MMORPG: The Elementalist

In a war, the most important aspects for both sides were the control over air and the efficacy of resurrection.

That was especially so when the war took place in such a remote area far from the city. Controlling the air space was equivalent to controlling the pace of the battle. It meant that they could sacrifice the least in exchange for the most of the enemy’s life. On the other hand, the number of Radiant Priests represented one’s supportive capacity. More Radiant Priests implied that a Party could absorb more casualties, thus putting them in a more favorable position.

In the battle between the Fallen Angels and Ten Great Leagues, all individuals involved were air combatants.

Under such circumstances, the Ten Great Leagues that had the number advantage could continuously supply troops into the battlefield as long as they did not completely surrender the air to the Fallen Angels. They only had to make sure that there were enough Radiant Priests at all times to revive their killed comrades.

This was perhaps the reason why they did not panic even though their air force had been brutally massacred by the Fallen Angels during their first encounter.

Their strength lay in their sheer number! Early on, they had set aside at least one thousand players to standby within the forest. Among them, the number of Radiant Priests was as high as four hundred to five hundred individuals.

Although about a hundred Demigod Champions had fallen, they were confident that the group would soon return to the battle. They would then flank the Fallen Angels from below and give their arrogant enemies the final blow they deserved.

***

That being said…

To the Ten Great Leagues’ surprise, when the Priests and their guards rushed straight into the forest area to save their fallen comrades on the battlefield, several dense patches of fog suddenly began to engulf the jungle.

The fog emerged from behind some giant trees without prior warning and spread in all directions.

“Be careful!” Those from the Ten Great Leagues were immediately on full alert.

While it was common to bump into monsters in the dense jungle, it was too coincidental, as though the culprits had been awaiting their arrival.

The only plausible explanation was that the Fallen Angels had set up a trap there early on.

“Could it be poisonous?”

The group watched on as the dark fog rapidly shrouded the woods in front of them and completely blocked their visions. Their vigilance was further raised by a few degrees.

That was when a few Elementalists exclaimed at the same time, “Something’s not right! The fog is no ordinary spell!”

“My Elemental Perception is bouncing back!”

“Mine as well!”

After the claim, other Elementalists also tested and proved the discovery. They were getting more and more distressed by the mysterious fog.

“F*ck!” Someone had finally taken notice.

While the players were contemplating, the initially separated clouds of dark fog started coming together as if they intended to so from the beginning.

In the blink of an eye, the dark fog coalesced into one large band and completely sealed off the forest right in front of the rescue team.

The players from the Ten Great Leagues were blinded because neither Elemental Perception nor light was able to penetrate through the fog efficiently.

They were especially enraged when they found out that the covered area was exactly where they were planning to go. Not only did the fog conceal all the Demigod Champions’ corpses, but it also began to spiral upward, clouding the air above.

“Don’t just stand over there!”

“The Fallen Angels are trying to slow us down. Quick, get in there and save our members.”

“Priests! Stay close. Pyromancers and Swordmasters, take point. Let’s charge in together!”

To resurrect the Demigod Champions as soon as possible and replenish their army, a temporarily-formed Party jumped courageously into the dark trap set up by an unknown enemy.

***

“What’s that?!”

As the dark fog filled the forest underneath and began to surface from the canopy, players in the air from both sides noticed the strange development too.

Just within a few seconds, the dark fog had covered an area with a roughly one-hundred-meter radius. It completely blocked out the Elemental Perception of all the Elementalists in the forest.

The dark fog gradually ascended, and now the dark region in the jungle beneath had slightly disturbed the battlefield. The air combatants subsequently flew higher to stay away from the mysterious fog.

Some who were curious about the fog did not leave immediately and willingly allowed themselves to be wrapped by the dark fog.

A second later…

“Ahh!!!”

After a few short shrieks, the players who were drowned by the dark fog were never seen again.

Such a turn of events deeply frightened those who originally wanted to probe the dark fog. They gave up the idea and evaded swiftly.

In contrast, those from the Fallen Angels continued to attack, quickly soaring fifty meters higher as soon as they saw the dark fog. The height they stopped at happened to be where the dark fog had stopped expanding. The brief chaos allowed them to magnify their damage on the Ten Great Leagues.

That alone was enough to tell that the dark fog was orchestrated by the Fallen Angels.

***

Since those above had suffered from the calamity, needless to say, the Party on the ground that barged recklessly into the dark fog was exterminated as well.

Hearing the shouts and cries coming from the dark fog, in addition to the gasping warnings sent through the League Channel, the one thousand troops outside grew more fearful of the creepy fog.

After what seemed like ages…

A pale Swordmaster covered with Aura Drill came tumbling out of the dark fog. He stuttered and provided no meaningful answer to the queries fired eagerly by the others.

He gradually blurted out information that everyone had already known.

For instance, the dark fog slowed down players who entered the region. Moreover, one’s field of vision within the dark fog was extremely narrow.

As for the thing that had assaulted them, it was known as the Ancient Ghostvine!

The Swordmaster immediately heard painful screams once he entered the fog. After he received numerous notification telling him most of the team members had been killed, he finally broke down and forced his way out using his Elemental Armor and Aura Drill.

It was hard to blame him.

Initially, everyone thought it was just some simple trick that the Fallen Angels pulled to buy time, or a basic trap that they set up using some harmless low-tier monsters.

They never thought that those who entered the fog would be killed so easily. Worse still, none of them knew what the enemy looked like and where it struck from. They were completely out of ideas at that point.

Continuing to send troops into the dark fog in that situation would be futile.

Oppressed by Ancient Ghostvines, the rescue team decisively gave up on their original task and began to retrieve information about the Ancient Ghostvines from other Leagues.

The attack from an Ancient Ghostvine was simply too powerful!

Almost every Tier 5 player who went in had been instantly killed. Its power was comparable to that of a Tier 6 Miniboss.

Since the dark fog would greatly reduce movement speed and the forest was full of giant trees that provided a good cover to the Ghostvines, it would be extremely difficult to locate and kill the unidentified powerful monsters within the area!

***

“What?”

“Ancient Ghostvines?!”

Inside the meeting room where the ten League Leaders were gathered, they all frowned at the same time after they were informed of the latest updates. The ten of them threw each other a riddled look.

In the end, none of them knew what the hell an Ancient Ghostvine was.

“I knew it. It’s not that easy to bring down the Fallen Angels.”

“This is just great! A group of sealed monsters with the strength of Tier 6 Minibosses coupled with a troublesome dark fog. I bet players from the Fallen Angels are hiding inside too. Who can break through if it’s so tightly defended?”

“If others were to witness this battle, they would laugh at us hysterically. How shameful! The main force of the Ten Great Leagues can’t even handle a few players from the Fallen Angels…”

Black Emperor, who was sitting in the top seat, quickly opened his mouth, “Don’t panic. We can’t afford to lose our cool at a time like this…”

“It’s okay if they’re unable to resurrect the dead. Deliver my order immediately: all Tier 6 players are to directly resurrect in town. After that, ask the Summoner to immediately teleport them back to the battlefield!”

The impromptu measure taken by Black Emperor was their best shot right now.

The more than two hundred Demigod Champions could certainly turn the tides if they were suddenly reintroduced into the battlefield.

“Good idea!”

“Let’s do it!”

The ten League Leaders delivered the same order to their respective subordinates.

***

“What a beautiful strategy by the renowned Winter Demon…” Majestic Hero lamented emotionally after he witnessed the lopsided battle from afar.

Ancient Ghostvines!

He was astonished by the way Qin Ruo had used the rare breed from the Underworld in such a tight situation with a huge success.

He could not deny that Qin Ruo was really a genius!

Deploying the Ancient Ghostvines in a forest made the monsters much more unpredictable. As a result, only a small number of Ancient Ghostvines were sufficient to make the grounds inaccessible. It took away the threat coming from below and simultaneously limited the opponent’s resurrections.

However, the commanders of the Ten Great Leagues had likely learned about the danger of the dark zone and had to be busy working on a countermeasure.

‘Qin Ruo… should have foreseen this too, right?

‘Besides, so far, the seventy Demigod Champions from the Fallen Angels have already destroyed more than a thousand five hundred enemies…’

Majestic Hero’s line of sight automatically fell on the neat and quiet Chimera Troop below him while he thought of that.

As if responding to Majestic Hero’s thoughts, the more than two hundred Chimeras suddenly howled and flapped their wings. They then dashed toward the battlefield in a uniformed horizontal formation.

The rest of the monster troop at the back split into two groups and rushed out from the sides. They rounded the flanks of the battlefield like two flying arrows.

***

At the rear of the battlefield, a few Tier 6 Radiant Priests fell back into position, where the three streams of Chimeras were heading to. Wave after wave of Radiance Buffs were dropped successively onto the riders.

Their upbeat spirit and tidy formation were instantly bathed in layers of shiny glitter!

“Target enemy’s Pets and Summoners!”

“Charge!!”

The roar invigorated the over seventy Demigod Champions on the battlefield. Along with the Chimera riders who were covered with a purple Barrier, they launched their most ferocious assault yet on the Ten Great Leagues’ army from four directions concurrently.

Under the frightened gazes of the Ten Great Leagues’ members, the fiery force of retaliation by the short-handed Fallen Angels marked their final straw