Vol 3 Chapter 5 (1/2)

Operation Bomb the Scorch Cannons

After arriving at the Lord's Castle, Ark encountered an unwelcoroup followed Cross inside, Alan, as already there, htly surprised expression

Only the leaders of each raid had received the young Lord's surunt asn't even the leader of the Militia composed of low-level players But Alan soon turned his head as if uninterested His attitude was like a noble ignoring a commoner

'That bastard, he's getting ' Ark was even more displeased with Alan's attitude

Then, the young Lord looked around and spoke, ”All of you worked hard to protect Jackson Castle I've sent out su situation has arisen Raymond, explain”

”Yes, thistowards the plains to the west of Jackson Castle There are around 600 of them They are currently divided into two battalions; each is transporting a scorch cannon”

”Scorch cannon?”

The commanders stared at each other with quizzical looks

The young Lord explained with a heavy voice, ”They are the mobile cannons that intercepted the airshi+p, steel-aruilds”

”Those black fireballs back then!”

”You must know their poell, as you have already experienced it It has been just half a day since a scorch cannon attacked Jackson Castle The result of that is the current Jackson Castle you see now We ic Tower to erect a shi+eld at the castle walls, but it couldn't resist If their other uild's volunteer troops, the castle may have already been turned to ruins”

”What a big problem”

”If the two scorch cannons are left to situate thee, Jackson Castle won't be able to hold for even half a day Our only option is the carry out an ambush operation nohile the scorch cannons are on the move, and blow them up The reason we called you all here is to discuss that operation”

The young Lord scanned his surroundings before speaking to Alan ”With the situation like this, we e an all-out war and stop the scorch cannons without fail Therefore, when the Sylphid Knights return, they will blockade the front gate and stall for ti all our forces in Jackson's line of defense into two units to attack one scorch cannon each First, I will entrust the first unit to Sir Alan I leave the details of the fories to you”

With his level, Fa the volunteer troops , it was an obvious result that the young Lord would entrust the command of the first unit to Alan

Alan nodded sly ”I understand”

”Then, the second unit will be”

When the young Lord turned his gaze, the warrior in charge of Platoon 2 lifted his head stiffly He thought he was the obvious choice after Alan But the person the young Lord chose was a nameless, ordinary player

”Ark, it'll be good to leave it to you”

”Huh?”

Alan and the leaders of Platoons 2 and 3 made bewildered expressions

This was so Ark had never expected, so he wore a shocked expression Ark's contribution points were still struggling in the mid-upper levels How could he be suddenly entrusted with such a task?

If soistered as a coet additional EXP and contribution Alan was able to take 1st place in the rankings because of this Because of this, anyone would want to becoe operation

But passing over the leaders of Platoons 2 and 3, ere in the top 10, and giving the position to Ark was so they couldn't accept As expected, Alan immediately raised an objection

”Please wait a h contribution for this To entrust such a large undertaking to hiement Also, it isn't fair”

'Das'

Ark wondered inwardly New World was a gaht the same way real people do They couldn't act without sufficient reasoning, and this was eh inti, but they couldn't designate co on it without any justification and intimacy alone

Alan was pointing that out as he de Lord's decision was a result of factoring in a value that Alan, and even Ark, hadn't known

”That's not it This task is being entrusted based on operation perfor to Raymond's report, you, the cohest operation perforh, it's just a hair's breadth from Platoon 2's commander”

'Operation performance evaluation!'

That was the value he had raised while doing Ray would come into play like this

He completed about 30 small sub-quests, thanks to that, his operation evaluation had risen considerably; on the other hand, since Alan and the coot contribution and EXP just froerly rewarding quests As a result, the only operation evaluation they had hat they had received froistered as commanders

Alan clenched his teeth as he looked at Ark In such a case, there was no way the decision would be reversed

”Then, let's continue with the briefing, Sir Alan, Ark Discuss the formation between yourselves”

Th-th-thump, a questpopped before Ark's eyes

Hero assembly!

Sub-quest: Operation Bomb the Scorch Cannons

The two scorch cannons possessed by the Ar on Jackson Castle If the scorch cannons get into range, they will place Jackson Castle in great jeopardy Therefore, Jackson's Lord has suggested an operation to stop the scorch cannons

- Quest success conditions: This quest is split into A and B groups All players in the defense of Jackson roup Upon coroup will be awarded bonus experience and contribution

- Quest failure conditions: Quest auto the operation or if they are unable to coroup fail and the 2 cannons get within range, and start attacking Jackson Castle, then theplayers

Time limit: 3 hours

Ark is currently the leader of Group B A player registered as a Commander obtains a 20 bonus in experience and contribution points However, there is a -30 penalty upon failure

Difficulty: D++

A sub-quest that could possibly cause the main quest to fail!

”Well, then let's divide up the troops now,” said the young Lord while looking at the Commanders

Having finished reading the quest info, Alan suddenly smiled coldly as he spoke ”Are the volunteer troops free to choose which unit to join?”

”Yes, it'll only work if the group works well together, so I will honor the decisions of the field commanders”

”Then Platoon 1 will of course be in Group A, but ill you do, Platoons 2, 3 and the Militia? It doesn't matter to me either way”

”Platoon 2 will also join Group A”

”We will as well”

After seeing the look in Alan's eyes, the commanders from Platoons 2 and 3 quickly answered

The young Lord spoke with a shocked expression, ”What? Wouldn't that be a probleoes to Group A, then what is Group B supposed to do?”

”Isn't there still the Militia and the Jackson Guard re?”

”But the Militia only amount to 20 The Guard is only 30, and even combined they only amount to 50”

On the other hand, Platoons 1, 2, and 3 coh there had been casualties over two days of battle, their numbers were still twice that of Group B Moreover, there were up to 300 ainst that many monsters, all hell would break loose if there was a battle In such a anization was, the Militia of level 35 players on average would be no help

Alan answered with a smirk, ”That is no concern of her chance of survival They don't trust soement with petty tasks”

”But”

”And rather than catching two rabbits, it should be less burdensoanize the forces to ensure that we can succeed with one After taking care of one, the other shouldn't be hard to get rid of, after all Of course, Group B is needed, since it would be hard if the enemy concentrated their forces So, don't be foolish and just buy time until Group A takes care of one scorch cannon and comes to help You should be able to do that much with 50 people, yes? How does that sound?”

The quest had a high degree of freedom, and Alan had struck its weakness precisely

The quest said there had to be two groups, but it didn't specify that each group had to take down a scorch cannon So it didn't roup took down both, and even if they ran out of time and couldn't take down one of them, the quest wouldn't be unsuccessful

Alan had nothing to lose fro the power to Group A Rather, it was a method that would ensure him EXP and contribution Moreover, since the Guard led by Cross were NPCs, they couldn't be controlled by a player's whim, and the low leveled Militia would only be in their way Therefore, he took the useful Platoons 2 and 3 and left those two for Ark

'Alan, you bastard!'

Curses were surging to his tongue But JusticeMan spat out with a heavy voice before Ark could

”This young little nipple-sucker talks dirty, how rude”

”What?”

”I get the gist of it fro for the taste of superiority It's hopeless bastards like you that I hate the most”

”Hoodness I orried the Militia would co to ask me to let them into Group A”

”What bullshi+t I wouldn't join you even if you asked”

As JusticeMan snorted, Roco also gave hi the players, there was no way Ark could sway the leaders of Platoons 2 and 3 anyway Rather, they seemed to think Ark took the commander position of Group B unfairly, as their looks towards Ark were less than friendly Thanks to that, Ark had no options

He had no choice but to face 300 monsters with just 50 troops, half of which were the level 30 Militia

There was nothing he could do about it, so he didn't want to seem like the troops were dumped onto him by Alan's coercion

In the end, Ark nodded his agreement ”I understand, I will move out with the Militia and the Jackson Guard”

The young Lord nodded with a troubled expression ”Alright If you accept it, then I have nothing more to say either Let's proceed hat Sir Alan said for now Operation starts in 1 hour After you're done preparing, go to the Quarteroods necessary for this operation”

”Will this really be alright?” Cross asked with a worried expression ”There's definitely a point to Sir Alan's words While we hold one reater chance of success if Group A takes down one cannon for sure and coht be unable to avoid annihilation Even so, if we're sloppy about pressuring the enee”

Honestly, that was the problem If Group A succeeded, then the main quest wouldn't fail There was really no reason for Ark toto the plan But since the Guard was part of Group B, he couldn't use thefor ti, his intimacy, contribution, and reputation would plummet

'Either way, I have no choice but toto plan'

Ark laughed with an indifferent expression ”Don't worry There will be a way No, I will find a way”

”Yeah, alright I'll trust and follow you for now I'll be preparing the Guard, so come find me when your preparations are done”

”Understood”

After leaving Cross, Ark went to the Militia and explained the quest Having heard the circuhtly disappointed looks That they had to join Group B, which had no hope of success, seeh heavily on their minds

”That's enough, going out in a blaze is better than sponging off a bastard like that Yah!”

”Understood We will only follow you, JusticeMan!”

As Justiceman shouted, the Militia just accepted it without objections Once Ark shared the quest, the Militia automatically became a part of Group B

'But really, what should I do now?'

He had gotten the quest for now, but he was at a loss

The monsters they would meet on the way to the cannon weren't a probleuarding the cannon

'It would be possible if we lured out twenty to thirty of them at a time'

For the most part, the monsters in a battalion were a collective whole If one attacked, they would all attack

Of course, itDedric But there was a limit to that as well, and this quest even had a ti to the scorch cannon with just 50 troops, with alternating battles and rest, would take over 2 hours If they ht be less than half an hour, or only a few minutes left when they reached the scorch cannon It meant that they had take care of 300 enemies and blow up the scorch cannon in just minutes; with just the Militia and the Guards, it was a hopeless quest fro

'Even if I somehow make it back alive, the difference between Alan and me, for this quest, would be like heaven and earth; if we both fail then we fail the main quest so I can't interfere with Alan But still, there's no way to get rid of a few hundred monsters in an instant'

Just then, an idea suddenly flashed into Ark's mind

'Wait? A few hundred? That's right, that ht work'

It felt like he was shocked back to his senses Truthfully, the possibility was low But if he could use this method, Ark definitely had a chance to succeed

'Okay, here goes nothing Let's go find out for now There's no time'

Ark iee caether at one end of Jackson Castle There he met up the airshi+p's Bosun, Jabel, and consulted with hiht up Jabel listened for awhile, and responded skeptically

”Maybe It's honestly hard to give you an answer right now We atte and there wasn't a second explosion, so it's not entirely without hope, but before seeing it personally and even if it's fine, the time to disassemble and reassemble would differ based on the situation”

”Anyway, so it is possible”

”Well, yes”

”The Magic Institute's help is absolutely necessary to save Jackson Castle Will you help?”

”If it's so we can do, then of course We are alive thanks you, Ark In addition, we are people who came to save Jackson Castle As the crewmen of the honorable Silver Arrow, it is our duty”

Jabel answered courageously, as befitting of the brave Captain's subordinate

'All right then It's not guaranteed yet, but at least there's some hope now'

As expected, if you think about it, an ansill coree of freedom

Having found a clue for the solution, he was able to relax a little and think about the situation more deeply

'But even if I finish the quest, nothing will change in the end'

Since Alan had swept up all the volunteer troops, that he would finish the quest was already no different froe even if Ark succeeded; there would be no change in the rankings

The best thing that could happen to Ark was if he succeeded and Group A failed But this was Group A with 120 users at an average level of 80 Even for them, it wouldn't be easy, but there was little chance they would fail

'I have to strengthen my resolve!'

Ark clenched his teeth Truthfully, he had made a plan to ht of afterand Group B also failed, then the main quest would end in failure

It would cause Alan despair but everything Ark had done for the past few days would turn to dust

'However, I can't beat Alan without taking some risks'

The quest wasn't the probleht with Alan, and that wasn't all There was even Andel, none the worse for it even after being chewed and sed, sticking to Alan It wasn't a time to hold back for fear of the losses

'Alan, and Andel You guys chose the wrong person to mess with'

Ark made up his mind

To be willing to use any and all methods, no matter how cheap

Ark immediately took out his pot in an e and started cooking

Howling Seasoned Chilies

A foodfruit of a chilli tree; if eaten, an unstoppable heat will radiate frohtly awry because of the severe heat

Strength +10 for 5 minutes, 'Confusion' for 3 minutes after effects wear off

Interthen 'Confusion' by 5 minutes

After120 portions in nearly 30 minutes, Ark stuffed it into a sack and went off to find Shambala

Since Sha to Platoons 1,2, or 3, he shared the quest with him and made him join Group B As he explained his cheap plan to Shambala, he soon narrowed his eyes

”You said you had skills, but it's just so like this?”

”Say it simply, can you do it or not?”

” I can do it”

”Good, there isn't much time left until we depart now, hurry up”

”Got it I really don't knohat the purpose of this is, but I'll do it since I promised”

Sha Seasoned Chillies and disappeared into the darkness

Shao to the warehouse within the castle The target was the supplies prepared by the young Lord for this operation — the food to be given to Group A would also be there Ark asked Sha Seasoned Chillies into the food in the supplies

'Survival Cooking shows its effect even when mixed with other foods!'

It was so he had already proven Moreover, if it was ain and the additional effects couldn't be knoithout trying it

'The food produced in the castle is small in quantity, but it has additional effects other foods lack With a decisive battle in front of him, Alan will definitely eat the supplied food If the effects show then'

Since it was ht not be affected, and the effect would likely be greatly reduced But even if only half were affected, it would no doubt to be a highly unfavorable situation

It was a mean and cheap method!

The reason he hadn't used this method before wasn't because of his conscience If there was a certain profit for hi an eye, at least in New World He had only resisted because getting caught doing such a deed by NPCs or players would influence his alignment But now he didn't even have to worry about that There was Shaent,' after all

'Hahaha, Alan you bastard Have a taste of this'

After finishi+ng all his preparations, Ark went off whistling to find the Quartermaster

”We have provided supplies for the Guards separately Here are the supplies for the Militia”

Having found him an hour later, the Quartermaster provided the supplies As expected there were 20 units of food and 20 General Tool Boxes Then, an NPC froave an orb the size of a soccer ball to the two groups' Co Lord had left out this

”This is a ic bomb”

”A ic bomb?”

”Yes, the scorch cannon is encased in a layer stronger than steel It would take a few hours to break it with your weapons But if this ic bomb is installed in the machinery, it can turn a scorch cannon into scrapyou have to be careful about Because we produced it in a rush, eren't able to put proper safety devices on it It should last a while, but if you discover soic bomb, throw it away and flee to a safe place”

”Understood”

Magic Bomb

A reat explosive power However, it is unstable because it is still a prototype and may not be able to control Mana properly

The bomb timer can be set from 10 seconds to a maximum of 1 minute But because the safety devices are unstable, the switch will automatically activate and initiate explosion in 2 hours and 50 minutes

Since the quest time limit was 3 hours, it meant the bomb had to be installed within 2 hours and 5010the scorch cannon explode in leisure as the quest was finished

”It would be great if you don't get wiped out quickly and have the monsters rush us”

Taking and storing his supplies first, Alan spoke as he looked at Ark

”The same to you”

”You have a strong will, fine Then shall we bet on who destroys a scorch cannon first?”

”Do as you please”

As Ark answered bluntly, Alan snorted and turned his mount around Then the 120 people in Group A went out the front gate like an ebbing tide

Watching thes and asked, ”But, why haven't Teach and the Militia come yet?”

The person Cross was calling Teach was JusticeMan

”The Militia have already left for soet to the scorch cannon, they will co our path”

”What do you mean by that? Did you divide our already small forces?” Cross asked in a worried tone

The Militia hadn't been a decisive help, but there was still a difference between having and not having them

”They are preparing so we need for this mission”

”Just what is the plan?”

”It is difficult to explain it in detail right now Won't you just trust and leave your life to me?” Ark spoke forcefully as he stared at Cross with serious eyes

Cross ht Both you and I are undertaking this operation with our lives on the line anyway Also, the Lord placed you in command If you ask, ill follow”

”Thank you”

Like that, Ark went out the castle gate with just the Guards

After advancing roughly 10 ate, they came to a fork These were the paths the two scorch cannons were co from Alan's troops went left, so, naturally, Ark took the right

After choosing which path to take in the fork, the monsters started their full scale offensive

”Kekeke, Humans To crawl all the way out here!”

”Die!”

It was a unit of forty to fifty Shadows and Avengers

”Knights forward, put your shi+elds up and charge; strike the enemies in the lead Archers, move to the flanks and block the movements of the rear enele formation!”

The Guard's movements were different froave orders, the troops moved like clockwork

Fifteen Knights ran out s Shadoith their shi+elds They rushed towards the knocked back Shadows as the Archers in the back let loose arrows that stopped the Avengers' movements with a Slow hex

It was different froe and deal a round of attacks, every , once they assisted each other their coreat increase

This was the result of JusticeMan's so-called Spartan training

”Attack the flanks as you charge the front again!”

After receiving JusticeMan's tactical training, Cross' ability to read the situation had improved enor generous amounts of food with additional effects Thanks to that, with all sorts of abilities enhanced, the Guards were displaying greater skills than their levels would suggest

'As expected of e NPCs like this in just two days'

He was only filled with more admiration

'In any case, it shouldn't be too hard to move to the scorch cannon with the Guards alone'

It had been his greatest worry before leaving the castle, whether they would be able to defeat the enemies as they moved towards the scorch cannon with a set to the scorch cannon in time Those two alone orries that were out of Ark's control

But this battle made him sure it was definitely possible

”We will eliminate the monsters as fast as possible and advance! Dedric, Skull, Plan A!”

”Okay!”

Clack, clack, clack

With one Fa in the air, Ark also leapt into battle, with his successive critical hits erupted from his sharp sword attacks He returned all of the enemy's attacks with critical hits, and he let fly kicks when he could to bombard the Shadoith status abnormalities

Fa Shado, Ark could face five of the Ark's He didn't attack as aggressively since he had been dragged out against his will, but he easily fought three or four on his own

With Ark and Sha care of about 20 of the enehtened considerably Thanks to that, it didn't take long to easily wipe out thelearned tactics, the Guards didn't lose much Health, either It decreased the rest time and sped up the advance But, there were h they were advancing while finishi+ng one round of battle in 10 minutes, it took over 2 hours and 20off the last e cannon made of steel within the darkness

”Is that the scorch cannon?”

The scorch cannon reached a height of a whopping 20that looked like it was e ar fro fro that looked like an are

Ruummmbble

The cutter on the ground whirred softly as it rotated It was slow, but it was definitely narrowing the distance between it and Jackson Castle Alright, now the proble the scorch cannon!

'The only thing left is to wait and trust in mister JusticeMan and the Militia!'

There were only about 40 minutes left before the time ran out Even so, Ark waited patiently The 30 Guardsmen couldn't defeat monsters 10 times their number alone Ark, Shambala and even the Militia wouldn't amble

After 10 minutes had passed, Cross asked in a worried voice ”Just what are you waiting for? We don't have much time left!”

”I know But right now, it's time to wait”

”Just who are you waiting for? Are you talking about Sir Alan?”

”No It's mister JusticeMan and the Militia”

”But don't you know that even if they joined, the situation won't change much?”

”I suppose it's time to tell you Actually”

Just when Ark was about to say so in the rear with an indifferent face, jumped up

”Ark, it's a scout!”

As Ark turned his head in surprise, about ten Shadoent up the hill, discovered Ark's party, and turned around in astonishment

”Holy shi+t! Shambala!”

Ark and Shambala shot off like arrows and fell upon the Shadows They both ran in and poured on attacks while dealing continuous critical hits Once the Archers from the Guards joined in, the Shadows fell over weakly But even Ark and Shambala couldn't defeat them all in just a few seconds

In addition, they were scouts; fro While the rest of the bastards were blocking Ark and co's attacks, one of the scream

”Squaaaawk! Enemies! Enemies!”

And BAM! 300 monsters simultaneously turned to look up at the hilltop

”There are Humans! Humans!”