MMORPG: The Elementalist

The light entering the mines under the Goblin Mountains was fairly adequate.

Both sides of the cave were planted with aged oil lamps, which sufficiently illuminated the surrounding rocky surface. The environment inside the cave was considerably clean and tidy, as there were no traces of scattering tools and mining sands. Clear water droplets were dripping down from the leaky stone roof and plopping on a giant railroad tie. That was the only sound transmitted from the deep, well-organized tunnel. Other than that, it appeared to be rather quiet in there.

However, this scene did not calm Qin Ruo and Brother Da somehow…

The two Tier 4 Players were apparently sentries sent out by a party who had just discovered the Goblin King. Otherwise, they would not have retreated back into the cave in such a nervous manner.

Although Qin Ruo and Brother Da were unsure of the opponent’s actual headcount, they had come too far to give up on the Tier 2 Goblin King, which could be dealt easily with, and simply allow others to meddle without any resistance.

Besides, they had also considered the fact that the opponent most likely came in a small group since they were only going up against a Tier 2 Overlord. Anyway, two parties led by Dinosaurcerer would soon arrive in batches, so it was still too early to say who would be getting the last laugh. Nevertheless, they still needed to take necessary precaution in preventing their opponent from playing dirty tricks to harass Gold Digger Babe and Little Kitten.

After all, the Goblin King’s appearance represented a chance to gather a Dark Gold Equipment. It was a norm in H&G that one was willing to slaughter other players for a golden opportunity like this.

So, in order to guard against such a potential threat, Qin Ruo rapidly activated a Tier 2 Aquabarrier and extracted out the spare Water Element. This could be used to deal with any potential and foreseeable adverse circumstances.

However, they were unable to catch up with the two players who dashed away after chasing them for quite a distance…

At this exact moment!

“Come quickly! There really are other players here!! You guys have to come in now! They’re already in position to assault the Goblin King!”

The voices of Xiaoxiao, Little Kitten, as well as Gold Digger Babe reached Qin Ruo and Brother Da’s ears almost simultaneously.

“Don’t panic! All of you have to guard your own safety first…” Qin Ruo’s heart pumped slightly faster. He first instructed the three ladies not to make any risky moves before he asked, “Can any of you get a clear sight? How many people are there?”

“…There are 23, wait, 24 of them. It’s possible that they have a Bandit with them too…” Gold Digger Babe was the first to respond. Her tone was unusually nervous and full with urgency.

“Do you think they’re strong?”

“Not really. But, there are two Berserkers who own Golden Tier Equipment.”

Hearing this, Qin Ruo relaxed a little—only over 20 of them meant that they still stood a chance. As for the two Berserkers with Gold Equipment, he was not too concern about them. These past few days, he had met too many players wearing Gold and Dark Gold Equipment, thus he was now mostly numb when he heard Gold Tier…

Furthermore, he had a few of those stored in his own Reserve too.

“Please continue to monitor them while you wait for us to reach there and regroup!”

“Alright! But be fast! They’ve already made their first move!”

“Okay!”

Qin Ruo and Brother Da further sped up after shutting down the voice messenger. Both of them were unwilling to miss this opportunity. No matter what, their people were among the first who discovered the Goblin King, thus they were not going to give up just because someone had already reached there.

“Ruo Ruo, Dinosaurcerer has entered the mountain range with his men, and he’ll reach us in less than three minutes. He asked us to delay those people in the meantime,” Brother Da delivered the message nervously. “Any idea on how we do that?”

“That’s simple, leave it to me!”

Qin Ruo had been participating in various Boss fights for the past few days, so he had obtained numerous experiences of being in such a scenario. At the same time, he was also inspired by what happened at the Devil’s Swamp and had since deduced several methods to disrupt the battlefield. As long as the opponent was not over-powerful, he had the absolute confidence that his plan would mess up the opponents fighting strategy and drag the fight until Dinosaurcerer’s arrival.

…

*Boom! Boom, boom!*

After 30 seconds, two of them finally entered the deepest region of the mining area. The battle had long begun in there, with several warriors and Summoned Beasts holding off the human-sized Goblin King. Meanwhile, more than ten Elementalists and Bowmasters were bombarding it from the rear. Dozens of Goblin corpses were also lying around the battle zone.

All in all, the Goblin King was just a Tier 2 Overlord. It was only as powerful as a Tier 3 Elite Boss. Thus, there was no way it could resist the attack from so many Tier 4 Classes. Its counterattacks were never effective and its HP dropped linearly from 50,000 straight to the edge of 40,000…

Qin Ruo was tense. He scanned his surroundings and found the two girls at a corner near the side of the mines. Gold Digger Babe had concealed her trace. There were also a few Level 20 Beginner Miners nearby, who were paying close attention to the battlefield, holding onto their shovels excitedly.

As the four of them reunited, a few Summoners from the fighting party looked angrily in their direction and gave them a loud warning based on the advantage of having 24 Tier 4 Classes, “Don’t come near, or else bear the consequences!”

Qin Ruo did not have the time to discuss human rights and freedom issues with them. He quickly grouped the party up and instructed them to follow their initial plan before he swiftly rushed out toward the battlefield.

“Sis, please take Xiaoxiao and hide over there. You shouldn’t join the fight!”

Gold Digger Babe exhorted her sister once again. Then, she joined Brother Da as they dashed into the battlefield behind Qin Ruo…

“F*ck! Are you guys looking for trouble?”

“F*ck off! Or prepare to bear the consequences!”

Those players in the middle of the crossfire against the Goblin King were immediately unsettled when the trio led by Qin Ruo barged in. Although they continuously yelled at the three intruders, none of them attempted to block the three of them as they claimed they would. Instead, they intensified their firing power against the Boss!

Their opponent’s unwillingness to initiate a hostile attack against the intruders was as expected by Qin Ruo and Co. This was because the opponent was uncertain if they had powerful backers. If they killed them maliciously without detailed info, the consequences could be devastating.

It was this underlying concern that provided Qin Ruo an opportunity. However, he was not going to repeat his teammate’s practice, which used an extreme approach like self-destruction to disrupt the enemies. That was the worst strategy ever and should only be used in the direst condition.

What Qin Ruo wanted to do was actually much simpler.

“Water! Condense!”

After he switched to the golden Frostburst Staff, an Aquarampart was rapidly condensed. It took form on the rocky ceiling and hung right above the battlefield.

Taking note of the Gold Tier Weapon in Qin Ruo’s hand, their opponent’s party started to express more anxiety through their eyes. ‘ A Tier 3 Aquamancer with a Gold-tier Weapon, how is it possible that he doesn’t have a powerful background?’

Brother Da and Gold Digger Babe protected Qin Ruo from the side. They did not question Qin Ruo as they witnessed how he manipulated the condensation of the Water Element time and time again without making any solid or direct disruptive move.

Gold Digger Babe believed that Qin Ruo had to have his own reason to act in such a way, while Brother Da was well aware that Qin Ruo had a cunning mind. Qin Ruo’s confidence certainly stemmed from the fact that he had already thought of a perfect plan. So, all Brother Da needed to do now was provide the best protection to Qin Ruo.

The only concern left was most probably Xiaoxiao!

She may not have understood the game completely, but she could still recognize the difference in strength between tiers well. As for their current situation, she was only able to match up against a Tier 2 Aquamancer at most. Other players and monsters were way out of her league. Thus, when she saw how Qin Ruo went up and attempted to contain so many Tier 4 players all by himself, she became extremely uptight. She held her breath anxiously and had her eyes fixed on Qin Ruo, who continued to condense Aquaramparts above the battlefield.

Along with Qin Ruo’s strange actions and the expansion of the Aquaramparts, attacks from the twenty over players apparently became more concentrated. Another round of attacks fell upon the Goblin King’s body, which looked like a golden statue.

Luckily, the Goblin King’s immunity against Magic Attacks was rather adequate. Just as its HP dropped below 40,000, Qin Ruo decided to launch his next move.

Five Frostramparts, like five fire-blocking pistons, crashed down on the ground with a loud bang. Besides sending out an array of giant quakes, the ramparts cut off the firepower of more than ten Elementalists like an insulator.

Of course, the Frostramparts did not crash directly onto the Elementalists. Qin Ruo was not arrogant enough to believe that he, as a Tier 3 Aquamancer, had the capability to anger so many Tier 4 Elementalists all at once.

Instead, the five Frostramparts fell precisely in front of those Elementalists. The Frostramparts measured at two-meter square each, and they directly blocked out their front vision, which caused them to lose their target. Since the Elementalists could not lock on their target, they were unable to launch any Magic Attacks.

It was such a simple operation that gave the Goblin King a golden chance to retaliate.

The Goblin King was indeed an Overlord. With an intelligence comparable to the players, it seized the moment when the players’ firepower halted. It brought up a piece of land with well-organized Spikeweed, which centered around the Goblin King and extended out to a ten-meter radius.

Without the Elementalists’ firepower, the warriors in front were all struck by the Spikeweed from the ground. Groaning in pain, the Goblin King bumped away a Titanwraith Berserker before it and charged toward the Elementalists like a loose cannon. The opponents were not a Clan Party, so they could not afford a Beastblood Berserker.

“F*ck!!”

“Summoner! Block the Goblin King!”

“Warrior, retreat for defense!”

“Bandit, move out and kill the Aquamancer!”