Chapter 280: Switching Duties
It was truly a beautiful night. Sila had never been in a place where he could see dazzling stars so clearly before. The floating Magic Kingdom lingered about a kilometer up in the air, so the view was comparable to standing at the peak of a mountain and looking at the stars. There were no clouds. The stars looked like they were competing to see which one could shine the brightest.
However, they would soon be obstructed by the smoke of flames. Deep down in his heart, Sila regretted being the one who brought conflict to this peaceful city.
Raiding the Heavenly Dragon Guild"s headquarters might sound like a crazy plan. However, the fact was Sila had a lot of help. The ones raiding might consist of only Burapha, Bluebird, and him, but there were more than ten people helping from behind the scenes.
Montra granting anyone access to the city had a downside in the form of allowing his enemies to easily infiltrate the city. Sure, he could detect and prevent an army. However, Sila mobilized only a handful of players from Belacia City, asking the ones who weren"t heavily injured during the Dragon Kingdom raid for help.
Upon Sila asking, three people who instantly volunteered to help were Snow, Menar, and Balaz. The three of them were magic-type players, so it was a given that they would like to visit the unsealed Magic Kingdom to tour around and obtain new quests. In fact, it could be said that helping Sila was just their way of killing time and having some fun.
Sila, Burapha, and Bluebird were laying on the rooftop of the nearest building to the Heavenly Dragon Guild"s front gate. They were looking at the detailed blueprint of the guild prepared by Yardpirun. It was indeed very precise, yet there was an area that she couldn"t draw despite being one of the Five Dragon Warlords. It was Montra"s private room, which only three people other than him—Kawin, Revin, and Zazae—were allowed to enter. It was the sole black spot on the map. Unfortunately, Sila"s objective laid in that section.
An island heavily shook as if an earthquake had occurred on one of Lafesta City"s floating islands. Citizens stopped in their tracks, confused. Roof tiles dropped on the ground throughout the city, echoing like an orchestra. Cracks appeared on the beautiful rainbow bridges.
On the furthest island, people could see a giant beanstalk growing in the middle of the town, quickly and severely damaging surrounding buildings. Before people could calm their panicking hearts, ice pillars soon emerged from the nearby island, accompanied by unnerving and screeching deafening screams. Last but not least, flames began to ignite across islands, followed by ma.s.sive clouds of smoke.
As everything went according to the plan, Sila and the other two further lowered their heads to hide.
A familiar-looking man stepped out of the Heavenly Dragon Guild"s headquarters. He had a metal helmet covering his face but wore nothing to protect his upper body, showing his strong muscles that were as hard as steel. He was none other than one of the Five Dragon Warlords who had lost to Sila before—the Black Star Warlord, Lost Ghost.
"What"s happening?" Lost Ghost led a dozen of guild members out of the front gate.
"There are three guildless players making chaos in the town, sir. It seems they just obtained new abilities and want to try them out. Our men have gone to put a stop to them, but they became crazier. Furthermore, flames suddenly erupted from every corner of the city. We"re currently extinguishing them."
"The war event is near. We can"t let them damage the city. Send ten people to each island. The rest stay in the guild. This could be a strategy to entice the tiger to leave its mountain lair."
Bluebird whispered to the two, "The distraction just started, but the Heavenly Dragon Guild already knows that the cause is three guildless players. This means their intel must be excellent. Our window of opportunity may be shorter than we thought."
Sila and Burapha nodded. Their plan centered around having Snow, Menar, and Balaz cause a ruckus while Sangdao and the remaining players from Belacia City started fires throughout the city, forcing the Heavenly Dragon Guild members to leave their headquarters and take care of the problems. During that time, the three of them would sneak into the guild.
Their operation had two objectives.
The first was obviously to rescue Yardpirun. This was the most important task as tonight was their only chance. If they made a mistake this time, their second attempt would become significantly harder since Montra would surely prepare traps. As for the second goal, it was the team"s inferior goal, yet Sila"s main objective. It was for him to borrow Montra"s Realm-Crossing Gate and meet Joshua.
Realizing that there was no way for him to enter Joshua"s domain within the foreseeable future using normal means, Sila decided to take advantage of the intel Ramiel provided, which stated that Montra has a miraculous item capable of transporting him to anywhere in Monster Soul. Apparently the gate was under heavy protection through qi, magic, psychic power, and the system. Hence, Sila brought many experts to help him in the task.
Lookhin wouldn"t be very helpful in the operation. On the other hand, Sila expected a lot from Julia—the expert regarding the system—Mamon—the devil prince who was the master of item utilization—and Clute—the expert regarding ancient runes. It took him a long time to persuade Clute—with the help of Lookhin"s pleading eyes—to agree and become his pet temporarily.
"I will inspect the guild, discerning whether someone has already intruded or not. Stay on guard. Protect me for the time being," Lost Ghost ordered. Ten of his subordinates then surrounded him.
"Rhythm of Subduing Earth," Lost Ghost activated the skill, and his body dyed black. The black color spread along the ground and around nearby buildings with no sign of stopping.
Bluebird frowned. He shifted his gaze to Sila, asking, "Will he be able to cover the entire guild with his psychic power?"
"I"m not sure. However, based on his expression and confidence, it seems likely. He is not in the middle of a battle, so he can put his mind into expanding his senses," Sila replied.
In fact, one more reason that allowed Lost Ghost to achieve the task was due to the buff he got from Montra"s Emperorship.
"What should we do, then?" Burapha asked, feeling worried.
"Avoiding contact with the surface should be enough," Sila commented as he floated three inches above the roof using qi while Bluebird transformed to a tailorbird. Meanwhile, Burapha showed an awkward expression, suddenly feeling like he had become a burden.
"Burapha, can"t you use Psychic Impact?" asked Bluebird.
"I can. I can leisurely jump or perform a double jump in the air, but I can"t stay in mid-air for too long."
Sila took a look at the time displayed in his system window and made a quick decision. "Yardpirun will re-enter the game in ten minutes. There is no time to waste. We have to switch duties. Burapha, you take care of Lost Ghost. Bluebird, you find Montra"s private room. As for me, I will be responsible for rescuing Yardpirun."
Lost Ghost"s Rhythm was approaching them. If they didn"t change positions, they would be caught soon. Still, Burapha and Bluebird weren"t sure Sila"s new plan was the best idea.
Originally, Sila"s role was to expose himself while Bluebird went to rescue Yardpirun and Burapha searched for Montra"s room. The difficulty and risk for each task descended in sequence. Exposing oneself meant appearing in public. The enemies would rush at him. The risk was the highest, so Sila had volunteered to perform this task. Next, the duty to rescue Yardpirun meant the encounter against Ginny, the Ice Flame Warlord, was unavoidable. Hence, they agreed not to have Burapha take on this role in order to avoid complex situations. As for the last task, the risk was uncertain. There might be traps or people waiting inside. However, failing to complete the task didn"t affect Yardpirun"s safety, so they had a.s.signed this duty to Burapha.
Bluebird argued, "We spent a lot of time carefully planning this operation. Do you think switching duties now is a good idea?"
"If we don"t, we can"t proceed. I will surely rescue Yardpirun. Trust me."
"I know I can trust you. However, with the rea.s.signment, Burapha will get the hardest job," Bluebird still persisted.
That was indeed the case. Both Sila and Bluebird got easier jobs while Burapha had to take on the most difficult role.
"Umm... I..." Burapha hesitated. He had no idea how to win against Lost Ghost. He was inferior to Lost Ghost in both overall abilities and experience. Worse off, they were both psychic type, so the difference in strength would be clearer. This was while ignoring the fact that he didn"t get to fight one-on-one. The longer the fight lasted, the more enemies he would have to face due to reinforcements.
When Sila had volunteered to take on this duty, he felt nothing special as he was used to the mindset that Sila could overcome any danger. However, once it became his job, he realized that it was an extremely important task and he couldn"t afford to make a single mistake. This realization made him respect Sila more.
"Blue, since you trust me to do your job, I will say that I trust Burapha to do my job as well." Sila"s reply was resolute. He knew Bluebird was worried about the success of this operation, so he a.s.sured him, though he really meant it.
"If you put it that way, then I have no choice. Good luck, Burapha," Bluebird said as he then flew away toward the guild.
Instead of leaving, Sila tapped Burapha"s shoulder once and said, "Psychic power is heavily tied to emotions and creativity, both positive and negative. They are both strengths and weaknesses of this energy type. If you can control your state of mind and the opponent"s, then victory will belong to you."
Sila ascended into the air, sending a sound transmission to Burapha using qi, before vanishing like a ghost. With Sila"s final piece of advice, Burapha was left alone.
As he was by himself and had no one to rely on, Burapha had to force his way out with his own ability. He released a heavy sigh as he estimated the distance between him and Lost Ghost. He then concluded that he wouldn"t make it with his double Psychic Impact.
Burapha"s advantage right now was him being in the dark while Lost Ghost was in the open. He wanted his first attack to be as profitable as possible, so he wanted to perform a sneak attack on Lost Ghost. However, it was a difficult task considered the defensive formation around Lost Ghost. The only spot he could aim for was right above Lost Ghost"s head.
A lightbulb turned on in his mind. A certain crazy battle plan emerged in his mind. It was so eccentric that even he himself was unsure of its possibility.
As a psychic type, don"t let common sense chain your creativity... the Tailorbird Mask Man"s voice echoed in his mind.
Burapha summoned his lance into his hands. Lost Ghost"s Rhythm was about to reach where he stood. He had to take action right now.
Fish"s Ally.
Burapha soundlessly activated one of his racial skills. Usually, this skill could grant other people the ability to breathe underwater for a certain period of time. On the other hand, when used on beings of the same race, he would be able to communicate with them through telepathy. Burapha tried activating it while focusing his mind on Lala, his partner who was currently sealed, as the target.
Communicating with a monster in an accessory... Burapha had never considered that it was a valid option. Fortunately, he heard a reply.
—Yes? Burapha.
Burapha felt elated, his lips curling into a smile. This action working indicated that his next idea was possible as well. He quickly explained his plan to Lala, who listened attentively.
Lost Ghost"s Rhythm finally reached the building Burapha was on. Burapha properly maintained his Mind Concealment and took a silent jump. He activated Psychic Impact two times, approaching Lost Ghost. However, like he had calculated, the distance he traveled was far from enough.
As Burapha was about to lose his momentum in mid-air, Lala came out from his ring. She brandished her Trishula and used the blunt edge to strike Burapha"s feet, sending him upward before returning to the ring.
Through a temporary foothold, Burapha could repeatedly activate Psychic Impact two more times, reaching the air above Lost Ghost"s head without anybody sensing him.
Burapha roared "Success!" inwardly. Who would have thought that he could seal and unseal Lala without the voice command?
As a matter of fact, before Sila left, the sound transmission he sent contained psychic type"s ultimate secret.
"For psychic-type skills, as long as they don"t explicitly forbid you from doing something, that means you are allowed."
Lala exited the ring once more. This time she struck her Trishula downward, fiercely sending Burapha to the ground, then returned to the ring.
It was debatable whether the Heavenly Dragon Guild members were too used to living in the sky or not. Even their headquarters was located on the Floating City. They didn"t expect enemies to descend from the sky, especially when the s.p.a.ce around them was clear without any footholds.
Burapha landed right behind Lost Ghost. He immediately struck his lance at Lost Ghost, once.
Since Lost Ghost"s subordinates were showing their backs to him, facing the surroundings, it took them a second to realize that an enemy had appeared. Burapha seized their momentary surprise to sweep his lance around, before a black javelin emerged from Lost Ghost"s back and flew at him.
Burapha ducked down to evade the attack and relied on the enemies" loss of balance to break through the encirclement. He stopped his feet once he had secured a comfortable distance, looking back at Lost Ghost and the others with a calm expression that oozed confidence, even though he himself was far from confident.
The soldiers inspected themselves and found that they were uninjured. Feeling dumbfounded, one of them let out words of wonder, "Nothing happened?"
Lost Ghost canceled his Rhythm and concentrated his power on himself. He asked, "Who are you?"
"The Eastern Sea Evil G.o.d." Although he didn"t quite like the t.i.tle people came up with for him, Burapha wanted to put on an intimidating look. Thus, he decided to declare the t.i.tle that sounded overbearing.
One of the guild members scoffed with contempt. "Heh. Only your t.i.tle is terrifying. What a lame sneak attack. You couldn"t even leave a scratch."
Burapha"s lips curled into a mysterious smirk. "Kukuku."
"What are you laughing at?"
"Who said I did a sneak attack? I simply showed you how pathetic your defensive formation is. If I really wanted to kill you, then you all would have turned into light by now."
"You"re a terrible bluffer! You are just stalling. Guys, let"s finish him!"
Indeed, Burapha was stalling for time, but it wasn"t the way they thought. Burapha was waiting for his infiltrated power to flow to their vital spots.
His patience soon paid off.
"Well, I"ll just show you." Burapha b.u.mped the end of his lance against the ground, spreading a gentle ripple.
Eastern Sea Sailing Lance Art — Undercurrent.
The negative power inside their bodies was small in amount, yet it was locked onto their vital spots. Suddenly, the ten people felt their hearts being squeezed. They coughed out blood and writhed in pain. The same sensation happened to Lost Ghost, but his overall strength surpa.s.sed his minions, so he was relatively fine, just suffering from small internal injuries.
Regrettably, the power Burapha left inside their bodies was too few. n.o.body died.
He quickly came up with a suitable remark and declared, "That was just a warning. You can come at me together."
Lost Ghost swept his eyes around, observing the surroundings. After he had confirmed that Burapha was alone, he issued a command to his underlings, "Those who can move, take the injured ones to get healed. Also, call three more units to this place."
Despite his apathetic expression, Burapha groaned in his mind, "Hey, stop. Just you alone are already more than I can chew."
"Should we gang up on him, sir?"
Lost Ghost a.s.sessed the situation. He realized Burapha possessed some kind of bizarre power. With just a small amount of psychic power, Burapha dealt heavy damage to his men. As such, he deemed Burapha a dangerous man. The war event was near. He didn"t want his men to lose levels pointlessly.
With that thought, he came to a decision. "Don"t. We don"t know what tricks he has left. Just encircle him. I will take him on alone."
Burapha waited until everyone had surrounded him before casually speaking, "Since I"m so much stronger than you, I will give you a handicap. You can attack me once. I will not dodge it. Okay? The Losing Warlord, Lost Ghost."
Curses were thrown at Burapha from the surrounding people. Lost Ghost gritted his teeth. He had held deep shame ever since his loss to Sila in a one-on-one match. Furthermore, he couldn"t take Bluebird down. He became more enraged once he had acquired intel about the man. It turned out that he was incapable of defeating even someone with a weird t.i.tle like The Bluebird of Happiness.
Now that Burapha had touched the old scar in his heart, he let out a roar of rage.
"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I was named the Black Star Warlord long before you started making tiny splashes. Do you think you are so formidable just because you gained a little fame? It"s me who is so strong that I have no problem giving you a handicap! Attack me!!"
"Deal," Burapha replied as he strode forward. No one put a stop to his approaching steps. He then lightly tapped his lance on Lost Ghost"s body.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked Lost Ghost.
"I don"t like exploiting anyone. That was my one attack. We should start now."
Discovering that Burapha was a straightforward man with a more upright nature than he had thought, Lost Ghost was surprised. This situation was reminiscent of the prelude to the fair fight between Sila and Fargo, making Lost Ghost give a look of respect to his opponent.
"Good! Since you are an honest man, we will have a fair fight. No one will interrupt our battle." Lost Ghost"s order caused his subordinates to step back, leaving enough s.p.a.ce for the two to fight.
Burapha showed a solemn expression, but his heart was dancing with joy as his plan had worked perfectly.
"You stupid Lost Ghost! Who wouldn"t seize such a profitable opportunity? You took me, a money-sucking merchant, too lightly!"