FEARS NO DEATH BUT MUST NOT DIE

The Shorkan reopened, and the Orcs retreated.

"Young Master, quick!" Brom said. He and the other high-levelled NPCs stood guard of the fortress' gate. "The Shorkan won't open for so long."

"No, Brom!" Papa Bear said. "Big Brother entrusted Papa Bear to get the Taunting Scrolls from you!"

"He had already called a full retreat. Why the sudden change in plans?" Brom said.

"Brom. No time! Quick! The dragon will fight for us. The retreat is a bluff!" Papa Bear said with determination in his eyes.

Brom hesitated. He looked over the frontline where Ogni and Armada's elite force became the vanguard against the horde. Then he eventually handed the scroll.

Blue electricity crackled around Papa Bear. And with a grin, he charged back to the frontline.

"Bertan, wait!" It was Aildrin. Soulsworth was in his hand, but he was not covered in a ruby-colored aura.

A Black Orc lunged behind Aildrin, but he seemed to have an eye at the back of his head because he spun to the side and beheaded the sneaky enemy. His level then increased to sixty.

"I've been looking for you! Where are you going?" Aildrin said. He glanced around and made sure that no other enemies had passed through the vanguard.

"Come, Ilidran! We'll ride the dragon!" Papa Bear grinned. A smile that only fools who feared no death could produce.

"No! We're going back to the Shorkan! Lazybones won't hold for long! Let's go!"

But he was Papa Bear. He rolled his eyes and charged straight to the heart of the horde.

"Bertran, wait!" Aildrin slapped his forehead. He then glanced at the sky where Hellbring circled lazily before chasing Papa Bear.

Ogni and his team held the vanguard. Although some Black Orcs and Eidolons passed through, they quickly dealt with them.

"Retreat!" Ogni said, cleaving another orc into two and blasting a group charging before him. Then, from the corner of his eye, a crackling blue figure passed like an unleashed beast. It moved in a blur and toppled those who dared to block his way.

"Holy Cow! Bertran, get back here!" Ogni bellowed. But he knew that his effort was in vain. "Men! We're charging through the horde! My brother got loose! He must not die at all costs!"

In just a few seconds, the ten Warheads and a hundred players of Armada rebuffed the vanguard. They stopped playing the defensive and pushed through the horde. Although their levels and strength were higher than the enemies, they were quickly outnumbered. And the guild's healers were having a hard time in maintaining their health.

And Orceana and the Twin Devils have not yet resurrected because the higher the level, the longer it took for the system to revive the players. A Level 200-player would have to wait at least twenty minutes.

Despite the overwhelming odds, Armada formed a circular formation with Ogni in the middle. And Aildrin joined too.

"Charge!" Ogni said. He did not fear the Black Orcs and the abyss monsters, but he had to admit that the dragon above intimidated him. With just one attack from the beast, it will rupture their formation. But it seemed that Hellbring had no intention to attack them. For now.

Armada's elite force slaughtered their way through the charging army of beasts and Black Orcs. But the consequence immediately became apparent. They were trapped in the horde's heart. And the enemies bombarded them from all directions.

Meanwhile, Papa Bear had already reached the rest of the wall's ruins. He scaled the steps, and eidolons and Black Orcs chased after him.

Aildrin was in the southern outer ring of the formation, where the enemies were still few. And he reached another level—65—after slaying some eidolons and Black Orcs along the way. Though he could not yet fully comprehend the level-system of the world, his mind tingled at the possibility of contending against a Level 100.

The invasion was a great opportunity for him to grind some level, but the lurking dragon above was a pain in his ass. And there was Papa Bear. He could not understand why an elite force would risk themselves for a low-level player that could just resurrect after death.

Then his necklace throbbed. It told him to duck, and so he did.

A double-headed war ax and a dagger passed through above his head. It came from his back.

Defensive Blade! "What's the meaning of this?" Aildrin thought. The attacks came from two orcs that should have been his ally.

In a battle wherein every angle offered death, no one had the time to pay attention to their allies. The two Orcs pushed Aildrin out of the formation, and they were left behind.

Though the two figures possessed the body of an orc, darkness obscured their faces, and Aildrin could only see a pair of glowing red eyes.

"Karcel's Demons!" Aildrin hissed. He could not maintain his stance because a random eidolon or orc would lunge at him.

His defensive blades quickly vanished under the attack of the two orcs and some eidolons.

"Deal with the others, I have a score to settle with this one!" the short orc said to the lanky one. He then vanished.

Aildrin checked the lanky Orc's details when he stopped attacking him and dealt with the interruptions.

[Broken Spirit, Level 85, Gold Rank—Tier I, Demon Berserker (NPC).]

"Sars, I've already reached a higher level. Why am I not getting new skills?" Aildrin said. But there was no reply.

He stood guard against the short orc who vanished from thin air. Then he sensed a disturbance in space from his right. He parried out of instinct. Sparks flew where his sword and the orc's dagger met.

[Abandoned Hope, Level 60, Gold Rank—Tier V, Demon Assassin (NPC).]

Aildrin never forgot what this demon did to Sisa's children. "Hey! You should not have come again."

Abandoned Hope hissed. Then black tendrils crawled out of his dagger and latched themselves on Aildrin's hand. "I've been longing to hear your cry for mercy, human!"