Chapter 158: The Fuse
Chapter 158: The Fuse
Bai Ying didn’t feel he’d done anything wrong despite their trouble. Their Quest was to scout around with two NPCs. But as monsters kept appearing, they were thrilled to discover killing them earned tons of Points. Later, after more scouting, the Quest changed to repairing and activating the Wind Magic Array in the west. With so many Points tempting him, Bai Ying naturally didn’t want to leave the battlefield.
Thanks to those two NPCs, they’d occupied the top six spots on the Points Ranking… though a strong player later stole first place.
Even now, long after they’d left the battlefield, they were still holding spots in the top ten.
However, facing this problem now, Bai Ying and his Eagle Society friends felt uneasy.
If the Quest failed, the punishment could be harsh.
But they’d already spent all their Points on rewards. It was done; there was no changing it now! Even if punished, they wouldn’t fear it!
“Bai Ying, can you get those NPCs you brought to join the fight? This’ll take too long! The Crimson Poison Mist has already invaded Eastern Sea City. If we don’t activate the Magic Array soon, the city might fall before it’s ready.”
A black-armored Assassin named Night Glow walked up with a grim face.
Night Glow had the same Quest as Bai Ying and did the same thing. They’d both climbed to the top twelve spots using NPCs—Chen Mo couldn’t break into the top ten early on partly because of him.
But one of their NPCs had left to report findings earlier… then took forever to return. That let Chen Mo crush them in ranking long ago.
“What can I do? They stopped listening to us after we got here. At this rate, forget activating the Magic Array—we might all die here!” Bai Ying glared at the battling NPCs ahead, frustrated.
Six NPCs were from Eastern Sea City; four were from the Sea Clan. The four Sea Clan NPCs were clashing loudly with four Eastern Sea NPCs.
If all six Eastern Sea NPCs attacked together, they’d win quickly. But two insisted the city was in crisis and rushed to repair the Magic Array… so only four fought while two repaired.
Player-wise: over fifty Sea Clan Players were here, while Eastern Sea City had only three squads—18 Players.
Currently, both sides stared each other down. Someone seemed to command the fifty Sea Clan Players. Afraid of the other two NPCs joining the fight, they didn’t push toward the array to attack Bai Ying’s group. The Sea Clan Players knew they’d win this standoff unless the Eastern Sea side wiped them out completely.
“Looks like we’ll fail the Quest… wasted too much time killing small fry,” Night Glow sighed, sensing the danger.
“Really? If both your squads hadn’t taken forever to show up, this Quest had at least a fifty percent chance! Now it’s 100% failure.”
A female Player named Bloody Rose glared coldly nearby.
Neither replied. This mess was their fault. It was impossible to explain away.
“Huh? Someone’s coming! Reinforcements from your Guild?”
In the pale moonlight, distant shadows appeared. Night Glow perked up.
“No. Sea Clan Players set an ambush on the only path here. My guys are all dead, respawned in the locked-down city,” Bai Ying shook his head.
The Sea Clan Players stalled them here because they had hidden backup nearby. Bai Ying’s group had fallen for the ambush and gotten wiped out.
“Two Human Race Players… just a Hunter and a Warrior. So useless,” Night Glow muttered as the figures drew closer.
One more squad—24 Players total—and they could’ve risked a fight against Sea Clan’s fifty. But one Hunter and one Warrior changed nothing.
“A Hunter?”
“Yeah, a Hunter!”
“Could it be him?”
“Might be him!”
“Holy shit! It really is him!”
The Eastern Sea Players ignored Chen Mo. But Sea Clan Players? They went tense seeing a Hunter.
Their Sea Clan city wasn’t huge; Player numbers were low. Many knew each other. Chen Mo had killed dozens already… with Traps, Pet ultimates, ambushes… all ruthless attacks. Impossible to forget.
Soon, dozens recognized Chen Mo. The Sea Clan Players buzzed nervously.
“Why didn’t the ambushers stop him? How’d he get here?”
“Idiot! You know how big his field of vision is? We should be glad he didn’t ambush our men!”
“Trouble… he got through…”
Fears grew. Murmurs spread.
“Why fear one guy? He can kill one squad at best! We’ve got numbers!”
“Right! He always ambushed us alone! Now he’s delivering himself to us!”
“He’s got 5,000 Points now! Killing him gives better rewards than any Quest!”
Seeing their numbers, the Sea Clan Players grew courageous—even bloodthirsty.
“What’s wrong with the Sea Clan Players?” Bai Ying and Night Glow frowned, baffled by their agitation.
“Preparing to rush us?” Night Glow tensed. Fifty charging would doom their eighteen unless the repairing NPCs helped.
Fifty vs. eighteen wasn’t just unfair—one focused attack could kill several defenders instantly.
“Block him before he reaches the array! Then NPCs definitely won’t help him!”
“Yeah! Time he fell to us, after killing so many!”
“Whoever kills him pays for a feast later!”
“But… warn Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon? Don’t risk messing up the Quest…”
“Relax, I told Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon already. He says it’s fine. Just stay sharp!”
“Hah! Then charge!”
Swiftly deciding, twenty Sea Clan Players roared and surged toward Chen Mo!
“Holy shit! That fast?” Chen Mo broke into a sweat. Looks like annoying Sea Clan Players made him a walking target!
“What? Who is that guy? Why’d half their forces suddenly charge him?”
Bai Ying, Night Glow, and Bloody Rose gaped, shocked by the wild twist.
“What now? They’re down to thirty Players—only ten more than us! Perfect chance! If we don’t strike now, those twenty will slaughter that Hunter and Warrior, and all hope dies!” Night Glow eyed the thirty remaining Sea Clan Players, scheming.
“Attack! Or we lose this chance!” Bloody Rose hissed.
“Do it together!” Bai Ying flashed determined eyes, knowing they were right.
Their three squads had top gear in Eastern Sea City. Only big Guilds got this Quest… their early achievements earned the System’s recognition. They were vastly stronger than these ordinary Sea Clan Players.
Even with ten more enemies, victory felt reachable.
“KILL!”
Their three squads roared and charged the Sea Clan Players.
“Ha! Expected this!”
“Bold… but unlucky!”
Instead of panicking, the Sea Clan Players smirked like they’d foreseen it.
“CLEAR THEM OUT! DESTROY THE ARRAY! COMPLETE THE QUEST EARLY!”
“ATTACK!”
A war cry rose; Sea Clan Players charged back!
No battling inside the array? They feared nothing!
BOOOOM!
Two groups collided, crashing into chaos!
“Worse! These foes are much stronger! Not better than us… but way beyond expectations!”
Fighting began; Bai Ying and Night Glow shivered inside.
Opponents were shockingly fierce. Maybe due to powerful Buff Status? Whatever the reason, their numbers gave a brutal edge. Eastern Sea’s Players were in deep trouble.
Too late to retreat, though. Pulling back now would cost half their forces.
With under ten left, any win was impossible. They had to fight to the bitter end, gambling NPCs might intervene.
The NPCs clearly didn’t care. After three minutes, Eastern Sea Players began dying off.
Sea Clan suffered losses too, but numbers gave them courage. Each Eastern Sea death tipped the scales worse.
After five minutes… barely ten survivors were left, holding on desperately.