War Grounds

"Huh? Wh-where am I?" The pain in Al"s head was throbbing. He was currently sprawled on the ground.

[Warning!]

[Player"s brain activity is in a critical state. Please leave the game as soon as possible.]

The sound of the system"s alerts amplified Al"s dizziness.

"More tentacles?" Al was starting to get up when he noticed three slimy appendages crawling toward him. He immediately remembered what had happened a while ago. He took down RockSalt"s tentacle with the aid of SARS. However, why are there some more?

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! So, it was you who killed my creature, a while ago! Die and let me feast on your dead body!" Al"s premonition was right; RockSalt was just a few body units away from him.

"s.h.i.+t! Why is he here?" Al suddenly felt numb. His heart raced fast. His instincts told him to run.

[Al Gentrix So Strong! Run! Run! Hostile player detected! Hostile player identified!] With the sound of SARS" mechanical voice, Al had finally managed to force Udil"s body to cooperate.

For almost two years of playing, Al was very familiar with the word, "run." It was the last say of those who were weak enough to outrun their predators in this world they call as "War Grounds."

"SARS? Why am I still in the game? And why is everything, red? SARS!" He sprinted while asking the robot, the tone of the color "red" in his display was starting to mellow.

The word "run" can really do wonders.

[Idiot, Al Gentrix So Strong. Focus on running! Live first, and I"ll answer your questions. Bye.] SARS berated.

"Fvck! I don"t want to die!!!!" Al screamed the h.e.l.l out of his lungs as he willed his body to run faster.

"An open door!"

Three blocks away, Al saw an opening in a ten-story establishment.

Enter!

Al did not dare to look back as he ran for his life. As a consequence, he did not see what had happened in between.

Tsok! Tsok!

Two of the three chasing tentacles were pinned on the ground by black arrows. These two wriggled as they struggled to break free. After a few seconds, the violent efforts stopped as their HPs reached zero.

Previously, RockSalt"s HP was already down to 72%, after tangling with Darwin & Almond, plus the damage of impact from being thrown away by Reinier"s force. With the death of his two tentacles, his HP further decreased to 65%.

RockSalt glared at the source of the arrows. Who the h.e.l.l had effortlessly shoved off 7% of his HP?

On top of one of the nearby structures was a female human in yellow clothing. The upper left portion of her face was that of an eagle - Tripod Sunset.

Aside from the cla.s.s, "Scout," Rangers are second to none when it comes to tracking.

"s.h.i.+t!" RockSalt immediately changed his direction. However, before he could even move, an Elf in green cloak greeted him with a slash.

s.h.i.+ng!

Two green-edged daggers aimed for his throat if not for his tentacles" well-timed block.

The thing about RockSalt"s tentacles was that it was a number"s game. Each unit carries 3.5% of his HP. So, he must strike a balance between the numbers he controls, as every death of these summons means deduction to his life.

Against strong opponents, he may negate further damages by only sacrificing 3.5% of his HP or more, depending on the area he needs to block. If pitted against those with low battle power, he could just simply swallow them with the numbers he could summon.

Tyler"s daggers claimed another 7% of his life. "Fvcker! Scram!"

The tentacles around RockSalt were starting to form another stinger, which he had previously used against Yamasteh. However, before he could even form a weapon, a gurgling sound came from above.

"Takoyaki!" It was a hungry-looking, green-skinned orc - Was.h.!.+

Splurge!

Black blood spurted out as Was.h.i.+ngtonBusy smashed the tentacles. There were ten of those units, and only six managed to survive.

RockSalt"s HP now was down to 44%. Just when he was about to retaliate, he saw three cannonb.a.l.l.s heading toward his location.

Boom! Booom! BOOM!

RockSalt hurriedly rolled to his left side, but he was still grazed by the area covered by the three successive explosions. This time, the remaining six tentacles finally died. He lost 21% of his HP from that attack by DarwinSniper.

He suddenly found himself cornered as he was just about to recover from the ambush of Tripod Sunset. Unfortunately, he was not given the time to do so as the four started a coordinated attack.

"s.h.i.+t!" Judging by Tripod Sunset"s aura and power, he knew that she alone could solo-kill him, but with these additional three attackers, his death was imminent.

Arrows, bombs, a pair of daggers and a mace, what would hit him first?

It should have been the arrows, but a white light enveloped RockSalt first.

Pak!

Boom!

Shlick!

Bam!

The four attacks landed, but they were not able to kill RockSalt as his health was restored.

"Great timing, Almond! The rest keep up the offense. No one"s allowed to use any skill!" It was Lidar standing on top of a building, together with Yamasteh, and the source of healing - AlmondMeek.

RockSalt was dumbfounded and wanted to cry. Lidar was really keen on making him a practice dummy for his students.

The guild leader of the Stone Troopers did not move, as the other four bombarded him with their basic attacks, while Almond tried her best to keep him alive. Even if he struggled, it would be futile now that Lidar had arrived.

"Eh? He"s weaker than I thought." Wash grumbled as he kept on pounding the never-ending tentacles.

"Stop this. I"ll turn over the management rights of Alistor City. Stone Troopers admits defeat." RockSalt grimly conceded with his head bowed low.

"Just a few more minutes, until Almond gets a hold of her new weapon. You"re doing a great job, by the way. I would also appreciate it if you would start moving for my students here. Even better if you fight back." Lidar politely answered.

"d.a.m.n you, Lidar!" RockSalt has never been put to shame at this level. He finally retaliated, summoning all of the 79 tentacles.

"Let"s see how your healer and fighter could keep up with this!" RockSalt hissed as he went all-out in attacking, disregarding his defense. The tentacles kept on changing forms, but not a single hit managed to sc.r.a.pe any of his four attackers.

"Fvck! They"re having a good time!" RockSalt helplessly muttered to himself as the four took turns in hitting his head as if they"re playing "whack a mole."

"You small pieces of s.h.i.+t! Haven"t you ever wondered why we were not able to exterminate the guild, Predators?" RockSalt suddenly asked with a funny tone amidst the attacks he was receiving.

He was trying his best to catch at least one of the four, especially the Orc, who kept on screaming "Takoyaki!", every time he hits him. He wants him dead, so bad.

"Interesting. Aside from the fact that your guild is weak. What else could be the other convincing reasons?" Lidar nonchalantly answered.

"Fools! The "Six Purgatories" support the Guild Leader of Predators! Now, tell me that "t.i.tans" is that strong to take on any of the groups belonging to that alliance!" RockSalt snapped back; his eyes were ridiculously enlarged.

At the mention of the "Six Purgatories," the battle stopped.

"Haha! Now you know that you stirred a beast by chasing a fly!" RockSalt knew his words cut.

"Awesome! It looks like my students will have some good training materials from here on." Lidar"s expression was previously grim, but now he was smiling. "However, I wonder what would happen if Almond stops healing you? I heard that the consequences of having a mutated-account were gruesome. Hmmm."

"Fvck you!" RockSalt"s curse was all out as his tentacles even formed a middle-finger.

"Haha! Now, that"s the spirit! The deal would be simple. Disband Stone Troopers, and we"ll let you live." Lidar offered.

"Fvck you! I"ve worked hard to build this guild!" RockSalt was seething in anger.

"So, you"d rather die?" Lidar"s condition was simple. Live or Disband.

"You...!" His previous threat seemed to be nothing. He had the support of the "Six Purgatories," but his enemies now were nothing, but shameless b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Utter fools!

[The Guild, Stone Troopers has been disbanded.]

The system announcement was a global one. It repeated three times. All of War Grounds" players instantly received the notification in all forms of communication available in the game.

"You have courted death, Lidar. You"ll regret this." RockSalt"s expression was somber.

"Alright. Now that we have courted the "Six Purgatories," we might at least send them some greetings. Yamasteh, take that man"s life away as your consolation", Lidar patted Yamasteh"s shoulder. The latter gestured a grateful look in response. He has been holding on for quite some time already. His blood was beyond the boiling point.

"Wash, we"ll be claiming this City, plant the guild"s banner in the city"s plaza. Sunset, ask for reinforcements from our guild leader. A great war is coming, two days from now, once the city protection"s order expires. We"ll be needing all the help we could gather, especially from the "Seven Heavens."" Lidar added.

"You a.s.shole! You did not keep your word!" RockSalt grumbled with unbelieving eyes. He was scammed.

Previously, AlmondMeek did her best to keep the man"s HP at 1%. It was a training of grasping the timing for her healing spells.

RockSalt was currently at 0.05% HP when the fighting stopped. With just a flick from Yamasteh, it"s a goodbye world for him. No, even a level one player could kill him now with an ultimate skill.

"You"re the foolish one here, RockSalt. As a Guild Leader, you should have known better. In the Open World, the strong prey on the weak", Lidar lectured. "Let"s see what will happen to a mutated account, once it dies. I can"t wait to examine the loots you will drop for us. Thank you for your wonderful donations! Our Guild will surely take care of your souvenirs."

"Fvcker!" RockSalt growled.

Gold light s.h.i.+mmered from Yamasteh"s position. His golden gauntlet was one with his anger.

With only less than 1% of his HP remaining, RockSalt gulped. Yamasteh really looked like an Envoy of Death before him.

Death"s Contract!

A dark-golden circular array appeared below RockSalt as Nisha jumped from his position.

However, RockSalt"s sour face suddenly grinned, his eyes mocking the player that was about to kill him.

Boom!

When Yamasteh pounded the ground, he had hit nothing but air.

...

"Hwoosh, hwoos.h.!.+" Al"s breathing was rapid as he scaled the spiral staircase of the building. Just when he was about to reach the top, he stopped before the doorway.

"Why am I still running?" Al looked at his character"s hands. With a first-person view, he took the courage to glance back below.
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A tentacle was still chasing him. However, this time, it was alone, just like the previous one, where he asked for SARS to take over via autopilot.

The summoned unit slowly wriggled, crawling through the railings of the stairs. Five body units away, and it will reach Al.

"I"m tired of running! I"m tired of being weak! Fvck! Eat this, you gummy worm!"

Five candles were lit and attached to the tip of an arrow. It was Udil"s current ultimate skill - Happy Burnday!

Deep breathing. Inhale slowly and completely. Exhale the stress away. Woooohsh.

Time seemed to slow down.

Swoos.h.!.+

The bow"s string was released, and the arrow charged, heading towards its mark - the creeping tentacle.

Hit!

Boom!

Red flames swallowed the target. However, instead of a tentacle, it was the body of a person.

RockSalt.