Virtual World: Close Combat Mage

“But there were city guards nearby when one of the ladies from my guild was assassinated. She claims that the city guards did not even react in the least, so that means the enemy is not neutral third party players,” July provided her deduction thus far.

“So they are people who are on the side of the City defenders, yet they still wish to clash with us?” The conditions to join the city defender’s forces were evident for all to see, and Sword Demon had of course immediately understood that they must have been from Ray’s side of things, thus he immediately sent a message out to him.

Ray was just strolling around in the city. He had originally wanted to continue his quest to clean up the battlefield, but after receiving a message from Young Master Han cautioning him not to so easily leave the city from here onwards, Ray asked him for the reason. Young Master Han merely answered him with the two words: “Honor killing”.

This was a term that Gu Fei and the others were very familiar with, but they had not spoken anything about this to Ray before, and he only understood what everything was about after Young Master Han gave him a brief introduction to the matter. After Ray’s Bar was established, he would immediately be listed on the leaderboard in the encampments outside the city walls. The city defender’s guilds were nothing like the city assaulter’s guilds, where only the top 100 guilds would be listed out of the over 800 guilds registered to Yunduan City. As there were currently just three guilds defending the city, they would find themselves listed no matter how the guilds were arranged. There were players who discovered Ray’s name the very moment it appeared on the leaderboard, and that drew a sizeable amount of players to research everything about him. There were even guilds who had not picked up the mission for Gu Fei or Sword Demon that each came forward to take the mission to assassinate Ray.

Compared to Sword Demon and Thousand Miles Drunk, there was an incomparable disadvantage that Ray possessed, and that was that anyone from Yunduan City would recognize Ray because he was someone who had opened a bar and would often be active during a set period of time. Everyone knew about Ray’s Bar, and even players from other cities had come to visit the bar specifically, much less the locals from Yunduan City. Ray was most definitely the most recognizable player in Yunduan City, and players who picked up the quest to assassinate him were very confident that they could at least identify Ray if they were to come across him.

Knowing all this, Ray of course no longer dared to leave the safety of the city. All he could do now was confine his search for other quests within the walls of the city. Fortunately, now that he had established a guild, there was a huge amount of quests that appeared given his new identity, so at least he was not bored. However, he was naturally aware that the situation that would likely culminate over time would be occurring soon, right inside the city. Ray happened to have run into a lady from Amethyst Rebirth, and the lady had very warmly greeted the legendary player in a very friendly manner. But when Ray turned his head around, he saw players from Colored Clouds pop out and assassinate the lady right in front of him. When they were done with the deed, they had also warmly extended a greeting to their so-called guild leader.

These days will not pass in peace… Colored Cloud’s targeted killing spree had already begun, and Ray knew that Sword Demon and the others would most definitely come knocking on his front door. Just as he expected, when Sword Demon finally sent a message, it was to ask him about the third city defender’s guild that he had established.

“Uhmm, it’s already very obvious, isn’t it?” Ray was really a little bit at a loss with regards to how he should deal with this situation. He had already pondered about how he should navigate this problem for a very long time, but he had clearly established his own guild and provided a cover for those people that essentially granted them a free pass, yet he still wanted to plead innocent over the whole matter. Ray felt that it would be a little far too naive of him to hold onto such hope, so after all that contemplation, he had not managed to come up with an answer.

“Okay, let me just ask you this one thing. Was it Young Master Han?” The considerate and forthright Sword Demon seemed to understand the position that Ray was straddling over.

“Yes, it’s him,” This was Sword Demon’s one question, so Ray did not wish to be evasive about it either.

“Got it. I understand.” Sword Demon answered.

“All the best to you guys,” Ray felt he was really a little annoying right now.

“You should take care as well,” Sword Demon said.

“Oh?” Ray was a little confused.

“We’re enemies now,” Sword Demon explained.

“Oh…” Ray knew what the saying ‘the tree yearned for peace, the wind might not relent’ meant! With the identity that he now held, hoping to remain innocent and uninvolved in this matter was no more than a fool’s pipe dream. Even if he was not actively participating in the ambushes and was only guild leader in name, if the enemy were to consider this issue from a confrontation angle, they would very soon be making a move on him, the guild leader…

After Sword Demon finished asking Ray his question, he quickly sought to discuss the matter with Gu Fei. Gu Fei was currently wrought with melancholy… extreme melancholy. He had already been transported back to Yunduan City’s Mage’s Academy. After succumbing to an Honor kill, it was the equivalent of him dying 15 times, and adding the two counts from before, he had a total of 17 deaths. Thus, the system had defined him as a heavily injured party, and he needed to spend 15 minutes ‘recuperating’ in the spawn point. What made it all the more infuriating was the fact that he was still holding onto that d*mn*d piece of paper in his hand. Gu Fei had just crumpled up the paper into a ball when he received the message from Sword Demon, which very quickly relayed the current situation inside the city.

“I’ve been tricked by him as well,” Gu Fei glumly replied.

“What?” Sword Demon and the others had not received word about this yet!

“I just got Honor killed,” Gu Fei explained.

“D*mn, then how many more times can you die?” Sword Demon hurriedly asked.

“Don’t be so flustered! I’ve only got a death count of 17 so far, so I’ve still got 8 lives left!” Gu Fei said.

“How were you outwitted?” Sword Demon asked. Gu Fei gave a simple overview of what happened, which Sword Demon concluded with great confidence, “That is his trademark alright. Especially the message on the paper.”

“Let’s not talk about that. Did you just tell me that Young Master Han is also in the city right now?” Gu Fei said.

“Yup!”

“This is a heaven-sent opportunity for me to get my revenge! I’ll go search for traces of him in the various taverns inside the city,” Gu Fei decided.

“The problem is that 8 of the ladies from Amethyst Rebirth has already been killed by their hands,” Sword Demon said.

“I’ll go help avenge them in a while,” Gu Fei replied.

Sword Demon felt that he had made the mistake in thinking that he could discuss this matter that was far more concerning to the interest of the masses with Gu Fei. The man’s line of thinking was a lot more straightforward and plain, and all he thought about was killing, looking to solve everything in one go if he killed them all. Sword Demon turned around and decided that it was better to discuss this with July, “How are all your ladies now? I intend to get everyone to gather together, including those from our side. The enemy is a newly established guild, so they have 50 players at most. As long as we gather everyone together, there’s absolutely no need for us to be afraid of them, and we can search for the enemy throughout the city as a group when we come together.” Sword Demon said.

“Okay,” July agreed with this decision.

“Let us hurry up and gather. Take extra care when you come across anyone unfamiliar,” Sword Demon warned.

“Understood,” July said.

The ladies were far weaker, which was why Sword Demon was more worried about their well-being. Conversely, the players from Extremely Heaven Defying were all at least a little capable, so if they were to come across two or three opponents, Sword Demon was confident they should at least be strong enough to deal with them. However, there was a very strong possibility that the two or three players were just a cover for their actual numbers, and the enemy might very well have a total of 50 players roaming about, or perhaps even more than that. Sword Demon could actually ask Ray about this, but he decided against it. Presently, he reminded everyone in Extremely Heaven Defying that there was such a band of ruffians hanging around the city, and made sure to tell everyone to rendezvous as soon as they can, taking note to be wary of any unfamiliar faces they might come across and stick toward the areas with city guards around as much as possible.

The enemy had 50 players at most, and even if there were more, they would most definitely just be neutral third party players, which means the city guards would be a powerful ally. That was what Sword Demon had determined.

The discussions got heated after everyone was informed by Sword Demon that their enemy would actually resort to such means. Southern Lone Blade and his gang were a squad that valued self-interest, and they expressed 10,000 reasons as to why they did not understand that sort of action. The two guilds were both on the city defender’s side, killing each other in this fashion would essentially causing huge losses to each other, which meant that only the city assaulters would stand to gain. For a guild to do something akin to sewing a bridal dress for another, Southern Lone Blade and his gang would most definitely avoid it at all costs. Who would have thought there would be such a bunch of players from the city assaulting forces who simply did not care about their own gains or losses, and willingly sacrificed their own rewards just so all the other city assaulting players in Yunduan City would benefit from it?

“They are too noble. I cannot help but feel deep respect toward them,” Southern Lone Blade said in their guild channel, with no one having any idea if he truly meant it, or if he was saying it sarcastically.

“Respect? What for? To think they dare to make their move against pretty ladies! This bunch of scumbags, degenerates, ruffians, scoundrels. I must enact justice on behalf of the heavens, and wipe them clean off the planet!!” Royal God Call expressed his ferocious determination.

“Royal, you and your big mouth…” The Thief among Southern Lone Blade’s gang, Blackwater, was beside himself with sorrow. While Royal God Call had been condemning the enemy for their relentless harassment of the ladies, Blackwater was the one who ended up running into said enemy in the next second. Blackwater was very experienced; when he saw that the two men posed as if they were about to take the fight, he took a few steps around and noticed how their surroundings was definitely an ideal position for an ambush set up! Those two men are most likely the bait, right?

As the one among the seven that would always err on the side of caution, Blackwater immediately gave up on the idea of fighting against the pair 2 vs. 1, opting to take the alley beside him and attempt to escape instead.

“We’ve discovered a target who isn’t someone from Amethyst Rebirth,” The small hunting duo from Colored Clouds reported thusly.

“What’s his job class!?” The overall commander of this operation was ultimately Young Master Han.

“Thief.”

“Oh, then carve him up! Limit where he’s going.” Young Master Han gave the order to the two even as he quickly contacted another team to position them accordingly.

“You may make your move!” Young Master Han quickly gave this order once the arrangements were made.

Blackwater had been running the entire time, but he simply could not get away as the two Archers who were not any slower than him were still hot on his tail, though they had not attacked all this while.

The gang of seven had plenty of experience getting rid of enemies on their trail, but Blackwater was feeling very helpless right now. Firstly, there were hardly any players in Yunduan City at the moment, so the empty city meant that it was very obvious where he was running to since he was unable to use the usual method of changing his equipment to throw off the scent. Secondly, Blackwater was not a native of Yunduan City, so he was still very unfamiliar with the lay of the land. He had no idea where would he be able to find the appropriate topography necessary for him to ditch his pursuers, so all he could do was keep running as he observed his surroundings, testing things out as he went.

On the other hand, the players from Colored Clouds were considered natives of Yunduan City, and they had already realized that their target was rather sly during their chase. Several times, they nearly lost sight of the Thief, but it was a good thing that they were sufficiently familiar with the topography around them, so they were still able to hunt him down.

“He’s skilled!” The pair for Colored Clouds praised as they adjusted their positioning according to where Blackwater was headed.

Unfortunately, luck was a critical aspect for experts as well. As Blackwater scurried about randomly in his effort to escape, he had tragically ended up running down an alley which led to a dead-end.

“D*MM*T! It’s a dead-end. I’m doomed.” Blackwater was bemoaning his fate over the guild channel.

“It’s just a death. Face it boldly,” The other comrades in the gang of seven felt that Blackwater’s reaction was rather humiliating.

“CRAP!!” Sword Demon suddenly realized something. “Everyone, head over to the Thieves’ Union!”

“What’s the matter?” Someone quickly asked.

“He’s going to be griefed!!!” Sword Demon had realized that major problem at this point. During the City Wars event, all the spawn points were not designated safe zones, which meant if players on the same side of this war really wanted to sabotage one another, they would just grief someone by camping him or her out in the spawn point, killing said target over and over again. Everything would become a lot easier as this continued on as well, and because the log off points are not safe zones either, even logging out might not be safe either, since players might find themselves being repeatedly interrupted in the process.

“D*mm*t… How far are you guys from the Thieves’ Union?” Blackwater was crying by this point.

“Just try and hold on as best as you can!” Sword Demon insisted.

“I’ve reached the end…” Blackwater saw that the enemy has already caught up to him, and his deduction had been correct. There were not just the 2 men, and it looked like there were 7 men in front of him right now, amounting up to a small party that matched their own gang of 7 in terms of job class composition.

“Hang in there!” A whole bunch of people were encouraging Blackwater over the channel.

“How the heck am I going to hang on? It’s not like I’m Thousand Miles Drunk…” Blackwater helplessly slumped to the ground. He wanted to resist to the very end as well, but Colored Clouds were experts as well, and when 7 of them to turn up in this fashion, they had easily trapped Blackwater in this dead-end without much space to maneuver. He wanted to grit his teeth and take down an enemy or two along with him, but the enemy party had brought along a Priest, so he could not even make this final statement, disappearing in a flash of white light.

Before Blackwater could even open his eyes and take in his new surroundings, the flash of white light that blurred out his sight before consumed his vision again, greeted by sudden flames, sharp blade and arrows as his world dimmed again. Blackwater was in abject anguish. He knew that the situation that Sword Demon worried about had happened, and the enemy had set themselves up in the Thieves’ Union. Indubitably, the enemy’s goal was to consecutively slay him 25 times, directly eliminating him from the City Wars event.

On that note, just what exactly was the treatment for players that had been removed from the City Wars event? Now that players had already figured out what was happening, they learned from the players that had been kicked out of the war effort were all temporarily like the shambling dead. They were different from neutral players, who were able to join in on the assault on the city, even though they would not be able to gain any reward. However, they were able to be present, but the players who had been killed 25 times and removed from the event could not. These players had been forcefully sealed, unable to affect the City War in any way whatsoever. They could not contact players who were assaulting the city, nor were they able to step into the City War’s area of operation. They would find themselves respawning in some place that was not inside the city, or any of the encampments outside the city. If anyone wished to contact these players, the only option was to travel over.

The players who were still alive gave these poor saps various nicknames, such as “4th class citizen”, “Zombie gamers”, “15th District men” and so on.

“Save me! I don’t want to become a 4th class citizen…” Despite Backwater’s relentless struggle, it was already too late. Sword Demon and the others simply could not make it in time to the Thief Union, and Blackwater was unable to put up any fight against the players that kept ambushing him. Time and time again, Blackwater was swiftly killed until the 25th time, and he became the first player to completely die in Extremely Heaven Defying.

“Blackwater?” They had all suddenly lost contact with Blackwater. Previously, the man had been wailing over the channel, and when Southern Lone Blade sent him a private message, he instead got an emotionless response from the system. This time, anyone who wanted to contact Blackwater will first have to first find a neutral player inside the city and pass on the message, before using this same person to contact another neutral player outside of the city, and finally using this neutral player to make contact with Blackwater, now stuck in the 15th district… Southern Lone Blade had no way to achieve this, so he could only be left in the dark about his status.

“Let’s head over to the Thieves’ Union immediately and finish those scoundrels off!!!” Royal God Call was bellowing loudly in the guild channel.

“Those guys are probably gone by the time we make it there,” Sword Demon remained composed. “Everyone has seen what the enemy’s attempting to do, right? Looks like we are their real target. At least they did not employ such a method against the ladies of Amethyst Rebirth. We should all hurry and assemble. We most definitely cannot be on our own.”

“D*mm*t… It’s my turn…” It was yet another one of the seven, the Knight Unrivalled Lucky Star. Currently retreating from the road to Thieves Union, a bunch of unfamiliar faces suddenly appeared and Unrivalled Lucky Star knew that he was about to meet Blackwater soon…

“Oh? You only managed to ambush a single person who was headed toward the Thieves’ Union? That’s regrettable!” This wave of attack that Young Master Han had led suddenly wiped out two members of Extremely Heaven Defying just like that. Furthermore, these two were players who were above average in terms of skills and power, but he was still somewhat unsatisfied.

“I reckon that they have already regrouped by now,” Moonless Water told Young Master Han.

“Yes, that’s for sure. Just let them group up then! Everyone in the guild should meet up in the Hall of Guild Creations. Each of you pick up a quest. Let’s aim to get the guild up to level 2 in just one go,” Young Master Han instructed.

“Roger that,” Everyone began to make their way toward the Hall of Guild Creations.

“Also, I have news for everyone. Over by Yunjiao Lakeside, we’ve already successfully killed Thousand Miles Drunk,” Young Master Han told everyone.

“Wow! We succeeded! Cool!!!” The 300 players cheered. Because they were inside the city, they were unable to exchange any messages with the city assaulters outside the city. It was only through a neutral player acting as a middleman that could they pass on the word. Young Master Han was like a walkie-talkie using this method, maintaining contact with Gu Xiaoshang and the others.

“Don’t be so happy too soon! Our ordeal has only just begun since this means that Thousand Miles Drunk is now back in the city. 8 times. He still has 8 more deaths to go before he will be kicked out from this City Wars event, and we won’t have any advantage until that happens. We need to hurry up and increase this guild’s level,” Young Master Han rallied the men.

—————————————————

Over by the Mage’s Academy, Gu Fei had finally waited out the 15 minutes and he had received messages from Sword Demon in the meantime. He was already informed of the method that the enemy had used on Blackwater and Unrivalled Lucky Star to eliminate them instantaneously from this event. Gu Fei was currently rushing over to where everyone had gathered. He was quite looking forward to bumping into some people along the way, but it was unfortunate that it did not happen.

Everyone from Extremely Heaven Defying and Amethyst Rebirth had gathered together in one place, and the expression on their faces was rather dispirited. Amethyst Rebirth had 8 of their ladies killed, and none of them dared to go out on their quests anymore, while Extremely Heaven Defying had lost 2 of their men for this event, turning them into 4th class citizens, which was apparently their true motive.

“Hmph, these scoundrels. Watch me tidy them up if they dare cross my path!!” Royal God Call bristled with righteous indignation. He was really angry this time.

“Everyone, calm down. This is not the time for us to butt heads with brute force. Let’s work out just what we should do next,” Sword Demon said.

“Just what is Young Master up to this time? Now that he is also a neutral third party player, why is he still intentionally clashing with us? Sword Demon, call him to join us,” Royal God Call demanded.

Sword Demon chuckled bitterly. He understood that person too well, so he did not even bother to waste his time asking such nonsense. He simply patted Royal God Call on the back, “We can temporarily disregard him as a friend for now.”

“Friend? He and I are not friends! Watch me insta-kill him!” Royal God Call huffed.

“Heh,” Sword Demon smiled. Without saying another word, he turned his eyes away, only to see Gu Fei’s figure appear on the other end of the street. He was all alone, walking down the street with such a brazen attitude. He was quite literally the only one who would do something like this, looking like he was awaiting to be bashed.

“Guild leader, 8 of our ladies have been ambushed, what do you think we should do?” The moment Gu Fei arrived, one of the ladies from the guild had immediately stepped forward and asked him this question.

“Who are the 8 ladies?” Gu Fei asked.

The 8 ladies raised their hands. Gu Fei nodded, “Party up with me. Let’s go slay them back.”