591 Chapter 591 - How Profound Are They? (1/2)

”What does it mean when they're not too old and their equipment is terrible?” Southern Lone Blade could not fathom why Dusky Cloud would send such an advance force for. Was he trying to disgust his enemies?

”I don't know… All I saw was a bunch of kids; I didn't even need to use Appraisal to know that their equipment is trash,” Blackwater replied. As a veteran larcenist, he of course had quite the extensive research and knowledge regarding equipment.

”What are Dusky Cloud and his men thinking?” Southern Lone Blade asked.

”I managed to run away as they don't seem intent on hunting me down,” Blackwater stated.

Dusky Cloud and the others did indeed have no plans to get to the bottom of things. The Ten Guild Alliance had numerous enemies here in Yueye City, and a Stealthed Thief sneaking up on them was a common occurrence. They would seek to kill them off if they could seize them, but they would simply ignore it if they could not. There was no way they could accomplish anything with their lives if they had to contend with everyone that came near them like this.

Thus, upon seeing how fast Blackwater fled, Dusky Cloud merely withdrew his men. The sudden appearance of a little Thief sneaking up on them did not even register as a blip in their time here online. In fact, Dusky Cloud was more preoccupied with those rascals from before calling him 'uncle', especially that one who had a longer moustache than him.

”Should I continue sticking to Dusky Cloud, or should I keep an eye on those rugrats?” Blackwater asked Southern Lone Blade for further instructions.

”Are those kids truly that terrible? Could they be intentionally wearing a bunch of trash equipment to obfuscate the truth?” Southern Lone Blade speculated.

”They are really bad! You won't even believe how bad it is even if I tell you. There're even some players among the twenty-six that haven't reached level 10,” Blackwater informed.

”Not even level 10?” Southern Lone Blade felt that this matter was sounding more and more nonsensical as he learned more about it. The greatest advantage a player below level 10 had was that they were completely protected from being PKed, so they obviously could not be PKing anyone themselves. Could it be that someone found an exploitable loophole to this rule?

”Which one is it? I'm almost about to lose sight of them.” Blackwater was anxious. Dusky Cloud and his men were going in the opposite direction that those students were going, and both parties were about to disappear from his line of sight.

”Continue to keep an eye on Dusky Cloud's group, I guess. We should have no problems dealing with those kids on our end,” Southern Lone Blade said.

”Roger that,” Blackwater answered before he went after Dusky Cloud's group. Knowing that they possessed certain means to counter Stealth, Blackwater no longer dared to get too close. After changing out into another set of equipment, he was prepared to pretend to be a normal player grinding while doing his best to keep them within his field of vision.

”How are things over there with Thousand Miles Drunk?” Southern Lone Blade asked Glue and the others.

”Haven't seen him show up since he left the spawn point,” Glue replied.

”Okay…”

”Big South, what do we do now?” Glue, Flame Singed Clothes, and Verdant Timber had been thinking about the matter this whole time, and they had not felt even the slightest bit of ease in the last three hours.

”Blackwater spotted Dusky Cloud sending off some troops over to Baishi City from Yueye City, but the levels and equipment these players have are really odd. Their equipment is trash, and there are some that have yet to reach level 10,” Southern Lone Blade revealed.

”What's that all about?”

”Still uncertain. Anyone has any ideas?”

Everyone was quiet. None of them dared to make any assertions lightly.

”Then, let's first probe the depths of this bunch before we make a decision!” Southern Lone Blade decided.

”Big South!” Everyone was astonished. What if the enemies were really profound? Would this not mean that they were taking a one-way trip to death once more?

”I'll go all out and buy another Teleportation Scroll!” Southern Lone Blade gritted his teeth.

”But would it be convenient for you to show your face at the Auction House once more?” Glue asked.

”Hmm. Who can do it, then? There are still Teleportation Scrolls. I remember seeing them when I last bought one,” Southern Lone Blade said.

”I'll go!” Unrivaled Lucky Star volunteered. He was the only one left that could do this; Glue and the two others did not dare to leave the spawn point now that they were being camped out by Gu Fei. Paddy Scent Pastures was still waiting for Silver Moon over at the Thieves' Union, so he was the only one free right now.

”Get moving, then! I'll be waiting for you by the south gate,” Southern Lone Blade said, that gate being the one players would use to enter Yueye City.

”Do we have to go take a look?” Glue asked Flame Singed Clothes and Verdant Timber for their opinion.

”Is Thousand Miles Drunk still outside?” Flame Singed Clothes poked his head out of the entrance, but it was deep in the night now. With few people walking down the street, he still did not see Gu Fei anywhere around. Flame Singed Clothes suddenly felt that it would be great if that abhorrent smiling face of his would appear right before him. At least, that would be better than having no idea where that man was at the moment.

”Why don't I go out and check? My movement speed isn't any worse than his, so I should be able to escape even if I do bump into him,” Glue proposed.

”He knows Blink,” Flame Singed Clothes reminded.

”There's a limit to the distance for Blink; d'you see him anywhere within ten meters of the entrance?” Glue asked.

”Nope.”

”Which is why I'll start running once I leave. So what if he sees me?” Glue asked.

Flame Singed Clothes and Verdant Timber nodded, but neither joined him given their movement speed. The two men gave Glue a somber send-off right up to the entrance of the spawn point, and Glue nodded equally grimly, sliding right out and breaking off into a sprint.

Far away, atop a certain roof stood Gu Fei, whose eyes barely fluttered when he saw this happen. He no longer cared about it once he saw that Silver Moon was not who had appeared. Instead, he turned his head over in another direction and asked, ”Done yet?”

”Almost there!” A player was barbecuing meat skewers right under the eaves. Linshui City was not the only place that had a barbeque business going; it was just that, being on a beach, watching and listening to the crashing waves, was far more appealing to the masses, whereas players setting up stalls by the roadside was far closer to real life. When Gu Fei left the spawn point the second time around, he chanced upon a player who had picked up the cooking profession near this corner, and he was even making them on demand, so of course he immediately made the decision to patronize his stall.

”It's not a bad way to live like this.” Gu Fei had a book in one hand and a fresh meat skewer in the other. At the same time, he was sending a message over to Ah Fa and his other students. ”So, where are you all?”

”It's so far…” The students were all complaining. Using their time playing through the night to travel was originally rather refreshing, but the second half of the journey began to take a toll on them. Most were regretting relocating themselves as the process was so dull. Right now, a good portion of their attention was dedicated in finding out just who was the culprit that had made this suggestion to the class.

”Come on! You're almost there.” Gu Fei, who completely had no idea where the students were at the moment, casually consoled them.

”Come on; teacher said that we're almost there.” Ah Fa acted to cheer them on, randomly relaying those words of consolation to his classmates with a poker face.

The road from Yueye City to Baishi City was a straight path through and a little shorter than the distance between Yunduan City and Yueye City, taking only about two hours of travel time. After quite some time, the students finally caught sight of Baishi City's magnificent walls in the horizon, and they were moved to tears by it.

It was almost 7 AM by now, which was almost the time for those nocturnal players to log off. As players began making their way out of the various grinding maps and into the city, the road bustled with activity for a short time. Over by a patch of tall grass outside the south gate, Southern Lone Blade, Glue, and Unrivaled Lucky Star were hiding behind the tall grass as they kept watch of all the players passing by.

”Is that the group?”

”What about that one?”

”26 players. Can't you count it before calling it out?” Southern Lone Blade was annoyed.

”These people are all coming in droves; who's supposed to know who's together and who's not?!” Glue was miserable.

”They'll be coming from the main road!” Southern Lone Blade said.

”What about that one over there?” Glue casually pointed over to a group of players disorderly trudging along the main road. The Mage taking the lead was carrying a banner.

”One, two, three, four…” Southern Lone Blade carefully counted the group's number.

”26! That's them!” Southern Lone Blade immediately hunkered down after he finished counting. At the same time, he checked if the three of them were hidden well enough. Meanwhile, Glue and Unrivaled Lucky Star were already carefully observing these players, studying to see what was so exalted about this group for Thousand Miles Drunk to invite them and for Dusky Cloud to escort them over personally.

”Mother of god. The equipment they have on them… Can I call them primitives?” Glue was the first to express his shock.

”I don't think that there's a need to appraise any of that…” Unrivaled Lucky Star said. Just like Blackwater, he could easily tell what this equipment was at a glance.