" Antasia! Turn around, let's take another route!"
Having made up his mind, Gray finally stopped running away, and his years of accumulated experience came in handy at this moment.
The Graycast Corridor has a dense network of paths, and there is never just one way to reach the Great Labyrinth City.
Whether it's Gray or the Roadblock, they're only here because this is the shortest route to the Great Labyrinth City.
At this moment, the Antasia has only been stripped of its vocalization and Psionic Energy. With the presence of the players, its power is greater than at any point since its birth.
The sound of gears shifting was clearly audible, and everyone knew that the Antasia was about to perform a high-difficulty maneuver called the Thunder Drift.
Unexpectedly, at that moment, voices from other players came from different directions:
"They're coming from behind!"
Everyone turned around in unison and saw that a fortress had appeared on the hillside they had just crossed.
The fortress, grayish-black in color and sturdy in design, was now roaring down the hillside; what else could it be but another large fortress?
The fortresses in front are slowing down, while those behind are speeding up; it looks like the Antasia is about to be renamed the Oreo.
Seeing this, a look of resentment also appeared on Gray's face:
"They're really not even going through the motions anymore. Was it really necessary to go this far...?"
He looked at the Soul Returner and said:
"Now that things have come to this, we'll rush into the fields by the roadside and take a detour. With the Antasia's current power, they can't catch up."
At this point, Gray naturally wanted to avoid war.
After all, time is tight and the task is heavy. It's a small matter if everyone fights here, but missing the election is a real big deal.
However, what he received in return were glares filled with arrogance and anger.
[ Traditional Eccentric Wheel ] stepped forward and patted Gray on the shoulder, saying:
"Don't worry, just do your job and leave the rest to us."
Having said that, he turned to the crowd and asked:
"Given the current situation, surely no one wants to run away, right?"
Hahahaha!
His response was genuine laughter from the players:
"Just tell me your plans quickly, I'm so bored from cycling."
"Yes, yes, hurry up and tell me, or I'll go and hit him myself."
[ Traditional Eccentric Wheel ] also smiled at this moment, but turned his gaze to [ Zhongde ]:
"I remember you worked for Duma for a while, right?"
"Yes, we've been working together for a long time."
[ Zhongde ] nodded, and [ Traditional Eccentric Wheel ] asked with a smile:
"Hehe, I heard that Duma is very good at conducting. Why don't you give it a try this time? See if you can learn anything?"
Upon hearing this, Zhongde also began to think.
He did indeed follow Duma for quite a while, after all, wherever the war went, there was a need for infrastructure repairs.
The [ Concrete Pouring Club ] he led was the largest gathering place for construction workers in the Second Holy See.
Through numerous collaborations, he has now developed considerable project planning skills.
Now it's just a matter of changing the method of separate construction to separate attacks; it's a difference of one word, but the difference (seems) negligible.
Thinking of this, [ Zhongde ] strolled to the front of the upper deck. A large number of the Soul Returner had already realized that the situation was bad, so they all stopped pedaling and came to the top floor to look at him.
My junior classmate, [ Concrete Mixed with Spaghetti ], is also ready, waiting to share his senior's arrangements with the 500-person group chat.
[ Zhongde ] knew that time was running out, and after a moment of deep thought, he began to issue orders:
"Everyone stop pedaling immediately and prepare for battle!"
Players in the engine room and on the top deck, immediately release your Hoofed Beast and scatter to the surrounding areas to wait for an opportunity to strike.
"All remaining players, Alienation buffers, prepare to withstand the rear-end collision, don't let them dismantle the Antasia!"
"Once these things are done, everyone should get some hooks, planks, and ladders—"
A fierce glint flashed in Zhongde's eyes:
"Prepare to board!"
"Ooo...
A deafening roar of cheers erupted from all sides of the Antasia, and the players who had received their missions became incredibly excited and began working diligently.
Looking at the scene before him, Gray found [ Zhongde ], who was still panting heavily, and asked:
Is there anything we can do for you?
[ Zhongde ] paused for a moment, then said earnestly:
"Live well, and whatever you do, don't die."
"..."
Gray remained silent for a moment, but Nora responded promptly:
"OK."
As the players stopped pedaling, a large number of Hoofed Beast were stripped from the side of the fortress, and hundreds of cavalrymen scattered into the surrounding wilderness and fields. The Antasia suddenly lost most of its power source.
At this moment, it was entirely relying on inertia, the downhill slope, and a small number of Hoofed Beast that hadn't yet exhausted themselves to glide along, thus bringing the three sides closer and closer together.
Such changes did not escape the eyes of the observers on the two large forts at the bow and stern; they could even see many people busy on the upper deck of the Antasia.
At first, they thought they were Blood Corpse, but when they got closer, they realized that they were actually human beings.
This is a good thing, since if they are Blood Corpse placed outside the engine room, they will need to take precautions when attacking.
But it's not a problem for humans.
Several flag signals were displayed from the fortress ahead. Nora and Gray could see them clearly, but they were unable to translate them properly, suggesting that the two sides attacking from both sides had chosen a new code.
As the three sides drew closer, Gray could even see the telescope lenses in the hands of the observers at the very top of the fortresses.
Prepare to withstand the impact!
Zhongde, on the top deck, shouted loudly.
Those who were prepared immediately crouched down to prevent the sudden change in speed from causing Imbalance. As for the Antasia, its front and rear were now completely covered with cork, forming a thick buffer layer.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Two impacts rang out in succession. The people on the Antasia were first suddenly thrown forward and then violently thrown backward. Although many of them fell down, the impact was much lighter than expected, and the Antasia, sandwiched between the two, did not show any signs of being crushed for the time being.
Several sharp piercing sounds rang out, and everyone looked in the direction of the sound to see that the two large fortresses at the front and rear had each fired seven or eight iron spears with ropes attached into the Antasia.
Upon seeing this weapon, which resembles a harpoon gun, players immediately felt as if they themselves were the whales.
The opponent's move was quite cunning; not only did they intend to encircle and annihilate the Antasia from both sides, but they also planned to use this method to completely secure the Antasia to their fortress.
If things had proceeded normally, Gray would have been beyond saving by now. However, these ropes have instead piqued the players' interest.
The crowd steadied themselves, and shouts rose and fell in waves:
"Boarding!"
"Board!"
"Board engagement!"