Positional Warfare

Coordinates: Storm Abyss - Frontline Fortress "Dawn".

This grayish-white fortress, built by thousands of players over three hours using monster carcasses and chitinous waste, stood tall on the wind-whipped highland. Although it looked like a crudely constructed illegal building with slimy biological gel hanging from its walls, in the eyes of those 11,000 players, this was their home in this hellscape.

Moreover, after three days of grinding and struggling, the second-wave beta players had been completely transformed.

They were no longer newbies running around in their underwear; everyone was equipped with at least a few pieces of chitin armor, and what they held in their hands were no longer rocks, but standard bone spears or bone knives polished from monster skeletons. Their average level had reached LV.3 - LV.4.

This was the result of the hardcore players' three days of effort.

However, before they could even celebrate their housewarming, the vibration of the ground made everyone shut their mouths.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

That wasn't the heartbeat of a Titan; it was the muffled sound of countless feet trampling on spongy alveolar tissue!

"They're here."

Feng Xing Tian Xia stood on the highest watchtower of the fortress, his gaze piercing through the white light curtain of the safe zone and casting toward the dark green fog in the distance.

At this moment, his level had reached LV.6 (12%), still leading the entire server. But the members of the elite squad behind him were generally around LV.5.

Suddenly, the Biological Beacon in the center of the fortress erupted with a blinding red light.

A massive holographic projection unfolded in mid-air. In the image, the NPC Watcher Zero, whom they had previously seen in the Sighing Corridor, appeared once again. The long spear in his hand pointed toward the depths of the fog, his voice hoarse and urgent:

"Warriors."

"The filth of the abyss has sensed the ignition of the sacred fire."

"They are gathering, attempting to extinguish this final Dawn."

"To hold onto this last hope... survive."

Over the past few days, Gu Yuan had manipulated the NPC Watcher Zero to tell the players a story about repelling the abyss and reclaiming positions, treating all players as a massive pioneering team advancing toward a common goal.

As the NPC's voice fell, a bright red system mission panel popped up in front of everyone:

[Server-wide Emergency Campaign: Battle for Dawn]

[Objective: Defend the fortress for 2 hours and repel the minions of the Flame Demon.]

[Special BUFF active: Biological Beacon Overload.]

[Effect: Death within the fortress range results in no respawn cooldown and half the durability loss.]

[Failure Penalty: Position destroyed, frontline pushed back, shop permissions reduced, level reduced.]

Seeing the words "no respawn cooldown," the players, who had previously been somewhat timid for fear of losing levels, had their eyes light up instantly.

"Three days! I've been swallowing my pride and running maps for three days!"

The Divine Guard player with the ID Walking Grass raised the massive leg bone (weapon) in his hand, "Today, finally, no more corpse runs! Brothers, let's vent all the frustration of these past three days!"

"Damn it! Fight them to the death!"

"For the experience! Kill!"

The fog was torn apart.

Countless black, tide-like creatures surged out.

Charging at the very front were the Infected Virus Body - Crawlers.

They were transformed from necrotic alveolar cells, resembling skinned hounds with twisted, reverse-jointed limbs and mouths full of sharp teeth. They were dense, countless, and overwhelming. Their levels were generally below LV.4.

The black tide slammed fiercely against the grayish-white bone wall.

Boom!

The massive impact made the entire fortress tremble.

The battle entered a white-hot state the moment they made contact.

"Divine Guards! Hold the gap! Don't let them climb up!"

Feng Xing Tian Xia commanded loudly.

Below the city walls, thousands of Divine Guard players formed the first line of defense. After three days of tempering, they had learned how to coordinate. The Divine Guards in the front row inserted their bone shields into the ground, while those in the back row rested their spears on the shields, instantly forming a spiked wall of steel.

"Cold weapon position tactics, boys!"

"Get down there!"

A LV.4 Divine Guard roared, smashing two Crawlers away with a shield bash.

The Crawlers, which relied on speed, had no ability to break through!

And this wasn't just melee combat—

"Spirit Pivot Envoys! Discharge!"

On the city wall towers, three thousand Spirit Pivot Envoys raised their bone staves simultaneously.

After three days of "scraping" to level up, their spirit attributes generally reached over 15 points, and the staves in their hands were no longer just firewood sticks.

"3, 2, 1, discharge!"

The high-level player with the ID Thunder King shouted.

Sizzle--!

Three thousand blue electric arcs intertwined in the air, the chain lightning stacking into a massive web of electricity that slammed down onto the horde of monsters beneath the city wall.

Crackle, pop!

Hundreds of Crawlers were instantly charred black by the electricity, freezing stiff in their tracks.

"Hunters! Harvest them!"

Countless black shadows leaped down from the city wall.

That was the Hunter legion. Utilizing their high agility, they wove through the monster horde, specializing in finishing off the low-health monsters paralyzed by the electricity.

"Awesome! The experience points are flooding the screen!"

"I leveled up! I'm LV.4 now!"

High-intensity combat brought high rewards. The experience bars that were originally slow to level up began to skyrocket under such monster density. The thrill of this "positional mowing" was far more satisfying than the bitter, lonely grind of running maps to kill monsters.

However, the monsters' offensive did not weaken.

Thud! Thud!

The earth trembled.

Deep within the mist, hundreds of Heavy Pustule Giants (LV.8) entered the fray.

They were true elite monsters, three meters tall, their bodies bloated and covered in thick, horny layers of skin. Ignoring the Spirit Pivot Envoy's electric currents, they marched with heavy strides like siege engines, slamming fiercely into the fortress walls.

Boom!

A section of the wall, piled together from Chitin Heavy Armor scraps, collapsed instantly.

"A breach! The wall is down!"

"WTF, the giants are in!"

A dozen Pustule Giants charged into the crowd. With a swing of the massive bone clubs in their hands, five or six players were sent flying like bowling pins, their health bars instantly depleted.

Although the players' levels had increased, it was still difficult to face these LV.8 elite monsters head-on.

"Don't panic! Pull the aggro!"

Feng Xing Tian Xia leaped down from the watchtower.

Mid-air, he activated the Hunter class skill—Bone Blade Thrust.

His entire body transformed into a streak of black light, piercing precisely into a giant's eyeball.

Pfft!

[-150! (Weakness Critical Hit)]

The giant roared in agony, clutching its eye and flailing its arms wildly.

"Dali! Take the aggro!"

"Coming!"

Dali Chu Qiji rushed out from the side. He was currently LV.5, wielding the Fine Bone Hammer+3 that he had spent a fortune on materials to reinforce.

Yes, the shop now provided reinforcement services at a steep price, but for Titan, the cost of this reinforcement was actually far less than the cost of reviving players.

Dali slammed his hammer hard onto the giant's toe, then jumped up to strike the giant's knee fiercely.

"Grandson! Look over here!"

The giant was enraged, lifting its foot to stomp on Dali.

Dali rolled on the ground; although the posture was pathetic, he successfully dodged the attack.

"Focus fire! All Hunters, target the backline!" Feng Xing Tian Xia roared, "Have you forgotten the weakness attacks I taught you these past few days? Attack the feet! Even if it's just scraping, scrape it to death!"

Several Hunter players utilized their high agility, climbing onto the giants like fleas, their daggers specifically targeting the giants' joints, eyes, and necks.

This was the classic tactic of the Fourth Calamity—the ant colony tactic.

As long as you dare to reveal a health bar, even if you are a god, we can scrape you to death one blade at a time!

"It dropped! Equipment dropped!"

As the first giant crashed to the ground, an item shimmering with blue light fell out.

[Fine-grade Blueprint: Chitin Heavy Armor (Chest)]

The blueprint was a design Gu Yuan had carefully considered. For players, killing monsters actually yielded nothing but materials. These blueprints were essentially a means for Gu Yuan to recycle resources from the players.

Players consumed materials and resources to obtain equipment, and by becoming stronger, they could take on higher-end jobs; Gu Yuan recovered energy to sustain his survival and invested in future returns—it was simply a win-win. Of course, Gu Yuan won twice.

The moment the blueprint appeared, the eyes of the surrounding players turned green.

It had been three days, and everyone was wearing tattered, pieced-together gear; who wouldn't want to wear a set of cool blue equipment?

"Holy crap! Blue gear blueprint!"

"Kill! Snatch the monsters! Those are walking treasure chests!"

The players, who were originally defending passively, actually began to charge out of the fortress, counter-surrounding the Pustule Giants.

Dozens of players surrounded a giant, hacking away at it in a scene that was, for a moment, incredibly brutal.

"Healers! Keep the Divine Guard in front alive! Don't let them die!"

Yun Zhong You (LV.5) had shouted until her voice was hoarse.

Leading two thousand Life Weavers, she no longer had them mindlessly spraying gel, but instead began utilizing advanced techniques.

"Civil engineering team! Quick! Erect a bone spike right there!"

Dozens of Life Weavers joined forces, using the Matter Recombination skill to instantly raise rows of sharp bone spike traps from the ground, directly pinning a charging giant in place.

The battle lasted for an hour and a half.

Half of the fortress walls had already collapsed, and the ground was carpeted with a thick layer of monster corpses and broken swords and shattered shields dropped by players.

The glow of the Biological Beacon had dimmed significantly.

But the black tide finally began to recede.

The remaining monsters seemed to have received some kind of command, retreating like a receding tide back into the depths of the mist.

[Campaign ended.]

[Defense successful!]

[All participants receive: Massive EXP, Biological Energy +100, Fortress Reputation +500.]

"We won..."

Dali Chu Qiji slumped onto the ground, looking at his health bar, which was down to a sliver, and his Fine Bone Hammer, which had reached zero durability.

"That was f*cking intense. It's way more tiring than hauling bricks, but it's also way more satisfying."

He glanced at his level.

LV.6 (45%).

This battle had leveled him up once.

Looking across the battlefield, the average level of the players still standing had risen to LV.5, and the few hundred people in the first echelon had all broken through to LV.6.

Although everyone looked a mess—gear shattered, faces covered in grime—every person wore a satisfied smile.

Feng Xing Tian Xia stood on the ruined city wall, looking at the patch of mist in the distance that had temporarily gone quiet.

He knew this was only a probe.

The so-called regional lord, the Flame Demon, had yet to show its face.

But so what?

He looked back at the group of lunatics behind him who were cheering, trading insults, and scavenging for loot.

Three days ago, they were just a scattered mess.

Three days later, they were already a legion that obeyed orders without question.

"Clean up the battlefield!"

Feng Xing Tian Xia issued the command in the public channel.

"Repair the walls and replenish ammunition. All dropped materials are to be stored; we are going to undergo a major overhaul."

"Next wave, we're going to push back! We're building more main bases on the front lines!"