The Cloud Fortress is located in the southwestern part of the leafy plain, guarding one of the main routes from the Vida Basin. It was a fortified fortress built according to the mountain, and the walls were made of the strongest rocks, as high as seven or eight men stacked on top of each other, and the walls were densely packed with battlements, each of which could provide a high level of armor protection for the archers guarding the city. By the time I arrived, the fortress was filled with the defenders of all nationalities who had retreated from the middle and upper part of the Vadera Basin, lined up in a neat line, always vigilant and ready to meet the invaders. In addition, airfarers from all over the continent have also poured into this fortified fortress, and their number is as high as thousands. This is the first time I've seen so many air-waders gather together at the same time-usually, even in the most prosperous metropolises, there are only a thousand people gathered in the city.

Since there were originally two large elven cities in the Vaderdah Basin, the elves were the most numerous race in the garrison besides humans. According to intelligence, their homeland has been destroyed beyond recognition by the destruction of the Doomsday Empire, and has now become the two largest bases of the Doomsday Legion on the continent of Falvi. The elven warriors who had lost their homes turned their grief into vengeful rage, almost half of them were rangers with bows and arrows, and these skilled shooters were now wearing green standard leather armor and standing behind the stacks of arrows. They have now abandoned the benevolence and grace of their race and have become messengers of death, who will be the first to bring unfortunate news of eternal silence to the brutal invaders.

The commander of the fortress was named Colonel Reilly, a very young and promising level 60 human paladin. He was not very tall, with chestnut hair and brown eyes. His eyes are firm and brave, and he wears a long sword. Most of the time, he would stay in the battle halls of the fortress, but every once in a while, he would walk up the walls, into the camp, and into all corners of the fortress to make detailed inspections.

"Do you know the difference between being brave and courageous?" Whenever Colonel Reilly saw a young soldier trembling with fear, he would come up to him and tell him something like this.

"The so-called brave ......," he said, holding up the chin of the young Confucian warrior. Said firmly and forcefully. “…… It means that we are fearless and unafraid when we fight; And courage ......," he bent down and patted the warrior on both shoulders...... It means that we know that there are many dangers ahead, but we still persevere and do not hesitate. ”

"Maybe you're not brave. Warrior, but in you I see courage. That's a spirit that is more precious than bravery! ”

This touching remark always aroused the fighting spirit in the heart of the Confucian warrior who was trembling with timidity, and before this time, the inspired Confucian would vigorously hold up his small chest, which was not much taller no matter how hard he tried, and march to the young commander with respect, and then run back to his ranks.

But no matter how touching the words are, if you have to hear them every five minutes, you may hear a lot of irony even in hymns. And whenever Colonel Reilly passed by, there was always a shivering Confucian warrior huddled here, as if waiting for his encouragement. Later. When Colonel Reilly walked past here again, someone in the group shouted impatiently: This guy is chanting again! Others will imitate his movements and mouth shapes, jokingly imitating his appearance. Learn it vividly, causing a burst of laughter in the crowd.

Although we have a group of professional soldiers who are waiting for them, a good commander who has maintained his composure and fighting spirit from beginning to end, and a volunteer army of air waders who can't wait to fight. But in fact, it was a hopeless battle, and everyone understood that.

When we accepted the mission of "Dark Cloud Fortress Defensive Battle", every officer who issued the mission had already told us plainly: defend the dark cloud fortress for more than a day, and the mission will be completed. You know, our enemy has been preparing for this battle for two hundred years, and we have only been preparing for ten days. Judging by the strength of the army, this in itself is a battle that has no fairness at all, and what we are doing here is simply not going to completely stop the aggression of the Empire of the Last Days, and we can only delay as much time as possible to buy time for the second line of defense behind us. As soon as the time is up, our reinforcements will arrive, and we can evacuate with the help of the magical teleportation array inside the stronghold, and then receive a reward from any of the mission officers

We will eventually lose, and this is an inescapable fact. Although I did not feel the frustration or decadence of the impending defeat in this stronghold, it still filled my heart with a sense of futility and weakness.

The only thing that makes me happy is that I have met many good friends here. String Song Yayi, Wild Goose Array, Fei Yin, Longbow Shooting Sun, Yangtze River Delta, Ding Ding Xiaoge, Crado, Nocturne in B flat minor, Black Aurora...... And so on and so forth. Seeing them here means that they are willing to pay enough to meet the requirements of the High God Daremoth to "operate for a fee" and wait in this plane. Seeing them choose to stay, I feel much more settled and steady. You know, from the day I was reborn, almost everything was done in the company of these friends, and if they weren't around, my heart felt empty and I didn't know where to go.

They are my best friends and teachers, friends who live and die together, and they are the part of me that connects most closely to the world. It was only when I was with them that I could truly feel alive.

The fact that they were able to stay is a great support and encouragement to me.

……

November 26, 1457 in the continental Gregorian calendar, winter, early cold, rain.

This is destined to be a day that will forever be recorded in the history of the mainland.

Cracked against my metal helmet and armor in quick succession. Water droplets seeped through the cracks in the nail leaves, giving me a cold touch on my back. My hands holding my sword and shield trembled, and even I didn't know if it was because of the cold weather or because of the tension in my heart.

"Click!" Suddenly. A bolt of lightning struck through the air, enveloping the entire world in a blind, sharp light that made it impossible to open one's eyes. A moment later, a thunderclap rolled abruptly, and the earth-shaking sound tugged at everyone's heartstrings, like a great and extremely ominous omen.

This thunderbolt opened the curtain for a fierce battle.

After the most shocking thunder and lightning that had begun, several more flashes of light passed one after another at the other end of the sky. Although they weren't as bright as the first lightning bolts, well, they were dizzying. But it continued to spread in the sky. It didn't subside after more than ten seconds. One by one, these sharp rays of light converged and eventually weaved into a huge web that enveloped almost the entire horizon ahead.

Under the cover of a huge curtain of light woven by lightning, the heavens and the earth seemed to be distorted. Ripples rippled in the air for no apparent reason. The farther green hills shook slightly in our eyes. Gradually, these transparent ripples became thicker and thicker, gradually becoming solid-like. Behind these ripples. We could faintly see rows of moving figures.

"It's coming!" There was a wave of exclamation from the crowd.

Yes, here they are. Those dangerous and ferocious invaders, they managed to break the barrier of time and space turbulence, and after two hundred years, they returned to this land. And we, as the first witnesses of this matter, will witness the face of this group of bandits. I don't know if it's lucky or unlucky.

Soon, the first enemies had passed through the magical gate of spatial teleportation. They were dressed in heavy armor, and they both held two heavy axes in their hands, and their complexions were blue. He was tall and rickety, with two long fangs sticking out of his mouth.

These are the most murderous lackeys of the Apocalyptic Empire, traitors to the Falvi continent, and brutal warriors with blades and blood, the Troll Axemen.

Behind them, a group of undead warriors with skeletal appearances, black armor, swords and shields, rotting limbs, and dark blue flames burning in their eye sockets slowly walked forward. Protect the dark-skinned Dark Elven Archer in the phalanx behind you.

A group of men in red magic robes also slowly walked out of the portal, and these people looked like normal humans. But his face was pale, his cheeks were thin, and his pupils showed a dull red. They're vampire mages, and I've fought hundreds of enemies like this, and I can smell the blood from even standing on the walls as far away as I do now.

In addition to these, there are also some large men with horns on their heads, feet like sheep's hooves, burly bodies, and purple-skinned skin, even compared to the minotaurs who grew on the continent of Falvi, they are not inferior in size. I've never seen anything like it on this continent, but I see the name "Blight Demon" on their heads.

"Demons"? Perhaps this is only a race that exists in the Blightlands.

Trolls, undead, dark elves, vampires, demons, and soon we'll see all the racial makeup of the invading army of the post-apocalyptic empire. Their armies were numerous, their expressions were hideous, and in fact, what we saw was only an advance force. Behind them, the armies of the Apocalyptic Empire were still passing through the gates of spatial magic, as if their numbers would increase forever. I can't count their numbers at all, except for one thing I know for sure: they are much more numerous than we are.

In addition to these established regular troops, there were also more than 1,000 soldiers with scattered formations and different equipment and occupations on the opposite position. I think they're all conscripted mercenaries, just like us. At this time, they were all looking at our walls with great anticipation.

"That's a lot of people......" I heard the exclamation of Niu Wan beside me. I turned my head and saw the only Minotaur Paladin twist his neck with an unnatural expression. From his eyes, I could not see the strong eyes of a heroic warrior in the slightest, only two desperate and anxious gazes aimlessly forward, a bit like a frightened wild cat.

"Are you alright? Are you feeling okay? I was a little worried about his state and couldn't help but ask.

Originally, I only wondered if he was a little frightened by the tremendous momentum of the enemy - there was nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, looking at this invading army with no end in sight, my throat couldn't help but feel a little dry, and my palms were wet with sweat. Really, it is not the fault to feel fear, only to be defeated by fear is worth being ashamed of.

Still, it looks like my worries are in the wrong place. After a while, Niu Million swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty. Turning his neck stiffly like a piece of wood. Gritting his teeth, he struggled to spit out two inexplicable syllables in an unusually laborious voice:

"Good...... Card ......"

Good card? To be honest, I don't know exactly what message he was trying to convey to me, but judging by the horrible look in his eyes, he shouldn't be scared at all. It's not just not being afraid. I think he can't wait to sweep away all the troops on the other side by himself now, and God knows how there could be such a strong anger and hatred in his heart.

It seems that they have a higher consciousness than me about resisting foreign enemies and protecting our homeland. Just seeing the enemy, he was already angry and high-spirited.

While I was still wondering what this "good card" meant, others around me expressed great support for the Minotaur Paladin's claim.

"yes, yes, I'm stuck here too." The fairy on the side of Niu Million went down to the earth and wrinkled her face

Said with some frustration.

It seemed that everyone had been suppressed by the pre-war tension for too long, and once they had found this common topic, they opened up the conversation and talked enthusiastically.

"I'm all here with remnants...... "The longbow shoots the sun, crying bitterly.

"It's good to have afterimages, all I see here are sculptures......" Not far away, I don't know who said. Hearing his words, Longbow Shooting Sun immediately seemed to be in a much better mood.

“…… Hell yes. My eyes are ...... with lightning and I haven't stopped," a dwarven priestess cried as she covered her eyes.

"Huh? Lightning? Where is the lightning? An orc shaman shook his head in surprise and looked around, "I haven't seen any movement here...... It's a huge delay......"

"Mars calls to Earth. Mars calls to Earth, and when you hear it...... answer "Can anyone tell me what this guy is talking about?"

"I can hear my own echoes...... Sound and sound and sound ......," said a minotaur druid. Not only can he hear his own echoes. I heard it too, probably because the minotaur's nose was relatively large and the nasal resonance was unusually loud.

"Look, there's a flying bear there!" A orc warlock pointed to the sky and shouted in surprise.

"I'm ......not stuck here at all," a human warlock shouted in a conspicuous tone, then his face darkened, and his voice lowered sullenly: "...... But I've turned off all the vision sensor ground effects and turned the resolution to the lowest, and now it's a big hexahedron no matter who you look at......"

"What is GM doing eating the ground, it's stuck!" An elf wandered, but I couldn't tell who he was complaining to.

"According to reliable grapevine, GM is using the server to play a movie, and it will be fine in six hours!" A Confucian magician said mysteriously, and suddenly set off a burst of noise in the crowd such as "I am dizzy" and "I fall", mixed with a little strange cries such as "I want to see Lan Lan" and "Lizi my goddess".

"Ah......" While everyone was making a noise, a dwarf paladin suddenly screamed, fell from the city wall, and slapped it to the ground in full view, splashing a thick layer of dust under the city wall, and then lay straight on the ground, not moving.

"Come and see, come and see, someone has jumped off the building......"

"Damn, dare to jump down so high, admire and admire ......"

"A good move with the buttocks facing backwards, the flat sand and the geese ......"

"Don't make a fuss, let's resurrect a priest, the battle is about to start on the other side......"

After a chaotic rescue, the dwarven paladin who jumped off the building was finally brought back to life with the help of an elven priest. With a dejected expression, he walked in through the city gate, walked around the city wall with a big ***, and then crept down in the middle of the city wall, and no longer squeezed into the crowd.

"I'm so unlucky to be home......" he spat on the ground fiercely, "...... I just wanted to turn around, but I didn't move for a long time. When I finally found that I could finally move, I was already lying on the ground and turned into a dead body. How can you play if you are stuck like this, and now I won't stand on the edge of the city wall if I am killed! ”

At this time, Longbow Shooting Sun suddenly took out his magic notebook and glanced at it, and shouted with pride: "Hey, my network latency is 819, who can be better than me, who can be better than me!" ”

"What is this, I'm already a thousand and one." The Yangtze River Delta is triumphant.

“1314。” Niu Million was so proud that he even cocked his tail.

"1397, a.+

"Ahahaha, you are all far behind, I am 2318, who would dare to compare ...... with me" At this time, Fei Yin burst out laughing. After a while, she slowly stood up, showing off and stiffening her whole body in a circle, ostentatiously scanning the crowd around her.

I don't know exactly what they're doing, but it seems that in just a few words, they've had a fierce race. Now it seems that the Ice Magister, who has been transferred, has won the game by a landslide. She looked around for a long time, and no one stood up to compete with her anymore.

"2318 once...... 2318 times ...... Has anyone else come out to challenge? Ahahaha......" Fei Yin's laughter was so wild that it made people shudder.

"Since that's the case, then I declare that the winner of today's time-lapse match is ......"

"8972...... "Just as Fei Yin was about to finalize+= finally came out of a corner. Following the voice, I saw the figure of the orc warlock I had met in the underground cavern and explored together, Ding Ding Xiaoge. He was now half-crouching under the battlements of the city wall, and he did not move for half a day, as if he were dead.

In everyone's astonishment, Ding Ding Xiaoge's voice came out intermittently:

“…… I ...... from the beginning Got the numbers out...... Possible...... Do you hear you...... It's a bit late...... My line is ...... Netcom ......"

Silent......

Still......

Silent......

At this time, the Confucian troubadour nocturne in B flat minor beside me showed his great professionalism, and he lost no time in whispering a beautiful poem with far-reaching meaning:

"In the world

Not the ends of the earth

No

Life and death are separated

but

All in the same server

You use Netcom

I use telecommunications ......"

The Yangtze River Delta also gritted his teeth, raised his hand and stretched out his thumb, and squeezed out two words from between his teeth from the bottom of his heart: "Really...... Strong ......"