17. Eagle Imperium
"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." — Elie Wiesel
Witnessing the large group of players enter the battle in a meticulously choreographed manner was both shocking and beautiful. It was as if the very air crackled with the energy of their movements, a dance of steel and magic that transformed the battlefield into a realm of awe and wonder.
The first to arrive were the eight tanks equipped with heavy armor and large shields; upon getting into position, one of them, a man whose appearance was hidden behind steel, spoke in a gruff voice.
"Teams 1 and 2 will guggle the boss, 3 and 4 standby and watch out for ads, team 3 pulls minis, and 4 pulls trash. We are stacking on the boss to cleave down."
With the front line under control, everyone mindlessly cast attack spells, completely suppressing the boss that had been wreaking havoc with abandon.
Even Johanious had stopped attacking to get out of the way, opting to walk over to Claire.
"It seems we were able to get reinforcements from an organization before the worst happened."
While launching basic attacks mindlessly, Claire looked over. She was happy to kill the boss, but it was somewhat bittersweet; instead of playing a significant role by helping evacuate the villagers, she was the lowest-level person in the area doing the most minor damage, and her contributions likely would not be much.
"Your village is saved; perhaps it won't be long until everyone who is still alive can move back in."
Hearing this, the boy shook his head.
"I am the strongest person left; we cannot stay out in the wilderness; they will all come back to get any belongings they can, then try to move elsewhere. I plan to go on a journey to get stronger. When I am finally strong enough, I'll rebuild this village into a bustling town."
Hearing his aspirations, Claire became increasingly sure that this NPC was unique; instead of looping to give players quests or sell things continuously, this guy was moving forward towards something.
"Well, good luck."
At that moment, the Brood Mother shrieked, and two green health spiders around half its size barreled into the square, joining the fight with around a dozen of the small spiders.
Seeing the incoming enemies, many of the loose players panicked. Still, the situation ended up being very anti-climactic, with the large group quickly pulling their aggro and taking them to the side to get annihilated by the large group of players.
Only when the boss reached 10% HP did it emanate a dark green aura and pounce on the tank holding it, instantly killing a level 16 shield-bearing and stunning the entire crowd.
Seeing the situation, the man who seemed to be in charge of the group of tanks quickly took control.
"Active defensive abilities, do not take an attack without protection, begin cycling through all teams and burn all your mana and stamina. Be careful not to over-taunt."
Hearing his words, the new person holding the boss's attention lit up with a blue light that seemed to flow on the surface of his armor.
Not a second later, the boss made the same special attack, hitting the tank in the chest and sending it flying over 20 feet; this time, however, they lived with around 15% HP.
With them far away, someone else took the boss, and the injured person was healed up before they could even stand up, rejoining the others.
With the strategy done and the situation adapted, the boss died soon after, leaving 15 minutes before the event was completed.
In a rain of laughter and joy, the boss fell over dead before dissolving into loot.
During the fighting, Claire had learned that in Harbinger's, when participating in world boss fights, the boss would drop loot for each specific player that only they could see, meaning the loot on the ground was hers, not the entire group of players that contributed.
Waiting a minute for the people at the front to loot, Claire looked at the spells she could get at level 10, which she got after the boss died.
After looking for a little while, she could get to the boss and decided to research what other players were picking instead of randomly picking one since they all seemed pretty useful to her.
When she arrived in front of the boss she saw only one piece of equipment to her disappointment, it was a pair of black velvet boots that looked somewhat ridiculous, but they were not only higher level and rariety than her slippers but came equipped with a trait and enchantment, unlike her slippers which only had a trait which reduced the stamina cost of blocking attacks, something that had not been used once.
On the other hand, the boots had a trait to increase the effect of the enchantment while the enchantment increased mana by 328 (Including the trait boost), adding over three levels worth of mana to be reserved instantly. Not to mention that they were blue, of rare quality, and naturally had higher defense than the green slippers, which was uncommon.
Putting the new boots on, she suddenly noticed something: The boots actually went up to her thighs. Thankfully, her leather dress covered almost her entire lower body, or she would look like someone going to a club.
She also noticed that they had a one-inch wedge heel.
'What kind of armor is this?'
Before anything else could happen, a loud sound that sounded like a trumpet played, and a dull ding rang in her ears, signifying that she completed an achievement.
Dynamic Event Complete! The villagers of Sturg have survived and evacuated danger, the Emerald Enclave's peace has been restored, and you will be remembered as people of a noble spirit.
Event Leaderboard:
1. Holly
2. Eagle's Might
3. Eagle's Light
4. Eagle's Night
5. Eagle's Bright
Rewards will be distributed based on contributions.
Seeing the leaderboard and being stunned, Claire quickly watched as her level exploded, moving from just over halfway through 10 to 90% of the way through 13, instantly getting almost three and a half levels.
This caused a considerable commotion, and everyone soon turned their attention to her. They watched as a halo of light fell on her three times in a row, signifying her leveling up consecutively, making everyone dumbfounded.
The girl who had been level 9 before the boss died suddenly became just short of 14; many people wanted something like that to happen, to jump from the mediocre to the high tier.
At the same time, many people from the Eagle group seemed to look at her with annoyance, probably thinking she had stolen their spot.
Feeling that the people around her had suddenly seemed much more scary she was prepared to run away from this area and log off for the night.
Just as she was about to break for it, the middle-aged woman who had given the large group instructions when they originally arrived approached her.
"Holly? I heard what you did from the others, which was very clever; even if you guys wiped and failed the event, you would still have been rewarded nicely. How would you like to join Eagle Imperium? As a Praetorian Guard in the guild, I can easily let you directly in as a recruit."
Feeling very awkward being invited to a guild under the watch of over a hundred players, she shifted uneasily.
"I am currently exploring other options. Can I get back to you later?"
Many people looked at her strangely. Most people wanted to be in a guild because it could allow them to make money quickly and serve as a safety net. If she weren't playing for money and just wanted to have fun solo, declining would be fine.
Hearing the response, the woman let out a small laugh and motioned for another woman to come over.
"I understand. I am Eagle's Might, and this is my daughter, Eagle's Light; add her as a friend, and if you want to join, you can contact her."
Claire sighed in relief, thankful they were not oppressive people who would take offense to her evasive answer.
Looking at Eagle's Light, she was suddenly stunned: blonde hair, green eyes, a slim and beautiful elf.
This girl looked exactly like the kind of elf that gets absolutely despicable things done to her on various online websites.