Golden Experience-Chapter 237: “The Archangel Crusade”

I have a special mission. It was conveyed personally by my Lord Lyrienne, and I had come to the outskirts of Hugelcup in response.

I knew that the senior knights were doing some work around here.

From the system message that I received immediately afterward, it seemed to be something related to an event.

The reason I didn’t receive those instructions might be because I’m a player.

Even though I became a knight of the local lord, it seems that I can’t get involved in event preparations.

The special mission given by Lyrienne was a request to assist a collaborator in subduing the Archangel.

Apparently, if a knight’s event coincides with an official event, a request to participate may come from the lord’s side as well. It’s convenient to be able to openly participate in official events even during the progress of another exclusive scenario.

However, the joy was short-lived. I was astonished when I heard the name of the collaborator.

As it turns out, the collaborator is apparently the Saint of Wells that has been making waves recently.

I was shocked that the Saint, or rather, that an NPC could participate at all. However, I couldn’t just ask the lord straight up, so I was in a quandary. Then, the lord casually informed me.

To summarize her story, it goes like this:

As a feature of the artifact, all characters within the activation range will teleport when it’s activated.

The characters that teleport at that time can be either player characters or non-player characters.

Since there is no confirmation from the system during the activation of the artifact, it seems that activation is possible even with only NPCs.

Lyrienne also seemed to recognize that subduing the Archangel through the artifact is necessary for the world. She even intended to accomplish it with just the knights if necessary.

Being told such a thing directly by the lord, refusal was impossible.

Not that I intended to refuse in the first place.

Joining a raid battle alongside the rumored saint is a premium event that no other player can experience.

I was also told that if other foreign collaborators were present at the lcoation, I should feel free to approach them without hesitation.

*

“─Thank you for your hard work, Justiz. I apologize for burdening you with such an unpleasant task. If you’re going to be cautious, it might be better to have someone from the same foreigner origin.”

“No, it’s fine. I am indeed suitable for this task.”

I was praised as I returned to the tent where Lyrienne was, after calming the players who were causing a commotion.

The system message explicitly stated that if players were to recklessly attack in the vicinity, the knights would take action. Certainly, I was initially alarmed when a group of monsters appeared, but they remained calm and did not engage in hostile actions.

For ordinary monsters, such restraint would be impossible. In other words, it was natural to assume that everyone in this area was a player. Unilaterally attacking would be equivalent to PK (Player Killing). Since PK is restricted in this area, if found, it must be stopped. I am a player, but I am also a knight of Hugelcup.

Suddenly, the Saint looked towards the group of goblins, making a slight gesture of raising her chin.

As expected, being affiliated with the holy church, even if her field of vision was lost, she couldn’t help but glare at monsters like goblins.

“─What’s wrong, miss Saint?. It seemed like you were glaring over there.”

“Huh? Oh, no. I was just thinking that there are people like them.”

“You might have been surprised, but for this time, I believe they are allies. After all, the Archangel is a common enemy for everyone living on the continent.”

“I see…”

When the goblins descended underground, the Saint seemed to lose interest and diverted her gaze away—although it’s unclear if she actually did, given that she is blindfolded—and resumed chatting with Lyrienne.

Although I didn’t ask about the details of how the lord and the saint knew each other, it seemed to be related to the church. According to Lyrienne, the Aural Holy Church based in the Aural capital and the Wells Holy Church, to which the saint belongs, have recently actively cooperated due to their common origins and a large population of humans. With Hiers gone, there are only Aural and Wells as nations where humans are the main race, so it’s natural for the bond between these two countries to strengthen. However, the holy church is more like a private organization than a state. In other words, it seems that they are merely citizens who are feeling uneasy and seeking mutual cooperation, rather than officially collaborating with Wells’ government as a state. At the moment, it doesn’t seem like they have officially cooperated as a nation, but according to Lyrienne, it’s only a matter of time before the royal family of Wells understands and approves.

“Now then. Let’s go when the goblins’ teleportation is about to end. Although we haven’t actually crossed swords yet, since there was a slight altercation, it would be awkward to run into them over there.”

In response to Lyrienne’s words, including the saint, those present began preparations for departure.

The members of this party are, first, Saint Amalie. Then, ten healers from the church accompanying the saint. Ten elite members of the Hugelcup Knights, including me.

Additionally, there are 34 members of a voluntary player party.

Surprisingly, this party is the current top party that repelled the Seventh Calamity in the previous event. The leader was a famous player named Wayne in the last event, but this time, a player named Amatein is in charge. Wayne seems to be taking more of a sub-leader role.

Wayne seems to be looking around as if searching for someone. Apparently, he saw an acquaintance, but despite it being time to depart, he has no composure. On the other hand, Amatein seems to be fully prepared and composed. It makes sense that there was a change in leadership.

This player party is challenging the fight for the second time. The first time, they challenged it with 33 people, but they were almost powerless and were defeated. This time, it’s a rematch with prepared strategies and plans, adding players like Healthyunpeelable who didn’t participate last time.

And, astonishingly, Lord Lyrienne is also participating in this operation.

If the lord were to die, it would trigger a chain reaction that would wipe out our knight order, and there’s no telling what would become of me.

I truly wish she would reconsider, but the lord insisted that she would be fine, and it turned into an argument without resolution. Giving up on persuasion, I resolved to at least face this challenge with the determination to protect her with my own life if it came to it.

And thus, we were embarking on the Archangel subjugation battle with a force of 56 members.

*

“─This is the room with the Artifact. To activate it, you need an item, but offering ten pure hearts is the most efficient method.”

“I see. Then, I’ll provide them. I was buying them to promote the angels’ extermination, but I didn’t expect them to come in handy here.”

In response to Wayne’s words, Lyrienne took out ten gems from her shoulder bag and offered them to the Artifact.

Although Lyrienne was speaking as if she just learned about it, if that were the case, she wouldn’t have been well-prepared with gems. This was clearly to let Wayne save face, after giving that explanation with a smug look.

As expected. She truly lives up to her position as the lord. A truly competent and well rounded individual.

The teleportation sent us to a vast dome-shaped chamber. At its center was the Archangel, glaring at us and saying something, though it was inaudible from this distance. Seizing this moment, the players, including Wayne, quickly started moving to secure advantageous positions.

Since this was their second attempt, they likely had already observed the Archangel’s reactions once.

“─The domestication of humanity begins with disposing of you lot first!”

The resounding shout of the Archangel reached my ears.

At the same time, the Archangel raised a shining bow and activated a skill. There was no time to be idle. The battle had already begun.

Seeing this, the Saint was the first to rush forward, approaching the Archangel from the side. The Archangel aimed and shot an arrow towards her.

Simultaneously, a loud sound was heard, and arrows pierced the wall.

“….Eh-“

What speed! It was almost imperceptible. The Saint couldn’t avoid it completely and seemed to be shot through the left shoulder. Although it didn’t render her left arm unusable—meaning there was no limb destruction—it still inflicted significant damage. A formidable attack. Was this the rumored instant death attack?

Even after receiving such an attack, the Saint, undeterred, continued to approach the Archangel. She seemed to be a much higher existence than ordinary players.

The healing magic from the church healers flew towards her, attempting to recover the lost LP.

However, the Archangel wouldn’t allow it. Releasing skills at the same light-speed as before, it consecutively shot down the church priests who were attempting to recover LP.

They seemed to lack the physical abilities and endurance of the Saint, as those who were shot fell to the ground with a single blow. But their sacrifice was not in vain.

By the time the Saint had already approached the Archangel, the church priests who hadn’t been attacked were casting Healing Magic, restoring all of her LP.

The Archangel did not attack all the healers, and the instant death attacks were over after a few shots. If the healing spells had all activated smoothly, it would have been an obvious case of over-healing. However, the result was a well-balanced amount of recovery. It seemed unlikely that the church priests were predicting the Archangel’s instant death attack, making their coordination impressive.

“Wait, this is no time to be lost in thought!”

The situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly, but my job wasn’t to provide commentary. In fact, I hadn’t been explaining anything.

My job was to defeat the Archangel. I had to join the attack.

While I had evenly developed both magic and sword skills due to the lord’s advice, I had originally aspired to be a knight, and thus, I still found swordsmanship a bit more natural.

If I wanted to deal any damage against a stronger opponent, it was more reliable to approach and slash.

The Saint’s attack, having closed in on the Archangel, sharply cut through it.

The Archangel completely turned its body toward the Saint and paid no attention to anyone else.

Seizing the opportunity while the enemy was focused on the Saint’s attack, I stealthily approached.

Although I was wearing full-body armor, it couldn’t completely silence my footsteps.

The Archangel should have noticed my approach, but it didn’t try to divert its gaze from the Saint.

This was convenient.

“[Knight’s Prowess]! [Reckless Sacrifice]! [Grand Severance]!”

Having sensed the enemy within attack range, I activated my skills, launching an attack from behind.

Knight’s Prowess was a skill in the [Chivalry] tree unlocked when I became a knight, temporarily raising STR and DEX.

Reckless Sacrifice, in exchange for doubling the next damage received, temporarily doubled my attack power. By activating Knight’s Prowess in advance, the additional increase from this moment could also be added.

And Grand Severance, a skill obtainable in the [Axe Technique] tree but applicable to any slashing weapon, involved receiving recoil damage in return for dealing a powerful blow by putting the full force of my body into the attack. Although it would inflict recoil damage, it could intentionally trigger the demerit of Reckless Sacrifice, making it the basic combo for slashing attacks.

“Guah! What is this… you! Is it because of that sword!”

My sword tore through the Archangel’s back, dealing definite damage. However, blood splattered in the air, but it didn’t seem to have any visible impact on the Archangel’s actions. While the damage had been dealt, it didn’t appear to be significant.

Nevertheless, the damage inflicted seemed to attract the Archangel’s attention, and it glared at me.

However, at this extremely close range, the bow couldn’t be used.

The Archangel extinguished the shining bow and clenched its fist.

It was an unexpected switch to bare-handed.* (T/N: this was written as “an unexpected sutegoro”, and sutegoro apparently is a yakuza-esque term for barehanded combat)

“Nice assist! [Provoke]!”

On the other hand, players weren’t just watching idly.

Similar to me, a player named Tank-something who had quietly approached activated the Taunt skill.

Now, the Archangel’s attacks should──.

“Ha! [Parry]!”

He barely made it in time.

Despite receiving the tank’s taunt, the Archangel ignored it and swung its fist at me.

I slid my sword between the Archangel’s approaching fist and my own body.

But with my skill, I couldn’t synchronize with the Archangel’s attack timing from this position. My parry failed, and I took the full impact of the punch.

“Kyaaah!”

It was a tremendous impact.

However, thanks to the armor or the sword, or perhaps to the Archangel’s close combat capabilities being not as potent as its bow’s, it didn’t knock me out in one blow.

My HP took a significant hit, and getting blown back created distance, but considering I’m not a dedicated tank, surviving the raid boss’ direct attack was a stroke of luck.

“Are you okay? [Medium Recovery].”

With support from Lyrienne’s Healing Magic, the lost LP was recovered. Making my liege perform recovery actions, thus gaining aggro, was regrettable but unavoidable. Fortunately, the Archangel was more fixated on the Saint than on either of us.

On the other hand, the tank player who activated the taunt was ignored.

“You buffed, yet can’t taunt him! Is there such a big difference?”

That was supposed to be a skill where the STR and VIT of the one who activated it and the MND of the target determined its success. Considering the numerical advantage of 2:1 in the referenced stats, and the character primarily activating the skill being a tank class—meaning they should have prioritized distributing experience points to VIT and STR—it should generally pull the aggro even against considerably stronger opponents.

However, being resisted meant that the Archangel and the players had an important difference in their stats.

“…Thanks to my sword and armor, perhaps. I’m glad to be alive.”

The equipment I obtained as a reward for clearing the first event seemed to be quite high-tier. This makes it increasingly impossible to disclose any further details about knight-related events.

Some may have noticed that I am an NPC retainer, meaning a knight, but if another player appeared who also became a knight, they might notice the difference in equipment between me and them.

If it were another noble’s knight, it could be dismissed as Lyrienne being exceptional, but if a player became a knight of Lyrienne, that wouldn’t suffice.

“Daa! Damn it! You!”

The tank player whose taunt failed was desperately throwing attacks to attract the Archangel’s attention. Meanwhile, other tanks and knights were approaching the Archangel, alternating between trying to taunt him with a skill and attempting attacks, successfully interfering with the Archangel’s actions.

“You annoying beasts!”

The Archangel focused on the tank who first attempted to taunt it and continuously unleashed karate strikes with its long limbs.

“Finally, it looked this way! [Rampart]! [Parry]!”

I was blown away, taking significant damage from the Archangel’s attack, but the tank player skillfully used a large shield and a one-handed sword to minimize the damage. It showed his expertise as a specialist.

Even if Parry failed, it provided a fixed reduction in damage amount, so most players with a weapon style had it. To succeed, one needed to read the enemy’s attack and swing the weapon at the right moment, requiring a significant player skill contribution.

However, with tanks swarming the Archangel, the Saint’s attacks were no longer reaching. Although I had only seen a glimpse of the Saint’s attacks, it seemed she was dealing more damage than me.

Certainly, they could handle the damage, but this seemed counterproductive.

“[Sacred Smite]!”

Then the Saint ran up to the back of a nearby tank, leaped high, and fired Sacred Magic from above the Archangel. Despite the Archangel having an affinity for holy attributes, it seemed to have considerably reduced the damage, but she still succeeded in dealing some damage.

“I see, even if melee is ineffective, magic might… [Blaze Lance]!”

Recalling that I also had a dual-style of swordsmanship and magic like the Saint, I found a gap in the tanks’ formation and cast a spell.

“You!”

However, the Archangel was hampered by the interference from the tank players, unable to counter long-distance magic attacks. Trying to use the bow would create a significant opening, exposing it to consecutive attacks from several players.

Among them, the tank player who initially failed at using Provoke seemed to be inflicting quite painful attacks, especially being wary of his sword. Upon closer inspection, the gleam of that sword seemed similar to mine.

Perhaps it was made of the same material.

If that were the case, and if the material was something players could obtain, I wouldn’t have to go through such stomach-churning experiences.

By this time, players specializing in melee physical roles and knights skilled in attacks had gathered around the Archangel. Disruption to the Archangel’s actions was not only caused by tanks but also by players specializing in close combat.

“So irritating! [Major Recovery]!”

At this point, the Archangel cast [Healing Magic] on himself.

“All right! Shower it with long-range attacks! Tanks, hold back on the attacks and focus on restraining the Archangel!”

With that command, Lyrienne, who hadn’t been actively involved in combat until now, loudly gave instructions to the entire party. The field was quite extensive, with party members scattered almost evenly around the Archangel.

Due to the resounding combat noises in the center, it was challenging for distant players to hear anything beyond a mere shout. However, Lyrienne’s voice carried well, visible nodding from distant players even from Justiz’s perspective. It might be some skill effect.

Under this command, knights, priests, and players united, bombarding the Archangel with magic in quick succession. Players with bows used active skills with the bow.

One of those archers, who hadn’t stood out much until now, seemed to have been patiently waiting for this moment, firing arrows with great enthusiasm.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the rumored Yoichi.

Even I, who didn’t have many player acquaintances, knew him. Yoichi skillfully used a few active skills while changing positions, perhaps to weave through the gaps between tanks.

And then, finding a low position, he crouched down…

I averted my gaze.

Now was not the time for playing around. I could also cast magic. I joined the attack.

In response to these attacks, the Archangel attempted to counterattack with the bow, but the tanks, this time, didn’t allow it. However, unlike before, it seemed to limit itself to interference, not excessively retaliating.

While the Archangel glared irritably at the tanks, its hostility was still directed at the magic users in the distance, especially the elven female player, the most significant damage source in solo combat, and the aforementioned Yoichi.

Even if it tried to gain hostility, as long as it didn’t receive attacks from them, long-range attackers could continue their assaults safely.

The Archangel spent its opportunities to attack, aiming with the bow. Its attempt was hindered, and in the end, it resorted to striking the surroundings with fists, which, however, were evaded.

“You! Then how about this! [Sacred Smite]!”

Realizing that neither the bow nor fists were yielding significant results, the Archangel seemed to change its strategy. It targeted the Elven player with Sacred Smite, a single-target magic similar to the Holy Magic the Saint had cast earlier.

Since the Archangel had not used magic attacks until now, the threat level of this spell was unknown. However, it was hard to believe that a magic user with low LP could remain unharmed after a direct hit.

“Dangerous!”

“[Radiance Guard]!”

Appearing there seemingly out of nowhere, the Saint intervened in the line of fire, deploying a barrier of light to intercept the Archangel’s magic. The light barrier collapsed with a single hit, but the astonishing effect of completely blocking the raid boss’s magic attack was remarkable.

“The Saint does put a considerable emphasis on Holy Magic, but she’s originally skilled in defensive skills.”

Lyrienne, who had somehow come to my side, remarked.

“You know a lot… but, it’s dangerous! Please step back!”

“It’s okay. More importantly, it seems the Archangel has switched his strategy here. If it’s true that it has a high level of Holy Magic, as I suspected, it would cast magic when unable to shoot arrows. And now, casting magic means—”

“Receive the light of judgment, you vermin! [Judgment Ray]!”

Several beams of light were emitted from the Archangel, piercing through the surrounding tanks and reaching the long-range magic users.

However, it seems that a significant portion of the power is attenuated when it hits the tanks, and the magic-using characters have not reached the point of death.

“[Major Recovery]!”

“[Medium Recovery]!”

“[Medium Recovery]!”

Perhaps because each individual attack has low power due to the wide range of attacks, fortunately, there are no casualties among the tanks.

Both magic users and tanks receive healing from the Saint, Lyrienne, and priests.

“Recovery and such! How cunning! [Shine Lance]!”

“Lyrienne-sama! Ugh!”

Light magic was aimed at Lyrienne, who had increased the Archangel’s hostility through recovery actions. Justiz quickly slid in front of Lyrienne and took the attack on himself. Although he suffered significant LP damage, it wasn’t enough to cause death. Lyrienne was unharmed as well.

[Shine Lance] was even faster than the Archangel’s initial bow attack. Although the attacking magic’s power was moderate, its speed surpassed all other attacks.

I was able to intervene because I noticed that the Archangel was glaring in our direction, particularly at Lyrienne. I didn’t know what kind of attack was coming, but I shielded Lyrienne with all my might.

The Archangel’s damage to me was not fatal, perhaps due to its INT not being as high as other attributes. Nevertheless, the fact that the Archangel inflicted such damage on me with low-power Light Magic was astonishing.

“Thank you, Justiz. [Medium Recovery].”

“─I’m sorry, are you okay, Lyrienne-sama?”

“Yeah. Thanks to you. Well, we need to continue magical attacks more than anything else.”

“[Blaze Lance]!”

“[Thunderbolt]!”

Following Lyrienne’s instructions, magic attacks continued to rain down from the magic users.

Magic users tried to gather in one place as much as possible and cast spells from there. The lord and I did the same.

“Irritating! [Shine Lance]!”

“[Radiance Guard]!”

The reason was this:

Most of the damage to the Archangel now came from bow or magic attacks. The Archangel was fixated on counterattacking magic users. In response to this counterattack, the Saint was protecting the magic users by activating defensive skills.

It was easier to defend characters who could potentially be targeted for counterattacks if they were gathered together.

Damage to the Archangel was steadily accumulating.

I was confident in this, thanks to occasional guidance from Yoichi. Although I didn’t know what kind of skill it was, other players seemed to trust this information. Moreover, it made no sense to take chances in this situation.

“Curse you! [Medium Recovery]!”

Furthermore, the Archangel’s use of [Healing Magic] was downgraded.

Not only that, but the frequency of its use had also decreased.

Moreover, it wasn’t attempting the wide-range magic Judgment Ray that was shot at the beginning.

This was because it had switched its focus from attacks with bows or bare hands to magic.

As a result, recast times clashed, and the choices for usable magic were decreasing.

This was Lyrienne’s strategy.

Since the Archangel had used Major Recovery, Lyrienne actively provoked long-range attacks from party members, keeping the Archangel casting magic to prevent the recast of Major Recovery.

The Archangel had its actions sealed by the tanks, was gradually losing LP from long-range attacks, couldn’t recover satisfactorily, and its counterattack magic was being blocked by the Saint.

If there hadn’t been this many tanks, we wouldn’t have been able to restrain the Archangel.

If the long-range damage hadn’t been enough, we might not have been able to force the Archangel to cast magic.

The healers, in this number, also played a crucial role in enduring powerful attacks.

Above all, it was thanks to the Saint’s defensive skills and Lyrienne’s command.

There was regret in relying on high-level NPCs, but this Archangel was clearly too powerful. Perhaps these two were NPCs provided by the game admins. Referring to this strategy, sacrifices might occur more, but it should be possible for players alone to defeat the Archangel.

“─Aaaahh… Curse you… Curse you… …Father…”

Finally, the Archangel fell.

As the Archangel’s body gradually became thin and disappeared, leaving a gem behind, a great cheer echoed in the hall that had turned into a battlefield.

This could be considered a remarkable achievement.

Among the players, we were probably the first to successfully defeat the Archangel.

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