Chapter 468 - Ray of Hope
Both sides fought fiercely, with players dying left and right. Since the graveyard was relatively closeby, the fallen players would run back to their corpses, revive, and jump back into the fray.
After a while, 20 Sapphire Shrine players rushed over to support h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter’s group. Not willing to be outdone, Alliance of Mages had also called over nearby reinforcements. The scope of the conflict was growing by the minute, with any semblance of a battle formation long lost in the chaotic melee.
Since a.s.skickers United’s side was too heavily outnumbered, Alliance of Mages gradually seized the advantage.
Asura surveyed the battlefield and spotted three of his companions being overwhelmed by two Warriors from a.s.skickers United. He rushed over and rammed into one of the Warriors with Charge. He then hacking down with Great Cleave and sent the Warrior flying.
“Asura, these guys are f.u.c.king crazy!” a Warrior cried out. He and two others were facing just two players from a.s.skickers United, but they were still being pushed back. The difference in individual strength was clear as day.
With roughly equivalent level and gear, Alliance of Mages was no match for a.s.skickers United. Which player in a.s.skickers United hadn’t died ten or twenty times? They were far more experienced in combat than most other players. On top of this, none of them feared death. One of the contributing factors for this was a.s.skickers United’s vast wealth. No matter how great the setback, Nie Yan would always figure out a way to help them get back on their feet. They were always amply rewarded for every enemy killed, so why would they worry about suffering some losses in the process?
Alliance of Mages was different. Their benefits were nowhere near as great. a.s.skickers United had fewer players on top of possessing extremely lucrative sources of income. Meanwhile, Alliance of Mages could only rely on the investment of the Century Financial Group. What virtual a.s.sets they did possess were limited. Their guild leader naturally had to think about cost saving measures. Also Alliance of Mages was five times the size of a.s.skickers United, so the amount of resources they could allot to each member was much less comparatively. Nor could Alliance of Mages hold a candle to a.s.skickers United either. While players from Alliance of Mages would only think about self-preservation during battles, unwilling to lose their equipment or drop levels, players from a.s.skickers United wouldn’t hesitate to give their lives for the greater good of the guild.
This was why h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter’s group could still put up a good fight despite being heavily outnumbered.
“Squatman, how many did you kill?” Happy Hermit asked.
“Six, you?” h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter said proudly.
“d.a.m.n, I’m not even close,” Happy Hermit said gloomily. He had only killed three players, two of which were Priests.
Different cla.s.ses had different responsibilities. Even without as many kills, Happy Hermit performed remarkably. Priests were much higher priority targets than other cla.s.ses in group battles.
“d.a.m.n those Alliance of Mages b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! Their Thieves killed one of our Priests,” h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter cursed. Thankfully, their main Priest, Dancing Moon Fairy, hadn’t been killed. Her potent heals could support up to eight players at the same time.
“I’m going to kill those two Warriors!” h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter said. He activated Indomitable Will and rushed forward.
The battle entered a stalemate.
Asura glanced around the battlefield. Right now, h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter was being pincered by three players. Yet he didn’t show the slightest bit of fear, braving the attacks of two Warriors and a Mage.
Divine Quake!
h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter slammed his sword into the ground, stunning the two Warriors. He followed up with Holy Sacrifice as two beams of light fell from the sky and struck them, dealing more than 1,000 damage each.
“What a c.o.c.ky brat…” Asura coldly remarked before charging towards h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter.
“Squatman, be careful!” Happy Hermit warned.
However, it was too little too late. Asura arrived in front of h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter and struck out with Tendon Break, immobilizing him.
The two Warriors recovered from their status impairments. They immediately ganged up on h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter with Asura, unleas.h.i.+ng attack after attack before finally sending him flying away.
Seeing h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter getting killed, Happy Hermit cursed. He stared daggers at Asura, but he knew now was not the right time to deal with him. Asura was guarded by too many players. Happy Hermit could only remain in stealth and wait for an opportunity to strike.
Asura kicked h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter’s corpse and picked up a piece of equipment.
“Tsk, just a piece of garbage.” Asura immediately moved onto his next target.
Roughly five minutes later, h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter returned to his corpse in spirit form. After reviving, he ducked into the forest surrounding the square and recovered his health and mana. He felt extremely gloomy.
Seeing h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter’s name light back up in the team window, Happy Hermit laughed. “Man, I gave you an early warning. But you still didn’t want to back off.”
“Early warning my a.s.s! By the time you said anything, it was already too late. How was I supposed to know that guy was gonna rush me from behind? I almost had those two Warriors too!” h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter cursed. After recovering his health, he stood up. “Come on, let’s kill that b.a.s.t.a.r.d together!”
Happy Hermit nodded. “Sure, I’m down for teaming up.” He locked onto Asura in the distance, then started making his way over in stealth.
h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter tried to force an opening.
Indomitable Will!
After gaining a burst of speed, h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter madly charged toward Asura.
“Fool! Dying once wasn’t enough for you, huh?” As Asura prepared to meet h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter head-on, he suddenly felt a chill at the back of his neck.
c.r.a.p! Asura tried to react, but it was too late.
Happy Hermit struck Asura squarely in the back of the head with Smothering Strike.
h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter took advantage of this opportunity to rush over and slash down on Asura.
“I see you still haven’t made any progress,” Happy Hermit chuckled. He knew some of Asura’s weaknesses and quirks, one in particular was his bad habit of leaving his back open when engaging an enemy.
“Impressive!” h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter praised. He never expected that the infamous Asura would be incapacitated so easily by Happy Hermit.
“Don’t get distracted!”
Happy Hermit and h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter sent Asura to the grave in a mere seven seconds. The nearby Alliance of Mages players had no time to save him.
Since a.s.skickers United and Alliance of Mages had already designated each other as enemies in the system, there were no PK penalties for killing each other. Asura only dropped a single piece of equipment. It was Gold-grade with mediocre properties.
At this moment, another 30 players were rus.h.i.+ng over from the east side of the square.
“s.h.i.+t, it’s Divine Protectors!” Happy Hermit cursed after spotting the new arrivals.
With Divine Protectors also joining the fight, the situation looked grim for a.s.skickers United.
The size of this battle had already increased to several hundred people. Players were getting killed left and right, but they would quickly run back to their corpses and revive. Everyone had died at least two or three times, and more and more people were still arriving.
“Squatman, let’s retreat. If we don’t, they’ll sp.a.w.n camp us,” Happy Hermit suggested. The opposing side had too many people while their reinforcements were still on the way. By the time they finally arrived, it would probably be too late.
“Alright, let’s retreat.” h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter agreed. It appeared this was their only option.
Nie Yan just happened to arrive at the square at this moment. Seeing the commotion, he was taken aback. What was happening over there? Before long, he heard several nearby players chatting.
“Seems like Golden City is sealed off right now.”
“Why? What happened?”
“I heard some players from a.s.skickers United and Alliance of Mages got into a fight. It seems pretty heated.”
“How about we go over and watch the show. Who knows? We might get lucky and pick up one or two pieces of equipment.”
Nie Yan’s mind trembled. He rushed over to the entrance of Golden City.
Nie Yan surveyed the battlefield. Several hundred players were fighting up ahead. It was extremely chaotic. a.s.skickers United was gradually losing ground, with their players dying everywhere.
At this moment, three a.s.skickers United players were fleeing in Nie Yan’s direction. They were being pursued by players from Alliance of Mages.
“You gutless tras.h.!.+ All you guys know how to do is run!” one of the Warriors shouted.
That Warrior was just about to charge over and kill a fleeing Thief, when a cloaked figure appeared behind him. Struck in the back of the head with Smothering Strike, then Backstab and Eviscerate, he dropped to the ground with his face frozen in shock.
The Alliance of Mages players in the vicinity were all caught by surprise.
“What the h.e.l.l! Who is that?”
“You’re looking to die, b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
As these players cursed at the cloaked figure, their gazes gradually drifted to Zennarde’s Sword in his hand.
“T-t-that’s Zennarde’s Sword!” one of the Mages cried out in horror.
“It’s the Mad Rogue!”
This cloaked figure was surrounded by seven Alliance of Mages players. Despite not revealing his appearance, just from seeing Zennarde’s Sword which burned with ichor black flames, they instantly recognized his ident.i.ty—Mad Rogue Nirvana Flame!
“The boss is here!” h.o.r.n.y Potter Squatter, Happy Hermit, and the rest cried out in joy after spotting this flaming black dagger.
All the a.s.skickers United players on the battlefield boiled over with excitement.
“Why is the boss here of all places?” Happy Hermit asked in excitement. Just as they were being routed, who could’ve expected the tide to turn like this! Nie Yan’s appearance was a like a ray of hope.