*kiin kiin* User - Kun has connected The trio looks at each other, before Bell quickly puts her right hand to her ear and starts to relay the current situation to the new arrival. … … … “Nyahaha, got it.” The felinoid cheerfully answers the PM before giving Rick a loud *PA* on his back. “Good call earlier, we will fall back for now, let’s head to camp for the meanwhile.” Careful to avoid the others that are still fighting, the group takes a roundabout route back to camp. * * * * * “Sorry for being late, there were some things I had to deal with.” The black-haired young man apologizes while attending to the coiled up saplings and ropes around the remaining campfire. The camp has already been broken down, with the majority of the items being packed up, some packs are already saddled on various cadejos. “Eh? What’s going on?” “Hmm~?” Bell and Kun look at each other, the felinoid half-shrugs, half-nods before walking towards some of the demihumans. She talks with Dosnak while helping the rest of them continue packing, leaving Kun with the pair. “Uncle Hank, the doctor, and the students will be returning to the Academy since it’s getting dangerous here, and it seems like the students are stable enough to travel now, so it’s best that we send them back.” The two nods in agreement with Kun’s a.s.sessment. “Also, the instructors from my place and my other students will be replacing the buildings around the Academy. So my uncle is going to go supervise that as well.” ““EH?!”” “Yeah, apparently the buildings aren’t up to standard, the engineer that built my facilities will be helping out, and there’s the free labour from the trainees and such in the guise of training, so we don’t really have to spend much or bother the demihumans much.” A wily smile appears on Kun’s face. “Then what’s up with those things?” Rick points to the various coils and ropes around the fire. “Ooooohhhhh~ ufuhuhuhuhu~” Till laughs lightly while covering her mouth with her fingertips. “How are we going to be chasing them, Kun-ni?” Rick turns to the girl and back to Kun, making a pout by shifting his mouth to one side. “Can someone fill me in, here?” “Here’s the plan…” * * * * * “Let’s give them a good show, nyahahaha!” “Ready when you are, Till.” “All set over here, just don’t mistakenly hit me with that thing…” Three messages appear in my ears one after another, standing up on the fluffy cutie that’s Sammy, I stretch out my hands to focus and fire an arcing ball of vacuum surrounded by a layer of water over the sea of trees before me from the vambrace on my left hand. While it is in-flight, at a large distance away, I use «Air Hammer» to crush the layer of water. *GGOOORRRRROOOO* *SSSSSSHHHHHHHHAAAAAA* The sound of roaring thunder is followed by the soft pattering of water onto the tree tops. *bou* *bou* *bou* *bo* *bo* *bo* *bo* *bo* *shhhaaa* *sshhhhaaa* *sha sha* Numerous «Fireball»s answer in reply as they rip thru the canopy before disintegrating into thin-air shortly after. Mixed within are a few «Earth Lance»s and a few odds «Spell»s. So many? Not good. “Be careful, there are people out there planning something as well, move at your own discretion~!” I repeated the message -after sending the first one to Bell-ne- to the others before firing a series of «Air Lance»s one after another, concentrating my attacks on the first of the three «Fireball»s that I recognized. *dokkan* *dokkan* *dokkan* *dokkan* *dokkan* *dokkan* … “Okay, Sammy, in a circle, slightly spriraling outward, got it?! Slow down after you are about two thirds through the lap~!” *KERO!* “Hold on tight, everyone~!” I yell towards Sammy’s body as I jump and land on Sammy while facing down, letting the soft, bouncy surface take in all of my weight before getting into a comfortable position laying face down. A moment later, Sammy starts racing over the treetop in a circle with a counterclockwise direction while I continue to fire off the «Spell»s at irregular intervals. * * * * * “Be careful, there are people out there planning something as well, move at your own discretion~!” Well, I guess that’s a given since there are so many people here. *dokkan* I stay low to the ground, leaning on my halberd as the first of many of the specially charged «Air Lance» starts bombarding the surrounding area. “Huh?” “Eh? What the h.e.l.l is goi-” *dokkan* “Holy s.h.i.t! Group up, group up!” “s.h.i.t! Help me kill this b.a.s.t.a.r.d first!” “You are on your own then! Watch o-AHHH” *dokkan* “Stay next to the trees! It will shield us somewhat!” “Spread out and find the one shooting at us!” *dokkan* *dokkan* Nyahahahahahahaha! Everyone that was fighting with each other a moment ago are now too busy watching for the unknown artillery fire that’s raining down from above. A few NPCs and Players are hit, but that’s fine since Till adjusted it so that it would only be enough to knock the air out of someone. The tree branches and leaves made sure of that, but the explosions certainly look flashy since there are puddles all over the place on the muddy jungle floor. *dokkan* *dokkan* I ready my halberd as the new muddy craters gets further and further away, I will probably have a minute or two at the current rate. *sha sha* I look at the surrounding people running about, like headless chickens, as I leap up onto a tree branch above. *byoon* *zaku* I silently let myself fall off the branch part way before kicking off of it, using it as an inverted springboard and stab into a player with a [Villain]’s mark hovering above his head. “Arrgggghhhhh!” *byoon* As soon as the screaming player hits the floor with my halberd embedded within his right shoulder, I break the momentum of my fall by rolling forward, yanking my halberd out of the male human in the same motion. *TA* *SHA SHA* Without delay, I leap onto a nearby tree before continuously jumping on different ones as I take a quick look around before resting on a tree branch. *fuuuuuu* I take a deep breath as I wait for my next victim. I have to heavily injury as many players with a mark as possible to force their allies to take care of them, tying down their fighting strength. This is just like an amusing game of cat and mouse, I wonder how long I can do this before I get targeted. My heart is racing despite me trying to stay still. I can get addicted to this thrill, is this what they call the thrill of the hunt, I wonder? I am soooooo glad I convinced them to spread out instead instead of working as a single group, efficiency aside, you don’t get to experience things like this unless you are in a war. My lips curl up as I spot my next prey, I loosen my grip from the tree branch as I begin my next descent. * * * * * “Be careful, there are people out there planning something as well, move at your own discretion~!” What?! This wasn’t part of the plans! Oh s.h.i.t, oh s.h.i.t! “Kun! What do we do?! There’s someone else up to something!” “Calm down, I just got Till’s message as well. It’s a given though, any strategist with a brain will try to do something in this situation.” “Then what do we do?!” “Continue with the plan, just stay safe, if all else fails, just bail, got it?” “Alright, if you say so…” I drop my right hand away from my ear and place a trap next to the tree. I stay low as I move from tree to tree, adding more and more traps to the surroundings. I have been placing so many traps since I got here that I already lost count. There’s a mix of my snare trap, tripping trap, roadspike trap, and Kun’s ankle snare trap. Unlike the snare trap that comes with my «Cla.s.s», Kun’s version is devious in a manner where you’d think you are merely stepping on or kicking a stick, before you suddenly fall over, with a chance of hurting your ankle instead of just slowing you down. *dokkan* I hope Till wasn’t lying when she said those things will never hit us… *fuuuuuuuuuuuu* I breathe out a long breath and take out the small manabow as I try to avoid being conspicuous as I move away from all the people running about. Just like Kun said, the fighting will stop for the most part except for the few diehards and veterans. Time to take advantage of this chaos! *dokkan* *pyu pyu pyu pyu* As soon as the mud splatters, causing most of the fighters to run away, I look around to make sure no one’s paying any attention to me before I release a salvo into someone’s back. Unlike Bell, who has ma.s.sive killing potential, me and my manabow aren’t anywhere near as lethal, so I can just simply fire haphazardly at anyone. “Ahhh!” *Pasha* “What the h.e.l.l?!” “Ha! There’s a dumba.s.s that tripped, get him!” “Right behind you, boss!” *zaku* *zashi* I can only chuckle softly as the greedy mercenaries and players jump upon each other whenever someone triggers one of my traps. *dokkan* *pyu* “s.h.i.t!” I drop on all fours as an arrow narrowly misses my nose, I turn around to try and find the shooter. Somewhat anti-climatically, I find that it’s just a stray arrow from a small group that’s surrounded by a bigger group. Without a second thought, I start peppering the larger group of people while keeping a low profile, I hid behind a tree right away and try to find another target after making sure they didn’t spot me attacking them. Aside from just increasing the amount of the injured, we also need to balance out the forces whenever we can to ensure a continuous decline in power between the different sides. *dokkan* *dokkan* Since Till’s bombardment seems to be moving away, I will use this chance to stir up more trouble. Sliding my legs carefully to avoid the puddles, I make my way to a copse of trees nearer to the clearing where the mercenaries are defending tightly. Some near the stairway are laughing as they watch others fight along the edge of the clearing, cheering them on. Carefully drawing two stones from my waistpouch and holding one in each hand, I crouch down and concentrate on an intense fight nearby. *zudon* *zudon* The two stones fly out of my hands with two independent paths, curving slightly around the trees before slamming themselves into the head of two individuals from two separate groups. “What the h.e.l.l was that for?!” “What?! You guys are the ones that tried to ambush us!” “Da h.e.l.l ya talking ‘bout? You f.u.c.kers knock out our guy here, see?” “Bro, these f.u.c.kers are con artists, let’s teach them a lesson.” “Con what!?” *KAN* *kan kan* Hahahaha, such simple idiots. *pasha* My left leg suddenly feels heavy and immovable, I stare at the ground blankly for a moment before eating a mouthful of leaves. *zashi* Sliding out a dagger from one of the many looped onto my vest, I cut at the root of the trap instead of the part that’s holding my leg down. Luckily I was already low to the floor and not running, otherwise I think I would’ve snapped my ankle off! *fuuuuuuu* Breathing out a sigh of relief, I slowly move my way to another location while keeping a low profile, after checking the surroundings. It seems like the two groups fighting have caught everyone’s attention, otherwise I think I would’ve been jumped already. Making sure that there’s no other traps, I make my way to another location. * * * * * “Alright, if you say so…” I start laying down another trip rope, tying one end to a suitable tree nearby. I close my eyes for a moment as I convert some of the mana in my right hand as I gently glide my hand along its length before tying it to another tree a short distance away. Each length of rope that’s being used was fire-treated to remove splinters, soaked in oil, and then allowed to dry. Since the plan to herd the groups directly into the clearing and let Till bombard it was altered, I decided to use the ropes in another way. “Who were you talking to, Brother?” Gui tilts his head a little before scratching his neck with his hindfoot. “Rick was just panicking. So do you remember all the lines?” “Yep, this will be easier than chasing those longear prey! Hm… but I’m acting like a longear though…” “Just imagine that you are in a corner with the water behind you and you have to escape.” “… how do I run if I’m already in a bear?” The gray fox looks at Kun straight in the eye, seeking an answer. [T/L: Horrible, horrible pun that I nearly missed. I’m used to 曲 = song, and I was wondering how the h.e.l.l song and bear(熊) relates, so I looked up the word, which happens to also mean corner. Both 熊 and 曲 happens to share to same p.r.o.nounciation of くま/k.u.ma, I couldn’t save this pun by either equivalent or something similar, so you get this T/L note instead :P] “No, a corner. Like when the logs are stacked together for a house.” “Oh.” Without doing anything else, Gui walks a short distance away to avoid getting in the way while giving off a large yawn. *…kan* “Okay, Till is on her way now, get in position!” “Call me if there’s a change of plan.” The gray fox silently disappears up into a tree while Kun approaches a small clearing where various groups are fighting. It took a while for him to reach them since he had to set up the traps in relative isolation, otherwise he would be caught. *dokkan* *dokkan* “s.h.i.t! What the h.e.l.l?!” “Weren’t they supposed to signal us when they start?!” “This was the so called surprise? f.u.c.k!” “Stop shooting us you moron, we are from the Royalist faction, we are on your side!” “Wait, what? Why didn’t you say so earli-” *dokkan* As expected of Till, knowing that there’d be people fighting in the clearing, her aim was spot-on for her opening salvo. As the men and women temporarily stop fighting to seek shelter from the sudden bombardment, a gray blur drops down from a tree, dashes at one of the fallen men and grabs a pouch that was securely tied to his waist. There are about a dozen people that are moaning on the ground or who are simply unconscious. “What the… you thief!” Pausing for a slight moment, the gray blur dashes off once again, running straight into the trees in a different direction from the one where he came from. “Stop! AH-” “Can it be the Republicans that are doing this?!” “We can do anything we want! Now di-” *dokkan* *dokkan* *dokkan* *dokkan* *dokkan* Till’s bombardment continues mercilessly before suddenly stopping - I guess she’s out of mana for now. The entire area is filled with small craters, toppled trees, and thrown bodies. There are a handful of people still standing, but all of them seem to barely be able to stand, let alone battle. “I really have to remember not to get on Till’s bad side.” I remind myself as I shudder unconsciously as I cover the lower half of my face with a makeshift bandana and rush in toward the scattered crowd of people. “Well, time to play the devil…” I murmur under the mask before stopping before a moaning elf on the ground. *shi shi shi* With several flicks of my skinning knife, I manage to remove the valuables that are visible to me and stuff them into the oversized backpack I’m wearing. The elf couldn’t even understand what’s going as he rolls around weakly. Not wasting any time, I try to look for another target to repeat the process with. Next to me is a finely dressed swordsman. He’s gripping his sword tightly even though he can’t open his eyes due to pain. I opt to ignore him and look elsewhere. Several meters away, there’s bunch of [Murderer]s on the floor along with a single man standing up with the help of his polearm, trying to help some people up. *PA* I run towards the man with full force, he realizes my charge a little too late as I lower my center of gravity at the last step, turning my swinging right hand into a fist and driving it deep into his guts. His entire body shuffles back half a step while doubling over, taking this chance, I follow through with my momentum and do an overhead chop with my left hand onto his exposed trapezius. [T/L: Trapezius is the muscle group that that makes a diamond shape from the back of your neck to your shoulders and down the middle of your back. It sounds like Kun is chopping at that large lump of muscle between shoulder and the neck] The man plops down onto the floor as though he’s a puppet that just got his strings cut, twitching on the floor. I quickly throw his spear away as I relieve him of his belongings. I give him a punch into his solar plexus as I get up, making sure that he won’t be moving for quite a while. Turning around, I tuck the skinning knife into the sheath that’s on the backpack and grab a saber with a wide, thick blade off the wet, muddy floor. *zashi zashi zashi zashi zashi zashi* Since these are players with the [Murderer]’s mark, I dispatch them quickly by slashing their throats. For the last one, I swing the saber with all my might into the elf’s collarbone, shattering it. “AURG! AHHHH- gugugu” The elf screams as expected, after a split second, I slash his throat as well. I pick up the most valuable items I can easily get access to off their corpses and shove them into my backpack along with the throbbing crystals. *basara* *basara* I hear the sound of clothing moving all around me. It should’ve been slightly longer than a minute and thirty seconds since the bombardment stopped. This means people are going to recover soon, if I had known that Till would be so effective, I wouldn’t have set up all those traps. *pyu* *KAN* *pyu pyu pyu pyu* An arrow flies from somewhere behind me, I only became aware of it from the loud metallic ring from my backpack. I immediately drop onto the ground and roll to the side, antic.i.p.ating the worst. A split moment later, I see four other arrows flying over my head. Not looking back, I start sprinting toward where I came from. *pasha* d.a.m.n it, rookie mistake! And I’ve been drilling the newbies to always pay attention to their surroundings, s.h.i.t! My left leg underneath me has a momentary feeling of weightlessness before my full body weight is abruptly slammed onto my unprepared left heel. I stumble uncontrollably forward from the shallow puddle disguised by floating, rotting leaves. My balance is completely gone, with the backpack threatening to throw me face first onto the floor. I know that if I fall down now, I will be a goner and no one would be able to save me in time. The world seems to slow down as my right leg scrambles to get in front of my left leg, struggling to stay standing. I can only clench my teeth and try to stay on my feet somehow during the next few steps while suppressing the deafening heartbeat in my ears.