Before long, Yao Yan lead the 100-man team through the foliage as well. From this distance, we could see You Yiâs men suppressing our comrades with their firepower. That flimsy shieldwall looked as if it would crumble any second now.
âSo how are we gonna do this?â
Old K hoisted up his battle axe and licked his lips. He truly was a bloodthirsty warmonger. Even when he saw how outnumbered we were, the first thing that crossed his mind was not if we can put up a fight, but how we were gonna fight.
âLetâs just go up and chop them; then call it a day!â Cang Lei proposed.
This left me speechless. This moronic brother duo! Itâs a good thing there was Yao Yan nearby. If these reckless punks were left to take command during a charge, we might as well call it GG already.
Yao Yan gave me a look, âChief, your orders?â
I returned a nod to her then gave my instructions in the party chat, âEveryone follow me and charge; if you get stunned by archers, donât panic. If youâre still alive after you recover, then catch up. Weâre aiming for their mage formation. Thereâs still at least 30 healers with Death Godâs Elegy. Once we get over there, 30 of us will get a [Hundred Battles] buff; those people will lead the second charge to break everyone out. If we get stuck back there, it will only end in total annihilation.â
âUnderstood!â Yao Yan chuckled.
After all was said and done, I wasted no time to make my move. After I called out the [Dou Qi Wall] and [Frostâs Armor], with a low howl, I activated the [Dragonâs Whistle of Thunder & Lightning] to apply its buff effect onto the people within ten meters of me. Then, with the Ancient Heavenly Tiger by my side, I charged out at top speed and left behind an afterimage of a red blur. By the time their mages discovered me, it was too late. I triggered my [Halberd Flame] and I plunged right into their midst. A quick chain of indiscriminate attack skills promptly cuts down 5 of them. Then with the twin swords, I opened a path forward and tanked barrage after barrage of attacks. The ones from the archers were still okay, but the magesâ hurt like hell.
ROAAAAAAAAAAAAR!
The Ancient Heavenly Tiger also savagely charged in with me. The image of its giant version was superimposed over it. With all four of its paws ablaze, it ran wild among the crowd. And since [Flame Armor] was on, they couldnât even break its defense; but the shock wave from a timely [Fierce Roar] pounded into the surrounding players.
After Iâd tanked for most of the initial burst, Yao Yan, Cang Lei and Old K led the rest of us over in a frenzied charge. Our hundred people swept right through like a violent gust.
As he watched from a safe distance, You Yi was already grinding his teeth in fury, âDonât panic! Thereâs isnât even a hundred of them! Archers, [Stun Shot]! Mages, [Lullaby]! Kill their advance!â
Finally, a group of âGreedy Wolf Raidersâ returned to their senses. Then nonstop [Lullaby] spells made their way towards us. A dozen or so of us immediately stopped dead in our tracks; only a couple managed to be awakened right away by a hit from a nearby companion. Despite their new orders, the [Thousand Burial] members were simply too untrained; and in their rush, wasted too many [Lullaby]s on the same targets. But even so, we were dealt a severe blow.
â¦â¦
By the time I broke through their encirclement, only 50 or so were still behind me. The rest were either killed off or were being chain stunned/forced to sleep- way back there.
âChief!â
Death Godâs Elegy was astonished, âWhy are you guys here? Whatâ¦â¦â
I hurriedly cut him off, âQuickly have the healers buff us with [Hundred Battles]; weâre breaking you all out! Donât try to engage or weâre all finished!â
âGot it! You guys, quickâ¦â¦â
Streams of light began to shine over us. Yao Yan, Old K and Cang Lei all got the buff, which boosted their attack power by 25%. Scary. Furthermore, 32 of us got an [Anti-Magic Shield] as well. Since all of us were of the heavy armor class, this is just perfect!
I turned around, and found You Yi furiously mouthing off, âShieldwall! Lock Xiao Yao Zi Zai in there as well! You motherf*cking c*nt! Youâre too f*cking full of yourself! You think you can deal with 3000 of us with just 100!?â
Riders from [Thousand Burial] formed up a line and slammed their tower shields into the ground, and effectively cut us off from our companions that had been CCâd during the break in.
â¦â¦
âWhat do we do? Their shieldwall formation is actually pretty solid. Weâve experienced it first handâ¦â¦â Death Godâs Elegy whispered to me as he re-summoned his horse and got on. âIf weâre to break through with brute force, weâll definitely have to pay a deadly priceâ¦â¦â
I flashed him back a grin, âItâll be fine, just charge in after me. Weâll break through to the west!â
âGot it!â
With the plan set, I raised up my hand. Rage Skill: [Kingâs Domain] activate!
A pillar of light burst into the sky. My rage bar was emptied in an instant. A holy shroud enveloped the area within 500 meters of me and all friendlies received a buff. For 2 minutes, they would all enjoy a 100% boost to attack and defense as well a heal over time of 10% their maximum HP for every second. It was only in situations like these, that this Rage Skill could be perfectly utilized.
âKILL!â
Even as the tip of my sword pointed forward, we had all already started to charged out. Mid-charge, I abruptly sheathed my [Brilliant Flame Emperor]. Instead, my now empty left hand swung back, and hid the currents of electricity that swam up and down my arm. At the same time in the sky, dark clouds began to converge over this area; occasionally they discharged small streaks of lightning.
You Yi noticed something wrong and looked up. Immediately, his pupils contracted, âF*CK! Itâs Xiao Yao Zi Zaiâs [Thundering Heavens]! Everyone dodgeâ¦â¦!â
Too late! [Thundering Heavens] began to strike down right onto [Thousand Burial]âs shieldwall. There was at least a couple hundred people within its encompassing area. Numerous lightning bolts which brought hail and blades of wind with them, ripped right through the bodies. It pretty much one-shotted everyone it struck other than some Knights that stacked up HP. But even so, that once imposing shieldwall formation had become an open ground. The ones that were just barely hanging on were promptly finished off by the charge of Yao Yan and company. As for me, the [Kill for Blood] on my [Dragon Reservoir Sword] instantly hit 150%.
The [Flying Scythe War Horse] gave a resounding neigh as it carried me to the very front right into the enemy ranks. Like an unstoppable lightning bolt, I cleared out a path with my dual swords in hand once more. Even You Yi could only run for cover while he directed people to come and try to fill in the gaps. But how could anyone even stand against us during these two minutes? The remaining 200+ of us effortlessly slaughtered our way through.
You Yi wouldnât give up though, and practically howled, âEveryone, mount up and chase them! Theyâve got mages and healers with them; their speed is handicapped!â
Behind You Yi, there was still at least 2500+ people from [Thousand Burial]. No matter what, we were still at a complete disadvantage. Death Godâs Elegy grimly gripped his swordâs hilt and looked towards me. Seems heâs also grasped that we probably might not make it today. Rage was already simmering out of his eyes.
âGuildmaster, you guys go ahead first! Let me take the rear. Itâs about time I settle this with You Yi!â
I cut him off with a swing of my sword arm.
âRejected. None of us will be left behind today. Weâll just set up formation here and face them head on. Wan Er and Dong Cheng should be here soon with our true main force. Thereâll be nothing to worry about.â
Yao Yan also gestured with her shield, âThatâs right! Weâll just duke it out right here!â
Maybe he had heard us and felt endangered, but at this moment, You Yiâs embittered voice could be heard giving another order.
âBoys, get ready for action!â
â¦â¦
I also raised up my own sword to draw everyoneâs attention, âGather up! With me as the center, weâll make a last stand here!â
At this time, Yao Yan suddenly whispered to me, âActuallyâ¦â¦ I just got new intel. Bai Mo Yan is approaching the [Magic Dragonâs Nest] with 4000 more [Thousand Burial] membersâ¦â¦ I think we should actually just escape for now. Iâve met many of the experts from her previous guild. If these two groups join up, weâre as good as done for.â
âNo. Weâll hold our position here until our reinforcements arrive. If we canât even fight off [Thousand Burial] today, then we can forget about holding our chins up in Tian Ling City ever again.â I firmly rejected her suggestion of retreat.
Cang Lei piped up, âYea, thatâs right! Letâs do it here. Let see who f*cks who over!â
Yao Yan exposed a helpless expression, âFine. Then this lady will gladly accompany everyone along to hell and backâ¦â¦â
â¦â¦
On the opposing side, an Archer checked with You Yi, âVice-Guildmaster, should we wait for Bai Mo Yanâs unit to get here before we attack? I mean, it is Xiao Yao Zi Zai over there. And Hero Ran Min, Cang Lei, Yue Yao Yan and Death Godâs Elegyâ¦â¦â
You Yi coldly sneered, âWhatâs there to still be afraid of? Xiao Yao Zi Zaiâs large scale AOE and Rage skills are on cooldown. All thatâs left is a fangless tiger. The current him is simply a higher than average level player that we can just crush with our greater numbers. Archers make sure to keep your targets on him. Heâs definitely not gonna get out of this one!â
My heart faltered for a bit. Itâs just as You Yi said. If hundreds of people in their 5th advancement class were focused on firing at me, I was gonna end up in crumbs even if I was made of metal.
But still, no matter what, this could only strengthen my resolve. For the sake of the comrades beside and behind me.
â¦â¦
The enemy began their advance on us. I started off with âgreetingâ a dozen or so of them with my ranged skills before the focused fire left me near death, and I had no choice but to quickly withdraw back for some healing.
Nearby, Yao Yan with just 17% HP looked to me once more, âGuildmaster, we really shouldâ¦â¦ just retreat. The have too much firepowerâ¦â¦ Weâll really end up completely annihilated----â
âYao Yan, havenât you felt somethingâs off? This situation⦠it feels like You Yi is more focused on ridding this map of our presence rather than their revenge. Like⦠heâs trying to protect somethingâ¦â¦?
ââ¦Thatâ¦â¦â Alarm appeared on her face.
She recalled for a couple seconds, then looked up, âThat seems to be trueâ¦â¦ but what could he be hiding?â
I lightly smirked, âThatâs still a mystery for now⦠but, all we need is to have someone sneak in and find out.â
âEn. But who?â
ââ¦â¦Sheâs already on the move.â
âEh?â
â¦â¦
ShaaaaaaShaaaaaaâ¦â¦
Not far from us, a patch of tall withered grass trembled a bit as a slender figure dashed past like a blur and disappeared into thin air. Daggers readied in hand, Qing Qian neatly circumvented the conflict area and made her way behind You Yiâs rear and further into the map.
Her unanticipated early arrival had given me new hope. Wan Er and Dong Cheng shouldnât be too far behind with our reinforcements. At the very least, they shouldnât be any slower than Bai Mo Yanâs group.
â¦â¦
We endured for another 10 minutes. Then behind us, at the valleyâs entrance, a large number of people began to show up. It was Bai Mo Yan and [Thousand Burial]âs people!
âTheyâre here!â Yao Yan became frantic.
âYea, and so is Wan Er!â I couldnât help but feel relieved.
As expected, Bai Mo Yan did not immediately rush our undefended rear. She braced herself on the slope and began giving orders.
âChange positions, all heavy melee withdraw to the rear line and ready the defense. Cang Tong and Cang Yue are here with their people!â
â¦â¦n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Plop!
I received a PM from Qing Qian, âXiao Yao-gege, Iâve discovered why theyâre so stubborn about not letting us into [Firewolf Valley]!
âGood. Why?â
âIn a low area near the center of the valley, is the top of a waterfall. And below that waterfall, is a spawn point for the [Fiery Greedwolves]. However, within every group of 100 wolf mobs here is a level 1 tameable wolf. Once tamed, they can become mounts. What grade and stats they have are currently still unknown. But one thing is for sure; theyâre quality mounts.â
ââ¦Is that so? Now I get itâ¦â¦â