I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 439

“Damn, I guess it’s just the start of the season, but all the guys I’m matched with are… Ah…”

After the match began, the team and map were decided.

The word Ranked Game written at the bottom glowed brightly.

Now, a nameless user who had been playing Glory and Honor for the past 3 years began mechanically scanning the profiles of his teammates. A few seconds later, he regretted it. Out of all the stats and pictograms, none of them seemed right.

He sighed and quickly scanned his teammates' profiles.

“…Last season, Silver 3, Gold 4, Gold 3, one’s even unranked, and another one is Silver 1. Truly, the balance patch is amazing.”

Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, Challenger.

The ranking system in Glory and Honor was extremely intuitive. The tier names themselves made it clear that this was nothing new – it was reminiscent of those old desktop games, especially the ranking system in Ranked Games.

It was commonly known that a group of users with similar skill levels, the "bronze-silver-gold" players, existed. Promotion battles were chaotic, and, as always, there were those who remained stuck in the same tier no matter how many times they played. And of course, there were always trolls.

Although the platform moved from desktop to VR, and the rate of trolls decreased since players could see each other’s avatars, they certainly didn’t disappear entirely.

In fact, they just shifted in nature.

“…What the hell is this… Ah, this match is totally screwed. What’s with the dual-dagger spammers…”

One of the most frustrating things in Glory and Honor was when players used intentionally useless weapons to sabotage the game or played by their own personal meta.

In casual games, if you ran into one of those players on your team, it was annoying, but when they were on the enemy team, it was surprisingly fun. In those cases, the mood often became more lively. But in Ranked, especially during placement matches, it wasn’t the same.

“...Ah, looks like I’m really screwing up my ranking today. Once this match ends, I’m quitting.”

The map was Temple Garden, and on the enemy team, there were two players who finished last season as Platinum 2, skilled players.

He had already experienced several near-misses on the Platinum promotion, so he knew just how competitive that rank could get. He was familiar with the effective ranges of various classes and weapons, the supported attack motions and skills, and the cheap plays that dominated the meta.

Spamming to provoke the enemy without triggering community backlash and stalling to avoid combat were common tactics. If I did it, it would be strategic; if someone else did it, it would be considered cowardly.

And now, the enemy team had two of these players.

The most skilled player in this match was him alone.

“This is why I can’t not pick the martyr class, damn it.”

Martyr.

A knight who wields a bastard sword in the right hand and a kite shield in the left.

It was a solid, balanced class, good for 1v2 battles, as long as there were no more than three people attacking at once. It was considered a comfort pick, and you rarely saw it in higher tiers because it was better suited for solo play rather than team synergy. When the team wasn’t strong, this class could survive on its own, protect objectives, and rack up kill points.

Class choices were starting to be made. As expected, in higher tiers, there were no automatic meta-compositions – players simply picked what they wanted.

It was the expected result.

Voice chat was turned on, and the greetings between teammates began.

He spoke in a tired voice.

“Ah, yes… hello, everyone. Since I finished last season as Platinum 2, if you could just follow my orders one time before we start, I’d appreciate it. It’s nothing fancy, just a simple A3B3 or C3B3 strategy. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“For anyone who hasn’t played much, let me explain: three of us will go to A or C, and the other three will head to B. The map is structured like the cathedral, so as long as we hold our positions individually, we should be fine. If we start losing ground, I’ll send some minions over to help, so let me know if you’re struggling.”

“Understood.”

“Once we’re done, just press the ‘This person gave orders’ button once, I’d really appreciate it. Let’s do our best, everyone.”

Of course, he didn’t really believe they would follow his orders.

The more awkward part was that, among the users heading to B, one was a complete newbie with no ranking from last season. It didn’t feel great, but he added reluctantly:

“The newbie should just focus on killing the wandering minions. Please help out with some occasional flanking.”

“Doesn’t really seem like you care how I play.”

“…Well, yeah. That’s right.”

What kind of detached tone was that?

But people like that usually didn’t end well when you tried to talk to them seriously. So, he decided to brush it off and carefully got up.

The battle time was 15 minutes.

As the heavy, distinct sound of battle filled the air, the team started sprinting towards A on the left and B on the right.

...The enemies are... 4 at B, 2 at C?

It would take less than 20 seconds to reach A, B, and C from their starting points.

As he reached A, there was no contact, and while heading toward B, four players – who didn’t seem like minions at all – rapidly charged from the other side. Meanwhile, C was turning red.

His mind began racing. What was certain was that once the players who had gone to A captured the area, if they didn’t come to B, they would be completely overwhelmed at the center.

He quickly communicated that through team chat, then started mowing down minions without hesitation.

After about 20 seconds, the orange and blue bodies quickly disappeared, and a 3v4 scenario had formed.

...Ninja, Guardian, Great Shield, Wanderer. They brought all the worst ones.

Chainscythes, Chinese sabers, great shields, maces. They brought all the OP characters.

His team was armed with polearms, bastard swords, and daggers, and were outnumbered. The enemy’s tactic was clear: use the great shield to block the long-range users and eliminate one by one.

And then the situation he had feared started to unfold.

“Charge!”

“Group up! Ignore the great shield and hold until our allies from A arrive!”

To break out of this situation, they had to win the upcoming 6v6 fight.

But he remembered there was a counter-strategy – the enemy with the great shield was likely planning to split their front and charge straight down the middle.

In an instant, three of them broke off, each facing one or, if unlucky, two opponents. As expected, the weakest player was surrounded by two opponents. That’s when he spotted the double-dagger user, who appeared weak.

Of course, the situation was turning out to be completely different from what he had expected.

“Cough…!”

“Damn, don’t come any closer! This person is too fast!”

The Chain Scythe and Mace users, along with the enemy dual-dagger user.

It was clear that the latter would be instantly killed, but after several evasive maneuvers with artistic spacing, the dual-dagger user skillfully closed the distance and struck as the Wanderer performed a spinning kick.

The long daggers, glowing with a sharp blue-green hue, pierced through the thick leather armor of the thigh in an instant, and with a horrific scream – pre-recorded by the voice actor – golden blood spurted into the air, sparkling like a fountain.

“…What in the world is that?”

Thud.

As the Wanderer fell while still in his spinning kick stance, the allied dual-dagger user immediately followed up with an attack at an unseen speed. With the left hand, the dagger pierced the right thigh while the right hand drove the blade straight into the enemy's face. The attack hit precisely on the right eye, from the perspective of the onlookers.

The dagger was so long, and the thrust so powerful, that the tip of the blade emerged from the back of the head. While the Wanderer’s body turned into golden polygon fragments, the dual-dagger user immediately retrieved both daggers.

“Unbelievable.”

The Ninja muttered in disbelief.

This was the beginning of a massacre unlike anything he had ever seen before.

“Aren’t we off to the same pace as earlier? If they don’t come, we’ll go to them.”

Again????? Are you seriously trolling in Glory and Honor???????????
Ugh, stop pretending the reverse correction is real, you dumbass, hahaha
No way, can one dagger kill someone with just two strikes??? Seriously???
Judging by the slow reaction, it seems like reverse correction, but… yeah, it might be…
Why is this person like a Glory and Honor bug version, hahaha
With a flick.

As the dagger changed position in his hand, golden liquid spilled slightly into the air. The sunlight shining on Temple Garden collided with the tiny gold droplets, creating a surreal scene, while I locked eyes with the next enemy who was about to attack me.

Once again, it was the Chain Scythe user. Known online as a “scythe spammer,” they were often found frantically recruiting users. The term Chain Scythe was probably just a meme by this point.

My thoughts ran deep. Normally, when you have a short-range weapon, it’s more effective to wait for your opponent to attack and then exploit an opening to counter. But the Chain Scythe, aside from the fact it could be thrown, had a reach similar to mine.

Strong attacks, weak attacks, dodge attacks, counters – none of that mattered.

If they were in front of me, I would send them straight to the respawn screen.

—Clang!

I thrust in and struck.

It’s still just a game. The scythe’s piercing eye strike, something that would usually be impossible to block, was easily deflected by my swift movements. But the real issue was that I let a dual-dagger user get so close in the first place.

That aside, I quickly scanned the enemy’s armor and weapons from a close distance. The arms were partially protected, and like with light armor, the underarms and chest were shielded with thick cloth. The abdomen was unprotected, and the thighs and neck were similarly covered with thick cloth.

With so many potential attack points, there was no reason to rush.

“Ugh…!”

Once.

After evading the horizontal swing of the Chain Scythe, I expected a kick and spun around to stab the thigh. However, the enemy’s response was quicker than expected, so I switched to a slash. The wound wasn’t deep, and the low sound of the voice – again, a pre-recorded one – indicated that it was a valid strike.

I threw the dagger in my right hand upwards and retreated while performing a horizontal slash. However, this was just to gain momentum, and as I switched my left dagger to reverse grip, I charged forward, pressing the pommel with my right hand to stab deeper.

But it was blocked. Specifically, the forearm of my left hand, holding the dagger, was intercepted. If I applied more force, I might have been able to stab the clavicle, but it was likely not a clean kill, so when the initial attack failed, I kicked the enemy’s abdomen and retrieved the falling dagger.

After dodging the incoming Chain Scythe by ducking, I charged again.

“Ha…!”

Swish!

Before the enemy could retrieve the thrown scythe, I closed the distance. The downward motion of the Chain Scythe was immediately stopped, and I bent my body like a bow to avoid it, followed by several fake attacks. The two weapons I wielded created a killing zone, and the sound of metal scraping rang repeatedly, as an oddly artistic sword path cut through the air.

It was a level of focus where even the tiniest hair could be felt. But, conversely, that was what made the difference between life and death.

I flicked my right wrist and sent the dagger flying, momentarily drawing the enemy’s attention. But in the blind spot, preparations were already underway for a deep thrust. The knife in my left hand had already been converted to reverse grip.

It cut across the empty space of the enemy's left armpit, from bottom to top.

The thick cloth was sliced open, and when the blade met the skin and muscle hidden beneath, a scream erupted.

“Gah…!”

My left arm, from my perspective, and the enemy's right arm were sealed.

But it wasn’t over. The left arm, coming from below, was still in position to descend, and the reversed dagger’s tip was aimed at the enemy’s neck.

With a reverse grip, I swung the dagger upwards from below and immediately drove it downward.

The blade, cutting across the clavicle at an angle, was deep enough to kill. It was perfectly positioned to sever all the arteries around the neck and rip into the lungs.

“Gah, hhh…”

As I twisted the blade deep inside, the enemy’s eyes rolled back, and their body collapsed, turning into golden polygon fragments.

Ding! With the sound of the dagger I had thrown earlier hitting the stone floor, I let out a shallow breath.

‘...It really takes so much effort to kill just one person with daggers.’

It’s cool, but… seriously, this is insane…
Are all the dagger spammers dead???????
No, seriously, I’m starting to get scared now, sir, for real.
Fact: It would be scarier with a greatsword or an axe.
That’s true, hahaha, but hahaha...
So much happened in what seemed like a very short time, but in reality, the entire battle lasted maybe 6 seconds. In that time, I had essentially sent two enemies to the respawn screen in about 20 seconds.

Meanwhile, the information that A was captured by my team and C by the enemies popped up simultaneously.

The battle at B had turned into a 3v2, with only one enemy left – a user with a great shield and a Guardian with a Chinese-style saber. These were classes I had already faced a few times before.

Still, I had taken out two enemies. Perhaps it was time to slow down the pace.

“This side’s cleaned up. Anything I can help with?”

At that moment, for some reason, it felt like every user present turned to look at me.

Well, it didn’t matter. If there were no enemies in the occupied zones, that was just the pacing adjustment.