Chapter 680 – Firewolf Valley (2/2)
“Got it!”
Old K and Cang Lei may be fearless warriors but all they care about is the heat of the fight. Even after they got orders, they only knew how to forge on straight ahead. However, Yao Yan retained a crafty side to her under that surface of valour. After she paused a bit to think, she turned towards me.
“Chief, do you really think You Yi would lead 5000 men there simply to hunt down Death God’s Elegy and 500 people? I think there’s something more to this……”
“Then what do you think is their true aim?” It’s gratifying to have someone smart in the group.
The emblem of the [Zhan Long Guard Corps] Guild Leader flashed above her shoulder as she continued.
“This whole time, the [Greed Wolf Brigade] has been roaming all across the map killing our people and claiming they’re bringing retribution on us; that seems to be all bark and no bite. None of their parties have consisted of more than 100-300 men. They should have already known that just this much cannot even cause us any lingering damage. Yet all of a sudden, they decided to gather up a whole 5000 people to kill Death God’s Elegy and his 500 men. It shouldn’t be something as simple as that. Am I right?”
I agreed with her, “Truth is, I’ve also felt there’s more to this than a simple lynching. They’ve definitely got another goal in mind, except I just can’t figure out what You Yi’s thinking… Oh right! Is anyone familiar with this [Firewolf Valley] map?
Her expression turned into one of helplessness, “None. [Firewolf Valley] was originally a small gap deep in-between the North-South Mountain range and the [Evil Dragon’s Nest]. And since the level of the mobs there was not low, its priority wasn’t that high on the list of maps to explore first. Even now, no one from [Zhan Long] has been there; not even the ones who specialize in pioneering new maps……”
“Whatever, let’s go and see first. No matter what, we can’t just abandon Elegy’s group!”
“En. But we’re just 100 people. Against a whole 5000, we’re just a drop in the bucket……”
“Well, we’ll do what we can and let fate do the rest.”
“Kay!”
……
The sound of hoofs echoed all over. In almost no time, we approached the [Evil Dragon’s Nest]. After checking the ingame map, I decided to avoid the front entrance. That area is no good; too wide open. If You Yi had even a shred of intelligence in him, then he would definitely post lookouts around there. So we chose to climb the mountain adjacent to the nest and went around instead. Under the cover of the foliage, they might not be able to spot our modest 100-man group.
On this rugged mountainside road, my [Flying Scythe War Horse]’s speed experienced a sharp decline. Flames spurted from its nostrils and was accompanied by a deep panting; to gallop over the loose rocks required all its power. On the other hand, Old K and Cang Lei’s war horses belonged to the mountainous type and were able to maintain their high speed. Ah, the advantages of different mount breeds....
Before long, our group completely bypassed the [Evil Dragon’s Nest]. Just a bit further ahead, the shape of a mountain chasm started to become clear.While I encouraged my mount to go faster, I began to pay attention to my surroundings. Bodies of firewolves decorated the area. Level 125 Thunderous Beasts. The level of this area is pretty high. No surprise, players level 110 and under wouldn’t even think about coming here. The risks were too high.
“These corpses still haven’t been despawned yet...”
Yao Yan also noticed it.
“It shouldn’t be more than 30 minutes since these were killed… Ah, Chief! We’ve got coordinates. Straight East and 25 degree South; Elegy’s group is about 2000 meters from us. But they’ve been completely encircled already. What do we do?”
‘We’ll see when we get there!”
“En!”
……
We moved forward another 500 meters before I signaled a stop.
“Everyone wait here! I’m gonna go scout ahead.”
Luckily, the mountain was covered in dense vegetation. We managed to make it this far unseen. Since we hadn’t detected any assassins along the way, they should still be in the dark concerning our presence.
My [Flying Scythe War Horse] gave a low neigh, then charged right into the foliage. Along with it, I automatically entered a [Camouflage] state as the passive skill activated. I forged ahead another 400 meters and suddenly came upon an open clearing. The stray boulders that littered this area were streaked with blood and bodies of players adorned the ground. So they have already initiated combat…...
In the distance, the special effects of various skills lit up the night sky. I could see You Yi lead about 3000 people as he forced the several hundred remaining members of [Zhan Long]’s third branch guild into a corner. He ordered the archers, mages and musketeers to bombard them from a distance.
You Yi raised his sword, a sneer plastered all over his face, “Do not engage up close. Bombard them with long range attacks. Let see how long they can last. These mother-effers. If they dare to revive, kill them again!”
Right in front of this bunch of Greed Wolf Raiders was a disjointed and shabbily formed shieldwall. The head of the third branch guild, Death God’s Elegy, stood at the very front and center. His mount was probably killed already so now he’s maintaining a defensive posture while on foot. His face was blackened with ash; probably from being burnt by fire spells. His sword and armor were drenched in blood as well. Only a sparse few heavy melee players still stood beside him. Out of his 500-man party, it didn’t look like even 200 had survived.
……
I ground my teeth fiercely to hold back my rage but an odd feeling also surfaced at the same time. They had clearly mobilized 5000 people yet there’s only 3000 or so on scene. Even if you add up all the bodies, the numbers still don’t match. What happened to the other 2000?
“Chief, should we act now?” Yao Yan asked me over party chat.
“Move out!”
“Understood!”