VCRMM: Chapter 203

Looking at the system notification, Qing Yan immediately applied the Balance card to her team.

The moment the Balance technique came out, the situation immediately changed.

The flames of the flying interstellar beast were still hitting the high wall and the temperature inside the wall was extremely high. A large number of players were burned to death due to the excessive temperature. Only a few high-level players were left struggling to hold on.

Then they suddenly discovered it.

Um? Why were they suddenly losing so little health?

Originally, a single bombardment would deal 700 or 800 damage to them. Combine this with the burning debuff and their full health bar could be reduced to a critical state in just a few moves. But now—

-1, -2, -1, -3…

Their eyes widened in disbelief when they saw the numbers popping up above their heads.

“F*k, isn’t this His Majesty Snow’s Balance technique?”

“What? His Majesty Snow is here?”

“Ahhh, our faction leader is finally starting to work?”

Qing Yan’s voice sounded in the channel at the right time. She said, “This is indeed His Majesty Snow’s Balance technique. It is the achievement reward I obtained. It only lasts for 30 minutes.”

“Huh? So this is a one-time reward?”

“That’s right.” Qing Yan whispered. “So now isn’t the time to relax. The water healers and light healers, seize this time to restore health to the personnel you are in charge of. The others will follow my command!”

The players looked at each other before finally responding in unison, “Yes!”

At this moment, it was as if they had been given a new injection of blood. Their voices were full of energy when they answered.

The 30 minutes of Balance was equivalent to 30 minutes of invincibility!

His Majesty Snow wasn’t there and they felt regretful, but as a human being, they had to be content! In addition, no matter how powerful His Majesty Snow was, this was a faction leader. It was better for him to come less often to a dangerous place like the battlefield.

What’s more, since Qing Yan could get the achievement rewards, couldn’t they get it as well?

Balance was definitely an indispensable skill for a team fight! Once they mastered such a skill, did they need to be afraid of team battles in the future?

The moment they thought this, many players, especially the leaders of other mercenary groups, started to become excited. Of course, they didn’t slack off in terms of the battle in front of them.

“Kill!”

Due to the emergence of the Balance technique, the players finally got a chance to breathe. Their morale, which had been continuously hit, became high again.

The wind elementalist, who was originally timid, was no longer afraid. He flew directly onto the high wall, throwing bombs and firing his laser gun at the same time!

The moment the pressure in front was reduced, the earth elementalists building the wall felt much more relaxed. The casualties caused by the shaking wall plummeted, which reduced the running time after resurrecting. This allowed them to consolidate the wall more efficiently.

The players of the other elemental systems weren’t idle. They all seized the time to contribute their strength.

After fighting for so long, some talented people had already summarized the weaknesses of these interstellar beasts and posted them on the public channel for everyone to see. They even provided off-site assistance.

The people on the forum organized and archived this information. In the game, as long as players downloaded the update, they just had to look at the interstellar beasts and choose to view the existing information. Then the system would automatically match it.

Relevant information would pop up, including where the weaknesses were and how to attack them more effectively. This was very convenient.

“Who let you be arrogant?! See if I can’t kill you!”

They no longer had to worry about damage, so the players became completely confident. Their speed of clearing monsters significantly improved.

On the battlefield, on the ground that no one else noticed, shadows were busy moving the corpses of dead interstellar beasts under the wall.

One after another, the interstellar beasts fell unwillingly. Perhaps even before they died, they couldn’t figure out why these insects, which were extremely weak in their eyes, had such tenacious vitality.

The players…

Naturally, they raised an eyebrow with pride and took the lives of these interstellar beasts mercilessly!

Finally, through the efforts of the players, they actually killed the interstellar beasts in the front row in these 30 minutes. Then they used the interstellar beast corpses to build a ‘wall of flesh.’

This ‘wall’ composed of the interstellar beast corpses became a new line of defense.

The interstellar beasts were large and hard in appearance. Using them to block the high wall was simply the best defense material. Even the interstellar beasts didn’t have a good way to deal with the corpses that were their companions.

They roared and attacked the corpses blocking their way. Some even opened their mouths to bite the corpses directly.

Due to the beautification of the Holy Light, this scene even looked a bit romantic. The players didn’t feel like it was bloody or cruel at all.

Many players could finally take a breather. They couldn’t help standing on the wall and laughing wildly.

“Be incompetent and furious, you scum!”

“Hahaha, the last battle is so exciting! His Majesty Snow is really the best. Fighting like this is such an amazing experience!”

“Hehe. If we had His Majesty Snow’s magical ability to restore health, we can definitely fight back.”

The players who stopped fighting started to chat and talk. Qing Yan could finally stop.

The situation still wasn’t optimistic. From the lens in shooting mode, she could see that the endless interstellar beasts in the rear were still pouring in, but…

Leave it alone. Let her rest for a while!

After 48 hours of continuous command, she now felt dizzy and desperately needed to rest.

Qing Yan’s Balance technique was simply a miracle for the entire battle situation. She was highly praised by players but this also attracted many questions from players.

Qing Yan was naturally tight-lipped about this type of secret.

She was rewarded after commanding for 48 consecutive hours. This was the reward given to her by His Majesty Snow. How could she tell others?

Seeing her laughing and changing the topic, the players felt that Qing Yan wasn’t righteous enough but it was hard for them to say anything. After all, the Magic Box Mercenary Group was one of the two major player forces in Starry Sky Age. It wasn’t easy to mess with.

Qing Yan smiled proudly. If Lin Mu hadn’t gone offline midway, he might’ve obtained this card. Then she might not be the only one who knew the secret.

Let that guy Lin Mu regret leaving!

Then again, the card master techniques were too useful! She must change her profession to become a card master as soon as possible to gain an early advantage.

She noted this down. It was only then that she had time to open the forum to read the latest announcements and related discussions.

In fact, in addition to streamers, the adjustment of the time flow rate inside and outside the game had the greatest impact on full-time players like them who stayed in the game almost 24 hours a day.

Others used their free time and sleep time to play games, but her job was to play games. She even devoted almost all her time to the game for the early development of the guild.

If it was a traditional online game, she would’ve probably collapsed by now. But due to the game cabin, her body had been sleeping. She could still hold on.

Of course, it wasn’t good to sleep for a long time. Once Lin Mu went online, she could go offline and do some activities.

In addition, the time flow adjustment…

24 hours a day became four hours. This seemed a bit scary when thinking about it, right?

Then thinking about it, this was equivalent to one day’s salary and she only needed to work for less than four hours to get it?

Qing Yan touched her chin. Then she opened the external address book to contact her boss. The reason? Of course, she was using this incident to demand a salary increase!

Her life expectancy was shortened. Who would dare to work for him without a salary increase?!

After doubling the team’s salary with clever words, Qing Yan ended the call with a satisfied expression.

This salary level would only last until the end of this time flow adjustment, but it was still enough to make people happy.

At this time, she heard a commotion in the crowd.

Looking back, she saw streaks of white light coming from the direction of the teleportation circle. Some familiar and unfamiliar figures appeared one after another from the white light.

Deputy Dean Chris of the Elementalist Academy stepped in her small, round-toed leather shoes and stepped out of the teleportation circle.

She looked around before looking into the distance. After a while, her eyes turned red.

This was Roland’s original border. She had come here once before. It was five years ago.

Five years was like a lifetime.

She remembered that Roland’s army had managed to push the border hundreds of meters out and found an ancient ruin.

She received orders to lead the team to the border to explore the ruins and bring back a large number of precious materials and treasures.

That year, everyone was looking forward to it. They were full of hope for the future of the empire.

However, just one year later, all dreams were shattered.

The beast wave broke through the border. The interstellar beasts ruthlessly destroyed the homes of countless people, killing countless lives and almost forcing Roland to death.

She was once in despair and saw no hope for the future.

Then today, she was back here again!

Deputy Dean Chris had heard the administrator saying that the braves had built a city here and didn’t give up even after the arrival of the beast wave. She almost couldn’t believe her ears.

Could anyone really build a city in such a dangerous place? However, when she thought about how they were the braves, she felt that maybe they could really create miracles.

After coming here, she realized that she had misunderstood. The city hadn’t even been built. The foundation wasn’t even laid.

However, this was common sense.

It didn’t change her view of the braves, nor the various complex emotions that rose in her heart when she stood here again.

Listening to the roar of the interstellar beasts coming from outside the high wall, Deputy Dean Chris quickly calmed down. She also came here on a mission this time!

Following her were more than 30 two star elementalists. They were frontline troops from major cities and gathered here after receiving orders from His Majesty.

In the past, players could only see NPCs with the word ‘unfathomable.’ Now they could see the names and levels of these NPCS.

Their highest level was only level 26.

It was just that the strength and aura displayed by these NPCs were completely different from players. It wasn’t just the difference in attribute values. It was also the aura developed by years of fighting on the battlefield.

There was already an elementalist flying into the sky without the need for Deputy Dean Chris’ command.

At this moment, the battlefield wasn’t completely safe. The interstellar beasts outside the high wall couldn’t attack temporarily, but there were still flying interstellar beasts in the sky that launched attacks.

The wind elementalist deftly avoided the attack of a flying interstellar beast. Then he activated the wind control technique to directly change the airflow around the flying interstellar beast.

The airflow was chaotic. The interstellar beast soon had no time to pay attention to him. It flapped its wings desperately but could only fall from the sky in vain.

The players who watched this scene couldn’t help their jaws dropping.

They could still play like this?

They never had a good way of dealing with flying interstellar beasts. They couldn’t fly and hit the flying beasts. This could be said to be a huge headache.

Now when seeing the NPC’s move, their eyes suddenly lit up.

At this time, taking advantage of when the flying interstellar beast fell, the wind elementalist raised his eyes and looked outside the high wall. He clearly saw the scene outside and his expression became extremely solemn.

He controlled the wind element and descended from the sky.

His companions immediately gathered around and asked about the specific situation.

“It is hard. We have to be ready to evacuate at any time!” The wind elementalist said in a very heavy tone.

The elementalists who came with the team couldn’t help falling silent.

Did they have to give up on this border again? When would be the next time that they could come here?

It was emotionally difficult to accept, but the elementalists still kept their mission in mind.

They were sent by the empire, not to fight but to…

“Braves, where is your group leader?”

Deputy Dean Chris asked a player. “We have received an order from His Majesty the Emperor to assist you in improving your strength.”

The super learning ability of the braves had spread among Roland’s elementalists. Therefore, the more than 30 elementalists present weren’t surprised to receive such a strange order.

“Dear Deputy Dean Chris, I am here!”

A female voice was heard. The onlookers parted on both sides to make a path.

Qing Yan walked out of the crowd. When facing the NPCs, she removed all her casualness and became humble and respectful.

“I am Qing Yan, the commander of this battle. Please give me your guidance, respected Deputy Dean Chris.”

Seeing her, Deputy Dean Chris nodded with satisfaction. She said, “Hello, Commander Qing Yan. I think you have heard our intentions.”

“Please organize the braves who need to improve their strength. We are willing to give everything to the braves for victory in this defense battle!”

The players looked at each other and couldn’t help their eyes shining.

They were the mentors personally sent to the door!

His Majesty Snow was too considerate, right?

They leveled up too quickly and never had time to go to the NPCs to learn skills. The skill points they had were useless. This was simply terrible.

Now this problem was solved directly!

The scene was filled with excitement for a moment. Fortunately, Qing Yan controlled the scene in time and prevented the 20 to 30,000 players from surrounding the more than 30 instructors.

However, the arrangement of 20 to 30,000 players was too much, especially now that they were on the battlefield. Players had to stay at their posts and respond to a crisis at any time.

Finally, Qing Yan split the thousands of meters of defense lines in sections. Then the instructors taught them section by section to ensure that each player could learn at least one skill

The instructors received the warmest welcome and strict protection. After all, if the NPCs died, then they had no way to resurrect. Therefore, in the eyes of the players, they would rather die themselves than let the NPCs be injured.

Now the time flow rate was still 1:1. The forum was still synchronized and it could be live broadcasted.

Once they saw that the online players actually had instructors come in person to teach, the players who had to go to work and school suddenly felt jealous.

[I just want to know. Will the NPC mentors still be there when I go online?]

[Probably not.]

[Then I have to go to the academy to learn skills first. Then come back to defend the city!]

[It seems that there is a fee for learning skills at the academy.]

[……]

That’s right. Starting from the open beta, players had to pay to study at the Elementalist Academy.

This was also set by Xu Sili.

After all, things that were too easy to obtain often weren’t cherished.

Moreover, this would encourage players to actively do the daily activities and complete missions to make money. In addition, it would stimulate economic development and make Roland more prosperous.

Today was a special case. There was naturally no fee.

However, Xu Sili also heard his second brother say that after the open beta, the setting of skill points was added. Players needed to consume skill points to learn skills. They could no longer learn without limits like in the closed beta.

Even so, it could be called going against the sky when comparing the learning speed to native elementalists.

Xu Sili smiled as he watched the teaching below proceed in an orderly manner. Then he took out materials to make cards again.

He was going to make a few more Balance cards.

So far, the maximum number in a team he could designate was only 20,000. No more could be added.

Using his cards, Qing Yan could use Balance on an army of around 30,000 players.

No matter how he looked at it, this card would definitely play a vital role in the war.

Later, he would see if it could be used by his generals. Then he didn’t need to personally go out in every war.

In order to sit in the rear and have a leisurely life, he now had to make more cards and increase the speed of card making.

Now the time flow rate inside and outside the game was adjusted according to the announcement.

In order to prevent players from being overly addicted to the game, reminders would pop up in the game cabin every once in a while. After being online for a certain period of time, players would be forced to log off.

After the initial adaptation, the players suddenly developed various strange tactics. For example, when the bosses discussed how to deal with the interstellar beasts, they would choose to go offline to discuss in reality.

The discussion lasted for an hour in reality but it was only ten minutes in the game.

In short, the players relied on the number of people online, which was more than 90,000, to block at least tens of millions of interstellar beasts outside Roland’s border for nearly six days.

In just one more day, millions of new players would be online!

Everyone was looking forward to it. But the day before this happened, the third line of defense of the City of Braves fell.

There were too many interstellar beasts gathered outside the high wall. Once the road ahead was blocked, the interstellar beasts started killing each other. The commotion they caused could be described as earth-shattering.

Boom boom—

As the ground trembled and the mountains shook, even the sky and earth changed color.

The high wall defense line that the players had been maintaining for several days also shattered and collapsed in an instant. It finally collapsed under the bombardment of the interstellar beasts!

This was a disaster that couldn’t be resisted at all. Even the players could only watch it happen before evacuating as quickly as possible under the commander’s order.

The invincible players finally experienced the feeling of escaping for the first time.

Proofreader: Purichan