MMORPG: The Elementalist

The Chimera Cavalry Troop swarmed in from three directions along with Dinosaurcerer, Black Rock, and Homme Fatale. The Demigod Champion-led rescue team made a comeback and successfully turned the tide of the aerial battle above the forest!

It was common knowledge that once a Pet perished in battle, one had to wait at least twenty-four hours before it could be resurrected. In addition, the Pet would suffer another death penalty—leveling down! For instance, a perished Level 53 Pet would fall to Level 40!

For a battle of such scale, not only would Pet owners lose their aerial combat capability once their Pets perished, but they would also have a hard time substituting their reduced aerial combatants in a short time.

Hence, when the Chimera Cavalry Troop charged into the skirmish in the face of the Ten Great Leagues’ fierce assault, many perished players and Pets rained down from the sky like ragdolls…

The situation was already not looking good for the Ten Great Leagues previously. They had been kept under the pressure of the seventy Demigod Champions from the Fallen Angels, and the involvement of the Chimera Troop just added fuel to fire.

Worse, this was not the only thing they had to worry about. Hundreds of feet below them, Darkmist was looming like a dark beast with its jaws wide open, gluttonously waiting for any careless player to fall into its mouth. Anyone affected by the Darkmist’s Negative Attribute Condition was as good as gone. Without reinforcements, resistance was futile. Soon, their defense started to crumble, and they effectively lost control over the fight above the forest.

“Hang in there, guys!”

The moment the rallied Chimera Troop and Demigod Champions were about to sweep the remaining one hundred men from the Ten Great Leagues, motivational voices came bellowing from below!

A horde of winged players broke free from the dense forest below and rocketed toward the conflict zone.

“Crush them!”

“Force them away from the region shrouded in Darkmist!!”

“Priests, get ready to heal!!”

“Ahoy brothers! Hang in there! Reinforcements are coming! Just keep hanging in there!”

As the saying went, a lean camel would still overshadow a horse. It was an alliance between the Ten Great Leagues after all! Six thousand aerial combatants and the intermittent reinforcements made up eight thousand players. In comparison, there were no more than seven hundred members from the Fallen Angels.

Tier 5 winged players along with Summoners and Priests who were dispatched by the Ten Great Leagues to the forest at the last minute came to a total of one thousand…

Combined with the additional forces of two hundred Demigod Champions, whom they quickly summoned, they were not to be taken lightly!

“Injured ones retreat to heal up!

“Priests, heal our injured Chimeras! Prepare for a second charge!

“All Tier 6 members, get set to land!!”

Qin Ruo’s three lines of command appeared in the Fallen Angels’ League Channel in an orderly manner. His message was conveyed to every member quickly and efficiently.

Although the Chimera Cavalry Troop was formed and trained by the Violent Army Clan, Qin Ruo possessed a great deal of knowledge about their strengths and weaknesses—they possessed excellent defensive capabilities and were able to shine during their initial round of combined attack. However, they could not escape being worn down by attrition and sustaining minor injuries. In short, the Chimera Cavalry Troop was not made for scrimmage.

This was especially true when the opposing force’s counterattack was in the picture. The Chimeras would be their obvious targets… At a time like that, it was of utmost importance to preserve the strength of the Chimeras by calling them back and preparing for a second round of assault.

Hence…

The command to “land” was issued!

Even though their enemies were on an aggressive offense, they were not without an Achilles heel… and a glaring one for that matter.

“Rocky.”

The instant hundreds of winged players poured out from the forest and were about to enter the range of engagement, Qin Ruo led his League members and swooped down in the opposite direction…

With the exception of Black Rock.

A peculiar grin formed on his face. The dude appeared to be unfazed by the flock of winged players charging toward him at full speed.

“Hehe…

“Stay down!!!”

Before he even finished uttering the word “down”, an invisible Gravitational Force instantly spread over the battlefield…

The Ten Great Leagues’ unpremeditated suicide squad did not see it coming and free-fell back to the ground before they could even get into action. What a way to end their glorious entrance!

“Arghhhh!!”

“Gravity Field! My a**!”

“Douchebag…”

Unceasing expletives and various shouts blended together followed by the sound of leaves rustling as they hit the forest floor, or one could say, rock bottom…

The Fallen Angels League waited for the perfect moment like birds of prey and seized the opportunity to maximize their casualties!

Thud! Thud!

Being a hot-headed lad, Wondering Sould was the first to spring into action. He jumped onto the Heaven Peal Lion’s shoulder and took a step forward without hesitation. Indeed, the fastest way to reach his target was a straight line downward—direct and efficient! Performing a somersault mid-air, he dived like a fiery meteor. Once he hit the ground, he wasted no time in swinging his longsword at dozens of adversaries before they could even recover from their fall.

However, Homme Fatale was a notch better when it came to capability and ambition in scoring the most kills…

With his Pet close by his side, Homme Fatale used the Barrier to his advantage and withstood the attacks of multiple players from the Ten Great Leagues with masterly finesse. He then infiltrated the enemy lines like a hot knife cutting through butter in the outrageous style of a one man army.

He held his Compressed Electroballs until the very last moment. Then, an extremely bright light blinded the eyes of everyone in the vicinity.

“Sh*t!”

“Dammit!! My spiders!!! Fatale, you jerk! Friendly fire!!”

Dinosaurcerer screamed at the top of his lungs when he saw Homme Fatale’s flickering Thunderburst in the distance, drawing nearer and nearer.

It turned out that Dinousaurcerer found it a little difficult to shine in the aerial battle as a Summoner. No one wished to be left behind in terms of kill count. Therefore, he already had his eyes set on the thousands of easy targets in the forest early on! He had secretly released a Deathfiend Spider into the forest shrouded in Darkmist.

After that, he waited patiently until his little army of Explosive Venomspiders hatched, and he allowed them to crawl all over the forest stealthily by means of moving on the underside of the leaves. Ta-da! The perfect ambush had been set. He was just waiting for the Ten Great Leagues to walk right into it.

Unfortunately, Dinosaurcerer’s meticulous plan was ruined at a crucial moment when almost half of his spiderlings were fried by Homme Fatale and rolled onto their backs. One could only imagine his frustration!

Dinosaurcerer was speechless. The waves of enemies defeated by Homme Fatale was in stark contrast to the pathetic ten kills made by his little arachnid army. No words could describe his feelings…

***

Close to a thousand winged players were disastrously struck down by the Gravitational Force. Yet, whether they were unlucky or otherwise was questionable because the remaining minority of Summoners and players with Aerial-type Peta who were not affected by the Gravitational Force now had to face the regrouped Chimera Cavalry. The troop’s Barrier was intact and the Chimeras were about to deliver their second round of attack!

On one side, the Fallen Angels were high-spirited like disciplined soldiers.

On the other side, the remnants of the Ten Great Leagues were at a breaking point.

What would unfold next was not surprising in the slightest…

***

The Ten Great Leagues’ plan to stall the Fallen Angels by mobilizing over a thousand players failed miserably. Their vanguard was soundly defeated in the blink of an eye.

The skirmish came to a halt, albeit temporarily, when the Ten Great Leagues’ forces were neutralized. Qin Ruo took the time to ponder something…

“Huh…? Strange!”

“None of their League Masters showed up…”

Qin Ruo suppressed his urge to join the battle himself. He figured that the best way to carry out an assassination mission was to keep a low profile. The Ring of Honor’s mimicking ability perfectly concealed his whereabouts.

However, he did not expect there to be no chance for him to fight at all.

“Oh, yeah! ”

Reminded by Qin Ruo, Dinosaurcerer was suddenly enlightened.

“Good call! Where are their leaders? No sign of them anywhere… Where did they go? ”

Nearby, Violet Orchid who had resurrected a fallen brethren stood up to join their conversation.

“Nothing to be surprised of… These people aren’t stupid… If they were here, the war would have ended quickly…” she said.

“Huh? ”

“How so? ” asked the curious crowd.

Violet Orchid chuckled at the confused Qin Ruo and Fallen Angels.

“In any war, League Masters, Deputy League Masters, and Field Commanders would be the prime targets, right?”

Qin Ruo nodded after he listened to her words of wisdom.

To bring bandits to justice, one had to first take out their ringleader!

This was written in the art of war…

The same logic could be held in the context of gaming. Prioritizing the defeat of opposing high ranking players not only minimized the casualty in one’s team, but also dealt a blow to the morale and the will of the opposing team.

“The most important thing to do when two opposing forces meet is to weaken the foe while preserving one’s own strength. Taking away their ability to fight can unsettle the foe while capturing their leader will determine the outcome of the war!

“If I’m not mistaken, without first securing the advantage, the League Masters of the Ten Great Leagues will not show their faces… even in a scrimmage. For them, death means defeat. And when defeats rack up, their morale will be negatively impacted. In the end, when even their leaders have lost the will to fight, what can be said of the followers?” Violet Orchid continued.

Then, she looked at everyone, especially those who had gone all out earlier, and smiled.

“Besides, they picked the wrong enemy this time.”

***

Qin Ruo grasped the deeper meaning of Violet Orchid’s words.

The League Masters of the Ten Great Leagues hid behind the scene probably because they feared the Fallen Angels’ Champions. Hence, they chose to assume commanding positions and avoided the battlefront lest they damaged the League’s morale when they fell in battle.

However, Deputy League Masters or Field Commanders could also boost their League’s fighting capability. Even if they could not do much, their presence could somewhat make their weaknesses less obvious.

That way…

No matter how the Deputy League Masters or Field Commanders were defeated, there would be another great leader supporting and commanding them calmly, keeping them in line.

Once he realized this, a stern look appeared on Qin Ruo’s face…

In the far horizon, black dots came into sight!

The advantage of height!

Meanwhile, a massive army of players marched toward the battlefield from the far left corner of the forest at a fast pace…

In a mere few minutes, their number increased threefold from thirty thousand to roughly a hundred thousand…

And they were all from the Ten Great Leagues!

In addition…

More reinforcements from the Ten Great Leagues and other organizations arrived at the battlefield incessantly to support their aerial combat team!!

Oh, the pressure!

Thinking about what he heard earlier, Qin Ruo could not help feeling more disturbed…

Next to him, the attentive Violet Orchid noticed the change in his emotions, as though she could read his mind.

“Hall of Heroes, Scarlet Dynasty, Black Jail, and Netherspirit’s Claw have contacted us and offered their assistance. We can request for reinforcements anytime. Netherspirit’s Claw can round up twenty thousand online members. As for the other three Leagues, sending thirty to forty thousand men shouldn’t be a problem.”

Qin Ruo shook his head and dismissed her suggestion.

“Things are different this time…”

Everyone was confused upon hearing that.

Qin Ruo sighed. After a momentary pause, he finally spatt out the reason they had to fight the Ten Great Leagues alone.

“If this was any other time, I don’t think the Ten Great Leagues would dare to attack us because even if we were defeated, they would suffer heavy casualties too…”

Then, he changed his tone.

“But this time around, a mastermind is obviously scheming to use the overall strength of the Angel Faction and the Ten Great Leagues to destroy us, the Fallen Angels. So, I don’t think our enemies have simply been the Ten Great Leagues since the beginning!”

“…If we fail to make it through this crisis by ourselves and drag the Five Great Leagues into our war early on, I fear that it will translate to an open invitation to get involved. Then, we’ll become public enemies of the whole Angel Faction. Every Clan in the Angel Faction will not hesitate to attack us…”

Qin Ruo’s analysis left the members of the Fallen Angels in deep silence. For a moment, only the sound of their breathing could be heard. What Qin Ruo predicted could very well happen after all…

The bounty of four billion gold coins was not a small sum of money… and every man has his price!