Chapter 87 - Racing against Time
Two minutes. That was how long it took for the different groups of Past Deeds’ members to be sent back to their respective spawn points, looking perplexedly at one another. They could not make heads or tails of what had just happened. Regrettably enough, none of them escaped death when Sword Demon and his hordes of players assaulted the six spawn points.
However, the more regrettable fact here was that a sizeable portion of the Past Deeds’ players remained wholly flummoxed of the situation. These players bewilderedly walked out of the spawn points and pulled out their guild channel to inquire about what had just happened. But before they could send out a message, they were once again instantly killed and sent back inside to respawn by the Past Deeds Eradication Army that had been lying in wait on both sides of each of the spawn points’ entrances.
Sword Demon’s idea of preventing the players from aiding one another proved to be a bit excessive; their attack was just too sudden for the enemy groups to react properly. At this same moment, the Past Deeds’ guild channel was flooded with the members’ crying, hollering, cursing, and pleading. But while there were all sorts of reactions on the guild channel, none of the members knew what had really happened. They were also at an absolute loss on what to do next.
Vast Lushness, Blue Ease, and the other top brasses of Past Deeds had to spend several minutes sorting through the chat logs to identify the main issue. Within these several precious minutes, eight out of the nine Past Deeds’ groups stationed inside Yueye City had been wiped out by the Past Deeds Eradication Army.
The only team left untouched was the one manning the underground prison, which was far from the other teams. Sword Demon swiftly arranged a group of sixty players to decimate the thirty players stationed in the underground prison and subsequently seize that location; the rest of the army was left behind to defend the seized spawn points. Besides the Fighters’ Dojo, which they had ignored due to the low count of players belonging to that job class, the other six spawn points were successfully seized by Past Deeds Eradication Army. The spawn points for Warriors, Mages, Thieves, and Archers were easily suppressed by their respective job classes’ arch-nemeses. Each group’s excess manpower had been gathered as well. These surplus players were now waiting for the Past Deeds’ guild members coming from Youye Valley to assist their entrapped brethren.
Meanwhile, the Past Deeds’ guild members that had died in the various spawn points did not stay idle. A trickle of the revived players walked out of their respective spawn points, only to get insta-killed in the next minute. Following their pointless deaths, about twenty to thirty extremely incensed Past Deeds’ members gathered in one place to counterattack.
What ensued was hardly unexpected; the Past Deeds’ smaller number and the job class suppression strategy that was employed on them made their charge a one-way ticket to their deaths – or should it be a two-way ticket, instead? After all, their return trip to the respective spawn points was instantaneous.
Sword Demon had a very satisfied smile on his face right now.
Three levels. The Past Deeds’ players stubbornly stormed out of the spawn points, resulting into many of them getting killed for the third time since the start of the surprise attack. This was precisely what Sword Demon wanted: The first assault would drop them by a level; the second assault would drop the disorganized Past Deeds’ members aimlessly walking out of the spawn points by another level; finally, the third assault would drop the now wised-up and planning-to-counterattack Past Deeds’ players by another level.
The plan advanced very smoothly, causing the now level 27 Past Deeds’ players to fearfully remain inside the various spawn points. Endless cries and curses could be heard coming from each of their mouths. They felt even more resentful by the fact that they still did not know who their assailants were despite getting killed thrice. Everything happened so fast that none of them had managed to get a clear look at any of their assailants’ faces.
“How can this be?! What’s going on?!” Vast Lushness incessantly asked Blue Ease, feeling utterly aggrieved.
Blue Ease’s face was deathly pale. His quick mental calculation revealed that the losses they had incurred from the eight teams in Yueye City were devastating, considering that about two hundred players dropped three levels consecutively.
“Did we… get tricked?” Vast Lushness voiced her suspicion.
“You mean by Young Master Han?” Blue Ease responded with a question.
Vast Lushness frantically called Young Master Han. Despite the matter devolving to such a point, Young Master Han still managed to maintain his acting and asked very calmly, “What? I’m busy right now. I’m in the middle of a hunt…” His curt reply left Vast Lushness in a state of indecision.
“If they’re the culprits, how did they recruit so many players? Aren’t they from Yunduan City?” Blue Ease could not make sense of things as well.
“Are they really from Yunduan City?” the two asked the people beside them. Everyone affirmed that they had definitely not seen the five around the city before.
Brother Assist and the three needed not be mentioned, just the pair of Young Master Han and Sword Demon would definitely leave a long-lasting impression to the people they met. Since their members had not recognized any of the five men, it more or less confirmed that the mercenary group was not from Yueye City.
“If they aren’t from this city, then they can’t possibly have this much power,” was the conclusion that they came up with.
“How’s the current situation?” Vast Lushness asked Blue Ease.
“The eight teams are obliterated. They’re stuck in the spawn points right now; unable to make their way out,” Blue Ease reported.
“Let’s not panic!” Vast Lushness advised, quickly calming herself down from her initial agitation. Several core members began to discuss how to cope with their current predicament through private messaging.
With the six spawn points already under the enemies’ control, only the guild’s Fighters were free to move about. The information from the Thieves’ Union mentioned that about fifty to sixty enemy players were currently blocking the street outside the establishment’s entrance. Only their guild mates in the Thieves’ Union could check the situation through Stealth. As for their people in the other spawn points, they were immediately annihilated once they poked their heads out.
“Fifty to sixty players in each of the six locations would make their number to be around three hundred...” Blue Ease’s expression became more strained by the minute. No more than seventy guild members were guarding Youye Valley with them right now.
“Let’s clear each location one by one. They won’t be able to contend with us with just fifty to sixty players,” someone suggested.
Vast Lushness shook her head, “Our opponents obviously planned this assault thoroughly, so they must have a clear understanding of our current predicament. I’m certain that our team’s strength is within their consideration, too.”
“Does that mean that they’ve got a group of a hundred men waiting to face us?” someone asked.
“I’m afraid that’s very likely….”
“Where in Yueye City did such a powerful guild sprout?” everyone wondered, feeling dumbfounded.
“This whole mess still comes back to those guys!” Blue Ease retorted, “Maybe these players are also from Yunduan City?”
“No point in discussing that right now,” Vast Lushness said, adding, “Have two fast players chase after Fugitive 27149’s coordinates. See if those guys are truly hunting 27149. The rest of you, follow me back to Yueye City. Don’t hurriedly engage the opponents when we meet them. Take cover and hide first. Update the other guild members regarding them. Instruct anyone who has dropped over two levels to go offline immediately. Log on twenty minutes later. If possible, use that time to make our offline members log on, too.”
All nodded their heads. Past Deeds slowly began to initiate their counterattack.
“Many Past Deeds’ players went offline,” Sword Demon and the group leaders received this report.
“Cowards! They’re usually domineering whenever they bullied us in the past. Now that the tables are turned, they’ve become nothing short of cowardly tortoises! Come out and fight with us to the death!” Celestial Pig exclaimed angrily.
Sword Demon laughed as he patted him on the back, “It’s not the time to get overly emotional. The Past Deeds’ players are calmly reacting to us. They’ve logged off in the hope of us easing up the pressure. Brace yourselves, guys. They’re definitely planning a counterattack.”
Celestial Pig nodded his head, “Big Boss Sword Demon, we’ll do as you say.” After the success of the initial assault, they no longer doubted Sword Demon’s plan feasibility and capabilities.
“How long does it take to travel from Youye Valley to Yueye City?” Sword Demon asked.
“At least twenty minutes for the low-Agility job class,” Dusky Cloud replied.
“With how things currently stand, they won’t dare to split their group any more. There’re twenty minutes left before they arrive. Unfortunately, we’re not sure which route they’re taking. Do we have anyone in that team?” Sword Demon asked.
Dusky Cloud shook his head regretfully, “No. Our spy was assigned to guard the city.”
Sword Demon was stunned, “Where’re they now?”
Dusky Cloud smirked, “It’s not ‘they’; it’s just one brother who acted his role all the way to the end. He died together with the Past Deeds’ members.”
Sword Demon’s expression changed, yet he did not comment. He looked all around him and said, “Have a few Thieves spy on the Past Deeds’ movement outside the city!”
“I’ll bring a few people along!” Dusky Cloud nodded his head in agreement. He chose a few other Thieves and sprinted toward the city gate with them.
Sword Demon became more and more anxious as time passed by. Although the initial assault was a great success, Sword Demon dared not regard their enemies lightly. After all, Past Deeds quieted down a little too quickly.
He had original deduced that the Past Deeds’ reinforcement would head toward the Mage Academy, as it was closest to Youye Valley out of the nine places. Furthermore, Mages were an important firepower when it came to group PvPs; rescuing the trapped Mages would be the best option for Past Deeds. However, things might not be that simple, seeing how the Past Deeds had reacted thus far. Would their next move result into him falling into the enemies’ trap?
In the end, we’ve overlooked some parts in the plan, Sword Demon sighed, I should’ve sent a Thief on Stealth to spy on the Past Deeds’ group in Youye Valley. Just knowing which route they’re taking would’ve made things easier. Right now, he could only hope that Dusky Cloud and the other Thieves rushing outside the city would be able to discover which direction their opponents had headed.
At that moment, Dusky Cloud and the three Thieves arrived outside the north gate leading toward Youye Valley. Dusky Cloud solemnly instructed each Thief before splitting up, “Try to gather as much information as you can even if you get killed!”
The three firmly nodded their heads, “We will, Boss Cloud. Don’t worry!”
The four activated Stealth and chose a different direction each. The terrain outside Yueye City’s north gate was not complex. Hence, Dusky Cloud was certain that it would be easy to spot a group of over seventy players moving together.
The Thief that had gone to Yueye City’s northwestern corner was the first to send a report to Sword Demon. He discovered that the Past Deeds’ group situated in the underground prison had already dispersed before their allied group even arrived.
Meanwhile, Dusky Cloud, who was still outside the city, brought good news; he had located the seventy-man team of Past Deeds. Curiously enough, they did not head toward Yueye City but remained where they were originally stationed.
“They must be waiting to join with the underground prison’s thirty-man team! Quick! Let’s take this opportunity to head out!” Sword Demon swiftly rallied everyone to rush out of Yueye City and meet their opponents halfway for a final showdown.
With the additional thirty men, the opponents would have over a hundred players on their side. All were first-rate players who could overwhelm enemies even with the odds against them. Victory would be uncertain if Past Deeds was given a chance to form a team of one hundred men.