422 Chapter 422 - Turning the Ruse (2/2)

Nevertheless, it was Blackwater, who was currently in Stealth Mode and slowly closing in on Gu Fei from behind, that quickly sent over a message upon seeing the shocking sight behind his comrades: ”Big South, behind you!”

Southern Lone Blade had no reason to suspect his comrade, so he quickly looked over his shoulder and saw a pack of players swiftly closing in on them right by the shoreline. The vanguard looked to be lined with Archers, who were preparing to unleash an attack in just a few steps.

”How is this possible?!” Southern Lone Blade received the shock of his life.

The neat formation and carefully configured job-class composition seemed to have been prepared in advance as they headed straight toward them. This clearly showed that the enemies had not fallen for their ruse and had been aware of their movement all this while; they had obviously been lying in wait for them.

The piercing scream of an arrow was heard.

The man leading the pack released his Snipe, aiming it directly at Southern Lone Blade.

Southern Lone Blade blocked this shot and heard that man shout at the same time, ”Brother Southern Blade sure is vicious! Who knows how many players have dropped levels fighting over that fake magic staff you dropped? Looks like it's all over for Ordnance Works all thanks to your trick.”

Southern Lone Blade dropped his shield and looked at the man speaking, recognizing him to be Blue Umbra's vice guild leader, Reed Arrow of the Willows. He could be considered as the second Archer expert in Linshui City right after Glue, but after the latter lost a level, he could rightfully be recognized as the number one Archer now.

”It seems you guys weren't fooled in the least, though,” Southern Lone Blade casually replied, yet his heart was filled with anxiety. At the moment, his group was up against a large number of players in front and the indomitable Mage Gu Fei was still standing right behind them. Escaping would be a huge conundrum. Even if they attempted to take their boats out to the sea right now, one spell bombardment from a Mage was all it would take to wipe them out.

Reed Arrow of the Willows was merely smiled at his words. ”That's why we are very thankful to the help Brother Flame Singed Clothes has provided!”

”What?!” Flame Singed Clothes sputtered, thinking that the enemy was trying to sow discord within their ranks. Southern Lone Blade shared his sentiment but suddenly realized what the other meant in two seconds.

”You guys… followed him?” he posed his guess. Indeed, the clueless Flame Singed Clothes was the only one to be blamed.

In the previous battle, he was the only casualty. He was not impeded in the least when he respawned after. His comrades had thought that the enemies had only left men behind to prevent them from logging off, but how would they have guessed that their true intention was far greater?

When Flame Singed Clothes died, Blue Umbra was still the only guild that was on the hunt for them. They feigned ignorance of his respawning and secretly followed him to this spot. The seven had split up earlier, but the enemies had already guessed that they would be gathering once more. Even if that did not happen in the city, they would still have to get on the same boats if they intended to depart from Linshui City. Thus, they tailed Flame Singed Clothes from a safe distance until he led them straight to the other six.

They might have met up earlier than expected at Linshui City's west gate, and their charade had even fooled the others present, but Blue Umbra was not misled even in the slightest. Nevertheless, his guild continued to keep mum about it. This was like how Ordnance Works had tried to turn the trick into an advantage, allowing Southern Lone Blade to believe that they had successfully shaken off their pursuers when the reality was that they had been on their tail, waiting for the perfect moment to kill them in one fell swoop.

Naturally, they were waiting for the full seven-man squad to gather in one place, which would be when they were about to steer their boats away from Linshui City.

Blue Umbra had truly thought this through on a grand scale. They even considered Southern Lone Blade's entire seven-man squad to be in possession of the Staff of Resurrection, and their goal was to take them all down at once. This was the only way that they could ensure that the item would fall right into their palms. Southern Lone Blade was positive that the respective spawn points would be filled with Blue Umbra's members, waiting to ambush them. Essentially, regardless of who was holding that item from here on, the enemies would undoubtedly keep on targeting and looting that person until the Staff of Resurrection dropped.

Blue Umbra Guild Leader Tanzanite Shade had become the main antagonist in this for rallying troops to exterminate Ordnance Works just to complete his plan. Furthermore, he had gathered all the guild leaders together for the purpose of keeping tabs on their movements more easily. All along, they were secretly keeping their sights on the seven-man squad.

Southern Lone Blade was filled with remorse when he thought of this. Being sandwiched between two powerful forces, any compromise would be meaningless. Their only way out of this would be to fight until the bitter end.

The seven exchanged glances, and he saw the same determination from each of them. Reed Arrow of the Willows just happened to direct his men to begin their assault at this moment; the seven flawlessly evaded their incoming arrows, and the seamless coordination between Southern Lone Blade and Flame Singed Clothes was seen once more: With the former providing cover, the latter lay down his Palatial Balefire and Blazing Tree of a Thousand Inferno to quickly cordon off their attackers with a sea of flames.

”Quickly get on the boats!” Glue bellowed. While the two were providing them respite with their seamless coordination, his task was to attack Gu Fei to buy them more time.

In the end, all Gu Fei did was casually dodge that arrow Glue had sent his way, making the Archer feel as if his existence were insignificant and useless.

Southern Lone Blade and his crew took note of Gu Fei's actions even as they hurried toward the boats, but what left them surprised was that he did not even make any attempts to stop them from leaving.