Game’s Dogma

​​​​​​​Only the three commanders remained on the battlefield.

Letting out a bitter screech, the blue-eyed monoeye commander toppled to the ground after receiving concentrated attacks from the players.

The giant beastman was also letting out pathetic cries. Against the monsters, the players had no reason to hold back. No one was going to save it no matter how loud it cried. Especially now that the fair ladies could heal the other players without restraint, barely any player died… apart from those unlucky idiots who stood there blankly and took the giant beastman’s charged strike head on.

Soon enough, the giant beastman let out a howl and fell as it swung its last strike, bringing several players down with it. High in spirits, the players cheered and made victory cries.

With two commanders down, only the elite wolf tribe warrior, now drenched in blood, remained. It was clear that it wouldn’t last too much longer.

Suddenly, it pointed its snout to the sky and howled, rushing at Yoda immediately afterwards.

As expected of the wolf tribe, its pace completely outmatched even the warriors who used Dash. The players instinctively went out of its way upon seeing the wolf’s imposing stride. By the time they had returned to their senses, the wolf was already barely several hundred metres away from the city.

‘Bunch of idiots!’ Hades growled. To him, the players who spaced out on the battlefield were all morons.

A handful of clear-headed players were casting their skills at the wolf, but it surprisingly ignored its injuries and was dead set on reaching Yoda despite there being nothing but a massive, tightly-shut gate in its path.

Soulsmith calmly pulled out an arrow from the quiver on his back and aimed.

An arrow whizzed through the air. It was the most powerful skill the hunter class currently possessed—Heart-Piercing Shot!

A streak of light penetrated through space itself and sunk into the wolf. Knocked off its feet while charging, the wolf stumbled and rolled on the ground from all the momentum, its gigantic torso drawing marks along the soil. It finally came to a halt several metres before the city gate. Eyes rolled upwards, life had clearly vacated its husk.

But everyone went silent. Be it the players on the battlefield or those on the city walls, they all stared at the corpse that lay not far beyond the gates until it despawned.

The wolf taught them the consequences of arrogance.

If it had half its health left and had managed to break into the city, the players who had stayed behind due to their low levels would have been at its mercy—which spelt certain death.

‘Successfully defended against the third wave. The fourth wave will begin in 15 minutes. Be aware that monsters will strike from both the east and west gates.’

After a brief period of silence, the players cleaned up the battleground and returned to the city. Under Hades’ command, those who could take part in the operation were players who had engaged in melee combat. This barred greedy bastards who didn’t join the fight from stealing the equipment of the valiant defenders who had lost their lives.

After undergoing the baptism of three waves of blood and flames, the players from Yoda and Evergrand had dropped their mental barricade and were now mingling together as one.

Some players even directly posted the name of items that they had picked up but weren’t theirs on the city chat channel. Of course, those who wanted to claim the items had to show their ownership by listing the items’ attributes and the like.

The system announcement did say that there were no death penalties, but that was only limited to dropping levels. There was still a chance that equipment would drop upon death. With how quickly the players were reorganising themselves, though, they were quickly regaining their dropped equipment, which also meant their combat strength was rapidly recovering.

While the players were resting and reorganising themselves, the big shots who could represent almost every player in the city were discussing among themselves: Drako Yau, Sasaki, Hades, and Zephyrwolf.

That was not to say that veterans like Soulsmith and Bloodless Bladester were weak. They just were not interested in matters that involve commanding work. They followed Hades, and they served as his second dagger—that was it.

Seizing authority and power? That was something only Satan enjoyed.

‘The fourth wave… it’ll probably be on a whole different level compared to the first three.’

Drako Yau bore no arrogance for successfully defending three waves, but was instead even more cautious than before. The first three waves’ difficulty had actually exceeded his expectations.

He had several trump cards in his hand. The first was Zephyrwolf and the demon wolf king, the second was the army of ranged players, and the third one was Hades and his underlings from Underworld. As for Sasaki, it was more of a surprise really.

But it had only been three waves. Almost all of his trump cards had been unveiled. If he had to name their final trump card, it would be himself.

‘Starting from the fourth wave, we’ll be attacked from both sides. Our numbers are limited…’

Zephyrwolf couldn’t help but grumble upon hearing those words from Drako Yau. ‘Those cowardly bastards! They’re all just running over to the big guilds to take refuge!’

Hades had always been incompatible with Zephyrwolf, so he snickered and said, ‘Don’t sound so high and mighty. If Empyreon and Terrafirm had enough room for you and your men, would you still stay here?’

‘You!’ Zephyrwolf couldn’t bear the humiliation and shot up from his seat with his hand placed onto the hilt of his weapon. Hades continued sneering as he stood up as well, his dagger unsheathed at some point.

‘Sit down, both of you.’ Drako Yau’s voice was poised, but it also had an imposing feeling to it. He sent cold glances at the two through his mask and said, ‘A great enemy is knocking on our gates, yet you’re still fighting among yourselves. I don’t care if both of you go all out at each other after the siege, but from now on, if anyone stirs up anymore trouble, get the hell out.’

Sasaki was drenched in sweat. Damn!That’s why he’s the boss!

Be it Zephyrwolf or Hades, neither of the two was a figure to be ridiculed. However, in front of Drako Yau, both of them sat down like good kids, just that they were still staring daggers at one another. If gazes could kill, they’d both be dead by now.

More importantly, the three of them were curious about Drako Yau. The words he spoke just now had such a terrifying and imposing air. The taciturn and gentle sheep had, all of a sudden, turned into a staggering tiger. The grandeur and atmosphere of a superior wasn’t something that could be acquired in just a moment or two.

Just what was his true identity?

Who was Drako Yau? Previously having taken the helm of the greatest gaming company in the Tenth Eastern City, countless people had worked under him. It was how he had gained his formidable demeanor naturally over time.

Seeing the two of them sit back down, Drako Yau continued, ‘Don’t be jealous of those players in the larger cities.’ He grinned behind his mask. ‘They’re not exactly better off than us either.’