âNeigh Neighâ¦â
A cold wind brushed past me. It was the middle of autumn in the game. Leaves dyed the valley a fiery red. All of the brambles that covered the ground were also withering. Deep in the Green Qilin Valley, a large group of [Zhan Long] players were grinding levels. After half a year of growth, [Zhan Long] now had over 50,000 players registered to the guild. At any given time, we had around 30,000 players online. This was what a true robust platoon looked like!
My horseâs hooves brushed across the grassy fields with a âSha sha!â. I slowly rode forward with my Dragon Reservoir Sword in hand. Wan Er and Dong Cheng followed behind me. By the time we reached the Green Qilin Abyss, Li Mu and Wang Jian had brought a team of players to clear out the newly spawned monsters. When he saw us coming over, Li Mu urged his horse towards us. He smiled, âWeâve been waiting for too long. Weâve finally lured Not Ordinary to make his move!â
I nodded, âYup. But we still need to make some preparations. These 16,000 Greedy Wolf Raiders will not be easy to deal with. Even if [Zhan Long] has a high chance of victory, I want to minimize the casualties as much as possible. [Heroâs Mound] and [Legend] arenât willing to act. They probably donât want to sacrifice the levels and experience of their players.
Li Mu laughed and confidently said, âDonât worry, our Steel Blade Cavalry already has over 4400 players. I can at least ensure that weâll have 4400 during the day. Not Ordinaryâs choice to attack [Zhan Long] is sealing his death warrant!â
Wang Jian furrowed his brows, âBrother Xiao Yao, are we going to stay within the valley or are we going to lure the Brigade into the valley? If we decide to fight this within the abyss, then the topography will be disadvantageous for the cavalry to fight. Iâm afraid that the Greedy Wolf Raiders wonât readily enter the Valley.â
I looked at Li Mu and smiled, âDo you want to test out the battle power of the Steel Blade Cavalry?â
Li Mu grunted, âOf course I want to. I understand now. Where are we setting up the formation?â
I waved my hand, and summoned the map for Green Qilin Valley. I pointed to the right side of the map and said, âJust east of the Green Qilin Valley is a plain that doesnât have a name. Its about half the size of the Sword Saint Forest. Thatâs more than enough for the final battle of our Steel Blade Horseman and the Greedy wolf Raiders. Right now, you need to take your troops and build your formation there!â
Li Mu made a fist, âUnderstood. Iâm off! Wang Jian, follow me!â
Very soon, Li Mu ad Wang Jian all gathered the Steel Blade Horsemen. Matcha, One Second Hero, and Old K were all among them. As before, I stood in the valley and carefully watched the situation for any changes.
Qing Qian and Wei Liang both walked up to me. Qing Qian fluttered her lashes and smiled, âBrother Xiao Yao!â
âQing Qian, Wei Liang!â
Qing Qian said, âI can already confirm, thereâs a total of 15,000 Raiders heading straight here from the Earth Dragonâs Valley. Their target is definitely [Zhan Long]. They have an extremely high fraction of players online, over 90%!â
I nodded, âOkâ¦â
Wan Er looked over to the south of the valley. Her eyes were filled with worry, âNot Ordinary and You Yi arenât idiots. Will they take the bait?â
I replied, âAnd so we have to prepare a piece of bait for them⦠Right now I canât decide just who should be the baitâ¦â
Not far from us, Death Godâs Elegy raised his spear and urged his horse towards us. He said, âHow about you let our Division Three go?â
I looked at him, âThe Third Division has already suffered enough losses.â
Death Godâs Elegyâs eyes were filled with determination, âNo. It is because of the enmity between You Yi, Minimalist and I that makes us the best choice. Weâll pretend that weâre a team thatâs grinding levels. Once we get ambushed, weâll retreat to the Nameless Plains. Otherwise, Iâm afraid the 15,000 Raiders wonât take the bait.â
âDeath God, do you know that if you bring your thousand players there, its possible that less than a hundred will return?â
âI understandâ. Death Godâs Elegy slowly nodded his head, âAnd so, I will do my best to pick out mounted players. Their mounts wonât be too fast, but they wonât die immediately. Weâll do everything we can to bring the Greedy Wolf Raiders to the southern part of the Sword Saint Forestâ¦â
I set my heart on the decision and said, âAlright then, Iâll leave this mission to you. Make sure to update me whenever the situation changes. Be careful, this is the most important performance of this battle!â
âYes sir!â Death Godâs Elegy laughed.
I looked over at Qing Qian and Wan Er, âBesides the Steel Blade Horsemen, you two vice guildmasters lead the rest of the main forces to grind levels in the Sword Saint Forest⦠Once the situation explodes, immediately head to the south to provide support!â
Wan Er smiled, âYup, weâll do our best to keep our movements a secret!â
I smiled, âZhan Long has nearly 30,000 players. It will be impossible to keep the cat in the bag. I just hope that Not Ordinary and You Yi will be careless. Theyâll think that they can deal with our Steel Blade Horsemen in one quick move. Spread out some healers, mages, and archers to grind levels around the plains. When the countdown hits 0, they must be able to give support as quickly as possible so that they arenât fighting on their own!â
Qing Qian nodded, âGot it, Iâll take that job!â
I nodded. Qing Qian was [Zhan Long]âs gem. From the time I had founded the guild, Qing Qianâs skill at commanding a troop is one of the most critical components of [Zhan Long]âs success. Especially her ability to execute such intricate maneuvers. In the entire guild, only Qing Qian and Wan Er were capable of this. However, Wan Er was already in charge of too many things. And so, I left the job to Qing Qian and Wei Liang.
I flipped onto my horse and raised my Dragon Reservoir Sword, âAlright then. Iâll lead the Steel Blade Cavalry to prepare for battle. Weâll keep a constant flow of information. This time, weâll make it so that none of the Raiders return. Weâll guard their bodies, weâll guard them for ten hours to serve our justice!â
Wan Er smiled, âYup, good luck. Iâll send people to cut their retreat!â
âAlright!â
â¦â¦
I turned around and charged forward. Li Mu and Wang Jian had already gathered their Steel Blade Horsemen. Four thousand horsemen stood in magnificent rows within the valley. They gave off an imposing aura. [Zhan Long]âs crimson insignias had practically melded together. It truly was an impressive battle scene.
âLetâs set out to hunt monsters!â I raised my Dragon Reservoir Sword and dashed ahead. Li Mu, Wang Jian, Matcha and Yue Yao Yan all grinned and followed along.
From a distance, I could see that Death Godâs Elegy and the players from Division Three had already set off in to the distance. Wan Er, Dong Cheng and Dancing Forest were leading the rest of the main guild players into the Sword Saint Forest. This way, even if the enemy had spied on [Zhan Long], they wouldnât be able to tell that the players Wan Er was leading were there for the sake of supporting the Steel Blade Cavalry. When the time comes, theyâll cut through the Sword Saint Forest and straight to the plains. By then, the situation will be completely under our control.
An autumn gust arose, and shook the leaves on the plain. I could smell the fresh scent of grass in the air. In the distance, the fruits that hung on the trees of the Sword Saint Forest were already ripening. I could even detect a slight scent of apples in the air. Four thousand Steel Blade Horsemen had split up into several hundred men teams. They were killing monsters on the plains. I on the other hand had to maintain the flow of information while I was killing.
In the guild chat, there was a total of eight people talking. Death Godâs Elegy appeared in the list of players in the chat. I had been keeping tabs on their situation the entire time.
â¦â¦
Spread out and prepare to grind levels. The Level 127 Thunder Tier wild boars here must be very fat!â Death Godâs Elegy shouted orders as he raised his spear. He whooped. Maybe even he was hiding the true motive for leading this thousand man team out from his subordinates and so many of the people thought that they were actually grinding levels. One after another they spread out into the forests killing monsters. Death Godâs Elegy looked to be a bit unsettled. He immediately then added, âDonât go out too far. Send out some assasins to scout the area first. If you see any movement, immediately collect your team and prepare for battle!â
In the end, not long after that, they suddenly heard the sound of a dragonâs screech pierce through the forest. An arrow shot straight through the sky. It was the light from the [Rising Dragon Arrow]. It was a message. There wasnât a single archer stupid enough to send a [Rising Dragon Arrow] into the sky on accident.
âCareful, there are people here. Assemble!â Death Godâs Elegy knew he was facing a great enemy.
All of the players quickly gathered together. But before they had completely congregated, the trees in the distance began to sway. One after another, fierce Flame Greedy Wolves lunged out from behind the trees. More and more crashed through the forest. Minimalist, You Yi and Yue Yao Chen were all among them. It was the Greedy Wolf Raiders main force! Minimalist raised his long sword, his eyes filled with killing intent as he ordered, âWho cares if its a trap or not. We are the Wolf Troops, weâre the only ones that eat others, no one dares to take a bite out of us! Kill! Right and left flanks, envelope them. Donât let a single one of [Zhan Long]âs players escape!â
â¦â¦
âGuidmaster, what do we do?â One of the [Zhan Long] archers was terrified, âBy the looks of it, ten thousand of the Raiders have all appeared. Theyâve taken the guts of a lion to actually dare and raise a hand against [Zhan Long]!â
Death Godâs Elegy wryly smiled. He swung his spear and shouted, âTake a stand, weâre duking it out against them!â
âYes sir!â
A group of cavalry players all charged out. What I had not expected was that Death Godâs Elegy that youngster was out of his mind. He used a thousand man team and charged at the fifteen thousand man cavalry!
âPeng peng pengâ¦â
The sound of clashes between the two cavalries echoed through the forest. The Greedy wolf Raidersâ attack power was formidable and their attacks shockingly accurate and flexible. Oen after another, [Flying Sword]s flashed through the sky, and cut apart [Zhan Long: Division Three]âs formation. In this one clash, we had lost over thirty percent of our men in that team. Death Godâs Elegy still didnât retreat. He brought his cavalry and charged once again. He swung his spear and continuously killed the Greedy Wolf Raiders in front of him.
The entire scene seemed to be dyed red in that one moment, it was too savage!
âWuâ¦â Wan Er clenched her teeth, âDeath God, have you gone mad?â
Death Godâs Elegy bitterly smiled as he killed, âIf I donât let them taste a little bit of sweetness, how could they obediently follow me and get near the Sword Saint Forest? Donât worry guildmaster, seeing as Iâve taken this quest, then I will not let you down. It doesnât matter if there isnât a single man or horse left, I must send these fifteen thousand Raiders to their executorâs blade!â
â¦â¦
Not long after, all thousand players were practically killed. Even the sounds of battle were starting to dim. The Greedy Wolf Raiders were incredibly fast. It was pretty much a massacre!
âF*ckâ¦â Li Mu gripped his fist, âDeath God that kid⦠Isnât he just about to be completely swallowed whole? Itâs only been five minutes, why hasnât there been any movementâ¦â
The situation was too chaotic. I couldnât even see any of [Zhan Long]âs players. Everywhere I looked were [Thousand Burial]âs flags.
My heart was truly turning sour. In that one instant, all thousand players from [Zhan Long: Division Three] were gone!
After ten minutes, I suddenly saw the Raidersâ formation shift. Right after that, a group of people charged out from the center. It was Death Godâs Elegy with around fifty cavalry as he miraculously charged out of the encirclement. His long sword and armor were both practically drenched in fresh blood and his Steel Blade Horse looked as though it had waded through a crimson sea. He ran straight for the Sword Saint Forest. This time, nobody suspected him of baiting them, but rather that he was running for his life.
â¦â¦
âThat lucky b*st*rdâ¦â
Wang Jian gaped as he watched the scene unfold, âThe people in [Zhan Long: Division Three] really are a group of madmenâ¦â