MMORPG: Birth of the World's Luckiest Player-Chapter 172: The Headless Cavalry

Ding!

"Congratulations, Stonehaven! You have completed the trial within the time limit. Rewards: 500 Reputation, 50,000 gold coins, and the Key to the Mist Veil Palace!"

The system notification rang clearly in Marcus’s ear.

Much like his earlier encounter with the Blacklake Bloodwood, this trial had hidden a simple but brutal requirement. Without the ability to fight in the air, it would have been unwinnable. With it, the challenge had collapsed in under fifteen minutes. What felt impossible to the unprepared often became routine when the right tools were already in hand.

Marcus allowed himself a small, satisfied breath. There was a faint regret that he had not triggered the Three-Headed Black Dragon Knight. Part of him had genuinely wanted to see it. Still, there would be other opportunities. There were always other chances.

He tugged the reins and guided the Violet Thunderwing Steed down into the courtyard. After dismounting, he methodically collected the loot scattered across the stone floor and retrieved the Level 30 weapons he had thrown during Desperate Strike. Losing equipment because of carelessness would have been embarrassing.

Once everything was secured, he turned his attention toward the main gates of the Mist Veil Palace. When he finally approached the main gates, the atmosphere shifted.

Eight figures stood in formation before the entrance, mounted on massive black warhorses whose breath steamed like smoke from hidden furnaces. These were no ordinary grunts. The Headless Cavalry sat ramrod straight in their saddles, obsidian lances angled forward, the tips pulsing with a dim black radiance that seemed to drink in the surrounding light. They did not move, yet their stillness felt deliberate, as though they were coiled springs waiting for the slightest provocation.

Yet they were not the only presence.

Behind them, lounging lazily across the wide marble steps leading into the palace, was a beast that resembled a lion at first glance. Its forepaws rested upon drifting white clouds instead of stone. Two enormous tusks curved downward from its mouth, and violet-red flames flickered along its mane and flanks, distorting the air around it.

It was asleep.

Its thick crimson tail twitched idly, lashing from side to side like a whip of forged steel. Each flick split the air with a sharp crack that echoed across the courtyard.

Marcus did not need Insight to know that creature was dangerous.

He considered testing its stats, but the distance was too great for Insight to activate, and the cavalry stood directly in his path. Since the beast remained asleep and showed no sign of stirring, he chose the practical option. One problem at a time.

He glanced toward the courtyard where the earlier grunts and vultures had fallen.

Respawns were his main concern.

If the previous wave reappeared while he was locked in combat with the cavalry, he would be forced into a chaotic multi-front fight. Even for him, that would complicate things.

Marcus chose to wait . Five minutes passed, then ten, then thirty, the courtyard remained silent.

It seemed the first wave had been tied specifically to the timed trial. Once cleared, they were gone for good. The realization eased a knot in his chest. Now he could focus entirely on the riders without worrying about being blindsided.

He dismissed the Violet Thunderwing Steed and summoned the Nightmare Dragon Steed instead.

If he wanted it to grow, it needed experience. And unlike the thunderwing mount, Dragon-Roar Critical Strike had no cooldown, making it ideal for sustained combat. Efficiency mattered.

He did not even have time to activate Insight.

The moment he edged within range, all eight Headless Cavalry lowered their lances in perfect unison and charged. Hooves thundered against stone, black armor flashing as they bore down on him like a single living battering ram.

"Desperate Strike!"

Marcus did not wait for impact. He drew a spare weapon and hurled it with practiced precision at the lead rider before the formation could crash into him.

-4,600! -3,800!

The damage numbers were noticeably lower than what he had dealt to the grunts.

These riders were sturdier. His base damage must have been landing around 900 per hit. Even with the fivefold amplification of a Grandmaster-tier Desperate Strike, he could not eliminate one alone. But with Pebble mirroring the throw, the combined burst was enough.

The lead cavalryman dissolved mid-charge, the formation breaking from eight to seven in a blink.

Marcus moved immediately to retrieve his weapon, then the air around him shimmered.

He felt it before he saw it.

The courtyard filled once more as Headless Grunts and Mist Vultures materialized across the field, phasing into existence exactly where they had fallen earlier.

He couldn’t help tightened his grip.

’So they do respawn.’ For a split second, he found himself boxed in from all sides.

Then he noticed something strange. The newly spawned grunts did not surge forward. They stood idle, weapons slack at their sides. The vultures circled overhead but did not descend. There was no aggression in their posture, no targeting intent.

’Strange.’

He raised his Bat Dragon Cloud Sword, preparing to unleash Triple Surge on the nearest grunt, but it did not react.

He took a cautious step forward and still nothing happened. The monsters had shifted from aggressive to neutral.

Seeing this, Marcus slowly lowered his blade.

’Fine by me.’

He had no interest in grinding through another fifty mobs for no reason. The respawn must be environmental rather than combat-triggered. As long as he did not attack them, they would remain passive.

He signaled Pebble. ’Focus the cavalry.’

"Dragon-Roar Critical Strike!"

-2,800! -2,200!

He spurred the Nightmare Dragon Steed forward, meeting the incoming riders head-on. Steel collided with steel in two heavy impacts as he and Pebble slammed their skills into the foremost cavalryman.

The damage was solid but not decisive. Even with 5,000 combined damage, the rider remained mounted.

’Level 40’, Marcus estimated. That explained the durability.

That explained the durability. The level gap between him and his enemies earlier had been manageable. This was different. A full ten levels above him, but with stronger base stats and mounted bonuses layered on top.

Still, the damage output was acceptable. Expecting a one-shot would have been unrealistic.

The six remaining cavalry thrust their lances forward in unison, the timing precise and disciplined.

"Dragon-Roar Critical Strike!"

Marcus’s higher attack speed made the difference. He and Pebble executed a second coordinated strike, finishing the wounded rider before the lances could fully connect.

Then the counterattack landed, the six lances struck.

-480! -490! -480!

The impact was heavy but controlled. The riders clearly possessed a skill similar to his Dragon-Roar. Each thrust dealt close to five hundred damage. Pebble absorbed slightly more than Marcus, his average incoming damage hovering above 550.

Marcus remained steady.

He drank a Large Health Potion without breaking rhythm, keeping his HP comfortably high. Then he maneuvered his steed closer to Pebble’s position, subtly shifting the aggro distribution.

Pebble could not rely on potions. His sustain came from regeneration alone. That meant Marcus needed to remove the pressure from him quickly.

During a brief lull in the exchange, Marcus activated Insight.

—

Headless Cavalry

Level: 40

Health: 8,000

Description:

These are evolved Headless Grunts. Through relentless combat, they had slain their enemies and seized mounts of their own, transforming into cavalry units. They retained all grunt abilities but possessed significantly enhanced strength and coordination.

Skills:

Triple Strike: Rapidly attacks three times in succession with a stun effect.

Battle Fervor: Increases Defense and Attack by 10 percent and boosts Attack Speed by 1.

Lance Charge: Uses the mount’s momentum to deal double normal attack damage with a 5 percent critical chance. Cooldown: 2 minutes.

—

The difference from Level 30 to Level 40 was tangible. Their health pool and impact were on another tier. Still, Marcus’s expression did not change.

They had already used Lance Charge in the opening rush. Now, locked in close-quarters combat, they could not build the momentum required to use it again.

And without that burst, they were simply durable targets.

Marcus pressed forward relentlessly, coordinating each Dragon-Roar Critical Strike with Pebble’s mirror attack, focusing down one rider at a time and ignoring the passive monsters standing idly at the courtyard’s edge. Steel rang against steel. Hooves scraped across stone. Potions ticked his health upward whenever it dipped.

One rider fell, then another.

The formation unraveled under sustained pressure. With no space to charge and no opportunity to reset their cooldowns, the cavalry lost the one advantage that made them dangerous.

In less than two minutes, the last of them shattered into fading motes of light, their black chargers dissolving beneath them.