...
In front of the gates of Amaharpe during the small intermission in between waves for the Protectors of Amaharpe event, Ewan assembled a small group to head over towards the Blue Oasis section that was previously agreed upon.
He planned on getting some answers for the surprise attack on one of his Five Great Generals. An attack against them was an attack against his Cross Haven guild. If he failed to respond to such a direct attack when it was out in the open and so many people had seen it, then people would think that his Cross Haven guild was full of a bunch of pushovers.
Ewan could not afford to throw away the face of his guild that he worked so hard to build up.
Dragus, who was walking slightly behind Ewan, had a darkened expression on his face. The implications behind this were too big to ignore. If it had just been a regular member of Blue Oasis then it would have been a lot easier to explain as a member who had "gone rogue".
However, this was a Lieutenant of Blue Oasis that led the surprise attack! A rank that was just below that of the Seven Captains of Blue Oasis. This made things much more complicated and it could not simply just be brushed off.
To make matters even worse, the next wave was going to start in less than ten minutes.
"You should have let me gather more people. If Blue Oasis really does have ill intentions then we'll be stepping into the palm of their hand. At the very least, leader, you should not be accompanying us." Dragus said voicing his opinion.
"This matter is too serious to entrust to anyone else, Dragus. I'm sure you are fully aware of that fact. Unless Blue Oasis wishes to make a lifetime enemy out of my Cross Haven guild, then they will not lay so much as a finger on me. Asgard is no fool, that's exactly why this is a little hard to accept at face value. However, men are often blinded by greed and power." Ewan said.
He then continued, "Besides, if we deployed a large force and marched towards the Blue Oasis sector, wouldn't this alarm every top guild? We could very well end up starting an unintentional guild war when there is nothing to gain from doing so."
Dragus let out a helpless sigh. He knew that he would be unable to convince Ewan, but he still had to give it a try.
"The timing of this is too good to just be a coincidence. Right after we send out a message warning everyone about a potential danger, Blue Oasis makes a move against us as if trying to warn or silence us. This news will spread fast to all the other top guilds and everyone will have eyes on how we respond to such a blatant provocation." Ewan said.
He then continued, "The main question remains, what does Blue Oasis have to gain from all of this? So far, that question remains unanswered."
Dragus furrowed his brows. He was never too good at thinking about the overcomplicated stuff. He was just after justice for Wang Qiang, a fellow guild member.
"Do not worry, Dragus. No matter what, in the end, it was still a member of Blue Oasis who made a move against us. I will not take silence as an answer on this matter." Ewan said as he and his small group finally arrived at the border that led into the Blue Oasis sector.
...
At the moment, Asgard was furious. He had received news not too long ago that one of his Lieutenants and some of his members assaulted a member of Cross Haven. However, this was not the worse part of it. That member of none other than the famed Cross Haven strategist and a member of the Five Great Generals, Wang Qiang.
"Who was it that did it...?" Asgard asked as he tried to control his anger.
"All of the members who participated are under Captain Minus' command. It was his Lieutenant that led the assault, Lieutenant Red Days. We're still trying to-" Before the member of Blue Oasis who was giving the information could finish, he was suddenly interrupted by another member who approached them in a hurried manner.
"Leader! The guild leader of Cross Haven, Ewan wishes to meet with you! He has brought along a small group of players with him. He said he has come for some answers." The guild member said.
Asgard massaged his temples after he received that message. Great! Just great! He himself did not even know what was going on and now guild leader Ewan wanted some answers when he had none to give! However, could he really just say "Yes, my Lieutenant attacked your general but I had no idea about it." and expect everything to be okay? Obviously not!
While he did not fear Cross Haven, they were definitely one of the last guilds he wanted to deal with. Although their size was not that large for a top guild, the quality of their members made up for it. Though most important of all, he did not wish to for his Blue Oasis to suffer any losses due to actions that he was completely unaware of.
Asgard decided to send someone to relay a message to Minus telling him to report to this area. "Go and deliver a message to Captain Minus, tell him his guild leader requires his presence here at once!" he said as he turned his attention towards the other member.
"You, allow guild leader Ewan to enter with his entourage. Escort him here personally, we do not need any more mishaps. However, take your time doing so. He cannot arrive here before Captain Minus." Asgard ordered as the two members left to carry them out.
Niflheim had rushed over to meet up with Asgard after he learned of the events that unfolded just moments ago. When Niflheim arrived, he could already see the frustrated look on Asgard's face.
"I rushed over as soon as I heard. Is it really true?" Niflheim had a serious look on his face.
Asgard sighed and said, "Sadly, it is the truth. Guild leader Ewan is already here to get some answers."
"What will you tell him?" Niflheim asked. He was sure that Asgard was not behind this whole mess. But, even if he was not the one to give the order, that did not change the fact that it was still a high ranking member of Blue Oasis that participated in the assault.
"What can I tell them? I have nothing to say besides I don't know. We can only hope that Captain Minus can shed some light onto this situation." Asgard gave a weary smile. "Niflheim, we must avoid war at all cost. We cannot afford to waste time with war and watch as the other guilds pull ahead of us."
Niflheim nodded, "I agree. But, is it even avoidable at this point?" He looked towards the distance and saw Ewan approaching with his entourage. Despite the guild member best effort to delay Ewan as much as possible, Ewan did not slow down his own pace.
Minus had also arrived, but the main culprit who was behind the assault, Lieutenant Red Days, was nowhere to be seen. Minus reached Ewan's side with a slight look of shame in his eyes. After all, it was someone under his command who had put the guild into this situation.
Ewan arrived in front of Asgard, Niflheim, and Minus. He stopped a few meters away from them.
"I am the guild leader of Cross Haven, Ewan. Guild leader Asgard, you should know the reason that I've come to personally see you and so I shall do away with the pleasantries. Do you have an explanation?" Ewan set his gaze upon Asgard. There was a certain pressure that Ewan gave off when one was face to face with him.
Asgard had erased his previous weary and frustrated expression. Right now, he had a calm look on his face, one befitting that of a guild leader. He naturally would not allow himself to be intimidated by Ewan's presence.
"Guild leader Ewan, of course, I know the reason you've come here. However, I'm afraid you will not accept what I have to say." Asgard said.
"Oh?" Ewan waited to hear what Asgard had to say.
...
Swoosh! Swoosh!
-328
+143
-164
859/1,885 HP Remaining! (Luna)
Silent Step used his speed to his advantage and pressed on with his assault against Luna. He had just executed one of his skills and shaved off quite a bit of Luna's HP. Thankfully, Luna's Healing Essence ticked and restored some of her lost HP.
-450
The moment Silent Step second attack landed, Luna cast Superior Holy Smite followed by Illuminate.
This time, however, while Silent Step was unable to avoid the Superior Holy Smite, he closed his eyes before Luna's Illuminate skill was activated. This stopped him from becoming disoriented due to his eyes sudden exposure to a bright light source. He retreated soon after to a safe distance.
Silent Step had tried multiple times to get some form of crowd control on Luna, however, every time she managed to successfully evade it. It was as if she could see into the future the way she dodged his most deadly attacks with such precision.
Luna had already predicted that Silent Step would soon adapt to her Illuminate skill, but it was still much faster than she expected. However, she did not panic and stayed calm. She noticed that Silent Step was becoming more and more cautious with his attacks. He also appeared to be under a tremendous amount of pressure.
Luna could tell that Silent Step must be only a few more moves away from being eliminated. However, Luna also did not have much more to offer. Right now, she only had 175 MP remaining. She had already consumed a potion not too long ago and it was currently still on cooldown.
Casting Superior Holy Smite cost her 100 MP. She could save a bit of MP by casting the regular Holy Smite, but if Silent Step was really so close to death, should she be playing it so safe?
"It's still not too late. If you agree to heal me, I can spare you." Silent Step stared coldly at Luna as he took an offensive stance with his dagger in hand.
"My answer remains unchanged, I refuse." Luna did not hesitate as she held her magic staff out in Silent Step's direction.
"Then you'll perish here!" Silent Step dashed towards Luna with quickened steps and he was much faster than before. It was as if he used some kind of skill to increase his agility.
Luna was prepared to risk it all and cast another Superior Holy Smite, but just as she was getting ready to, Silent Step vanished.
She then heard a voice call out from the distance, "You will no longer have any place to hide within all of RML! Remember my words!" The voice belonged to Silent Step. One could tell from his voice that he felt extremely humiliated at having to retreat from some nobody healer.
He, the number one assassin, was forced into such a pathetic state! Silent Step wanted nothing more at the moment than to bathe in Luna's blood, however, he was unwilling to risk losing everyone and falling far behind the other players.
To Silent Step, this was the greatest humiliation of his entire gaming career- No! His entire life! He had never felt this level of endless rage and to him, Luna was someone he would eventually destroy.
That voice grew further and further away until it disappeared completely. He had run away!
Luna, however, still kept her guard up and remained vigilant. While it may seem as if he was gone for good, she knew what kind of character Silent Step possessed. He may still be nearby and just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
After around five minutes later, Luna did not see any sign or indication that Silent Step was still nearby and so she relaxed a bit. She lowered her magic staff and started to cast Cure on herself, as well as, drink a potion to regain some of her lost MP.
However, just as she finished, she could feel someone or something coming towards her. Their speed was incredibly fast and they were only moments away from closing in!
"Did he return already?" Luna muttered to herself as she prepared herself to engage in battle once more, however, she would never get the chance to.
"Have I offended you?" A familiar voice sounded out as a flickering silhouette soon appeared in front of Luna.
Luna relaxed and shook her head in response to that question. She lowered her guard as a lovely smile found its way onto her face. Luna knew this voice quite well and was relieved that he was alright.
"How did you find me?" Luna asked as the silhouette before it stopped flickering.
The person who arrived was, of course, Izroth.
"It would seem that we both have some questions to ask." Izroth said with a carefree expression on his face.