Sora received his new parrying dagger and started heading back towards the Shopping District. He was hoping to run into Green Tea so he could get some information before deciding what he does next. Sora was able to see Green Tea through the window of the tea shop, sitting by himself once again. Sora walked in and sat in front of him while he was immersed in the aroma of the tea he was drinking.

“It’s quite an intoxicating aroma, would you like to give it a try?”

“... I’ll pass.”

“Suit yourself, more for me to enjoy.”

Sora had been waiting for Green Tea to pull his face away from his cup but by the looks of things, he might even stay like that for the whole day. Sora could only sigh before clearing his throat.

“I need some information, anything you have.”

“Mr. Violet Ginseng, I know we could be considered acquaintances but why would I give you information for free?”

“Because you have loose lips and aren’t good at keeping things secret.”

“... Fair enough… A couple groups have set their sights on getting guild standards, it seems they were riled up by being outdone by Phoenix Rising. I only have a few bits of information regarding boss locations, if that’s more your style. I even have some hidden information about getting a mount, but even someone who likes to spread rumors still has a price for that kind of information.”

“Anything else?”

“I heard a group of adventurers talk about some kind of mysterious purple fog with a low humming noise near the border of the faction's territory and the demon’s territory, I didn’t think much of it since it was probably only another part of the map but it might be something interesting.”

Sora froze at the mention of the purple fog, the only time it would show up was when a demon invasion approached, a time when the demons would counterattack to try and take back territory. Sora didn’t experience a demon invasion for a long time in his past life so it was a little odd that it would show up now. Sora widened his eyes as he realized something, bolting off in a hurry.

“...Mr. Violet Ginseng?”

Green Tea watched as Sora ran out of the door, he was able to see him summon Luna before madly dashing through town. Green Tea was finally pulled away from his cup of tea, staring in shock at the mount that Sora had summoned.

…..

Sora had run past the flight station since the line was too long to wait in, continuing out of the gate and heading towards Frost Peak Mountain.

-Guild Announcement-

All players must immediately report to Frost Peak Mountain.

A demon invasion would target the territory that is closest to the demon territory, meaning that Frost Peak Mountain was in danger of being lost. His outpost was too good to lose and he would do everything in his power to keep it. The guild chat exploded with chatter, a lot of people were simply confused. Sora simply left the sentence ‘Show up now or never again.’ in the chat, silencing everyone as they all started to rush towards Frost Peak Mountain. Sora put Blossom, LeeLee, Nobunaga, and Athenes in his party.

“What’s going on mister fisherman?”

“I have a suspicion that our outpost is in danger of being lost.”

“Who would be brave enough to try and take your outpost?”

“A demon general.”

A silence filled the chat, leaving everyone to contemplate on those words. If what Sora said is true then this really could be a disaster for Phoenix Rising. Each person had already started leading their players back from Wind Wolf Village as they received the guild announcement, when they were informed of what was going on they quickened their pace.

“Will we be enough?”

“The faction will announce the invasion once it starts, we just need to help break apart their formations and give players some time to get here. Nobunaga, I’m putting you in charge of our main army. LeeLee, you’re going to stay back and help me control the battlefield. Blossom will be our lead attacker, while Athenes will help support her. Start planning for anything and everything, we don’t know what will come our way.”

Sora disbanded the party to let them all start planning without distraction, they each had their own responsibilities and personalities that shouldn’t be influenced by people with different goals. Sora wasn’t even too confident in the upcoming battle, he only hoped they could barely scrape by. Sora decided to try and get some reinforcements just in case. He scrolled through his friend list until he found Drazi.

“Drazi, are you busy?”

“Just organizing some guild exercises, do you need something?”

“I have a suspicion that a demon invasion is coming towards Frost Peak Mountain.”

“... How sure are you?”

“At least 90%. I’m not specifically asking for your help, but know that the rewards for contribution are no laughing matter.”

“I got it, I’ll tell my guild it’s an exercise to measure their response time, if you’re right then it will be good, if not then we can just end the exercise there.”

Sora ended the chat with Drazi, entering Frost Peak Village at the same time. He was happy to see that a lot of players still lingered around this area, it should be enough people to hold off for a while. Sora darted through the village on Luna, leaving many people to stare in surprise. It didn’t take long for Sora to reach Frost Peak Mountain, which was still heavily populated by players. Sora went up the mountain, circling to the other side so he could get a better view of the demon’s territory. A deep purple mist was slowly creeping closer, with the shadow of something huge barely visible within. Sora had was now 100% sure that a demon invasion was on its way. He went back down the mountain and went towards his outpost, weaving through players that were traversing the caves.

Territory Coffer: 1723 gold and 2 silver

Would you like to collect the money?

Sora quickly selected yes, not sparing any time to celebrate the large sum of money he had collected. He went into his territory management page and switched the territory to ‘Defensive Mode’. The innkeeper stopped wiping the table as a loud warhorn sounded within the territory, she went into a back room before coming back out dressed in a black leather outfit and dual wielding daggers. The blacksmith went into his shop and grabbed a full suit of armor, along with a shield and warhammer. The shopkeeper also grabbed a suit of armor, it looked old and worn out but gave off a heroic aura, he used the same old sword he always did and looked at the blade with a sense of melancholy. Every player within the territory heard the warhorn and had a sense of dread well up within them. The atmosphere became tense and every NPC looked like they were about to head off to battle.

-Territory Announcement-

A demon invasion is almost upon us, those who wish to leave should do so now. Those who wish to fight should rendezvous within the courtyard of the outpost. We will not reward you personally but if we do this right then we will all get a lot of rewards for our contribution to The Easter Legion.

The announcement created an uproar within Sora’s territory. Some players looked excited and ready to battle, immediately rushing towards the courtyard. There were a few players that left, giving Sora a largely sized army to work with. In half an hour the army had assembled in the middle of the courtyard, all chattering with excitement.

Sora had gone outside and up the mountain while the players assembled, preparing some defensive structures. Defensive Mode allowed territory owners to build siege weapons and defensive walls further out from the normal building parameters. The only issue was that the weapons and structures would disappear once the territory switched back to normal. He had already set up many walls that players could take cover behind along the mountain, making many advantageous points for archers to be positioned. He set up a few ballista, catapults, a magic cannon, and to top it all off he even added a magic artillery. The magic cannon and artillery could use high powered spells, resulting in a destructive force that would wipe away hordes of enemies. The only downfall was that it required a large amount of mana to use each spell. Sora continued to add defensive structures, making the mountain look like an impenetrable fortress. Sora nearly used up all of his money, leaving himself with only about 200 gold.

Phoenix Rising had arrived shortly before Drazi, each group looked at the mountain with awe. The siege weapons looked impressive from the ground, creating a sense of danger since a single shot from the magic artillery could one shot a lot of them Each group had entered the outpost, creating their own armies that were separate from each other. Drazi approached Sora who was currently sitting on top of Luna, looking over the sea of players.

“Are you sure about this?”

“At this point, I am 100% sure.”

“...Alright, we will stand together then.”

“Thank you, Drazi.”

“No need for that, we are in it for ourselves and you just so happen to be here.”

Sora only smiled slightly as Drazi walked back to his group, issuing commands to divide up his army. Drazi was able to produce a decently sized army thanks to his fame, resulting in an even greater number than the players in Phoenix Rising. Nobunaga came up next, with LeeLee shuttling behind him. LeeLee took her position next to Sora, trying to hold herself back from petting Luna. Nobunaga was the person put in charge of commanding Phoenix Rising on the front lines so he had come to report.

“Every member of Phoenix Rising that is online has reported in, we are awaiting further instructions.”

“Good, start separating players how you see fit. I recommend having a couple groups of archers on reserve just in case a flying enemy appears, everything else I will leave up to you.”

Nobunaga left to start organizing his army, Sora would be in charge of the general populace since his name carried a lot of weight, meaning it would be easier for players to listen to him. He told LeeLee to report to the commander's tent on the outside, located on a flat surface that had an overview of the battlefield. Sora put himself in front of the army consisting of random players, the chatter died down as they realized Sora had something to say. A lot of these players were not part of a guild and looked for someone like Sora to lead them.

“As you all know, a demon invasion will be coming shortly. I can not promise you all that we can protect you, in fact, most of you will probably die. I would honestly be surprised if we can even make it through this… Regardless of this we must fight, to engrave our names in the history of “The Divine Path”, to obtain the riches we desire, to push ourselves to new heights, and most importantly to prove to the world that The Eastern Legion is NOT to be trifled with!”

Sora always felt awkward making these speeches, they were something that helped unite the random players. Some of the random players had even felt a bit awkward listening to it, but they also felt their blood coursing faster. A pride for their faction was rooted within their beings, even if they did not show it.

“I will be taking the position of commander, along with my vice commander which is currently scouting the battlefield. For those that do not want to be led by me, please step aside.”

There were only a handful of people that stepped out, creating a small group that stood separately from the three different armies. Sora had expected more to leave so this was surprising.

“Alright, I will start dividing you all into different units now. Everybody separate depending on your class.”

Sora started to form groups based on classes, along with selecting someone from the group to act as a captain. The captain would be in charge of directing the groups based on the orders that Sora passes down. One group that consisted of nothing but archers would be in charge of firing ballista, while also giving backup in case flying enemies appear. Another group that had low-level players would be in charge of catapults, putting them to better use than just running into the field and dying instantly. The rest were dumped into the main body of the army that would fight up front.

Sora had Drazi and Nobunaga make a group of mages operate the magic cannon and artillery since they normally had one of the higher mana pools. He also distributed every mana potion he had in stock to them, making sure they could keep firing. As preparations were almost complete a dinging noise resounded throughout the entire faction.

-Faction Announcement-

Frost Peak Mountain is under siege from a demon general. The king has declared a state of emergency, inviting players to help keep the demons at bay. Rewards will be given depending on your amount of contribution.

Sora rushed up the mountain, heading to the commander’s tent where LeeLee was waiting. He saw that she was looking into the distance, towards the purple mist. Sora followed her gaze and saw a massive shadow slowly step out from the fog. A massive body with black scales revealed itself. It looked like a lizard man but with red eyes and spikes protruding from all over its body. The weapons in his hand looked like sickels that had been made from rusted metal, glowing in a soft black light. Sora looked at the nametag and felt all of his hope slip away, LeeLee had similarly lost any hope she had.

Level 55 -Miritax, Devourer of Hope-

Sora snapped out of it, bringing back a little bit of the hope he had lost as he looked at the army below him. He smiled bitterly as he thought the boss had a fitting name. He looked at Drazi, Nobunaga, and the rest of his captains, who all awaited orders.

“Prepare for battle!”