Virtual World: Close Combat Mage

Atop a roof tens of meters outside the Priest Academy, Young Master Han looked at a certain building in the distance through his spyglass. Two meters away was Royal God Call, scrambling to get on the roof before he bounded over to Young Master Han’s side and sought to take the spyglass from him. “Quickly let me take a look!”

“What will you look at?” Young Master Han did not hand it to him.

“I want to see his expression! Quickly hand it over!” Royal God Call did his best to snatch the spyglass away from him, immediately directing it to the Priest Academy once he had it in his hands. Normally, there’s no reason to use the spyglass to look for someone at such a distance, but Royal God Call’s intention was just as he said: he wanted to look at Ye Xiaowu’s expression after he insta-killed him.

“Ha ha ha ha! Look at him! He’s so afraid he doesn’t even dare to step out!” Royal God Call was gleeful. He saw Ye Xiaowu gingerly standing at the Priest Academy entrance, the look of bewildered caution on the Priest’s face as he looked all around made him feel utterly satisfied.

“I’ll go and lie in ambush!” Royal God Call happily returned the spyglass back to Young Master Han, but after he turned to take two steps back, he dazedly stood over the ledge.

“The left side.” Young Master Han did not even turn to look at him when he said this.

“Tsk! I know that! You didn’t have to say a word!” Royal God Call leaped off the roof and ran toward his Sniping spot on the left.

“I don’t think he’d dare to take a step out.” Young Master Han said to Brother Assist beside him as he put down the spyglass.

Brother Assist casually took the spyglass and had a look as well, muttering, “Then, let’s continue!”

“Yes. You keep an eye on him. I’ll go make the necessary arrangements.” Young Master Han turned away and jumped off the roof as well. After crossing a street, Sword Demon, War Without Wounds, Eternal Dominion, and even Southern Lone Blade’s seven were already waiting just ahead. The moment they saw him walk over, they immediately asked, “How’s everything?”

“Smooth-sailing. Everyone, get ready!” Young Master Han replied.

“Seriously, Miles is just too much!” everyone muttered, proceeding to run their separate ways. Young Master Han had already deduced that Fleeting Smile would be sent to the spawn point by Gu Fei. Everyone did not really believe that that was possible. After all, those ex-soldiers were highly skilled, and they would surely be participating in any battle alongside Fleeting Smile. However, Young Master Han’s deduction was based upon the fact that the two parties would be meeting face to face to negotiate, and that the moment the talk fell apart, Gu Fei’s straightforward nature meant that he would most certainly finish off Fleeting Smile, who would be the closest target to him. Everybody could tell that Fleeting Smile was very similar to Brother Assist – someone with plenty of knowledge about the game but pretty much useless when it came to actual combat. There was essentially no way that he could evade Gu Fei’s attack.

There were indeed too many variables to this deduction as the actual event proved that it was hard to say if Gu Fei could even kill Fleeting Smile without Gu Xian’s timely appearance. Still, no matter the case, setting up an ambush over at the Priest Academy was still the best choice out of all the other spawn points. First, there was a very good chance of Fleeting Smile getting killed off as how Young Master Han had deduced; second, he was ultimately the person who had put together the squad, so using him as bait was the best option; thirdly, being by far the weakest compared to all the ex-soldiers, and that made him the easiest to bully.

Things would be a lot more convenient if they got Gu Fei’s cooperation with this matter, but Gu Fei kept expressing that he did not need their help, so everybody had no choice but not to inform him of this setup.

When setting up this ambush, just knowing that their target would be at the Priest Academy was not enough; they needed to know which path Fleeting Smile would be taking as well, and that meant they had to find out the actual location of the meeting. This was why they all asked Gu Fei where he would be meeting Fleeting Smile once he came online, but Gu Fei did not reveal it to them. Helpless, everyone could only settle for the alternative arrangement, camping out near the Priest Academy first as they waited for Fleeting Smile to arrive.

Sure enough, Fleeting Smile did not disappoint everyone as he truly did appear. Meanwhile, since Southern Lone Blade’s gang was borne of larceny and thus skilled at tailing people, it was no trouble for them to tail Fleeting Smile. Everyone was originally prepared to send the man back to the Priest Academy after they identified which tavern he was headed to, but the moment Fleeting Smile got to White Foam Tavern, before he could even enter the establishment, a Fighter had very quickly finish the Priest off instead.

When Young Master Han saw Fleeting Smile appear in the Priest Academy again, he initially thought this to be Blackwater’s handiwork, who was the one in charge of tailing the man. This was when he learned from Blackwater that someone else had actually turned up out of nowhere and did the deed for him. Blackwater, who did not know Gu Xian, was of course clueless of the newcomer’s origin, and this left everyone very nonplussed about what was going on. As a result, none of them positioned at the Priest Academy made act rashly, letting Fleeting Smile leave the spawn point once more while Blackwater was tasked to find out just what was going on.

Blackwater was still hesitating if he should go inside the tavern to take a peek when he saw that Fighter enter the tavern. Just as he decided to head in for a gander, the Fighter unexpectedly came out with Gu Fei, and the two men ended up fighting with each other!

Blackwater obviously did not know that they were merely sparring, and had mistakenly thought that Gu Fei had met a strong foe, but why would this strong foe attack Fleeting Smile? The situation left everyone feeling mystified. In the end, it was Fleeting Smile who had solved this riddle with his return. Gu Xian came forward once more, but that spooked Fleeting Smile into fleeing. Blackwater watched as Gu Fei and the Fighter hold a casual chat right after Fleeting Smile disappeared, and finally realizing that the two must be working together.

“That expert Fighter is a friend of Miles!” Blackwater quickly disseminated this information to the rest.

Upon receiving this news, everyone subconsciously looked at Eternal Dominion. Isn’t the man right here? Does he still have another expert Fighter friend?

“I remembered now. Does that guy look similar to Miles?” Sword Demon suddenly recalled something and asked Blackwater this.

“Hmm… Now that you mention it, they do indeed look alike,” Blackwater said.

“I know that guy; he’s Miles’ cousin!” Sword Demon said.

“Cousin?” Everyone was a little astonished. A good pause of silence ensued that was only broken by War Without Wounds’ question. “Instead of calling his friends to slay someone, Miles employed the help of his family?”

At the same time, Blackwater could also tell that Gu Xian had not attacked Fleeting Smile in that moment, yet the man’s disappearance in a flash of white light clearly signified their target must have teleported away. Just as he provided this update to everyone, the others soon saw Fleeting Smile respawn at the Priest Academy for the third time. This was an interval which barely lasted a few seconds from Fleeting Smile teleporting to the Bounty Assignment Hall before returning to the Priest Academy. It was even faster than the arrival of Blackwater’s message.

Everyone momentarily could not make sense how he so suddenly died after teleporting away, but the incident was finally completely within their grasp this time. Once Young Master Han gave the order to strike, Royal God Call, who could hardly contain his excitement, ruthlessly insta-killed Ye Xiaowu after he took a few steps out of the Priest Academy.

Even though the entire affair had been filled with twist and turns, everything went according to what Young Master Han had laid out in his mind, resulting in Ye Xiaowu dying thrice in a row – a truly serendipitous harvest. Even though they knew that the man’s power was hardly at their level, equipment or otherwise, they nevertheless were able to vent by trampling on him like so, which was no wonder why Royal God Call was so happy doing it.

As Young Master Han and the rest were getting ready, Blackwater had managed to blend in with the crowd outside White Foam Tavern at this point and witnessed the ex-soldiers get forcefully extorted for payment by the NPC guards. All along, Young Master Han’s group had been waiting. Were it not for Blackwater relaying to them everything that was happening on Gu Fei’s side, they would really think that some unexpected trouble had cropped up again. After it was over, Blackwater excitedly did a text-based broadcast of the explosive skirmish that followed between the ex-soldiers and the duo Gu Fei and Gu Xian.

“Five Archers and two Thieves are heading to the Priest Academy from White Foam Street!”

“Yes, that’s the street alright.” It was the nearest road players could take from White Foam Tavern to the Priest Academy. Even though Young Master Han was not particularly familiar with Baishi City, the place being a tavern meant that it would be something he would make a point of knowing no matter which city he was in. By now, he could have both his eyes shut and still be able to locate any of the taverns located within Baishi City.

“Oh, no. Miles used his Electric Wall to block them off!

“Ah! They formed a human ladder and got over the wall; they were moving so nimbly! Four guys made it up!

“Ha ha ha! The fifth guy’s beer gut is too big; he almost bounced off!” Blackwater was beside himself with amusement when he saw all this.

“Five got away, and Miles managed to trap the remaining two.”

That was all that Young Master Han and the others were concerned with; the number of players they would have to face.

“Will Miles and that other Fighter be able to stall all the others there?” Young Master Han asked.

“The situation looks to be at a stalemate, and the rest had already began their withdrawal.”

“F*ck! Just how did Miles’ cousin get there…” This was around the time Gu Xian appeared behind the Priest Old Wu and flung him to the wall and to his death. As a spectator, even Blackwater failed to see how the Fighter had managed to sneak his way around like he did.

Following which, he watched as this Fighter thumped another Priest, got up the nearby house via climbing the wall, kicked someone down when he tried to follow, and killing the other with a Seismic Toss, while Miles slew another with a strike of his Palm of Thunder… These ex-soldiers were all led around until they were at a loss, and just as Blackwater was certain that they would all fight it out to the bitter end, he instead saw Gu Fei retreat to replenish his mana by eating fruit, and that lot of ex-soldiers opted to back off rather than use that chance to surround Gu Fei..

“G*dd*mn!” Blackwater and the other onlookers ridiculed these ex-soldiers for their action, which seemingly lacked backbone.

“To think that they’d actually turn tail and flee. There are so many of those m*th*rf*ck*rs, yet they can’t even take care of two measly players,” the player beside Blackwater cursed.

“That Mage went off to eat some fruit; that means he’s out of mana. It’s such a prime opportunity wasted!” Another joined in.

“Not showing any bit of promise!” Blackwater joined in the crowd’s ridiculing, everyone putting their two cents on what they had just seen.

———————————-

Gu Fei, who had recovered some of his mana, could tell the direction the ex-soldiers were heading and broke into a sprint, preparing to get ahead of them to kill them in another wave of attack.

As it was the peak hours for online gaming, over at a certain street outside the Priest Academy, an innumerable number of players could be seen hurrying about to trade, and either log out or come online. This street was the very same one Broken Water Arrow’s group had to cross on their way to the Priest Academy, which Young Master Han’s lot had long been in position.

“Miles and that other guy finished off two Priests!” Brother Assist, who had been keeping an eye on the Priest Academy with the spyglass, spotted two Priests approach Ye Xiaowu and vaguely recognized them as among the ex-soldiers they were up against this morning. In truth, the chaotic battle this morning only lasted for several minutes, so their impression of the members from the opposing party was not as deep as earlier. It was just that these ex-soldiers were all on the older side, so a MMO where most players were youths made them more conspicuous. Seeing the two’s weathered faces, Brother Assist daringly made such a deduction.

“That’s great. Having no Priests to support makes our plan all the more favorable,” Young Master Han said. “Is everyone ready?”

“Yup!” everyone affirmed.

“I have them in my sight!” Sword Demon sent this message. Everyone gave a sidelong glance and saw a wave of four Archers and Thief bounding down the street; the player at the forefront was precisely Broken Water Arrow. These five men continued to speed down the street at a consistent pace, their distance to one another uniformed. They had a level of solidarity which was rarely seen among gamers.

“Get ready!” Young Master Han reminded the others again.

Everyone steeled their gaze and concentrated. Against this bunch of ex-soldiers, none of them dared to underestimate anyone in the least. This was their one shot, and blowing this one chance to get the drop on them would put Young Master Han’s lot in a tight situation. After all, these ex-soldiers would have no problem taking a full retreat.

“Take note!” As the five men paced on closer and closer, Young Master Han once more alerted everyone on the party channel. It was evident that he was rather nervous.

“Countdown!” Young Master Han gave this command, and everyone began counting to themselves, but if they compared everyone’s countdown, they would discover that they each used a different method. Some counted ‘3,2,1’; others counted ‘4,3,2,1’; finally, there were even those who went from 5,4,3,2,1. They were all doing their countdowns but the cadence of their count somehow differed.

What was the same for everyone was that whoever reached the count of 1 would promptly leap out from the crowd and recklessly pounce to the closest of the five passing beside them.

Broken Water Arrow and the four others with him were all surprised, and their first reaction was to respond accordingly to these enemies, but just as they all had their crossbows raised toward a target, they saw another person leap out to them soon after. Young Master Han began his countdown at the same time as the others, but because of the difference in how he counted, his actual appearance was also behind the rest.

Broken Water Arrow and his men had already released their first barrage of bolts, but the person they had targeted had his shield propped before him, so this person essentially shrugged off the attacks from the five ex-soldiers as if they were nothing. The second, third, and fourth person came dashing forward to them right after, and with their job classes being all different, their movement speed varied as well, so the time they appeared was naturally different… Still, they remained in unison as dashed right beside these five men together.

None of them attacked! This circle of men merely shrank their encirclement in a peremptory fashion despite some passersby getting trapped within, too, as they continued to close in on the group steadily. Broken Water Arrow and his squadmates tried to retaliate, but it was all ignored. Young Master Han and the others each extended their arms to form a blockade that no one could get in or out.

“A reckless encirclement at all cost!” Broken Water Arrow, with what little gaming experience he had, realized what these people were trying to do, but it was unfortunate that this realization came too late, as Young Master Han’s lot had already linked up their arms and were now shoulder to shoulder isolating them all within, as well as two random passersby. These two were already petrified, completely at a loss on what was happening.

Without another moment’s hesitation, all their weapons flashed out and swung toward the five men within.

A shameless encirclement. A compressed space. There was no way for these men to evade or to demonstrate any skill or technique. There was just attack and being attacked.

With their numbers and equipment advantage, as well as their enemies’ lack of Priest, such a reckless clash, which had no regard for the consequences, meant that their victory was all but assured.

Even if Broken Water Arrow, with his modicum of gaming experience, was equally incapable of coming up with a solution to their predicament, so all they could do was unwillingly face the reaper under this mess of attack from the encirclement.

The five men transformed into white lights one after another, but the circle of men remained where they were, unmoved. It was really too exhilarating; the Archers of these ex-soldiers were the most powerful – possessing both damage and mobility. These experts deeply understood just how frightening they were after having a proper confrontation with them before, yet they managed to successfully slay them all in this moment. Although they had accomplished this feat with numbers on their side and better equipment, the sense of achievement these gamers felt was still that of the weak triumphing over the strong. It took a moment before someone finally said, “Success!”

This crowd of expert gamers cheered and whooped, fists in the air. As for the two petrified players who had been trapped in the encirclement, they finally came back to their senses. They did not dare to believe that they would bear witness to such a tragic and fierce massacre, yet neither man suffered any damage from it. Looking at the barbaric men that executed this encirclement celebrating their victory, the two suddenly felt their legs buckle as they collapsed butt-first to the ground.

“The next wave is about to arrive!” War Without Wounds rubbed his hands together as he declared this with confidence. He had his doubts before, but never would he have thought that they could succeed with such ease, involuntarily bolstering his spirit greatly as that indomitable spirit of an apex expert showed again.

“I’m afraid it will be very difficult for us to replicate this,” Young Master Han said.

“Why is that?” War Without Wounds apparently had not had his fill of enjoyment yet.

“Because the next time will be different. They’ll have Warriors and Fighters too, and more importantly, they’ll be prepared,” Young Master Han replied.

Warriors would obviously be very ruinous to this method of fighting. Be it their Charge or Cyclone, either skill was anathemic to any sort of encirclement tactics. Meanwhile, a Fighter’s Spurring Meteor would possess a good amount of force upon impact, and their Seismic Toss could easily cause a break in the surroundings. There was the Swallow Dropkick, too, which would basically allow them to fly out of the encirclement.

As for being prepared… That was naturally due to how Broken Water Arrow and the others with him immediately relating for what had happened to their other comrades. While those Fighters and Warriors were initially lost on what to do in such a sudden situation due to their inability to realize that they could use their in-game skills to breakthrough, having the time to properly mull over the issue, would they still be able to call themselves battle-hardened veteran soldiers if they could not think of potential solutions?

“If Broken Water Arrow sends them a message, they may not even take this path,” Southern Lone Blade inferred.

“Indeed. Does Blackwater have his eyes on them?” Young Master Han asked.

“Nope.” Southern Lone Blade shook his head. “He could not keep up with those men with his movement speed while Stealthed, and if he did so without Stealth… I believe we’re not at the same level of expertise as them when it comes to tailing and counter-tracking, so there’s no need to do something so futile.”

Young Master Han nodded, agreeing with his deduction. Those ex-soldiers were not like Fleeting Smile. Attempting to trail them would be no more than sending themselves to their early grave.

“Ask Brother Assist if he’s able to see anyone,” Southern Lone Blade suggested.

Young Master Han shook his head. “He won’t be able to observe anything in this direction from the position he’s in.”

“Quick; just tell us what we should do. This anxiety is killing me!” War Without Wounds was irritated. He refused to believe that Young Master Han had not foreseen such a circumstance, and it just so happened that he always enjoyed dragging things out to the final moment, deliberately discussing this slowly with Southern Lone Blade here.

“All we need to do is head over to the Priest Academy’s entrance and wait. They’ll surely head out over there at the end of the day,” Young Master Han said.

“Then, how will we fight them there?” War Without Wounds asked.

“There’s no need to fight. We just gotta watch the show unfold,” Young Master Han replied.

“What show?”

“Do you really think Miles will let them leave without even giving chase?” Young Master Han offered.

“Eh?”

“With Miles’ movement speed, I reckon that he should be able to circle around those guys and intercept them again. There’s no way he’ll let such an opportunity slip by. I did the deduction; Miles will eat fruit to replenish his mana and then take a longer path to pursue them. With his movement speed, he should be able to intercept the lot near the Priest Academy’s entrance. We’ll just lay an ambush there and coordinate our attack with Miles!” Young Master Han finally explained.

“Will Miles be willing to do that?” War Without Wounds asked.

“It’s not up to him.”

“Why not?”

“Didn’t you realize that I sent all my words on the mercenary channel? You’re such an idiot!”