Translator: rainbowturtle
Editor: LD & Jyazen
âNoona, itâs now,â Lee Hoon said as he looked at the Ellen Waze players and soldiers running out of the gate. He didnât panic. It was a situation that had emerged countless times in their strategy meetings.
âDonât tremble,â Lee Hoon told himself inwardly. He still trembled slightly though. In fact, this moment was Crescent Moonâs actual debut. Last week was Alley Leaderâs debut, rather than the teamâs, since he handled everything alone from start to finish.
âI know. Just use it all, right?â Sunny knew what she needed to do, but she wanted to confirm it. She was afraid she might make a mistake.
Yuri noticed how Sunny was feeling and nodded before saying, âJust use your magic power. Iâll buff you.â
Then she cast a buff that sped up magic power recovery.
[You have been baptized by moonlight.]
[Magic power will continue to recover.]
[Movement speed has increased.]
âYes.â Sunny confirmed Yuriâs buff and immediately revealed all the undead she could create. Knights wearing colorful armor appeared without making a sound. All of the knights were headless. Their heads were in their hands. They were the headless knights, the dullahans.
After the dullahans, the magicians emerged in gorgeous robes that werenât inferior to the dullahansâ armor. These magicians were skeleton mages. In addition...
Finally, three undead were added. Knights appeared riding skeletal horses surrounded by black flames. The dullahans were also riding horses, but the knights who appeared now were twice as large as them. There were only three of these knights, but they showed a more overwhelming presence than the dozens of dullahans. These were death knights. They emitted a black aura of death that attracted attention.
Sunny waved her staff at the summoned undead. Black air currents shot out from the bead at the end of the staff and were absorbed into the undeadâs bodies.
âIâm ready,â Sunny spoke with a slightly pale expression after casting a buff on the undead.
âI feel this way every time I see it, but itâs a really good class. Iâm envious,âLee Hoon murmured with admiration.
There was also a lot of envy in his voice. The undead Sunny summoned were all powerful undead. There was no need to even mention the dullahans and skeleton mages as only a few necromancers could summon the formidable death knights. Sunny was able to summon a death knight with a class skill, but most regular necromancers didnât have the Death Knight Summoning skill. They had to get a skill book and learn it separately.
âSo why donât you give your control to Noona? Then you can play as a necromancer,â Mason told Lee Hoon after hearing his words.
Lee Hoon shook his head quickly and said, âThatâs okay. Iâm happy as a paladin.â
He absolutely didnât want to change if that was the case. Sunnyâs rare class was definitely enviable, but getting Sunnyâs control in return was the worst. It was even more horrible because he had experienced it personally by her side.
âThe two of you, focus. From now on, there is no time to say anything else,â Yuri criticized Lee Hoon and Mason. It wasnât good to be unable to perform due to excessive tension, but it wasnât good to be too relaxed either.
âAs we practiced, Lee Hoon and the undead will take the front. Mason and the skeleton mages will cast magic from behind. Dwayne, protect us,â Yuri once again reminded them of what they had prepared.
She wasnât saying it because she was worried the others had forgotten. Instead, it was to build up tension for everyone, including her.
Sunny looked at the Ellen Waze players running in the distance and gave orders to the undead: âThe dullahans and death knights will go forward to fight. Skeleton mages, come to my side to prepare magic.â
It was the start of a full-fledged siege.
***
âThey are fighting well.â Hyeonu watched the five members of Crescent Moon and six members of Ellen Waze fight in the distance.
Originally, the other Crescent Moon players thought that Hyeonu would do somethingâanythingâat this point. However, Hyeonu did nothing. He didnât cross the walls alone or try to break the gate. He just watched. This was why he was alone today.
âProve it here for sure.â Hyeonu wanted them to show that they werenât Alley Leaderâs folding screens but true members of Crescent Moon. Thus, he was now taking a step back. âYou just have to show what you have prepared.â
Hyeonu knew the playersâ efforts better than anyone else.
***
âAh!!! Sunnyâs undead are tying up Ellen Wazeâs feet very well. Something incredible is happening!!â Commentator Lee Wanghoon, who was to the left of Jang Junhyung, shouted.
Things had become very strange now. The Crescent Moon without Alley Leader wasnât being heavily pushed by Ellen Waze as everyone had expected.
âOf course, itâs a battle with half the members of Ellen Waze, but Crescent Moon only has five people without Alley Leader!â
The remaining six members of Ellen Waze were standing on the wall to stop Hyeonuâs surprise actions. This wouldâve been the same response for any player, not just Hyeonu. Once everyone ran out, they would experience a humiliating defeat if the opponent crossed the wall, entered the castle, and occupied the inner office. They would lose without even fighting properly.
Most professional games ended with the army being wiped out. It was rare for the inner office to be occupied. Therefore, it was a humiliation to be defeated by occupation.
âAh!!! The soldiers of Ellen Waze have been wiped out. Crescent Moonâs soldiers are so strong. In particular, the ones in black armor are slaughtering indiscriminately.â
Just then, Ellen Wazeâs situation turned dark. During the time when they were being tied down by Sunnyâs undead and Lee Hoon, the soldiers theyâd brought with them failed to put up a fight against Phinisâ soldiers and knights and died.
âIf this happens, their psychological state will be affected. Crescent Moonâs soldiers arenât very threatening, but they arenât negligible!â Chae Yunho, the commentator on the other side of Lee Wanghoon, added.
Soldiers were obviously weak compared to players, so their defeat wasnât unexpected. Nevertheless, the psychological burden of being surrounded was unavoidable. This was when Masonâs magic filled the meadow. It was his first time casting a spell on the professional stage, and Masonâs debut was very flashy.
The ground shook and cracked. Sharp dirt spears rose from between them. Just these alone made it seem like a common magic in Arena, but the range was different. Dozens of earth spears rose into the air as the ground around the Ellen Waze players shook.
âThis is Masonâs magic... Really amazing. It isnât lacking at all compared to the worldâs most famous magician players!â
Yet Masonâs attack was in vain. It was because Ellen Wazeâs best ace, Park Hanjong, used his skills to scatter the magic power around him.
âAhhhh!!â
The hard dirt spears were broken down like dry sand as Park Hanjong nullified all of them at once.
âThe problem is that all the buffs on Park Hanjong have disappeared after he used that skill! This is a crisis for Ellen Waze.â
However, that move was accompanied by risk. All the buffs on Park Hanjongâs body disappeared in exchange for getting rid of Masonâs magic. Crescent Moon didnât miss this chance. Three skeletons kicked against the dirt ground and soared into the air. Simultaneously, Lee Hoon also started running quickly. They had one purposeâto deal a critical hit during the moment when Park Hanjong was weakened.
Park Hanjongâs presence in Ellen Waze was even greater than that of Hyeonu in Crescent Moon. This was an opportunity, so they had to deal damage to him.
White energy covered Lee Hoonâs running body. Soon, the energy formed a shapeâa huge shield with powerful energy.
âThis is an essential skill for shield paladins. It is Call of Powerful Energy. Itâs a good charging skill that has a high chance of causing stuns after hitting the opponent. The biggest advantage is that most people ignore abnormal statuses.â
It was just like Lee Wanghoon said. Call of Powerful Energy was a charging skill accompanied by CC (crowd control). It was a skill that worked better than any other skill in a situation like this. Lee Hoon didnât stop charging. He clung to Park Hanjong, and the shields of the two people collided. It might not be as good as Call of Powerful Energy, but Park Hanjong used a skill to increase his defense. Even so, he was pushed badly.
The difference was due to the buffs. Lee Hun was also a top ranker. If his standard was different from Park Hanjong, it would be higher, not lower.
âIs it because there are no buffs? Park Hanjong is being pushed. Once Park Hanjong is pushed, there is no one to stop the death knights.â
Covered in ominous black air currents, the death knightsâ long swords swept through the bodies of the Ellen Waze players.
âEllen Waze can block it one time with a barrier. Still, there are three death knights!!â
The initial attack was blocked because the magician of Ellen Waze reacted quickly and used defense magic. However, there were three death knights, so two subsequent attacks remained. The skeletal horses ran roughly while a dark light shone in the death knightsâ eyes.
Simultaneously, an ominous black air current was fired. Red blood gushed out, and Ellen Wazeâs magician fell. Something was stuck in the fallen magician. Mason had used magic to dig a wound into the opposing magician.
âCrescent Moon has shown perfect teamwork! One Ellen Waze player is out. The tanker charged, and the damage dealer finished it off. It is an ideal cooperation.â
The flow of the fierce battle started to tilt sharply. Even with six people, Ellen Waze didnât have a clear advantage. Now their number was reduced to five, so it was no wonder that the battle became tougher. Crescent Moon smoothly brought the flow to their side.
Meanwhile, Dwayneâs fists moved like they were on fire. His fists were engulfed in bright pure energy as he struck the abdomen of the opponent aiming a sword at Yuri. There was the sound of something bursting, and the opponentâs body soared high into the air.
Dwayne kicked off hard against the ground and followed his opponent, swinging his hands strongly in a downward manner. The waist of the Ellen Waze player was struck, and he quickly fell toward the ground. Then Dwayne dealt the finishing blow to the falling opponent. His pure energy showed a ferocious force as it pierced the back of the Ellen Waze player.
âThe fact that Ellen Waze failed to defeat Crescent Moon when it was six against five means that the rest of the players of Crescent Moon deserve to be professional players as well,â Chae Yunho expressed his feelings about the battle that ended in Crescent Moonâs victory.
After that, his eyes shifted to the other side. Hyeonu had started to move.
***
âThis should be enough?â Hyeonu smiled as he watched his teammates fight like they had practiced. It was a relief because their efforts shone through. No one would discredit them now.
âThey are the people that Iâve gathered...â
Even if he pretended not to, he could still sense that Crescent Moon's battle was now reaching the end.
âI have to finish it.â
This was enough for their role. Hyeonu had to wrap things up. He couldnât just act as a passenger on a bus. So, Hyeonu got up from his spot and stroked the head of Tang-E, who was sitting beside him.
âTang-E, warm up. Today, you will fight as well, but donât use Giant Transformation. Got it?â
âI understand, Master dude. Tang-E will fight.â Tang-E nodded and bumped his front paws together.