Virtual World: Close Combat Mage
chapter-562

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

With Sakurazaka Moony, Blue Ease, and Fireball, each taking a bolt to their heads, the three appeared to have been tagged with a label as they revealed a unanimous look of horror on their faces. It was evident that the sudden and precise shot had left the three quaking in their boots.

“Quickly, take cover!” Gu Fei yelled at the three men. Broken Water Arrow’s marksmanship was comparable to Gu Fei’s skill when it came to PvP, and it was something well beyond the level that existed for most players. Especially since the game provided a certain level of assistance to any players making ranged attacks, this design only made it that much easier for Broken Water Arrow to feel like a fish in the water when firing his bolts. Seeing the three consecutive shots made, even the three targets themselves did not seem to realize what had just happened.

Meanwhile, the difference in the three’s character showed once more. After Gu Fei yelled at them, Sakurazaka Moony and Fireball immediately hunched over on the ground boorishly and scrambled about for cover; it was almost as if the two were more than happy to find a rat hole to bury their heads in.

Conversely, the imperious Blue Ease was different, yelling angrily as if he were an iron-blooded Warrior, “Which coward is it that injures someone secretly?!”

Thwack! The answer he got was the sound of another shot landing.

Who was going to care about civility when engaged in PvP? Broken Water Arrow had fired another bolt. Now, there was not just a single tag on Blue Ease’s head but two, instead.

“How troublesome!” Gu Fei originally wanted to chase after Southern Lone Blade, but with this scamp recklessly attempting to call out a duel with the enemy, Gu Fei weighed his options and felt that saving a life was far more important than taking one. The Blink spell he had waited all this while sent him materializing right before Blue Ease, and he quickly sent that man sprawling to the ground with a swift kick.

Blue Ease was ready to blurt out a hellish tirade of curses when he saw a bolt whizz past right where he had been standing mere moments ago. He immediately realized that Gu Fei’s kick had actually helped him out, for he would have had that third bolt tagged on to his head otherwise. It was hard to say if he could hold on to his life after taking that third shot straight into the head just like that.

Despite the case, it was really difficult for him to even utter a word of thanks to Gu Fei. The latter did not really mind it and just turned around, only to find that Southern Lone Blade had seized this chance to run right into a small alley and disappear.

The two Archers engaged in the two-pronged attack each fired off several more shots respectively, and they were all aimed at Vast Lushness. Gu Fei was already prepared to find them making their move on her, so he quickly darted over whirling his sword to block these projectiles. In fact, these two Archers’ main goal was to delay Gu Fei for a while; there was already no one left anywhere near Vast Lushness, so what was the point of killing her? Their ultimate goal was to loot the equipment and not kill her.

Glue and Broken Water Arrow stopped their pestering at this moment, and each released a few more shots as cover fire while they made their retreat. Gu Fei mildly entertained the idea of chasing after Southern Lone Blade, but upon seeing the bolts stuck onto the heads of the three men, he felt that it was possible for the enemy to be luring the tiger away from its den, so he decided it was more appropriate to prioritize remaining beside Vast Lushness to defend her instead of pursuing his own wishes.

After a bout of silence, Fireball slightly poked his head out from within an open wall nearby. Looking all around him, he cautiously asked, “Are… Are they all gone?”

Gu Fei did not dare to jump to conclusions so easily, so he checked the surroundings, looking to catch any sight or sound from the enemies. Sakurazaka Moony scrambled his way over the barrel he had been hiding behind as he hurried to Vast Lushness’s side. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine…” Vast Lushness saw the bolt still stuck on Sakurazaka Moony’s forehead and did her best to resist laughing as she said, “You should pull that out…”

“Yes…” Sakurazaka Moony had actually forgotten about it in his nervousness. Broken Water Arrow’s marksmanship was superb. Not only did he demonstrate how accurate of a shot he was – his choice of position, timing when shooting, the rhythm of his cover fire – every single aspect of his attacks demonstrated his expertise and level of professionalism. Sakurazaka Moony might be a Hunter, but he had his fair share of experience firing arrows, and he could really feel just how fearsome that Archer was.

It was far more of a subconscious realization for Fireball and Blue Ease, since the two of them were not at all aware where Broken Water Arrow had been hiding when he attacked them!

“It’s a good thing his attack power isn’t too great,” Gu Fei said to Blue Ease.

Blue Ease was plucking out the bolts, turning to look at Gu Fei when he heard his words. “What? Do you know that guy as well?”

Gu Fei nodded. “His name’s Broken Water Arrow.”

“Who is he?” Sakurazaka Moony and Vast Lushness came forward together and asked.

“A bunch of guys that has a little history with me. It seems that they are recruiting Southern Lone Blade’s gang as well. Oh, yes. They’re the same people who rescued Silver Moon,” Gu Fei informed.

“D*mn!” Blue Ease had participated in the camping out of Silver Moon back in Baishi City, and was the one mentioned his sordid and disgusting past of that miscreant to all that was present. It became part of Blue Ease’s game life to mock Silver Moon, who had gotten cooped up in Baishi City’s Knights’ Barracks. As such, when someone suddenly rescued Silver Moon and left him in a state of limbo, he privately cursed those players that got his hated enemy out.

“By the looks of it, it’s most likely Silver Moon who got those guys to target Vast Lushness for her magic staff; his King’s Blade skill…” Blue Ease’s mind was rather quick, but halfway through his words, he suddenly covered his mouth, as if he had remembered something, before sneaking a peek at Vast Lushness. He only let loose a sigh of relief after seeing that her expression remained unperturbed. Ultimately, he did not dare to reveal too many details, so he could only viciously curse, “That *ssh*l*, we’ve got to show him what’s what.” That man had been cooped up in the safety of the safe zone for all those days, and that made Blue Ease feel discontented since he had never gotten the chance to beat the man up.

“How is Xiaowu ¹ ?” Vast Lushness simply could not care for Silver Moon at all, and all she was worried about was Svelte Dancer, the lady who had heroically sacrificed herself for her.

Gu Fei sighed. “The name list for the Five Unyielding Experts would see a change once more.”

Just as he said this, he could already hear Svelte Dancer shouting as she sprinted down a certain street. “WHERE’S THAT *SSH*L*?!”

“He ran off!” everyone answered regretfully.

“Ran off? You dummy, why did you let him escape?” Svelte Dancer transferred her anger on to Gu Fei.

Gu Fei helplessly replied, “Another player came out and created chaos, giving him the chance to flee.” Actually, Gu Fei already had his Blink ready for use, but he unfortunately went to save Blue Ease with it; otherwise, he might have stood a chance at stopping Southern Lone Blade’s escape.

“Where did he run off to? Why didn’t you give chase?” Svelte Dancer was pissed.

“It was better to play it safe; the enemies are very cunning.” Gu Fei felt a little awkward to say that he was worried for these people getting eaten alive as that would have been too much of a blow on their self-esteem!

“I’M SO ANGRY!” Svelte Dancer was positively hysterical.

“Big Sis Svelte, don’t be angry. There’re other opportunities to get even with them next time. Look; your clothes are still dirty. Let me pat it out for you.” It was unknown just where Fireball had popped out from, but he reached out one of his hands and was ready to help Svelte Dancer pat out that footprint left by Southern Lone Blade by the front of her chest. While Svelte Dancer might be mad, she was not to the point where she lost all her senses. Instantly, she shot Fireball a glare.

Fireball’s hand quickly slipped his hand to the back of his head and scratched it as he laughed dryly. “I’ll leave it to Drunk bro.”

“WHAT?” Svelte Dancer was now eyeing daggers at Gu Fei.

F*CK! Gu Fei glowered at Fireball. This guy’s sleaziness has actually dragged me down; he’s really looking for a good slaying.

“Let’s take our leave here first!” In the end, it was still Vast Lushness who had tugged at Svelte Dancer’s hand. Helping dust her clothes, she led everyone away from this place.

—————————————-

Over at another small alley, Southern Lone Blade was sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him, turning his head back every two or three steps but never once catching a glimpse of that black figure. It was only then that his heart slowly settled itself. He had already lost count of the number of twists and turns he made as he fled, and when Southern Lone Blade reckoned that there was no one else chasing after him, he slowed down his steps and pulled out his party channel to hail the others. “Everyone made it out all right?”

“We’re alive.” Everyone replied except for Unrivalled Lucky Star who had died in that PvP from before.

Southern Lone Blade heaved a long sigh. When Thousand Miles Drunk appeared, he really believed that their team was about to be wiped out again. They were truly terrified after going up against him time after time.

“Oh, yeah. Who is that other Archer?” Southern Lone Blade had keen eyes. Even though everything had happened in a hurry back then, he was nevertheless able to tell that Broken Water Arrow possessed exceptional marksmanship. Be it that single shot of his that forced Thousand Miles Drunk to back off or the moment when he consecutively scored a bolt against the three players, each shot he made was very wonderful.

“They’re a bunch of people whom I met while trailing after Thousand Miles Drunk. I was just about to mention them to you so you could come and meet them! That Archer said that his name is Broken Water Arrow. Has he really contacted you before?” Glue asked.

“Ah… I think so.” When he heard Glue’s answer, Southern Lone Blade recalled a certain IGN that went by Broken Water Arrow, which had sent him several letters these last few days. The content of his letters laid out his intentions plainly, stating how they planned to deal with Gu Fei. They were wondering if Southern Lone Blade would be interested in lending a hand. For starters, Southern Lone Blade would never accept a proposition from a stranger. Moreover, his plan was to shun Thousand Miles Drunk like the plague as best as he could. This was why he did not give the letters a second look. Who would have thought that they would end up meeting like this so coincidentally?

“Where are they?” Southern Lone Blade asked Glue.

“Over at the Tower of White Sand,” Glue replied.

“Oh. I’ll be right over, then.” Southern Lone Blade was satisfied with the location. Unlike other players, Southern Lone Blade’s gang rarely chose a place like taverns, where plenty of players congregated, to meet. Instead, they preferred rendezvousing at secluded corners. The Tower of White Sand was just a normal building within Baishi City, and the NPCs around did not really spend much of their time entertaining players. It was just the sort of isolated area that Southern Lone Blade loved.

“Are we going as well?” The others were asking on the channel.

“There’s no need. I’ll go have a look first. The rest of you should take the necessary precautions; beware of bumping into Thousand Miles Drunk,” Southern Lone Blade instructed.

“Roger that.”

“Timber, no need to keep watch of the Priest Academy. Let’s put on hold that matter with Vast Lushness first.” Southern Lone Blade singled out, Verdant Timber, the other Priest in his team of seven. He had been assigned to keep watch over by the Priest Academy for their plan to loot Vast Lushness’s Utopian Magic Staff; his job was to continue tailing Vast Lushness after she respawned upon death.

This was also an aspect of their profession that Southern Lone Blade’s gang had plenty of experience. Letting targets know that they would continue to hunt them would be a problematic development, so Southern Lone Blade and his men had the policy of not killing them immediately after. Sometimes, they would even patiently wait over an hour before striking the second time. The point was to ensure that their targets would not have any suspicion toward the safety of the spawn point. It was unfortunate that their assignment this time around ran into a snag. It was a pity that they did not manage to kill their target off in this short time, so this arrangement they had was made redundant as a result.