The seven opponents worked in perfect coordination, constantly sending out secondary heroes with only a single unit to harass and scout. They surrounded Wayne's main city with layers of vision, yet they still faced a recurring problem: one moment Wayne's hero was visible, and the next, they vanished.
Wherever Galthran or Vidomina's undead legions passed, the mines and the very earth beneath them became corrupted. The breath of life dissipated, mirroring the decay of Lordaeron in reality or the whispered fate of Quel'Thalas.
However, Wayne's army composition didn't seem to change. Galthran led an ever-growing tide of Skeletons, while Vidomina maintained a small force of Ghost Dragons, Vampire Lords, and Power Lichs.
Finally, after another month of in-game time, Galthran showed signs of approaching Hudson's capital. The surrounding allied heroes quickly mobilized, choosing to stage their final stand at a garrison—the only path leading to Hudson's city.
They had studied that garrison carefully. It was built on "Cursed Ground," where no magic could be cast. What they feared most were Wayne's endless, tricky spells. In a battle here, it would be a pure contest of numbers, and they didn't believe Wayne stood a chance.
Events seemed to follow their predictions. Galthran, leading a literal "Legion" of Skeletons, stopped exactly five hexes outside the garrison. He didn't dare take another step.
The two sides fell into a tense standoff.
Hudson remained cautious. "Stay calm. Miller is trying to lure us out."
Verdan agreed. "Exactly. That guy has too many tricks. We absolutely cannot leave the garrison."
Hicks, commanding the garrison troops, grunted, "Stop nagging. I'll hold the line, even though I really want to charge out and gut him."
A moment later, Hudson shouted, "Oh no! Wayne is attacking the city!!!"
"What?!" The other six exclaimed in unison, quickly shifting their cameras.
They saw Vidomina's silhouette flickering across the map like a Mage's teleportation—appearing briefly, vanishing, then reappearing at a distant corner, completely skipping the walking animation.
With just a few jumps, she had teleported directly beneath Hudson's city walls. The massive army still standing at the garrison confronting Galthran had become completely irrelevant.
But that wasn't the only shock. When the perspective shifted to the siege battle, the men's jaws dropped and the women covered their mouths. A deathly silence filled the room.
In the previous battle, Wayne had been reduced to 24 Power Lichs. Now, standing beside them were three additional stacks—a total of 739 Power Lichs!
The players exchanged bewildered glances. Hudson's 14 Archangels were caught in a nightmare: leaving the city meant death, and staying inside meant being bombarded.
The defensive towers rained arrows down, but against such staggering numbers, the damage was negligible.
After Vidomina triggered the four debuffs from the Armor of the Damned again, Wayne, who held the initiative thanks to the Ghost Dragons, cast Advanced Haste.
Simple. Brutal.
The Lichs, now faster than the weakened Archangels, raised their staves and launched an indiscriminate bombardment of death magic behind the city walls.
One dark, skull-shaped shadow cloud after another erupted. Accompanied by wretched screams, the mighty Archangels, the unyielding Knights, and the golden-armored Crusaders all collapsed into corpses.
In a single round, the army was annihilated, the walls were breached, and the capital changed hands. The undead banner of Wayne's faction rose over the battlements.
Only then did they see it: under the influence of Necromancy, the remains of over 300 human soldiers rose as 160 Power Lichs, joining Vidomina's ranks.
The more they fought, the stronger they became. Death was not the end for this army; it was a new beginning.
Just as everyone sighed, thinking the match was over, Galthran acted. He flicked his whip, and the Skeleton army swarmed the garrison.
4,392 Skeletons. Under the specialty of a Level 24 Galthran, these "ants" had stats comparable to Tier 5 units. There was nothing their "One-Cut Strike" couldn't solve. If there was, they simply struck again.
The two battles ended. The elites of the Seven Human Kingdoms were wiped out. All seven players quit the game. Wayne had won an undisputed victory.
Everyone took off their glasses, shaking their heads and sighing in frustration. As they turned to discuss the match, they realized Marshal McBride and Vice Captain Willem had arrived.
The arrival of the venerable Old Marshal forced everyone to stand up immediately.
Wayne was about to exchange pleasantries when the electronic voice of the Vending Machine rang in his ear: [You have a new unlock reward. Please process it immediately.]
Marshal McBride was very polite, expressing surprise and welcoming Jania, the third-highest figure in the Wizard's Sanctuary.
Jania explained that Archmage Andromath had supported their "further studies" at the net cafe not only because of Archmage Malin's frantic recommendations but also because the Marshal himself had encouraged officers from Northshire and Westfall to train here.
In Stormwind, everyone knew the Old Marshal was a hero who had defended the capital for decades. His endorsement was the net cafe's greatest guarantee of credibility.
McBride looked at the scoring screen, which featured a dragon breathing fire atop a mountain of gold. He lamented, "I've only been gone for a week, yet so much has happened, and you even have a new game."
He turned to Willem. "Did you see everything just now?"
Willem nodded respectfully.
McBride said, "Then tomorrow, we must invite that person to come and take a look."
Willem gave a formal military salute. "Understood, Marshal."
The Old Marshal then looked at Wayne and said something that almost made Wayne spit out his drink: "Boss, are there any seats left? Can you find room for the two of us to try your new 'gadget'?"
Wayne, who was looking for an excuse to leave, felt like he had been handed a pillow just as he was getting sleepy. He quickly pulled Tess over. "Yes... yes! Right here, two empty seats."
The group sat down and re-sorted their teams for another round of Heroes of Might and Magic III. This time, Hicks, Verdan, and Hudson—still traumatized—all chose the Necropolis, hoping to mimic Wayne's strategy. Amy and Jania chose the Tower, favoring magic, Archmages, and Titans.
Tess collected 8 Gold from Willem for the remaining four hours of play for him and the Marshal. After they sat down, she turned to Wayne and stuck out her tongue:
"Stinky boss, bad boss! I paid 500 Gold, and you won't even let me play."
Wayne chuckled. "You're an employee, the 'hostess' of this place. You can play all you want after they leave tonight. Even if you don't sleep and get panda eyes, I won't care."
While Tess was wondering what a "panda" was, Wayne continued, "Anyway, I've been sitting too long... my stomach feels a bit off. I'm going out for a bit. Stay here and keep an eye on things for me."
He left, leaving a pouting Tess to satisfy her cravings by watching other people's screens.
Wayne slipped back to his room, entered the cellar, and woke up the Vending Machine screen.
Lines of characters and tasks jumped out.
[Task 5: Expand the net cafe area to accommodate at least...]
[Reward: Increase operating hours and unlock Catering Mode.]
He had seen this task before, so he clicked "Next Notification."
[Heroes of Might and Magic III Game Reward Unlocked]
[Obtained: Basic Necromancy (Undead Control)]
Wayne's eyes widened, and only three words came to mind: "Oh my God!!!"