- They already broke through at the beach! - a captain said. He was leading a hundred men and was one of the first lines of defense. Tomoe was calmly analyzing the situation.
- How many ships? - he asked.
- A hundred, at least. There are more than ten thousand soldiers on the shore, most of our regiments withdrew the moment the enemy reached land. The seventh and thirteenth regiments have been instantly wiped out. The enemy has some strong mercenaries.
- Even the seventh? - Tomoe was somewhat surprised. Every regiment from the tenth to the first had 10 samurais in them. Samurais were at least level 100 and an ordinary player couldn't deal with one.
- Yes, sir. Additionally, the seventh regiment was defeated by 4 mercenaries alone.
- Is that so? - Tomoe was level 109, and was convinced he could beat any player in a 1v1 situation, and other than the samurai generals and Warlord Kai he was the strongest in the Samurai's ranks. But even he couldn't wipe a regiment that had 10 samurais alone. That meant the four players were exceptional.
- Set up the defenses here, here and here. - he pointed at three semi-choke points on the map. - we can't give up more ground without a fight. - He knew he couldn't stop 10,000 troops with the eight remaining regiments under his command, but he had to stall as much as he could until Warlord Kai arrived.
- The fourth, eleventh and seventeenth regiment will hold the first point, the sixth, eighth and twelfth will set up in the middle, and my troops along with the fifth will hold the closest to the shore. - He was the captain of the third regiment, and he was the highest ranking official among the soldiers here. The first and second regiments belonged to Warlord Kai's army, along with 5,000 royal soldiers and 100 royal samurais.
The four generals were also on the way here with 2,000 royal troops each. He had to hold his ground until they arrived. His soldiers got into formation, and soon after the defenses were set up, the enemy had arrived. 10,000 troops from the other continent had arrived. Among them were around a thousand players as well. This was the strongest army of the Kingdom of Dracia, and it was led by Royal Swordmaster Zeek; a level 130, Tier 5 NPC, someone on the level of the four Samurai Generals of the Moon Empire.
Warlord Kai or Imperial Swordmaster Shi Jin could beat him in 1v1 combat, but it was still a reach for Tomoe to do the same. He needed to reach level 120 to achieve his T5 Samurai General class, and until then he stood very little chance against the strongest swordsman of Dracia.
However, he knew that he was the only one currently present who could tie up the swordmaster's feet, so he chose the defense point he thought would be the most vulnerable.
***
As he was spying the enemy army with his eyes, he soon realized that Zeek was nowhere to be seen. The one leading the army was not an NPC but a player. A tall woman with a beautiful face, white skin and long, straight silver hair behind her ears. She was wearing heavy, silver armor, a grey cape and was holding a long, sleek spear in her left hand.
- A player? - Tomoe smiled. There might still be a gap between the strongest players and NPCs, but there wasn't any other player he feared.
- Hold your ground! - He shouted as the enemy army started coming like a grey tide.
The woman quickly realized he was the enemy leader and decided to behead the snake as fast as possible. Tomoe wanted to do the same.
As his sword and her spear clashed, both of them instantly realized something.
- My victory...
- ... Isn't certain.
The woman's name was Thorn. She was level 112, and with that she was ranked higher than anyone on the public rankings. Her class was a Spear Knight; an ordinary tier 2 class, but she also had a secondary class. She was Graal's Avenger. A class based on a legend.
Her combat power was immeasurable. She's never lost a fight. She's beaten the lancer prodigy Keith before. She was confident she was the best spear wielder in Godsrealm, but now she found an enemy she might not be able to beat.
They clashed four times with speed that was impossible for ordinary people to follow. Within seconds a 20 meter diameter area was formed around them and no soldier from either side dared to approach them.
- So you are Tomoe, huh? - the woman smirked. - He was right after all.
- Who was? - Tomoe asked while trying to find a gap in his opponent's defense.
- A man who I thought was the Apex of the players in Godsrealm.
- I don't know what you're talking about. - the young samurai stated while activating Crouching Tiger Strike, which was effectively negated by Thorn's Precise Spear.
In fact, Tomoe had an idea of who the woman was referring to. There was one player who he had met once before fitting the description. The Apex of players. Someone whose sheer presence was enough to send chills down Tomoe's spine.