Reign of the Hunters
chapter-332

There’s one more behind me!

Ye Ci was able to sense a presence behind her that was not part of the group that was pursuing her. It was the presence of a newcomer.

She scanned her surroundings, and counted ten players. The ten, along with four that she was able to take out earlier, made up only fourteen players. But according to the intelligence that she had managed to gather, Golden Era would send fifteen assassins against her. This meant that the presence behind her was the last remaining assassin.

A plan quickly formulated in Ye Ci’s mind to draw the last assassin out.

She relocated to a spot that was close to the player, and cast an AOE damage skill.

Rain of Arrows.

Rain of Arrows was a guided skill that required its user to take aim at a target. Ye Ci would not be able to move if she intended to deal the maximum amount of damage to her opponents. Of course, even if she had the choice, she would choose not to move, as what she needed was to give her enemy a perceived opening.

And that was why she exposed her back to the final member of the assassination group.

She was certain that the player would act. As the last member, the players had only two choices. The first one was to leave, and the second choice was to look for a window of opportunity to take her on and pick up the equipment of the dead players.

If she was in the same situation, Ye Ci would of course choose the latter. She had always been a firm believer in the high risk high reward style of gameplay. As long as there was a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, she would do whatever she could to turn the tables on her enemies.

But what about that player? Ye Ci made the bold assumption that the player would make the same choice. It was not because she was projecting her mentality on her opponent, but it was due to the fact that the Secret Cloak was a very rare item. If the assassination attempt failed and Ye Ci was able to obtain a Secret Cloak, it would be the ultimate humiliation to Golden Era.

Ye Ci did not know if the player would take the bait, but she had a nudging feeling that it was a chance that was too great to be passed on.

And she was right!

The assassin quickly closed the gap between them, and aimed a pair of daggers at her ribs. Ye Ci dodge slightly to a side just at the last possible moment. The daggers left two gaping scars on her armor, but ultimately missed their intended target.

March Spring was stunned when his skill did not register a hit. How can this be? How did my attack miss?

Is it because of the level penalty? Impossible! March Spring had been diligently sparring against members of his guilds and other players in the arena. His Dual Evisceration had never missed their mark. But he did not have the time to dwell on this matter, as Ye Ci had already turned around and launched an attack of her own during his slight moment of hesitation.

I’m finished.

The figure before him moved slightly during that short moment, and fear immediately gripped his heart.

The movement reminded him of the words of Lazy Blue from Tang Dynasty about Gongzi You.

“She was too fast. I didn't even see anything, and it’s all over.” March Spring had always wondered just how fast Gongzi You was. And he finally received an answer at this very moment.

It was only a mere fraction of a second, but he felt a stinging cold on his chest before the person before him disappeared.

As the cold began spreading through his body, March Spring tightened his grip on his dagger and attempted to swing his weapon, but was dismayed to discover that he was sapped of strength.

He forced himself to shift his gaze, and finally found the girl who was supposed to be heavily wounded by his attack.

She was kneeling on the ground, with the hilt of a short sword in her right hand. March Spring could not see the blade of the sword, as it was buried deep into his chest. The Huntress held another beautiful dagger on her left hand. But what was it for?

His question was immediately answered by a system notification.

“You have been crippled.”

Ye Ci did a backwards roll, and stood up in front of March Spring.

She twirled her weapons in the air with a smile on her face and sheathed the sword and the dagger.

She took a quick look at the time. There were only ten seconds left before the effect of her traps would finally time out. It was impossible for her to kill the remaining players within the short window, and she did not wish to prolong the battle. She hurried over to the corpses of the six enemies that laid dead on the ground, looted their equipment, and disappeared into the forest.

Honey Barbie scanned her surroundings for signs of Ye Ci when the ice block finally melted. But Gongzi You had long disappeared into the Misty Forest. She closed her eyes and attempted to get a fix on the Huntress’s location. But there was nothing…

“Barbie,” a Hunter called out to Honey Barbie. She looked at him with bloodshot eyes and let out a frustrated scream that sliced through the quiet air like a knife.

The Ranger of the party was growing anxious, “Barbie, what do we do?” he could sense danger lurking around him, “The monsters here have very high levels...”

Barbie took in a deep breath and raised a hand to cut the Ranger off mid sentence. She tried her best to calm her nerves and to reflect upon her actions. Her gaze drifted towards March Spring who was clutching his chest while gulping down a bottle of Health Potion. The man was kneeling on the ground. It was apparent that he could not move.

Honey Barbie took in a deep breath and walked up to March Spring, “What happened?”

“I’ve been crippled.” March Spring grimaced.

Honey Barbie pulled him up and said to the rest of the party, “Pull back.” and directed the dead to revive themselves at the grave. It was simply too risky to revive on the spot.

And the five remaining members retreated away from the Misty Forest.

“I’m sorry.” Honey Barbie apologized to March Spring. She had allowed her judgement to be clouded by her own personal feelings. She could easily see through Gongzi You’s scheme if she was able to remain calm, but…

“Let’s head back.” March Spring shook his head with a smile, “We’re all comrades. Everyone has their own moment.

Ye Ci sat on the branch of a tree and began going through her spoils of war. Three of the equipment dropped by her opponents were from the Rogue class. Despite their high quality, she had no use for them. Her biggest haul was three Secret Cloaks.

They looked just like her own, but they were made with better material and craftsmanship.

Secret Cloak

Level Requirement: 0

Class: All

This item does not require an inventory slot. Hides the appearance, level, and ID of the wearer.

Ye Ci smiled as she ran her hand along one of the cloaks. She had a great haul, but it was a shame that she was alone. Had she been able to kill all the members of the assasination party, she might be able to acquire even more cloaks.

Just then, she received a message through her private message channel. The identity of the sender came as a shock to her. It’s NightAndDay! Why is he looking for me?