In the outer zone of the Stone Fang Mountains,
However, Zero Wing's elite corps were at a significant disadvantage.
The enemies they faced numbered several times their own.
"Looks like the Zero Wing Guild really is courting death. They don't have many people to begin with, yet they still dare to spread ten thousand troops this thin. We absolutely cannot let the other guilds snatch them all first." Chi Yu commanded his thirty thousand elite members, dividing them into several large formations to encircle Zero Wing's forces, terrified that Zero Wing's elite members would be wiped out by the other guilds before he could get his hands on them.
The other guilds' elite members numbered over seventy thousand in total. Dealing with ten thousand elites was child's play.
By the time Chi Yu led his massive force toward Zero Wing's location, the elite armies of the various major guilds had already clashed with Zero Wing's forces.
However, Zero Wing's elite members had somewhat better equipment. The terrain was limited, and only so many ranged attackers could engage at once, giving Zero Wing an edge in ranged firepower. After a few exchanges, the combined elite army of the various guilds had suffered over a hundred casualties, while Zero Wing had lost only a dozen or so.
The reason Zero Wing's casualties were so few came down to more than just damage differences. Their elites were far better at dodging attacks, and their HP pools and healing support were higher as well.
It only took three or four hits for Zero Wing's ranged attacks to take down an elite from any of the major guilds. But for those guild elites to kill a single Zero Wing member required five or six hits. When facing incoming fire, the guild elites could dodge three or four out of every ten shots, while Zero Wing's elites could evade five or more.
The gap in equipment stats and combat skill was laid bare for all to see.
These small differences accumulated, leading to a dramatically different outcome.
"Damn it! All MTs, push forward! Ranged, cover them! Healers, keep up!"
"Assassins, try to bypass the front line and take out their healers!"
"We outnumber Zero Wing by several times. There's no reason to be afraid of them. Once we close the distance, it's our win!"
……
As Zero Wing employed a fighting retreat, the higher-ups of every major guild issued charge after charge.
Suddenly, a flood of Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights surged from the guild armies, activating their survival skills and charging madly toward Zero Wing's formation, while the healers in the back row continuously cast healing spells.
But no matter how those Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights dodged or how much healing they received, under the berserk firepower of Zero Wing's several hundred ranged fighters, fireballs, ice arrows, and bolts filled the sky. Even with shields raised to push forward, they were cut down in seconds.
From a distance, row after row of Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights could be seen falling one after another.
"Why is Zero Wing's firepower so insane?"
The two sides were only about forty yards apart, yet the major guilds had already lost over three hundred melee fighters just trying to close twenty yards of distance. The sheer carnage made the guild leaders' hearts ache. They hadn't expected Zero Wing's ranged output to be so devastating — before a single melee engagement even began, their army of over four thousand had already suffered nearly five hundred casualties.
The major guilds had originally assumed this would be an easy fight. After all, the disparity in numbers was enormous. But after witnessing Zero Wing's combat tactics, they finally understood: having more people didn't mean much when the terrain of the Stone Fang Mountains prevented them from leveraging their numerical advantage.
Still, it was too late to back down now. Every one of them gritted their teeth and charged forward. If they didn't wipe out Zero Wing's elite army, everything they'd invested would be lost.
Besides, the Shield Warriors, Guardian Knights, Berserkers, Swordsmen, and Assassins of the major guilds had already reached range to activate their skills. If they didn't go all in now, when would they?
"Kill!"
"Strip Zero Wing of their gear, and we'll make it all back!"
……
In an instant, every melee fighter from the major guilds went berserk, their eyes burning with a bloodthirsty glow.
Just as all their skills were about to be unleashed and slam into Zero Wing's melee line, every member of Zero Wing pulled out mid-grade