New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live



The sudden influx of reinforcements was a welcome sight for Phoenix, but it also added work to her plate. Now she needed to think about twenty-one new players, with races and classes unknown.

Adding to that what had just happened on the Eastern front. She had finally melted down the two players and their barrier, but it came at a cost.

A hole now graced the side of the wall, the size of a double-decker bus. It was almost as big as the main gate that led inside the Bastion.

But then an idea came to her.

'If I station all of them here, I won't need to change my plan too much!'

She rapidly messaged the new members through the guild chat, asking for screenshots of their levels, classes, and races. She also promised them to refund any lost level during the siege, as she had for all other members.

Screenshots poured in, one after the other, totalling the twenty-one new members. She recognized one name from the tournament, and he was also the highest level in his guild.

Plus, he had a special class, which meant he would be stronger than the others. So Phoenix assumed he was the guild leader, and she let him control his men for a little longer.

'Declan, please come with all your members to the eastern wall. I will have you all defend this side.'

The man agreed and a couple of minutes later; he was there. Phoenix had been fending off the assailants with Violette as cover, but a full division of players would do a better job as long as they played their cards right.

As soon as the new members were in position, Phoenix flew up to the top of the wall. She observed their fighting for a minute, trying to gauge how they would hold up, and was extremely satisfied.

'So disciplined and organized.' she thought to herself.

There wasn't a single gap in their defensive formation. Every time a member of them went under a certain threshold of health, a bolt of dark energy struck out at enemies, before linking to that member.

This satisfied Phoenix's internal questions, and she let them defend this side on their own. She wouldn't have been at ease to trust new members this quickly under normal circumstances, but since it was Astaroth who brought them in, she flipped the coin.

She turned her head to Violette, who was still by her side, holding up shields to the defenders on the wall.

"This side doesn't need you anymore. I've warned Athena that the snipers are focusing here, and she assured me she had a way to counter it. So we are going to the northern gate."

Violette nodded her head, following Phoenix away. Some of their ranged allies suddenly panicked when they saw the watery shields drip to the ground.

But what else could they do, aside from being more careful from now on?

While they were running toward the northern gate, on another part of the battlefield, another problem was arising.

A worrying sight met Gulnur, who had reached the western side, where Phoenix had burned everything to the ground. A small guild of around fifty players was currently trying to climb the wall with various climbing tools.

After Phoenix had incinerated the forces taking this side under siege, most players stayed away from it. And the wild elf archers sniped away the stray players that thought they could get an easy way in, from the tree overhead.

But this guild had somehow reached there without being seen. This said a lot about their ability to stay hidden.

Gulnur then recognized one of them.

"Blue Peacock!"

The woman snapped her head in the shout's direction, a wide grin forming on her lips.

"Take the others and keep going. This base needs to belong to us."

The man next to her nodded his head before making hand signals to the others. The players climbing the wall resumed their climb, ignoring what was going down on the ground.

Gulnur gulped when he noticed they paid no attention to him. He rapidly sent a message in the guild chat.

'Western wall breached! Around fifty players, all looking like DPS classes. I think they are going to the palace!'

After sending that, he refocused his gaze on Blue. He turned his head slightly, to talk to Silent, without breaking his visual on Blue Peacock.

"You need to leave. If you stay here, she will focus on you."

Silent Light looked at him incredulously.

"You can't fight her on your own! She will tear you apart! Even if she takes time, she will win in the end!"

Gulnur grinned in response.

"She won't have it easy against me. Plus, I think I can win against her."

"Gulnur, I can't–"

"Just go! You will be needed elsewhere, anyway. Contact Phoenix and have her reassign you."

Silent Light looked at Gulnur under a new light. The chuunibyou inside was in awe at the heroism of his actions.

Even though his rational side screamed at him to stay, he would never go against someone's ambitions of glory. So he solemnly nodded his head and dashed away.

Blue Peacock burst into laughter when she saw Silent leave.

"Good! You still have your honour intact. Fighting you again will be very enjoyable!"

"I would never disrespect you with a two versus one. But don't think one second I sent him away because I think I will lose. Today, you are the one to go down!"

Blue Peacock smirked at his comment.

"I see you have gotten more confident. It will be that much more enjoyable to slay you, little man!"

Pulling her two Kamas, Blue Peacock dashed toward her dwarven opponent.

On top of the wall, her guild vice leader was observing the start of the combat for a few seconds, admiring the courage of the dwarf for standing in his leader's way. Few would have the guts to do so.

After a few exchanges, the man left, with the certitude his guild leader would win. He had seen her vanquish much fiercer foes, and the dwarf was practically a moving target for someone with Blue Peacock's experience.

He only wondered how long he would survive.