Second World Online

The night wind whistled fiercely, blowing my long snow-white cape as I glided down from the sky using [Wind Walk]. I did not land in the middle of the valley plain that had become a slaughter arena; instead, I chose a jagged rocky cliff that jutted out on the eastern side of the Ironhold valley. This position was about two hundred meters from the front line of battle, giving me an absolute vantage point like a spectator in the VIP balcony of a bloody theater.

I planted my white combat boots on the rocks, stabilizing my stance. My ruby-red eyes narrowed.

"[Eagle Eye]," I whispered softly.

Instantly, my vision pierced through hundreds of meters with clarity equivalent to a telescopic lens. The scene below truly depicted the chaos of a massive-scale war. Three seas of players collided with one another. The silver armor of the Knights of the Round tried to push forward, while the black-armored waves of Ouroboros and the wolf-emblem troops of Black Wolf attempted to flank them from both sides.

Fire, ice, and lightning magic exploded one after another, coloring the night sky. The clanging of swords striking shields created an ear-splitting cacophony. On the front lines, slaughter happened in mere seconds. Warriors and Knights whose defenses were breached were instantly torn apart by magic or axe swings, shattering into particles of light, then reappearing at the respawn tents set up by each Guild at the far end of the valley.

However, the Second World Online system did not allow this war to continue forever like an endless street brawl. For this Castle Siege Event, the system had established an absolute rule: Every player only has a limit of 2 respawns.

That meant they only had two spare lives. If a player was killed for the third time, they would be forcibly ejected from the Ironhold valley instance area and sent back to their original city without being able to return tonight. This rule forced Guild commanders to think tactically, rather than simply throwing troops as unlimited meat shields.

From atop the cliff, I could see the Ouroboros formation beginning to tighten their shield ranks to block Arthur's advance. The formation was extremely tight, designed to break close-range attacks.

"A fine turtle formation," I grinned behind my high military collar. "Too bad your roof is wide open."

I reached behind my belt and pulled a dozen ordinary wooden arrows with red fletching. Then, from the compartments of my leather belt, I took out several apple-sized copper spheres [Sulfuric Shrapnel Bombs] the toxic bombs whose sales had just been blocked by the GMs because I was considered to have monopolized the market.

Using a strong hemp cord and a bit of sticky resin from my inventory, I tied the handles of the copper bombs to the necks of the wooden arrows. The position had to be precise so as not to overly ruin the aerodynamics, even though the weight of these arrows had now become ten times heavier.

I nocked a bomb-laden arrow onto the steel cable of the Titan's Ironbark Compound Bow.

A distance of two hundred meters was not a normal shooting range for wooden arrows, especially with this heavy load at the tip. If I fired it with a normal draw, the arrow would dive and fall midway before reaching the target. I needed artillery-level propulsion.

"[Charged Shot]," I chanted silently.

I did not hold the draw for a full three seconds to produce absolute destructive power. I only held it for one second (Level 1 Charge), just enough to provide extreme kinetic thrust from the asymmetrical pulley spring system of my bow. Wind roared and gathered at the tip of the arrow.

My red eyes measured the elevation angle, calculated wind speed, and locked onto the center ranks of the Ouroboros formation.

"Express package delivery," I whispered.

DZHAAAANG!

The steel cable string cracked sharply. The wooden arrow carrying the copper bomb shot through the air, forming a perfect parabolic trajectory across the night sky. Amid the uproar of battle, not a single Ouroboros Tanker noticed the streak of death descending from the sky, because they were too busy holding back the push of Arthur's troops in front of them.

JLEB!

The arrow embedded itself precisely into the shoulder plate of one black-armored Knight in the middle of their turtle formation. The Knight only managed to turn his head with a confused expression upon seeing a copper sphere stuck to his shoulder with its fuse already burned out.

BLLLLAAAARRRR!

A loud explosion shook the Ouroboros front line. The copper shell shattered, spewing hundreds of sharp fragments in every direction. Because they stood extremely tightly packed, the copper fragments swept across dozens of players at once, dealing 1,200 points of physical damage.

But it was not the fragments that were lethal, it was the yellowish-green cloud that immediately exploded and enveloped a ten-meter radius from the blast point. The residual pure sulfur combustion created toxic gas.

"AARRGGH! My eyes! I can't see!"

"Cough! Cough! Poison! Healer, cleanse this area now!"

The 3-second Blind effect and 50 Poison Damage per second completely shattered the solid shield wall. The Tankers thrashed about, lowering their shields because they had lost their field of vision. Seizing that opening, the Knights of the Round forces immediately charged in like a flood, massacring dozens of Ouroboros members in an instant.

From atop the cliff, my laughter burst out.

"Again."

I immediately nocked a second bomb-laden arrow. One-second draw, [Charged Shot Lv.1], release.

DZHANG! BLLLAARRR!

The second explosion slammed into the right wing of the Black Wolf forces that were trying to sneak around. The sulfur cloud bloomed again, creating panicked screams from those fierce wolf-shaped players.

Draw. Shoot. Explode. Draw. Shoot. Explode.

I entered an extremely precise rhythm. I no longer used Focus or aimed for weak points. I simply fired blindly into the densest clusters of enemies. The virtual muscles of my right arm worked like an automatic machine. My hand reached for arrows and bombs from the belt, mounted them in one second, drew the bowstring, and released.

Nine shots. Fourteen shots. Twenty shots.

Exactly as I released the twenty-fifth bomb shot toward a cluster of Ouroboros Mages, a system bell suddenly rang sharply in my ears, freezing my movement for one millisecond. A flash of golden light briefly enveloped my bow.

Ting! [System: Combat Understanding Milestone Achieved!]

[You have fired more than 20 projectiles in succession with draw duration below the optimal limit, while maintaining area (AoE) accuracy.]

[Congratulations! A passive Sub-Skill from your Bow Mastery has been added!]

[You have acquired a new Sub-Skill: [Rapid Shot]!]

My eyes widened slightly as I read the transparent text floating in front of my face.

[Rapid Shot - Passive Sub-Skill]

Description: Allows the archer to reduce bowstring draw time by up to 50%. In exchange, absolute Accuracy decreases, and the Base Damage of each arrow is reduced to 70%.

"A free Sub-Skill?" I murmured in amazement, the corner of my lips curving upward.

Technically, [Rapid Shot] was an extremely poor skill for my main build, the "Glass Nuke." I usually relied on a single absolute shot using Focus and maximum Charged Shot to destroy enemies in one brutal strike. Reducing damage to 70% for the sake of firing speed was the complete opposite of Sniper principles.

"But for now…" I stared at the remaining copper bombs on my belt, then looked toward the valley that was beginning to be covered in sulfur smoke. "…this skill is a gift from the gods."

I did not need 100% damage from my wooden arrows. The arrows were merely a delivery vehicle. The thing that killed enemies was the 1,200-point explosive bomb at the tip. And if I could deliver those bombs twice as fast…

"Let's make it rain," I hissed coldly.

I activated [Rapid Shot]. Instantly, my avatar's body felt far lighter. The draw of the Titan's Ironbark steel cable that usually slightly resisted my arm now felt as light as pulling a rubber band.

My right hand moved into a blur. I yanked a bomb-laden arrow, nocked it, drew halfway, and released.

DZHANG-DZHANG-DZHANG-DZHANG!

The sound of my bow now resembled a heavy machine gun. In ten seconds, I released six arrows at once.

The six bomb-laden arrows launched almost simultaneously through the air, creating a terrifying aerial assault formation. They fell like a meteor shower onto the rear lines of the Black Wolf and Ouroboros forces.

BLLAAAARR-BLAARR-BLAAARR!

A series of consecutive explosions shook the entire Ironhold valley. Yellowish-green smoke billowed high, covering the night sky. Hundreds of enemy players were hurled into the air, their HP bars plummeting from the copper fragments, and panicked screams from the Blind status echoed across the local server.

In the public chat column of the valley region, panic texts appeared at insane speed.

[Ouroboros_Knight01]: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! WHERE ARE THESE DAMN BOMBS COMING FROM?!

[BlackWolf_Mage]: ARTILLERY! SOMEONE IS FIRING ARTILLERY FROM THE EASTERN CLIFF DIRECTION!

[Iron_Tank]: Formation broken! Formation broken! This smoke is poisonous, I can't see the enemy! The Knights of the Round are breaking through!

I laughed loudly at the absolute chaos I had created. Arthur's elite troops from the Knights of the Round exploited my sulfur smoke rain perfectly. They moved like ghosts amid the enemy's panic, cutting down anyone who was coughing and blinded by my explosions. The [Elite Mercenary] tag above my head ensured that my bombs did not harm Arthur's forces at all.

Atop this cliff, I felt like a war god playing chess with thousands of lives. My white military uniform fluttered gracefully, blown by the wind that carried the scent of gunpowder.

However, my Elf sensory perception, supported by high DEX stats, suddenly caught an anomaly.

The extremely faint sound of shifting gravel came from behind me, about five meters away. That sound was unnatural, inconsistent with the rhythm of the wind. Someone had successfully climbed this rocky cliff and used a high-level Stealth skill to sneak up on my back. Considering the chaos I had caused, it was only natural that an enemy Assassin squad would be sent to silence this aerial artillery.

I was aware of their presence, yet I did not turn. I did not stop the movement of my hands.

While maintaining a relaxed expression, I continued nocking bomb-laden arrows and firing them into the valley, pretending to be a foolish sniper too focused on the prey to notice the blind spot behind me.

Four meters. Three meters.

The cold aura of a sharp metal weapon began to threaten the back of my neck. The hired killer from the Black Wolf faction was surely grinning behind his Stealth mode, thinking he would receive great praise for successfully beheading the Mad Alchemist from behind.

Sreett!

The sound of air being split by the swing of a poisoned dagger was heard. The black silhouette of an Assassin emerged from nothingness, his dagger aimed straight at the upper part of my neck, precisely at the gap in my military collar.

He entered lethal striking range.

In the final millisecond before the blade touched my skin, I performed a body pivot rotation that was impossible for a normal player. Utilizing high AGI and DEX agility, I spun my body 180 degrees using the heel of my white combat boot as the pivot.

It was not a bomb-laden arrow that I pulled from my belt. That would have been too slow. My hand reached into a special tube on the belt and drew a pure steel arrow: [Steel Bodkin].

While spinning, I immediately nocked the sharp steel onto my bowstring, not bothering to draw it fully. My giant bow was now positioned right in front of the Assassin's face, whose eyes widened in horror as he realized his attack had missed and he had walked into a trap.

"You're too noisy for an assassin," I whispered as cold as ice.

"[Lethal Shot]."

JLEEB!

I released the steel arrow at a distance of less than half a meter (Point-Blank). The power from the Compound Bow's pulleys, even without a full draw, was more than enough to tear through close-range defense. The aerodynamic steel arrowhead pierced straight through the Assassin's leather mask, instantly crushing his virtual skull.

[-4,500 Physical/Piercing Damage!] [Lethal Hit! Armor Ignore!]

Digital blood sprayed into the air. The Level 33 Assassin's body was hurled backward by the thrust of my arrow, slamming into the cliff rock before shattering into a swirl of blue pixel dust. He had just lost one of his two lives in this event instantly, and would most likely respawn at his base tent in a state of severe trauma.

I snorted softly, brushing residual pixel dust from the sleeve of my white coat.

"How bold of you to try touching this expensive silk cloak with a rusty dagger," I sneered, staring at the spot where the Assassin's dust had vanished.

I turned back to face the valley. There was no time to celebrate that minor execution. My main stage was still below.

My hand reached for another bomb-laden arrow. With the combination of Rapid Shot, I once again became a lethal artillery-launching machine.

In less than ten minutes since I had landed on this cliff, fifty [Sulfuric Shrapnel Bombs] had been completely expended. The total damage I had inflicted could no longer be counted on fingers. Thousands of enemy players had been forced to inhale sulfur gas and been blasted by copper fragments. Half of the front-line forces of Ouroboros and Black Wolf had been forced to respawn, losing one of their precious lives.

Thanks to my rain of chaos, the enemy defensive formations in the valley area had been pushed back nearly one hundred meters, leaving a wide, smooth path for the Knights of the Round forces. Arthur's silver-armored troops had now successfully reached the stone bridge that connected the valley plain to the main gate of Ironhold Castle.

The opening phase of the invasion was complete. The enemy infantry forces had been driven back. Now, the real obstacle awaited right in front of our eyes.

The one-meter-thick giant steel gate of the strongest fortress on this server.

I lowered my bow, letting the night wind blow the residual sulfur smoke that had been carried up to the cliff. At the back of my waist belt, three special steel cylinders Breaching Charges felt heavy and insistent.

"Time for the commander to step in and knock on their front door," my smile bloomed. I leaped from the edge of the cliff, activating my agility to surf down the steep rocks, joining Arthur on the front line of the conquest.