243 Chapter 243 - Seriously Too Close (1/2)

Nightmare of Death was a Thief, so by activating his Fleetfoot, he was able to nimbly disappear from the wall corner. Still, he was no match for Gu Fei's all-Agility build and movement speed that was further boosted by Windchaser's Boots. Gu Fei kept his fixed eyes on Nightmare of Death's back as he swiftly pursued the latter.

Nightmare of Death was very cunning and extremely crafty. Fleetfoot was not Stealth, and it had a limited duration, yet he managed to maintain his distance from Gu Fei through with this skill. But given Gu Fei's equipment and faster movement speed than Nightmare of Death's, it was only a matter of time before he caught up to the latter.

Logically speaking, Stealth could better hide a hunted from a hunter. The skill was practically useless against Gu Fei, though, based on their intel on him. What Thieves like Nightmare of Death did not know was that everything would be fine as long as they buried their heads in the ground like an ostrich and avoided looking at Gu Fei after activating Stealth….

Nightmare of Death was naturally not privy of such a solution, so when he saw Gu Fei ignoring everyone and solely chasing after him at a breakneck speed, he could only bemoan his fate inside.

Gu Fei closely followed Nightmare of Death from behind, aware that he would eventually catch up to the latter. Still, he kept in mind the possibility of Nightmare of Death using Stealth to hide among the mob of Werewolves.

What Gu Fei was unaware of was that Stealth could not be used near the Werewolves, as according to Nightmare of Death and his gang's study of this village layout and the Werewolves' programmed behavior, this sort of non-humanoid monsters possessed highly sensitive noses and keen ears just like real wolves. Although their other senses were not as powerful as their eyes' ability to perceive, the Werewolves were still able to detect anyone attempting to get close to them from several meters away. If this lot of Thieves used Stealth, the Werewolves would surely pounce on them when they got near the Werewolves, which was exactly what the other Thief in Nightmare of Death's team had forcefully done.

As such, Nightmare of Death did not dare to get near the Werewolves and decided to avoid monsters and evade Gu Fei altogether as best as he could. The death penalty for dying to monsters and players would equally result into the loss of level and even equipment.

Nightmare of Death was at his wits' end right now, so he quickly sent his comrades a message asking for their help. His brothers, who had scattered at the sight of Gu Fei beginning a massacre, quickly gathered in one place once they knew that he was solely chasing after Nightmare of Death. Naturally, they intended to counterattack even if Nightmare of Death did not prompt them to do so.

Although these players still held numerical superiority, they were not brave enough to surround Gu Fei. Nonetheless, they had learned a few things from that previous incident.

At a certain clearing in Suoyun Village, the players each chose a position with a viable escape route. They planned to use ranged attacks on Gu Fei, but if those failed, they would unhesitatingly flee for their lives. This way, Gu Fei would be forced to settle on chasing after only one of them.

Their arrangement was done very quickly. After discussing their plan thoroughly, they informed Nightmare of Death of the place's coordinates and of how he should enter it. The Hunter did not give up on ensnaring Gu Fei using his Hunting Trap, and he set a trap at the probable path Gu Fei would take on his way to the place before informing Nightmare of Death of its location to prevent him from accidentally stepping on the trap, instead.

Nightmare of Death sprinted over to his brothers' given coordinates as he mentally calculated the distance he would need to cover and the time required over his running speed. His heart slightly calmed when he realized that his Fleetfoot would sufficiently bring him over to the location.

However, Nightmare of Death soon discovered that he would be unable to take the shortest route toward the place if he was to take into account the Werewolves' aggro range and avoided it accordingly. If he took a detour, his Fleetfoot's duration would end before he could reach the destination. This was something beyond his control, so Nightmare of Death could only curse the heavens as he literally raced against time and focused on searching the Werewolves' positions for somewhere he could possibly shave the time off.

Eventually, Nightmare of Death only had to run out of the alleyway he was currently in and he would arrive at the location. His Fleetfoot already ended, but since victory was within grasp, Nightmare of Death gutturally roared like a Werewolf and put his all into this final sprint, passing an imaginary finish line with a small leap. This step he took to exit the alleyway allowed him to safely pass the trap that lay beneath the surface of the earth.

Nightmare of Death landed and looked around, yet he could not find where his brothers were hiding. He knew that this was only because his brothers had hidden themselves very well to increase their odds of successfully ambushing the enemy, so he acted his part and pretended to run forward anxiously.

Here he comes! Nightmare of Death's hidden companions muttered to themselves when they saw him exit the alley. Ready… As long as someone burst out next from that alleyway, they would all unleash their attacks.

The Hunter fervently hoped that Gu Fei would step on to his trap, so that he could properly show off his capability. Otherwise, his brothers would certainly use this to ridicule him.

”ATTACK!”

Someone darted out of the alleyway at an unbelievable speed and everyone unleashed all sorts of attacks on him – the Mage casted an AOE spell, the Archer shot an arrow on Snipe, and the Warrior and Thief even flung their spare weapons to deal maximum damage in that instant. These players prepared themselves for the possibility of their first wave of attacks to fail at killing off Gu Fei, so a second wave of attacks was swiftly executed by them after….

”Ah!” A familiar-sounding scream was heard, but it did not come from the alley entrance. All looked at the scream's origin and gawked.