The main street of Manchui Town had fallen deathly silent. Every player lining both sides of the road stared in shock at the giant player whose feet had already cratered the ground beneath him, the sheer terror of his colossal strength freezing them in place.
"So strong!"
"Is Zero Wing actually going to attack Manchui Town for real?"
"Has Zero Wing gone mad? They dare to assault Manchui Town head-on!"
……
If the sudden appearance of the giant player hadn't already been enough to shock them into awareness, the sight of the six-winged emblem on his body and the patrol squad that had rushed in only to be sent flying confirmed it.
Zero Wing had truly made its move against the Starlight Alliance—and was striking directly at the alliance's most vital stronghold, Manchui Town.
While the crowd murmured among themselves, the first patrol squad to charge in had already been completely wiped out by dozens of Zero Wing's Tier 2 giant players. Even a Tier 2 MT stood as helplessly as a child before a Tier 2 giant Berserker, let alone the fact that only a handful among the patrol squad's hundred-plus members were Tier 2, while the rest were still Tier 1.
The other players on the street, having witnessed the giant players' combat strength, had long since scattered to the edges. None dared approach the battlefield, content to watch from a safe distance.
"Captain, the players on the street have all pulled back. Should we open fire?" the defensive player on the watchtower hastily called out to Captain Eight Feathers.
The combat strength the giant players had displayed far exceeded their expectations. The elite patrol squad of Knight's Judgement had been annihilated in under ten seconds. The devastating power had even torn the street itself to shreds, leaving craters everywhere. If that kind of destruction spread across the wider streets, the damage to Manchui Town would be catastrophic.
"Zero Wing clearly came prepared. Open fire before they scatter—we have to wipe them out on this street! We can't let the other streets take any damage!" Eight Feathers stared at the towering Zero Wing giant players, a flicker of pressure creeping into his chest. If these giants ran loose through the streets, wreaking havoc and slaughtering players at random, the consequences would be something Knight's Judgement simply could not afford.
"Yes, sir!"
At Eight Feathers's command, the defensive players on the watchtowers sprang into action. Over a dozen turrets locked onto the giant players on the main street and fired simultaneously.
A string of explosions erupted from the towers, their blast radius covering nearly half the street—far too wide for any player to dodge.
Yet in the next moment, more than a dozen Tier 2 Shield Warriors broke away from the group of giant players and launched themselves directly into the path of the incoming cannonballs.
Boom, boom, boom…
Though the explosions tore through the air and the shockwaves were powerful enough for distant players to feel clearly, once the smoke cleared, everyone stood dumbfounded.
The dozen-plus giant Shield Warriors who had charged headlong into the bombardment were not only alive—they hadn't retreated a single step upon landing. They had lost only a sliver of health, less than 10% of their total HP.
"How high is their defense?! That was a Tier-3 attack!"
The defensive player on the watchtower stared at the virtually unscathed giant players, his face a mask of disbelief.
A Tier-3 cannonball could deal over 300,000 damage to a Tier-3 NPC, grievously wound a Tier-2 NPC, and instantly kill a player. Even a Tier-2 Shield Warrior using a burst skill would fall the same way, unless they activated a life-saving ability to mitigate the damage—and even then they'd barely survive. Yet the giant players before him looked perfectly fine, merely dusting off their armor as if nothing had happened.
"Captain, what do we do now?" the defensive player asked Eight Feathers.
The watchtowers were far too ineffective against the giant players. If they scattered and flooded into the streets, the fallout would be unimaginable.
"Keep aiming! As soon as the cooldown ends, fire again!" Eight Feathers watched Zero Wing's giant players, his expression growing increasingly grave. With such absurd defense and strength, eliminating them would take considerable time—and that time was more than enough for these dozens of giant players to inflict devastating damage on Manchui Town.
And barely a second after Eight Feathers issued his orders, his heart lurched as he saw yet another wave of giant players emerging from the spatial rift.