Chapter 155: The Fatui: "Heh heh heh! Today, we paint this city red!"
...
Due to the sheer size of his forces, Seito had no choice but to teleport them in waves. However, it wasn't a major setback. Two hours later, the silhouette of the Storm Empire finally loomed in the distance.
Seito deactivated his spatial powers and stowed the Dimensional Rubik's Cube.
"My King, how shall we initiate the assault?" General Baifeng asked, his tiger-like eyes burning with an intense battle-lust.
"Let the 'Adventurers' scout the way first,"
Seito replied after a brief pause.
"A wise choice." Baifeng nodded. Adventurers were a unique breed—perfectly suited for infiltration and gathering intelligence.
Seito immediately sent out a guild-wide ping.
[Sei: @Everyone. Follow the executives into the city. If you can seize the gates, do it! If you hit a wall, report back immediately.]
The moment the message hit, the guild went into a frenzy.
"Brothers! Follow my lead!" Iori Kitahara slicked back his hair with some gel, shed his black suit jacket, and was the first to sprint toward the city. His face was a mask of pure, unadulterated arrogance. After all, everyone knew the early bird got the best loot!
With him leading the charge, the other executives refused to be outdone and surged forward.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!
In an instant, a dark tide of 200,000 Fatui players—all clad in black suits—thundered toward the Storm Empire.
Ten minutes later, the sentries atop the Storm Empire's walls gulped as they saw the massive, dark mass approaching.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The warning bells jolted countless sleeping soldiers awake. They scrambled to don their armor and rushed to the ramparts, their hearts hammering against their ribs.
However, as the "army" reached the foot of the wall, the soldiers' expressions turned... confused.
"These people... are they Adventurers?"
"But... why are there so many of them at once?"
The guards had genuinely thought a foreign legion was at their doorstep.
"General! We want to enter the city. Could you open the gates for us?" Iori Kitahara shouted up, wearing a mask of "honest" simplicity.
"I suppose so... but are you Adventurers here to reinforce the Storm Empire?" the Garrison General asked suspiciously.
"Exactly! We heard the Empire is in a tight spot, so we came to help out. Maybe we can earn ourselves a noble title while we're at it!" Iori's acting was top-tier. By stating a clear, selfish motive, he effectively lowered the general's guard.
The General nodded. Men with ambition were easy to read. He turned to a
subordinate. "Go open the gates for them."
"Yes, sir!"
"Adventurer brothers! I've sent men to open the gates!" the General shouted down.
"Much obliged, General!" Iori yelled back, his gaze fixated on the heavy wooden doors.
A moment later, as the gates slowly creaked open, every single Fatui member broke into a predatory grin. Their smiles were so wide they practically reached their ears. To put it bluntly, none of them looked like "good guys."
Kacha!
Boom!
The gates were fully open. A line of soldiers stood there, and one of them waved to Iori.
"Adventurer brother, come quick!"
"Coming, coming!" Iori chuckled, stepping forward.
The soldier smiled, about to say something welcoming, when a jagged, broken sake bottle suddenly lunged toward his head.
Smash!
The soldier's head bloomed with red as his body slumped to the ground.
"Heh heh heh! You're just a Level 40 mob—too weak! Heh heh heh!!" Iori's villainous laughter made the surrounding soldiers freeze in horror.
"What... what is happening?!"
Before they could react, Iori roared to the back: "Everyone! Charge! Take this city for the Emperor!"
The Fatui members stopped pretending. With ferocious grins, they poured into the city like a flood. The soldiers at the gate didn't even have time to recover before they were trampled and beaten into the dirt.
"Hahaha! Is that General an idiot? Level 100 and he actually thought we were joining him?"
"Heh heh heh! Today, we wash this city!"
"Hmph! I heard noble ladies are quite refined. I wonder if it's true?"
"Whoa, brother, did you forget the anti-harassment mechanics for female NPCs?"
"Tch! What's wrong with grabbing a couple to perform a dance for me?"
"Great idea!!"
"Heh heh heh!!!"
As the Fatui entered, civilian residences were locked down and noble estates were swarmed. On the walls, the Garrison General watched in absolute shock. He had let a pack of starving wolves through the door.
He coughed up blood in pure rage. "DAMN YOU!!! KILL THEM ALL!!"
And so, the chaotic clash between the Fatui and the Garrison began.
Outside the City.
Seito stood frozen as he watched the distant city erupt in flames and smoke. He wasn't the only one; the rest of his group was equally stunned.
"What... what is going on?" Sora voiced everyone's confusion.
"Seito-nii! Nii! Look at the World Channel...!" Shiro's soft voice pulled everyone's attention to their screens.
[World Channel]
[Fatui_Player69: Heh heh heh! Don't run! You dared block my brothers' path? You're asking for death!!]
[Fatui_Thug: Little lady, stop screaming! I won't hurt you! Just give me a dance! A pole dance! I need a morale boost!]
[Fatui_Elite: Hahahaha! This is great! Too good!]
[Fatui_Raider: You 'Noble Lords' better stand in a straight line for me!]
[Fatui_Chaos: Heh heh heh! Are you looking down on me? Take off all your clothes, now!!]
Seito: "..."
Executives: "..."
Solo Players watching: "..."
The atmosphere turned deathly silent. The surrounding solo players began to look at Seito and the Harbingers with extremely judgmental eyes.
The more they looked, the more they felt... Are you guys even the protagonists? Why do you sound like the final villains on the World Channel?
....
Thank you for reading.