"Let's go, who the hell is scared?!" SirLagsALot continued to taunt, but as he turned to see Orson not moving, he shouted in frustration, "Fire at them! Fire at them!"
"Use that crazy range of yours, take out their backline first, kite the frontline, we've got this in the bag!"
"Or maybe you want to fight yourself?" Orson casually glanced at him.
SirLagsALot awkwardly scratched his head. "Heh, sorry, got a bit too worked up. So, what's the plan?"
"What's the plan? Start recording and zoom in on their deaths, let the UJ region see their humiliation," Orson said with a light laugh.
"No problem!" SirLagsALot immediately switched to battle reporter mode, expertly focusing on the sharp spines on Crimson Lizard King's back, capturing the scene from the most professional angle.
"They're coming!"
Orson's eyes turned cold. SirLagsALot froze. "There's still at least a kilometer distance, where are they coming from?"
"Behind you."
"Are there thieves sneaking around?!"
SirLagsALot quickly turned around, only to hear Orson, still calm, say, "At least two hundred thieves have got their eyes on your little... back door."
"Help!! Someone save my back door!" SirLagsALot yelled in panic, but his professional instincts kept him from running.
"Stealing from a mage again, how boring," Orson muttered, his eyes flashing blue. He whispered, "Ice Prison Ring!"
Sizzles of frost filled the air. SirLagsALot turned in shock to see more than twenty thieves appearing less than ten meters away. Further off, there were two groups of assassins forming.
"Ice and Fire immunity potions!" Naoko called out in the channel as the thieves instantly consumed immunity potions, their bodies returning to normal.
"Crit buffs!" "Attack buffs!"
Meanwhile, the thieves from the Thousand Hands guild lit up with various buffs.
"Whoa, these guys are loaded! 20 gold per potion, and they're all geared up!" SirLagsALot marveled.
The Slaughter Potion gave a 20% boost to critical hit chances and attack power for ten minutes, making it incredibly useful in intense battles. Given the high number of buffs, it was clear that Thousand Hands guild had immense financial resources.
Orson was unbothered by this. Both Thousand Hands and SSR guilds belonged to the same UJ financial group. In reality, SSR was just a side project, while Thousand Hands was the primary focus.
The assassins surrounded them like a swirling vortex, closing in on Orson.
"Whisper of the Wind."
"Explosive Fireball."
"The Flame Dragon!"
The Chaos Six-Pointed Star activated, with Orson launching a barrage of attacks using both his skills and Chaos Magic Balls. The fire-based burn damage could be temporarily negated by the potions, but Orson's 21x critical damage was unstoppable.
The fireballs exploded into devastating damage numbers.
-2800
Critical hit -60,000!
Critical hit -58,000!
…
The fearsome damage figures made the surrounding thieves' heads buzz. Even without the critical hits, they couldn't withstand such overwhelming power.
Despite the number of 30-level thieves attempting to sneak behind Orson, the moment they stepped forward, their movements slowed drastically.
Orson smirked, and the Mud Pit expanded threefold, covering a wider area.
With a leap, Orson launched five Chaos Magic Balls into the air. The series of attacks spread out in unpredictable curves, targeting the thieves attempting to ambush him.
As the Chaos Magic Balls merged, they crushed a few thieves hiding behind the Sakura tree.
SirLagsALot: "It's here! God-tier multi-tasking! The 'Sword and Conquest' nine-element operation is effortless here!"
"Please… that's just a cheap trick," Orson replied, slightly speechless. The flashy actions in Sword and Conquest had been meaningless since the match was rigged. It was all style, no substance.
Crimson Lizard King, having used its breath attack, now relied on brute strength. With a swipe of its claws, several white lights shot up into the sky, annihilating the thieves in its path.
Despite the decent stats of these thieves, Orson found them too weak to pose a real threat.
"Don't let him use his range advantage, force him into close combat!" Naoko said sharply.
The reputation of the undefeated Sorcerer was well-known in the UJ region, but even seeing Orson's critical hits causing 50-60k damage made Naoko uneasy.
She was very aware: if Orson escaped using his space items, it would be a huge problem.
Within moments, over forty thieves fell to the ground, but the remaining thieves, with the backing of Thousand Hands' immense wealth, rushed towards Orson with unrelenting courage.
As the number of assailants around him increased, Orson smiled. The Chaos Six-Pointed Star flared once again.
"Brahma's Divine Flame."
The magic expanded threefold.
Boom!
A small mushroom cloud erupted as the battle log went into overdrive. Over seventy thieves evaporated into thin air, followed by several priests who were also wiped out.
"What the hell? Critical hits over 100k damage? What are we even fighting against?" one thief exclaimed.
"Hahaha… Even NPCs over level 80 might be on par with this," another said in disbelief.
The thieves from Thousand Hands could only cry in despair. Despite Naoko's constant encouragement, they couldn't accept the brutal reality.
They knew that by defeating the US Triple Crown winner, they could rise to prominence in the UJ region, even globally in Infinite Dimensions! But when the opportunity was right in front of them, they realized that an insurmountable gap lay between them and Orson.
It was the difference between heaven and earth, a gap that drove them to despair.
Kitagawa: "I still can't accept this. How can someone like him be just a player like us?!"
"Of course, you can't accept it, but if you mess around on my imperial soil, you'll die for sure!" Naoko's determination remained unwavering.
At last, her summoned beast, Yamata no Orochi, was about to make its move. Naoko knew her allies needed hope right now, and that hope was about to arrive.
"Ice Star Rain!"
Naoko's cold voice commanded as one of Yamata no Orochi's heads, two kilometers away, raised and unleashed an enormous water sphere over Orson.
"Naoko is making her move! The USSorcerer is finished!"
"This is true divine wrath, the emperor's might!" UJ players cheered in confidence. With Naoko's sacred beast still fighting, victory seemed certain!
A massive wave of water exploded, turning into glimmering crystal-like shards that engulfed Orson's area.
"Damn! That eight-headed snake monster can attack from that far away?!" SirLagsALot gasped.
"Of course, don't be fooled by how big it looks. It's a mage among battle beasts," Orson explained.
Crimson Lizard King raised its massive wings, protecting Orson and himself, enduring nearly 100k damage.
"Women can be terrifying when they want to. Even their own guildmates are expendable," Orson muttered under his breath.
Naoko's forces suffered heavy losses, with many of her guild members dying from the Ice Star Rain.
It was clear, with Naoko's level of skill controlling such an extensive range of magic, it would be difficult for her to keep her teammates safe.
"Firestone Explosions!"
Naoko launched the spell, sending multiple fireballs to the ground, their explosions shaking the earth.
The damage was enough to send trees falling and the ground cracking, while those hit by the explosions were knocked back.
Naoko's intent was clear: force Orson out from behind Crimson Lizard King's protection.
SirLagsALot: "Ridiculous… Does she just have endless A-class spells?"
Yamata no Orochi, in its full form, could control four basic elemental magics, and four derivative elements, making every spell at least S-class.
When all the heads of Yamata no Kagami were gathered, it would wield eight world-destroying forbidden spells. It was an incredibly powerful creature.
However, Naoko only had part of the Yamata no Kagami, so Yamata no Orochi could only use three magic types.
Despite this, when used as artillery, Yamata no Orochi could easily slaughter current-level players.
As the attack was about to land, Orson's magic mirror appeared.
"Using a space item?" Naoko was not surprised but smiled, quickly making a decision. "Knights, charge in! His space item has a delay!"
Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves echoed from the depths of the forest, kicking up dust. A group of well-equipped knights charged forth, having ambushed the area well in advance.
Naoko knew that just relying on thieves wouldn't be enough, so she had planned a counterattack from the start.
"An ordinary Sorcerer dares to act arrogantly? Kill the Godslayer, reward two million gold!" Naoko declared, raising her staff with authority.
"Naoko is invincible!"
"President, your imperial might is unmatched!"
The knights surged forward, followed by elite players, all determined to rush into the space portal and change their fate.
The time to slay gods and ascend to greatness was now!
"Eh?"
Just as Naoko was celebrating her imminent victory, a faint voice rang out from behind her.