Virtual War

. For several days in a row, Rie had practiced magic and magic control. She could now summon two skeletons at once and equip them with usable weapons...

Qiming had notified them to take a day off before setting out on their mission. By now, Rie had gotten used to spending time with Heming. They were still just friends, though...

As agreed, they planned to visit the Pitch Black arcade today and try out the newly released Simulated Roman Combat System. Rie had gotten up early. Even after her physical enhancement, she still needed to sleep for six hours a day to replenish her energy. Heming was as usual: when Rie got up, he stopped practicing his breathing technique. After what had happened last time, and with Rie now accompanying him on his mission, he wanted more than ever to grow stronger. That way, he could protect her and avoid getting hurt himself.

The people in the Pitch Black action squad had few material needs. Money was unnecessary to them; anything they wanted in the real world could be requested from the supply office and delivered to their homes within a few hours...

Heming drove the car he had just received to the arcade. When they arrived at the Pitch Black arcade and went inside, it had been quite a while since either of them had last been there. They got out and headed straight in. After Rie picked up her VIP card, she followed Heming up to the second floor.

The second floor hadn't changed much. The decorations outside, which had depicted members of a terrorist group and the United Forces, had been replaced with Roman-era warriors and knights. The guns and equipment that had once been everywhere were now swords and armor...

After setting up their memory devices, they were about to enter a special action pod when Heming's phone rang...

"Hello, is that you, Heming? It's Deng."

"Deng? It's me. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much. I heard yesterday that you were attacked after we went on that mission together. I'm really sorry. If we hadn't been called back for an emergency assembly, you wouldn't have been in danger."

"It's fine. It was only a minor injury. Don't worry about it."

"Good to hear. I've got a mission to handle in a bit. Zeng sent something to you, so you can pick it up at the company's supply office when you get back. All right, see you. Get in touch if anything comes up!"

"Yeah, got it. Thanks."

After hanging up, Heming said to Rie, "Those two who went on a mission with me last time were just checking in. They also sent something for you." Though they hadn't told Heming directly what it was, he could probably guess it was meant for Rie.

"Oh, it's for me? I'll thank them next time." Rie already knew how to speak Chinese...

Heming stepped into the special action pod and beckoned Rie to join him. It was a double pod specially prepared for VIPs...

There weren't enough players to begin yet, but they could choose their character's appearance, abilities, weapons, and equipment.

Heming chose the face of a traditional warrior, with a small scar that made him look especially formidable. This time, unlike the previous system that reconstructed their real appearances, they could choose their looks themselves. He chose fist swords as his weapon—a popular choice in Roman arenas—and heavy armor for his equipment. What a bizarre combination. His chosen deity was the God of War...

Rie designed herself with the beautiful face of a classical Roman woman: big eyes and a small mouth. Her blood-red dress revealed her pale legs. She chose twin daggers as her weapons and the blood-red dress as her equipment. An assassin—she had chosen such a daring class. Yet her chosen deity was the God of Death, the complete opposite of an assassin's path...

The Simulated Roman Combat System wasn't like the old games, which pitted dozens or hundreds of people against each other. This time, players from around the world would fight together against the computer. Players could choose their opponents: they could fight humans or monsters, and, at a high enough level, even challenge gods.

This game had a realistic damage system: male characters took twenty percent of the actual damage, and female characters took five percent. Players had to be at least 18 and pass a test to participate. Anyone with low mental resilience or a poor tolerance for pain couldn't join.

The game also featured a battle-based leveling system. Fighting earned experience and allowed players to level up. Enemies were like real creatures, each with their own weaknesses. Finding and exploiting those weaknesses was the best approach, and earned even more experience.

The game opened only once a week. Each session lasted until all players had died or cleared the level. Death cost players half their levels and experience, and there was also a chance they would drop their weapons.

Equipment and weapons used a growth system. When the user gained experience, their equipment and weapons gained half as much. The user's experience wasn't reduced.

The faith system was tied to the deity a player chose. If players kept doing things their chosen deity was interested in, they would receive rewards. If they did the opposite, their deity would punish them. The rewards varied depending on the deity and the deed.

There were also medicines and other items, but most could only be obtained by killing enemies...

The game was about to begin...

There were 5,000 players in this game zone. Each player, please vote for the level you wish to play. The level with the most votes will be selected. The options are...

Desert Oasis Encounter: Players will encounter their enemies at an oasis on one side of the desert. The enemy numbers will be four times the number of players...

Great Naval Battle: The Roman Empire sends the players' legion to kill the pirates and their pet sea monsters, who are wreaking havoc across the region...

New City Construction Battle: Players are sent to defend a castle that is still under construction. They will face a force of Iron Cavalry approaching from afar...

Moonlit Night Ambush: An enemy force of 50,000 will be passing through a forest under the moonlight, where the players' army will ambush them. Kill every enemy to win the game...

Players, cast your votes now...

Heming and Rie both voted for the Great Naval Battle.

Unfortunately, when the results were announced, the Great Naval Battle had only ten percent of the votes. The most popular choice was the New City Construction Battle...

The New City Construction Battle received the most votes. Players, get ready to experience the most thrilling and exhilarating...

Heming and Rie were transported to the castle gates. Besides the players who kept appearing around them, some NPCs were hard at work. Once all the players had arrived, several men in golden armor, carrying golden swords and large shields, climbed up to the watchtower. There was no doubt that they were the Roman officers commanding this battle. Their intelligence was simulated by several supercomputers, and it seemed no one could outsmart them.

"Brave Roman warriors, you will face knights arriving from afar. They are powerful, and there are many of them. You, however, number only 5,000. You are all heroes, and I believe you can complete this mission. The emperor believes in you too!"

"Because of the terrain here, we can't set up a complete defense. You'll have to rely on yourselves and decide what to do with your comrades. The civilians will build more defensive towers as quickly as possible to support you."

The castle was still under construction, so they couldn't rely on it for defense. The 5,000-strong army could only defend in front of the castle. There were cliffs on both sides, leaving only the front and rear, both of which were boundless plains. The 5,000 soldiers would have to face the Iron Cavalry head-on.

The 5,000 soldiers assembled. The cavalry and the infantry armed with swords, spears, maces, and shields were called to the front line, followed by the archers and crossbowmen, then the cavalry. Those left at the end were the people with strange weapons. Heming and Rie were among them, in a group of about 300 who had no standard weapons. They were ordered to go and die...

No one objected, because they had brought this on themselves. The 300 or so formed a wedge-shaped formation and advanced slowly. Heming and Rie were at the far right, perhaps the safest place to be.

About 1,000 meters from the castle, the group stopped. Their leader was a woman carrying a giant axe. She told everyone to rest where they were, then form a long, snaking line.

This was the point of contact. The group of 300 had to hold off the cavalry for 15 minutes, because that would be enough time to build several defensive towers. Archers appeared automatically in the towers, so players didn't need to assign anyone to them. Of course, player archers and crossbowmen could go up as well.

A huge number of cavalry appeared ahead. Judging by their equipment, they seemed to be lightly armored scouts.

"Get ready! Engage freely! Target the light cavalry ahead!" the Giant Axe leader ordered!

The light cavalry moved quickly and soon charged into the group of 300. The two sides immediately clashed.

Compared with the Iron Cavalry, the light cavalry were much easier to deal with. Their horses had no armor, so striking their legs could knock horse and rider to the ground. In the first clash, the greatsword and greataxe fighters had the advantage: they could block the light cavalry's attacks and quickly chop the horses down.

Heming joined the fight from the center. Instead of attacking the horses directly, he leaped onto an enemy's horse, took down its rider, then jumped to another horse.

Rie had an easier time. She moved through the light cavalry, each stab landing on a horse's body in a tricky spot. The horses she struck usually went berserk and ran wild.

The battle was over quickly. The enemy light cavalry were almost completely wiped out, with only a dozen or so managing to flee. The group of 300 had been reduced to just over 200.

"Clear the field. Mission accomplished. Withdraw quickly!" the Giant Axe leader ordered again.

If their mission had been to delay the enemy for 15 minutes, then they had succeeded. The remaining 200 or so began a slow retreat. They had little choice. Judging by the number of light cavalry they had just faced, there had been at least 1,500. Though they had lost only a little over a hundred, there was no way they could withstand another attack. Better to head back and look for another solution than wait here to die.

When they returned near the castle, allied cavalry told the 200 or so to rest first, then join the archers and crossbowmen. Their new task was to protect the ranged troops.

Heming sorted through the items he had obtained. Aside from a few healing potions, there was almost nothing useful. Rie, meanwhile, had received a purple cloak.

Construction of the new city continued, and there were now several more defensive towers than when they had set out. Defensive stakes and traps had also been laid on the ground. Normally, each tower had only 10 archers and crossbowmen, but now there were two people at every window, and even more at the top. Fortunately, the towers were spacious.

The infantry were ready to go as well. Each row carried the same weapons and wore heavy armor. They stood in a neat formation, an impressive sight, with orderly ranks of cavalry behind them.

The officers who had spoken earlier had gone inside the castle. They would come out to help if needed, but the main burden still fell on the players. If they could kill every enemy, the battle would be considered won.

The NPC civilians would join the fight at the end too. In any case, they only needed to kill all the enemies and have at least one player left to clear the level.

This time, Heming and Rie were assigned to the front of the formation. The Giant Axe leader stood right in front of Rie...

A massive rumbling...

That must be the Iron Cavalry...

What a magnificent, imposing force, clad in matching silver armor and carrying long swords...

Morale was surely the greatest enemy...