Rioneed: VRMMORPG

Ibro knew that some games would allow the items to stay forever, while others would make the fallen items disappear after a certain period. He didn't want to take any risks. 

These items were very important to his army and his village survival. The first hour of this clash had seen some changes in the battlefield. 

Although the players were stronger, they lost their advantage once the other skeletons started to play with them toe to toe. A fixed target was always the best target for players. 

This sudden change had affected the players' morale. Morale was a critical element in players' wars, so that led to more casualties. This scene was obvious not only to Ibro but to Erond and Gorsag as well.

"They are a bunch of weeds that will burn easily. There is no danger in fighting them."

Ibro glanced at Gorsag and sighed. He was sure that these battles' most important gains would be the effects on these cultivators. They would truly widen their scopes.

"You are mistaken; the true battle still hasn't started yet."

They both looked strangely at him. Ibro didn't explain anything to them, as they would see everything soon. The battleground started to widen gradually as new players were joining the battle. 

Ibro kept watching the battles without any need to intervene. Although these players caused some damage to the skeletons' army from time to time, it didn't affect the whole battle. 

The most notorious class that caused the highest damage was Assassins. Ibro knew that players weren't patient. Nearly two hours later, a huge group of players appeared from the other side of the battlefield. 

They had turned around the village and moved from behind it. Ibro wasn't worried about the safety of his village, as it was protected by water from behind. 

He knew players must have navy fleets by now, but it wouldn't be that popular. The players level in his estimate was between 50 to 75. At best only big guilds would have some large fleets right now. 

The incomings didn't affect battle much as Ibro's army backs weren't the wilderness actually but the basin which was surrounded by high mountains. 

So, those players only caused the skeletons to divert part of them to form another front.  One front, two fronts, ten fronts… the battle began to fan out rapidly. 

After another 4 hours, other incomings appeared. This time, these reinforcements had some tricks within them. Ibro managed to notice catapults high as the mobile defensive towers that appeared beside it. 

Long-range siege weapons coupled with short distance air and ground siege defensive weapons… that was a lethal mix.

"I like it," Ibro exclaimed in a whisper. He also glanced at some Mechas, long barrel cannons, ballista, and other siege equipment. 

He was sure if these siege weapons were allowed to come near his thickly clustered skeletons army, they would cause massive damage. He shouldn't allow that to happen.

"Erond… you said we have nearly 5000 cultivators at nascent soul stages, right?"

Erond knew what Ibro planned to do. He had noticed these weird things via divine sense. Ibro wasn't planning to use cultivators here as they had no experience at all in fighting players, but he had no other option.

"Yes, my king."

"Good. I want you to divide them into two…," Ibro then thought of another possibility then he added, "No, make it five different teams. 

Each will consist of 1000 cultivators. I want two teams to head straight towards these distant huge towering things and destroy them."

Ibro pointed out towards these siege items. Erond nodded his head before asking:

"What about the other three teams, my king?"

"One team will be right behind these two teams. Its role is to ensure the safety of the other two teams. 

The last two teams will fly over the whole battlefield. If they notice any strong-looking enemy, they must act at once and kill him."

Ibro guessed that these catapults and other siege weapons weren't the first wave of the big guilds attack. He was afraid they were the bait to trap his trump card flying teams. Before Erond moved, Ibro said seriously to him:

"Don't underestimate these players."

"We won't, my king."

Ibro watched Erond flying towards the back of the army. Gorsag looked at him enviously; he also wanted to join the fight.

"May I join them, my king?"

"You will, but not now," Ibro answered vaguely to him. Ibro's mind was full of many speculations of these guilds traps. The easiest trap to guess was the AOE scrolls. 

The only premise to these scrolls was that it didn't differentiate between a friend or a foe, but that might not stop the guilds leaders from using them. 

The second trap he guessed was the mix of magicians with wide AOE skills around these siege weapons. The third trap was the possibility of the presence of system city governors lurking in this huge army. 

They might search for a chance to hit his flying cultivators. That was why he divided the cultivators into that arrangement. 

Ibro stood in his position on that hill watching the movement of the 5000 cultivators towards the enemy. Ibro knew he would lose a lot of those cultivators, but he didn't care. 

The nascent soul cultivators and above had divided into 5 teams as Ibro ordered then they moved towards their targets. The sudden appearance of these flying cultivators made the players at the ground restless. 

Any long-range player started to use his skills directly at the cultivators. These cultivators had experienced the taste of skills. 

They were arrogantly believing in their supremacy, but after this first wave of skills, they knew how wrong they were. Players didn't give them any room to breathe as they continued to launch skills over them non-stop. 

Gorsag looked at Ibro wanting to go there and help them, but Ibro just looked away and didn't say anything. Ibro was looking for those city governors. 

If they were there, they would use this chance to appear. After half an hour, Ibro felt relieved. There was no city governor in this army. It was time to give some help to those trapped cultivators.

"Make the whole army launch a sudden attack and make them push the frontlines to their limit. Watch out for these siege weapons. Fan your boys out. Hold your knights back till I give you a sign."

Ibro issued his orders to the alpha death knight. He knew that most of his army was still inside the basin. 

Although Ibro issued his orders before to move the battleground outside the basin, less than 10% of the skeletons had managed to pass through the passageway before the start of the battle. Ibro wanted to end this fast as he still had many things he had to do.

"What is this sign, my king?"

"It will be him."

Ibro pointed out towards Gorsag. He had a role for him. The alpha death knight moved at once to execute Ibro's orders. Ibro then looked towards Gorsag and ordered:

"When the skeletons manage to attract all the attention on the battlefield, I want you to move to the place of these siege weapons and destroy them."

Gorsag looked strangely at Ibro who took out 10 Even runes from his storage ring and gave them to Gorsag. Gorsag never forgot the miraculous effects of these runes, so he took them with excitement while asking:

"But I believe they won't let me approach that place easily."