Chapter 296 – A Hundred Plans
“Attack! Let’s end this battle quickly!”
Raising the Emperor Qin’s Sword, I stood at the center of [Valley of the Gods], killing everyone in sight. With my 10% [Life Steal] effect, my opponents had no way of killing me, while I could maintain my breakneck pace of attack. As I evaded the Archers and Mages from the other side, I ascended into an entirely new realm as I had my world-dominating Emperor Qin’s Sword, and my pet, Flaming Tiger God.
“Hong!”
My sword’s qi flowed into the crowd of people, leaving a bloody field in its path. With just one stroke of my sword, I took 17 lives. Turning around, my sword danced again, activating a Lv 7 [Combo] and killing 3 more players. The two close-combat skills’ were now on full cooldown, so I couldn’t use them for another six seconds. Thus, I swung my sword and used normal attacks to massacre the people around me. I continuously dealt above-average damage, causing the players in the [Valley of the Gods] to howl in pain as they died.
……
“F*ck….” Dancing Forest said as she lifted up her long bow. Her elegant brows raised as she smiled and said, “Our Brother Xiao Yao is practically a killing god. To think that [Valley of the Gods] would meet such an opponent, how unlucky…..”
General Wang Jian also raised his sword as he rushed in, and with a wave he cut down a few half dead players and laughed, “Emperor Qin’s Sword’s [Kill for Blood] has too many stacks. There’s no one on this battlefield that is his equal! Little Dance, use [Meteor Shot] and reinforce Boss; he’s too deep into the enemy’s territory!”
TL: Little Dance is referring to Dancing Forest
“Okay!”
With a lift of her hand, Dancing Forest shot out a [Meteor Shot] and a bright shooting star shot into the group of people, creating a straight path of critically wounded players. Yue Qing Qian picked up her dagger, and with a smile, she raised her hand and elegantly placed the last hits. [Grip of the Firefox] shook the crowd of people, killing a whole group of [Valley of the Gods] players.
Matcha then lifted her spear and led a group of elite close combat players to push the enemy back. Needless to say, she was the most strategic player in all of [Zhan Long]. Her understanding of battle formations and square formations far surpassed anyone on the field. Thankfully, we had her leading the advance, and our losses were cut by at least a half. Otherwise, how could a mere 300 tired soldiers beat 1000 healthy ones?
……
“Always take care of the BOSS’s health, who’s killing it right now?!” Someone from my group yelled out.
Matcha solemnly said: “There’s still 7%. For the moment the dozens of people in [Crimson Contract] and other remnants of guilds and players are surrounding it with severe losses…..”
“Oh? [Crimson Contract]? You mean Han Bei Song’s guild?”
“Yup. There’s also people with Misty Clouds and Sword Reborn. But, from the looks of it, they don’t necessarily have the strength to kill the BOSS. Li Qing is too strong, and his recovery is extremely fast too.”
“Alright, then let’s finish off [Valley of the Gods] quickly!”
“Got it!”
……
The battle lasted 17 minutes and finally, for an unknown reason, someone yelled out, “Our Guild Master is already dead! Why are we still sacrificing ourselves? I’m not fighting this meaningless battle. If [Vanguard] truly thought of us as allies, then they wouldn’t have just left us here to offer our necks to Xiao Yao Zi Zai as he kills us with his Emperor Qin’s Sword. That’s bullsh*t!”
At that moment, a group of people started to yell out in protest as well, and the remaining 300+ people began to run away. In the blink of an eye, they had scattered. The grandiose 1000+ player [Valley of the Gods] had lost 700+ corpses to [Zhan Long]’s massacre, and had thus retreated from this [City of the Ancients] battle. Indeed, some people were happy and others were sad about this event. [Valley of the Gods] had gotten practically no experience or drops before they had so pathetically retreated. They had definitely lost more than they had gained.
“Pu!”
I pulled my Emperor Qin’s Sword from a Lv 61 Knight’s chest and blood spurted out. His eyes widened as he died, shocked that he had suffered such a fate even with [Heavenly Shield] activated. In truth, he had no other way to go, for Empror Qin’s Sword currently had so much attack that even I wouldn’t have been able to withstand its power. The [Kill for Blood] effect had reached 447 stacks, meaning that it was currently at 447% of its strength. My attack could actually surpass 20,000; the thought of it was just too scary…..
……
“How many people are left for us?
I turned around, only to find out that there were not many players from [Zhan Long] left. Besides, of the people left, they were all battered and tired. Blood had dyed the field red as corpses were littered everywhere. There were people from [Valley of the Gods] as well as [Zhan Long]. Li Mu picked up his bloody sword and gulped as he said, “Guild Master, we have 39 people left. We had been attacked from the front and the back and lost too much….”
Wang Jian made a fist as he said, “[Zhan Long]….. we’ve lost 2200+ people. To think that once we’d battled our way to the [City of the Ancients], we’d only have 39 people left. This [City of the Ancients] is practically a slaughterhouse, everywhere you look is like a cemetery. It’s just too merciless……”
I murmured, “Without the [God of Commerce Bade], our operation is not yet over. Let’s continue. All 39 people, follow me to kill the BOSS. There’s not much of the BOSS’s health left…..”
“Okay!”
Holding my Emperor Qin’s Sword, even I was tired from all of the killing. The hardest part was walking over all of the bodies; my Purple Dawn Boots were soaked in blood. Even the corpses had not been despawned yet. This was a game, and yet it made one feel as though this was more real than reality. Even our noses had been stung by the sharp odor of blood, a smell that I had once been accustomed to. Now, I had finally relived that experience.
Looking into the distance, [Prague]’s battle with [Vanguard] was nearing its end. Among the high piles of corpses stood less than 200 people. They had battled too fiercely, and the two great guilds had mutually destroyed each other. The guilds had practically forgotten how to defend, and had basically went from 3000 players to 200.
“Tsk….”
Yan Zhao Warrior stood among the bodies, carrying his chipped sword. He wiped away the blood trailing from his lips and looked at Jian Feng Han, who was only a few meters away. Yan Zhao’s eyes lusted for battle as he said, “I never would have thought that this [City of the Ancients] would actually make us fight to this degree…..”
Jian Feng Han gripped his sword and pridefully stood up in a ditch of blood, the corners of his mouth twitched upward as he coldly smiled, “You should’ve predicted this earlier; what I did not expect was that the aloof Yan Zhao Warrior would actually get [Zhan Long] to help battle [Vanguard]. Hmph, if [Zhan Long] had not appeared, [Prague] would’ve already been defeated. What rights do you have to say that you’re our rival?!”
Yan Zhao couldn’t help but smile, “That’s right, if Xiao Yao had not appeared, what kind of a situation would Ba Huang City have ended up in?”
Behind Yan Zhao, one of the team leaders, Luo Mu, gripped his sword and cursed under his breath, “Guild Master, we still have 117 people left, that’s more than [Vanguard]’s survivors. Just attack! Kill Jian Feng Han in a breath and then victory will be ours!”
Tornado, however, lifted his staff and shook his head, “That’s no good…..”
“Why?” Luo Mu asked, puzzled.
Yan Zhao’s mouth twitched and said, “There’s… there’s…”
……
“You mean Xiao Yao Zi Zai?! Hahahaha…..”
Jian Feng Han suddenly raised his head and laughed, his entire body shook as he supported himself with the Flaming Cloud Sword. His eyes were full of disdain as he looked at Yan Zhao and he roared, “Because there’s Xiao Yao Zi Zai and his [Zhan Long], [Prague] has “annihilated” [Vanguard], and yet still doesn’t have 100% certainty of getting the [God of Commerce Bade], is that right? This is why Yan Zhao is not willing to take any action. You didn’t think that [Valley of the Gods] would lose to [Zhan Long]; even more so, you did not expect Xiao Yao Zi Zai to survive that battle, is that what you had calculated? Allies, what allies, hahahaha….. Pei!”
TL Note: Pei is the sound of him spitting at them
Yan Zhao just silently stood there, his face an emotionless mask. It was clear that Jian Feng Han had guessed correctly.
In reality, I understood Yan Zhao’s reasons. Everyone had taken every action necessary for this [God of Commerce Badge]. What was a small thing like betraying [Zhan Long]? Rather than betraying an ally, it was more accurate to say that from the beginning, we had been using each other; it was something that both I and Yan Zhao understood. At any critical moment, we would do the same, since that [God of Commerce Badge] was just too precious. It was something everyone needed!
……
Both pairs of eyes stared at the BOSS Li Qing’s health. There was still 5% left. Misty Clouds had taken advantage of the BOSS’s MISSed [Heaven and Earth Seal] and waved his battle axe, activating [Skyshaker Slash] before quickly retreating after the attack hit. Han Bei Song then picked up his longsword and activated [Haste], rushing to the BOSS’s side. His sword flashed, and “keng keng keng”, the three waves resulted in three bloody slashes. This was immediately followed by a [Combo]. Once he finished his attack, he ran, just as elegantly as Misty Clouds.
“Are you looking to die?!”
Li Qing roared in anger; his body was covered in wounds and the sword in his hand was chipped. He had been constantly battling up to now; having gone against the NPC’s and players, he was even more tired than everyone else.
“The BOSS doesn’t have much health left. When are we going to act?!” Li Mu asked.
Matcha said, “5% is 50,000 health left; this Li Qing’s base defense should be above 7000. 50,000 health is extremely hard to finish off in a short amount of time. Of our Mages, we only have sister Thousand Suns and a few others; our firepower is nowhere near enough…..”
I raised Emperor Qin’s Sword and said, “It’s getting close, let’s prepare to rescue Misty Clouds and Han Bei Song!”
“Okay!”
……
On the other side, [Vanguard] had also begun to move. Jian Feng Han raised the Flaming Cloud Sword and led a few dozen people as they rushed forward. He yelled out, “Everyone be on standby, prepare to attack at any moment!”
[Prague]’s people also began rushing over, as everyone was waiting for the BOSS’s health to drop to 2%. With 20,000 health, there was still the possibility of instantly killing the BOSS; anything more than that would be an endless battle, and anything less than that would yield a high chance of someone else taking the [God of Commerce Badge]. It was all dependent on how each Guild Master decided to act.
……
As time slowly passed by, the three big guilds all waited for the perfect moment. Additionally, unidentifiable players from unknown guilds and teams began coming in. The BOSS has been constantly fighting, and up until now, there was no way of determining which of the three great guilds would end up with the [God of Commerce Badge]. Everyone held their breaths, waiting for the end result!
“Keng!”
Jian Feng Han suddenly unsheathed his sword and yelled out: “3% health left, Attack!”
A group of Knights rushed forward with their shields raised, while the Mages and Archers followed closely behind. Finally, the first person to give in to the pressure was [Vanguard]. Jian Feng Han had finally decided to make his move!
……
“Now!”
On the other side, Yan Zhao Warrior also unsheathed his sword and yelled out, “[Prague], kill Li Qing! Now is the time!”
Luo Mu picked up his sword and rushed forward, yelling out, “Guild Master, I’ll lead some brothers up front!”
“Careful!”
And right at that moment, [Vanguard]’s defensive formation suddenly scattered. In the back, Simple held an [Indigo Sea Arrow] in her raised hand and immediately shot it out, penetrating straight through Luo Mu’s chest. With a wave of her staff, [Pillar of Fire & Ice] activated and Luo Mu’s entire body shook. Just like that, he weakly fell to the ground——
3287！
2471！
……
With that arrow interwoven with magic, [Prague]’s 30 heavy armor type players that had rushed forward before had all died in the blink of an eye. Nobody had imagined that [Vanguard] would advance not for the sake of fighting the BOSS, but rather to catch [Prague] off guard, and kill their last hope of survival.