Chapter 187: The Hit-and-Run, So What if a Hundred Chase

Every finger pointed at him, every eye an enemy.

Ye Rong’s current situation could be described this way. Behind him, a full hundred Players were chasing frantically.

His actions had thoroughly enraged the three Factions. It was like slapping them hard across the face. He hadn’t just damaged their interests; he’d openly challenged their authority over these coastal waters.

“Damn! When we were fighting the Sect Leader of the Giant Sword Sect earlier, you guys weren’t this enthusiastic or this brave. Why the sudden surge of passion and fearless spirit now? You think I’m an easy target?”

Ye Rong had a clear speed advantage in flying over these Players. Escaping wasn’t difficult. None among them could catch up to him. Flying over ten li would completely give them the slip.

However, Trail-breaking Pony was still away at Bolang Isle, retrieving the mission for the Heavenly One Mystic Ice Banner and hadn’t returned yet. If Ye Rong simply fled, when Trail-breaking Pony did return, he’d likely pay the price for his chief’s actions.

So, he needed to circle and hold out at least until Trail-breaking Pony got back, then leave together with him.

Otherwise, losing an alliance member overseas would disgrace him, and he’d have no face to continue as chief.

“Keep chasing me? I should just have Hengheng Haha send two squads over, take this island completely, and leave these three Factions absolutely nothing!” Ye Rong cursed fiercely. Of course, he knew it was just an empty threat, impossible to achieve.

To truly hold an Overseas World island, besides possessing great strength, you needed either many local Players or the nearby Sect disciples’ support. That was the only way.

Otherwise, if a batch of Qingcheng Disciples just barged over and seized an island, they might hold it temporarily, but they’d face constant rejection and resentment from all sides. It wouldn’t be sustainable long term.

So, until he established a true foothold belonging solely to them and free from outside interference, Ye Rong absolutely wouldn’t deploy the main force of the Green Emperor Alliance to the Overseas World. It wasn’t the right area to invest serious effort into now.

He flew dozens of li away from the island, stopped his Sword Light, and turned back to sweep in headlong—

The frenzied chase had naturally created gaps among the Players. They’d stretched out into a long line, no longer packed tightly together as they were at the start, making them harder to deal with romantically.

So long as he wasn’t facing simultaneous attacks from a hundred Players, he didn’t worry about his safety.

Twin Sword Style whirled. Two Sword Lights crisscrossed, followed by a nimble strike of Chongxu Sword Qi. With two cries, Players vanished into points of light, gone before they could grasp what happened.

The gap between them was too vast. They weren’t on the same level at all.

Ye Rong, with Twin Sword Style and Chongxu Sword Qi assisting, was practically wielding three Flying Swords at once.

The strength of these three Factions could be glimpsed from their performance earlier against the Giant Sword Sect Leader. Among these hundreds of Players, only a few could even manage a steady Flying Sword attack while in Sword Flight. Most had to use their Magic Treasures nervously, attacking cautiously from a distance.

These guys mostly had just one Flying Sword. Special equipment like Sword Cases allowing them to wield a second sword was incredibly scarce. In the entire Far Shore game, known Sword Cases hadn’t even exceeded five.

Furthermore, Players beyond Level 50 were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns in the whole Far Shore. Clearly, none of these three Factions harbored such top-tier experts. While level wasn’t everything and couldn’t truly reflect a Player’s strength completely…

To switch flying swords mid-Sword Flight for defense or attack required not only sharp skills but also considerable nerve. Just imagining losing the Sword Light’s support underfoot, plummeting straight down hundreds of meters, was enough to deter most Players from even trying.

Against Players like these, Ye Rong’s advantage wasn’t one extra sword, but two whole extra swords.

Two Sword Lights twisted and struck simultaneously. Unless someone possessed something like the Long-legged Lady’s Seventh Rank Taiyi Five Smoke Net, their defenses shattered instantly into scattered light. Any Magic Treasures they threw up for protection did absolutely nothing.

And these Players clearly weren’t carrying expensive items like Body Substitute Talismans. Immediately upon death, two artifacts dropped from their bodies, falling straight towards the sea below.

“Fish and sharks get a cheap meal today!” Ye Rong glanced and ignored them, urging his Sword Light onwards again.

He wouldn’t waste time over two pieces of obvious junk, risking getting caught in danger or trapped. Being surrounded might not be fatal considering how they handled the Giant Sword Sect Leader – he had at least a fifty-perchance of fighting his way out. But why deliberately seek trouble? Why not use an easier approach? He wasn’t a masochist.

“Sword Flight speed’s still not fast enough,” Ye Rong assessed. “I need at least double the advantage over others to truly be untouchable.”

He repeated his tactic: run, turn, strike, run again to widen the gap. By circling the island’s periphery, he even picked off two laggards, bringing his total count of dispatched Players to over ten.

Ye Rong wasn’t like Breeze Clear and Clouds Light, someone obsessed with chasing ultimate flight speed at the cost of sacrificing all offensive power of Sword Lights and Magic Treasures.

But during this chase, he truly appreciated the value of superior speed. If he were even faster, his killing efficiency could easily double, enabling maneuvers currently difficult or impossible.

Speed would be crucial later when hunting treasures at all those hidden vaults too. It would boil down to reaction speed and movement speed.

Besides, without great speed, grabbing a treasure didn’t guarantee escape once the inevitable encirclement formed.

Ah! Ah! Ah!

Three more screams rang out. Three Players, belonging to who-knew-which Faction, tumbled from their swords, plummeting downwards.

Luckily, these Players were from Heterodox Schools. Killing them only incurred the base Karma Points penalty, without any doubling effects. Still, Ye Rong’s Karma Points had dropped by over a thousand. In the past, this loss would’ve pained him greatly, making him hesitate to slaughter freely.

But now? He felt no pressure at all. It was easy. Even… enjoyable.

Negative Karma Points crisis? What was that?

After consuming numerous Merit Fruits, Chief Ye Rong’s current Karma Pool had soared past 600,000 points. Even if he slaughtered every Player from these three Factions, he wouldn’t fear hitting negative Karma Points and being dishonorably dismissed by his Sect.

Of course, this Karma Points hoard came from blood, sweat, and tears. He absolutely wasn’t keen on losing it all.

That monumental stash was earmarked for unsealing the Nine Glazed Golden Lamp!

“Still, losing a few thousand Karma Points is minor,” he thought, evading yet another swipe. “Worse comes to worst, finishing a few more high-Karma missions might force me to worry about how to survive the Heavenly Tribulation.”

He continued his evasive maneuvers, contemplating Karma Points fluctuations.

This time, he didn’t even turn. A streak of Chongxu Sword Qi shot out, piercing straight through a Player’s body, draining all their Health Points instantly.

…

Over time, however, the Players finally adapted. They stopped mindlessly chasing Ye Rong’s tail.

Instead, they split into several teams, attempting to encircle him from different directions, disrupting his carefree hit-and-run tactics turning this into a playground for mockery with hundreds Players chasing him.

It wasn’t that they were slow to react, but the idea that someone would rob a boss mob, face pursuit by hundreds, not try to truly flee, but instead linger and circle near the island… it defied all logic! No wonder it took them so long to realize Ye Rong was simply looping the island dozens of li out, never going far.

They’d assumed he was getting lost in his panicked escape. Circling so endlessly for so long made the obvious truth clear: he was playing them for fools.

“Think this works on me?” Ye Rong saw groups blocking him ahead and behind. Their faces showed triumph – finally cornering this annoying pest! He just slammed his acceleration, shooting upwards like a rocket aiming for orbit.

Without a coordinated formation, without securing the surrounding space, lacking any heavyweight opponents near his level… trapping Ye Rong with this ragtag band wasn’t exactly easy.

Ordinary Players flew Sword Flight around 500 meters up. They seldom went higher.

Not because they couldn’t, but because it offered no benefit. Above 500 meters, each extra 100 meters height increased True Qi consumption by 10% for Sword Flight. Flying at 1000 meters doubled the consumption rate of flying at 500 meters. And higher altitudes weren’t just about True Qi; most ordinary Flying Swords couldn’t even reach them.

The ferocious Ninth Heaven Gale Winds easily scattered weaker Sword Lights. Even maintaining Sword Light form became difficult, let alone sustaining flight.

Thus, for now, flying altitudes above 2,000 meters were essentially reserved for NPCs. No Player could reach that height.

Slipping the ring of enemies, Ye Rong grinned. He dove back towards the main island – he’d spotted the silhouette of Trail-breaking Pony returning.

He needed to head Trail-breaking Pony off, ensure he didn’t charge blindly into the mess below, clueless about the danger waiting.