The Ultimate Evolution

The cavalry officer’s name was Ramons. He was an outstanding figure in the Rohirrim army whom King Theoden knew by name. He was even a strong contender for the hand of the king’s goddaughter, Eowyn, in marriage. His excellence and great potential were evident.

Reef’s ‘Holy Grasp’ had yet to activate, but an indescribable chill had already crept into Ramons’ heart.

Why do men fear death? It was because they know nothing about the world after death!

At the current time, Ramons was feeling fear because even though he could feel that something would happen, he knew not what it was! He could only follow his cavalry’s instinct and pull on his horse’s reins hard. That alarmed the horse. It reared up and neighed loudly.

This was a very practical and efficient move. He was now almost completely hidden behind the horse, reducing the area of his body exposed to frontal attacks by at least 90%. However, it also meant that he would probably lose his mount.

But like a fate that could not be escaped from, a giant golden palm appeared above Ramons and grabbed him together with his horse, then dragged them back! Ramons felt as if he was flying through the clouds. His head was spinning. He traveled through the air for over thirty metres before landing heavily on the ground.

Next, an indescribable heat engulfed Ramons. His legs seemed to be tied down by several golden chains; he could not move at all. He looked up and was almost scared out of his wits!

In a manner unbeknownst to him, he found that him and his horse were already in the middle of the disorderly stone walls. A ferocious monster was growling at him with a brutal expression. Its hand was raised high, and in it was a huge rock that was dripping lava. The monster smashed the rock down on Ramons!

“NO!” Ramons let out a hysterical cry. The horn at his waist flashed, and a shield was formed around his body. The shield actually managed to resist Kulutego’s powerful strike. However, a few drops of lava still managed to splash onto Ramons’ face. The scorching smell was revolting.

Ramons roared in agony and howled like a wolf. He pulled out the sword at his waist and waved it around as hard as he could. But after Zi gave him a hard knock with ‘Force.Collision Wall’, the Party Ace meat grinder resumed operation with a rumble, ruthlessly and efficiently reaping Ramons’ life!

At the sight of Ramons being dragged into the midst of the enemies, the riders around him had instantly rushed over in a frenzy. It was now time for Reef and the rest to step forward to stop them.

The greatest weakness of the cavalry was that, after they were slowed down, they were less nimble than even ordinary infantry. Moreover, they had to fight in Sheyan’s curse-mix cloud, and Reef’s signature ability, the ‘Cardiac Shattering Roar’, also worked wonders against them. The two of them might find it difficult to kill these elite riders by themselves, but to stall them was a piece of cake.

Ramons tried his best to run away, desperately dashing left and right, but like a fish that had fallen into a net, he was unable to escape from certain doom.

A few minutes later, Ramons was knocked flying by a ferocious sweep from the Troll Big-Nose. His long sword snapped, and half his chest had collapsed inwards. Ronnie’s malicious blade instantly slit past his throat! Blood sprayed out like a misty fountain. Ramons fell to his knees, his eyes widened to their limit and his hands grabbing the wound on his neck, until he finally ran out of breath! At the same time, a sorrowful blast of horn sounded in the air. Those hearing the horn could not help but sigh that the setting sun truly held infinite beauty, except that dusk was impending.

[ You have killed a horn commander of King Theoden. ]

[ You have obtained 270 + 41 contribution points (your Legend Level has been taken into account). ]

[ You have obtained the certain drop equipment, ‘Sunset Horn’. ]

[ King Theoden has heard the lament of the Sunset Horn, and a pain fills his heart. The Dark Lord Sauron is very pleased to taste the enemy’s pain, especially under the current dire situation. You have thus been rewarded with a Sauron badge. ]

***

“Huh? Looks like we caught a big fish?” Sanzi exclaimed with pleasant surprise. They quickly checked the horn’s properties.

[ Sunset Horn ]

[ Grade: Dark Gold ]

[ Explanation: This is one of the magic horns made from the skin of Fenrir, the greatest wolf king of the grassland. The vast power of the Great Horn was utilised during the Sunset Horn’s production, so it is able to effectively increase the power of the Great Horn. ]

[ Instruction: When you blow the Sunset Horn, two magic buffs will be cast on all members in your party. The two magic buffs will be selected from ‘True Strike’, ‘Fatal Blow’, ‘Keen Edge’ and ‘Fiery Weapon’. This magic effect will stack with any other buffs, but the horn blower will face a temporary penalty – their maximum MP will be halved until the buffing effect disappears from all party members. ]

(https://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/trueStrike.htm)

(https://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/keenEdge.htm)

(https://wow.gamepedia.com/Fiery_Weapon)

[ Details: There are only 12 Sunset Horns in the entire Rohan kingdom. King Theoden has gifted them to the young heroes whom he deemed are the pillars of the next generation of the kingdom, believing that they are the future of the kingdom. Possessing a Sunset Horn also means possessing the right to contend for the priceless treasure of the kingdom, the Great Horn. ]

[ Warning: The holder of this equipment will be forever considered an enemy of the Kingdom of Rohan and will be regularly assassinated. However, the holder can also trigger a series of mission related to the legendary horn. Worth noting is that the more Sunset Horn a person possesses, the lower the difficulty of the mission series related to the legendary horn. If a person can obtain 12 Sunset Horns, they will only have to complete the lowest difficulty F-rank mission to acquire the legendary horn. ]

Having checked the properties of the ‘Sunset Horn’, Party Ace exchanged glances among themselves. None of them were willing to blow the horn. Sheyan motioned for Ramtas to give it a go, but Ramtas told him that he could not use it. The horn could only be used by a contestant.

This horn seemed to be more suited for large parties. The members of large parties were relatively more lacking in good equipment, so something that could give the entire party two strong buffs could increase the combat prowess of the whole party by a great amount.

At this time, Sanzi saw something through Kulutego’s eyes. His face suddenly turned grave. “Aziz is in danger! Should we help him, brother?” he asked Sheyan with some hesitation.

Sheyan frowned, but said decisively, “Of course! Aziz can’t die, at least not in this world. Our side already has a disadvantage in ultra-long-range attack as it is. If Aziz dies, the gap will get a lot wider! We can allow shortcomings to a certain extent, but we can’t allow a crushing disadvantage in any aspect, because that’s a sure path to defeat!”

Sheyan surveyed the battlefield and continued, “For the rescue operation, Reef and I are enough. Sanzi, I need you to ask Kulutego to blast open a path for us with his stone throws. The three Trolls shouldn’t take turns anymore. They’ll plug the gap Reef and I leave behind. Zi, you should transform if the pressure becomes too much. Not many people know about Aldaris’ Archon transformation, so we should leave that as a hidden trump card. Sanzi, if the pressure is still too great even after Zi has transformed, I’ll allow you to use that ability, since the ability is very inconspicuous.”

“Really? I can use ‘Butterfly Effect’?” Sanzi’s eyes lit up.

Sheyan gave him a look. “Zi will decide if you should use it!”

Sanzi shrugged. He was still a teenager, so it was funny to see him pretending to be mature.

A dozen seconds later, Kulutego hurled two consecutive stones in a row with a loud roar. The two huge stones, each the size of a door, whirled forward, splashing red hot lava as they did so. They struck a new batch of cavalry heading towards Party Ace’s place head on!

The most important thing for a cavalry squad was the unstoppable momentum of their reckless charge. Without that kind of momentum, they would lose their speed advantage, and their threat would plummet. Seizing this opportunity, Sheyan and Reef rapidly advanced forward, one throwing mixes while the other blasting open a path with ‘Cardiac Shattering Roar’. Both were debuffing abilities that could greatly reduce the enemy’s speed, so they were especially effective against cavalry.

***

Not far from Sheyan was the base of Blu-ray Party. The party had a large number of people and they had not set up their base too far forward, so by relying on the various trenches they previously dug and the densely planted mines, as well as the ten or so Trolls they had redeemed, it was not hard for them to withstand the charge of the organised cavalry.

What’s more, three artificially-created high grounds had been made in the base. On two of the high grounds were a self-propelled gun and a “Tiger” heavy tank summoned by two different contestants. On the last high ground was a Protoss Photon Cannon that could only be found in the Starcraft world. With these three lethal weapons and the natural deterrent effect that loud cannon shots had on horses, the base defence was exceptionally solid.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-propelled_gun)

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_I)

“They’ve started moving,” a voice suddenly said. Inside Blu-ray Party’s base was the familiar 3D holographic model. The 3D images of Sheyan and Reef could be seen on it. Another section of the 3D model showed the scene of Party Ace fighting with the riders amidst the criss-crossing stone walls.

The reason Blu-ray Party was able to get these first-hand information was because they had launched a satellite into the sky. This was the advantage of a large party. They could easily find the experts in various fields without spending too much effort.

“The two of them are probably heading for Aziz. Zeus is right. Aziz already has a mind to leave his party! He may even already have some kind of agreement with them!” said the vice leader of Blu-ray party.

Roulette walked in from the outside. “We’ve just confirmed that Party Ace has acquired a Sunset Horn, but they didn’t immediately use it. The horn may not be that useful to them.”