The Oracle Paths

On Lucia's side, a battle of dizzying proportions was also waging.

Having accepted the fact that she could not defeat Vhoskaud alone without great sacrifices she had resolved to fight with the help of her other allies. Now, like a steadfast general, she watched the battle unfold with a cryptic expression.

'Vhoskaud motherfucker... He ruined all my fun...'

Her Myrmidian pride should have engendered a deep sense of defeat. Severe enough to weaken her bloodline and cause a regression, but Lucia had managed to keep her spirits up by merely convincing herself that her opponent was a cheat.

After all, who would summon thousands of overpowered Undeads collected and cultivated over hundreds of years to get rid of a young woman of just over 20 years old? If Lucia was in his shoes she would have committed harakiri on the spot!

While she was seething, the Myrtharian Nerds were fighting like demons against the Undead army.

Nicolet led the charge and summoned two huge, spherical, diamond-shiny shields that looked like two large turtle shells. With a shield in each hand he took the full bombardment of spells from the Undead Archmages, Great Warlocks and Archpriests unscathed.

All the projectiles and spells hitting his shields miraculously ricocheted, all of which were returned without exception to their sender. Then once he had them all in his sights, his whole body turned into a huge steel shell and he catapulted himself like a Frisbee and began to knock out all the Undeads by ricocheting between them at full speed. To the onlookers, he looked like a flying saucer that had lost control.

With his dull yellow hair, Nicolet was an Egaean with a once faint affinity for Earth. Not enough to become a mage, but enough to enter a provincial military academy and perhaps one day become a knight.

His arrival on B842 had changed his fate forever. If Jake hadn't rescued him from the slums, his life would have been miserable before he starved to death or ended up in the stomach of a Digestor. Fortunately, thanks to Jake and the support of the other Myrtharian Nerds, he was able to move on.

The death of his buddy Diccon had affected him a lot, but it had also pushed him to surpass himself so that he would never experience such a feeling of helplessness again.

After three difficult Ordeals, he took his Earth Affinity to a whole new level and acquired a Grade 7 Bloodline named Mirror Turtle. As the name implied, he could produce shells that could reflect anything at will and eventually his entire body would become capable of reflecting absolutely everything.

He was going the ultimate defense route and wanted to become an indestructible shield for his friends. The two Soul Classes he had obtained in this Ordeal were Earth Cultivator and Shield Dancer.

With his new powers, Nicolet became the spearhead of the Myrtharian Nerds and the other Players behind him easily managed to shorten the distance to the enemy without suffering any losses.

"Good job, Nicolet. Let me take over now. My old bones need a little shaking." Ingranus chuckled as he wielded his long spear.

The old man, now as dashing as a teenager just out of puberty, sprinted ahead of his carapace friend and turned into a blurry streak that crossed the remaining tens of meters in a flash to impale a Death Knight and his mount.

A monstrous Spear Intent burst forth from his body and weapon, and the 80+ level Undead disintegrated, his flesh shredded by cutting energy beyond comprehension.

Even after the Death Knight's demise, the energy projected by the spear travelled on and a groove several hundred meters long and dozens of meters deep split the hall in two. Hade and Azeus, who were trading blows in its path, were forced to separate to avoid the blast before clashing again.

Once launched, the old spearman was unstoppable and began to slash and thrust at all Death Knights within range of his spear. The residual energy of his spear strikes rent heaven and earth and soon his comrades had to retreat to avoid being caught in his murderous bursts.

"Damn it! Old coot can't you watch where you swing?!" Secyone insulted him while barely stopping her two sons from getting blasted.

The old man guffawed loudly, proud of his mischief, but after this scolding he became more careful, leaving some enemies for the rest.

Ingranus was once a knight and lancer and this way of life was too ingrained in him to be changed. In his second Ordeal, he had obtained the legacy of a Spear God from System A0, which included a Body Tempering technique, numerous Spear and Movement Techniques, and a drop of blood from the legendary spearman.

This bloodline could be considered Grade 10 or higher at its peak, but its stimulation was based on understanding the spear. A talented warrior could become a Spear God in a few years, while a mediocre one would continue to fail after millions of years.

In this respect, Ingranus had made the right choice. He was a passionate person and he progressed quickly. Even so, based on his attributes and bloodline skills alone, he was actually not as good as Nicolet. It was only by adding his Spear God techniques that he became truly formidable.

His Soul Class was as one would expect: Spearman. Basic, but it fit him perfectly. Now he was one of the Myrtharian Nerds' officers and he was immensely respected, especially by the ordinary members.

Secyone and her two sons were fighting alongside Kelly and her adopted brother Khal. Although they had joined Jake and his faction at the same time as Ingranus and Nicolet, their growth had not been as dazzling. Without the Myrtharian body passive, their past Ordeal ratings would have been even poorer.

Recently, Secyone and her sons had obtained the Eltarian bloodline with their contribution points thanks to Asfrid and the other Eltarians who had left several samples of their Blood Essence in the Faction Vault to motivate the new Players to contribute as much as possible. Prior to this, she and her two sons had been fighting ranged battles with simple firearms and limited success.

Still unfamiliar with her new powers, the former prostitute and lawyer synchronized her mind with that of her two sons, and together they used their telekinesis to paralyze a Death Knight. Immediately after, Kelly sliced the Undead's head off with her new Myrmidian Sword, while Khal created a force field to protect her from a hail of ice fire.

These Myrtharian Nerds were the epitome of the Nerds. The regular players of the faction were all very close-knit and liked to fight together to bolster their courage or simply rely on each other. When Ingranus or Nicolet had to pass on information to these players, it was usually Secyone or Kelly who did it.

In contrast to this group of Myrtharian Nerds led by Ingranus and Nicolet, a completely different breed of Myrtharian Nerds were fighting against the Undeads...

The Myrmidians.

Imagine 1345 elite Myrmidian warriors thirsting for blood and victory fighting with perfect coordination and unrivaled warfare. Each of them lived for competition. Victory, never defeat. Kill or be killed. Be first or nothing.

After three Ordeals, these Myrmidians had taken different paths, but there was one thing that would never change: Their might.

When those fourteen phalanxes of Myrmidians sprang into action, thunder rumbled and the underworld wept tears of blood. The scene was just... overwhelming.

The hand of one of the Myrmidians swelled into a fist of pure gold as large as a house. The punch pulverized a dozen Death Knights in a single blow.

A second wielded a halberd in a similar posture as Ingranus. At near teleportation speed he appeared before a Vampire Ancestor and pierced his heart before decapitating him. The head and the separate body burst into flames immediately afterwards, the flame black as ink.

Speaking of ink, another Myrmidian drew in the air with a brush as long as a sword. Huge, life-like ink colossi resembling the god of war Ares appeared on the battlefield and began to tear apart every Undead in their path. It took the sacrifice of three Bone Minotaurs and an Undead Champion of Light to bring them down.

As they exploded, tons of ink covered the battlefield and new, smaller colossi were reborn from the opaque liquid, causing even more chaos. Another Myrmidian near the ink painter strummed his guitar string and a colorful halo spread among his allies. Their speed doubled instantly.

Among the Myrmidians were wizards, warriors, archers, strategists, monsters and even summoners like Will. Their powers were as powerful as they were varied, and all of them had acquired a special and unique bloodline that suited them thanks to their excellent performance during past Ordeals.

None of them were weaker than Jake at the beginning of this Ordeal. And right now, 1345 Jakes had decided to avenge the humiliation of their princess.

"MYRMIDIANS! DEATH TO VHOSKAUD!" A former Myrmidian centurion screamed with bloodshot eyes. In the past, he had been one of the three generals who obeyed Lucia directly.

No matter which enemy they were slaughtering, all the Myrmidians slammed their swords, fists, or weapons of the moment against their shields or breastplates, yelling even louder,

"HAOU HAOU HAOU!"

In the midst of this army of zealots, Wyatt, Lysander and Kenway exchanged stiff-faced looks, feeling like crap. Seren and the other Vampires were outright wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

'Why on earth did we come to fight with them? They don't need us!'