Three hundred thousand Star Ring elite troops had surrounded Creek Moon Town so tightly that not even a drop of water could seep through. Over a hundred heavy siege crossbows, under Lu Xingluo's orders, began slowly advancing into formation, tugging at the hearts of every player inside Creek Moon Town.
A large-scale siege battle like this was an absolute first in the history of the Dark Night Empire.
Watching the surging sea of black figures wash toward them like a tidal wave, the members of Hundred Flowers Palace standing atop the city walls trembled with tension, one by one.
Even as members of a first-rate guild who had long since experienced all manner of PvP—and who had even been through a few major battles—none of it compared to what they were witnessing now.
And on the city wall, Qi Guang, Can Yun, and the others watching the scene couldn't help but feel awestruck.
"Incredible! So this is what a guild war looks like?"
"I've seen guild wars with my own eyes before, but facing one head-on feels completely different from watching from the sidelines."
"A hundred heavy siege crossbows… is that the backbone of a superpower?"
Facing the army of three hundred thousand elite troops before them, even experts at the Perfection stage like Qi Guang—who had repeatedly broken through blockades set by armies of tens of thousands—now felt just how insignificant individual strength was before such a massive force. They couldn't even cause a single ripple.
When they had broken through before, they had faced many players, but those were narrow mountain paths where having a hundred fighting at the same time was already impressive. Now they were facing an open plain, where combat meant facing hundreds or thousands of enemies at once—the two weren't even on the same level.
Not to mention the heavy siege crossbows. A hundred firing in volley would reduce even a group of top-tier experts to scrap.
"It seems like the Star Ring Guild doesn't just want to destroy Hundred Flowers Palace—they want to use them to make an example of them in front of the entire Dark Night Empire," Shi Feng murmured, glancing at the heavy siege crossbows slowly closing in, a trace of emotion in his eyes.
Heavy siege crossbows!
These things were far more practical than a town's defensive turrets. Their range wasn't as great, but their power was genuinely Tier 3, and their cooldown was shorter. The only drawback was that they lacked the coverage of turret shells.
And since the blueprints weren't particularly hard to obtain and the crafting materials weren't especially rare—even a junior master blacksmith could make them—which was why they had been one of the mainstream weapons of choice for siege warfare in his previous life.
If there was one real downside, it was the cost.
A single heavy siege crossbow cost upwards of a thousand gold, and factoring in the failure rate, even a junior master blacksmith would need around three thousand gold to produce one. With over a hundred of them, Star Ring had spent at least three hundred thousand gold.
He had to admit—superpowers truly were superpowers, rich and powerful. In his position, he absolutely couldn't bear to spend that kind of money.
Although a heavy siege crossbow only cost half as much as a defensive turret, turrets had incredible durability and could withstand several Tier 4 attacks. Heavy siege crossbows, on the other hand, couldn't even take two or three Tier 3 hits. Moreover, each use damaged their durability, and post-battle repair costs were a significant expense. Those without deep pockets simply couldn't afford them.
"Captain Yefeng, I finally found you." Mu Yun hurried over and said urgently, "The battle is about to begin. Creek Moon Town is too dangerous—get ready quickly. When the time comes, we'll find a chance to break through the encirclement."
"You're not planning to keep Creek Moon Town?" Shi Feng asked, confused.
From what he had learned before, Creek Moon Town was essentially Hundred Flowers Palace's last hope in the Dark Night Empire. If Creek Moon Town fell, Hundred Flowers Palace would have no way to continue developing there and would have no choice but to leave.
"Creek Moon Town can't be held anymore. The gap in strength is too great. All we can do now is preserve as much of the guild's strength as possible," Mu Yun said, shaking her head.