This offensive had been thoroughly prepared. The suicidal charge led by Unsworn Sword and his men wasn't entirely in vain. Drawing from the experience of Across the World, this charge formation was spread out quite widely. They would rather have a significant portion of their forces unable to squeeze onto the battlefield than create a bottleneck that would benefit the catapults on the city walls.

Against the Flow cast a chain of fireballs into the sky, signaling the start of the charge. As expected, the system employed its usual three-pronged attack. Once they entered the range, the catapults began their work, launching massive stones. However, the players were now prepared. They focused intently on the sky, using their sharp eyes to identify the position of each boulder and dodge them with ease.

Of course, accidents were unavoidable. But compared to the first time, when a random stone would turn someone into a paste of white light, this time was far better. Everyone even started to think that the boulders weren't much of a threat.

Due to the scattered formation, the horde didn't appear as overwhelming, but it still advanced with remarkable speed. The guild leaders commanding within the ranks felt a surge of excitement. In their pre-battle speeches, everyone had vowed to secure victory in one fell swoop.

As the distance closed, the catapults switched to a different attack, showering down rubble like rain. While this attack didn't have the same destructive power as the boulders, it still left the players battered and bruised. Firstly, it was impossible to dodge completely. Secondly, having a rock the size of your face fall from the sky onto your face was sure to leave a mark!

"Use the boulders for cover, be careful and hide!" Unsworn Sword advised in the guild's team channel, speaking from experience. There were eight hundred guild leaders, but they couldn't form a team that large. But that wasn't a problem; they could simply form multiple teams. Unsworn Sword's team consisted mainly of elites from Cloud City's guilds. Most of the former top 100 guilds, now top 100 thug leaders, who Gu Fei and Jian Gui had watched, were in Unsworn Sword's team, acting as the main force of this assault.

Everyone had anticipated this scenario. Without Unsworn Sword needing to remind them, they humbly learned from Across the World's experience of using cannon fodder. So, many people, with bruised faces, huddled behind the boulders. With so many charging, the boulders couldn't possibly protect everyone. But the number of participants at this moment was just right. Everyone took what they needed, finding cover nearby. From Cloud City's perspective, the vast battlefield, which had been filled with people just moments ago, was now completely empty. It was quite magical.

"Everyone be careful, the stealth assassins are coming!" Unsworn Sword warned again.

Many people cursed him inwardly, thinking, "No duh." Everyone had already seen that, and they didn't need Unsworn Sword to play the smart aleck and remind them. Now that there were groups of people from all classes behind each boulder, they wouldn't be afraid even if several assassins came. A well-balanced team could easily take on a homogeneous army.

The rubble continued to rain down, and the system clearly wasn't worried about ammunition. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the stealth assassins to reveal themselves. Some players with anti-stealth skills or equipment used their abilities, hoping to gain the upper hand.

But… nothing! Across the World had failed because of this wave of assassins, but now, when history was repeating itself, the assassins were nowhere to be seen.

"Why aren't they coming out?" the players whispered to each other. The guild leaders' team channel was also buzzing with questions: "Guild Leader Unsworn, why aren't the assassins coming out yet?"

Unsworn Sword was also annoyed. When he had said a few words, everyone had complained that he was just stating the obvious. Now that he was silent, everyone was asking him what was going on. But how would Unsworn Sword know? He had just come up to be cannon fodder. He hadn't scouted the system's brains. Helplessly, he said, "Wait and see. Stay vigilant."

Several more minutes passed, but the situation remained the same. The stealth assassins were still nowhere to be seen.

"Ahem… maybe there are too many of us this time, so it's not convenient to send out assassins!" Unsworn Sword suggested.

"Bullshit… there's no such thing," the guild leaders said, disbelieving.

"What do we do now? Do we keep charging, or what?"

The players were hiding behind the boulders to free their hands to deal with the stealth assassins' sneak attacks. Otherwise, with the support of numerous priests, the players could still push through the rubble attack. Once they closed in, the catapults would stop firing.

The meager intelligence gained by Across the World's cannon fodder was quickly exhausted. The players had essentially passed the catapult stage. As for the stealth assassins, no one knew if they would suddenly appear in the next second. Seeing that things weren't going as they had imagined, many people felt their courage wavering, and the initial momentum was gone. To move forward bravely, one needed direction, but no one was providing any.

"What's there to be afraid of? Charge!" someone shouted, their blood still boiling.

"Should we wait and see?" someone else said, their blood never having heated up, remaining cautious.

"Wait any longer, and these boulders will be turned into rubble," someone pointed out. The rubble incessantly poured onto the boulders, making loud banging noises. The players hiding behind the boulders could feel them shaking. Even water could wear away stone, let alone such a constant barrage. Who knew when these boulders would crumble? And if a boulder was added, it would crush everyone hiding behind it into pancakes.

Unsworn Sword and Against the Flow, two figures vying for leadership in Cloud City's guilds, were both silent. This was a difficult moment! It was in such moments that a leader's true mettle was tested. Everyone was indecisive, and a single command from them would be obeyed. But that also meant that if the decision was right, they would be praised for their brilliance; if it was wrong, they would be seen as idiots.

No one wanted to be an idiot, especially in the current situation. There was no way to make a reasoned judgment; it was just a blind guess. And if they guessed wrong, they would become idiots. How unfair was that?

Unsworn Sword and Against the Flow were both intelligent individuals. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to lead their guilds to such great heights. So, at this crucial moment, they both hesitated, each seeking advice from their trusted subordinates: "What should we do?"

As a result, everyone had their own ideas. Some suggested retreating: "Let's take the lead again, launch a probing attack, and thoroughly understand the system's tricks." This was the opinion of the conservatives.

"I suggest charging. Even if we retreat now, no one can say whether it's the right decision. So, it's not a particularly brilliant idea. Let's gamble and charge forward. If we can gain an advantage, then our decision will be considered correct. If we don't, we can at least learn more about the system's mechanics. It won't be a wasted death." This was the opinion of the gamblers.

"Let the trash charge first, and we'll watch," was the opinion of those who didn't treat newbies as people.

With so many conflicting opinions, the two guild leaders couldn't make a decision. As a result, someone in the guild leader channel exploded. "Damn it, are we advancing or retreating? Why is no one talking? Screw it, you guys might be afraid, but I'm not. I'll charge first. Anyone with guts, follow me."

The overall situation was broken by this inexplicable person. This person was also the leader of a guild with several hundred members. With a shout, many people emerged from behind the boulders. This guild leader was quite bold, but he was a Light Priest who didn't specialize in combat. He wanted to launch a firework like Against the Flow, but he didn't have that skill. So, he fired a Holy Light Orb into the sky. The small white orb, emitting a pale light, floated up and was dispersed by the wind after a few steps. Almost no one saw it. But many people had jumped out from behind the stones. This was real action.

"Brothers, charge!"

The guild leader waved his staff and shouted, only to be hit by a stone. This guild leader was a tough guy. He spat out the stone fragments that had entered his mouth, cast a Regeneration spell on his face, and then, chest held high, walked forward, enduring the stones with the help of the healing spell.

For a priest to endure like that was unsustainable. It wasn't just a matter of limited mana. The stones would interrupt the casting of spells, so he had to cast Regeneration skillfully, requiring exceptional timing and awareness. The guild leader was putting on a show, primarily to boost morale.

Sure enough, his performance made his guild brothers feel proud. Some of those who hadn't fully emerged from behind the stones couldn't help but turn back to brag to the other guild members hiding there: "Did you see that? Our guild leader, a real man!"

"Kill!" The guild members, inspired by their leader, charged forward. The priests, protected by warriors and other heavily armored classes, healed their comrades who had been hit by stones, and everyone advanced against the stone rain.

Soon, the second, third, and fourth guilds were inspired, and people began to emerge from behind the boulders in succession, advancing in the same manner.

The stalemate was broken, but Unsworn Sword, Against the Flow, and others felt uncomfortable. This was the benefit of not having any worries. The guild leader obviously didn't have the same concerns as they did, worrying about how a misjudgment would damage their image. He was driven by pure passion, acting on his instincts. He wasn't relying on orders, but on his own actions to inspire others.

"Ah, we should have done that earlier!" Unsworn Sword slapped his thigh in regret, lamenting that he hadn't thought of this strategy.

Against the Flow didn't feel that way, because this tactic wasn't suitable for him. As a mage, he would be crushed in a few hits if he jumped out. He wouldn't even be able to finish a sentence! Even if he brought a priest… while he was speaking, stones would be raining down, and the priest would be as busy as a dog… the momentum would be gone.

In any case, more and more guilds were charging out. No one was asking the two self-proclaimed leaders what they thought anymore. In the end, even many people from their guilds were eager to join the fray, requesting to go: "Guild Leader, let's go!"

"Go!" Unsworn Sword immediately ordered. He was waiting for someone in the guild to suggest it! Otherwise, if he gave the order directly, it would look like he was influenced by that small guild leader, which would be embarrassing!

"Charge!"

With the two major guilds joining the battle, the other observing guilds no longer hesitated and jumped into the fray. The teams advanced bravely against the rubble. Some people would fall, but it didn't matter. A large number of replacements quickly followed, as this was a pre-arranged tactic: to exhaust the system by relying on endless respawns.

"Brothers, usually the system spawns monsters to bully us. Today, let's be the spawns for a while and bully them to death!" someone shouted during the charge. Everyone who heard it agreed that it was a great idea and responded enthusiastically.

The relentless rubble attack was finally overcome. The knights in shining armor under the city walls were now in sight, and they were marching towards the players with powerful strides.

"Now's the time! Everyone charge, tear open a gap, and let's get inside the gate first!" someone shouted, and others responded. The players rushed towards the guards, and a massive melee of tens of thousands of players broke out on the vast plain in front of Cloud City's north gate.

"What's the difference between this time and last time?" Beneath the north city gate, Gu Fei and Jian Gui watched the battle from the archway. In Gu Fei's eyes, there was no difference between this battle and the previous one. The players had been planning this for so long, but why was it still the same?

"No, there is a difference. Look!" Jian Gui pointed: "Over there, over there, and over there, they're stockpiling people. They're not charging all at once. Instead, they're sending people in waves. Those three points must be connected to the respawn points. People coming from the respawn points won't immediately rush into battle. They'll reorganize into teams there and then wait, observe, and deploy in a planned manner. They want to turn the battle into a cycle, with players filling the cycle through constant death and rebirth, exhausting the system."

"Won't the system spawn new soldiers?" Gu Fei asked.

"We don't know yet, but this tactic can at least create a stalemate and consume the system. Then, they can adjust based on the specific situation. It's a reasonable approach," Jian Gui said.

"Actually, there are more than three. Look, there's another one over there!" Gu Fei pointed to a fourth point on the battlefield.

Jian Gui had already seen it, but after a moment of silence, he said, "That area is for cannon fodder. I can see that they've assigned the weaker players to that area. They probably won't be able to inflict much damage on the system. They're just relying on their numbers to repeatedly add fuel and tie down some of the system's forces. The key to victory lies in those three areas."

"We can't say that. If they can't hold those forces back, and those system guards break free, I think those three areas will be in trouble," Gu Fei said.

"But the problem is that there's no skill involved in their fighting. They're just constantly running up to die. As long as they run fast enough, there's no reason for anything to go wrong," Jian Gui said.

"Then the thieves and archers are really unlucky. By the time a warrior or priest dies once and runs back, they'll probably have died two or three times," Gu Fei sighed.

As they were talking, they heard a creaking sound behind them. Xiao Lei was pushing his cart loaded with goods and was about to leave. When he saw them, he naturally stopped to chat for a few minutes. In front of them, tens of thousands of players were shedding blood and sweat, fighting for their lives. But these three were chatting and laughing, creating a carefree scene.

"You guys are busy, I'm off," Xiao Lei said after a while, pushing his cart and continuing his delivery. Gu Fei frowned, saying, "It's really hard to find Unsworn Sword."

"Yeah, he's not even carrying a banner," Jian Gui nodded. The players had been careless before, wanting to carry banners to make their guilds famous. But once they were on the battlefield, they realized how serious the situation was and didn't have the energy to care about such things. They were all focused on killing enemies.

"In this sea of people, even if we go in to look for him, we don't know how long it'll take," Gu Fei said.

"This is really troublesome. The Wind Chasing Emblem doesn't work either," Jian Gui had also tried the Wind Chasing Emblem, but in this special situation, it wasn't considered a wanted mission.

"It would be great if we could message Yu Tian," Gu Fei sighed wistfully, missing the days of having a spy.

Those words reminded Jian Gui. He slapped his forehead and said, "This city war is mainly aimed at people in guilds. So, what role do you think those who aren't in guilds are playing?"

"Those who aren't in guilds, aren't they just playing no role?"

"No role, then they're neither enemies nor allies, so why can't we message them?" Jian Gui said.

"Who are you talking about?" Gu Fei asked.

"Brother You! Brother You isn't in a guild. Why is he considered an enemy force that we can't message? What about those guys outside? Are they also enemies?" Jian Gui said.

"This, this…" Gu Fei felt a little confused.

"Anyway, I've tried messaging Brother You before, but it didn't work," Gu Fei said.

"I've tried it too. Could it be that someone like Brother You who is without a guild has been classified as a third-party force and cannot communicate with either of us?" Jian Gui said.

"Then they shouldn't write 'hostile'!" Gu Fei said.

"How about we go find Brother You!" Jian Gui said.

"How do we find him?" Gu Fei asked blankly.

"Those who are still playing the game at this time, what else can they do besides leveling up with monsters? I know where he usually levels up," Jian Gui said.

"Even if we find him, what can he do?" Gu Fei asked.

"I just suddenly feel that this third-party force might have some secrets," Jian Gui said.

"Okay, let's go find Brother You and see!" Gu Fei nodded.

It wasn't difficult for them to slip out. They covered their faces, squeezed into the melee, and walked around. Neither side attacked them anyway. They mainly covered their faces because they were afraid that someone would recognize them. After their identities were exposed during the skirmish with Against the World, the two were convinced that Young Master Han would not be kind enough to hide their identities.

They quickly traversed the extremely chaotic battlefield. Gu Fei even tried to run into Unsworn Sword during the journey. If they couldn't find Unsworn Sword, running into Yearning, that would be good too! But they were left disappointed.

Jian Gui was very familiar with the leveling area near Cloud City, so he quickly led Gu Fei to the area where Brother You often leveled up. On the day of the city war, the leveling area was still somewhat deserted. Although those who weren't participating in the city war had nothing else to do besides level up at this time, if they had nothing to do, they could choose not to play the game! The game wasn't everything in life.

Jian Gui searched for Brother You's figure in the leveling area. Gu Fei was more unrestrained, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Brother You, Brother You, are you here!"

"Who's calling me?" Behind a tree, someone patted a notebook, with a pen in one hand, and twisted his body to poke his head out.

==================================================

The fourth-to-last day of the month, sticking to full attendance, sticking to the monthly ticket charge, if you have a ticket, vote~