Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 48 First Squadron, First Five!

At this moment, Ye Ci was able to hold back the Elite Guard with her exceptional adaptability and her fantastic mechanical skill. She kited it to death in an extravagant fashion while the party just watched. At this point, those who were still filled with indignance were finally accepted Ye Ci. An Elite Guard that would usually take 25 players to take down was defeated by her alone. If this news got out, it would be an embarrassment for them.

The party members revived themselves and ate some supplies to recover their health. They no longer gossiped about Ye Ci. Her actions earlier were like a slap to their faces.

Ye Ci sat on a rock at the side, patting Ol’ Three’s head. She quietly scanned the crowd with an icy gaze.

The group of twenty four players were all scared witless by her stare. It was only after a while that some of the more courageous players finally asked, “Leader, do we still push onwards?”

Ye Ci’s intimidating gaze immediately swept over the few who were still chattering. Those she stared at were all frightened and no longer dared to speak.

The world was just like that, if you wanted others to obey you, a few flowery words would not be enough. The most direct method would be to let the other party know of your valiance. Then they will automatically submit to you.

“I know that you might think that I do not have the capabilities to lead you guys. However, I’m only here to clear this dungeon. Your thoughts are none of my concern.” Ye Ci said in an icy, unsympathetic tone.

The moment she said this, one of the players who were discontented with Ye Ci immediately spoke out, “Who do you think you are? You don’t speak clearly, you don’t give us many pointers, and you expect us to clear the dungeon? What do you think we are? Demigods?”

Ye Ci glanced sideways at the player, then she stood up with a gentle expression and spoke in an indifferent tone, “The elites of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear can’t even do their job with a change in commander.”

Although this sentence was as light as the feather of a goose, its impact however was as heavy as that of Mount Tai, causing all of the players to turn red with anger. In reality, Ye Ci had already clearly explained the method to clear the dungeon right at the start.In between, she had given relevant heads-up at the appropriate times. However, the real issue was that they were not used to being given such efficient commands. Additionally, they were not really willing to follow Ye Ci’s orders therefore they weren’t able to display the full extent of their abilities.

This was a matter that nobody wanted to admit. It was without doubt that they would rather push all the blame to Ye Ci, this ‘outsider’.

Turning around, Ye Ci ignored the angry rants of those behind and said tranquilly, “Those who don’t wish to fight can choose to retreat, those who wish to fight can just continue.”

Instantly, she heard consecutive sounds from the system notifications.

“Random Dance of the Sakuras has left your party.”

“Only One Meter Four has left your party.”

“Strange Differences has left your party.”

……

After the sound from the system notifications stopped, Ye Ci glanced around at the players left. There were roughly 10 players who left, not a lot but not very little either, there were only 15 players left. The remaining players who stayed back comprised of those that were completely convinced of her strength, those that were simply not resigned to giving up after such a long fight and those who wanted to earn DKP.

The MT and Secondary Tank had left the party, while the main healer stayed behind along with the third and fourth healer. Some of the DPS left as well. The party only had half its strength left.

The main healer was a woman of few words. She had excellent equipment and a good character. She was originally skeptical of Ye Ci. However, after witnessing Ye Ci’s outstanding performance, she made the choice to follow Ye Ci’s lead and clear the dungeon since the Huntress was willing to continue pressing forwards. Despite that, she was still discouraged by the desertion of a portion of the party members, “Leader, do we still continue?”

Ye Ci studied the Cleric named Cherry Blossom and smiled, “Let’s go, carry on.” She then shouted into the command channel, “Steam, you’re now the MT. Don’t panic, and just do what you would normally do. If the healers does not OT, Steam will be alright. As for the DPS, just dish out the highest damage possible.”

Ye Ci’s words alarmed Steam, who was only the third tank. His equipment was not as good as the MT, and he did not have much experience. His palms began sweating after hearing Ye Ci’s , “Leader, I’m afraid that I can’t control the aggro.”

“It’s okay. There’s only one rule. All the DPS can only attack the monster being engaged by the tank.”

The requirements set by Ye Ci was as low as possible. It was the basic task of any DPS player. However, the DPS players were afraid. Was it payback for their insubordination? Was she trying to get the party annihilated?

Despite that, there was a golden rule that the party leader was the highest authority in a dungeon. The DPS players could only obey Ye Ci’s command and dish out as much damage as possible. Strangely, none of them seemed to have the problem of OT. No matter how much damage they’ve dealt, their aggro did not exceed the value of their tank.

The DPS players began gossiping among themselves, “That’s weird, I had to hold back when it was the MT. We’d even OT if we’re not careful. Why did we not OT just now?”

The reason was simple. Ye Ci had been lazing off earlier. But with so many party members deserting, she had to put her back into the task and dish out damage to make up for the lack of numbers. Her aggro immediately exceeded everybody in the party. But with her Decoy skill that has a 10 seconds CD, she was able to transfer her aggro to the tank every now and then. It was impossible for the others to OT.

Other than that, the DPS players soon discovered that the damage output of Ye Ci, which had always been mediocre, was higher than every one of them and was rising rapidly. Despite the fact that the dungeon was filled with Elite Monsters, Ye Ci could still deal enormous amounts of damage to the mob.

The remaining 14 party members of the first squadron could not believe themselves when they reached the Automaton Formation. Despite being slower in terms of progress, their survivability had greatly increased.

Ye Ci located the related NPC, set up the cannon emplacement, and instructed the remainder of the party members to take a rest.She left Steam to pass her the ammunitions of the cannon.

By now, the group’s trust towards Ye Ci had become incomparably firm. Although they had been annihilated several times in this part of the dungeon, they still had confidence. They believed that as long as Gongzi You was with them, the Automaton Formation would be nothing.

Even when she was facing the Automaton Formation alone, the party believed firmly that they would be able to make it.

Ye Ci delivered. After attracting the attention of the mob with some arrows, Ye Ci bombarded the formation with the cannon. The results were better than that time with the second squadron. She was able to annihilate the entire Automaton Formation with two shots. The entire process lasted less than 30 seconds, and the 15 party members all received the achievement [Berserk Destroyer].

Cheers erupted among the party. They could not believe their eyes. The problem that had hindered their progress for days had been solved in a flash.

Ye Ci was the center of attention. Many of the party members offered her hugs. Ye Ci, who was not used to such intimate social interaction felt overwhelmed. Her face reddened. She waved her hands and said, “It’s too early to celebrate. Do it when we clear the dungeon.”

With high morale, the party continued their advance. With the Automaton Formation defeated, the did not face any more difficulties. They had a minor setback in the fight against Automaton No.48 because the equipment of their tank were not on par, and there were several occasions where he was nearly killed. However, he was able to survive with the help of Cherry Blossom and the other two healers.Finally, they were able to clear the dungeon.

The moment Automaton No.48 was defeated, the system message began to flood the channel.

“Congratulations ‘Gongzi You’ for clearing the Automaton Formation dungeon. Rewards: 100 Black Rock City prestige points. Achievement: Automaton Formation First Five.”

“Congratulations ‘Cherry Blossom’ for clearing the Automaton Formation dungeon. Rewards: 100 Black Rock City prestige points. Achievement: Automaton Formation First Five.”

“Congratulations ‘Steam’ for clearing the Automaton Formation dungeon. Rewards: 100 Black Rock City prestige points. Achievement: Automaton Formation First Five.”

……

The remaining 14 members of the first squadron showed the same reaction as the second squadron when they cleared the dungeon. They screamed in joy. Even when they were unable to get the First Kill, they still managed the achieve the second place of the First Five since no other guilds were able to clear the dungeon yet in the past few days. Additionally, they did it with only 15 members in their party!

Facing the excitement from her party members, Ye Ci originally planned to just hide in a corner and hoped to slip away undetected. However, she was found and the group tossed her into the air repeatedly.

As the group was celebrating in the dungeon, regret welled in the 10 deserters who had gathered in the guild conference room. They were embarrassed when Zero Arsenic laughed and said to them, “You guys lack patience.”

The deserters were the ones who had asked for a live broadcast of the dungeon clearing process. Although they had difficulties with the first few monsters they encountered,the party with only fifteen members remaining was able to reform itself into a formidable fighting machine under Ye Ci’s command.

The 10 were especially surprised when Ye Ci was able to defeat the Automaton Formation. Their hatred and distaste against Ye Ci turned into endless regrets.

Flawless Reflection cringed after Steel-Blooded Battle Spear grabbed another spot of the First Five for the Automaton Formation dungeon. He felt pained as he looked at Automaton No.48 who was at the end of its life. They were very close in defeating the BOSS. Although they were also featured in the system announcement, the attention they garnered was not as much as Steel-Blooded Battle Spear.

After all, Steel-Blooded Battle Spear was able to achieve First Five twice.

The BOSS was looted by Steam. His luck was quite good. Although their loot was not as much as the second squadron, they were still able to obtain 3 skill books and 11 equipments. Ye Ci received an equipment and Skill Book after the spoils were distributed.

The entire party was overwhelmed with joy.

Upon exiting the dungeon, Ye Ci sent a message to Thousand Sunsets. Despite being offered numerous rewards by Thousand Sunsets, Ye Ci insisted upon receiving only DKP. She then immediately went offline.

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