Virtual World: Close Combat Mage
chapter-93

Chapter 93 - The Real Warrior

Gu Fei’s appearance had abruptly turned the tables in the plaza. Him casting Descending Wheel of Flames twice had managed to destroy the formation of the Past Deeds’ meatball, and even the Warriors could not resist the explosive inferno he had created despite having high physical defense. After all, only high magic resistance could protect them from Gu Fei’s spells. Actually, Silver Moon survived Gu Fei’s flame wheels only due to his unusually high magic resistance.

Gu Fei promptly checked his PK value. He felt like crying when he saw that it had risen up to 28 points. This practically wasted his effort of camping out in Youye Valley for a few hours. At this rate, when would he become a free man? Gu Fei felt even more aggravated by his current predicament upon remembering what would happen once he reached 30 PK points: NPCs would launch a manhunt for him. NPCs with combat job classes could be found anywhere in the city. Even this Mage Academy he was currently at had two NPC guards standing right by its entrance. How scary was the power of NPCs? No one knew at the moment, and Gu Fei did not wish to find out himself.

With this thought in mind, Gu Fei resolved to keep his PK value below 30 points and designated Silver Moon as his last kill.

The sword came and went. Spells and quite a few kung fu techniques arrived and departed as well. Nonetheless, Silver Moon still stood steadfast. This feat was not because of Silver Moon having abundant HP, but because of the nearby Past Deeds’ Priests incessantly bestowing Heal on him. Every stab of Gu Fei resulted into Silver Moon receiving Heal three or four times. The game officials had regrettably not taken ‘over-healing’ into consideration. Otherwise, Silver Moon would have long exploded from the excessive amount of healing he had received from his Priests.

After a few more rounds of fighting and healing, a momentous chance appeared: Silver Moon’s mana depleted, which resulted into the effect of King’s Command ending.

The golden glow disappeared and the Past Deeds’ army returned to normal. Dusky Cloud and the gang cheered for Gu Fei, not knowing that the cancellation of the skill was a result of Silver Moon’s mana depleting and not due to Gu Fei keeping Silver Moon occupied.

The Past Deeds’ Warriors failed to readjust themselves to the sudden loss of buffs and continued to fight fiercely with the other side as if they still had boosted stats. For two reasons, these Warriors’ HP visibly dropped under Dusky Cloud and his gang’s assault:

First, they were no longer receiving buffs from King’s Command.

Second, most of the Past Deeds’ Priests were dead. As for the remaining Priests, they solely focused on healing Silver Moon.

In no time at all, Dusky Cloud and the others crushed these Warriors brutally. They then rushed toward the leftover Priests while conveniently killing the Knights they encountered along the way. In the twinkling of an eye, the smaller army of Past Deeds was mostly killed off.

Silver Moon watched with mortified eyes as all the subordinates, including the Priests, around him were annihilated. Knight was a job class that had low combat capabilities on its own. Moreover, his depleted mana prevented him from boosting his own stats. Without his subordinates and Priests' support, he could only watch his HP visibly get reduced by Gu Fei. Presently, Silver Moon was wholly relying on his high defense and the high damage output of King’s Blade to forcefully clash with Gu Fei. And yet, he had one glaring problem: He could not land a hit on Gu Fei!

At this moment, Sword Demon, who had already crept behind Silver Moon, used Backstab without hesitation. Most of the players had exhausted their strength after fighting for this long; in contrast, Sword Demon could still activate Backstab at this decisive moment. Having the foresight to reserve enough points for the activation of that skill, Sword Demon truly deserved his reputation as a top gaming expert.

In a distance, Royal God Call seemed to take Sword Demon’s reappearance as a form of signal. Pulling back his bowstring, he fired off an arrow on Snipe that sailed through the air and lodged itself deep into Silver Moon. Gu Fei thrust his sword into Silver Moon at this time as well. As a corollary, their combined attacks turned Silver Moon into a beam of white light.

Gu Fei promptly pulled out his stats window and saw that he had a freshly updated PK value of 29 points. He instantly felt tears well up. He should have scored his hit earlier. That way, the final PK point for killing Silver Moon would be counted on Royal God Call’s head.

While Silver Moon’s death signified the end of war in Gu Fei’s eyes, Dusky Cloud and the rest did not share the same sentiment. With their arms raised in the air, they thundered, “BEAT THEM WHILE THEY’RE DOWN!” They divided everyone into groups and sent them to every spawn point within the city to continue the massacre there.

Indeed, this war was far from over. Dusky Cloud’s group only attained victory in the Mage Academy’s battle. This clash between Past Deeds and the Past Deeds Eradication Army would obviously escalate into a protracted PvP. This was but a game, after all. Ending a war here was difficult when their lives were unending. This war now depended on the mental capacity of either side. Whoever had a more indomitable fighting spirit would emerge victorious.

Today’s grand battle with Past Deeds had one obvious effect: It pulled Past Deeds closer to Dusky Cloud and his comrades’ level. With the gap reduced, Past Deeds could no longer be as tyrannical as before.

However, Dusky Cloud and company were still far from truly eradicating Past Deeds. Upon seeing Past Deeds Guild Leader Silver Moon’s insane battle support skill, the likelihood of players joining his guild might be even higher than before.

Sword Demon looked on these players running off in every direction while exuding palpable killing intent with apathy. Having accomplished his goal, what happened from here onward would be left for Dusky Cloud and his comrades to deal with!

As Sword Demon thought of this, he noticed Gu Fei hiking up his robe and heading toward a direction.

“Where’re you going?” Sword Demon hurriedly chased after him.

“Off to erase my PK value,” Gu Fei’s eyes were brimming with tears.

Sword Demon recalled Gu Fei’s majestic casting of Descending Wheel of Flames twice and patted the latter’s shoulder consolingly, “Take care.”

Gu Fei bade him goodbye and left. He also did not care about the massacre happening all around him.

After assigning all the manpower, Dusky Cloud approached Sword Demon, “Your bro is too OP.”

Sword Demon nodded his head.

“I owe him a huge favor. If he hadn’t shown up just then, we would’ve all been goners,” Dusky Cloud said.

Sword Demon silently agreed.

“Where is he off to?” Dusky Cloud asked curiously, as he stared at Gu Fei’s receding back.

“Off to erase his PK value,” Sword Demon answered.

Dusky Cloud recalled the two flame wheels from before and was taken aback, “His PK value must be at 20 by now, yeah?” Just as he finished speaking, he remembered that he had picked up the ‘Bounty Mission’ for 27149. He opened his mission tab and looked: 29 PK points. His jaw dropped from shock. One more point and NPCs would hunt him down. If a player accumulated 30 PK points, his or her capture would result into a drop of five levels besides being imprisoned. It was an extremely harsh penalty to bear. That guy’s really brave, Dusky Cloud thought to himself.

Young Master Han, Royal God Call, and Brother Assist climbed down the rooftop. They could not see even a shadow of Gu Fei once they looked around the plaza, so they asked Sword Demon, “Where’s Miles?”

“Off to erase his PK value,” Sword Demon got annoyed at repeating this answer.

Young Master Han swept his gaze to Sword Demon and Dusky Cloud, “If Miles hadn’t appeared just then, you guys would’ve been obliterated.”

The two remained mum.

“Stupid! Why didn’t your Mages attack the enemies that had closed in on you guys? They should’ve killed them all, even if it meant sacrificing your men! Their side surely would’ve greater losses! You only had to deal with those arrogant Warriors in front—”

Young Master Han’s words were cut short by Dusky Cloud suddenly darting to him and grabbing his collar. He was unable to dodge Dusky Cloud’s move since Thieves had higher Agility than Priests. Royal God Call, Sword Demon, and the rest could only gape at this situation. However, Dusky Cloud did not appear to be intending to attack Young Master Han. His move seemed to have been fueled by anger. He forcefully stopped himself from killing Young Master Han on the grounds that the latter was connected to Sword Demon.

“What are you doing?” Young Master Han asked stoically.

“Remember: We never attack our brothers, even if it means our deaths!” Dusky Cloud bellowed.

“Idiot!” Young Master Han was not impressed.

“What did you say?!” Dusky Cloud was about to wail on him, but not through the use of an in-game skill or technique. Just as he jabbed his fist toward Young Master Han’s face, Sword Demon and Brother Assist separated them.

“Since you’re so lively, why don’t YOU think of a way to deal with Silver Moon?! With that skill of his, it’ll only be matter of time before he crushes your motley crew of ruffians!” Young Master Han coldly remarked.

“You m*th*rf*ck*r! Who are you calling ruffians?!” Dusky Cloud tried to rush at the man again, but he was held back by Sword Demon.

“We’re all expert gamers to a certain degree; if you want to fight, use skills and equipment. Don’t punch and kick like school kids in a playground! How unprofessional!” Royal God Call did not step in to stop the fight before, yet here he was gloatingly chastising them.

No one bothered with his comment. Brother Assist tried to appease Dusky Cloud by saying, “Young Master Han has a point. You guys should quickly come up with a plan to deal with Silver Moon. You lot won’t stand a chance if he gathers his men and uses that skill again.”

Dusky Cloud did not say a word. He of course understood the logic behind their words. Glaring at Young Master Han one last time, he turned around to gather his men.

Before long, the only ones left in the plaza were the members of Young Master’s Elite mercenary group.

“Where’s Wounds?” Royal God Call asked as he searched left and right for the nowhere-to-be-found War Without Wounds.

“He got addicted to killing, so he joined the Warriors into assaulting the Thieves’ Union,” Sword Demon informed them.

“What about us?” Royal God Call questioned.

“We’ve all got some PK value, right? Let’s erase them together since we’ve nothing to do!” Sword Demon suggested.

However, the three shook their heads, “Nope. We don’t have any.”

Sword Demon felt depressed. He had followed Dusky Cloud and the lot in their assault, earning himself 4 PK points.

Yueye City was a mess – with fights and deaths everywhere – as if the devil himself had wreaked havoc on it.

No one else was in the streets besides the players of the two PvPing powerhouses. Even those who wanted to watch the fights had to stop themselves, as the situation in Yueye City right now was definitely not suitable for onlookers and spectators. If players so much as look at any of these PvPers the wrong way, they would most likely garner the resentment of both sides.

Gu Fei made his way toward the Bounty Assignment Hall. Along the way, he could see the Past Deeds’ players running in every direction as they were chased by the Past Deeds Eradication Army.

Gu Fei felt as if he had the King’s Command skill of Silver Moon’s King’s Blade. This was because of the two PvPing forces’ reactions whenever they encountered him: The Past Deeds’ guild members would prostrate themselves on the ground and dramatically begin fleeing. Meanwhile, the Past Deeds Eradication Army would quickly feel as if they had gained a strong backer. With just his presence, Thieves would boldly engage Warriors and Mages would chase after Archers.

Gu Fei actually did not intend to join their skirmishes, as he had firmly resolved not to increase his PK value beyond 29 points.

The Bounty Assignment Hall was the most popular place in Yueye City, yet right now it was almost deserted. After all, who would dare take ‘Bounty Mission’ at the present situation? Was it not as good as courting death if the target belonged to one of the two forces mutually slaughtering one another in the city? Those currently at Bounty Assignment Hall were merely enjoying the sight of the Wanted Players list constantly getting updated. Moreover, many clues could be gleaned between the two parties’ showdown from it.

As an unassuming Mage entered the hall, he immediately heard someone cheering, “Wow! This one has 7 PK points now. How savage!”

The Mage quickly went up to the person who had said this and asked, “Where?”

The person promptly pointed to the mission interface listing the said fugitive. The unassuming Mage took that ‘Bounty Mission’ without hesitation.

The person dumbly watched the Mage until the latter exited the hall.

“That guy is insane! He just took the ‘Bounty Mission’ for that fugitive with 7 PK points!”

“Shhhhh!” the man beside him shushed him.

“What?” the person asked, puzzled by the other’s reaction.

“He’s this one!” The person pulled out the overall Wanted Players list and pointed at the top fugitive displayed on it. It was the one with serial number 27149.