“Julie!”

  The other girls in the party cried out in shock. Julie’s sudden death sent a ripple of panic through their ranks. Some of them froze on the spot, forgetting to even attack.

  “Focus up, people! Eyes on your targets, don’t get distracted!”

  Though her character was dead, Julie hadn’t released her spirit yet. She could still see the battlefield from her character’s fallen perspective and immediately started issuing commands in the party chat.

  Her voice snapped them back to reality, and they turned their attention back to the enemy.

  After insta-killing Julie, the Bandit Captain had already switched targets, charging another small group and bringing its greatsword down again.

  -1202

  The damage wasn't nearly as terrifying this time. Julie had just gotten supremely unlucky—a perfect storm of bad RNG. She’d taken a massive hit from the ballista, and before her healers could top her off, she got hit with the Captain’s skill for a critical strike.

  Even though the Captain’s normal attacks weren't as devastating as they had feared, the Crimson Bloom players were feeling the pressure without one of their main tanks.

  “Oh crap! The big one’s on me!” Lexi, a mage, had thrown down a Firewall that had clipped the Captain, pulling its aggro.

  The bandit’s skill was off cooldown. It rushed her with a single, swift strike.

  -2015

  Lexi crumpled to the ground.

  The girls couldn't believe it. Even with the massive buff, fighting these bandits was still a struggle. But there was no time for second thoughts. They gritted their teeth, kiting the high-damage Captain while desperately trying to burn down the adds.

  By the time they had killed the nine lesser bandits, their own party was down to ten members.

  Finally, the remaining ten players focused all their firepower on the Captain. This time, they were meticulous. It took them a grueling five or six minutes, but they finally brought the boss down without any more casualties.

  [System]: Your party has successfully killed a Bandit. You gain 1 point. Each member receives 0.1 points.

  [System]: Your party has successfully killed a Bandit. You gain 1 point. Each member receives 0.1 points.

  …

  [System]: Your party has successfully killed a Bandit Captain. You gain 10 points. Each member receives 0.5 points.

  After all that work, twenty players had earned less than two points on average and suffered ten deaths. Looking at the bodies of Julie, Lexi, and the others, their morale plummeted.

  “Julie… Lexi… I can’t believe you guys are dead.”

  “These points are so hard to get.”

  “I think I’m gonna tap out.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The girls were on the verge of tears. In truth, the players from Crimson Bloom were well above average. The situation for the regular players was a complete disaster. Entire squads were getting wiped the moment they engaged.

  The Sunfire Bell’s buff hadn’t given them an advantage; it had merely given them a fighting chance, and securing points still came at a bloody cost.

  By now, player casualties had exceeded three thousand. Many had already clicked "Release Spirit," exiting the event entirely. Priests with a resurrection skill were exceedingly rare at this stage of the game, and those who had it were embedded in top-tier guilds. They weren’t about to waste a cooldown on strangers. In their eyes, every other team was just a competitor for the leaderboard. They were rivals, not allies.

  In stark contrast to the brutal fighting on the slopes, the NPC forces had suffered almost no losses, as most had held back. The squad carrying the Sunfire Bell, for example, was only now slowly making its way onto the mountainside.

  Suddenly, the Archon, still seated on his palanquin, raised a hand. The NPCs carrying him halted. He opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the fields of player corpses with an expression of profound pity.

  He began to chant softly. His voice was quiet, yet it carried across the entire mountain.

  A brilliant golden light erupted from his position, blanketing every fallen player on the battlefield.

  One by one, dead players stood up, looking at their hands and their restored health bars in disbelief. Every player who hadn't released their spirit had been brought back to life.

  What kind of god-tier ability is that? A mass rez that huge?

  Down below, the player zone erupted in celebration.

  “Haha, I’m back, baby!”

  “I knew we wouldn’t die that easily!”

  “Some dude just told me to release. Screw that guy!”

  “Where’s my party? Anyone see SirDiedALot?”

  The jubilant atmosphere below was a world away from the mood on the fortress walls.

  “What? How can they all just come back to life?”

  “That’s cheating!”

  “Total bullshit!”

  “Those poor bandits,” one of Lila’s guildmates lamented. “When they die, they stay dead.”

  “How are we supposed to win this? We kill them and they just get back up.”

  Lila looked up at Kael, who was still perched on the watchtower. He was looking right back at her.

  She sent him a private message. “What’s your take on this?”

  The moment she hit send, a reply came back.

  “Don’t worry. The Archon’s mass rez has a massive cooldown. I estimate he can only use it once an hour.”

  Lila looked up and gave him a slight nod of understanding. Then, she turned to her guildmates and relayed the information. “The Archon can probably only use that ultimate twice during this whole event. He just burned one of his biggest trump cards.”

  That explanation seemed to calm them down.

  “Oh, I get it now.”

  “Hey, look!” Rena pointed to a corner of the battlefield. “Some of those guys who just rezzed got insta-killed again!”

  They all looked and saw a group of four players who had revived right in the middle of a ten-man bandit squad. Before they could even react, they were cut down again.

  “Haha, serves them right!”

  Kael remained motionless on the watchtower. Over half an hour had passed since the event began. He knew the tide was about to turn against them.

  Sure enough, a second toll echoed from the base of the mountain.

  DONG

  [Voice of the Sunfire Bell] (2 Stacks):

  Health +1550

  Physical Attack +755

  Magic Attack +650

  Physical Defense +500

  Magic Defense +500

  Skill Effectiveness +10%

  The second buff completely erased the level disparity between the players and the bandits. The attackers on the mountainside felt the surge of power and charged at the nearest enemies with renewed ferocity.

  Now, they were confident they could solo a bandit. With the boost to their health and defense, it was almost impossible for a Captain to one-shot a tank player anymore. Only teams with poor aggro control were losing a backline member here and there.

  Before long, the ten-man bandit squadrons were being systematically slaughtered by the empowered players.

  On the fortress wall, the remaining members of Crimson Bloom began to complain again.

  “Are you kidding me? Is that stupid bell ever going to stop ringing?”

  “Yeah, I feel like every single one of them is as strong as us now. How are we supposed to fight this?”

  “Check the guild chat. Julie just posted a screenshot of the new buff.”

  “Whoa… that’s so broken!”

  Lila’s eyes met Kael’s across the distance. He knew exactly what she was thinking and sent her a simple, four-word message.

  “One more to go.”

  “k,” she typed back, a storm of conflicting emotions brewing within her.

  Did Kael just lead us into an unwinnable fight?

  For the first time, she felt the hope of victory beginning to slip away.