Stripping the central command of its war banner was all it took to crush the soldiers’ morale. Raul added insult to injury by replacing the banner with the golden hawk emblem of the First Knight Order.
Despite the enemy’s massive force of 12,000, maintaining formation was impossible after their general fled and the command post fell.
“Hold your ground! Fight to the end!”
The lower-ranking commanders of the Baronial Alliance desperately tried to rally their troops, but it was futile. With their central forces demoralized and fractured by Raul’s breakthrough, the First Knights charged in and decimated what remained.
“Drop your weapons! Surrender, and you will be spared!”
Most soldiers, hearing this from the knights, quickly threw themselves to the ground, abandoning their weapons.
“Damn it… What should we do?”
The left and right flanks of the Baronial troops, untouched by direct combat, found themselves in disarray. Their leaders had fled, and their central forces were in shambles.
Fighting seemed pointless, but surrendering without having fought felt like cowardice. The two flanks made different choices.
“This is a hopeless fight. There’s no need for unnecessary sacrifice.”
The commander of Baron Allen’s forces chose to surrender. His soldiers sighed in relief, setting down their weapons and sitting down quietly. On the other hand, baron Josef decided to resist.
“If we surrender like this, they won’t spare us. Fight to the last!”
Of course, he had no intention of risking his own neck.
‘I’ll escape while the soldiers buy me time.’
He herded his troops into battle.
“Form ranks! Anyone trying to escape will be cut down by my hand first!”
Enforcers within the ranks threatened the soldiers into advancing against their will. Although reluctant, they pointed their spears at the enemy ahead.
Unfortunately for them, the player unit had been positioned on the right flank. Dalton, commanding the guild forces and players, grinned widely.
‘This is a lucky break. I thought we’d just be spectators, heh.’
Dalton drew his sword and shouted.
“Prepare for combat! Ranged units, target the enemy command, not the frontline soldiers!”
There was no need to slaughter unfortunate conscripts.
‘Did you think you’d be safe back there?’
Dalton sneered at the enemy leadership pushing their soldiers forward and issued his command.
“Commence attack! Flanking units, circle around and surround the enemy!”
Swoosh! Fwoosh! Kaboom!
As the enemies closed within a hundred meters, a barrage of attacks from the players rained down upon them. Fireballs, ice blades, wind spikes, and an array of colorful magic, alongside power shots, curved shots, and arrow showers from the archers, flew over the conscripts’ heads to hit the command group in the rear.
“Ugh! What the…!?”
“Mages in a battlefield!?”
Baron Josef’s officers, panic-stricken, tried to fend off the attacks with shields and mana blades, but there were too many.
Boom! Crash!
Even though the attacks weren’t overwhelmingly powerful, the sheer volume overwhelmed the command, sweeping them aside.
‘Raul was right.’
The Ruben Kingdom was woefully unprepared for magic and supernatural abilities. True, deploying high-level mages with large-scale defensive spells for a territorial war was rare anywhere. Had they remained calm, expert-level knights could have blocked such attacks effectively.
Thud, thud, thud.
The cavalry unit on Raul’s left flank kicked up a cloud of dust as they swiftly maneuvered around the enemy’s left side.
“Charge!”
Following closely behind, the players surged forward, forming a pincer movement. Using skills like Sprint, Acceleration, and Dash, the melee-class players moved at speeds unimaginable to regular soldiers, quickly cutting off the enemy’s flanks.
Wham! Thud!
“Drop your weapons!”
The vanguards of both sides clashed. Or rather, it was less of a clash and more of a one-sided display.
Rattle.
“Please, spare us!”
“W-We surrender!”
The conscripts in the front lines threw down their spears and knelt, clearly more intent on surrendering than fighting. The players ignored the surrendering conscripts, quickly bypassing them.
“Don’t worry about the low-level grunts! We’re after bigger prey!”
The lead formations consisted of guilds with over ten members each. Each guild leader had already been briefed and given orders for this battle.
“Capture them, don’t kill! The rewards decrease if they die!”
The First Knight Order prioritized capturing rather than killing the soldiers. With plans to annex the territories, killing too many soldiers would only breed resentment among the populace and reduce the available workforce.
Moreover, while players were accustomed to hunting monsters, they still felt uneasy about killing human NPCs. In such one-sided conditions, having players ‘massacre’ NPCs wasn’t what Raul desired.
‘This battle is just an appetizer. Soon, players will have to choose sides when the new scenario starts.’
If the top-tier players of Connect held favor towards the First Knight Order and Raul’s faction, it would be a significant boon.
“Form up! The real enemy is ahead!”
After breaking through the conscript lines, the players were met by Baronial regular troops. These soldiers, having received proper training and experienced real combat against monsters, stood in stark contrast to the conscripts in both morale and skill.
Swish! Clank! Thunk!
Spears thrust out from behind the shielded soldiers, targeting the players. However, relying on their levels and stats, the players pushed the spears aside and charged at the soldiers.
“Shield Charge!”
“Breaking Attack!”
“Power Slash!”
Players countered the disciplined formation of soldiers with their skills. Some attacks were blocked by the solid defense, while others knocked shield bearers aside, allowing players to break through enemy lines.
Kill them!
Aaargh!
Crash, clang!
In an instant, the melee between the players and soldiers turned into chaotic skirmishing. The regular troops of the territory, considered somewhat elite, had levels ranging from 25 to 40.
The participating players in this territorial war averaged around level 30. While the soldiers excelled in weapon handling and training, the players boasted powerful skills and equipment.
Most importantly, players moved with fearless abandon, knowing they wouldn’t suffer real death. Top-ranking players demonstrated skill levels nearly akin to knights, making it difficult for ordinary soldiers to hold their own.
It seemed as though the players were gaining the upper hand when—
Clang! Thud!
“Guys, break through!”
Among those clashing with the players were the mercenaries hired by the barons. Mercenaries were perhaps the most unfortunate and disadvantaged in this battlefield.
In case of defeat and capture, nobles could ransom themselves, and even common soldiers could often be released with reasonable compensation.
However, no one would bail out mercenaries. Unlucky ones might be sold into slavery, and at best, they would be held until they could pay their release fee or get guaranteed by the mercenary guild.
Despite the fact that it was their own fault for choosing the wrong side, they were undeniably the most pitiable victims. Their desperation was palpable in their fighting spirit.
“Break through to the southwest! Southwest!”
Not so much aiming to win, but rather looking for any opportunity to escape the battlefield. The battle between Baron Josef’s right wing troops and the player units turned into a fierce skirmish.
And yet, with hardly any fatalities and mostly injuries, it was clear to everyone on the battlefield that the outcome had already been decided.
“What should we do?”
An officer commanding the left wing under Raul’s banner asked Dalton, who surveyed the battlefield.
“Hm. I think we’ve done enough. Don’t you?”
Dalton’s sword was already at the throat of the commander from Baron Josef’s forces.
“Y-Yes, that’s correct! We surrender, we surrender. Please!”
The commander, pinned to the ground under Dalton’s boot, desperately shouted. It was understandable since he had been begging for surrender in that position for several minutes now.
“Let’s wrap this up.”
“Yes, captain. Everyone, advance!”
At Dalton’s command, the First Knights and elite guild members who had secured the enemy command activated their mana blades and charged into the battlefield.
Simultaneously, Dalton shouted, “Cease all action! The battle ends here! Anyone who continues to wield their weapons will be prosecuted under military law!”
His voice, amplified by a voice-enhancing artifact, spread across the battlefield, and the noise of clashing weapons gradually faded.
“Man, that’s disappointing. I wanted to rack up more points.”
“Huff, puff. Real combat is definitely different.”
“Healers! We have wounded here!”
The players reluctantly sheathed their weapons. Alongside the promised rewards from the First Knight Order, the Connect system had also initiated a territorial war quest. The rewards varied based on the achievements earned during the war, driving the players’ enthusiasm.
Thud. Clatter.
As the players lowered their weapons, the baronial soldiers followed suit, begrudgingly dropping their arms. Mercenaries who had intended to resist to the bitter end also surrendered, cowed by the formidable mana blades.
Thus, the first-ever territorial war in Connect concluded with an overwhelming victory for Raul and the First Knight Order.
Meanwhile, “Let go of me! Do you know who I am!?”
“How dare a mere knight treat a kingdom’s lord like this! Does Raul have no honor?”
Bound hand and foot and dragged along by ropes were the fleeing Baron Brock and other high-ranking members of the Baronial Alliance.
“Shut up and walk. You cowards who abandoned your men to save yourselves sure have a lot to say!”
Kane barked, glaring at them with a look of disdain.
“You fool! Do you know who backs us? Release these ropes immediately!”
“Oh, really? You must have some very important people supporting you. But what good will that do when they can’t save your neck right now?”
“You insolent cur! How dare a mere knight insult me!”
Kane abruptly stopped. He drew a dagger and approached Baron Brock.
“W-What are you doing?”
“You keep going on about ‘mere knight’ this and ‘mere knight’ that.”
A green mana blade flared from Kane’s dagger.
“Do you understand now?”
Buzz.
The green mana blade shrank and darkened, transforming into something more menacing.
Whoosh.
Even a slight swing made the knights’ spines tingle.
“I could walk into any noble house and be granted a title higher than baron at this level.”
Kane, now at the peak of the Expert level, was not exaggerating. Reaching Master rank meant being treated as a viscount regardless of background.
“So a broken-down baron like you should know your place. Keep annoying me, and I’ll cut out that useless tongue of yours.”
Given Kane’s reputation for expertise in intimidation, the barons had no choice but to fall silent, trembling.
Finally, they arrived before Raul.
In the large tent, Raul sat on a chair atop a platform, chin resting on his hand, smiling as he slowly walked towards them.
“So, can I also hear who these so-called important people backing you are?”
“Gulp.”
The barons, cowed by Raul’s presence, could only roll their eyes for a while without uttering a word.
(To be continued)