Chapter 168 Opponents
Xinhua Dictionary and Wenshan were important figures of some of the largest guilds of the Western Continent and were well-known battle commanders. However, any experienced commander will be caught unprepared in such a situation. Xinhua Dictionary shouted in dismay into the command channel, "F*ck me! I was pushing towards to Royal Palace and a bomb dropped from the sky right into the midst of my main force. It killed them all!"
"It's the same over here." Wenshen let out a sigh after replying with a sullen tone.
"Bombs falling from the sky?" Absalom was baffled. This doesn't sound right. "What do you mean by bombs falling from the sky? Speak clearly! Don't spread panic within our ranks!" said Absalom as he looked up in the sky. He was unable to spot Ye Ci was she was flying at a lower altitude and was obstructed from view by the various tall buildings within Champion City. That was why he was unable to comprehend the words of Xinhua Dictionary and Wenshan.
"Somebody flew by silently on a huge glider while dropping bombs below. With Champion City packed with so many players, and the fact that we have never expected something like this to happen, the bombs wiped us all out."
Wenshan saw the kite streaking northeast and immediately reported the situation to Absalom, "If I'm not wrong, she's headed to the eastern and northern sector. I can't tell if she's controlling that thing and how she got her hands on such a thing, but you guys be careful! Spread out immediately!"
Before Absalom could give out the order, the commanders of the Western Continent player in Champion City's Northern and Eastern Sector, Intoxicated and Joyless had already ordered their men to take the necessary precautions. Due to the suddenness the situation, Western Continent players were slow to react. If there were only Western Continent players in the map, they would be able to carry out their orders. The place however, was a battleground with both Eastern and Western players locked in combat against each other. By the time the players from the West Continent received the order to retreat, they were unable to immediately maneuver themselves.
Just at that moment, a black silhouette appeared in the sky of the eastern sector, like a phantom spreading its wings.
Intoxicated, who was the commander of the eastern sector knew what would happen the moment he laid eyes on the silhouette. He screamed into the command channel, "Everyone! Spread out! Don't stick together! Blend into the ranks of the Eastern Continent players..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Intoxicated's vision turned grey.
"You have been slain." the cold voice of the system notification rang in his ears.
Intoxicated laid on the ground, and swallowed his unspoken words. He looked around with his greyed field of vision and cursed at the top of his lungs, "F*ck!"
Absalom was in the Eastern Sector as well, but was not among the main force, and was at a higher ground. He immediately noticed what had happened after hearing the voice of Intoxicated, "Intoxicated?"
"Dead."
Absalom took in a deep breath. He was being forced into a corner by this situation. He looked up at the gigantic kite, and said to the commander of the northern sector who was not yet ravaged by the bombs, "Joyless, be careful, that flying thing is headed your way!"
"I know, I've already began evacuating my men. The streets are packed full of players, and the NPC soldiers in Champion City are chasing us down. We are barely able to fall back." and with that, Joyless went silent. Absalom could feel his heart in his mouth during the few seconds of silence before Joyless let out a sigh, "We're still too late. We're packed so closely with each other on the ground, but she soared effortlessly on the air. We were not able to outrun her and got bombed as well. At least the casualties over here are slightly lower than yours. At least I'm still alive."
Absalom could not contain his rage. The thing flying in the sky was not the only problem he was facing. He was facing an even more dire issue: respawning. In a siege battle, the spawn location of players from both sides were already fixed by the system and were far and apart from each other. However, with the high casualty suffered by the Western Continent forces, their players that were defending their spawn location would be overrun by the tides of onrushing Eastern Continent players.
And most importantly, after most of their players respawned, it was not an easy task to push towards the areas that they were able to conquer earlier on. With that, the advantage that the Western Continent had gained was lost. They have formed a formidable battle line in all the sectors within the city. If they were able to hold their ground, they would eventually be able to emerge victorious.
But with the sudden turn of events, their lines had collapse due to the sudden massive casualties suffered by their forces. It would be as hard as walking towards the moon to reform their battle line. Under such circumstances, their chances of taking down the royal palace was greatly reduced. Doubt began to cloud Absalom's mind. Should they continue the fight, or should they retreat?
Even if he could solve the problems at hand, Absalom would still have the person flying around in the sky to worry about. What if she attacked the spawn location?
As he remained silent, the 4 battle commanders were waiting for his orders.
"Boss, stop pondering too much, what do we do now? Do we respawn all at once or according to the sector we're assigned to?"
"Boss, do we charge out of our spawn location once we've all respawned?"
"Stop pestering him. This sudden change of events was just too unexpected. Let him think for a while."
Just as the 4 commanders were waiting for his response, Absalom received a private message. It was from Fleeting Time, "Don't think too much about it. Since we're already here, we'll go off with a bang even if we're defeated. Don't retreat."
Fleeting Time's words removed any shred of doubt within Absalom's heart. As expected of his best friend for years. Fleeting Time was able to discern what was within Absalom's mind. There was nothing he could hide from him. Taking in a deep breath, Absalom replied, "I understand. I'm just worried about the person up there..."
"All you need to worry about the battle on the ground, and how do our people respawn and the plan of our next offensive. As for that person..." a playful smile appeared on Fleeting Time's face, "Leave it to me."
"Are you sure you can handle it?" despite knowing of Fleeting Time's capabilities, Absalom was still worried with the occurrence of such an event.
"Just leave it to me." Fleeting Time repeated himself again.
Absalom knew Fleeting Time very well. If he claimed to be able to handle the situation, it meant that he had confidence in completing the task. Not wanting to argue with Fleeting Time further, Absalom replied, "Be careful, don't you die out there. We still need you to take over the royal palace."
Fleeting Time smiled, "You don't have to flatter me. You have a lot of skillful DPS players with you."
Absalom chuckled. With Fleeting Time around, there was no need to worry about the pest in the sky. No matter the situation, Fleeting Time had the ability to bring hope to people around him even in their most dire time.
There was nothing but absolute trust between Absalom and Fleeting Time. They have been the best of friends ever since they knew each other.
Fleeting Time leapt onto the nearest rooftop, and began running on the rooftops of Champion City, utilizing his high Balance . His movements were graceful and acute as he followed close behind the giant kite.
This was the first time Fleeting Time had pulled off such a maneuver with his high Balance. Before knowing Gongzi You, Fleeting Time was disdainful of using the Hunter class's high Balance to flee and to run. To him, it was something overly stylish but did not serve an actual purpose. But when he tried imitating Gongzi You's movements, he was deeply impressed. She was indeed an unscrupulous person. Even the slightest advantage could be magnified by her.
He could not help but smile.
It was thrilling to have such an opponent.
Despite his speed, Fleeting Time was still slower than the kite. He would of course not attempt to catch up with Ye Ci's kite. He chose the spot closest to Ye Ci's location to begin his pursuit, and with the Ye Ci's area of movement shrinking as she approached the city center, the kite was quick to make a turn. Right at that moment, Fleeting Time took the opportunity and dashed towards Ye Ci, placing her well within his attack range.
Empowered Hunter's Mark, Empowered Viper Singer, and Empowered Rapid Fire dealt tremendous amount of damage to Ye Ci in that short window.
Ye Ci who was prepared to drop a bomb on the Western Continent player's spawn location as her kite took a turn had never expected an attack. One third of her hitpoints disappeared before she could pull the pin. She immediately turned her head around, searching for the source of the incoming attack. At the same time, a system notification rang out in her ears, "You have been attacked by the Western Continent player, Fleeting Time."
Fleeting Time! It's Fleeting Time!
Ye Ci spotted a silhouette on the rooftop, dashing towards her. The effortlessly launched attack after attack while in pursuit of Ye Ci.
At that moment, Ye Ci realized that her options were limited while riding on that kite. She was unable to control the flight path of the kite as it was predetermined by the system. This was a great inconvenience for Ye Ci as she was unable to maneuver and position herself like Fleeting Time.
You've gotta be kidding me!
When the hell will this thing land ?!
There was a brief moment when Ye Ci's was trying her best to dodge Fleeting Time's attack left and right, that a myriad f*ck you flicked through her mind...