable to hide her worry.

Before she could finish, a burst of golden light exploded in the distant darkness, blooming like a massive lotus flower. Its brilliance was so intense it was blinding. In the center of the golden radiance, a small, gaunt figure hung suspended in the air, head tilted back, letting out a roar that was clearly audible.

"Boom!"

A violent shockwave swept outward instantly. The dense swarm of murlocs surrounding him was scattered and torn apart like withered leaves caught in a raging storm. In the blink of an eye, the area for dozens of meters around the golden light was swept clean; not a single murloc remained.

"Wow!"

The players on the city walls witnessed the moment and could not help but gasp in amazement.

"Esoteric Pilgrimage! That’s an S-rank skill that Monks can only learn at level 35!"

Lu Kuan was also stirred with excitement, thinking to himself, "This little old man... his strength has actually reached such a level!"

Esoteric Pilgrimage was an extremely rare skill, absent from the default skill list for players; it could only be obtained by finding a skill book or learning it from an NPC. In his past life, Lu Kuan had never heard of Uncle Tao possessing such a move.

"Does this mean Monk players might have a chance to learn S-rank skills from Uncle Tao in the future?" Lu Kuan thought with a smile, firmly locking this information away in his mind.

On the battlefield ahead, the power of Uncle Tao’s strike had completely wiped out the murloc vanguard. The Qingshui Village cavalry followed closely behind. To the observers, the scattered torches in the darkness looked like a sharp spear, charging back and forth through the black tide of the murloc army, their battle cries shaking the heavens.

"That is so cool..." Dai Guang murmured. This scene of one man holding the pass and cutting through the enemy was enough to make any man’s blood boil. Even the three girls led by Qingyi clenched their fists involuntarily, staring at the battlefield with excitement.

Nearby, sharp-witted players had already begun recording the scene. Regardless of the outcome, tonight’s battle was destined to leave a significant mark on the history of Molten Fortress.

"Alright, don't just stand there in awe~"

Lu Kuan unslung his hunting bow and grinned at his teammates: "The Great Lord will be back soon; the rest is up to us."

"Understood!" everyone replied in succession. The mage players had long since taken their positions on the ramparts, ready and waiting for the enemy to charge.

About two minutes later, the distant torchlight began to converge and then retreated rapidly toward Qingshui Village. Soon, everyone saw Uncle Tao, riding his saber-toothed tiger, leading the cavalry back.

*Creak—*

The gates opened, and the blood-soaked cavalry filed in. Under the bright, day-like light of the city, one could see the soldiers covered in gore, their armor stained with the severed limbs and remains of murlocs. Clearly, in those short two minutes, they had endured a battle beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Uncle Tao, leading the vanguard, looked the most heroic. His mighty mount, Lightning, exuded a murderous aura, its four claws dripping with fresh blood, and a murloc corpse still impaled on its massive saber-like fangs. Uncle Tao sat atop Lightning with a calm expression, yet his gaze carried an indescribable pressure.

At that moment, countless players envied Uncle Tao’s mount. If they could ever get their hands on such a saber-toothed tiger to ride, it would surely be an incredible feeling.

"Mages, prepare!"

A commander on the wall shouted. Players from different guilds, who did not know each other, stood behind the protective shields of the warriors and knights at the edge of the ramparts.

*Rumble... rumbling...*

With an indescribable sound, the murloc army finally began to emerge into view.

"So many... there are so many murlocs!"

This same thought echoed in everyone’s mind. As far as the eye could see—over the low hills, in the grass, by the small stream, and through the sparse woods—there was nothing but a sea of black, writhing murloc figures. They blanketed the mountains and plains, and nothing else could be seen. The players were momentarily stunned; it was the first time any of them had faced such a formation, and it was impossible not to feel nervous.

"Don't be afraid! Send them home with Fireballs!"

At the critical moment, Lu Kuan stood on the high tower and bellowed: "Follow the original plan! Hold your spells until they charge within range!"

With Lu Kuan’s command, the initially restless crowd quickly quieted down, each standing ready. Qingyi glanced at Lu Kuan silently, her eyes flickering.

Charging at the front were a group of tall, hulking murlocs, the same kind that had attempted the raid the previous night. They brandished thick wooden clubs, shrieking wildly as they sprinted forward. Behind them followed murloc hunters and throwers, and further back, the crowd was obscured by an endless, shifting shadow.

When the lead murlocs charged to within thirty or forty meters of the wall, the mage players began their incantations. Five seconds later, a flash of orange light ignited on the ramparts, and the first Fireball shot forth!

The next second, dozens of red points of light erupted, streaking downward toward the base of the wall.

*Boom!*

*Crash!*

Fireball was the most powerful of the low-level spells, known as the "god-tier grinding tool" for low-level players. Dozens of Fireballs exploded simultaneously, instantly turning the open ground outside Qingshui Village into an ocean of flame.

It was as if someone had doused the ground in oil beforehand. The inferno, fueled by waves of heat, swept across the field. Even the players on the wall were forced to retreat from the scorching temperature, let alone the murlocs below, who were instantly reduced to charred husks.

"Yeah!"

"Haha!"

The players were greatly encouraged. The murlocs, who had seemed so aggressive, were actually so fragile. However, everyone soon realized it was not that simple.

The murlocs seemed inexhaustible. They surged forward endlessly, trampling through the sea of fire and over the corpses of their companions. Screaming incessantly, they reached the foot of the wall, quickly piling their bodies into a "murloc wall" several meters high as they scrambled toward the top of the ramparts.

*Thud, thud, thud!*

The murloc hunters in the rear moved in quickly, and the ramparts soon entered their range. A series of crisp sounds rang out as short crossbow bolts embedded themselves into the shields of the warriors and knights.

"Mages, fall back! Prepare for melee!"

Following the commander’s order, the mages retreated to the inner edge of the wall, and all the melee players stepped forward in unison. A few seconds later, the two sides engaged in brutal close-quarters combat!