For a moment, nobody spoke up.
Ye Ci did not pay the newcomers any heed once she had identified them as the party that was here to level up the last time. She turned her head around and said to her guild members, "It's nothing, let's go. They're just here to level up." With that, the entire group relaxed, and they were about to move around the Holy Water Fountain and leave the Buren Monastery.
Crimson Twilight refused to let his nemesis walk away just like that, despite the difference in numbers. In the past month, his guild had been working hard to level up. They have farmed some Scorching Mage Robe sets from the Scorching Canyon as well. He planned to push his guild's dungeon exploration progress after further raising his members' level and then he would exact revenge on Gongzi You.
After losing 2 levels the last time, they have managed to level up as Mallows had discovered Gongzi You's leveling secret. They gathered all the Sorcerers in their guild and copied the exact same thing Ye Ci had done. No one had thought that they would run into each other at this place.
Crimson Twilight had made up his mind to teach Gongzi You a lesson. Once he had confirmed that the Huntress he saw was indeed Gongzi You, he ordered the Rogue in his party to cast Detection on Ye Ci's guild members. Although all 50 of them had hidden their levels, the Rogue was able to get information of their equipment. They all had level 15 equipment. It meant that even if Crimson Twilight's party only had 39 members, they were able to compensate for the inferior numbers just by having level 20 equipment.
"Twilight, they're leaving." A Hunter who was standing behind Crimson Twilight was watching Ye Ci and her party closely, he immediately notified Crimson Twilight of their actions.
"Hmph! Leave? Sure. I'll send them back to the spawn point." Crimson Twilight snorted, and immediately began to cast Explosion.
Against a concentrated mass of enemies, Explosion was a Sorcerer's best offensive skill before he or she had learned any large AOE attack spell. Explosion had a short cast time and splash damage. With Crimson Twilight's Scorching Mage Robe set that increased fire-based spell damage, Explosion's damage was raised exponentially.
A scorching fireball grow larger and larger at the tip of Crimson Twilight's staff, the amber color of the fireball was dazzling. Another skill however, flew towards Ye Ci before Crimson Twilight fired off his spell. It was a Viper Needle.
Although Ye Ci was already preparing to leave Buren Monastery, her past life experience had taught her to not let her guard down in any and all situations. Even though she did not think she had any conflict with the bunch before, she was not familiar with them. Besides, it was very common for players to clear the leveling area of other players, even if Upward Ho! was about to leave, she still took some precautions.
It paid off. Ye Ci shifted herself slightly and was able to dodge the Viper Needle. A Summoner standing behind her was not that lucky and was hit. Her Fire Minions immediately charged at the enemy.
"XXX has attacked your party." A warning generated by the system immediately chimed in every member's ears.
"Disperse!" Ye Ci immediately gave the order.
Unfortunately, most of the guild members were newbies. They were able to keep their calm when it came to PVE, but when they have to go up against other players, their minds instantly went blank. They immediately lost their game sense. The members of Upward Ho! lost their cohesiveness especially when under attack by enemies. They did not even know how to react when Ye Ci gave the order for them to disperse.
The Explosion that followed threw them into further disarray. They'd even forgot to dodge, and a lot of them were damaged by the spell. Fortunately, they'd been leveling the entire day with Ye Ci. If they were still all level 18, many of them would've died.
Fighting monsters was an entirely different matter than going up against players.
The game designers would never provide monsters with similar stats as players, and the NPCs would not have complete gear like the players. That was why pure damage was the only fact taken into consideration when players fought against monsters. It was known as PVE. But in a battle against other human players, one should factor in how their opponents would react as well as the equipment and stats of their opponents. That was why in most situations, the equipment used in PVE were not suitable for PVP.
That was also the reason why players would have two different sets of equipment with them.
However, in the early stages of the game, there was no difference between PVE and PVP equipment.
Even if Upward Ho! members were newbies who were completely new to PVP, they were equipped with level 15 blue equipment, while having an average level of level 25. They were able to withstand the damage dished out by Crimson Twilight's party.
Ye Ci called up the Party Damage Received chart and was able to accurately judge the enemy's level and their equipment. She then said in the party channel, "They're only around level 20, with their highest level being not more than level 21. You're all above level 24. There's no need to worry. Just listen to my commands and we'll crush them with our level advantage."
Even in their state of disarray, Ye Ci was a very influential person in the the guild members' hearts. They trusted Ye Ci completely. When Ye Ci gave out her orders, they were able to calm themselves down and were ready to counterattack.
"Fruit Jelly, Ashen Cliff, Floral Water, AAA, BBB, CCC, DDD, retreat to at least 20 yards away from the main force. We've just cleared away the monsters, they won't respawn in the next 10 minutes or so. Stay safe, and start healing!" [Staff Note: lol, apparently the author got a bit sick of making up names.]
"Warriors, Holy Knights and Barbarians, spread out, stay mobile. Keep the Healers safe, don't be too focused on trying to attack the enemy. They're all ranged, so make sure you try your best to dodge their attacks, don't create additional burden for the Healers."
"Rogues, enter Stealth and cast Detection around the Healers and our ranged DPS. Don't let their Rogues and Rangers get close."
"As for the mage classes and ranged players, clump together in one group. Remember how you position yourselves in dungeons. You guys have higher levels and their attacks are weaker because of the level penalty. You guys on the other hand will deal bonus damage to them. Don't be afraid, give em all you got!"
After Ye Ci gave out her orders, the members who had experience in PVP immediately sprang into action, and the newbies followed suit.
"Leader, why are they attacking us?" As a Life Player, Pea Cake was confused. In his perspective, PVP was something very scary and he thought it was something that would never happen to him.
"This is a game. Killing or getting killed in a PVP battle is very normal." Ye Ci of course did not know of the reason behind Crimson Twilight's aggression. She did not know that her action of using the Skeletal Mages as bait to lure the Elite Skeletons away from the Sacred Hall had brought disaster to Crimson Twilight's entire guild.
However, the cause itself was not important. What was important to Ye Ci was that she would not allow herself and her guild to be in a pinch.
And so the battle began.
Crimson Twilight was not able to gain any advantage over his opponents when the battle started. Although he had reached a conclusion that his opponents were mainly newbies with next to 0 experience in terms of PVP, he could not gain the upper hand. His party's spells were not able to deal much damage to their opponents, and they were even immune to most of their spells' effects. Crimson Twilight was shocked. He began re-evaluating the level of his opponents.
His opponents seemed inexperienced in PVP despite having a higher level. Despite having a few skillful ones, the vast majority of them were mediocre, and the ranged players' attack were very inaccurate.
"Don't be afraid of dying. If you die, you can still regain your level. But if you are afraid, you have no chance of winning, ever. You will be bullied by others for the rest of your life."
Ye Ci noticed that although her guild members listened to her commands, they were underperforming due to anxiety. She immediately shouted out loud in the party channel, "What will happen when two enemies meet down a narrow path?"
"The valiant shall emerge victorious!" Everyone replied.
"I can't hear you!"
"The valiant shall emerge victorious!" The entire party roared, and their fear and anxiety disappeared.
"Fruit Jelly, remember to resurrect dead members." Ye Ci further set the guild members' mind at ease. Other than reviving a dead player, Resurrection could also ensure that the level of the player revived would not drop. The player would only lose 50% of his or her total experience points.
"Understood." Fruit Jelly replied in a loud voice.
With the fervor of battle and the worry of death removed, the members of Upward Ho! became more and more tenacious.
The ranged players began to land their attacks accurately, and while a few of the melee players stayed back to protect the healers and ranged players, most of them charged at the enemy and managed to scatter them. Rogues from both sides fought furiously against it other. It was a magnificent sight.
"Minna-san, stay safe! Be careful of the monsters around you." Ye Ci reminded her guild members even though the area was full of melee monsters which did not pose much danger. They were all still too inexperienced. Some of them had never even been through any tough battles. She refused to allow them to get trampled before they could bloom. This was a party that could sincerely accept her as a person. She would not allow to get stomped on.
That was why they must win.
When the monsters respawned, Ye Ci immediately dashed out and lured the Skeletal Warriors near Upward Ho!'s healers. She charged towards the enemy's' direction with the skeletons in tow. Apparently a Hunter from Crimson Twilight's party had the same idea. He did exactly the same thing and dashed straight at Ye Ci.
When it came to escaping, Ye Ci was confident that she was the best of the best. When it came to courage, Ye Ci was outright suicidal. While the gap between Ye Ci and the enemy Hunter closed, she raised her aimed crossbow at him.
A level 29 Ye Ci killed her opponent almost immediately. The skeletons that were originally being lured by the Hunter switched their attention to Ye Ci. From afar, it seemed that Ye Ci was being drowned by a sea of white...