After the First Regiment withdrew to its position, the defenders of Blackflame Pass had no time even to be astonished by these Transians' terrifying fighting spirit. They watched as more than five hundred members of the Second Regiment took over from their comrades, stepping over corpses and through the stench of blood with an indescribable excitement, and once again took up positions on the high ground.
But A-Cha's "jinx-like prophecy" before he logged off to rest by killing himself had been right.
On the afternoon of the Second Regiment's first day on the high ground, the gnolls in the surrounding area launched their second wave of harassment attacks. By the time the battle ended at dusk, the Second Regiment had lost a sixth of its strength in a single fight.
Many excited newbies charged forward to fight the gnolls, only to get killed before they'd lasted even thirty seconds. It was obvious that individual combat ability was hard to bring to bear in this kind of chaotic, large-scale battle. Besides, the newbies who'd only joined the game in the last few days didn't have anything resembling "individual combat ability" in the first place.
Many of them hadn't even mastered the basic skills before they were tossed into the "deathmatch." Forget elite monsters—even ordinary gnolls didn't need to swing hard. They could simply wait for the newbies to charge in howling, break their guard with a casual slash, then finish them off with a second.
The newbies complained on the forums that dying like that made for a terrible gaming experience, but veteran players didn't go easy on them. Anyone who started whining got slapped with the honorary title of "noob" on the spot, and the people who enjoyed watching others suffer were quick to show up and laugh at them.