Corporate United members were all stunned by the spectacle. They expected an intense fight, but it had ended in an instant.
Was that truly their leader, manager Straightpole? How come he got defeated so easily? Why was he just standing still when his opponent attacked?
None of them know about Pandora's psychic attack on Straightpole before Jack made his move.
"What did you do?" Director Forcelabor asked. He also didn't believe Straightpole would have performed so poorly. "What trick have you used?"
"You know, you are the embodiment of hypocrisy," Jack said to him. "You claimed your guild is not a bully, and yet the practice of your members has repeatedly confirmed so. This guy just now wants to fight one-on-one, and you let him. Now when he lost, you accused me of cheating. How about we just drop this pretense and have all of you come at me?"
Director Forcelabor's eyes twitched hearing the insult.
While Jack did use a trick, none of them knew about it. Only when Straightpole revived in safe zone half an hour from now could they ask him about it. Forcelabor gritted his teeth when he thought about Straightpole returning to level 1 after working so hard to become an elite class. He sent a message in the party chat for everyone to wear their Amulet of Rebirth, and do so himself.
He was done playing with this man. Director Forcelabor called out, "Everyone… Atta–"
"Wait!" Jack's shout cut Forcelabor's command.
Forcelabor looked at him with eyes that said, 'What now? Aren't you the one who wants to fight?'
"I am ready to give you an answer now," Jack said.
"What answer?" Forcelabor asked, he had a problem following Jack's train of thought.
"Steelhand asked before what I am doing here, I'm going to give you my answer."
"And what is that answer?"
Jack took out a tiny item and held it for everyone to see. No one knew what it was. They just stared at it in confusion.
"I'm here to return the favor."
The tiny thing in Jack's hand started to glow with ominous green light. Jack dropped it onto the ground, where it continued to glow.
The others watched in bewilderment. 'What can that tiny thing do?' Everyone asked.
Manager Steelhand suddenly came to a realization. "No… Can it be…"
The grin on Jack's face seemed to confirm his suspicion. But Steelhand was confused, if it was as he suspected, then why did Jack still stand there? Shouldn't he start running away?
"What is it?" Forcelabor asked Steelhand who seemed to realize something.
*BLAM!*
Before Steelhand could answer though, a large eruption happened at where the green glowing thing was. A very large green stem broke out from the ground, followed by another, and another. These stems were flexible as they lashed around. Some possessed small branches and leaves. Jack's body was soon buried by this cacophony of plants.
Several smaller stems which looked more like roots erupted further away from the green glow which was increasing in intensity.
"It's a Disaster Item!" Manager Steelhand screamed. "Everyone! Defend the headquarters…!"
Those that were slow enough to realize the danger, were caught off guard when roots came out in front of them. These roots lashed at them. Those that were hit lose HP, while some even got entangled by the roots and immobilized. The other roots slashed at their helpless bodies.
Those that were more reactive immediately attacked these roots, with weapons or magic. They found that these roots could be damaged. Someone used Inspect and found the roots to be level 32 basic monsters.
"Don't be afraid! They are just level 32 basic monsters!" Someone called out, trying to motivate the others.
Manager Steelhand though did not feel relief upon hearing that. "This is just the start…" He mumbled.
Once Jack used the Demon Weed Seedling, he had changed position with one of his copies. Thus, when the Demon Weed revealed itself, he was already safe and far away from ground zero. From his hiding place, he watched the Corporate United members who were in much chaos as they tried to maintain their formation to deal with the threat.
He then turned to the entrance of their Guild Headquarters. He had his copies get as close as possible to the entrance. With the others' attentions focusing on the Demon Weeds, he should have no problem sneaking in.
However, there were still people coming out from the headquarters after the Disaster Item was used. It seemed they still placed some people inside to guard just in case. Before, Jack was only one person. They were afraid he was simply a distraction, so they still left behind some sentries. Now that a real threat had shown itself, they couldn't afford to hold back anymore.
Jack decided to wait for a while. The fewer people inside the headquarters, the easier it was for him. As he watched the might of the Demon Weed, he took out a scroll from his bag. It was the Invisibility scroll he got from killing Uruk's adjutant.
"Hehe, let's use Red Death's tactic when she infiltrated Heavenly Citadel."
"So, this is why he dares to come alone charging into Corporate United's territory," Wilted Tree commented as she watched what transpired in the distance.
"How did he get his hands on a unique steed and a Disaster item?" Handsome Joe asked. "Ain't those things supposed to be very difficult to get?"
"They are…," Wilted Tree replied. "I have a feeling he still has other things that might surprise us. This man might be one that can truly help us in our cause."
"Huh, I don't like him, too arrogant," Handsome Joe said.
"Don't let your feeling get in the way. We have much at stake here. You have to look at the big picture," Wilted Tree said. She then turned to Anotherday, "What do you think of him?"
"He is a good fighter," Anotherday replied. "But a bit too reckless. Might cause himself harm. It is better for him to not tangle with World Maker until he matures."
"I agree. Let's just leave him alone first then. I hope he doesn't disappoint."
As time passed, larger roots appeared from the central stem. They were classified as level 37 special elites. These roots crawled from underneath the ground. Players could see the ground bulging as these roots traveled forward. They had to attack the ground before the roots showed themselves.
These special elite roots had thorns on their surfaces. Their lashes caused a Bleed effect when hit.
Director Forcelabor use a similar tactic as Everlasting Heavenly Legends when they were defending the Heavenly Citadel against the undead horde. They used the trained Footsoldiers as meatshield as the players rained damage at the roots.
However, one critical point differentiated the situation from when Everlasting Heavenly Legends was defending. During the Heavenly citadel defense, Jack had forced the Disaster Item to be activated a fair distance away from the headquarters. Thus, the undead horde that came at Heavenly Citadel was actually just a small portion, with the other undead spread out into the surroundings.
While here, the Demon Weed Seedling also spread out in the same manner. But since the Guild Headquarter was near ground zero, the portion of Demon Weed the Corporate United had to deal with was also much larger. Even with their larger number, Corporate United faced much more difficulty compared to Everlasting Heavenly Legends.
Not to mention, the trained Footsoldiers were a grade lower than Squires. Their coordination was also lacking since they were left to defend on their own. Whoever was in control of these soldiers only told them where to defend, unlike John who had actively issued commands to each of the Squires and Bandit Archers depending on the situation.
As time passed, a large trunk came out. On top of it was a large flower. Manager Steelhand used Inspect on it and found it to be level 42 Special Elite. The flower spat a cloud of green gas. Those who were hit by this gas were inflicted with Poison and Confuse.
"We have to use it!" Manager Steelhand shouted at Director Forcelabor.
Director Forcelabor showed an unwilling expression. But as he watched more and more of their members fell, he knew he could not afford to hold back. Otherwise, there would be no more Guild Headquarters for them. He sent a message.
Not long after, the air above the Guild Headquarters suddenly crackled. The air shivered as tounges of flames appeared and swiveled around. They soon coalesced into a large burning ball. This large burning ball fell to the ground in front of the headquarters. The flame dissipated and revealed the figure of a revealing woman with bat wings covered by flame.
The fiery woman then beat her wings. Her feet left the ground and she flew forward. Once she arrived at the front line, she blew. Flame breath poured out from her mouth. Every root touched by the flame received massive damage and suffered from the Burn effect.
It was evident that this Demon Weed had a weakness against fire.
Wilted Tree who witnessed from afar blurted out, "A Flame Succubus? They have a summoning crystal?"
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